"ALL STUDENTS AND FACULTY: PROCEED TO THE SPACEQUAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY."
The entirety of Raizen High slowly started to evacuate just as they woke up. Some are still shaking their heads, thinking what was going wrong, while some were completely in shape and started to organize the students as they left the building. Panicking students were quickly calmed down by the discipline committee, those students wearing red bands on their shoulders, as they walked towards the shelter.
"REPEAT. ALL STUDENTS AND FACULTY: PROCEED TO THE SPACEQUAKE SHELTER-"
The school suddenly shook, as few started screaming in horror.
Hiroto, however just as the school shook, slanted his disoriented body towards a wall near a window. He quickly shrugged off the shockwave, just as he looked above.
"Hope you're not doing anything wrong, Shido," he muttered, continuing along.
"Hey, has anyone seen Tohka?!"
Ai shouted, the rest of 2 – 4 looking around the cramped hallway as they gave their respective disagreements.
"What about Miyazaki-sama?!"
"Hey, Itsu- Kujo's not here too!"
The rest of them started to look around, with Hiroto shrugging his shoulders.
He looked at the window, scoffing.
"You guys are really giving us headaches."
He blinked for a moment, as he caught a glimpse of someone running outside the campus building. He narrowed his eyes, as someone was running at the empty track-and-field.
No, he wasn't the only 'one'. His running didn't show that he was carrying someone in a piggyback position. The fact that it was so fast that it looked like he nearly blurred from his eyesight. From the uniform alone, it was a guy carrying a girl.
He blinked again, only for him to not spot both of them in the field.
Then suddenly, his mind functioned.
"…Weren't those Motoki-kaichou and—"
Suddenly, the wall that he slacked on suddenly vibrated. They saw a blur pass through the windows vertically. Some of the students that lined up saw it, with Hiroto gulping as the window didn't even crack from that presence alone.
"W-what was that?!"
The students started to crack in panic.
Hiroto cracked a nervous smile.
"Too bad you lost this bet, anon."
Chapter 20
The Worst Spirit VI
"And that trick is-"
He jumped from the railing.
"-is to run away!"
Shido's eyed to the ground, glaring. Just as he was descending, he willed his Stand.
"Day to Story!"
His Stand appeared behind his falling body, its fingers stretching as it obeyed its user's demand. Shido twirled his body around the air, as he eyed a window. He nodded slowly, as his Stand's arm extended its arm toward the window. Yellow sparks cascaded on its arm.
"Zoom!"
His Stand's arm stretched towards the ledge, before stretching back as Shido's body was pulled along. He shielded his face, the window breaking from the force of his body. He rolled on the shard-filled floor, looking at the vacated hallway with a sigh of relief.
He tilted his head just as his earpiece started to blare on him, slowly standing up as he placed his hand on his right ear. The blue-haired Kujo ran towards the nearest staircase, climbing to the top as he replied to the conversation in the earpiece.
"Shido," Hirai shouted, "I hope this plan of yours works!"
"It'll work!" He replied, vaulting over to the next staircase, "Trust me!"
"I sure hope so," Miyazaki cut in, "Because she's not hesitating to gun me down either!"
He clenched his teeth, just as he found himself on the staircase leading to the rooftop.
"Remember, everyone!" Shido shouted to the comms, "We're facing against a Spirit! This is different from the Stand fights that we had!"
"Don't think that just because we're all there won't mean we can easily win against her!"
"Agreed," Motoki replied, "Besides…"
He reached the rooftop's entrance, its doors slammed open, as he saw the scene.
"We don't know what she's capable of in the first place."
Miyazaki held onto her Stand-made scythe, her body covered by her the countless figures of Bad Boy as every shot that wounded her would have the 'armor's' gap quickly repaired. She twirled her scythe as shots were pointed towards her head, before commanding Bad Boy to throw its little blades at the raven-haired Spirit.
Kurumi was confused by the sudden gashes the moment Miyazaki pointed her finger at her, quickly hiding in the presence of her other selves, who were otherwise taken down by the invisible barrage. Kurumi fired back, with Miyazaki using her Stand to block the bullets.
The twin-braided girl grinned, her scythe crumbling slowly. Just as the crumbs hit the pavement, it slowly shifted upward, a figure forming from the scythe's remains. Its metal-like gesture was quickly changed with that of a human's; a perfect replica of Miyazaki standing beside her.
"Don't think you're the only one, honey."
The pseudo-Miyazaki quickly charged at Kurumi, as the Spirit quickly pointing her gun at the approaching figure. The imitation's hollow shell was quickly broken by the bullets, before quickly reforming itself in the process.
"Kurumi!"
She turned to her left, seeing as Shido was approaching her as well in a sprint. She sighed, still gunning down the imitation. The blue-haired teenager raised his fist at her, throwing it. She didn't bat an eye at all, as a pale hand appeared from her shadows. It latched onto Shido's arm, just as the clone jumped out of the shadow.
Kurumi's eyes perked up, looking behind her as she felt the wind against her. Another pair of hands thwarted from her shadows, grabbing onto the descending sight of Motoki with his kick pointed at her body. She glared at his sudden appearance, only for her sight to be avidly confused as a pinkish hue started to form from her eyes.
And that was from the moment she trailed her eyes at Hirai, who was still being held by the vice-president.
"Attacking a poor girl in all directions," Kurumi commented slyly, "Don't you all have shame?"
They all looked down, dropping a sweat as several Kurumis emerged from her own looming, circular shadow.
The pseudo-Miyazaki changed its entire arm to a revved-up chainsaw, bar the sound, slashing it towards the Spirit. Kurumi bent her back, shooting down the chainsaw with her flintlock before pointing it towards Motoki.
"Shit!"
The vice-president cursed as he crossed his arms, using his Gear Stand against the latched arms to jump away from Kurumi. His vision blurred, blood coughed, as the bullets connected. He gritted his teeth, just as he descended to the campus' ground, away from their sight.
