Jorge Joestar by Maijo Otaro based on characters created by Araki Hirohiko For Araki Hirohiko ONE Tsukumojuku 九十九十九 My name is Jorge Joestar. The name was taken from my aristocratic grandfather but written the Spanish style. I asked why Mum didn't spell it George like a proper English name, but she just smiled and said, "Well, you were born in the Canary Islands, and if I named you George, we couldn't very well call you Jojo, could we?" My father – he died in a shipwreck – was named Jonathan Joestar, and had gone his whole life by the nickname Jojo; he'd died so soon after their wedding that Mum, still deeply in love with him, had her heart set on my inheriting that nickname. Sadly, only Spaniards lived on La Palma, and nobody called me Jojo; Mum and Lisa Lisa called me 'George' and everyone pronounced my name the Spanish way: 'Horhe'. Pointing this out to Mum just made her look sad, so I held my tongue. Frankly, what they called me was the least of my problems. For as long as I could remember, I was tormented by Spanish-speaking jackanapes – this very day they'd rubbed dog shit on my face on the way home from school. They'd managed to get some up my nose and no matter how much I washed my face the stink remained. But they'd been trying to make me eat it, so I guess I got off easy. Like she always did, Lisa Lisa found us and saved me before they could force the shit all the way in. These pigs were born on the island and would die a useless death here; they had no conscience, no capacity for anything like abstract thought, and thus no notion of restraint. "Bwa ha ha ha ha! You got saved by a girl again, Balsa Blanca (White Raft)! Your dick wouldn't even work as an oar!" Lisa Lisa had knocked him down and kicked him a number of times, and his nose was still bleeding, but Antonio Torres was getting used to the beatings, and didn't let them get in the way of a good jeer. This hit me where it hurt. After the shipwreck, Mum spent several days adrift on the Pacific with me and Lisa Lisa, so Antonio and his gang had started calling me Balsa Blanca, but this insulted Mum and my dead Dad as well, so I always got mad and cried. Look, even I hated myself for it. I was such a damn cry baby. It was like I had just served them all dessert. The moment I started crying they all killed themselves laughing, and Lisa Lisa had to drag me away. "Come on, Jorge! You can't cry like that! Now they've gone home happy!" Lisa Lisa was furious with me. I was in the river, trying to wash the smell off, and this wasn't helping. The snot and tears made my cheeks sting, but Elizabeth Straits showed no mercy. "Your face is filthy...washing isn't helping! You're so pathetic I don't even want to be seen walking with you! If you're so sad then go cry alone! I can't bear watching!" She turned and left me there. This made me feel even more sorry for myself. What did I ever do to deserve this? Because I was the only English boy in class... I hate to bring race into this, but all of us were white! We had an Asian kid in our class, but nobody ever made fun of him! Damn it! Why did they all pick on me!? Obviously, because I was a crybaby, not particularly smart, not particularly athletic, and not particularly funny. The Asian kid was unflappable, quite good looking, got straight As, and word was he worked as a detective...in elementary school. Someone like that just isn't going to get picked on. But knowing there was a reason why they came after me just made things worse, and now I was crying again... I was still crying when I got home, and Mum said Lisa Lisa had gone straight to her room and shut the door. "She was crying, you know? Lisa Lisa is very worried about you, Jorge. Such a kind soul..." For a moment I thought she meant me – I supposed I was on the kind side, for a boy – then I realized she meant Lisa Lisa, and got very confused. There must be some mistake. Kind? How? Violent, and sure, she saved me from the bullies but afterwards she always yelled at me a lot, and after she got done yelling, she'd walk away and leave me on my own. What about that was 'kind'? I was still fuming about that when we sat down to dinner, so Mum fixed me with a stern look. "Jorge, we have something important to talk about tonight. Will you listen?" There was a sadness to her smile that was very worrying, and I felt tears welling up reflexively. "No!" I said. "Don't be so dumb, Jorge," Lisa Lisa laughed. "She hasn't even said anything yet." I turned to scowl at her for laughing, but she wasn't smiling at all. She looked really tense, and that really made me scared. What was going on? "Listen, Jorge," Mum said. "Look at me." I really didn't want to, but I had no choice. This was clearly important. I had to face it. "...what?" She spoke slowly. "A long time ago it was decided that Lisa Lisa was to go stay with her adopted father, Straits, once she turns twelve. The three of us will celebrate Christmas together, and then Straits will come to pick her up at the start of the year. Lisa Lisa will go with him to his home in Italy." …what? This was genuinely so far beyond all the bad news I had been bracing myself for that I actually blacked out for a second. Lisa Lisa had been protecting me my entire life, since I was a baby. She'd step in if someone hit me, get back what they took, give me hers or split hers with me if I dropped something, comforted me when I was crying, praised me if I did something right. There was no way they could take Lisa Lisa away from me now! "But...but! But!" I said. "If Lisa Lisa leaves, I don't know what'll happen to me!" Actually, I was pretty sure I did know what would happen to me – they'd kill me. For real. But Mum had no idea how bad things were for me. The tone she took was devoid of any comfort or reassurance. "Jorge. You have to become strong enough, smart enough, and resilient enough to survive after Lisa Lisa leaves. You have to live without her help, and you have six months to prove you can. I know she's been a great help to you. Proving you can stand on your own two feet is the best thing you can do to repay her." Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? God, Mum was the best at...how could I put it? She had a way of saying things that were so right you couldn't argue, couldn't make excuses, and couldn't disobey without feeling like you were a very bad boy. But I was in such a fix that I didn't see how I could do the right thing! They nearly shoved dog shit in my mouth! Today! Just hours ago! Lisa Lisa was saving me from such dire straits on a daily basis! Mum had no idea! Mum had no idea she had no idea! In a state of panic I was about to cast aside all pretense of pride as a gentleman and use the dog shit as an example of just how bad this was when Lisa Lisa started crying. "Jorge, you idiot! Can't you think about anyone but yourself? I have to go live with my Dad, who I barely even remember! I'll barely ever see you or Mama Erina again! I'm so scared and I'll miss you and here you are just...to hell with you, Jorge!" She let the tears stream down her cheeks, making no effort to wipe them away, sobbing loudly. I stared, stunned. I'd never seen Lisa Lisa cry before. Mum stood up, walked around the table, and put her arms around Lisa Lisa. "Aaaaugh, Eri...Mama Erina...wahh...hnk...waah! S-sorry, I'm sorry. Hnk. I can't...I can't stop crying! I didn't want to cry, I swore I wouldn't!" "Go ahead, Lisa Lisa, cry as much as you need. It's a very sad thing. It's hard for me, as well. We've lived together your whole life, and it's been such fun. We've been so happy. I've grown to love you like my own daughter. And I promise that will never change. Remember that always, Lisa Lisa. Know that I will always love you." "Aaaah Mama Erina! Thank you! For everything! I love you too! I love you! Remember me forever! Don't forget about me!" "Of course not! How could I forget you? You're my pride and joy! I should be thanking you! Jorge and I have both treasured your company." "Waaahh, I...I don't want to go! I want to live here with you forever! I'm sorry, I know it's selfish of me.