Alright, I'm coming back at you again with another chapter of GOTM! I don't really have much to say, other than that, personally, I'm surprised that it is taking me this long to get this over and done with. Like, really, I originally thought it would've taken me 20 chapters to get done with the Danganronpa universe. But then again, that was when I wanted to average tens of thousands of words per chapter. But, as is obvious, I'm not doing that. So… hmmm… I'm going to assume it'll take till chapter 35 that the Danganronpa universe will be done, and that's me being generous.

Also, this will be the last chapter for the kids getting rescued, seeing as I don't want to drag this on for much longer. We all know what's going to happen to their parents, it's just that having it happen in various ways is the only thing keeping each death different. Although, one of them will be different from the others. You'll see.

One more thing before we get to the shilling… thank you all for sticking around with this story. This being my first Gamer OC story, and most definitely NOT my last, has been a worthwhile experiment, and seeing as you all like it so much, I plan to make this the best it can possibly be with my talents.

A special thanks to TACO SENSEI and Kolt999 who have been my constant sources of motivation when it comes to this fanfic. As well as a thank you to everyone else who has stayed by this story's side since June 15th, 2022. Five months flew by so quickly… thank you for Your readership. It really means a lot to me.

Anywho, before we get to my responses to reviews/comments…

I have a P-Atr-Eon. Please check it out! The links are all in my bios on Wattpad, FF Dot Net, Ao3, and Qoutev. Just in case, here is the link: gobblegum2?fan_landing=true&view_as=public

[Note: The first tier on Pat-re-On has been changed from $1.75 to $1.50. I know it's not much, but it's the lowest the site is allowing me to do, believe me, I tried. That's all]

Now! Onto my responses:

[Response to reviews/comments]

(Qoutev) TACO SENSEI: MUHAHAHAHAHAH! FEAR ME! FEAR THE JOJO FANS! A-hem, anyways, I mean, I guess calling Whitesnake a Stand wasn't a giveaway. Oh well, at least you aren't mad about that. Anywho, don't worry. I don't plan on messing with Jojo-related stuff for much longer. It won't be a mainstay, but it will be happening, what with Whitesnake being what it is.

(Qoutev) Dead Phone: Qoutev's notification system is just as bunk as FFN's, as I've learned. Anyhow, Chiaki falling into Despair is something I live for. I mean, most fanfics that do it make her really lazy and creepy, but I have another plan for her. You'll see what that is when Jolyne decides to check on 77 – B. Now, three children remain, and they're my three least favourites…. Oh well. As for Class 78 and their magic show…. Yeah, Jolyne's avoiding it like the plague.

(Ao3) Spearow: No, because the System pointed out that ALL of her powers would be deactivated. She can't go into waist-high water, period.

(Ao3) Dumdum: I'll give you a hint, it has something to do with the fact that she wasn't being influenced by Evil Karma. Not to mention, she was a completely different person before dying. So, that might have something to do with it.

Dicordum (Chapter 7): She spent some of it on a book.

Kolt999: I've been toying with the idea in my head where she gets sent to the RWBY-verse for a while now, but seeing as I have the fate of the next universe up in the air with a vote, we'll just have to wait and see. Now that you mention it, I just realized that Neo and Jolyne have the same hair colour, which was completely unintentional. And Soul Eater… boy, it's been a long time since I heard that name… a-hem, anyways, if I put One Piece in the poll, the chances of it being a story where the Isekai'd OC replaces Akainu is next to none. I picked Akainu's Devil Fruit for more than just the reason that I like his Devil Fruit. He might be an asshole, but he is, hands down, one of my favourite characters in One Piece, at least from the clips I've seen of him, anyway.

Despair Chiaki is something I've been meaning to mess around with for a while. This story gives me a valid excuse to do so. And while Chiaki herself is kind of boring to write about, a Despair-crazed Chiaki is not. Believe me when I say that Chiaki in this fic will have some of what I like to call "black-airforce-energy moments" when we get around to mucking with her.

As for Nagisa's Stand, it's from Part 7, and no, it is not. Killer Queen appears in Part 8, and its user is Yoshikage Kira. I won't tell you the twist as to what the difference between Part 4 Kira and Part 8 Kira is, all you need to know is that it heavily inspired one of my other fics. Boku no Rhythm wo Kiitekure is what the Jojo fandom dubs the "worse version of Killer Queen".

Now, with that out of the way, let's get to the chapter!

[Just a side note before we begin this chapter, seeing as we're covering the rest of the Warriors of Hope, I am going to be expanding upon the abuse at which these kids suffered, specifically, Monaca. Why? Because I feel as if that UDG did not explore her situation enough, especially seeing as Monaca lived in the same house as Haiji, which, if any of you know who Haiji is and what makes him so infamous in the Danganronpa community…. Well, you know why I'm expanding upon this. Of course, there were context clues that one could pick up on to explain her story a bit more, however, it should be noted that it is only through context clues and that this is going to be my interpretation. Not anyone else's. With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter]

xxXXxxXXxx

[?]

Everyone hated him. It was something he was used to. After all, the world hated ugly people, and he was the definition of ugly. His mother said so! He was a disgusting, downright vile-looking person. So, he wore a complete face mask so that no one had to look at him. His father… wasn't in the picture. He apparently ran away when he saw his ugly, vile face.

His mother was right to hate him, as he would always do everything wrong. The only thing he did right was his art. Like…! Like the time he had painted a beautiful portrait of one of his classmates, who loved it so much that their mother bought it from him for 5,000 yen! Though… his mother took it for herself. It was apparently for the medication that she needed so that she could "stand being in his proximity", whatever that was supposed to mean.

He was completely and utterly useless, according to his mother. And according to his mother, he would never amount to anything. Even though Hope's Peak Academy took him in as a part of their elementary division, his mother constantly reminded her that he was a disgusting, vile, and most importantly, useless little boy.

