Chapter four, and episode four! Let's go!
By the way, what sort of Stand do you think you would have if you developed one? I'm curious to hear your ideas.
We stared each other down, either side ready to move at a moment's notice. The blonde Nijimura brother slowly reached down and grabbed hold of the shaft of the arrow.
"Don't you dare pull that arrow out!" Josuke yelled. "That'll just make him bleed more!"
The blonde man paused. "Because my brother is an idiot, I have to kill you now. Which means It won't be good if something happens to this arrow. If the lady next door sees it, or it snaps in half, that'd be bad news. I'm a very methodical type, you see, so I want to make sure the arrow is put away properly."
My eyes scanned the darkness as he talked; I could have sworn I'd seen a glint of light or something further down the hall...
"When you're listening to CDs, you probably put the first one away in its case before listening to the second one, right? Everyone's like that." He gripped the shaft tighter. "I'm like that too." He said casually before ripping the arrow out of Koichi's throat, causing the short freshman to cough up even more blood.
Josuke shot forward as I sent in Nerves of Steel, both of us trying to stop this maniac and get Koichi back.
"Oh? You're gonna come into this house?"
"Think before you speak! If I don't come in, I can't kick your ass and treat Koichi's wounds!"
I didn't get a word out before Okuyasu appeared behind me, wrapping an arm around my throat like Angelo had.
"Bro! I haven't lost yet! Hold off on attacking him!" His grip tightened. "We ain't finished yet!"
A bunch of glittering lights lit up in the darkness of the ceiling, catching both my eye and Josuke's. Josuke promptly dove to the side... and exposed me and Okuyasu.
I froze as the attack peppered both me and Okuyasu with holes as Nerves of Steel faded, a series of tiny dents littering its front. The pain... so much pain... I couldn't even describe it.
My body just gave out as I hit the floor, drifting off into the darkness...
I gasped and sat straight up, almost smacking my head into Josuke's. The delinquent backed off a bit, Crazy Diamond fading from view.
"Thank god, you're alive."
"Thank god, I'm alive!" I gasped before pausing to consider Josuke's words. I couldn't help but snort in laughter a bit; the only way that could have been better is if he'd said 'Your next line will be...'
I turned to say something to Josuke, but whatever it was was lost to me when I saw Okuyasu's hole-ridden face.
"What the hell is he doing here?" I hissed in anger. Josuke didn't answer me directly, instead turning to face our wounded foe.
"So... how about you tell us about your brother's Stand?"
When Okuyasu stayed silent, Josuke grabbed his lapels and began shaking him.
"Come on, tell me what his Stand really is! If you tell me, I'll treat your wounds!"
"Like hell... I'm gonna tell you... dumbass..." The injured student choked out, blood still seeping from his wounds.
"As I thought..." Josuke sighed.
"Are you surprised?" I asked bitterly, glaring down at Okuyasu.
Josuke slammed him back into the ground before standing up again, summoning Crazy Diamond. "Well then... guess I have no choice!"
The pink and blue Stand reared up before thrusting its hand down toward the student as I smirked - comeuppance was always sweet.
To my surprise, however, he didn't smash his face in - instead, he healed his wounds!
"What the hell?!" I demanded, shoving Josuke back. "He's an enemy, why the fuck would you heal him?!"
Josuke just brushed past me, heading back toward the door. "I'm going in there again, so just don't get in my way, Okuyasu." He turned to look back at us. "Koichi doesn't have much time!"
I growled in annoyance before rounding on Okuyasu. "Stay out of this, bastard, or I'll mess you up even more than your brother did."
We peeked inside the doorway, scanning the darkness for any movement. Going inside was dangerous, of that we were sure - but it was also the only way to save Koichi.
Our journey inside was brought to a halt, however, when Okuyasu yelled after us.
"Hey, wait a minute! Josuke... why did you heal my wounds?"
"To be honest, I'd like to know that too." I added. "But I'm willing to wait for an answer."
"I'll tell you both later." Josuke waved us off.
"I might attack you! I'm your enemy!"
"You think I haven't noticed?!" I hissed, holding up my left hand to show off my missing pinkie.
"You want a piece of me?" Josuke asked calmly.
"After I hear your answer! Why did you heal me?! I'm not very smart, so you'll have to tell me! And that wound on your hand!"
He pointed, drawing my attention to Josuke's blood-covered hand - when had that happened?
"You got that when you were pulling us outside, didn't you?"
Oh. That's when.
"I want to know why you went through all that to save me."
Josuke turned back around to face away from him. "There was no deep reason. 'There's no reason he has to die.' That's what I thought back there."