Shido looked at the sight and gawked, pulling the clone towards him before shoving it back through force. The clone rolled on the ground, Shido raising his fist at Kurumi.
He tilted his head just as she fired shots at him, with her jumping back as he threw his punch. She distanced herself from them, twirling around while firing. He and the pseudo-Miyazaki continued to rush towards her, just as she placed her flintlock at her lips.
"Zafkiel!"
A large clock appeared behind her again, with her hands stretched on the roman numerals.
The two of them gritted their teeth, with the real Miyazaki throwing knives back at the real Kurumi. Their advances, however, were blocked by several clones jumping out of Kurumi's shadow; their deranged smiles visible to their eyes.
They approached the counter-attack, just as the two of them quickly dispatched the onslaught with a barrage of fists and blows. Just as Shido backhanded one of the clones while jumping back from the assault of one, he turned towards Kurumi.
With her flintlock loaded with a shadow coming from the first Roman numeral.
And pointed towards her, a smile creeping on her face.
"Let's see if you can handle an unrestrained me! Aleph!"
She shot herself, causing the others to look at her with shock.
She cackled with glee, just as she suddenly left afterimages in her stead. Her body rushed towards the real Miyazaki.
The twin-braided girl's eyes widened quickly as she blocked her advance as her arm turned to a sword.
In a hurry, Miyazaki lunged to her left as Kurumi unloaded her bullets. She quickly formed her scythe, slashing horizontally at her abdomen. Instead, she caught the glimpse of her afterimage being sliced.
Her body was thrown a few meters away from Shido, just as Kurumi backhanded her with her bare fist.
Miyazaki panted, slowly picking herself up. She looked towards Kurumi, her gun pointed towards the girl's face. Instead, the pseudo-Miyazaki ran towards her and blocked the shots. It quickly spun around and melded with Miyazaki, spouting wings as she took off to the air.
"Interesting!" Kurumi commented with a devilish grin, "Are you a Spirit as well?! I don't even feel the magic within you!"
She placed her attention back at Shido, who charged towards her. The raven-haired Spirit shot at him, bullets flying towards the floor. He threw another punch at her, Kurumi sidestepping and shooting back. He leaned to his left, before jumping back as hands started to appear from her shadow.
Miyazaki distanced herself from Kurumi in the air, volleying knives at her from her wings. The Spirit noticed her advances, jumping away from the spot she was on. She quickly formed a javelin with her Stand, grasping on it with her right hand while Shido charged at the Spirit again.
Kurumi sighed, pointing her gun at Shido again.
She swerved at the quick jabs thrown, firing back at him as soon as possible. Just as she noticed her cheeks bleeding, as well as her arms receiving gashes, she looked above to see a javelin thrown towards her. She smirked, dodging an uppercut from Shido. When she pointed her gun at him again, he swerved to the left.
With the javelin just close to her reach.
With her reflexes acting quickly, she let her hands from the shadow catch it.
"Heh-?"
To her surprise, however, it suddenly disappeared.
A small hole on the ground appeared in front of her, the sound of concrete being smashed by something unknown.
She couldn't grasp what happened to the javelin, except for the hands to be cut and the hole itself. She zoned out, Shido's fist clenched as his body started to spark yellow.
He yelled at her, his fist approaching her stomach.
'Not this again!'
She felt the blow connect, her body thrown a few meters back by the abdominal uppercut.
Her view of the background turned blue, her body seemingly unable to move at her command. Just as she thought she started to pick herself up from the ground, she could see herself being disconnected from her body.
"No… no!"
Her body helplessly dangled, before its shoulders fell first into the floor. She gritted her teeth, eyes widening, just as Shido approached her slowly.
"Why don't we just end this properly?"
Shido stated, his feet audible to her at every moment.
Hands then started to appear from her shadow. The blue-haired teenager dodged them before it latched to his body. It then received cuts, looking back at Miyazaki who could only give him a wink. He chuckled lightly, looking back at Kurumi who was still recovering.
Her body was shivering, her hands slowly reaching for her flintlock and musket in front of her.
"Seriously, just-"
"Shido!"
He perked up from Miyazaki's voice, just as something latched on to his arms. He looked to his back, as Kurumi's lookalike grabbed him suddenly.
"Hi."
It whispered to him, only for it to be thrown away from a backhand. Just as it did, it latched on to his arm, stretching it. He gritted in pain, just as his Stand flicked the hand away from him.
He used his free arm to hold onto the arm before an audible crack snapped to his ears the moment he pulled it back to its shoulder. He gritted in pain, before slowly relaxing as the Ripple healed the injury. He clenched his fist, before turning back to Kurumi—
—who was a few meters away from him now, both hands on her respective guns with a large clock behind her.
"Hey, Shido, why are you stopping?" Miyazaki turned to him.
"Wait until she starts."
He signaled to her, just as Miyazaki shook her head, still flying in the air.
Shido slowly turned towards the Spirit, her gaze onto her.
"You just don't know how to quit, do you?"
"Who knows?" She quipped, "Besides, you just bested my clones with ease."
"Clones, huh?" Shido spat on the ground, "Don't tell me I was dating your clone in the first place?"
"Well, you could say that they are, but they are also me."
"…What?"
"They are clones, yes, but they are me."
"No wonder I can't track you in the first place…" he muttered under her breath.
She signaled her flintlock to the eighth roman numeral, causing Miyazaki to flinch.
"Wait."
Shido signaled again, just as she scowled.
The shadows seeped into the flintlock's barrel, just as she pointed it to her head.
"Het."
She fired it, her head lynching back from the blow.
From her shadows, arms started to jut out from it. Both of the Stand users looked at it with an appalled face, just as the figure itself turned out to be a look-alike of Kurumi.
"I'm sure you noticed that I'm holding back on all of you, no?"
