"I repeat, Tohka is currently on the run! I'm chasing her right now!"
Fraxinus' crew was currently looking at the situation below, as they were analyzing every bit and detail of every happening so far. Kotori gritted her teeth, the stick of her lollipop being bent in the process. Kannazuki assisted in the process, analyzing the current mobilization of the AST before looking back at the captain.
"AST has currently mobilized 10 units, with Tobichii in it, with heavy equipment," the vice commander looked at the screen, his eyes peering at every detail, "They're not going nice this time, commander! Nakatsugawa, have you contacted Cujoh and Higashikata already?!"
The otaku straightened his glasses as he glanced back, "They're ready to come here, all we need is their coordinates!"
"Then do it now! We don't have much time before the AST barges in! Minowa, Shiizaki, get their positions now!" Kotori commanded at the crew.
"Roger!" The two said in unison, as they started to work on their holographic panels.
"Mikimoto, Kawagoe and Reine, give me an analysis report for the conversation later. We need to know who our Spirit is!"
The other three sounded off and nodded, as they quickly went to their work. The large, front screen was then changed to the oncoming squadron, as Kannazuki looked back at the commander. His eyes filled with cold-hearted determination.
"Permission?" He asked firmly.
"Denied," Kotori waved it off, "Last thing we need is a cover blown."
"Commander!" Nakatsugawa shouted, "We have successfully teleported both Cujoh and Higashikata at the ship! Orders!?"
"Tell them to come immediately, and await for future instructions!"
Another wave of affirmation sounded off from the crew.
"Miyazaki, any reports about Tohka!?"
The speakers then started to spout static, before something intelligible was heard, "-I'm currently tailing her as we speak. She's going to the general direction where Shido and the Spirit is!"
Kotori gritted her teeth, "Capture her immediately without the use of even mild violence, understood!?"
"Got it!"
The conversation ended, with Kotori assessing the situation once more. For the first time on her helm in Fraxinus, except in combat situations, was the crew ever so energetic and focused on their work. The moment she threw away what was left of the lollipop's stick in her mouth, the door opened as it revealed both Josuke and Jolyne panting in beside her.
"Is it the Spirit?!" Jolyne asked, her legs bent as she caught her breath.
"Obviously," she replied, grabbing another lollipop from her red uniform's breast pocket, "You'll be here in this ship on stand-by, since the situation is currently under control."
"Yeah," Josuke looked at the screen, with the AST ever ready, "the government also has a good idea with it."
"Save your compliments later!" Kotori shrugged the two off, "Right now, we have to help Shido in his capture! Oi, Shido, are you still there?!"
The speakers started to produce noise again, before Shido's voice was heard, "Yeah, but I don't think 'Yoshino's' have the patience to talk with me!"
"You can find some other way, Shido," she waved her off.
"Mind you she's currently throwing-" a sound of something shattering was heard, "Crap! Are you sure Miyazaki's coming right now?!"
"Just wait it out, Shido!" As the screen switched with Miyazaki tailing Tohka, "Better if you start talking to her directly!"
"Oh really now-"
The conversation was cut off as another sound of something shattering echoed through the speakers. Kotori gulped, as she looked again at the screen, with three different views showing their exact situation.
"Sorry, Shido, but you're on your own for now."
Chapter 9
The Hermit II
"Is she coming anytime sooner?!" Shido spouted at his earpiece, still hiding at the shelf that was currently illuminated by his phone.
"I don't think so, since she also has to deal with Tohka," Kotori's voice stated.
"Tokha?! What about Tohka?!"
"I know that Hermit is top priority, but we can't risk having Tohka getting caught up in this situation. Right now, you have to talk to her directly. We have no- wait, Nakatsugawa has an idea. Patch it through."
"Shido, you hear me?" Nakatsugawa's voice replaced Kotori's, "How about you give her your earpiece?"
"Uh… why though?" Shido raised his brow at him.
"If she does want to know that Miyazaki's fine, then we have to show proof to her. Her voice might be enough, but at least it's a gamble. She's not that stupid enough, Shido."
"I know! But, it's too risky!"
"Either you prolong and let the AST handle this or at least get a chance to talk to her," Kotori said, "Your choice. The only thing that Jolyne and Josuke could ever do is assist you so far, and that means not fighting her."
"Alright, alright," he stood up, "But don't say that I warned you."
He was still in the department store, and his Stand, Day to Story, still pointing at the same direction where Hermit was supposed to be, or rather 'Yoshino'. He inhaled and exhaled, as he steeled himself in raising his voice.
"Yoshino!" He shouted, his voice echoed, "I have a way to let you know that Miyazaki's safe!"
"Oh, really?" The raspy voice said sarcastically, "I hope it's not a prerecorded thingamajig!"
"No, it's not," he walked out from the aisle, grabbing his phone as well as pointed it out to where the Hermit was, "I have an earpiece right now that directly contacts Miyazaki. I can do this for you, but you also have to make sure that you talk afterwards."
