Bloody Golden Butterfly [JJBA Fanfiction] (Giorno x Jolyne)

35. Two Stars

The first time Jolyne was told that she had to jump into the sea for a swim at that time of year, she thought they were joking even though she had not even been out of the Pillar of Hell for a day. What kind of monster would throw someone in the spring into the icy waters next to Venice? Of course, Lisa Lisa was that kind of monster. At first, Jolyne had been terrified to go swimming through those deep dark waters. Later, she realized that if she got tired in the water at least they would pull her out so she wouldn't drown. On land, they had no mercy whatsoever.

Her routine was filled with strenuous exercises, meditation, resting just enough to be able to move with Shizuka, eating, exchanging a couple of messages with the people at the palazzo—now also with Giorno—and sleeping. She could not complain, as she noticed how she was really improving. She went from barely being able to make a few sparks to conducting energy all throughout her body.

For a while, she felt that the Hamon energy reminded her of something; it gave her a warm feeling, something pleasant, but after all, it was the energy of life. And one day when she attracted some curious insects with it, she realized what else it reminded her of. It was like the pure energy of Gold Experience. It made her want to shout to Hell at Dio to fuck off, that despite everything his son had done, he was still a carrier of pure life energy. But under Lisa Lisa's watchful eye, there was no time for something like romance, so she didn't even have time to wonder if it would be possible to develop her situation with Giorno, because if the old witch caught her distracted, she wouldn't take long to invent a new form of torture for her.

That was how swimming days had become Jolyne's favorite days, by default next to the rest of the days. However, she did not appreciate the ones where she held weight while balancing and meditating on top of a column. She knew that the rest of the students on the island worked hard too, but it was as if being Lisa Lisa's relative gave her carte blanche to be more demanding than anyone else instead of giving her some kind of advantage.

They wouldn't even let her swim in swimwear, only in the clothes she trained in. Regular clothes were more resistant to water and made it more difficult to move in and, above all, harder to get out of the water. But her training wasn't about her own ease of comfort after all.

She was waiting on the dock of the island to jump into the water when she caught sight of her dad.

He may have been a difficult person to read, but she had gotten a little better at it recently. Since he had arrived, he made a point of at least having breakfast, lunch, or dinner with her (sometimes even more than one, and a couple of times, all three) and making small talk. It didn't slip Jolyne's notice how he was genuinely trying to get close to her. She was touched to the core and appreciated it.

So when he finally walked up to her and they stood face to face, she noticed that something was wrong even before he opened his mouth.

"I just got word about our enemies' whereabouts," he said. "They've found clues that give us reason to believe that one of them is already in Italy. Rumors about Naples have surfaced too. Donatello is there."

Jolyne's stomach flipped. She suddenly had the urge to throw up.

There was no way she could continue on with her daily training now. Seeing as her dad himself came to tell her this, she felt that it must be a sign that he wanted her help.

"Oh, uh, I'll change in a moment," she managed to say. "When do we leave? Have you called Giorno yet?"

"I just called Giovanna, and he says he's already on his way to Naples. He seems extremely angry. It's his home after all." Jotaro seemed to hesitate for a moment. Her face-reading ability alerted her again. "Unfortunately, you won't be coming. Weather Report and I will be going alone."