Shido scoffed.
"Yeah, I'm surprised I'm not cut into pieces yet. And the fact that your clone can also…"
He gulped, just as he looked at the clone's appearance.
Holding the same flintlock and musket that she had.
"I was holding back because I thought I could be benevolent to people like you. After all, you're all naïve to think that you could seal me."
She shrugged, laughing softly.
"Of course, I just did that so I could tell you this straight away. Don't you think that's good enough?"
"Not that it stops us from sealing you, Kurumi."
The Spirit sighed.
"Alright then, I'll have to correct myself from what I said earlier."
The two of them gulped, as Kurumi and her clone pointed their guns at them.
"This time, I'm going to be serious."
"Okay then."
Shido grinned at her, just as Kurumi glared at him.
"You're not afraid of this?"
"Well…"
"This is Motoki. I'm in position."
"This isn't the first time my life is threatened."
She raised a brow, her eyes widening just as Shido stomped the roof. A large slab covered his body before it started to advance to her. Miyazaki quickly descended to the ground, just behind Shido as the two of them rushed behind the slab.
The slab was suddenly gunned down.
Both of their eyes shot as they saw an entire squadron of Kurumis standing beside her, with their guns pointed at them.
He gritted his teeth, his Stand pulling another slab and throwing it towards her. It was hopelessly gunned down again, just as the bullets started to flood towards them. Shido steeled his eyes.
"Day to Story."
He muttered, his Stand catching the entire barrage on its own. Miyazaki trailed behind him, using his advance as a cover. He then threw another slab, but the squadron didn't bother as it was thrown above them.
"What are you trying to aim at Shido?"
He smirked.
"Not you."
He trailed his eyes to the slab whilst his Stand deflected the shots.
He saw a blur of a figure jumping towards it.
Motoki smiled, just as his feet touched the slab.
Shido threw another slab at the squadron, crumbling as soon as it could.
However, they saw Miyazaki, with her wings, ascended to the air.
Some of the clones redirected their fire at her, just as she twirled her scythe. Her armor slowly chipped, gashes starting to form, just as she saw the spectacle.
Without them noticing, Motoki used his Stand to launch himself towards the crowd from the stone slab that Shido threw.
The squadron had noticed his battlecry, him shouting his lungs out, as Motoki quickly descended at them with his kick. Despite their efforts to even raise their guns, he had already projected himself towards Kurumi.
Shido raised his fist again the moment he was near Kurumi, with the girl raising her hand as pale hands started to clamp on his attack. She used her musket to defend herself from Motoki's kick, gritting her teeth as the shock of the blow went through her body.
The blue-haired teenager effortlessly mowed down the stretched out hands, the bullets from the clones still being deflected by his Stand. He threw a punch at her, with the rest of her clones clumping up to shield her.
He swerved his head to his left the moment he saw a hole formed from the clone-made shield. The clones started to reach for him, only for him to jump back before they could grab him.
"Aren't you persistent?"
The Spirit muttered towards the vice-president, looking at him with anger as pale hands latched on to his legs. He struggled to free himself, gulping as he saw the squadron pointing their guns at him.
He scoffed, throwing something from his pocket while raising a middle finger towards them with a stern face. The clones looked above and shot at it, only for it to shine brightly.
Everyone in the vicinity covered their eyes and ears from the shine and the sound blast. Their ears still rang, as some felt disoriented.
They all shook their heads, finding Motoki nowhere in sight aside from the blood that dripped to the ground behind Kurumi.
"Coward."
She muttered, pointing at Shido with her gun.
He steeled his eyes the moment she did, only for her to raise her flintlock towards Miyazaki. The clones still defended her from the invisible volley that the twin-braided girl had created, before a large clock appeared behind them.
"Zafkiel!"
A flintlock emerged from the clone-made shield, pointed towards Miyazaki. The twin-braided scythe-wielder immediately eyed the dispersion.
"Miyazaki, look out!"
"Zayin!"
His shout quickly raised the girl's attention, only for her to deflect the bullet with ease.
However, something was wrong.
To his eyes, she was stuck in mid-air. The color of her body suddenly changed, a xor-like tint covering her appearing. She didn't move or budge at all, with her face still at an alarming look.
She was immediately gunned down in place by the squad, with Shido looking at horror from the sight.
Just as the last bullet had reached her, her 'frozen' body turned to normal.
She didn't scream or yelled at all.
Slowly, her wings and her scythe crumbled to pieces as she fell to the ground.
Just as her body met the ground a few meters away from him, she didn't move or budge at all.
All that was left was a body and a puddle of blood forming around her body.
"Truly, what a waste."
Kurumi cackled, with Shido glaring at her.
"To be honest with you, Shido, I didn't expect to meet someone like her," she grinned, "For someone who isn't a Spirit, she certainly held her ground against me."
"Yeah," he sighed, "she surely did."
"Ara ara. You're just going to leave her like that?"
He closed his eyes.
"…We all knew that this is going to happen."
"So then why didn't you stop at all? So this wouldn't happen?"
Shido looked to the sky, before looking back at her with determination.
"I'm not stopping until I kiss you. I won't be the same person I was back then!"
"Then let's see you try!"
He shifted his body to a stance, his eyes looking back at Miyazaki.
'You sure do know how to keep yourself alive against someone who can stop time.'
To Kurumi, she dropped dead the moment the volley had hit her.
To Shido's eyes, with Day to Story's help, he could see her upper body reinforced compared to her legs. She was half-conscious, using her Stand to push the blood into thinking that she was dying. Her breathing was faint, her eyes looking up to the sky.
The teenager looked back at Kurumi, who stood alongside her clones.
"Now that we know what we have in store, we could say that this fight is fair," Kurumi commented, pointing her gun at him.
"Since when did having a legion become a fair fight?"
"Well," she placed a finger on her lips, "because you just deflected every single shot I made. Without using your hands."
