I Have Risked Life And Limb

April 6th, 8:05 PM.

Northern Osaka, The Kaito Estate.

Jin Kovich followed closely behind Irene and Jothan Joestar as they traversed the west side of the enormous and illustrious marble mansion, the strangely cold air clinging to her skin as her seafoam green attempted to survey the area to the best of their ability.

The sun was almost completely gone and soon they would be left in the pitch black darkness, searching for Akiko Mikami blindly; at least, that was Jin's fear. Akiko must have had a pretty good idea on how the mansion was laid out, so she could probably strike them from any angle.

"What will we do when the sun sets?" Jin asked absentmindedly, immediately wondering if she was supposed to speak as they searched through the house. She figured it was fine as she was not told otherwise, but maybe it was something she was meant to assume before they even entered.

"I have a few candles," Irene responded without turning around, her muscles tensing up and dripping with sweat as they walked further down the hallway, "I think there's a room up ahead. Should we take a risk and check it out?"

"Not like we have a choice." Jothan said as he walked slightly faster, his hand reaching out to the doorknob. He opened the door and stepped inside, quietly analyzing the room. "This room is pretty big…"

Big was an understatement. The dining room had a fairly long table stretching across it, the walls wide and spread several feet apart; there were two glass windows at the top of the left wall which allowed the evening sunlight to break through, and to the bottom left seemed to be an open door.

"That probably leads to the kitchen, right?" Jin guessed, feeling as if she was frozen in place when she walked past Jothan, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. Was there a trap in this room, or was she just over thinking things yet again? Maybe their enemy did not have enough time to lay down traps, and they were simply worried over nothing.

"It seems like this dining room is completely empty," Irene muttered before turning to her father, who had been clenching his fists rather tightly, "Dad, are you okay? You can't let this mansion get to you-"

"That's not it," Jothan wiped sweat from his brow, his eyes darting in several directions as his ears perked slightly, "Can't you hear that? Something is scratching the walls, but the weird thing is that there are footsteps coming from that doorway…"

"You're very precise, Mister Joestar," a honeyed, slightly familiar voice spoke out into the dining room, a masculine shadow jutting out from the doorway, "How fortunate that you ran into me first. I can dispose of you so you will not cause my love any trouble."

"That voice, I swear I've heard it before…" Jothan whispered to himself, his pitch black Stand materializing next to him as his golden aura engulfed his body. "Get the hell out of there, I want to know who I'm gonna beat the shit out of."

"You? Beat the shit out of me? Well, aren't you a card!" The man chuckled lowly before his shadow suddenly slipped away, the footsteps Jothan heard just moments before completely disappearing, causing the older man to stay put.

"Akiko has someone working for her? Who in their right mind would do that?!" Jin questioned, expecting an answer from the mysterious man though she received none. "Jothan, do you know anyone that would help her out?"

"Hell no," Jothan replied with a low growl, his fists shaking as he waited impatiently, "I'm pissed off just thinking about that. How could someone work for her? This makes no sense!"

"Yeah, I'm definitely not going to forgive whoever this might be," Irene nodded in agreement as Stone Free materialized, "He's either stupidly cocky or he's really strong if he isn't shaking in his boots. He even knows that we're Joestars, so this means that he knows of us."

"Who hasn't heard of the infamous Jothan Joestar, the one who saved hundreds of people from a strange disease that was spreading throughout the United States? And then there's Irene Joestar, who works for the ever present Speedwagon Foundation! I hate to say this though, I don't think I know who the young woman is?" His voice seemed to come from the ceiling now, which had the three Stand users quite confused.

"Huh? You stopped a disease?" Jin asked curiously, though she soon looked up at the ceiling and nearly screamed at the sight; a man was dangling from it, his emerald eyes staring directly down at the trio, his face cleanly shaven. "What the hell?!"

"How rude, you don't curse at someone you just met," He slipped out of the ceiling and onto the floor, landing perfectly on his feet, "I sound familiar, huh? How do I look then, Jothan Joestar?"

"You're… Norisuke Kaito! Didn't Akiko murder you?!" Irene demanded an answer, her slim frame shaking as she stared at the man who should have been long dead.

"Yes, she did kill me," Norisuke started, walking backwards for a few moments to create a gap in-between him and his enemies, "I don't know why this happened, but soon after I died, I had awoken as a spirit who cannot pass on. Maybe it was because of the fear I experienced when my love stabbed me to death, I don't know; I do know that my Stand awakened, and all I could do was pledge allegiance to her. I did her wrong, so now I must protect her from people like you!"

"P-people like us, huh?!" Jin interrupted Jothan as he opened his mouth, though he looked at her in complete surprise as she began to speak. "People like us are trying to stop her from killing anyone else! What you want doesn't make any sense, why would you protect her, knowing what she did to you and what she's done to others?!"

"So I can find atonement for what I did to her," Norisuke said solemnly, clasping his hands together as his breath shook slightly, "After all the abuse I put that poor woman through, I must do what it takes so she can forgive me."