Silence fell at the department store, as Shido waited for her response.
"Alright then," the voice replied, "But remember, we can do whatever we want if you're lying."
His Stand's finger then started to go down, as he heard a fall from about a few meters away. Day to Story then immediately whispered her current distance, to which Shido appreciated as the Stand lowers its arm as the Spirit approaches him. Yoshino still wore the same thing during that incident, but the left hand that belonged to her puppet was currently raised up.
"So, where is it?"
Instead of the Spirit talking, it was her own puppet that did it. However, Shido didn't had to put that one line that might've cost him his chance at sealing her, as he remembered his conversation with Miyazaki.
'Yoshino is introverted. Like, really, really introverted. I don't know the reason why, but at least I managed to teach her some stuff. By the way, do not ever refer to her puppet as an act of 'ventriloquism'. That's… actually, I nearly died from saying that to her. Just don't, please. The big difference of the two? 'Yoshinon' is really assertive.'
"Wait a sec, Yoshinon."
He plucked the red earpiece out from his ear, as his hand extended to a mouth wide-open by Yoshino.
"Hey, hey," the puppet pointed its hand at him, "Since when did you know that I'm 'Yoshinon'? Actually, what did you do to Ayumi-oneechan just to know our names?"
"Seriously, your answers are here," he placed the earpiece at one of the rabbit's hand, to which it held with both of its hands.
"I hope this doesn't explode, mister!" The rabbit commented, as it placed the earpiece on her left ear.
Unbeknownst to her, the earpiece was currently on a loud-speaker function. It won't affect the Spirit's ears, as the speaker itself was built to where it wouldn't be stuffed on. Static soon came in, before he heard the rain from the speakers.
"Ayumi-oneechan, are you there?" The rabbit talked towards the earpiece, waiting for a response.
"Yoshino?!" Miyazaki said in surprise, "Wait, what happened to Shido?!"
"Oh, you mean mister pervert here?" The rabbit doll talked again, much to Shido's chagrin, "Don't worry, he gave us this earpiece just to know if you're okay!"
"Is that so? I guess it works. But, I'm sorry, Yoshino. Ayumi-oneechan has a problem right now."
"What do you mean by that?" The rabbit looked at him with its mouth wide-open, its head tilted, "Are you saying that you're still in their prison?!"
"No, not that. Yoshino, I can go to where you are right now. It's just that I have a little, insy-bitsy trouble."
"And that is?"
"You see- Wait, is that-"
Static soon filled the earpiece, as Shido's phone rang. He unlocked the phone to see a message from Kotori, more likely an urgency from her part.
"Shido, we don't have much time left. AST is currently interfering with radio and light transmissions. You are on your own right now. We can't risk putting Josuke and/or Jolyne there since the last thing we need is for them to be 'branded' as traitors."
Shido gulped in response, realizing his situation as the rabbit puppet pulled out the red earpiece and extended its paws at him, with earpiece on both hands. The teenager grabbed the earpiece in silence, placing it back to his ear, which was filled with only erratic noise, as he looked back at Yoshino.
"Well, mister," the rabbit talked again, "I hope you understand that we're still worried with Ayumi-oneechan."
"I understand," he shifted the earpiece in his left ear, "Well, I don't have anything else to do other than to talk to you."
"Hmm, you sure are bold to ask me out, mister," the rabbit said, as Shido raised his brow, "Anyway, who are you? Points to make sure that we can trust you with Ayumi-oneechan, mister."
Just as Shido was about to say it, he hesitated for a bit. Yoshinon tilted her head in his dumbfounded stupor.
"Well, what is it?" The rabbit asked again.
"Shido," he said with a sigh, "Itsuka Shido."
"Is that so?" The rabbit clamped its paws together, "Well, Shido-san, what are you going to do now?"
"Talk to you, of course," he sat at a nearby box, "I do have to say one thing to you first-"
"Before that, how about you watch this!"
The little girl immediately jumped to the top of a mannequin's head, to which she only used her left leg to balance herself. Shido immediately stood up in his worry, as the girl wiggled along as she balanced herself from the delicate plastic figure.
"What do you think, Shido-kun?" The rabbit talked in her stead, "Don't you think that it's cool?"
"It's not going to be cool if you fall down!" Shido insisted, as the Hermit still continued to balance herself atop.
"C'mon," the girl tried to lean towards him as the mannequin wobbled, "just tell me if it's cool or not-"
In a sudden obvious manner, the little girl tumbled from the mannequin, falling down atop of Shido. In that very instant, Shido sighed as he willed Day to Story to life. The Stand immediately caught her with both of its arms, keeping it afloat as the girl was confused as to why she is currently flying a few inches above the ground.