Shido shrugged his shoulder.
"Who knows. Maybe God just loves me."
"Bold words for someone who's going to-"
She sidestepped to the left, as a fast purple wave that passed by Shido approached her.
He heard the crackle of a machine gun fired towards Kurumi, just as she retreated to the air before flipping back to the ground.
His look of surprise at Kurumi was then turned to his back.
He was greeted with the sight of Tohka in her limited Astral Dress, hefting her blade, and Origami in her CR-Unit, carrying a machine gun with both hands.
"Wha…" he muttered, before yelling, "What are the two of you doing here?!"
"I'm not letting you get hurt, Shido!"
Tohka fired another burst towards Kurumi, with Origami doing so as well with her machinegun.
He rolled to the side just as the two started firing, as the clones started to retaliate or be cut down by the barrage.
"…I didn't expect you two to be best friends real quick," he muttered.
"Same here."
Kurumi perked up suddenly from the voice, as she felt a shock jolting from her back. She gritted her teeth in pain, falling for Shido to see what happened.
A string extended towards her, tracing itself back to Jolyne's right hand.
"L-Lieutenant Takamiya!"
Origami shouted towards Jolyne's direction, where someone else stood beside her.
Mana had donned her specialized CR-Unit, hefting her two blades with her respective hands.
"It's Lieutenant Kujo," she corrected, "Former Lieutenant."
Kurumi glared at them all, before busting out a nervous smile.
"Checkmate."
"What-"
Shido felt a gun pointed at his head, turning around to see a clone of her- no, two clones pointing their guns at him.
He also looked around, seeing as all of them have guns pointed right in front of them. They were surrounded by a multitude of clones, all of which had their fingers in the trigger.
"Looks like you were so focused on my shadows that you forgot I reign it," she commented, turning around, "then again, I didn't tell any of you about it."
She chuckled.
"Itsuka- no, Kujo," she turned back to him with a devious smile, "I'm sure you're fine with letting them get killed, don't you?"
Shido gritted his teeth, just as the clones grabbed him by the neck and arms. The others were still held at gunpoint, with Jolyne inching her head away from the barrel of the gun of her captor.
"If you do try to resist," Kurumi smiled, "I'm not that hesitant to execute them right here, right now."
"You're just bluffing."
"No, no. You're the one bluffing, Shido. Look at you."
His face started to pour his sweat, gulping.
"Remember, I'm only here for you, Shido. Nothing more, nothing less. We could've avoided the trouble early, but you just had to do it."
She looked at Miyazaki, who was still lying on the ground.
"Just look at her. This was your fault, Shido. You knew what you're up against, and you're still trying to fight against me?"
He scoffed.
"Well, do my ancestors look like they'd give up now?"
She sighed.
"Stubborn, as always."
A large clock suddenly appeared behind her, lifting her musket to the twelfth roman numeral, while putting her flintlock at the seventh.
"If that's the case, then I'll return the favor. Who should I kill first?"
She trailed her eyes at them.
"Too bad that they all look delicious, hehe."
Shido gulped.
'This is bad,' the teenager thought to himself, 'Even if my mother can just wind her string around the place, it won't stop something as fearsome as Kurumi in killing everyone.'
"Come on, Shido. I don't have all day," she raised her pistol towards Tohka, "Or do I have to do it myself?"
"Oh!"
She stopped, placing a hand on her mouth. Her lips turned to a manic smile, eyes narrowing as she slowly whisked her gun away.
"I have a better idea."
"Hmm?"
Kurumi eyed the male Stand user, just as she talked to him.
"An idea?" She chuckled with a grin, "Like what, running away?"
"If anything, I know how to beat you, Kurumi."
"Beat me?"
She chuckled, before placing her hands to her stomach as she laughed out loud.
"Beat me?!"
She continued to laugh before a stern look was placed on Kurumi's face. A gun pointed at him.
"Of course, your friends were certainly that idea, right?"
Kurumi eyed the rest of them.
"Even if you had this 'idea', I don't think it would save you."
She pointed her hand to the side of her head, tapping it twice.
"If you think that's an idea-"
"And your next line is-"
"It's utterly useless."
Kurumi's face turned to panic, instinctively pointing her gun at him.
To Shido, however, his face turned to shock; with a mutter to bear.
"…That worked?"
Immediately, Kurumi shook it off, pointing it at him.
"Being a smartass won't help you at all, Shido. No matter how much you try to even read my mind," she grinned, her right eye glowing red, "Is this your idea? Adding useless time to your life?"
"Yes."
She laughed in response.
"See, Shido? At least my idea of you is right!"
"But the fact that you haven't noticed it yet is what makes it perfect."
Kurumi raised her brow on him, a confident face looking down upon him.
"Notice what, exactly?"
To his peripheral vision, he could see his mother smile and do a quick grin before looking uncomfortable again.
He leveled his face to the air, just as the clones pushed their guns under his chin. He closed his left eye, gulping.
"What you did to Miyazaki was stopping time, right? Your power is exactly controlling time, right?"
He gulped.
"I don't know what might happen to me, or anyone else… but as far as I know, we've already won."
Kurumi glared at him, just as she leveled her both guns at him.
"Say… can you predict what's going to happen next? I sure hope so."
He chuckled, as the clones shoved and clung the barrel of their guns at his skin.
"…Shido, if you're just stalling me to send some backup, even those backup won't be in here in time."
"Let me see, Kurumi."
"…What?"
"I want to see it again."
He smiled.
"I want to see… a star in the world."
She raised a brow on him, a confused looked sprawling on her face.
And unknown to her, a figure started to approach the rooftop.
One of the clones was immediately surprised by the sudden turn of event, with Kurumi looking towards the spectacle with awe.
Only for her to shake her head with a disagreeing look.
"That's your backup?"
