Though the search for Yimi's background had turned up nothing, Joseph still arranged to get her proper identity documents. Since she was officially adopted under the Joestar name, she was registered as Yimi Joestar.
Based on the fragments the child had let slip, Joseph and Suzi Q had pieced together a rough story in their heads:
A little girl who'd awakened a Stand ability without understanding that her family had passed away. Told that they'd "gone to Heaven," she'd escaped from the orphanage and wandered the streets searching for this so-called Heaven. And the "geezer" she described as "sometimes there, sometimes not" was naturally her own Stand.
At present, Joseph, whose conversation Yimi had overheard, was being scaled like a cat tree—Yimi had latched onto his clothes and was climbing straight up.
"You're going to Heaven? I want to go too."
If she couldn't find out from anyone else, she'd have to ask Hungry Bun for help. But for some reason, the creature hadn't paid her any attention since their last encounter.
"It's not Heaven, sweetie. Grandpa is going to visit his grandson. Heaven is way too early for you." Suzi Q plucked her off Joseph's frame.
This innocent little thing.
She'd grown rather fond of the girl. Mischievous, sure, but reasonably well-behaved—reminded her of her own daughter when she was small.
"Hm?"
Suzi Q clapped her hands and turned to her attendant. "Go pack a bag for Yimi-chan, would you?"
"Huh?" Joseph blinked.
Then it hit him. He'd said he was going to visit Jotaro—which gave Suzi Q every reason to tag along.
He waved his hands frantically. "No, no—I'm going for work! The company's organizing a group trip. I'm just stopping by to see Jotaro on the way."
He couldn't exactly explain DIO—that generational nemesis. The phone call he'd just received had flat-out stated that Jotaro was in prison, and even after Holy posted bail, the kid refused to leave. Kept ranting about being "haunted by an evil spirit."
How could he tell Suzi Q any of that? In her eyes, Jotaro was still a good boy.
If he had to guess, this "evil spirit" was almost certainly a Stand. He'd originally assumed he'd be the one to steel himself for battle and settle the old score with DIO once and for all. But now that seemed increasingly unlikely.
"Is that so? Perfect timing—I've been missing them too. It's been ages since we traveled together." Suzi Q ruffled Yimi's hair. "Hurry and pick out two cute dresses you like! You'll get to meet Obaachan's daughter and grandson soon. I'm sure you'll get along wonderfully."
"Ah... well, it's exam season for high schoolers right now, so he's studying. I'm just popping by for a quick look—staying too long would disturb him." Joseph spun Suzi Q around by the shoulders and gently pushed her backward.
"Oh, really?" Suzi Q didn't seem suspicious.
"Y-yes. That's right, we have work." Avdol, catching Joseph's signal, backed him up.
"Don't worry. I'll pass along your regards. Anything you want me to bring back?"
The little cat tilted her head up and squinted at Avdol. She'd caught a suspicious scent in the air. The two of them wore the exact same expression as every other adult she'd asked about Heaven's address.
Were they planning to go to Heaven but didn't want to bring the cat, so they were feeding her a story?
Japan. Airport.
"Other than the Walkman, I really have zero affection for this country."
Because everything had come up so suddenly, Iggy hadn't even been properly tamed yet. Since a quick visit to his grandson wasn't supposed to involve anything dangerous, Joseph hadn't risked bringing along an animal that might attack its own allies.
As for why Iggy was locked in Yimi's room—he'd figured the two cats had seemed friendly enough before... Oh, and he hadn't brought Yimi either. Or rather, once she'd revealed her true form, he'd had no intention of letting her get mixed up in any of this.
"Even so, you speak remarkably fluent Japanese, Joestar-san." Avdol wheeled his luggage alongside him as they descended from the plane.
"Can't help it—my daughter married into this country, and my grandson lives here too. Oh, is that a kendama? Let me buy one to bring back for Yimi."
"Joestar-san, please don't buy souvenirs at the airport. Everything here costs at least double the normal price."
"This is precisely when the art of negotiation becomes important, Avdol."
"Mew." Yimi used her paw to inch open the zipper on Joseph's luggage bag, poking her head out to see what he wanted to buy for her.
"See? Even she looks eager." Joseph tapped Yimi on the head.
Yimi raised her cat face to look at Joseph.
Joseph looked down to meet her gaze. His hand slowly traveled to his own face.
"Oh no! How are you here?!"
Joseph had taken a commercial flight. How had she gotten past security? This was illegal entry—a stowaway!
"Shit!" Joseph blurted.
"Shit." Yimi echoed.
"Joestar-san, please don't swear in front of the child!"
She checked her main quest. It didn't show as complete. So this wasn't Heaven after all.
Though the Holy Grail world hadn't given her much relevant knowledge, she'd vaguely grasped that Heaven wasn't a place you could reach by ordinary means.
If only Hungry Bun would talk to her again—she'd have it carry her straight to Heaven.
Yimi crawled out of the luggage and shook her head, fluffing out the fur that had gotten slightly mussed from being packed in.
Joseph, meanwhile, had already bolted to find a payphone to call Suzi Q. It didn't take a genius to know the old lady back home must be frantic after discovering the girl had vanished.
Worried that Yimi might suddenly shift back to human form in public, Avdol hurriedly set her on his shoulder. "What do we do, Joestar-san? We're headed to a prison next. You can't bring a little girl to a place like that!"
Movies and TV liked to portray prisons as breeding grounds for bullying, devoid of basic decency, riddled with all manner of unsavory characters. That wasn't baseless—prisons were, by definition, where criminals congregated. For certain long-term inmates serving decades-long sentences, anything with long hair might become fuel for late-night fantasies.
"About that—"
"Papa!"
Joseph's daughter—Holy Kujo, who'd married into this country—spotted him and came running over.
Forty-five years old, yet she could pass for someone in her twenties. She'd perfectly inherited her mother's gorgeous golden hair.
"Holy!" Joseph rushed toward her, shoving a bystander out of his path along the way.
The bystander, eyes blazing with anger, took one look at Joseph's towering 195-centimeter frame and quietly swallowed his rage.
Avdol reached over and covered Yimi's eyes so she wouldn't witness this display of rudeness.
"No choice, then." Joseph held out his hands toward Avdol, who obligingly placed Yimi into his arms.
"Papa, did you get a cat?"
"It's not a cat. This is a child Suzi and I recently adopted. She snuck along when we weren't looking."
"Not... a cat?" Holy stared at Yimi, stunned.
With that coloring, if not a cat, what else could it possibly be?
"Mew." Yimi raised a paw in greeting.
Clearly a cat.
Joseph rubbed Yimi's head. "In any case, let's get her to your place first. Can't have a kid anywhere near a prison."
"?"
Holy Kujo looked at the paw-licking Yimi, then at her father, quietly growing concerned. Had her decision not to send Jotaro to live with his grandparents somehow affected their mental well-being?