P H A N T O M B L O O D

"FLASh WHOAh."

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Just as you had told the Dio and then later Jojo, you left the Joestar residency on a wagon. After happily hugging the boys, Danny included, you travelled away on a wagon with Simon.

Simon was an idiot by any means, not being able to tell a camellia from a peony. Despite this, he was still the only other gardener employed by George Joestar.

While you, an uneducated 12-year-old, was able to create and maintain one of the most gorgeous and envied backyards in England. The professional, adult Simon could barely hold a scythe. Hence the front of the Joestar mansion being nothing more than a field with some paths and a single fountain. Disgustang.

I mean there was the occasional tree but they were there long before Simon.

After retrieving the shrubbery Lord Joestar was so desperate for, the two of you returned from the small adventure. You were very pleased with the new shrubbery and a new acquaintance you'd made in London.

After putting everything away you greeted Danny, the sweet dog wagging his tail upon seeing the flowery human he had so missed. The sweet dog was quickly given belly rubs and kisses but before you could say anything to him in a doting voice, there was a loud yell.

"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The dog and the (H/C) gardener watched as Jojo ran across the estate, jumped over the fountain and into the mansion, "DIOOOOO!"

Quickly leaving Danny outside, you follow the Joestar in worry. He had a nasty temper sure, but you'd never seen the blue-haired boy so angry.

Dio, who'd been sitting in front of the grand staircase reading, slammed the book and stood up maliciously, "Hush boy. You won't speak my name in vain again if you know what's good for you."

Name in vain? What an odd thing to say. Accusing someone of blasphemy didn't seem like something Dio would care for. Though maybe it was more about ego than anything religious.

"We end this now! I won't let you sully an innocent maidens honour!" Jojo was still rushing forward, raising one of his fists, "Your fight is with me, dammit!"

You hang back by the front door, confused about the situation. Dio had done what now?

The blonde in question pointed to himself smugly, "Upset about Erina? That she shared her favours with me? And now you intend to give me a proper thrashing for my impotence."

You blanch. Cringing with your whole body and leaving the door behind you as you rush in. You'd heard enough to piece together what happened and it seemed like the two boys were going to shake a flannin, and well you weren't against that if Dio had hurt Erina.

Hell, you wanted to kick the bastards head in.

Sadly there were a few too many rules about hurting a lords son, adopted or otherwise, for you to fight Dio on sight. Though, with the amount of fury being pumped through your veins in the heat of the moment, you suppose a punch won't hurt.

Well, it'll hurt Dio but you get what I'm trying to say.

"This time, Dio, you have gone too far!" Jojo leaps forward, intending to sock the blonde right in the face but Dio swooshes a dodge under the fist.

"You may be right, but you're the one who'll pay!" The Brando skillfully shoves his elbow into Jojo's nose, causing blood to spill out immediately, "Ready to repeat your performance from our boxing match? Be my guest."

It was at this point, you notice the change in colours and patterns. Everything was washed in yellow, making the blonde blonder and making Jonathan look green. You even looked like a fucking sunflower.

Hm, the colour change meant this was a serious scene huh?

Dio had by now huffed and removed his now bloodstained elbow from the Joestar's face, the unusually green boy stumbling back into the base of the lime looking staircase.

Whatever anger you felt became all-consuming fury at this because well, don't hit Jojo. Bitch ass.

Jojo grunts in pain and slides down the staircase wall while Dio throws off his jacket and raises a single arm into the air with narrowed eyes. It was obvious they were both thinking up monologues, you meanwhile take the opportunity to act.

Or more accurately, take the opportunity to knock a fist into Dio's mouth. You'd run across the hall the minute Jojo hit the staircase apparently. You hadn't noticed in all the rage.

You did notice the way Dio's teeth clacked against your knuckles and the way the impact carried all of your momentum and you were glad of it. Glad of it and scowling at the staggering blonde.

"How fucking dare you treat Jojo and Erina like shit, you- you bumbling fuckwit!"

