Jolyne Cujoh died.
As her companions fell one after another, she had already prepared herself for death.
But brave Emporio, live on to the very end, carrying everyone's will...
F.F, Weather Report, Anasui, Ermes, and... Dad, they must have been waiting in heaven for a long time, right?
If there's a next time, let's get along properly, Dad...
She slowly closed her eyes, letting her body sink into the sea...
---
Jolyne was awakened by a clamor of voices. When she opened her eyes, the sun overhead nearly blinded her unprepared pupils.
After recovering for a good while, she moved the hand shielding her eyes and slowly opened them to see a brilliant blue sky.
Beneath the sky was a circle of people surrounding her, looking at her curiously.
Jolyne looked at each of them in turn: a guy with a toothpaste-shaped haircut, a short white-haired guy, a fierce-looking guy with a buzzcut, a delinquent with a steak-like haircut, and an icy-faced guy wearing a hat...???
Wait, that last guy with the hat looked exactly like her dad, just younger?
She thought her eyes were deceiving her and took another uncertain look at the icy-faced man in white.
That person was indeed her father, Jotaro Kujo, but... why did he look so young?
"Um, are you okay?" Before she could figure out the situation, the short white-haired guy looked at her with concern. "How did you get here?"
Not planning to reveal too much information before understanding the circumstances, Jolyne countered with a question, "Where is here?"
"This is Morioh. You were just in the ocean; a dolphin carried you to shore."
Morioh? The ocean? A dolphin? Jolyne worked hard to digest and piece together this information. The current situation should be this:
She was injured by Father Pucci and sank to the bottom of the sea, then was saved by a dolphin and brought ashore to this place called Morioh.
Right, her injuries! She reached up and touched the back of her head. It was perfectly intact, without even a small wound.
What in the world was going on? Had she healed herself?
"Who are you?" Jolyne asked next.
"My name is Koichi Hirose." The high school student who called himself Koichi Hirose introduced them one by one. "This is Rohan Kishibe-sensei, he's a manga artist; this is Okuyasu Nijimura, and this is Josuke Higashikata, the three of us are classmates; this is Mr. Jotaro Kujo, currently traveling in Morioh."
After Koichi finished the introductions, Jolyne did her utmost to conceal the excitement inside her. She had a bold conjecture—she had time traveled.
Maybe something went wrong with Pucci's Made in Heaven, or perhaps her dying wish was granted. In any case, she had traveled back to the past, to some point in time in Morioh.
"Koichi-san," Jolyne said, trying her best to keep her voice sounding calm, "what's the date right now?"
"July 2nd, 1999." Jotaro, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.
1999... So, she had traveled back 13 years from 2012.
That meant Pucci hadn't started his Heaven Plan yet. If she could find Pucci at this time and nip everything in the bud, then all the tragedies of the future could be avoided!
Her dead companions and family could be revived!
"Can you tell us your name?" Josuke Higashikata smiled radiantly, seemingly mixed with a touch of paternal kindness. "We've been talking for so long but still don't know what to call you?"
"My name is... Ellen." Jolyne made up a fake name for herself. She didn't want her real name to cause any uncontrollable accidents.
"Ellen? That's a really nice name! It's super similar to Mr. Jotaro's daughter's name!" Josuke said while making faces at Jotaro standing opposite him, only to be completely ignored.
Having been snubbed, Josuke turned his attention back to Jolyne. "By the way, Ellen, do you have a place to stay?" Before she could answer, Josuke directly made a suggestion:
"How about staying at my place! My mom would be overjoyed to see a cute girl like you!"
Jolyne did have some impression of this youth named Josuke Higashikata. He was the illegitimate child of her great-grandfather. There was a time when her great-grandmother was very upset with her great-grandfather over this matter, so she remembered it clearly.
In terms of seniority, she would have to call this young man, who was three years younger than her, Great-Uncle.
...What a weird family hierarchy.
Jolyne glanced at Jotaro and found him looking back at her. The moment their eyes met, she quickly looked down. Staying at her great-uncle's place was fine, but what she really hoped for was to spend more time with that person...
Josuke looked deeply hurt, his face pained. "Seems I've been rejected... Ellen seems to prefer being with Mr. Jotaro."
"Yare yare daze."
Jotaro was as aloof as ever, though the slight upturn at the corner of his mouth betrayed his true feelings.
---
'Back in Time' half an hour.
"A case of attempted murder?" Josuke Higashikata pondered. The group surrounded the unconscious girl, very curious about her origins.
"To be safe, we'll make the first move." Before anyone could react, Rohan Kishibe used his Stand, [Heaven's Door], on the girl. Her face turned into pages of a book, everything she had experienced recorded on each page.