"Woah!" The rabbit said in amazement, its two paws touching its body, "I'm flying! What's happening right now-"
She cancelled that line as her feet softly touched the ground, with his Stand fading away from his vision. The girl looked at herself and to her puppet rabbit, to which she looked at Shido with an open mouth.
"Did you do that, Shido-kun?" The rabbit asked, its paws pointing at him.
"…What do you mean?" He raised his brow, "You can fly, can you?"
"Oh, this silly me?" The rabbit 'crossed' its paws, shaking its head, "I don't think I can do that without my lovely Angel, Shido-kun. Do you want to see it?"
"Ehh…" Shido shook his head, "I think I don't want to."
"Whaaat?" The rabbit leaned towards him, "You don't want to? Now that's just not cool, Shido-kun!"
"Seriously," Shido straightened his face, "I'm not here for that. I'm here for you."
"Really?" The rabbit placed its paws on its face, "But that means I'm still showing you who I am, Shido."
"T-that's beside the point…"
"If that's the case," the rabbit leaned on him again, "then how about we talk about you, Shido-kun?"
"About me?" He pointed his finger at himself.
"Of course!" The rabbit twirled around her hand, much to his surprise, "To be honest, I do feel like you have this weird ability within you. Like-"
The rabbit leered towards him, "what you did to Ayumi-oneechan."
The rabbit smiled with its mouth open, "I wonder how can this mister throw so many rocks, and block and dodge my own attacks earlier. And maybe how he found and outsmarted Ayumi-oneechan."
Shido gulped, "Oh, about that-"
The rabbit laughed, leaving Shido confused, "Of course, you have to be a Spirit like Ayumi-oneechan!"
'Okay, that's convenient,' he thought to himself.
"There's no way for you to be able to make me fly like you did earlier, right?"
Shido quickly nodded, "Haha, sure."
"Which reminds me," the rabbit tilted its head, "where did your girlfriend go?"
The teenager flinched, before sighing, "She's not here right now."
"Oh," the rabbit raised its paws, "so you do admit that you like her!"
"Yeah…" he weakly said, causing the rabbit to come close to his face.
"How about you leave the little thot behind, Shido?"
Shido was shocked as she said that word, looking at her with furrowed brows, "What did you just say?"
"Oh please, just look at me!" The rabbit pointed its paws to Yoshino, "Don't you think I'm better than her, Shido?"
The teenager gritted his teeth, before he calmed himself down, "I'm not so sure about that, Yoshinon."
"Don't be a spoiled brat, Shido, and just-"
"Shido."
The two looked to their left, with Shido pointing his phone's flashlight to the floor to see Tohka standing a few meters away from them. Her worried eyes piercing Shido's soul as she immediately ran towards him, hugging him in a tackle that forced him to go down to the floor.
"T-Tohka!" He said, as he struggled to breathe, "I… can't… breathe…"
"Oh, sorry!" She flustered, latching herself away from him as the teenager tried to catch his breath.
"If you look at that," Kotori commented, "looks like she got her powers back, Shido."
"I thought she couldn't." He whispered to his earpiece.
"That's because of the situation, Shido. Our data says she's worried for you."
"How wonderful," he stood up from the floor, as Day to Story dusted his uniform.
"Uh, onee-san," the rabbit talked to her, "I wanted to talk to you about something."
The Princess looked at her, with curiosity.
"Don't you think that I'm better for Shido-kun?"
The moment she said it, she felt her soul escaping her body. She immediately got her posture back from the shock.
"W-what do you mean by that?!"
"Oh, no!" The rabbit said in shock, "I think I'm mixing my words here. Hehe, sorry. What I mean is that…"
"Don't you think that it's better for Shido-kun to be with Ayumi-oneechan?!"
"NANI?!" Shido and Tohka said in unison, as the rabbit danced around in the Spirit's hand.
"You see, I only want to have Ayumi-oneechan to have the best for her," the rabbit looked at Shido, "Did Ayumi-oneechan told you about it?"
"About what?" He raised his brow in shock.
"If you don't know, she'd always talk about you! Of how dumb you always act along with his friends, and how she'd always talk to you but you never get the idea though~"
"Wait, how does that add up-"
Immediately, Shido began to recollect all the times he's talked so far to Ayumi. All those times, he'd always be ridiculed by her no matter his actions.
'Always remember the Tsundere language in case a cute, stubborn girl talks to you,' Hiroto's voice echoed through his brain.
He tried to analyze it mentally, with his flabbergasted eyes and his hands at the left and right poles of his head. He started to go from small talk, to the more inconvenient rants that he'd get every single- well, maybe not every- day. After that, he sat on a nearby apparel stand, much to the two girl's amusement, and placed his hand on his chin. Until he looked at the two with dumbfounded eyes.
"Nah, she'd always just spit on my face."
"Don't you see, Shido-kun?" The rabbit said, "That's how she shows her affection!"
"How the hell does that work?!" Tohka shouted at her, "And if I remember, Ayumi-chan said that Shido's not her type!"