Every time he said that he wasn't, she would hit him. Starve him. Prevent him from going outside with all the other kids. He was never allowed to have friends and was trapped in his room all the time, only allowed to leave when it was time to eat, or when it was time to go to school.

At school, he got a lot of nice comments! You know, when he wasn't joining in with Masaru to take part in his hair-balled schemes. But they were fun, so he always helped! Even if he amounted to nothing when he did help. Though Masaru would always say otherwise, he knew that Masaru hated it when he helped. He always laughed at him when he tried something, so that must've meant he hated him!

But even then… Masaru still called him a friend. It was strange, how he saw him as a friend, even though he laughed at his efforts, and called him names, but Masaru explained it was called "nicknames." His nickname was mask-kun. He… kind of liked it.

Jataro Kemuri, for once in his life, felt like he was loved and appreciated when Masaru Daimon gave him that nickname. He was sure to tell his mother that, only for her to slap him, claiming that he should never have talked to the boy in the first place because he would spread his ugliness. But… that was when he raised his voice to his mother.

Truth be told, he was tired of the treatment. But… his mother wasn't having it. So, that day, she had locked him in his room and made him stay there for the rest of the weekend, only giving him water through a straw in the doorway every six or so hours. When school came around, and when everyone saw just how frail he was, a few people whispered about him.

Maybe everyone hated him because of how ugly he was.

Maybe… maybe that was the case.

Masaru invited him to meet his friends. Kotoko Utsagi, Monaca Towa, and Nagisa Shingetsu. They got along, and they became friends! Much to his mother's disapproval. She was quick to hit him and lock him in his room, which was slowly becoming a prison.

Oh well, at least he had his art supplies!

Until she took that too, and that was when he truly felt alone. He couldn't draw. He couldn't paint. He couldn't sculpt. Nothing. He wasn't allowed to do anything at home anymore. So now he had to wait till school to do anything.

And that was exactly what it was he was doing right now. Sitting in the school's art room and painting. What was he painting? A cracked-open skull, of course. He always adorned the darker aspects of art. He found it… amusing. Torture, in all forms, made him smile. There was something about him, something about his very being that made him love torture, in all forms. He secretly liked being locked and starved in his room. It gave him a sense of euphoria that he couldn't quite explain.

Maybe it was because he was so used to it. Maybe it was because for most of his time alive he was treated like nothing but trash. His art teacher called him disturbed. His classmates slowly watched him turn his beautiful, glorious replications of classmates on paper turn into twisted situations where they were tortured by some monstrous creature that looked a lot like Jataro.

Soon, everyone who spoke to him stopped doing so, calling him a creep, a weirdo, a future serial killer, and whatever else they could spew out of their hateful mouths. He accepted their insults because they were the only things he had. And finally, after two weeks, it seemed as if everyone hated him.

Everyone except Masaru, Kotoko, Nagisa, and Monaca. They liked his art. They said it looked wonderful. They showered him in compliments. It gave him a sense of pride. It showed him that what he was doing wasn't useless. Everyone told him it was, even he was telling that to himself more often than not. He grew into self-deprecation so that he could "fit in" with everyone else. He never brought his art home, because his mother would burn it with her lighter whenever she saw it.

Truly, he was an outcast. But he liked it. He was a part of The Troublemakers! They were outcasts, and so was he!

But… even so, he wished others would appreciate his art other than those who said they were his friends. He wished strangers liked his art just as much as they did.

"What a wonderfully unique piece of artwork, Jataro Kemuri. You seem to like the concept of torture, don't you?"

Jataro looked away from his artwork to see a creature he could only describe as something that crawled off of a painting loom over his shoulder, staring down at the artwork with a curious gaze. Jataro stumbled backward and away from the canvas, dropping his paints all over the floor as his painting of the cracked open skull was sprayed with a streak of red paint that looked something like a blood splatter.

His eyes sparkled when he saw it, how the red streak made the painting just that much better, though he quickly regained focus on the creature that had caused him to trip and fall backwards, the smock that he was wearing that also held his tools for sculpting falling along with him as it covered his frail body up to his lower legs. When he fell, it fell alongside him with a loud thud. Underneath his smock was a pair of orange shorts and a white shirt, of course. And then there was his repugnant face, which was hidden behind the patchwork leather mask his mother had made for him, which was what started his love for artwork.

And then there was the creature. It was tall, but he didn't know just how tall it was. It wore a black mask that covered its upper face, and the top of the mask appeared to be a crown. Its body looked like it had been chiselled to near perfection, just like a statue made by Michelangelo, and what little it did wear didn't leave much to the imagination. Notably, though, it had no crotch, which was kinda good, seeing as the skirt that it wore didn't cover that part of its body; the only things being covered were the upper portion of its face, its shoulders, and its thighs and hips. Strangely enough, it had English letters scrawled all over its body, those letters bein and T. Aside from that, it appeared humanoid enough, and that alone was enough to creep Jataro out.

"W-Who are you…?" Jataro asked, his voice shaky and scratchy due to his lack of water over the last 8 hours. The shakiness was just something that he had developed due to his nervousness and sheepishness.

"Who am I? Why… I'm someone who wishes to help you out of your predicament. But first… let's get rid of that awful mask so that I can confirm your identity."

The creature moved faster than he could as it ripped off his mask with such speed that he couldn't even speak out his rejection of the idea. For the first time, air hit the skin on his face, and before he could do or say anything else, he quickly buried his face in his hands.

"N-No! W-Why did you do that?! Y-You'll die if you see my face! M-Mother said so!" Jataro near shouted as the creature shook his head.