She could only see a person going towards the rooftop like a torpedo, the person's head towards them. All they could see is a person wearing black, with a hat and a golden chain swinging with the air.
Only for them to instinctively react to it as the person crossed its arms.
The person's body slowly tilting as they could see his undershirt just as he descended.
With his finger pointed towards them.
A yellow aura with lightning cascading on his body.
And a shout that the air could only hear.
"-star platinUM: THE WORLD!"
Kurumi immediately gritted her teeth, just as she leveled her gun at the person.
Only for the unknown person to disappear from the thin air that it was gliding on.
She looked around, only to see her clones beaten up to a pulp as they were laid on the ground haplessly. The shadows slowly latching on them as they were swallowed to the ground.
The people that they pointed guns to had suddenly disappeared as well, with them looking around. Kurumi dropped a sweat from the spectacle, her face covered in fear just as it happened.
With Shido and the rest of them, free from her clutches.
And the newly arrived person standing in front of them, his hand on his hat.
"Give me a break. At least she's not like him. For someone who can."
Her mouth drooped, speechless as even Tohka, Mana and Origami were shocked to find themselves out of Kurumi's trap.
Whereas Shido had tended to Miyazaki's body, as she slowly sat up with her wounds closing. Yellow sparks coursing through it.
"I was this close to seeing myself in heaven, looking down on Yoshino with the likes of you."
He could only chuckle lightly, as he eyed on Jotaro.
Who stood there in defiance, with Kurumi back up from her position.
"W-What just happened?!"
Jotaro shook himself, looking at her with a stoic, dismayed look.
"Could you see me?"
Kurumi gulped, gritting her teeth.
"I asked if you could see me, Ms. Tokisaki."
She leveled her gun towards him, firing shots. The rest of them were caught off-guard by her reaction.
Only for her reaction to gawk as her bullets ricocheted to the concrete floor, with the stranger's black pants to have holes in it.
"H-how did you…?!"
The stranger sighed again.
She tried to fire again, only for her reacting quickly from something coming behind her. A single shuffle, a faint sound of air, caused her to swerve to her right, as the stone slab that was thrown before was suddenly forming itself back towards where it was before. She slowly shook her head, looking back to see a pompadour man standing beside Motoki, with his injuries healed.
"Yo."
The man himself, who towered over Motoki, saluted at her with a wink.
"I've heard from Shido that you've tried to make a ruckus around here. Let me tell you, even if I'm a private investigator-"
He took a step, the stomping sound reverberating on the rooftop.
"I'm still police. And you're under arrest. And surrounded."
She looked around.
Mana, Tohka, and Origami stood behind the people that circled her, with Jotaro, being spent as he is, to crouch beside them.
As Shido, Miyazaki, Jolyne, Josuke, and Motoki to surround her, with them being a few feet apart and ten from Kurumi.
"Well," Josuke coughed, "if I remember, Shido also told me he punched you in the gut. I know it's a rude thing to punch a girl, but it's justified."
Kurumi raised her guns, only for it latch away from her hands and towards Jolyne's.
"Woops."
"This has to be the biggest tee-bag of all…"
Motoki shook his head, as Shido stepped forward.
"Even if you try to fight us with your hands, even as a Spirit, you can't win."
The black-haired Spirit snarled in anger, glaring at Shido.
"I don't think that's how it works, Shido," Kurumi said, "You have to date me, right?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Who knows?" He smirked, "If kissing you is the only one to stop this nonsense, then I'm okay with it."
She lightly chuckled, before raising her hands to the air. All of them stopped tensing, as some sighed in relief.
"Then are you okay with everyone dying?"
Shido immediately raised his brow, just as his earpiece started blaring. The others caught on with theirs.
Reine yelled at them.
"Above you!"
Everyone, bar Kurumi, looked above to see a darkishly-marooned spacequake forming above them. They immediately looked at Kurumi, who only grinned in delight.
"Even if you try to kill me, it would still be the same," she glared at them, "And from the looks of it, that… 'guy' who saved you earlier is at his limit."
She stomped on the ground.
"Everyone's going to be devoured by this spacequake… except me."
She gripped her hand tightly, just as the rest started to scramble.
…
Instead, just as they were going to do so, the shadow of the spacequake itself disappeared in a flash.
The Time Spirit herself looked at the event with confusion, trying to process what was going on.
"Look at you, all fine and mighty with what you do that you don't even know what you're doing."
They looked at the source of the voice, only for them to gawk at her presence.
Kurumi could only glare at her, just as the girl descended. Her frilled sandals touching the rooftop's concrete ground.
"Spacequakes can cancel spacequakes, as long as they are at the same frequency. Or is it that you're still a newbie at it?"
Kurumi clicked her tongue at the newcomer.
"However…"
She grinned.
"See you all around."
She didn't try to turn her head towards Shido.
"Especially you, Shido."
The teenager gulped just as she was swallowed by her shadows.
However, the rest of them didn't bat an eye at her disappearance.
Instead, they looked at the newly-arrived Spirit before them.
She wore a white kimono, her still-developed cleavage showing as the robe was kept by a black sash with golden lines. While she had long red hair, she had ribbons tied the sides of her forehead along with horns curving upward.
The Spirit herself looked at them with a smile, a large flaming ax kept by her shoulder.
"Hello, brother."
Shido, himself, shook his head.
"…Kotori?"
The Flame Spirit sighed.
"Well, who do you think it is?"
She haughtily smirked, just as she closed her eyes and made the large ax disappear.
"But…"
"I'm sorry to tell you… but Tohka wasn't your first."
Motoki whistled, just as he walked towards Origami and Tohka.
"Talk about throwing shade."
Shido still shook his head.
"But… why?"
She sighed.
"I know you'd freak out the moment you'd realize that your step-sister is a Spirit, right?" She shrugged her shoulders, "I mean, who wouldn't?"
She looked around, sighing.