"Jin, you'll get nowhere with someone like him," Jothan said and slipped his hands into his jacket pockets, "So, I take it you've guessed what went on back then? That disease was the work of a Stand, so I did what was natural and beat the shit out of the user. Do you really think you can beat me?"

"I will be honest, it is rather impressive that you managed to stop such an abomination," Norisuke complimented, "That Stand ate everything it touched, but this is different. My Stand does not rely on the physical well-being of my opponents, rather, the well-being of their hearts; so, do you think you can really 'kick my ass' as you put it, Joestar?"

"I might be an old bastard, but I got a few tricks up my sleeve," Jothan gave the apparition a sly grin before sliding his hands out from his leather jacket, bright sparks flickering around them as he breathed steadily, "I bet you don't know about hamon."

Without hesitation, Hey Jude suddenly raised its fists as a golden spark erupted around them, which confused Jin and Norisuke; Hey Jude bolted forward and threw a punch at Norisuke, a bright spark emitting from the fist once it made contact, the blow forcing the ghostly man onto his back.

"I didn't even attack you, so could you at least act like a gentleman before I kill you?" Norisuke groaned as he picked himself up, a figure slowly materializing next to him. It took the appearance of a six foot tall man who had an entirely featureless face, its body a light grey color. It wore a brown leather jacket as well as a trilby, its bottom half wearing what seemed to be dress pants, though it had been hard to tell due to its appearance. "This is my Stand, Vermillion! How do you think you can beat a Stand that can't be killed?"

Norisuke isn't even worried about what Jothan just did… did he just infuse something with his Stand? I could barely see, it moved so fast! Jin thought, her Stand phasing into existence as she prepared for battle, her heart thumping hard in her chest.

Norisuke snickered before sliding into the floor, which resulted in the three attempting to look around for him; without warning, he slid out of the floor and jumped out at Jothan, one of his Stand's fingers suddenly touching the right side of his chest.

"I win!" Norisuke cheered as he dove back into the floor with Vermillion, his body reappearing at the end of the hallway. "You couldn't even see me coming, Joestar! Did you not expect that?"

"He can slide through the floor at will," Jothan groaned, moving a part of his leather jacket to the side as he felt a stinging pain through his chest, "What the hell did he do?"

When Jothan got a good look at it, he gasped and fell to his knees; on his chest had been a light grey circle that had been rippling throughout his chest. He panted heavily and glared at Norisuke, attempting to get back onto his feet, but his effort proved to be worthless.

"I lied a little about it not being physical, it's going to sting a little," Norisuke chuckled, crossing his arms as he stared over at Jothan, "My Stand can bring out the most painful memories inside of someone's heart to the point where it physically hurts them. So, Jothan, can you remember the pain of watching all those people rot away? The suffering of the people you couldn't save?"

"Goddamn bastard…" Jothan cringed as his body fell flat onto the marble tiled floor, his face drenched in sweat as heavy breaths exited his now unconscious body.

"How did he move that fast? We couldn't see him, and he was somehow able to predict how Jothan would move! He managed to find the perfect opening to strike!" Jin told Irene, becoming increasingly worried as the woman stared over at her father's body.

"Oh, you managed to figure that out when the experienced old man couldn't? You're more than meets the eye!" Norisuke bowed to her before looking over to Irene Joestar, her eyes wide with surprise. "So, I take it you'll be next? You look pretty angry with me, Miss Joestar!"

"I have to keep calm, that's what dad would want!" Irene glowered towards Norisuke, the latter raising an eyebrow as the woman walked towards him, her Stand cracking its knuckles as she did so. "Ghost or not, I'll make sure you can't move after I'm done with you!"

"How fearsome. Do you plan on beating me with brute strength?" Norisuke asked as Irene came to a stop, one of her hands moving behind her so it could point upward. "Oh, did you figure it out?"

"Huh? What's she pointing at?" Jin murmured before looking towards the part of the ceiling Irene had been pointing out; she took a step back and put a hand on her chest, attempting to make sense of what it was. On the ceiling was an unblinking eye, staring straight at Jin, and just a few feet away had been another one. "He's been watching us from behind, too?! How did he do that without us being able to notice?"

"He must have placed them before we came in," Irene added before placing her hand on her hip, "If this is his ability, he's probably placed them all over the mansion to help his beloved wife gain the advantage over us. Am I right?"

"It wasn't that hard to figure out, but congratulations anyway," Norisuke clapped twice before sighing, his fingers rubbing his chin as he continued to speak, "Do you really think you can out-speed me? You can't even pinpoint my location when I'm moving."

"Try it," Irene said with confidence, her body no longer quivering in fear, "Then we'll see who's the fastest. I'm willing to take that risk."

"What a foolish thing to say!" Norisuke chortled before diving into the floor once again, soon jumping out of it once more as Vermillion's fingertip reached for Irene's heart.

"ORA!" Stone Free shouted menacingly as its fist arced forward, all five of its knuckles cracking against the side of Vermillion's face, though the enemy Stand still extended its fingers and touched Irene's heart before it was knocked back.