"No, Jataro. That is not true," the creature said. Footsteps echoed toward him as the creature grabbed his wrists, and slowly pulled his hands away from his face. When their eyes met, the creature did not die. Instead, it smiled. "See? I'm not dying, am I?"

"M-Maybe y-you're special! E-Everyone e-else would die if they s-saw my face…!" Jataro stammered as the creature shook its head.

"If that was the case, your mother would've died giving birth to you. Now, look…" the creature began as it pulled out a mirror from nowhere, passing it to him as Jataro looked at himself in the small thing. What he saw was… was not ugly. In fact, it kind of reminded him of Kotoko's adorable face that everyone seemed to like. Smooth skin, short brown hair, and a pale complexion from the lack of sunlight. Not the diseased, scar-ridden mess that his mother described to him.

"Don't you see? You're not ugly. You're beautiful, Jataro. The only ugly person you know is your mother. Her ugly heart and her ugly treatment of you are inexcusable. And… I have just the way to get back at her for it."

The creature pulled out a disc of some sort, and slowly but surely, pushed the disc toward his forehead. When it did, he felt a slight tingle in his body—the same kind he felt when he watched one of those "gore videos" a few of his classmates spoke about, the ones that he had been uniquely interested in after he had seen one on accident. How their faces contorted into mortifying screams—the raw fear in their eyes, it was like a work of art, but in real-time! And then, when the creature was finished with whatever it was it had put into his head, the creature stood up and began to walk away.

"Within that DISC contains a power. That power is something that you can use to get back at your mother. It is… quite effective when it comes to torture. I think you'll like it. Use it to get revenge against your mother, Jataro."

When Jataro blinked, rubbing at his eyes, the creature was no longer in sight. He looked over to his painting, then over to the mask that lay on the floor. Out of reflex, he reached for it but stopped just as his fingers grazed against the leather. He recoiled, a disgusted look on his face. The words of his mother echoed throughout his head, calling him ugly, useless, disgusting, and revolting. The hitting, the starvation, the torture. All of it was a fabrication. Well, not necessary; it all happened to him, and that was the real part.

The part where he believed that he deserved it, though. That was the lie. The part where he was considered nothing but dumpster trash, and he believed it! Well… maybe that part was still true, and maybe he was a little unsightly, but that wasn't the point. The point, at least to him, was that he was lied to. His mother lied to him. Not only did his mother lie to him, but she also took away his art supplies, and she took away his chance at a normal life, forcing him to stay locked in his room to suffer in silence.

The more he looked at it, the more his life compared to one of those films that he watched, minus the whole skin removal and all that jazz.

A bluish aura surrounded Jataro, as something formed over him—like a suit. It was brown, muddy brown to be exact, and it covered his body from head to toe, completely obscuring his appearance. There were red lines dashed across the suit all over the place, appearing to look like stitches. The only things on his body that were exposed were his eyes, his wrists, and the upper portion of his torso, which were obscured by blue lines.

Despite the mask of this new thing covering his mouth and nose, he could breathe as if nothing was covering it. He also felt wildly stronger, too. Looking down at himself, he clenched his hands, eyes shining with a joy he didn't think possible.

The creature did say the disc contained power. And while the power covered him, he knew that it did more than that based on the incredible strength he felt flow throughout his body. Taking a step forward, he watched as the ground rippled like water. His eyebrow raised at the sight, he reached his hand down to the ground and saw it ripple again.

"Huh…?" Jataro murmured, pushing his hand against the ground, only to fall into the ground as it absorbed his hand like water. Falling through the floor, he went to scream, only to realize that he had stopped falling, and had started floating. Moving his arms around to try and stabilized himself, he found that doing so felt like he was deep underwater—like he was swimming in the ground. He could see the ground above him, and that was when he realized something else.

He could swim through the ground! But that's not all. Any ground he came into contact with liquified like he was walking on water. "This… this new power that the creature gave me…. It's so cool!" Jataro said, a smile forming underneath the mouth mask. He was glad that he taught himself to swim! Now he could swim home!

And when he got home… he was going to torture his mother. That made the smile on his face deepen, as the gleam in his eyes turned almost sadistic.

His journey under the floor from school to home only took about five or so minutes, and by the time he got there, had swum under the door, finding his mom relaxing on the couch, smoking something from a pipe. She was gaunt, dishevelled looking, and from the looks of things, shivering. Her hair was stringy, and it looked like she hadn't taken a shower in days. She was wearing baggy clothing, not that Jataro cared.

"Stupid brat… when the hell is he going to be home…?" The shivering woman murmured, taking another puff from the glass pipe thing. Jataro gnashed his teeth together. He had his opportunity to take out his anger on his mother, and right now, he had his perfect shot! So why was he hesitating? She had done nothing but torment him for as long as he could remember! He wasn't about to let some stupid misconceived form of care that was now showing up in her voice stop him!

And so, he shot his arms out from the ground. When the woman saw this, she screamed. His hands wrapped around her ankles, as he slowly dragged her to the ground. With his superior strength, it didn't matter how hard she struggled, because it wasn't going to matter in the end. She kicked, she flailed, and she screamed, but nothing ever came from it.

And as she was being dragged down, he was pulling himself up. Bit by bit, she watched him come out of the ground like a Demon, all the while his eyes gleamed with satisfaction. By the time they were both up to their waists in the ground, her eyes widened upon seeing him. But instead of saying anything, she only screamed in horror. Perhaps she didn't recognize him?

Oh well, not that he cared.

Jataro continued to drag her down, and when her upper torso was in the ground, he was fully out of it. He loomed over her, shadow completely covering his eyes as he raised a foot above her head. "This… is for lying to me." He slammed his foot down on her head, pushing her deeper under the ground, up to her shoulders, as blood trickled from her forehead. "This is for starving me." Another stomp to the dome, this time her neck being submerged as she began to choke on something. "And this is for locking me in my room all the time!" With one final shout, and with one final stomp, the woman was under the ground, gurgling coming from where she was stomped into as Jataro breathed heavily.