I stared after him for a minute before glancing at Okuyasu. He caught my eye before I huffed and followed after the protagonist.
Entering the house, we pressed ourselves up against the wall as we progressed down the hallway, hoping to avoid another attack as Josuke bandaged his hand. I peeked around the corner as he did that, eyes on the trail of blood.
"It leads upstairs." I whispered to him.
We ascended slowly, warily keeping an eye out for any more attacks from the shadows. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Okuyasu appeared behind us.
"Hey! I still have more questions!" He yelled.
"Sssshhhhhhh, shut the fuck up!" I hissed at him, fully prepared to break his nose if he startled me like that again. Or maybe I'd do it just because...
"What is your problem?!" Josuke demanded. "I'm begging you, just let me save Koichi!"
"Why?" Okuyasu demanded back, pointing a finger. "Why don't you use your Stand's power to fix your hand?! You should just fix it up like you did my face!"
I kept looking around warily as Josuke explained how Crazy Diamond couldn't heal its user - for all I knew, this jerkoff could be setting us up for an ambush from his brother!
"Let me say just one thing, Okuyasu: if Koichi dies, I don't know what I'll do to your brother. So don't hold it against me; it was your brother who caused all this trouble."
"If Koichi dies, I'm gonna tear the whole house down." I growled. "I can promise you that. I'm actively fighting the urge to do that right now."
We continued on our way, leaving Okuyasu standing there at the bottom of the stairs.
I peeked around first, being ahead of Josuke. "The trail leads into the room over there." I pointed.
We moved closer and crouched down on either side of the doorway. Josuke peeked around the corner first, followed by me.
Koichi lay, limp as a wet noodle, in the back of the room. This room, however, straight-up screamed 'ambush' to me - after all, why would his body be left here? And just far enough outside of Nerves of Steel's range that I would have to enter the room to grab him? Josuke was even worse, since his range was basically right beside him. If he wanted to heal the little guy, either he would have to enter the room, or I would. And we would have to do it soon - otherwise, Koichi would bleed out.
I steeled myself and prepared to walk inside... only for Okuyasu's arm to circle around my throat as The Hand grabbed hold of Josuke, ready to erase space.
"What?!"
"You fucker!" I hissed.
"Let the boss go, you bastard!"
Before the sentient armor could throw a punch, The Hand's right hand came down... and teleported Koichi's body to Josuke. I blinked in astonishment, doubly so when the fucker let me go.
"K... Koichi just..."
"Because I'm stupid, I just act on what's in my heart." He turned to walk away before looking back at Josuke. "Just once - just this once! - I'll repay my debt to you. I won't do anything else. I won't help out my bro, or do anything to either of you." He turned and finally began walking. "This is it."
Josuke smirked. "That's just great, Okuyasu."
Nerves and I stared after him. Hmm... maybe he's not as bad as I assumed... still didn't mean I fully trusted him, though.
He was quick to heal the hole in Koichi's throat, color beginning to return to his skin as his blood was replenished. He gasped as breath filled his lungs, his eyes flying wide.
"He lives!" I said with a smile, even as I glanced at the surrounding darkness.
"Hey, you were in great danger, Koichi." Josuke explained, smiling down at him. "Glad you came to. How many fingers am I holding up?"
"F-five." Koichi responded, rubbing his formerly-punctured neck. "I... I got my head trapped between the gates, and then... um... uh..."
"Don't worry about it - right now, we should worry about getting out of here." I spoke up.
"W-wait, where are we?"
"That dangerous situation we were in earlier isn't over yet, Koichi. I want to go down those stairs and out the front door, but I wonder if Okuyasu's brother will let us do that safely..."
I silently cursed as I realized he was right - whatever the brother's Stand was, it certainly seemed to like the shadows, and there were plenty of those bordering the stairs and the hall below us.
"Alright then, what do you recommend we do?"
Josuke's response was forgotten as he whipped around to stare at the shadows on the ceiling. "I heard something." He said quietly. "There is definitely something up there."
I peered into the darkness; I couldn't see anything, but I trusted Josuke on this one.
Standing up, the delinquent pulled out a lighter and lit it, illuminating the area enough for us to see a tiny, shadowy shape moving along the rafter. If I had blinked, I probably would have missed it.
"Something that small..." I murmured to myself. There was no way something so small had injured me and Okuyasu like that... Something felt off about all this.
"J-Josuke? Dan? What's going on?"
"We're in danger of getting killed, that's what's going on." I bluntly told him, still watching those shadows.
"W-what?! K-killed?!"
"Forget that; for now, just stick close to me." Josuke ordered, grabbing Koichi's arm and dragging him closer. Under almost any other circumstances, I would have joked about the nature of their relationship, but now was not the time.