Secretly, he felt his heart pierced from the statement, as he stood there gloomy.
"I'm just kidding!" The rabbit waved at the Princess, "But… don't you think that there are other girls who would want Shido-kun?"
Tohka stepped back, "N-no way!"
"Yes, way!" The rabbit raised its arms, "Don't you think that it may be his classmates, his mother, his sister or-"
The rabbit pointed at itself, "Me!"
"I understand your sentiment, onee-san, but all I see is a selfish little girl who doesn't know what's best for her. Don't you agree, Shido-kun?"
"Shido!" The indigo-haired girl glared at him.
"I don't even know what you guys are talking about!" He shouted in frustration, causing the rabbit to cover its 'mouth'.
"Oh, I see…" the rabbit looked down, "That means a 'Yes' from Shido-kun, don't you think?"
"Hey, I didn't even say that-"
"Shut up for a while, Shido!" Tohka covered his mouth, as he struggled from the increased strength.
"Come on, onee-san; I've already won! You're nothing but useless to him now!"
The rabbit laughed afterwards, its paws covering its mouth. The girl stood there in silence, which caused Tohka to grit her teeth in anger. The little girl was shocked as Tohka sped up towards her, grabbing her puppet in the process. The Hermit tumbled down to the ground, looking at the Princess who held the puppet rabbit at its neck.
"I'm not useless!" She strangled it, "Shido told me that I can correct what I've done!"
"Come on!" She shouted at the rabbit, "Why aren't you talking, you damn rabbit?!"
Just as Tohka shook the puppet high up in the air, the green-coated Hermit tugged her skirt. She looked down, only to see the little girl with her head down low. Her other arm wiped off the tears under her coat, as both of her hands reached towards the rabbit puppet.
"Please…" she pleaded weakly, "give it back…"
Tohka stood there confused, only for the little girl to look and jump repeatedly at her puppet. Tears started to form in her eyes, but the Princess was unnerved by her actions. Shido, meanwhile, sat on the ground as he looked towards the Tohka.
"Yoshino's mental state is currently declining!" Kotori shouted from his earpiece, "Do something about the situation!"
He frowned.
"Hey, Tohka," she turned her attention towards him, despite the little girl still pleading, "Could you give it back to her?"
"And why should I?" She rebutted, she looked away, "So you do admit…!"
"Tohka, now's not the time for that!" Shido shouted at her, "Just give it back to her, okay?!"
"No!" She barked back at him, causing him to flinch on the ground.
However, the moment he affixed his eyes towards Yoshino, an eerie aura started to form around her. As Shido suspected, the concrete floor under him started frosting, with the center point coming from the Hermit herself. Just as Shido started to rush at Tohka, the blue-haired Hermit raised her right hand.
"Zadkiel!"
Underneath the Princess' feet, a singular, icy circle formed. Just in time, Shido grabbed the confused Princess and jumped backwards with his Ripple-enhanced legs as the large, white claws started to emerge from the circle itself. The creature, a huge berserk rabbit with glittering red eyes and sharp teeth, emerged from that spot.
The monstrous rabbit fumed an icy mist from its mouth, it standing in front of its master. At that moment, Shido started to swerve to the left as a hail of ice shards were directed to their previous spot. He looked back, as he saw its master, the Hermit herself, rode behind it. She 'inserted' her hands at its blackish neck as magic circles appeared from where she inserted her hands.
The moment she did that, the creature gazed at its two prey.
"She summoned an angel now?!" Kotori shouted from his earpiece, "Get out of there, now!"
A strong cold gust approached the two, as the puppet in Tohka's hands flew away. The gust destroyed the windows, the puppet flying away with it. The teenager could only stand his ground with his Stand, blocking the full brunt of the chilly winds.
A sudden whistling sound from the gust emanated, as a shard appeared as it closed on to his face. Immediately, Day to Story slapped the shard away. Instinctively, the teenager jumped to the side while shielding Tohka as a barrage of shards appeared from the misty fog.
The shards flew outwards, as a hail of bullets started to rush in towards the department store. The Hermit guarded the hail with the puppet-like monster that she wielded. While Day to Story is capable, it wasn't enough as Shido found himself in a pinch as wild shots started to hit his legs.
He embraced the Princess, his and her body on the cold ground, as another hail of bullets started. His Stand managed to sway a few shots, but some of it lunged at his organs. He looked away from the worried Princess, as blood started to come out of his mouth.
'Shit!' Shido cursed to himself, 'I'm lucky none of those shots managed to hit my brain! Just one and-'
For him, however, a hail of bullets were shot towards him. His Stand punched the bullets away, but some of it managed to lunge at his head, despite his usage of the Ripple to harden his skin. The worst part of it was that he didn't feel any pain, and instead saw distortions in his vision. His nausea reached its peak, as Shido's head twirled in the ground.