The body suit began to disappear, as the floor turned to a more solidified state. When it did, a sickening crunching sound echoed throughout the living room, as blood seeped from cracks in the floor. Instead of gasping, screaming, or stumbling back, all Jataro did was smile a deranged little smile.

Why? Well… because he was free! Free from that woman who he called a "mother". And now, now he didn't have to deal with her lying to him, berating him, hitting him, or locking him away in his room! He was free.

And then, the voice of the creature echoed in the back of his head.

This, Jataro Kemuri, is your new power! Oasis! Any ground you touch turns into liquid, giving you full control over it as long as you are touching it. And, you can also swim under the water. Your speed, durability, and strength have also increased! Seek out my user, Jolyne Brooks, and she will train you and your friends to use your powers without harming yourselves!

"Jolyne Brooks… she's The U-Ultimate Magician, right? I heard about her from the news… if she is the person who sent that creature to help me… then that means she gave me this. I'll find her, and I'll thank her in person!" Jataro thought, looking over to the clock. It was 6:30 Pm, and he didn't know where to find Jolyne Brooks, so…. "Er… T-Tomorrow, I'll do that tomorrow…"

[?]

Boring. Everything was just so… bland to her that it was insufferable. Well, perhaps not insufferable, but for her, it was something she wished would just hurry along, school, that was. School was boring. People were bland. No one entertained her, and because of that, everything was beginning to look bleak. What made matters worse was that her family hated her. She was the mistake, the reason why everything went downhill, the useless brat.

It didn't matter what it was she did in order to try and impress her father and brother. No matter what she did, whether it be building a highly sophisticated robot right before their eyes, it was never enough. Then came the beatings, the constant hurling of insults, and… the touching on behalf of her brother.

Every ounce of pain, every ounce of anger, every ounce of jealousy, every ounce of regret, all of it was bottled up into one vacant, empty face that she used to hide away everything. The same vacant grin, the same soulless stare, the same joyous demeanour. All of it was an act, and people believed her. Well, believed the act, that was. She would never say a thing about the things her father and brother did to her.

Was it worth it? Well, to her, it was. At school, she was loved and spoken to like a person. At home, none of that happened. She was a thing, an object, something that could be thrown around and beaten up, spat on, and used in various ways because it held no value; like an old toy left out to rot in the rain.

Such was the life of one Monaca Towa. And she hated it.

"See you tomorrow, Towa-chan!" A random little girl said as Monaca smiled, waving goodbye to yet another leech as her upturned mouth dropped once the girl turned the corner. Monoca sighed, running a hand through her green hair, looking over her shoulder as she cleared her throat, patting down her green knee-high short-sleeve dress. Due to her status as a Towa, she was seen as someone that was popular; even if she hung out with The Troublemakers.

Granted, she didn't hang out with them because she was friends with them. No. Monaca personally didn't give two iotas of shit about them being friends. She hung out with them because there was one thing that she could relate to them.

Abuse.

Monaca wasn't stupid; hell, she was a child genius! She was kind of surprised she was given the title of Lil Ulitmate Homeroom and not Lil Ultimate Scientist, or Roboticist. Maybe it was because it was dangerous for a little girl. Probably. It was also probably because of her status as a cripple. Though, much like everything else, it was a ruse. A ruse to garner sympathy. And a ruse that worked.

It was funny. People were so easy to manipulate. It was a lesson her father taught her during one of the only earnest talks he ever spoke to her about. People, and by extension the poor, were extremely easy to manipulate; and when they consider you a friend, it was far easier than most. Those were the exact words her father told her. And the best part? When put into practice it was true.

That wasn't to say, however, that she liked manipulating people. No. She was just… extremely good at it. One could say she was talented in manipulating others. Then again, most of her life required her to manipulate others just to get by. Hence the fake persona, the fake disability, and the fake "speaking in the third person personality quirk" being adopted. It made her seem like a special needs student, and therefore more sympathy would be garnered.

Was it wrong? Absolutely. Did Monaca Towa care? No. No, she did not.

In fact, Monaca didn't care about a lot of things. Her life was one of the many things she didn't care about. It was a hidden truth that Monaca was suicidal, though she played it off as a joke. And really, who wouldn't be in the situation that she lived in? Her father hated her, her brother did unspeakable things to her, and no matter what she did she couldn't get away from it.

She had tried and failed, to take her own life on numerous occasions, be it dropping from the roof of her house, but being saved by the bushes of all things. Stabbing herself in the stomach repeatedly, only for one of the butlers in the mansion she lived in to come to her aid by happenstance, to even as of recently hanging herself on the ceiling of her bedroom, only for Haji of all people to bring her down. Then again, it wasn't as if she tied it correctly. The noose wasn't tight enough, so the minimal choking that it did wasn't enough to kill her.

It was comical, to a degree. She tried to end her life on numerous occasions, all of which failed because of the people in her life, leaving her in a perpetual state of agony that she could never escape. She was kind of surprised how she hadn't become a Sociopath yet. Maybe it was the glimmer of hope she still had within her heart that maybe, one day, someone would save her.

"Heh… what a stupid notion…."

"Stupid… everyone's so stupid," Monaca murmured. Adjusting herself in her wheelchair, placing her hands on the wheels to begin moving down the hall so that she could head to the limo that her father would've sent to get her thanks to those Kuzuryu bastards, she moved barely an inch forward when something strong clamped down on her shoulder.

"I concur, Monaca Towa. Most people are stupid. Including you."

