Another school day has passed. After Josuke told his friends that he had joined the Literature Club, they told him to meet them at the café after his meeting. After they said goodbye, he made his way over to the clubroom.
"Hi again, Josuke!" Monika greeted him. "Glad to see you didn't run away on us. Hahaha!"
"Of course not," said Josuke. He was the last one so everyone was just hanging out. Man, she's really cute… What?
"Thanks for keeping your promise, Josuke," Yuri began. "I hope this isn't too overwhelming of a commitment for you. Making you dive headfirst into literature when you're not accustomed to it…"
Natsuki appeared and said, "Oh, come on! Like he deserves any slack. You already had to be dragged here by Monika. I don't know if you come here just to hang out, or what, but if you don't take us seriously, then you won't hear the end of it."
For a moment, Josuke thought that he saw an electrical surge from one of the lights overhead. He thought that he saw a familiar tail while Natsuki sat down after arguing with Monika.
Yuri then got his attention. "Sorry about that, Josuke. We'll make sure to put your comfort first, okay?" She then shot a disappointed glance at Natsuki. "Um, anyway… Now that you're in the club and all… perhaps you might have interest in picking up a book to read?"
This seems a bit odd… Why does it feel strange for Yuri to act a bit more confident than usual? "… I guess so."
Her eyes lit up. "Well, since I am the Vice President and all, I thought that I should help you get started on something you might like." She reached into her bag and pulled out a book. "I didn't want you to feel left out so I picked out a book that you might enjoy. It's a short read, so it should keep your attention, even if you don't usually read. And we could, you know…" Yuri looked at him shyly. "Discuss it… if you want…"
There it is. This feels more normal… But why does it seem like I've done this before? Maybe I read this book before for school? "… Wow. Thanks, Yuri!" Josuke said as he took the book.
She sighed in relief. "Well, you can read it at your own pace. I look forward to hearing what you think."
Everyone had now settled in. Josuke was expecting Monika to kick off some activity for the club, but that didn't seem to be the case. Yuri had her face buried in a book, and Natsuki was rummaging around in the closet.
… Now that I'm alone, what was that thing I saw? Josuke slowly approached the light that surged earlier. As he got closer, an eye emerged from the light… followed by another eye and an orange beak. An entire yellow entity appeared to spawn from the light, crackling with electricity.
"Josuke!" it called to him.
"WHAT?! YOU ESCAPED?! HOW?! CRAZY DIAMOND!" Josuke yelled as he saw the Stand Red Hot Chili Pepper before him. He activated his own Stand and attacked it.
"DORARARARARA!"
Instead of the punches hitting its target, they went right through it. Josuke blinked, and the Stand was gone. He franticly looked all around the room to see where it went. There was no trace of it, but all he saw was three concerned and frightened looks from three girls. He retracted Crazy Diamond.
After a moment of silence, Yuri asked, "A-Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah… I'm fine. I just… I… Uh…" Josuke began to sweat nervously and he tried to come up with an excuse. He then ran for the door. "I just need to go to the bathroom!" he called out before he left.
Josuke washed his face in the bathroom sink and looked in the mirror.
"What the hell was that?" he asked himself. "I know I just saw Red Hot Chili Pepper. But it wasn't there? I know that it can't move that fast. Also, this school is far away from the prison Akira is held. His Stand's range is definitely not that far."
He wiped his face with a paper towel and fixed his hair before he left.
On his way back to the clubroom, Josuke still continued to think. What if what I saw was a hallucination? Just like when I saw… Kira yesterday. This could be from a Stand ability…
He began to feel uneasy about going back into the club. What if one of them is the user…?
Josuke entered the clubroom for the second time that day.
Monika approached him. "Are you okay, Josuke? You gave us quite a scare earlier."
"Yeah, are you feeling well?" Natsuki asked, standing beside Monika. "I was beginning to think that you weren't coming back."
"Did something scare you? Ah-! I… hope it wasn't from the book…" Yuri muttered, behind both of them.
He was taken aback. Josuke wasn't expecting all three of them approach him at once. He was considering to talk with each of them one at a time to see if they were suspicious. He began to sweat nervously. "I-I'm fine. I just didn't feel too well for a moment."
"Oh? Is that so?" Yuri began to walk towards him, a hand stretched out to feel his forehead.
Josuke gently pushed her hand away and said, "I'm fine! There's no need to worry."
Yuri immediately blushed and tried to hide herself in her long hair. "O-Oh my… Did I really just… S-Sorry…"
"It's alright, Yuri," he reassured her.
The club members dispersed once again to go back to what they were doing.
Say, I might be able to use this time to get to know each of them to see if they are the user. But who first…? … How about Yuri? She was the one acting the most strange out of all of them today.
Josuke decided to pursue Yuri. He walked up to her as she sat down in her desk. "Hey, Yuri, I was just wondering… if maybe… you… wanted to… read the book together," he fumbled with his words, trying to piece them together to come up with an excuse to spend time with her.
She began to blush. "Oh… A-Are you sure? You really don't have to…"
"It's fine, Yuri. I was also wondering what the story is about."