His Stand faded away from existence, as Shido struggled to even catch a breathe. His tense muscles relaxed, as his head touched the cold ground. The Princess, confused as to why Shido was asleep, started to shake his unmoving body.
"…Shido?" She weakly said.
The moment she tried to sit beside his body, her vision suddenly became distorted. She had noticed that time had suddenly slowed down, as she saw something fast directed towards her forehead. She had felt the need to stop that bullet, to which she recognized immediately, but her body didn't respond.
The bullet managed to hit her head, as pain started to overload her adrenalized body. Her shot body was then slammed to the ground.
But for that moment, when she thought that she was dead, she had realized something was wrong. She was still awake, and had control over her body. To her shock, she sat back up on the ground. What she saw, however, was the bullet that was supposed to destroy her brains floated still in the air.
In her curiosity, she touched it. The bullet then fell to the ground, but without the force that came along with it. She was suddenly mesmerized from what happened, grabbing the bullet as she looked back at Shido's body. The Princess then realized a man's shadow, formed from the rain-moodish light from the broken windows, covered the teenager's body.
A single hand then started to caress the boy's head, as a bullet from the hole in his forehead dropped down. Tohka was stupefied, only to see the pompadour man, in a dark-bluish overcoat full of pins with a pink undershirt coupled with dark blue pants, touch Shido's body as he crouched on the cold ground. Her mouth was gaped the moment she saw the bullet fall down from the hole, and the flesh starting to form his forehead before its timely damage.
Several sounds of metal dropping then echoed the empty department stores, as Tohka stood up to see the bullets lodged in his body started to eject from his back. She covered her mouth from the shock, as her attention was again drawn towards her back as a slender hand touched her right shoulder.
She turned around in anxiousness, only to see a bun-haired woman, in a crop-top overlaid by a jacket with ripped jeans, looked at her with a smile.
"Yare yare dawa," she spouted, "A little more and Shido would've been rotten."
"And you're joking on your son and his 'girlfriend'," the pompadour man looked back at her, "Good thing we didn't decide to just stay around at that ship. Man, I don't like being a few feet above the ground after Superfly."
The man himself looked back at the confused Princess, "Don't worry about Shido. The last thing that I need to do is…!"
The pompadour man immediately inhaled deeply, as a sparks formed from his right arm.
"Dora!"
His electrifying punch collided with Shido's body, as the body started to open his eyes and gasp for air. He breathed uncontrollably, before placing his hand at his forehead to calm himself down. He lowered his hand, seeing no blood at all as the pompadour man walked past him.
"Get up, Shido," the pompadour man talked to him, "We have to go now. We lost the Hermit."
Shido sighed, before standing up from the ground, "T-thanks, Josuke-san."
"No prob, Shido," he slapped the boy's shoulder, "Seriously though, we have to go."
Shido looked at Tohka, whose eyes veered away from him, as the two manly figures walked away slowly. The woman that had her hand in her shoulder tugged at the currently daydreaming Princess.
"Same goes for you, Tohka," the woman nodded her head.
"How…" she said in a daze, looking right at the woman's eyes, "do you know my name?"
"Back then when you were at the house when me, him and his 'sister' had a conversation. It's hard not knowing the person that he thinks of right now."
"You said that he's your son, right?"
"I suppose so," she closed her eyes, "Come on, let's go. I'll explain to you what my dense 'son' doesn't tell you about."
Jolyne Cujoh (Kujo Jolyne)
「STAND」 Stone Free
「ABILITY」 Strings
「ABILITY TYPE」 CLOSE-RANGE
「FORM TYPE」 NATURAL HUMANOID
「SPECIAL TYPE」 NONE
「Power」 A
「Speed」 A
「Range」 C (1-2 meters) / A (24 meters; String Range)
「Durability」 A
「Precision」 B
「Potential」 A
Notes: Jolyne has evolved her Stand over time and experience, thus leading it to levels near pre-Over-Heaven Star Platinum. Her ability gives her unlimited potential, making her a deadlier opponent than people usually think of her. Combined with the Ripple, and nearly imitating Kakyoin's Emerald Barrier, her abilities make her truly untouchable.
Higashikata Josuke
「STAND」 Crazy Diamond
「ABILITY」 Restoration
「ABILITY TYPE」 CLOSE-RANGE
「FORM TYPE」 NATURAL HUMANOID
「SPECIAL TYPE」 NONE
「Power」 A
「Speed」 A
「Range」 C (1-2 meters)
「Durability」 A
「Precision」 A
「Potential」 A
Notes: His ability is only of physical properties. Unlike Jolyne's string abilities, Josuke requires much more unorthodox thinking and researching to realize Crazy Diamond's full potential. Its ability to restore or 'shift' makes it one of the more unpredictable opponents. Combined with the Ripple, Crazy Diamond is a tough opponent to deal with, as the Ripple gives its user the chance to heal himself.
"And that's that," Jolyne slouched at her seat, "Do you understand now?"