Monaca snapped to look over her shoulder, meeting face-to-face with what appeared to be something out of her nightmares. It was tall, and judging how it was nearly tall enough to reach the roof of the building, she had to assume that the creature was six feet tall, maybe a little taller than that. It wore very little clothing, only a black face mask with its nose, or where a nose should be, mouth and lower face exposed with what appeared to be a crown-like thing attached to the face mask. It had a massive shoulder pad thing around its neck, and a small skirt thing with its crotch exposed, though with no visible genitalia, which was a good thing. There was a single black line going down the center of the creature's outfit, golden dots lining said line and the rim of its skirt-thing. Its body was a ghastly white, with black horizontal lines going across its body, with what appeared to be the letters for the genetic code for human DNA, that being the letters G. A. C. and T. standing for Guanine, Adenine, Cytosine, and Thymine. Its eyes, melted as they appeared, stared down at her.

She nearly fell out of her wheelchair had the creature not been holding her shoulder. She felt a burning sensation on her shoulder, as the creature stared down at her. "Such a stupid, stupid child. Believing you have to lie to everyone just to get them to like you. All it would do is make things infinitely worse for you in the long run. Being honest is something that you should do, that way you won't have to face the consequences of lying. Something that would make things infinitely easier, would it not?"

Monaca was silent, not saying anything. Fear had taken a hold of her in the same way she clammed up when her brother spoke to her. Her heart skipped a beat, as she cringed at the memory of what happened to truly make her want to die more than anything else.

Her brother's hand was on her shoulder as he growled out her name. She was bent over the frame of his bed, two fingers in her mouth as she cried. He threatened her that if she said anything that things would only get worse and that she should just accept whatever it was he wanted to do to her. Every single vowel he spoke dripped like poison, however, he knew that the threat he made was more of a promise, so… she accepted it. She let him do what he wanted, and after he was done, he left her there to cry and sob. When her father found her in a dishevelled, violated state in Haiji's room, she was beaten, and forced to stay in the basement for the rest of the day. That day was the day that it finally sank in that her "family" hated her. And now, that even included herself.

In a way, she sympathized with Kotoko. But unlike what Kotoko's parents did to her, what with it being very public in the criminal underground, what her brother did to her was different, and in her opinion, infinitely worse.

Which would explain why her voice came out so meekly when she demanded that the creature let go. "P-Please… let go…. M-Monaca d-doesn't like it…."

Much to her surprise, the creature let go of her shoulder. A sigh of relief escaped her, a very uncharacteristic thing for her to do. And then, the creature spoke. "My point still stands, Monaca Towa. This lie, and by extension, your suffering has gone on for far too long. I can help you, but only if you close your eyes, and trust me."

Monaca decidedly didn't trust the massive hulking monster in front of her. She wanted to run, but a part of her wanted to stay. The way it spoke… it felt as if the monster was telling the truth. But it was a monster! Monsters were evil, vile creatures. Er, well, Yokai were in any sense, but that was beside the point. Then again… it did say it wanted to help her, and quite frankly, she'd take any kind of help if it meant that she would get out of the shitty living situation.

So… she closed her eyes, and in the time it took for her to breathe, she felt some form of pressure on her forehead, and then… nothing. She opened her eyes, and the creature was gone. Clenching her hand into a fist, figuring that it was just a hallucination, she cursed under her breath, only for her hands to spark yellow when she breathed out.

Raising an eyebrow, she breathed in, and when she did, a light glow surrounded her body. She could feel the bruises around her body mend and disappear underneath the make-up one of the maids put on her face and arms before she left for school today, as her back, the amount that it had been injured, while not crippling had been debilitating enough to make walking a chore, patched itself up. And then… she slowly got out of her wheelchair. Breathing out, she looked over herself and smiled.

The creature did something to her…. She didn't know what, but it did something.

And then, purple vines grew out of her arms and snapped around them like some sort of bear trap. There was no pain involved when it came forth, only surprise. And then, the voice of the creature spoke to her within her mind.

This is your new power, Monaca Towa! Hermit Purple, representing the Hermit Arcana, as well as the mystical fighting technique of Hamon! This Stand requires smarts, and brains in order to use effectively! Its ability is to peer into the future through technology like TVs and Cameras! It can also be used to wrap people up and fry them with Hamon! Seek out my user, Jolyne Brooks, and she will train you and your friends to use your powers without harming yourselves!"

Monaca smiled, looking down at her arms as the vines sparked with yellow electricity, generated by whatever this "Hamon" stuff was. An idea came to mind, and when it did, she smiled. She smiled because now, she could do the one thing that she had been wanting to do, no, needing to do for quite some time.

Looking over to her wheelchair, the purple vines whipped out at blinding speeds, wrapped up the wheelchair, and crushed it like it was a soda can. The sound of creaking iron and snapping plastic filled her ears like music, as the wheelchair was turned into a small compact ball. When the vines retracted back to her arm and wormed their way back into her skin, she watched as the ball that was once a wheelchair plip to the ground, bouncing for a few seconds, then rolling to one of the walls; all the while Monaca watched it intently.

And then, she started walking down the hallway to the front doors of the school. By the time she reached the doors, she was greeted by two bodyguards, courtesy of the Kuzuryu Clan. Both looked like identical twins, with short black hair, pale skin, and a pair of sunglasses that covered their eyes. They also wore two matching suits and ties, with the symbol of their clan sewn into the right lapel of their suits.

"Ms. Towa? You can walk?" One of them asked as Monaca smiled.

"There has been… a change recently. One I can thank a special someone for. So… yes, I can walk," Monaca said, stepping into the car as the two guards shrugged, before entering the limo with her. The drive was silent, no one said a word, nor asked any questions when they saw Monaca enter the car without her wheelchair, namely because they were so shocked when seeing her without it.