"Well…" She looked at the back of the book to make sure that she wouldn't spoil anything. The book was called A Portrait of Markov. "Basically, it's about this religious camp that was turned into a human experiment prison, and the people trapped there have this trait that turns them into killing machines that lust for blood. But the facility gets even worse, and they start selectively breeding people by cutting off their limbs and affixing them to- O-Oh, that might be a bit of a spoiler… But anyway, I-I'm really into it! … The book, I mean! N-Not the thing about the limbs… That's kind of…"
Dark. What the hell?! She made it sound like it was going to be a fun read, but now it sounds like something Kira would read in his spare time! Yuri doesn't seem like the type of person who'd be into that stuff.
"Ah-! Are you not a fan of that sort of thing, Josuke?" she asked.
"Uh… Well… I just thought that… that trait thing sounds like some sort of Stand," he mumbled at the last part.
Yuri looked at him, confused. "… Like a what?"
"Ah, it's nothing! I just thought that it's was some possession or something…"
"Oh… Anyway, it's just that kind of story…" she began. "It's the kind that challenges you to look at life from a strange new perspective. When horrible things happen not just because someone wants to be evil… But because the world is full of horrible people, and we're all worthless anyway. Then, suddenlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy- I'm… I'm rambling, aren't I?"
Josuke jumped back slightly when Yuri shifted her tone. What the hell?! Is she going crazy or something? I can tell that she isn't the user since she didn't seem to have any idea about what a Stand is. "I-It's fine, Yuri…"
She remained quiet for a moment before saying, "I feel like I should let you know that I have this problem… When I let things like books and writing fill my thoughts… my whole body gets incredibly- I kind of forget to pay attention to other people… So I'm sorry if I end up saying something strange! And please stop me if I start talking too much!"
I can tell… She probably isn't the user, but she may have been affected by the Stand as well. I don't know why, but just seeing her act like this just seems off… "Right… So, do you want to read the book now?"
Josuke got his book then sat down at the desk next to her. He then slid it closer to her desk and opened the book so it was between them. She hesitantly agreed and held on to the other side of the book. They read for quite some time before Josuke noticed something strange.
Yuri's a bit fidgety since we started reading… "You can rest if you're feeling sick or something," he said concerned. "Your breathing is a little…"
"My breathing…?" Yuri asked as she put her hand to her chest, possibly to feel her heartbeat. "I-I didn't even notice… Anyway, I'm fine!" She nervously laughed. "I just need some water…!"
"… Okay. Don't push yourself."
Yuri then stood up and rushed out of the room. Seeing this, Monika approached Josuke.
"Josuke? Did something happen just now?"
He blinked as he thought about what did just happen. "I have no idea… Yuri was acting a little strange, I guess…"
"So you don't know anything…Well, I'm sure it's fine. Yuri just does this sometimes, so it's nothing alarming."
Monika then decided to start sharing poems, even though Yuri was still out. Josuke hadn't written anything new. He had just found a poem that he probably wrote for school last year, called Best Friend. As he shared his poem with Monika, Yuri entered and they all continued sharing. Everything went on as normal from that point on… until Natsuki and Yuri began to argue.
"I didn't realize you were so invested in trying to impress our new member, Yuri," Josuke heard Natsuki say.
"Eh? That's not what I… Uh…" Yuri stuttered. "You… You're just… Maybe you're just jealous that Josuke appreciates my advice more than he appreciated yours!"
"Huh?! And how do you know he didn't appreciate my advice more? Are you that full of yourself?"
"No. If I was full of myself, I would deliberately go out of my way to make everything I do overly cutesy!"
"Well, you know what?! I wasn't the one whose boobs magically grew a size bigger as soon as Josuke started showing up!"
Wait, whaaaaaat…?! Josuke's eyes widened.
Monika tried to intervene as Yuri became incredibly embarrassed, but she was told to butt out.
Yuri began to talk back. "Taking out your own insecurities on others like that… You really act as young as you look, Natsuki."
Natsuki responded, "Me? Look who's talking, you wannabe edgy bitch!"
Time began to speed up around Josuke.
For a second, a priest in Florida had a dream where he saw what looked like a half centaur next to a holy diver.
Whoa… How did this-
"Edgy…? Sorry that my lifestyle is too much for someone of your mental age to comprehend!"
"See? Just saying that proves my point! Most people learn to get over themselves after they graduate middle school, you know."
"If you want to prove anything, then stop harassing others with your sickening attitude! You think you can counterbalance your toxic personality just by dressing and acting cute? The only cute thing about you is how hard you try."
"Whoa, be careful or you might cut yourself on that edge, Yuri. Oh, my bad… You already do, don't you?"
… What? The? Hell?
"D-Did you just accuse me of cutting myself? What the fuck is wrong with your head?!"
"Yeah, go on! Let Josuke hear everything you really think! I'm sure he'll be head over heels for you after this!"
"A-Ah!" Suddenly Yuri turns toward Josuke. "Josuke…! She- She's just trying to make me look bad…!"
"That's not true! She started it!"
