The Cry Of A Mockingbird •Dio Brando X Reader•

•Three•

Jonathan Joestar was an extremely...weird...man to say the least. After the day where he ‘saved’ you, you had started seeing him in the slums more often. Although you really didn’t care for him and his antics, he made it his new job to follow you around. He would wait around town until he saw you, then run up to you like a lost puppy finding a new owner. He had already been robbed twice.

It was becoming annoying. 

“Joestar,” You snapped, spinning on your heel to face him. “Knock it off already, will you? You’re becoming a nuisance!”

“Please! Just help me, I’m begging you!” He pleaded. You groaned in aggravation. “Just teach me how to fight, please! I want to stand up to my brother! Please!” 

“Fine! For the love of God, if you leave me alone I will help you!” You said. 

“Thank you!” He sighed. 

“But it’s not going to be free,” You said. 

“Yes, yes, I know!” He said. “I’ll pay you, I’ll pay you a thousand pounds!”

“Deal,” You said, shaking hands with him. “Now, where do you plan on me teaching you?”

“Follow me!”

…

“Hands up, hips squared, legs apart,” You said, moving his hands to the correct position. 

“We’ve been doing this for hours!” He whined. 

“If you could get your stance right, then we wouldn’t have to,” You said, walking around him. “If your legs are too close together,” Your arms reached out and shoved him back, making him stumble backward and then to fall. “You fall.”

“So, like this?” Jonathan asked, pushing himself back up, just like he’d done for the past hour and a half.

“Now they’re too far apart. Watch me,” You said, lining your feet up with the width of your shoulders as you bent your knees slightly. “Now, shove me.”

“I..”

“Forget about the gentleman act. You asked me to teach you to fight, so you better hit me as if I were your brother, got it?” Jonathan hesitated before nodding. He grabbed your shoulders and pushed you. You didn’t move. “See how much of a difference it makes?”

“I...think I...I got it!” Jonathan exclaimed. You smiled. 

“See? It isn’t that hard,” You said. “Now, time to do something about your hands. You’ll break your thumb with the way you're making a fist. Don’t tuck your fingers in like that, yeah, there you go,” 

“Okay,” Jonathan huffed, correctly holding his hands up, then looked at you for guidance. You took note of the bruises and scrapes on his forearms and biceps, and then at his knuckles. It was obvious he was getting the crap beat out of him.

“Why does he do it?” You asked. 

Jonathan dropped his pose, slowly standing up to his full height. “Huh?”

“You said you wanted to know how to fight so that you could defend yourself against your brother. Why does he do it?” You asked. 

“Dio...he just wants to terrorize me. And I’ve done nothing wrong! He’s always been like this, even since the day he came to live with us. I still care about him, I still love him like my own blood, but I just don’t understand why he does it. I want...to get back at him. He stole Erina’s first kiss, and now she doesn’t want anything to do with me. She always runs off whenever she sees me. And, Danny, oh, poor Danny. He locked him in the incinerator! He’s a menace!” Jonathan said, looking down at his hands. “I could never say I hate him though. He’s just had a hard life is all. If I were raised there, I’d probably act like that too. B-but I’m not saying everyone acts like that! You’re not bad at all!” He said quickly, not wanting to accidentally upset you. 

You laughed as you sat against the tree. Jonathan sat across from you, looking at you with a kind expression. “Don’t worry yourself over saying things like that. To me at least; I wouldn’t run around the slums saying that unless you want your tongue cut out.”

“God, no,” He said, shutting his mouth, to which you laughed at more. “Will you ever tell me your name? I’ve seen your face,”

“Isn’t that enough?” You asked, propping your chin on your hand as you raised an eyebrow. 

“It would be nice to have a name to a face,” He said, mimicking your actions. “But I won’t pry.”

“Everyone calls me Vex,” You said. 

“Vex? As in, frustrating, and annoying?” He asked.

“I seem to irritate people enough for that to be stuck as my name, yes,” You grinned slightly. Jonathan shook his head with a chuckle. You looked off into the distance, where the manor he resided in stood. You could only imagine the menace that hid behind those doors. 

“Vex, may I ask you something?” Jonathan asked suddenly, making you turn your head back to him. 

“You just did, but I suppose so,”

He rubbed his wrists. “Why do you think people hurt others?”

You looked at him, perplexed. You certainly did not expect that to be a question. Nonetheless, you tilted your head in thought. Jonathan looked at you carefully, studying your face for the bare emotions that flashed across it. Finally, you flicked your gaze back to him. 

“I don’t know,” You said. “It’s been a thing since biblical times. I suppose it’s just part of our nature. You shouldn’t have asked me, however. I’m nothing close to a saint, so if you were expecting a philosophical answer, then you came to the wrong person.”

Jonathan shook his head. “No, no. That answer was perfectly fine.”

You looked at the sad expression on his face, and the hint of depression settling behind his eyes. For a moment, he looked like one of the poor souls that lived in the slums, who had his family taken from him, his job washed away, and his money spent in the tavern as he tried to temporarily forget. Your eyes softened at him, something that didn’t happen often. 

“You’re not so bad, Joestar,” You said, making his eyes flick to yours as he fiddled with his hands. 

“Where are you going?” He asked as you stood up, throwing your cloak back around your shoulders. You fastened the gold button with a single motion before flicking your hood over your face. He watched as the shadow passed over your face and hid your features. 

“I have other things that need to be done before the day is done with,” You said. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” He asked, standing up as well. 

“I’ll fetch after you when I’m ready,” You said. “And Jonathan,”

He raised his eyebrows, a smile forming on his face when you used his first name. “Yes?”

“Don’t come back to the slums. I won’t drag your dead body back here if you do,” And with that, you were gone, your figure vanishing as you ran away. 

Jonathan swallowed hard.