Hiding Koichi behind his back, Josuke summoned Crazy Diamond. Having seen the pink-and-blue monstrosity's power, I felt more than comfortable letting it handle this... though, I still had a bad feeling...
The little thing popped up again, barely visible in the shadows.
"There you are!" Josuke yelled, Crazy Diamond launching itself forward to attack... only for dozens more of those little things to pop up. They looked like toy soldiers, pointing tiny weapons at us... but if they were the brother's Stand, they were freaking dangerous!
"What the hell?! There are a ton of them!" Josuke gasped before I shoved him aside... though his hand (and the lighter) were both riddled with bullet holes.
"It's like Nerves of Steel - multiple parts making up the whole!" I yelled at him as Koichi stared in horrified confusion.
Above us, all the little army men began parachuting down from the rafters. A few of them took more shots at us, blasting a small trail of holes in Josuke's ear and my arm - which stung like a bitch, jesus christ!
In defense, Crazy Diamond reappeared and began Stand Rushing the tiny soldiers, smashing a few of them into paste. This didn't seem to affect the rest, however.
"Like I said, many parts making up the whole thing!" I explained, Nerves of Steel moving to protect me.
"The boss is right - if you want to deal actual damage, you need to pulp more than a few of them!"
The army men began marching forward as Koichi demanded to know what was going on. Before we could reply, we heard the brother's voice, as if coming through a radio.
"Since Okuyasu decided to meddle and save that brat, my plan's been derailed. But they won't be leaving this house, nor will they leave my Stand, Bad Company's, battlefield!"
"Bad Company?"
"Yeah, I can see why!" I grimaced, glancing at my wounds.
"All units, halt!" They did as instructed and stopped. "Ready, aim..."
As one, the front row of tiny figures kneeling down as they all raised their rifles.
"Shit!" I cursed as Nerves braced itself.
"Fire!"
They all opened fire at once as we all began to run. Nerves of Steel took the worst of it; I could feel hundreds of tiny, harmless taps all over my chest as my living armor tanked their shots. We had to dive out of the way as the door we'd just slammed shut behind us smashed into splinters on account of the number of new holes ventilating it.
"So... any bright ideas?" I asked as Josuke rolled to the side to avoid a line of tiny-but-powerful bullets.
"The windows! Koichi, Dan, this is the second floor, but we're gonna bust through those windows and dive out!"
"Certainly beats staying here and dying a horrible death!" I replied as Koichi gaped in shock.
Josuke, however, paused as glints of light began showing in the darkness.
"I guess I was a bit naive," he muttered to himself as small helicopters slowly emerged from the dark.
"Fuck... looks like the little guys have got air support." I said as Nerves again moved in front of me.
I was blindsided, however, when Koichi suddenly yelled, "Look out, there's a tank!"
Thankfully, Nerves of Steel managed to block the shot from hitting me as Josuke was yanked out of the way by Koichi - though I was sent stumbling back with a grunt of pain as the force dented the chestplate. Think I might have cracked a rib or two...
The ensuing barrage of missiles and shells would probably have ended my run in the Jojo-verse if Crazy Diamond hadn't appeared to counter them in a blaze of flaming, explosive glory.
"You're right, they have tanks..." Josuke murmured to himself. "Koichi, be caref- wait, what?!"
I glanced back at them as Josuke looked at Koichi.
"W-what did you just say, Koichi? Can you see them?!"
My eyes widened - if he had warned Josuke about the tanks... that meant he could see them. And given what the brother said about that arrow...
"Y-yeah, I'm not sure what's going on, but I can see them."
"D-does this mean he has a Stand?" I asked, glancing back at the miniature army in front of us.
"Oh? So the little shrimp has the power to use a Stand now?"
We all stiffened as a man who could only be Okuyasu's brother spoke up, standing behind Bad Company. I scowled; while he was just barely within Nerves of Steel's range, it would also leave me defenseless against the barrage of firepower they would certainly unleash on me the moment I tried. And while I had confidence in Crazy Diamond, I honestly didn't think he could block everything...
"Well now... you've got some guts, showing yourself like that." Josuke spoke up - right before Crazy Diamond appeared and whipped its arm forward, launching a pair of nails Josuke had secretly pried from the wall at the man's head. They flew through the air - only for them to be blasted to pieces by Bad Company before they could get close to the brother.
"My Stand, Bad Company, has unbreakable defense. It's an army that won't let any invader leave alive. I'm sure you want to beat me..." He chuckled. "But I can tell you right now your Crazy Diamond's attacks will never reach me. And you..." His gaze turned to me as he smirked. "While that Stand of yours can probably reach me, I'm quite sure you are much less durable than it is."