Time had sped up so quickly for Josuke. His vision had become quite blurry and he felt a bit dizzy. Those two girls looked at him as though they were waiting for him to side with one of them. But… he couldn't. He couldn't stand it. Finding a Stand user or not… He can't put up with this right now. He had to get out of there… NOW!
"Uh… I don't feel too well, actually. I might come back tomorrow…? Bye."
And with that, Josuke bolted out the door, running faster than he could remember. He was frightened. Terrified, even. He ran straight to the café to tell the others what he saw.
What the fuck was all that?! Who is the user? Just what IS this Stand?!
"Hey, here comes Josuke!" Okuyasu exclaims.
"Remember," Koichi began to whisper. "Let's not yet mention about last week to Josuke. He would most likely deny anything we tell him."
They all nodded just as Josuke ran up to the table, completely out of breath and confused when he saw both Rohan and Yukako.
"Hah… Hah… Hey guys… Hah…" Josuke panted.
"Hey, you don't look to well," Rohan said.
"Yeah, did you run all the way here? I didn't think the club usually ended at this time…" Yukako added.
Koichi looked concerned. "Josuke… Did something happen?"
Josuke had pulled up a chair and was catching his breath. "Did something happen…?! I've never been more scared in my life!"
They all looked puzzled and worried.
"I saw some of the craziest things…!" he continued.
"… Like what?" Okuyasu asked.
"I saw Kira."
All of them immediately froze. That name belonged to one of the most evil people they had even known. They knew about the horrible deeds that he had done in his life. Reimi… Shigechi… And even ruining Hayato's home life. Not to mention, the terrifying power his Stand, Killer Queen, had.
"When?" Okuyasu quietly asked.
"Yesterday," Josuke answered. "I thought I saw him, but when I looked again I only saw Monika."
"It's her! She's the Stand user!" The Hand's user announced.
"Oh please, Okuyasu. I highly doubt that Monika of all people would be a Stand user. Plus, that's not even all of it…"
They looked up in surprise.
"M-More?" Koichi asked.
"Yeah. I also saw Red Hot Chili Pepper come out of a lightbulb. I tried to attack it, but when I looked again nothing was there. And just before I left, Yuri and Natsuki were arguing."
"That doesn't sound too bad. The last part, I mean," Rohan said.
"Yeah… but when Natsuki said that Yuri cuts herself, everything sped up… literally."
They looked confused and turned to Yukako.
She looked horrified. "She said WHAT?! Yuri would never do that! Sure she has a knife collection, but she would never use them on herself…"
"Wait," Josuke stopped her. "You know Yuri? And… she has… a knife collection…?"
Yukako nodded. "Yeah. We began friends last year. I actually got to know her when I asked about one of the cool looking knives she brought to school."
Josuke's stomach sank. This is great… I should be careful around her then. "Well, do you know if she's a Stand user?"
"Yuri? Of course not!"
"… Well, I don't think I completely trust her… Did she seem off to you?"
"Ah… Um… I didn't actually see her that much today. I tried to find her at lunch, but I couldn't find her."
"What about Natsuki, Josuke," Okuyasu suddenly interrupted. "What about her? Did anything seem off? Did you see another bruise?"
Josuke blinked as he turned to his friend. "… Bruise? What are you talking about?"
"Josuke, you joined the Literature Club last week. You and… Sayori…"
"Okuyasu!" Koichi yelled. "S-Sorry, Josuke! Okuyasu is still trying to get you with that one-"
"No, Koichi! He needs to know! This Stand has been able to make him forget an entire week! Now he's telling us it's making him see things! He needs to know. How could he forget that he determined that Yuri isn't a Stand user and that Natsuki came over to his house? What happened when she came over? What do you remember?! Tell us!"
Josuke stood up. "What the hell are you talking about?! I've forgotten an entire week? That's a load of crap! No Stand ability can be that effective! Quit trying to mess with my head, Okuyasu!"
"I told you…" Koichi mumbled.
"HOW COULD YOU FORGET SAYORI, JOSUKE?!" Okuyasu yelled as he stood up, tearing beginning to form in his eyes. "We may have only walked to school together for just a few days, but she was our friend! You must have known what happened to her!"
Josuke backed up a bit. "What? Who is-?"
"SAYORI IS DEAD, JOSUKE! DID SHE KILL HERSELF OR NOT?!"
Everyone turned to look at Josuke.
His eyes were wide as he responded, "You… You're all crazy! This is probably still the Stand ability… I can't trust anyone… I'm out."
All of a sudden, Josuke was launched back from being punched in the face by a blue and silver hand. He covered his nose as he felt blood coming out of it.
"Why didn't you save her…?" Okuyasu asked, a tear rolling down his face as The Hand stood behind him.
Josuke stood up and ran off. Koichi covered his mouth, Rohan face-palmed and Yukako looked away.
"Look at what you've done," Rohan began. "You freaked him out. Why are all of you so difficult to work with?"
Okuyasu stood silently for a moment before he just walked away.
"I guess we're back to square one…" Koichi sighed.
-To Be Continued