"All right everyone. Now's not the time for admiring me. If anything we should-"
"Kotori!"
And suddenly, she blanked out.
"Shin."
"Shin?"
Shido crossed his arms, looking away from Reine who currently handled the controls.
They were currently at one of the 'virtual' rooms set up in Fraxinus, inside a rather spacious one that is dimly lit. The 'virtual' living room, which has its walls a one-way mirror, held Kotori inside in a black and white dress with a jumper, alongside a black ribbon just as she sat silently near the table.
The controls, where Reine and Shido were currently, are just a step away from the elevated room, with a metal staircase that leads to its not-so transparent door.
Reine sighed.
"Are you going to ignore me forever, Shin?"
The boy sighed.
"I'm just surprised that you're…"
"Using that instead of Shido? Is there a problem with that?"
She tilted her head.
"You're making it an inside joke, huh…"
"That's not the point here, Shido."
She looked to the controls again.
"You should go to her already."
Shido stayed silent, just as Reine sighed.
"You're still pissed we kept it a secret from you?"
He looked away, fuming.
"…Who wouldn't?"
"Then getting pissed will not help her, Shido. Ask her yourself. It was her order to keep us shut in the first place."
Reine pressed a button, before standing up.
"I'll be going back to the bridge. Talk to her in the meantime."
She then stepped away from the controls, leaving the room as the automatic doors closed.
Shido gripped his arms with his hands even further, before walking towards the elevated room. He climbed the metallic stairs, placing his hand on the door's knob. Gently, he pushed it open, just as Kotori perked her head up to him.
"Shido."
She silently mumbled, just as the boy closed the room.
Like a one-way mirror, the walls were visible to him, leaving the outer parts invisible to his eye.
He looked back to Kotori, walking towards her and sitting opposite. His steeled eyes didn't soften up for a bit, causing Kotori to droop her eyes.
"Look, I'm sorry that I've-"
"No."
She immediately looked up to him.
"What you need to be sorry about is that you've kept it for too long. It's my job as your brother to keep you safe, Spirit, or not."
She scoffed.
"Brother, huh?"
"Even if I'm somewhat reunited with my family, that doesn't mean I'm going to leave you out of the dark. I've spent sixteen years of my life with you. With mom and dad."
She blushed, looking away.
"So it's true that you're the 'first' Spirit sealed, right?"
"Yes."
The red-haired girl sighed, just as he raised a brow.
"But you're still-"
"I don't know too, Shido. I don't know."
She gripped the table with her fingers.
"I'm human, but I became a Spirit for some reason. I don't have any recollections so far."
"Meanwhile," he continued, "my mom tried to help me with my memories. So far, I did seal you when our old house was literally on fire."
"…so much for that poor phase, huh? What else?"
"Just that. And some bad memories about the Great Fire. Worse is that it's going to be about two weeks from now."
"The anniversary… right?"
He nodded.
"At least you know what you did, Kotori," he sighed, "What other secret do you have in store?"
"That's… it."
"That's it?"
"Well, aside from me going insane from time to time."
"…Explain?"
She sighed, raising a palm at him.
"While Tohka and Yoshino are capable of keeping their forms at an extended period, mine has a side-effect of its own."
"What happened earlier isn't much of a secret anymore."
"I haven't told you about the other side effect."
She paused.
"The thing about it is that I lose control the more I use my powers."
"Is it because it's too much for you?"
"Possibly. That, and Reine's hypothesis that I was human 'before' that I just can't keep up with my power."
He nodded slowly.
"…Kurumi's gotten away again," Kotori said.
"Well, sort of."
The twin-tailed commander raised a brow.
"Truth be told, she tried to give me a joke kiss."
"…She did?"
"Right after you collapsed and that I have to go back to the school. I was that close to sealing her."
"Always the let downer, huh?"
He shook his head.
"By now, I can't track her. The only way I could is if I kill her clones, which is something I won't do since technically it's also her."
"So much for you going brutal at her that time."
"Hey, she left me no choice."
"Aside from making my assumption right about you just wanting to kick her ass first?"
"…Sort of," he massaged his eyes, "well, that's all that I have. Aside from me still being the only guy capable of sealing you. Which made me think of something."
"What of it, Shido?"
"Mom and dad told me that I was just placed outside the doorstep by that time, right?"
"And so?"
"My dad might have overlooked that fact, but I didn't tell him about who placed me outside in the first place."
"You mean that-"
"Yeah, I got my first clue. Sort of," he looked away, "If it weren't for the fact that I… can't remember at all."
"How so? Didn't the Ripple rejuvenate your memories even from being a baby?"
"It's... all puzzled from what I saw. Like no matter how much I try, the person who held onto me was all static."
"That sucks."
"True, but at least I have a lead now."
She looked away.
"You're still trying to find out why? I mean, you're already reunited with Jolyne and co."
"I'm doing it on my mother's behalf, and maybe mine too."
He looked up.
"I don't know why I was a baby at that time with no recollection that I'm a Kujo. I want to know if the person who held onto me at that time and get some answers. I want to know what happened in those years."
He sighed.
"But yeah, that's the least of my worries for now."
He looked back at her.
"Well… I don't know what to do actually."
"For starters, you have to date me."
He raised a brow, just as she shook her head.
"By now, you noticed that there wasn't that much of a flame helping you with your wounds earlier, right?"
"Oh… I see. So that flame was yours in the first place?"
"Yes. And that's why I was confident that you'd be able to survive so far."
He scoffed.
"Anyway, it's no different from Tohka and Yoshino. And this is a future reference if it happens to them as well. As of now, I have drawn my powers from you, meaning that I'm just like a Spirit as the two of them are."
"And all I have to do to get it back is to seal it? Why not now?"
Shido raised a brow, just as she was flustered from his response.
"Shido… you know that's how it goes, right?"
"Right…"
He rolled off his tongue, just as he crossed his arms.
