Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion Chapter 407

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Buffy has a plan of her own, and Josuke volunteers to help.
Word Count: 1162
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS

        Buffy is exactly the kind of person that makes Josuke sweat. She’s also a good friend of his grandson, though, and he wants to get to know him and his friends and be a part of his life as the kewl grandfather, and this is as good a chance as any. Even though he has no idea how to approach this. Their surroundings don’t help. At least the scary-looking jungle isn’t too thick, and not too much further and it’s supposed to widen out into fields, but he’s still half convinced they’re not even going to be ambushed by Rush but by some sort of venomous snake or a man-eating tiger or some other wildlife that wants them dead. It’s easier to dwell on the fact that he feels awkward.
        See, the thing is, he’s pretty sure the only reason she’s even out here leading him through the fields following a hastily sketched map out to the camping spot in the northwest is that there’s a better chance of finding Rush here than most of the other places. She’s one of those people who’s constantly seeking out a fight, and while maybe a few people had referred to him as a delinquent, it had been a kind of unfair thing to say, in his opinion. It’s not like he got in that many fights, and a lot of those were assholes who picked the fight first. And sure, he’d sought out Kira, but someone had to and it’s not like that was a job for the Standless cops. There’s a glee about Buffy that says she enjoys this, and she doesn’t even have any signs of being conflicted that she might’ve when she was younger. She’s fully embraced being who she is.
        It’s intimidating. In a different way than Jotaro-san, of course; she talks a lot (except when she’s on the hunt, apparently), but thinking about it she doesn’t really say much. It’s not like they’re empty words or anything. It’s not like she’s just saying what anyone wants to hear, it’s just...for everything she says, a lot of it is just goofing off, and there’s a whole bunch of stuff that doesn’t get said. She has a lot in common with Johan, on that, and while it seems like a lot of that is just personality, he can absolutely believe that being friends pushed them both further into bad habits. It’s not even that he doesn’t get it—in Johan’s case, it seemed like it was mostly a defense mechanism to ensure that no one worried about him, and Josuke gets that—that was generally how he dealt with his mom, too.
        But at the same time, there’s a limit. You can’t just go through your life not talking about any of your problems to anyone. That’s no way to live. You have to be honest with your friends sometimes and support each other. He’s not going to be able to change any of that directly, though, not now. He can keep demonstrating it himself, and maybe he’ll make a difference eventually. In the meantime, as nervous as he is, he has to say something. He’s the older one here. “So, what are we looking for? Joestar-san was kind of vague when he was telling stories about the Pillar Men.”
        And honestly, Josuke had been pretty sure that at least a couple of those were exaggerated to try to impress him. It’d been a shock at first but he’d realized that Joestar-san did want to look good in front of him. Probably the same way he’s wanting to bond with Johan now, as utterly bizarre as it is to think about that.
        Buffy’s glance is annoyed, but she does answer, and he’s guessing (okay, maybe more hoping) that it’s not annoyance directed at him. “I’m a Slayer, so I can sometimes feel demons. I’m hoping that works on Pillar Men. I’d like to say I sensed something weird about him in the ambulance, but…” She shrugs.
        And actually, that’s something he’s been curious about. “What about at Wolfram & Hart?”
        He’s managed to slightly impress her at least. Maybe she’d been underwhelmed by his reaction to demons—which, you know, maybe if he’d been fighting them his entire life, he’d keep his cool about it, but he’s a little new, so he’d wish she’d cut him some slack. “Absolutely not. Too many demons around in the first place. I couldn’t pick out one in particular if I tried.” She considers that briefly and then amends her statement with a snort, “Well. Other than the fact that a lot of demons have absolutely no sense of the subtle.”
        “Like what?” If demons are absurd or something, that’ll definitely help him overcome his own issues.
        “Well, a bunch of the vampires you’ll meet, you’ll know. They like to go for all goth, and combined with the pale skin, it’s like they’re shouting ‘hey, I’m a bloodsucker, come stake me’.” She smiles at his involuntary laugh. “It’s not like you get used to fights for your life. I mean, you do kinda, but then every now and then you realize ‘oh crap I could die here’. You have to joke about it sometimes, or it’ll get to you.” 
        Uh, okay. So she’d known. And that’s compassion, not judgment, in her voice. He’d misjudged her, obviously. “Makes sense.” He pauses and then adds, “...So, uh, this town. Too many demons to pick one out from the crowd?”
        “I think they’re mostly human, but...weird. Like me, I guess. Human-plus. I haven’t seen everybody in town yet, obviously.” She nods at their surroundings, slightly frustrated again. This time, he’s more convinced it’s with the situation, and maybe herself. “I’m not the best Slayer for this, but then, I don’t think most of us are good at this. We’re all used to towns or cities. If any of us knew tracking or whatever we’d have a better chance of finding another secret hideout or place he’s hiding. All we can do is our best.”
        Josuke remembers something he hasn’t in years. “Well, uh, Jotaro-san knows how to track a rat, at least?” They both walk in silence, and then seemingly mutually decide it’s not worth bothering him about. Not when he’s in a mood. “Though as smart as that rat was, Rush is still probably better at hiding than even Jotaro-san is at tracking.”
        “Probably, but he’s gotten careless before. I’m hoping he’ll have made another one. Maybe he’d visited before and people will recognize him. Maybe he’ll have been stealing supplies or people or animals are missing. Pillar Men still need energy from somewhere, and if anything I’d say he’d be more likely to seek ‘food’ if he’s worried about a fight.” Smart, but then, she’s probably applying her previous knowledge to a new hunt.
        “Well, I might have some experience getting statements…” he observes. He’s not expecting the high-five, but at least he doesn’t miss it.