Two hours have already passed after the Hermit's, or Yoshino's, escape from AST's range. The two of them, with Tohka still in her school uniform, talked in the dining room's table face-to-face. Shido left the two to buy some groceries for the evening, with Josuke investigating on his own for the rest of the day. Jolyne crossed her hands underneath the chin that it supports, looking at her as she waited for her response.
While in Shido's absence, Jolyne had explained to her the powers that she, Shido and Josuke had. She had told her what was going on with Shido, and of the rather otherworldly powers that his mother and his great-grand uncle had.
"Somewhat," she shook her head, looking down at the table with her hands gripping her skirt.
"I hope you understand now why Shido is keeping this from you. He's not willing to put you at risk after all of these."
"I just never thought he'd go this far just for me."
"If it means from keeping you out of danger," she placed her hand on the Princess', "Do you know how much it means for him to have you?"
The Princess shook her head, "It's from experience. It's not easy for someone to see their beloved ones get hurt. I bet you he'll be pissed if someone tries to besmirch you."
She looked away, "…I guess I have to say sorry to him."
"I'm sure that you don't need to," Jolyne replied, "You don't need to say sorry after that. What's done is done. What you should do, however, is to help him, and maybe help yourself to."
"That's why I also wanted to help him, too."
"Tohka, we can assure you that you don't need to exert yourself on this. We can handle it."
"But what if you can't? I don't want to see Shido hurt!"
"After what you saw so far?" She chuckled, "You'd be surprised the moment his grandfather comes here."
"His grandfather?"
"Let's just say that if he's here, everything else would be smooth sailing," she chuckled, "Anyway, how are you the two of you doing so far?"
"Y-you mean us?"
Jolyne nodded, "Of course, I mean, I do have to know what the two of you are doing as his mother."
"Well," she twirled her hair, "I do guess it's just us having problems."
"And?" She leaned at her, "Did he do something to you?"
"N-no!" She waved her hands at her, "What do you mean by that?!"
"Heh, virgin," she huffed, "At least he's not being hasty with it."
"Hasty with what?!"
"Err," she twiddled her fingers, "just some familial stuff. That's all. Still, how did you end up liking Shido?"
She calmed down, blushing as she looked away from her, "Well, he is there for me."
"Any reasons why?"
"…Why are you asking me about it? Of course I like Shido! He's… always there for me. And he makes good food!"
"Are you sure that's it?"
Tohka shakily nodded, as Jolyne laughed.
"You really just remind me of those days," she huffed, "At least you didn't have to deal with my circumstances. Oh!"
Jolyne's eyes widened in realization, as Tohka blinked at her.
"Damn!" She stood up, "I forgot to tell Shido again!"
"About what?"
"I swear we could've used his ability to at least find his sister," Jolyne sat down again, "Gimme a break, I guess age is catching up with me."
Tohka could only sit there without emotion, as she didn't know how to respond to what Jolyne did right now.
"Oh, and about the Hermit."
"What about it, Jolyne-san?"
"I took the liberty to 'listen' at the recording from Shido's earpiece when he talked with the Hermit. Looks like you're keeping something from me, Tohka."
"Oh…" she looked down, "that."
"Just remember, okay? We're here for you, Tohka. But that Spirit needs our help as well. All she needs is a little push. And done, problem solved."
The girl nodded, as the older woman smiled.
"Good," Jolyne fiddled her fingers at the table, "And… I don't have anything to talk about other than… you know, gossip. Care to hear, Tohka?"
The girl could only nod as she listened to her ranting on and on…
The weekends passed by, as a new week, still flooded with rain, began. Shido and Tohka walked together side by side wearing their school uniforms, each holding an umbrella, as Shido looked upon the same white vans that he saw the last time.
"This really is getting their attention," Shido spoke to himself, "We really have to seal Yoshino."
Tohka nodded, as the two of them walked through the rainy residential district. A few splashes made by passing vehicles were met with Day to Story's slap of a wrist. The rest of the water that still managed was either blocked by their umbrellas or Shido shielding Tohka from getting wet.
However, after a while, they then met Hiroto on the way. Just as Shido was about to wave at him, his best friend glared back at the two as he ran away to where the school was. The two shrugged what happened as they finally reached Raizen, and specifically their classroom. A few normal greetings and glares finally filled their morning doze.
"Good morning, Tohka-chan!"
Miyazaki approached Tohka, who suddenly hugged her and taking her by surprise.
"E-eh, what's the occasion?!" Her voice pitched, as she struggled to get out.
"Nothing," she released her grip from the girl, "just wanted to do that in a while."
"Oh, and Shido," Miyazaki looked at him, "Can we talk for a minute?"
The teenager nodded, as the two of them exited the room before classes started. The two were near the window, away from the doors as the two surveyed the area for any onlookers. Miyazaki took the liberty to use her Stand, Bad Boy, to check of any anomalies. She sighed, as her brows furrowed.