You'd hoped to say something more eloquent or at least something to put your anger at Dio for his actions against Jojo and Erina into perspective but in the moment not a lot came to mind.

Oh well. Fuck him.

"(Y/N)? What a bother you had to return at a time like this," The now bleeding and angry Dio went to knee you in the gut in retaliation but Jojo leapt in between them and took the hit to his face, "No matter, you both shall suffer at my hand!"

Jojo grabs Dio's head, effectively squeezing it by the unpleasant sound of hand and skull pushing against each other. Dio looked furious at the Joestar, "How are you able to grab me after such a blow to the head? Perhaps I was too gentle with you!"

Too gentle? You shudder slightly from where you'd been pushed out the way, wondering what the hit would've done to your incredible face.

Ha, hypocrite.

Jojo takes to headbutting the blonde, worsening his nosebleed with a sickly crunch. The blue-haired boy proceeds to punch his adopted brother again and again.

Someone should probably stop him at this point... Oh well, couldn't be you.

There's another crunch coming from the blonde and you sigh, "Can I punch him again? Please?"

"DIOOOOOOO! I'm going to beat you 'til you cry like a baby, Dio!" It seems the raging Joestar hadn't heard you since he continues pummeling the blonde's face alone.

"Jojo, seriously, lemme at him. You're getting a bit too, er, riled up," You tried getting his attention but he's already punched Dio hard enough to send him flying, "Holy shit!"

You rush towards Dio to see if he needs medical treatment or if you could at least kick him while he's down but stop and turn after hearing something fall. It was a stone mask Lord Joestar had hung up on the wall, only it had spikes protruding from it and seemed to be covered in blood.

'Huh, that's quite bizarre. Neat.'

"Y-You... How... How dare you... You bastard! How dare you strike me!" Dio stutters, slowly rising from the floor, tears streaming down his roughed up face.

"Dio's crying?" Jojo looks shocked, as though he hadn't just punched the blonde into a marble floor at a high force. You're quite surprised too, frowning deeply at the idea that you'd actually hurt proper feelings here.

You were never really good at emotions.

"Oh. Sorry." Is all you really have to say, awkwardly standing in the space between Dio and Jojo. Though your allegiance to Jojo was still crystal clear.

The Joestar is silent.

"I'll make you regret that you filthy cur!" The blonde whips out a knife, the small blade glinting as he prepares ready to shank the Joestar, or maybe you as well.

"Stop it both of you! That's quite enough!" Lord Joestar yells from the balcony, staring down at the three children with moustached fury.

"Father I-" Jonathan tried to defend himself immediately, Dio silently hiding his knife and you quickly hiding the water jug and bowing.

Your actions hardly matter though, you know you will be scolded by another servant later. Lord Joestar wasn't going to waste scolding time addressing you.

"Son, I know boys your age are prone to fisticuffs. However, Jojo, I saw you mercilessly pummel Dio after the point of which he obviously had no chance of winning the fight," Lord Joestar had taken to pointing at his biological son, "Such is the mark of a coward!"

Oh, he'd missed the part where you hit Dio? Well, that's actually quite convenient.

"But father-" Jonathan had stepped forward, raising a fist in his defence.

"No excuses!To your chambers, both of you! I shall decide your punishment anon!" The two boys turned to glare at each other furiously while you were quickly grabbed by Simon and quietly dragged outside.

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You were sadly tending to the pond. It was lovely and all the lilies were blooming but the scenic scenery didn't help distract your busy mind. You had made Dio cry.

You didn't mind hurting mean people physically but crying was a bit too personal. You didn't want to hurt Dio, not in the crying sense. Just get him back for being a weasely little bastard who kissed Erina against her will and deserved to eat shit.

"Punching me like that was a mistake," Dio says from behind you, angrily crossing his arms and glaring down at you through fluffy lashes and a bruising eye.