"Anyway-"
He immediately tensed himself.
"Kotori."
"Yes, Shido?"
"You think you can hide that detail from me, right?"
She tilted her head.
"What detail?"
"Ever since I got used to the Ripple, I've been noticing some minor details. That, and my Stand's nearly that precise. You're fidgeting."
"Isn't that kind of normal?"
"Something's wrong with you, isn't it?"
"H-how so?"
"From what I remember, you don't sit that bent. Your fingers are scratching the table. Your eyes are showing it."
She looked away, fuming.
"Jolyne taught you that?"
"I've been your brother for 16 years now. I know what's wrong and what's not."
The twin-tailed commander sighed.
"Th side effect from getting my powers back. Reine knows more about it, however."
"Yes."
Shido was startled as Reine appeared beside him, a mug of steaming coffee on her hand as she placed it on the table for Kotori to grab.
"Thank you," the commander thanked.
"Shido, we should discuss it outside."
"…You sure?"
He looked at her with a raised brow, with a nod coming from her. He immediately stood up, and followed her as both of them exited the virtual room and was greeted back to the sight of the dimly-lit control room.
Shido was at the top of the staircase, while Reine was at the bottom of it, looking at him.
"What's going on with my little sister?" he asked.
"She filled you in, right?"
He shook his head.
"Not enough to understand."
She nodded.
"Two days."
"Two days?"
"Two more days and she'll cease from being your sister."
"…Is that how violent it gets?"
"That's just the general estimate, Shin," she looked away, "But she can force it for a few more, but it's already fatal to her. For her psyche, I mean."
"I see. Is that all?"
"Yes. You just have to date her during that period. Since there will be no classes tomorrow because of earlier, use this time to rest before Saturday."
Shido looked away, crossing his arms just as he slumped his back towards the front wall of the virtual room.
"I'll tell the rest about this. You can go now."
Shido slowly nodded, before slowly walking towards the entrance, leaving Reine to go towards the controls of the room. The door slowly opened for him, greeted by the sight of brighter light from the metallic corridors of the ship. He slowly sank his eyelids, before his eyes finally adjusted as he shuffled towards the bridge in silence.
However, his attention was quickly diverted to his phone.
The teenager quickly hoisted it from his pocket, seeing the notification on the screen. With a sigh, he walked away.
Shido, instead of his normal uniform, wore the attire that he had during his date with Kurumi, standing in front of a white desk that had a woman in a nurse attire behind it, sitting in an office chair.
The nurse herself noticed the boy in the quiet lobby, as she turned her office chair towards him.
"What do you want?"
"Where is Tobiichi Origami's room?"
"Oh, Tobiichi?" The nurse's eyes looked away from him, slowly nodding, "Let me check."
The nurse turned towards the computer to her left, quickly tapping on the keyboard with efficiency.
"Say, are you his boyfriend?" She asked without turning towards him.
"Sort of," he instantly replied
"Then you sure have to treat her properly, mister. It's been worrying that she frequents here for the past few months."
"Few months?"
"Well, just not the complicated ones. Just injuries or so. Makes you wonder what she does."
She turned at him, chuckling.
"Unless you don't know what she's up."
"Who knows?"
He shrugged his shoulders, just as she shook her head.
"Room 305, West Building," she nonchalantly stated, "Just make sure you don't do anything to her at the moment."
"Right…"
He shrugged it off, just as he marched towards the staircase.
As of now, he was currently on the third floor of the hospital, slowly passing by the rooms as well as the other patients in the hospital. There were even doctors and nurses rushing towards one of the emergency rooms that he passed by, gulping before continuing.
The teenager turned left, as he was treated to a hallway only illuminated by the setting sun. He continued without hesitation, looking at his surroundings without care. He then turned his attention towards the city, before looking up to the sky as he could see Fraxinus floating up in the air invisibly with the help of his Stand.
Shido then stopped outside Room 305, where Origami was supposed to be.
He then slowly grabbed the handle, looking to his left and right before knocking the door with his free hand.
"Hello?" He told, "This is Shido. Is it okay to—"
"Yes."
He quickly sighed at her response, as he gently opened the door with his hand.
Origami was resting on the bed, with the only illumination from the room coming from the window itself. She had a bandage wrapped around her forehead, wearing the standard patient wear in pink. She looked at him with her soulless eyes, just as he slowly closed the door behind him.
Shido closed his eyes.
"Why did call me?"
She looked towards the window.
"I thought you came here because I was injured."
He sighed, walking towards Origami with arms arching with yellow sparks.
She slowly backed up on her bed, only to see his hands touch her body, massaging her shoulders. He then breathed in and out, just as the yellow sparks rippled in harmony with the two of them.
She was visibly shaking from what he had done, just as he unlatched his hands away from her shoulders. At that instant, she stretched her entire body, a shock coming from her face just as she could move properly.
"Now, please do tell me why. I don't have all day."
She looked away from him again.
"Her."
He perked up his brow, just as her eyes steeled.
"Her?"
"The Flame Spirit."
He crossed his arms.
"What about it?"
"After all these years, I finally found her."
His face slowly turned to shock, before shaking his head as he glared at her.
"You mean-"
"The one who killed my parents."
She gripped her outfit in silent anger.
"During the Great Tenguu Fire."
She closed her eyes.
"I've waited five years for this alone, just so I could dig my fingers at her neck for killing my parents mercilessly."
She gritted her teeth, before hiding it away.
"I've joined the AST for this reason, Shido. And I've finally found her."
He sighed.
"Is that all?"
"…that all?" She glared at him, "What do you mean… 'is that all?'"
"Remember what I can do to you, Origami."
Her body quickly tensed up, just as she found herself not moving.
"What-"
"Now then…"
Origami stared at him with fear, just as he placed his hands on her head. He sat on the bed in front of her, his hands slowly massaging her forehead. No matter how much she tried to move, she couldn't feel a muscle responding to her at all. She was at the mercy of Shido's power, just as his body started to glow brightly.
