[reuploading till chapter 20]
Jotaro turned around just as his eyes met Shintaro and the others at the doorway.
Joseph was gently helping Holly settle back against the cushion, pulling the blanket up around her shoulders with movements that were slower and more careful than he usually allowed himself. "Jotaro is right," he said quietly. "What you need most right now is rest."
Holly shifted beneath the covers, a faint smile finding her face despite everything. "Everyone suddenly becomes so gentle when I'm sick..." she murmured. "It's almost nice, once in a while."
Before she could finish the thought, her eyes fluttered shut. Her head tilted slightly to one side, and the sentence trailed away into silence as she slipped back into unconsciousness.
"Holly...?"
Joseph reached out and pressed his palm to her forehead. The knot between his brows deepened.
"She's fainted again." His voice dropped. "She was laughing and joking on the surface the whole time. But she's been fighting a high fever from the moment this started." He withdrew his hand and took a slow, steadying breath. "She knew about the thing on her back long ago, didn't she. She just chose not to say anything."
He didn't phrase it as a question.
"She didn't want us to worry."
By then, Shintaro, Avdol, and Kakyoin had entered the room.
Avdol walked directly to the table and spread the illustrated guide open across it, his finger moving to a specific page.
"Mr. Joestar," he said, "the location of the fly in the photograph has been confirmed."
Every head turned.
Beside a detailed illustration of a fly with a distinctive wing pattern ran a clearly printed scientific label.
"The Nile Fly," Avdol said, his finger moving along the text. "It inhabits only the Nile River basin — and more precisely, its distribution is heavily concentrated around the city of Aswan."
Joseph stared at the illustration. His pupils contracted slightly. "So it really is Egypt." He glanced at Shintaro. "You guessed correctly."
Shintaro scratched the back of his head. "It was mostly a guess, honestly..."
Avdol closed the book and looked up.
"DIO is in Aswan."
A voice came from the doorway.
"So... it really was Egypt."
Kakyoin stood leaning lightly against the frame, his expression unreadable beneath his red bangs, as if he had been listening from the corridor for some time.
Joseph turned toward him. "'Really'? Why do you say it like that, Kakyoin?"
"The Flesh Bud was implanted in my brain three months ago," Kakyoin said quietly. He raised his hand and touched the bandage at his forehead — a brief, involuntary gesture. Then he walked into the room.
"At the time, I was traveling along the Nile with my family."
Avdol looked up sharply. "You encountered DIO in Egypt as well." His fingers stilled against the edge of the book. "It seems he has no intention of leaving that land."
Kakyoin didn't answer directly. His gaze drifted to Holly lying unconscious on the cushion, resting there for a moment with something complicated in it before moving back to the group.
"I'm going too."
"...'Too'?" Jotaro turned his head slightly, watching Kakyoin with the focused, measuring look he gave to things that surprised him. "Why?"
Kakyoin lowered his head and let out a very quiet sound — something between a laugh and a breath.
"I'm not entirely sure," he said honestly. Then he looked up, his gaze briefly crossing Jotaro's. "If I had to give a reason..."
He touched the bandage one more time.
"You freed me. That's enough."
Jotaro turned away with a short, quiet click of his tongue.
Just then, a small black hand reached out from Shintaro's collar, followed by a characteristically huffy voice.
"Main body! We're going too! That bastard DIO had the nerve to make our long-term food source sick!"
The tension in the room fractured slightly. Several people turned toward Shintaro at once.
He pressed the Black Sperm firmly back into his collar and stepped forward.
"I'm going as well," he said, his tone steady. "I've been eating and living here for free, and Aunt Holly has been taking care of me since the moment I arrived without asking for anything in return." He paused, and his gaze settled on her sleeping face. "Someone that gentle doesn't deserve to be dragged into hell by DIO's curse."
Standing here, in this house, in this world — it was a very different thing from watching it through a screen. The weight of it was real in a way he hadn't expected.
Joseph listened quietly to the end. Then he nodded once, leaned down close to Holly's ear, and spoke just above a whisper.
"Did you hear that? We're going to save you."
His rough, weathered palm moved carefully across her forehead, brushing the damp hair away from her face.
Kakyoin stepped closer, his eyes resting on Holly's peaceful expression.
"Mrs. Holly is..." he began softly, as if thinking out loud, "the kind of woman who warms the people around her simply by being present. Being near her, you feel a kind of involuntary peace."
He stopped. He seemed to notice, at the same moment, that both Jotaro and Shintaro had turned to look at him with identical expressions.
"Though that might sound strange," Kakyoin added, after a pause.
Shintaro, operating entirely on instinct, grabbed the nearest water glass and took a large, deliberate gulp. His previous life's education had at least taught him to stay hydrated in uncertain situations.
A Black Sperm poked halfway out of his collar. "Hey, main body — couldn't you eat something instead? What's the point of just drinking water?"
"Not now," Shintaro muttered back. "Wait a little longer."
Kakyoin glanced at Shintaro drinking his water, and continued without missing a beat.
"But if I were to choose a romantic partner — someone like her would absolutely be the best."
"Pfft —!!"
The water Shintaro had just taken into his mouth exited at considerable speed.
The Black Sperm, half-emerged from his collar, took the full impact. It stared upward at him, completely soaked, expression blank.
"Main body... what was that."
"S — sorry!" Shintaro grabbed the glass and his eyes flew involuntarily toward Jotaro.
Jotaro had pulled his hat brim down. His expression had darkened by several clear degrees, but he hadn't moved, hadn't spoken, hadn't done anything with the feeling except put it somewhere colder.
"Are you feeling unwell, Shintaro?" Avdol said, handing across a handkerchief with a concerned look.
"N — no, I'm fine, thank you." Shintaro took the handkerchief and stepped back two paces, turning away under the pretense of drying the Black Sperm. "Did you hear that?" he whispered.
"More than beyond common sense!" the Black Sperm whispered back — slightly too loud. "I saw the tall one in the hat — his face went completely black! Hahaha —"
The laughter cut off.
It had realized, a beat too late, that Jotaro's gaze had already moved in their direction.
Shintaro and the Black Sperm went absolutely still at the same instant.
A second passed. Shintaro resumed wiping with a perfectly expressionless face, though his movements had developed a certain mechanical stiffness. The Black Sperm attempted an innocent expression. The attempt was not successful.
"There's no more time." Joseph straightened, his hand lingering one last moment on Holly's cheek before finally pulling away. "The SPW Foundation will be here soon to take care of her. Everyone go and get ready."
Shintaro tucked the Black Sperm back into his collar and crossed the room to Joseph's side, lowering his voice.
"Mr. Joseph — I don't have any clothes suitable for a long trip. Could you ask the SPW people to bring a few sets when they come?"
Joseph glanced at the ill-fitting loungewear Shintaro was wearing, held his gaze there for exactly one second, then nodded.
"I'll pass that along."
He raised his hand and placed it on Shintaro's shoulder — firm, brief, and meaning more than the gesture itself.
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