"Kissing Erina was a mistake." You murmur bitterly before abandoning your work on the pond and facing the blonde, "I am sorry though, but that's only because I didn't expect you to get so upset at what you had coming to you."

Dio scowls before huffing in an arrogant, superior way and suddenly reaches forward to push you back into the pond.

"I suppose this is retribution enough." Amber eyes look very amused at your suddenly soggy appearance as you sit up in the pond and spit out some water, a floppy lily pad on your head.

"Retribution? You didn't come here to hit me as revenge did you? I'm genuinely sorry," You pout up at the pretty face you'd helped rough up.

"Hm, I didn't come to beat you but now that you mention it," Dio leans forward towards you and pretends to be in thought, "I suppose if I did slap you, I'd be able to get away with it out here."

"You wouldn't! Wait... Okay maybe you would but," You move a soaking strand of hair out of your face, "Why are you here really? Aren't you meant to be serving your punishment anon?"

"Funny but no. My sentence is simply that I, Dio, won't be getting any pudding this week, such is the pathetic parenting skills of your lord," The blonde looks down at you with a disgusted look, "Are you aware of the frog on your head?"

"What? Oh, sorry, Rana." You carefully pick up the small amphibian whose day you'd disrupted and set her down on another lily pad.

"You named it?" Dio smirks and if it was a different day he might've laughed. What a pitiful and lonely thing to do. You're funny like that.

"Don't critique me for knowing my garden Dio, I'm a professional." You huff slightly before looking at the marigold blonde seriously, "You looked professional with that knife."

"London's a dangerous place," Dio answers nonchalantly, though his eyes narrow slightly.

"This isn't London though." You grin slightly from your seat in the pond, "Besides who needs a knife when you got me? As an apology for today, I officially got your back."

"Hm yes, like how you rushed in to help Jonathan?" Dio was being a bit too bitter about some water and maybe some lost pride but you keep grinning despite the snide remark.

"Exactly! Say the word and I'll rush in to help you as well, water at the ready. Gardener's promise, love."

Love.

It was a simple pet name, not even one of any particular endearment but it makes Dio's ears flush red and as you say it now, grinning up at him with a soaked and see-through shirt, his whole face goes a subtle red. Though of course, the blonde would hide that with a smirk, "I suppose I'll have to trust your word."

"I take promises very seriously," Your grin fades slightly, "Could you leave Erina alone from now on though? She doesn't deserve being treated like anything less than what she is. I don't really understand what's going in between you and Jojo but don't mix Erina up in it and certainly don't disregard human decency and consent for the sake of feuding."

Much to your immeasurable displeasure, Dio laughs off your statement, "Aren't you precious, such strong morals for a gardener. However, there's no need to tell me how to respect people- I, unlike others, have manners. Erina was a lapse in temper and a cloud in judgement."

The statement doesn't quite sit right with you and neither does his demeaning laugh but you shrug it off, "Yeah, yeah laugh all you want. I saw you crying earlier, reminded me of this trick young pickpockets do to distract their victims. I'm not suggesting anything but, it's better to have strong morals even as you grow flowers than to grow up with no goodness at all."

Dio scowled, he'd used the crying trick to cause the same weird defensive reaction he'd seen after he lashed out at you in the field. It'd also worked to distract Jojo. Or at least he hoped it was a trick at that point, and not actual tears the Joestar had caused.

He didn't want you to realise it was a trick or where he'd picked it up from. The blonde huffs but you don't notice, continuing to speak even as he grows continually more and more done with the conversation.

"And just for future reference Dio, I don't have much of a temper but today you provoked me. If you ever hurt Erina again I'll kill you. Or at least, kick you really hard I'm obviously not gonna kill you that was just an empty threat I'm not gonna lie... actually I don't think I could kill you, I might actually be getting attached despite- oh. He left."

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Shoutout to Dio, here's a lesson on consent.

Consent is like fries.

Freely given
Reversible
Informed
Enthusiastic
Specific

Hope you enjoyed :DD