Rohan Kishibe turned the pages, reading every piece of information about the girl:
"Jolyne Cujoh, born July 6th, 1993. Father was always away on business, leading to parents divorcing during her childhood. Raised solely by her mother. Once tried to get her father's attention by stealing a car, but failed. Father-daughter relationship fell to an all-time low. Father is..."
"Jotaro Kujo??!!"
Everyone turned their gaze to Jotaro Kujo. The word 'incredible' was written all over each of their faces.
Without a doubt, the information obtained by Rohan Kishibe's Stand ability couldn't be false, so this girl was undoubtedly Jotaro Kujo's biological daughter, it's just that...
"Mr. Jotaro is married?? And has such a cute daughter??" Josuke's expression was exaggerated, as if he had discovered some incredible secret.
The not-so-bright Okuyasu Nijimura's brain was about to explode: "Mr. Jotaro is 28 this year, right? This Jolyne looks about 18 or 19... 28 minus 18 equals..."
Okuyasu Nijimura's hands and brain worked busily together, finally arriving at the answer 10. That meant Mr. Jotaro had a daughter when he was ten? But that doesn't seem right? What's wrong with it?
The complex age relationship occupied Okuyasu Nijimura's limited brain capacity. The deeper he thought, the more his head started to hurt. Looks like he's about to grow a brain.
The person in question, Jotaro Kujo, was also momentarily at a loss regarding this suddenly appearing adult daughter. He did have a daughter named Jolyne Cujoh, but she was only 6 years old now, safe in America with her mother.
Finally, the ever-reliable Koichi Hirose suggested: "Kishibe-sensei, please continue reading. There should be more important information later that can resolve our doubts."
Rohan Kishibe nodded and continued reading: "In 2012, framed by her boyfriend, imprisoned in Green Dolphin Street Prison for 15 years... Worked to stop Father Pucci's Heaven Plan... March 21st, 2012, father Jotaro dies... 5:36 PM, March 21st, Jolyne Cujoh dies."
The text ended there. No matter how many pages Rohan Kishibe turned after that, they were all blank.
"So, in the future, Mr. Jotaro was killed by that Father Pucci, this Jolyne also died, but due to some unknown reason, she time-traveled back to the present." Koichi Hirose was the first to react, offering his guess.
The atmosphere instantly became heavy. Everyone once again turned their eyes to Jotaro Kujo.
In everyone's hearts, Jotaro Kujo was a strong, reliable presence. The fact that such a powerful man like Mr. Jotaro could die was difficult for them to accept.
"Mr. Jotaro?" Koichi Hirose looked at Jotaro at a loss, hoping he would say something.
"Let's wait until Jolyne wakes up and clarify the situation first," Jotaro said, his tone unreadable, still as sparing with words as usual.
---
Jolyne followed Jotaro to the Morioh Grand Hotel. He checked her in.
"Miss, here is your room key. We hope you enjoy your stay." The front desk lady handed over the key card with both hands, her smile impeccable.
She took the key card, said thank you, took the elevator to the seventh floor, navigated the long hallway, and finally arrived at room 702. As she swiped the card and opened the door, Jotaro Kujo stood motionless in front of her room.
"Something wrong?" Jolyne asked.
"I'm in room 701 across the hall. You can come find me for anything."
Jolyne was stunned for a moment, nodded somewhat uncomfortably, and then closed the door.
Jotaro, shut outside the door, stood there for a good while. He raised his hand to knock, then pulled it back, repeating this several times. In the end, he gave up and returned to his own room somewhat dejectedly.
Jotaro's mood was extremely complex and heavy, not because he learned of his own destined death, but because of... Jolyne.
[Dad and Mom divorced. He abandoned Mom and me.]
[I hit that foul-mouthed deskmate. Who told him to say I don't have a dad.]
[I stole a car, went to jail. After causing such a big mess, Dad would definitely come back, right? Mom was very sad, but Dad still didn't come back to see me.]
...
Each sentence was like a sharp sword piercing his heart.
He deeply loved his wife and Jolyne; no one in this world loved them more than he did. But for their safety, he had to divorce his wife. He thought this way Jolyne could escape the fate of the Joestar family...
The facts proved him wrong. Jolyne still couldn't escape the fate of death. She hadn't even enjoyed a shred of fatherly love before her death; she had always been waiting for him, her father.
He really was a failure of a father.
Jotaro threw a punch. The mirror on the wall instantly shattered into pieces. Sharp fragments cut his skin, and blood flowed down his arm onto the floor. This was the one and only time he lost control.
Calmed down, Jotaro looked at his shattered reflection in the mirror and swore silently: This time, he would definitely protect Jolyne!
---
Back in her room, Jolyne began sorting through the series of clues. Since fate had given her a chance to start over, she would grasp it firmly!
This time, she would not lose again.
Come on, Father Pucci!