"That hurt… that really, really hurt!" Norisuke almost snarled like a wild dog would as he held the left side of his face, not even smirking proudly after managing to touch his opponent's heart. "Damn… I guess you'll get what you deserve now, though!"

"I put everything I had into that punch!" Irene felt her feet slip when she attempted to walk forward, her chin soon becoming intimate with the floor beneath her. "Jin, it's up to you… I know you can do it…"
"Can I really?" Jin asked herself quietly, her stomach twisting inside of her body as she stared at Norisuke, her seafoam green eyes shaking and her body quivering in fear. "He's a lot more precise… there has to be more of those eyes monitoring my every move!"

"You might be right, you might be wrong," Norisuke said, rubbing his hands together as he walked past Irene, "I don't think you'll get away so easily without the Joestars helping you. You're all by yourself now, sweetheart."

[With the others…]

Clark Kubrick walked beside Warut Mizushima and Dororesu Matsumae as they made their way up a staircase, their ally Taiga following closely behind, and to say that they were on edge would have been an understatement. The silence that seemingly swallowed the entire mansion made them flinch at any sound they heard, whether it was the wind outside or that strange scratching sound, which was most likely mice.

"It's going to rain soon, so the sunlight will be gone," Clark said quietly, his wrinkled fingers moving smoothly against the railing of the staircase, "I'm going to have to ask you to adapt to the darkness when that happens, so don't give our position away."

"I get that," Warut replied just as quietly, his misty Stand still clinging tightly to his fairly muscular frame, "What room are we trying to find first?"

"I think we should be heading for some kind of family room, right? It ought to be spacious, and if she catches us there it would be easy to maneuver around one another." Dororesu suggested as they neared the top of the staircase.

"That's not a bad idea," Clark whispered as he arrived at the top of the staircase, though he moved a few steps forward to see that there was a hallway to the left and another to the right, "Shit… any ideas on where to go next?"

"We should go left," Taiga added as she walked beside Clark, her clothes allowing her to almost completely blend in with the darkness, "That's closer to the middle of the house, which is where that should be. It would be an odd design choice if the family room was placed at the very end of it, y'know?"

"Makes sense to me." Warut agreed with her, which was followed by nods from his daughter and Clark, who then moved to the left, their muscles incredibly tense from the oppressive atmosphere.

"It's like someone put a curse on this damn building," Dororesu sighed uncomfortably, "Do you see anything up ahead, Clark?"

"There's a door, so all of you should stay back until I tell you it's safe," Clark told them before moving ahead rather quickly, his hand twisting the doorknob as soon as he arrived, "Here we go…"

Clark opened the door slowly, his free hand pointing his bulldog revolver into the darkness that was just barely illuminated by the quickly dissipating sunlight; the room was rather large, though it was fairly dusty. It had two sofas on each side as well as a few chairs placed around the area. There was a lamp in the left corner covered in layers of dust. In the back appeared to be a walk-in closet, and to the far right was another door.

Clark motioned for the others to follow as he stepped inside the dimly lit room, and even though there did not seem to be any imminent threat, he kept his bulldog revolver closer and his finger near the trigger.

"This looks like a family room, but I'm not really sure," Warut spoke as he moved carefully throughout the darkness of the room, "There isn't even a television set. Don't you think it's weird if they moved something out like that, but they didn't touch anything else?"

"This could be a guest room, but there's no bed," Dororesu added to the conversation, her hand on her chin, "Either this is to delay us or Norisuke Kaito was just a really strange man…"

"It's probably in the closet." Taiga remarked as she walked over to the walk in closet, her hands pushing the doors open, though she could hear the sound of someone breathing heavily; she slowly turned to look in the corner of the closet, seeing Akiko staring at her with a small smirk. "SHIT!"

Before anyone could rush over to aid her, Akiko lunged at Taiga as her fleshy Stand materialized; the latter attempted to block it, but The Plot In You's fist met with Taiga's normal arm, the impact blowing Taiga several feet away from the walk-in closet, her left arm cracking audibly.

"Damn, got the wrong arm!" Akiko chuckled as she stood up, her arms crossed as she looked at the four Stand users. "Oh, that little girl isn't here? Neither is Josiah, huh? Well, this ought to be easy!"

Dororesu quickly held out her hand as blood slipped out from her finger tips, which soon formed into a machete; she glared at Akiko, attempting to find an opening as Clark pointed his bulldog revolver at the woman.

"You're surrounded, so there's no point in fighting back!" Warut declared as his purple aura surrounded him, his look of pure malice growing as he started to float into the air. "You're going to pay for what you did to Shinnosuke!"

"Yeah yeah, I'm sure I will," Akiko yawned as her own aura came forth, the fiery energy grew so large that it had nearly touched every single Stand user in the room, "So, let's get this over with? I want to see the look on Josiah Joestar's face when you're all mangled!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

CHARACTER BIO
Name: Altaire Vicente (Before modification)
Age: 23
Stand: Pay Money To My Pain
Stand Statistics
Power - A
Speed - A
Range - E
Precision - B
Durability - D
Development Potential - E