By the time they approached the mansion and were let inside, Monaca made a beeline straight for Haiji's room, with a gleam of hatred and vitriol in her eyes, mixed with a twisted sense of hope and desperation. Desperation that he was there so that she could get rid of him here and now, and hope that her split-second plan would work.

Opening the door, she was greeted by the titular black-haired, tan-skinned, dress shirt-wearing, black jeans-having, lean-built pedophile of a "brother" standing by the closet of his rather large master bedroom. "Oh… it's you. What the hell do you—"

His sentence wasn't even halfway out of his mouth when the purple vines of Hermit Purple lashed out toward the man's throat, wrapping around it like an octopi's tentacles, the prickles of the vines stabbing into his skin, drawing blood as the man's eyes widened to the size of saucers, fear etched in his expression as a sneer wormed its way on Monaca's face. "W-What the—"

"Shut up," Monaca growled, narrowing her eyes as she took in a deep breath through her nose, her body covered in a bright yellow aura. Hamon, or whatever it was called, travelled up her arm and toward Haiji, zapping him like a taser as Hermit Purple constricted around his neck even tighter. His choked screams echoed throughout the room and into the hallway, catching the attention of someone.

When the deed was done, and when Haji's body hit the ground with a thud, smoke poured off of it as his body looked hot to the touch. His body twitched a few times, but overall, he wasn't moving, nor was he breathing. Haiji Towa was dead. Hermit Purple slinked away from Monaca as her breathing became erratic, a small smile replaced the sneer as she laughed. It started quiet, before then slowly growing louder and louder as tears poured from her eyes like waterfalls.

She did it. She killed him. She killed the monster who ruined her innocence. She killed the monster that threatened her with worse if she said anything. Now all that stood in her way from liberating herself was the piss poor excuse of a person she shared blood with that she called a father.

"Monaca… what have you done!"

And like the devil being called, Tokuichi Towa stood in the doorway of Haiji's room. He wore a suit, his hair was black like Haiji's, and… actually, he looked just like Haiji, just with wrinkles on his face due to his old age. Next to him were butlers, maids, and Yakuza-provided bodyguards all staring with shocked expressions on their faces.

Monaca smiled a wicked, demented smile as Hermit Purple lashed out to the light bulb as she overloaded the lights throughout the house with Hamon, short-circuiting everything, and plunging the house into darkness. The only thing that illuminated the house was the golden aura surrounding her, and even then, it was only bright enough to illuminate her eyes, which appeared to be glowing, as a mass of purple, thorny vines surrounded her, lashing out everywhere like a crazy cephalopod.

And then… the massacre began.

And the only thing on Monaca's mind as she tore apart everyone with Hermit Purple and Hamon, was the glee in getting back at her abusers, and those who did nothing to protect her.

Gunshots filled the air, but due to the darkness, none of the shots hit their mark. Screams echoed throughout the halls of the Towa Manor, and by the time it was all said and done, and when the lights came back on, blood stained the halls, the floors, the walls, and the carpets as an exhausted, yet very happy Monaca Towa stood in the center of it all, her hair damp with blood, her clothes doused in the rich life blood of all those who served her "father" without question, and Hermit Purple having been retracted back into her body.

All Monaca could do was giggle, before said giggle transformed into a terrifying, insanity-driven laugh, head thrown back as the chilling laugh echoed throughout the house as only one thing filled her head.

She was finally free.

And… it was all thanks to this Jolyne Brooks person. She'd have to find her and thank her in person for what she had done to help her.

[?]

"Pass it over here!" A boy with dark red hair shouted as a soccer ball came flying over to him at breakneck speeds. A determined grin appeared on his face, as once the ball came anywhere near his foot, he reeled back his leg. With a mighty kick, Masaru Daimon kicked the ball across the field, and into the net over 15 feet away from where he was.

A roar of cheers of victory came from his makeshift soccer team, while sighs of defeat came from his enemies. The scrappy young boy smiled, jumping up and down as he punched the air. The boy was wearing a white shirt and red shorts, along with knee-high black socks and red cleats—perfect for playing soccer. He had a few scrapes and bruises decorating his skin, though he kept his mind off of them for as much of the day as he could, even if it sometimes hurt to walk because of them, let alone move.

Oh well, he was a strong boy! Strong boys took beatings with pride! At least, that was what his father told him. Oh well, he was fine! It wasn't that he was scared of going home! Strong boys don't get scared! Strong boys listened to their fathers, even if they beat them till they bled! He worked all the time! He wasn't broken! He wasn't useless! He worked hard! He was smart! He wasn't dumb! He wasn't pathetic! He listened to everything his father told him!

So why did he still beat him?! Why was it that every time he spoke a little louder than usual his father beat him?! Why did his mother do nothing to stop his father?! Why did she only watch and beg him to stop, but do nothing about it?!

Why?! Why?! Why?!

Masaru composed himself, took in a deep breath, and sighed. Calm. Calm was what he needed to be. If he wasn't calm, he could deal with his father. His father may raise a hand to him, but he still loved him. He still bought him the things he asked for. He still cared for him. It was only when he drank out of those metal cans that he became that way.

Besides, his father was Yakuza. That meant he could get away with anything. No matter how many times his neighbours called the cops, they did nothing once they saw who he was affiliated with. Not many people wanted to mess with the Kuzuryu Clan, and seeing as his father was a high-ranking member, that being the current heir Natsumi Kuzuryu's most loyal bodyguard.

Nine times out of ten, he wasn't home. He was at the Kuzuryu compound most of the time and only came home once a month. That time had already passed, i.e. yesterday, so that meant he was going to be stuck at home with his mother.

His mother wasn't a bad person, but she was a bit on the loopy side. She liked to smoke this weird green stuff and it made her unresponsive for a while. Masaru often found himself cooking his own food, so he was pretty good at it! Well, sorta. He once gave himself food poisoning when he failed to cook chicken legs long enough. Who knew that getting it off by only 30 seconds was enough to still keep it raw? Masaru sure as hell didn't.