"I know who the Stand users are in this school," she whispered to him.
"You knew all along?!" He raised his voice, before hushing him.
"Sorry if it only crossed my mind now!" She refuted, "Still, us going outside the school roused their curiosity as of late. I used Bad Boy to check any personal movements and my suspicions were confirmed. The good thing about it is that they don't suspect us on the subject."
"Some," he rebutted, "I doubt that. How many Stand users?"
"At least a few in this school. 4-5 at best, not knowing their abilities. I had to check the database in Fraxinus just to check any behavioral anomalies. None, except for some questionable quirks."
"So all we have to do is make sure they don't get curious enough, isn't it?"
"Not just that, but also some new info regarding the Stand users. Josuke dug it up recently, and told me directly to tell it to you privately."
"About what?"
"Their suspicions are right; someone is crippling this city from the inside, and they might know about the Spirits."
"Shit…" Shido trailed off, "Damn, I didn't know that guy really did give them a tip-off before."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm sure you know the guy currently locked in Fraxinus' hangar, right?" She nodded, "That guy would've been our first whistleblower if it weren't for me stopping him. What I didn't expect that he might've led some people curious before deciding to kill me."
"Worse is that they might have connections with the Yakuza and to your family problems," she pulled out a piece of paper, "Here's some of the info that Josuke got from the comms from the gang."
The teenager grabbed the paper, processing each and every word.
I heard recently that one of our recruits are currently missing. He was last heard, from one of our informants, that he rushed off to some kid's house and decide to kill the fuck out of him and his girlfriend. Tendencies, I tell you what!
However, he might be right about the whole Spacequake thing. I made some of my men ignore the spacequake alerts and we just found out that the government is doing something fishy. They know something that we don't know. We have to find out about it without getting killed.
If we do find whatever's doing these spacequakes, we may use this to our advantage. We might have the chance to blackmail and make ourselves richer! Fellow members, we have finally found our chance! Not only do we get the chance to use these 'stands' from these arrows, but also a source of truth!
"Just when I thought that Spirits are our problem," Miyazaki commented, "there's also some rumors in the magic society that they may start doing their own move as well, instead of letting the government do its job. You know what this means, right?"
"The rest of the days to come is going to be one cold war, isn't it?"
"The worst kind," she gestured with her hand, "One misstep and-"
She then gestured with her hand mimicking the look of an explosion.
"Our first step is to make sure that the good students here are people we can trust. Possible if we could get them to our side."
"Class rep, as far as fate concerned, it's our disputes. They may be Stand users, but we can't just place them in this situation."
"We don't have any other choice, Itsuka. In the end, they'll still end up getting wind from fate."
"…Just so you know, I still don't like the idea."
"Good that you're still agreeing, Itsuka. We could start now, but I guess we're all stuck with Spirit duty right now."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I know."
"…You're too stressed this morning."
"Maybe. A lot to take in recently. At least you're helping me with Tohka."
"No problem," she huffed, "I'm making sure you're not doing something wrong to her."
"How did that come out of your mouth?"
"Who knows?" She shrugged, looking at her watch, "Anyway, homeroom's going to start. Let's talk about this for another time."
She signaled with her head, as she walked towards the classroom. Shido was left to wonder outside, looking around until he saw a glimpse of someone staring from his classroom's other door. He shrugged it off, as he entered his classroom.
Shido sighed as he walked through the beaten shopping mall in the downtown area in his school uniform carrying a fresh stock of groceries. He held his umbrella high up his head as the rain still continued to pour. As of now, he could try to find Yoshino with his own latent powers, his Stand pointing the general direction where the Spirit was at, but Kotori advised him to stay put for a while.
He didn't understand her actions, sighing as he walked past the building. However, even amidst the sound of rain pouring, he heard something shuffling near him. He looked behind, shocked to see the Hermit herself scuffling through the wreckage with her bare hands. Her puppet was nowhere to be found, her face looking desperate to find it.
Immediately, he placed his finger at his hidden earpiece.
"This is Shido," he whispered to his earpiece, "I found the Hermit. I'm going to talk to her right now."
He waited there in silence, standing still as he watched the Hermit when he was waiting for the ship to answer. As no one else started to talk, he approached the still searching little girl. His footsteps were audible to her, as she immediately stood up from the ground and look right at him with terror.
In an instant, she immediately ran away, but it wasn't fast enough.
"Calm down!" He pointed at her, "I'm not here to hurt you!"
The girl immediately stopped, looking at him but still with suspicion. He noticed how she wasn't still answering.
"Seriously, I'm not here to hurt you," he said, as his eyes centered to her right hand, "And where's… your puppet?"
She shook her head, her head drooping low.
"I see," he responded, "you were trying to find it, right?"
The girl immediately nodded, albeit slowly.
"Just wait a minute," he turned around, before looking back at her, "Do you mind if I call Miyazaki?"
