Chapter 43: One X, Part 1

Walking back, Daichi, Koi, Hatsuki, Yoshiro and Reiko were chatting.

"So… That businessman in blue. How are we gonna kick his ass?" Daichi wonders.

"We don't even know how to deal with his Stand first." Yoshiro replied. "And if his Stand is considered deadly, then you best leave his sight."

"Retreating is for beginners, Yoshiro." Daichi said. "And WE are not beginners."

"Yeah you better think twice about what you just said once Karma affects you." Hatsuki said.

Daichi sighs.

"Ok… How about we just have the future know about what's crack-a-lacking, eh?" Daichi asked.

"Whatever." Hatsuki replied. "Why can't you just learn from your mistakes?"

"I don't know. Hard to do, to be honest."

Koi then stops and spotted something in the distance.

"Hey guys!" Koi said. "What is that thing over there?"

Reiko then looked closer at what Koi saw.

"Hmm… Some sort of artifact." Reiko said. "Looks very old and rare. Should we take it to a museum?"

"Maybe we should." Daichi replied. "Who knows what display it will be at."

Daichi and Reiko then walk over to the artifact.

"Don't try to ruin you two!" Koi said.

"Yeah!" Hatsuki shouted. "That thing might be expensive to drop!"

"Or get it covered in stains!" Yoshiro said.

"We'll be careful!" Reiko said.

Daichi sighed again.

"People are so worried…" Daichi said to himself as he looked at the artifact. "Hmm… Looks cool. Maybe it could fit into the Ancient Japanese exhibit in one of those museums I have been to earlier…"

When Daichi slowly picks it up, he and Reiko look at its carved eyes at which they were green.

"What kind of gemstones are those eyes?" Reiko wonders. "They are probably either emeralds or jades. Or peridot."

Daichi then saw that the artifact was holding a sphere with an X on it.

"What's that sphere?" Daichi wondered as he took a closer look at it.

The artifact's eyes then glowed and started to shake. It then gazed upon Daichi and Reiko, in which it made a flashing effect. Then, it made Daichi and Reiko fall to the ground. The artifact then disappeared.

"Holy shit! Daichi! Reiko!" Koi shouted.

Koi and Hatsuki then ran over to Daichi and Reiko to check on them.

"Are they alright?" Hatsuki said.

Koi then has his left ear close to Daichi's chest, hearing his heart beating.

"Still alive…" Koi said. "But unconscious."

"Same for Reiko." Hatsuki said. "But that artifact… What caused it to make them faint?"

Meanwhile, a teenage boy was with the artifact.

"Looks like that flashing light effect works…" He said as he took a peep at Koi and his allies. "Now for step 2 of this whole thing to work, and when I have exactly 10 people under the artifact's control, then that Milo Xiloto man will get what's coming for what he did…"

The boy then had his artifact disappear again. He watches the artifact appearing next to Daichi and Reiko to do the work.

"That artifact is back!" Hatsuki shouted.

"Don't touch it!" Koi shouted. "It might affect us too!"

The sphere then summons a laser that connects to Daichi and Reiko's backside of their heads, awakening them. Koi and Hatsuki got up and stepped back. Daichi and Reiko opened their eyes as they were fully the color green. They then lashed out and Daichi used Lucky Strike to attack Koi and Hatsuki, but they dodged Lucky Strike's attack.

"Shit! What's going on here?!" Yoshiro shouted as he went near Koi and Hatsuki to protect them.

"That artifact…" Koi said. "It's controlling them! Can it be that it's an enemy Stand?"

"Another enemy Stand that can control multiple people, eh?" Yoshiro said. "First a TV and now a small artifact? Great, what now?"

While watching what's happening, the boy was watching his Stand controlling Daichi and Reiko and attacking Koi, Hatsuki and Yoshiro.

"Looks like it worked… And those two are Stand Users, eh?" He said. "One is a Close-Range Stand with lasers and one is just some radar? Whatever, it doesn't matter… It's all thanks to you, One X…"

Daichi's Lucky Strike then fired a laser at Koi. Yoshiro then used Global Warming to block the laser.

"Koi!" Yoshiro shouted. "Go find Jordin and warn him about an enemy attack that we're facing!"

"Y-Yes!" Koi shouted as he started to run away.

"Looks like it's you and me, Yoshiro." Hatsuki said as her Grenade Jumpers appeared. "You're a good friend to my little brother, so I guess we're gonna have an alliance as well, huh?"

"Hmph… You have a point." Yoshiro replied as his Global Warming made a pose. "Let's knock some sense into them, and then take down that statue!"

TO BE CONTINUED...