Oh well, it wasn't as if it was his first rodeo with food poisoning. Mostly by screwing up his own dinner.

All in all, his life wasn't that bad. He had overheard some of Kotoko's mental breakdowns, oftentimes saying some things she probably didn't mean to say. His best friend, Jataro, clearly had issues at home, Monaca as well, especially seeing as any physical contact made her recoil. Nagisa was smart, but he also sometimes had the jitters and fidgeted in ways that didn't seem normal. He read some of Nagisa's notes, and while most of it made no sense to him, he recognized that the jitters came from something called "withdrawal."

Now, he didn't know what withdrawal meant but seeing as it made Nagisa scratch his arm to the point where it bled, and made him fidgety all the time, then it probably meant it was bad.

"Hey, Masaru, are you alright?" a voice belonging to one of his teammates called out to him, a hint of concern appearing on their faces as Masaru smiled.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm fine! See you tomorrow!" Masaru said, running off to head into the school to gather his things and head home. When he reached his locker, however, he saw something that he had seen before. He recognized it as the thing that followed him from the sidewalk to the school. He wasn't the least bit perturbed by it, though he was shocked to see it there.

"Oh. It's you again! Heya weird monster-thing!" Masaru said, earning a blinking expression from the creature.

"You know me?" The creature asked as Masaru nodded.

"Uh-huh! That pink and black-haired girl sent you, right? Must mean she's worried about me, right?" Masaru said, causing the creature to recoil.

"You know my user? How?" The creature questioned, a surprised look on its face as Masaru smirked, a cheeky gleam in his eyes as he walked to his locker, which had been what the thing had been leaning on.

"I'm not stupid, you know. As the Lil Ultimate P.E., my senses are pretty advanced. You might've been invisible for a normal person, but I could make out your shape and appearance when you were chasing me down. It's what makes me as good of a soccer player as I am. Without those senses, I wouldn't nearly be as good," Masaru explained, dragging out his book bag. "That's not to mention that I saw her go into an alleyway, and then watched you come out of it. I knew that meant you two were connected somehow, and it made me smile knowing that someone was looking out for me."

The creature hummed. "Hmm… interesting. I was not expecting that. You're much more interesting than I first believed. Although, that doesn't really matter. What matters is that: You're correct. She is worried about you, as well as your friends."

Masaru chuckled to himself. "Ah… gotcha. So… what do you want? I need to get home, my mother's waiting for me."

Shock quickly took over the creature's features as it raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "You… want to go home? What about the abuse you suffer there?" The creature asked as Masaru grimaced.

"My dad's a good man. He only gets that way when he drinks from those cans. Most of the time he's not home, and at the Kuzuryu compound as the leader's bodyguard. Mom doesn't do anything to me, so I don't really care all too much. It's only when he's home that I care. But he's not, and he won't be for another month," Masaru stated, looking over at the creature with a large smile. "So, I think I'm fine for today!"

The creature pursed its lips in thought, cupping its chin. "I see…. In any case, I still wish to give you this," the creature said, taking out a disc from its skin. It was still covered in white goo, but Masaru wasn't all too scared of it. Though he did find it weird that it had pulled it out of his body. "Close your eyes, or don't, it doesn't matter to me. When I am done, you'll have newfound powers that, once you feel as if you need to use them, you may. But, I ask you only this; find my user when you have the time. I have given the rest of your friend's similar powers. They will all be looking for her, as well. Seeing as you know what she looks like, lead them to her, become their leader, so that they may be able to better themselves."

When the creature was done with its mini-speech, it pressed the disc to his forehead, he felt a jitter spring throughout his body, and by the time he had come to, the creature was gone. Masaru smiled, clenching his hands together.

Masaru smiled, closing his eyes. He might not've known what his powers were, but seeing as his friends had similar abilities, at least according to the creature, he was pretty sure that he was going to be fine. He knew that the creature's user was feuding with the Kuzuryu Clan, meaning that his dad probably wasn't going to be alive for long.

He might not've gotten the pleasure to take out his father. But at least he knew one thing. He was safe, so long as that creature's user was strong, he was going to be free from his father in no time. A wave of confidence filled his veins, as he ran down the hallway to walk home. He couldn't wait to tell his mom!

[Jolyne Brooks]

Spinning the DISC with Ratt in it around her finger, Jolyne, who was no longer wearing the black-and-white Ying and Yang Cloak, smirked as she looked down at the unconscious form of Jin Kirigiri. Whitesnake loomed behind Jolyne as the dual-haired mage made a humming sound. It appeared that whenever a DISC was extracted that the person who had it would go unconscious.

It was interesting. Well, kind of interesting, but it was still something she never would've expected. Then again, seeing as Stands were a part of someone's soul, removing a Stand DISC, it was like removing a part of one's soul. Though it was never Jin's, to begin with, he was still experiencing some of the side effects. And while she was sure Jin would be fine, she still found it a bit concerning that he now lay on the floor.

"So…" Jolyne began, turning to Whitesnake. "Masaru's father is gonna be our problem, huh?" Jolyne asked as Whitesnake nodded.

"According to the boy, his father is Natsumi Kuzuryu's right-hand man," Whitesnake said as it crossed its arms. Jolyne took in a deep breath and sighed. Just what she needed; an excuse. She had been looking for an excuse to finally put the last nail in the Kuzuryu Clan's coffin. She just hadn't found a reason to yet. But now, she did.

As far as Jolyne was concerned, Natsumi wasn't shit. She wasn't worth her time, and yet now, she was. 'Course, the quest about killing Natsumi made it clear that she had magic, so that meant that she needed to be on her toes when fighting the bitch. Even with all of the abilities she had, Natsumi night turn out to be a rather deadly foe.