I grit my teeth as I glared right back at him.
"Look! Don't you see my army's beautiful formation? It feels so good when they're all so beautifully together... though I'm a bit pissed off that their formation is a little off, since you killed two or three of them."
"I would have killed more if I had the chance." I grumbled.
"Well, you're certainly methodical. You came out here just to explain that?" Josuke asked.
"No. The reason I came out here is to watch you, brat." He pointed his finger at Koichi.
"M-me?!"
"That's right. Koichi, was it? It seems, despite my expectations, you had the aptitude to be a Stand User."
I didn't dare mention how it was only because of Josuke that Koichi had survived; who knew what can of worms that might open? This guy could try and hold Josuke hostage to heal any victims of the arrow to make sure they get a Stand, and I had the feeling an outcome like that would probably derail the whole story.
"Make your Stand appear right now, and show me what it can do." The brother demanded. "You might have the ability that I've been looking for. If you have that ability, I'll let you live."
"B-but..." Koichi stammered, overwhelmed.
"The ability you're looking for?" Josuke glanced at our little friend. "What the hell are you after?"
"You're in no position to be asking questions, Josuke!" The brother roared; I twitched a bit as I heard a series of tiny clicks coming from all the tiny army men; that sounded like thay'd switched their safeties off... if there was such a thing on those guns of theirs. "My decision to kill you and Dan hasn't changed! Be thankful you two get to live longer!"
I kept scanning the room, trying to find a way out of this, as Josuke spoke up.
"That's just great."
"Hey, what're you doing?" The brother demanded, returning to glaring at Koichi. "Bring out your Stand, brat!"
"S-Stand? I have no idea what's going on..."
"Like we said, we'll explain later." I told him, still staring down the miniature army. "For now, see if you can bring it out, even a little."
"Oh? It's your first time? I see. Fine! Josuke, Dan, show him how to make a Stand appear!" The brother yelled.
"Huh?" Josuke and I asked in sync, blinking in surprise.
"Crazy Diamond's Range is less than one meter, and Nerves of Steel can't move without Dan being turned into swiss cheese. If his ability can compensate for either of yours, you might be able to escape my Bad Company."
"True." Josuke said with a smirk. "It'd be great it if was a Stand that could kick your ass."
"Seconded." I chimed in.
"Alright, getting your Stand to come out is easy, Koichi. You just need to feel like you want to protect yourself, or you want to kick his ass. The rest is just instinct."
"That's how you do it?" I asked, glancing over. "I summon mine by picturing what it looks like."
Josuke ignored me and kept talking. "Do that, and a Stand unique to your mentality should come out."
"W-wait! I can't understand all this out of nowhere!"
"You don't understand?" The brother asked. "Then I guess we'll just have to put you in a situation that makes you!"
Both Josuke and I tensed, watching to see what move his army would make.
"Do it, Green Beret!"
My eyes snapped back to Koichi when he yelled in pain, a small spray of blood erupting from a fresh wound on his cheek. I felt something in the air shift - right before a green-speckled egg appeared in the air above Koichi, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
"Is... is that it?" I asked, staring blankly.
"H-hey, Koichi, try moving it."
"Move what?" Koichi asked, his eyes still closed as he winced in pain from the cuts in his cheek.
"Your Stand! Try and do something with it!" I told him, still staring at the egg.
"S-Stand? Wait, I made this appear?!"
"What happens after this? What kind of abilities does this egg-shaped thing have?"
"Abilities? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this is all I can do! This is it!"
"I'm gonna call bullshit on that, but hopefully you can figure it out fast." I spoke up, glancing back at the brother, who was watching the egg with a calculating look.
"That's enough! That's all I need to know!" The brother suddenly began shouting. "All units, battle positions!"
"Shit! Koichi, either get that thing moving or get it out of here!" I cursed. "If that thing breaks, so will you!"
"I-I don't know how!"
"Commence attack!"
Josuke reacted first, Crazy Diamond appearing with a shout to knock the egg aside, sending Koichi flying as he followed after his Stand, followed by a Stand Cry and another flurry of blows to try and block all the tiny bullets heading our way. Nerves of Steel did its best to act like my shield, partially phasing through me to ensure the best coverage.
It didn't do much good as the two of us were thrown through the wall behind us from the sheer force of the attacks.
"Owww..." I groaned as I stood back up; while Nerves of Steel made for a good shield, it certainly didn't make for a good pillow.
"Sorry boss, but it was this or potential impalement."
"Hey, Okuyasu's big bro." Josuke called out, sitting up painfully. "If you're going to use an attack flashy enough to destroy the house, I'm gonna do the same."