She then, suddenly, found herself moving.
From her trying to jerk away from him, she found herself tumbling towards the floor.
She shook her head, dusting off the dirt in his face just as she looked towards Shido.
He didn't move at all, nor did he notice her tumbling down the floor.
With that moment, she then-
And suddenly, her mouth became wide open.
Her irises shrinking in her pupils.
Just as she saw her not-moving body sitting quietly on the bed.
She then looked at herself, before looking back at him.
With that confusion alone, she tried to push the boy away from 'her'.
Despite all of her efforts, she only found herself in a complete state of shock as her 'body' phased through him.
She then kneeled to the ground, unable to understand what was going on.
"Origami."
She perked up, just as he whispered her name.
"Whatever you do, do not move."
Suddenly, his hands strapped to her elbows, his body weighing down on her legs.
She felt all of this, even if 'she' was not in the bed at all.
She felt all of her nerves screaming at her as if the sense of feeling was amplified.
Even if Shido moved his hand only for about a centimeter, she felt the wave of responses from her body tenfold.
"If you move, however, you'll regret it."
She then suddenly noticed something touching her forehead, and by then she realized it was the 'ghost' that he had with him.
"I'm going to start now."
And suddenly, her mind blanked out.
"Damn you!"
She kneeled on the ground, tears falling from her cheeks.
She looked up to the air, gritting her teeth as she tried to punch the burning sky with her little fists.
"I won't forget what you did!"
She screamed towards the light that shined above her, a figure drifting away to the heavens. She yelled at it in anger, just as her legs gave up on her.
"I'll kill you!"
She noticed the figure slowly shaking its head from high up, its silhouette vanishing just as the light was consumed by the thick fog and smoke from the fire around her.
"I'll kill you-"
She immediately woke up, sitting up on her bed as she looked around.
She felt something wet on her face, as tears streaked upon it. She wiped it away with her hand, looking around to see Shido's figure sitting to her left.
The teenager was slowly peeling apples in the setting sun's light, placing it on a nightstand beside her.
"Good afternoon, Origami."
He said, before placing the last sliced piece on the plate. He smiled at her, only for her to shake her head and place a hand on her forehead.
"What…"
"What you saw wasn't a dream, Origami."
He answered, just as he crossed his arms.
"Then again, you immediately passed out just as we were starting. Guess my father was right that you have to be that mentally strong just to not break during a stressful episode."
"What did you…"
"Right," he sighed, looking at her with steeled eyes, "what I did was make you remember properly. The side effect being me also knowing what you were doing for the past five years."
She slumped her head in the bed in defeat, just as he shook his head.
"You weren't joking when you said you wasted five years of your life… just for this."
"…What did you gain from it?"
"What did you learn from it, Origami?" He replied, "If anything, you're still denying one thing."
"That is…?"
"My sister being the Spirit you wanted to kill."
She immediately looked at him with shock, before slowly looking away towards the window.
"What you and I saw was someone different," he stated, closing his eyes, "While my father was trying to recover my memories, it also resulted in me remembering what had happened five years too."
"Which means that?"
"Yes, she wasn't the Spirit you were looking for. Rather, what you saw earlier was someone else," he shook his head, "Sadly, I can't get a rough picture as to who that person was. Except making a silhouette sketch."
Origami looked at him, just as she saw something in his hand.
It was a piece of paper, with a silhouette having a halo on top of it, with a sort of frilly dress around her. What was odd was that the arms were sort of missing and that its form looked like it was slowly curling up in the air.
"I can't get a clear picture as to who she was, since the light behind her was that blinding," he shrugged his shoulders, "Long story short, my sister isn't the person you're looking for."
She slowly nodded, just as she dropped her head.
"Just stop this, Origami," he shook his head, looking at her with worry, "You wasted five years just for this."
She didn't respond, closing her eyes.
"What are you gonna after you've killed the person you're trying to find? Like what?"
"Marry you."
She said nonchalantly, as he shook his head.
"That's not how it works, seriously."
He looked away, crossing his arms.
"Fine then, as if I could ever change your mind," he stood up, looking away, "All you could ever think of is just kill Spirits. And the fact that you're not even hesitating to kill a little girl."
"She's a-"
"And what if she was?"
He quickly shut her down, looking down on the floor.
"What if I am a Spirit?"
He looked up, slowly turning towards her.
"Would you kill me too?"
She looked down on the floor, closing her eyes.
He shook his head, slowly walking towards the door.
Just as he closed the door, he slumped his back at the wall of the hallway, his face becoming gloomy.
'Hey, Day to Story.'
His Stand appeared beside him, floating silently.
'You think I was rough on her?'
The Stand didn't reply at all, only to be willed away as he sighed.
'I know it wasn't right, but she gave me no other choice.'
He thought to himself, just as he walked away from her room…
Suddenly, he heard his phone beep.
He then realized it wasn't his phone, but rather his earpiece.
He quickly placed his right hand's index finger on the button, just as the transmission came in.
"What's the problem?"
He said, looking around for any onlookers.
And then, his face contorted to shock.
A bead of sweat falling from his forehead.
Once I post this chapter, there will be a one (or two) month-long break from the next chapter which will have some rewrites here and there. I… really don't want to 'follow' the entire plotline of the current main timeline as I have mine already planned. The reasoning behind this is to minimize some 'filler' entirely.
So yeah, I think we're kind of… halfway now? Surprisingly enough, this was supposed to end by the 80th chapter mark, but I decided not to bullshit any further. What about the Stand fights? Well, we'll see about that…
Chapters 1~20 will now be under the 'REWRITE' tags. Once a chapter has [REWRITE] on it, then it is considered the final for the next chapters.
Also, check my profile for a poll regarding the creation of a Discord server for any discussion and updates.