She shook her head in an instant, a glimmer sparking in her eyes. Shido chuckled at her, as he immediately grabbed his phone and dialed in Miyazaki's number. It took about a few seconds before the other side took the call.
"Oh, Shido," she said uninterestingly, "What's the bother about?"
"You wouldn't believe it, but I'm currently with Yoshino right now."
"…You serious?! How come Fraxinus didn't inform me?!"
"Calm down! It's just that she's here right now searching for her puppet. I wanted to call you since you might help us about it," he looked back at Yoshino, "And well, her."
"Wait, you're in downtown right now? Where we found Yoshino?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Just wait then, okay?! I have to say goodbye to these-" a crash emanated from the other side, "Ai, Mai, Mii; will you knock it off?! Jeez, I'm going now! Good luck with that!"
The phone call then ended, as Shido sighed when he looked at her, "I guess let's just start finding it before she comes here."
The girl nodded, as the two of them started to look around the streets where the puppet may have fallen. For Shido, however, it was lucky for him that the street he was in right now didn't have that many stores open. No one was there to be suspecting the two, as they looked around for any clues on the puppet.
Unbeknownst to them, a figure was suspecting them from behind. He took a bite from his chocolate bar, as he looked back to his phone. He sneered as he observed the two rummaging the streets for whatever they were looking for. Immediately, he switched the app on his phone to his camera, quickly taking a photo of the two touching the ground.
He took a few photos of the two before he started taking some photos on the little girl. He waited for the phone's camera to focus, before his thumb started to move towards the capture button.
"Oi, Shido!" A girl shouted.
Instinctively, the man grinned as he started to run away before the girl could approach the two. Miyazaki, wearing her uniform, placed her hands on her knees as he caught her breath, her umbrella placed in between her breasts and her arms. The two of them looked at her with surprise, as Miyazaki raised her right hand at the two.
"Yo," she greeted.
She didn't expect for the little girl to hug her waist, the Hermit's face muffled by her nearly-soaked uniform. The class representative smiled, patting her head as she felt something wet streaming down her face.
"Now, now," she hugged her, "it's okay."
Shido stood there as he watched the two in silence. Yoshino then broke her grasp on Miyazaki, as she raised her right hand and pointed her left hand's index finger towards it. The black-braided girl nodded, as she straightened her eyeglasses.
"We just have to find it, right?" She said in motherly tone, "It'll take a minute."
Then, in Shido's eyes, Bad Boy spawned out of nowhere behind her. The swarm Stand then started to fester the street, as they all scattered to find wherever the puppet was. She snickered, as she looked back at Shido. He looked back at her with disgust, before she retaliated with another snicker from her face.
It took a while for the swarm Stand to search for any possible nook and cranny to where the puppet may have gone, even searching the nearby empty buildings. She did take some of Shido's advice, as he had a foundation on Physics, surprisingly, and knowing where the puppet flew when it went out of the department store's windows.
And then, her swarm Stand bowed in front of her, its head shaking as it flickered and faded.
"Oh boy," she muttered, looking towards Shido, "someone may have got it before us."
The girl, after hearing that, started to look down on the rain-soaked ground. Miyazaki patted her head, as she looked at the teenager again.
"Any ideas?" She said, as Shido immediately went into thinking.
"Hmmm…" he looked upward, before snapping his fingers, "I do remember that Fraxinus had hidden cameras before. They might've recorded something. Wait."
He signaled at her, as he placed his right hand on his earpiece. Finally, a voice was heard from the other side.
"-Seriosly, Minowa, stop fiddling with the comms for your stalking-" Kotori blared at his earpiece, "Ah, sorry about that, Shido- wait, good job finding Yoshino!"
"Yeah, yeah," he replied, "Anyway, do you guys have any footage regarding Yoshino's puppet?"
"Her puppet? Well, we have to check the cameras again from before to see where it is. It may take us about two hours or so. If that's the case, then you have to deal with her at that time, okay? We'll support you as always."
"Got it," he nodded, as the transmission was cut off, "We have to wait for a while before they'll know where it is."
Miyazaki scratched her hair, "If you think about it, why not use your… powers to find it?"
Shido raised his brow, "That's not how it works, Miyazaki. Objects may have names, but they're not living things."
"So much for being useful," Miyazaki sighed, "What are we going to do now?"
Suddenly, Yoshino's stomach growled. Miyazaki chuckled, as the Spirit had her face flushed.
"So, Shido, your job."
"Huh?" He reeled back, "Why me?!"
"The three stooges ruined my allowance, again," she sighed, patting the wallet in her skirt, "And besides, you think I could let her in my house when I already told you what's going to happen?"
"Okay then!" He grumbled "Sheesh, and I wonder how responsible are you."
"Oh, I am. It's just that those stooges aren't."
"I wonder how you became friends with those three."
"You'll never know. Heh."
Next Chapter: The Hermit III