He stood up, Crazy Diamond appearing beside him as the brother began to walk forward. "Let's make this just great."
Nerves of Steel and I both got up and prepared to fight, all four fists raised.
"Josuke Higashikata... is it true that you hate it when anyone says something insulting about your hair?"
My eyes widened. "Oh, shit..."
"Why don't you try and insult it? Just to test that out." Josuke said, his glare magnifying itself.
"No, there's no need. Because I'm going to declare that I'll blow off the head that your hair sits on, before moving on to your friend. Because if you're dead, you can't heal him!"
I tensed up at that.
"First, my Bad Company going to shoot your legs. You won't be able to run away then. Next, we'll damage your arm. Then you won't be able to guard yourself. And then, I declare I'm going to blow your brains out, along with your hair. Should Dan try to interfere, I'll fill him with holes."
"I see. That's a flawless plan..." Josuke smirked. "...if you ignore the fact that it's impossible!"
"I'm very methodical, you see." The brother continued. "If I say I'll do something in a certain order, I will. That's what a declaration is."
Behind the man, I saw Koichi start to stand up and begin sneaking toward the man while his back was turned. He froze up in terror, however, when Okuyasu's brother turned around to look right at him.
"I'm very interested in your Stand, so I won't kill you just yet." He declared before backhanding Koichi away from him.
This seemed to be the catalyst we'd all been waiting for, as Josuke roared "You bastard!" before charging forward.
"All units, charge!"
The space was suddenly filled with tiny bullets and missiles; despite my wish to try and help Josuke, I was practically pinned against the wall as Nerves of Steel protected me. I could feel the bullets pinging off my Stand's body, dozens every moment, as Josuke continued walking forward, Crazy Diamond throwing punches at a crazy rate to protect its user.
"Just like Moses, who parted the Red Sea and walked across its floor, I'm gonna make my way through this army and beat you down!" Josuke declared as he continued his approach. This declaration, however, was met with laughter.
"You fool! My plan is going exactly as I have declared!"
The next step of Josuke's caused a small explosion, sending him to his knees from the attack. I hadn't seen what happened, so what the hell did this guy just do?!
"First, damage to your legs!" He crowed. "And now, Apaches, fire your missiles!"
The helicopters followed his orders and launches several missiles each. Several were slapped away by Crazy Diamond, but several that had lagged behind suddenly impacted the Stand's arm, the damage transferring to Josuke as his own awm was practically disabled.
"Josuke!" I yelled as I lunged forward, the hail of bullets having subsided for a moment. Unfortunately enough, I fell victim to the same thing Josuke had moments before - a landmine, cleverly placed by one of the army men while I was protecting myself. I dropped to the ground as Nerves positioned itself in front of me, still trying to protect me however it could.
The brother began to gloat as he stood over Josuke. "First your legs, then your arm. It feels so good when things go as I've declared. Now let's see if you can stay in one piece as my Bad Company fires all its shells, missiles, and rounds into that damaged arm of yours! You've lost, Josuke Higashikata!"
I felt something snap as I thrust my hand forward, mentally commanding Nerves of Steel to separate; the chestplate, the largest piece, stayed behind to act as my shield while the rest shot forward and towards the brother. The brother's eyes widened as Bad Company's bullets failed to shoot down the projectiles, before a steel boot smashed into his shin, breaking the bone before the other pieces began to swarm around him like a tornado of glinting metal and brute force. Each hit caused him to jerk in pain, but he somehow maintained his composure enough to have Bad Company turn its guns toward me. I flinched back the tiniest bit, knowing what was to come, but kept up the assault.
It wasn't until a pair of missiles - the same missiles that impacted Crazy Diamond's arm - fixed themselves in midair and began to speed toward the blonde man, whose eyes widened even further as I called back all the pieces of my Stand, that I knew this fight was finished.
The resulting explosion blew out the remaining windows in the room, sending glass shards raining down into the street below. The wall behind us had a large hole, courtesy of the earlier attacks that Crazy Diamond had deflected.
"Did you forget?" Josuke asked the charred and broken form of the brother. "My Crazy Diamond can repair what's been destroyed."
"Not to mention, Nerves of Steel isn't just a single being." I added, said Stand helping me to... well, stand. "It's a group acting as a single unit... just like your Bad Company."
It it isn't blatantly obvious yet, my plan for this story is posting one chapter per episode - though I may add a little filler here and there, I'm not sure yet.
As for the lateness of this chapter, it was mainly because I kept getting distracted by schoolwork and my piece-of-junk computer kept crapping out on me, which made both writing and watching the source material rather hard.