And that's not counting the rest of the members. If she knew magic, that must've meant she was teaching it to those who were close to her. And, seeing as Pekoyama had been kidnapped, they were probably on high alert. If she was going to attack the Kuzuryu compound, then she was going to do so in the dead of night.

She was fairly confident in her abilities, what with her Devil Fruit, Stand, and all of her other fantastical abilities, she was pretty sure any attempt at doing any damage to her was going to be null and void. That being said, she still needed to be careful. This was a highly dangerous group of people, and even if she had all these magical abilities to spare, it wasn't as if she could afford to throw caution to the wind.

She might've been mostly brawn when compared to her brain, but when those extra few brain cells did kick in, they surprised the dual-haired mage when they came in handy.

The sound of footsteps behind her echoed in her ears, taking the mage out of her train of thought as she unsummoned Whitesnake. Jolyne swiftly turned around and was greeted by someone she had never seen before, at least, around the school, that was. However, she did look a little familiar, if only for the facial structure being extremely similar to the person who lay unconscious by her feet.

The person in question was a relatively tall teenage girl, with short lavender hair, purplish eyes, with a pale complexion. Unlike most of the other students, the girl wore a completely different set of clothing that wasn't even remotely close to the school's traditional uniform, though it was a tad bit similar in design.

The outfit in question was a dark purple collared blazer jacket, unbuttoned, with sleeves adorned with zippers that did seemingly fit a purpose. Underneath the blazer was a white blouse, and hanging from the blouse's collar was a brown tie, on the end of which was a bird-like symbol. She wore a thigh-high black short-skirt, heeled knee-high black boots, and from what Jolyne could see, similarly knee-high socks of undetermined colour.

Strangely enough, she was wearing dark purple cloves. For what purpose, Jolyne did not know why. What she did know, however, was that it was irrelevant. Why? Because that wasn't what she needed to be focused on. What she needed to be focused on, was the shocked, and slightly angered face that the girl was making. One CHECK later, Jolyne knew exactly who she was.

Name: Kyoko Kirigiri/The Worlds Smartest Detective

Level: 60

HP: 5,525

Stamina: 5,525

Mana: 0

Faction: Future Foundation

Being related to the Kirigiri's, a family known to breed the best detectives, Kyoko exemplifies that tenfold. She's the smartest detective in the world, and with a status like that, it's easy to see why she's never around. But when she is, when she's on your case, she's problem number one.

Jolyne stared down at The Ultimate Detective, as the Ultimate Detective stared her down, the mage with nothing but an apathetic expression, and Kyoko with a mix of rage and terror, though the terror did not stem from her fear of the mage, but the condition of her father. "So… you're his daughter, huh?" Jolyne mused, tilting her head to the side.

Kyoko looked to Jolyne, then to Jin, then back to Jolyne. "What did you do to him?" Kyoko asked, her tone calm, but underneath that calmness, she could hear the panic. "Stone cold façade, I see…." Jolyne thought as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants.

"Relax, Kirigiri-san. He's alive. Unconscious, but alive," Jolyne stated, slipping the DISC into her pocket and sealing it in her inventory. Kyoko's eyes narrowed at Jolyne, as she got into a slightly defensive stance. It was subtle, seeing as her left leg only moved an inch, but that inch was enough to prove that, if push came to shove, Kyoko would fight her.

Jolyne scoffed but didn't move a muscle.

"That doesn't answer my question. What. Did. You. Do. To. Him." As Kyoko spoke, she enunciated each word to give it more of an impact. The mage raised her hands in a gesture of peace, a small smirk on her face.

"We made a deal. He completed it, and I took back what I gave him. It resulted in him going unconscious, which he was well aware of. He'll be awake in a matter of minutes. You don't need to worry about him," Jolyne replied, putting her hands in her pockets as she looked Kyoko dead in the eyes. "Now, move aside," Jolyne said, walking up to Kyoko, who didn't budge.

"I don't buy that. My father would never make deals with students, especially if they resulted in his harm. He can be stupid from time to time, but he's not that stupid," Kyoko said, her right arm balled up into a fist. Jolyne raised an eyebrow, shaking her head as she let out a small sigh.

"It's the truth, Ms. Detective. Now, step aside. You—"

It happened in a flash. Kyoko's fist zoomed toward Jolyne, who responded with a placating hand, blocking the fist from meeting her stomach. Kyoko's eyes widened, as Jolyne gripped her hands, her skin beginning to morph slowly into molten lava. Then, the pained scream came, and Jolyne smirked. The lava ate through the glove at lightning speeds, getting a glimpse at the already scarred and burnt hand underneath. The lava coated the hand, as the pained scream became louder.

"I said. Step aside," Jolyne growled, throwing Kyoko into a wall as she let go of the teen's hand. The wall cracked with the force that she used, the remains of the hand nothing but scarred muscle and bone, the wound cauterized and not bleeding, but appeared to hurt as hell as tears threatened to poke out from the detective's eyes. "The school's nurse is preoccupied at the moment. You might want to go see someone else for that wound."

And with that, Jolyne left Kyoko Kirigiri to suffer in agony. She had better, more important things to do. Said important things had everything to do with the Kuzuryu Clan.

It was time that she finished what she started.

-To Be Continued in – The Yakuza Massacre of 2014 – Part 1-

We're reaching the endgame now, boys, girls, and people who don't identify as either gender! Jolyne and Makoto have yet to properly meet, but don't you worry your butts off about that. They will, in due time. The next chapter will be all focused on Jolyne, and the next upcoming battles that she will partake in. Also, if the title wasn't indicative of what the events of the next chapter will be, then… uh, yeah.

Well, that's all for me. I'll see you all in the next chapter. Peace!