A/N: I'm mostly an anime-only for Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Some of the stands going forward might be similar to other stands after part 5. I'm sorry if I can't get everything about the Jojo universe correct.

It has only been a few days since Josuke and I found Jolyne, Jotaro's daughter, and we haven't heard back from him since then. Our everyday lives as students seemed to continue for me at least. Josuke on the other hand has been acting quite peculiar lately. I've been trying to find the root cause of his actions but every time I ask, he says that he's fine. He doesn't make eye contact with me anymore, and most of our conversations to and from school have been short and simple while he tries to keep himself occupied more with Koichi and Okuyasu. It's as if I did or said something to offend him.

Today was no different. I waited on the bench outside of school for Okuyasu and Josuke to come out of their classes to go home. Koichi had already decided to hang out with Yukako for the afternoon. The ground was muddy and the atmosphere was as if I stepped straight into a horror movie, with fog so thick you can barely see two meters ahead of yourself. It's been raining inconsistently over the past two days

"Hey! Kuro!" Okuyasu immersed from the musky fog from the school building. He had on his usual childish smile and waved.

"Hey, Okuyasu." I return. I notice someone missing to the side of him. "Where's Josuke?"

"He said that he's going to come soon and to wait for him." I patted the seat next to me on the bench as an invitation to Okuyasu and he took it. "I wonder what's taking him so long." His lavender eyes scanned my body and the rest of the bench. "Why are you carrying two umbrellas?"

"Oh," I picked up the umbrellas and wielded them as if they were dual swords. The one on the left was stripped blue and yellow while the one on the right was white and covered with cherry blossoms. "Usually Josuke forgets his umbrella and whenever it rains, he asks if we can share one. But because he's so tall and big, I can never fit underneath it when we walk together and I get soaked by the time I get home. So on days like this, it's more logical to carry two umbrellas."

Okuyasu placed his hand on his chin and hunched over. "Then why don't you just say no?"

"...Huh?"

"Just say no when he asks for an umbrella. You're not his mom."

"But then I'll have to give him my umbrella so that he doesn't get soaked."

"You don't have to give him your umbrella. It's ok if he got soaked. What about yourself?"

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't mind if I got soaked myself. Besides, I would feel horrible if Josuke got sick rather than myself. I would bring three umbrellas but you seem to always bring yours into your school bag. Besides, it doesn't bother me too much."

"I'm just worried that someone will take advantage of your kindness."

He gave me a questionable face as if I've done something odd, so I tried to change the subject. "Besides, something has been bothering me lately." I placed the two umbrellas back down on the bench and placed my hands together on my lap. "Josuke has been acting weird around me lately."

"I noticed something was going on between you two. But I just couldn't figure out what."

"He won't talk to me without trying to cut the conversation short. He won't even look me in the eye since we found Jolyne and I slept over his house."

"YOU WHAT?!" Okuyasu backed up from the bench with his eyes jolting out of his face. "Ok. You told me about Jolyne but you never said anything about sleeping over his house!"

My eyebrows furrowed down in annoyance. "Okuyasu, we had this talk before. Why can't I spend the night at my friend's house? We've known each other for years!"

My scarred friend's cheeks turned bubblegum pink as he rubbed his neck. "Well, when boys grow up, their bodies change...and they start to think of their female friends...differently."

"I already know that. That's basic human anatomy."

"Josuke is already 16. He looks like a grown man."

"Yes."

"And you're 16."

"Where are you going with this?"

His face turned redder and redder with each sentence. "What I'm trying to say is that Josuke might see you as a woman, rather than a girl."

Everything clicked. My eyes bulged and my cheeks flushed harder than Okuyasu's. The words that came out of his mouth were logical, but at the same time incomprehensible. I glance down at my 162 cm (5'4) form. My body was fit due to past karate and judo lessons but nowhere near the build that many would consider muscular. Even now as I get closer to 17 years old, I can barely fit a C cup bra while others my age have breasts as big as most women in their mid-20s. I just got my period six months ago, and my mom, the complete opposite of my female attributes says that I'm a late bloomer. I can't find anything about my body that can be seen as "womanly" or "sexy". But I can't say the same for Josuke. The thought of him looking at me like a woman sent my mind into a whirlpool of flashbacks of every time I said something that could've been taken sexually.

If what Okuyasu said was true, Josuke has already seen me as a woman. And he saw me half-naked. Oh god. What if he sees me as one of those "easy to get" girls who flail their bodies to anyone that they think is cute? The girls that always run up to Josuke after school, wearing their skirts cheek length that show off their thighs and lace panties, obviously ignoring the school's dress code. The same girls who grab a hold of his arm and cuddle it in between their breasts, acting all innocent.

He might think I'm one of those kinds of girls.

"Kuro, are you ok?" Okuyasu placed a hand on my shoulder as I brought my knees up to my face on the bench.

"No wonder he's been avoiding me," I mumble into my knees.

"Look, you've known Josuke longer than I've had. He's not the kind of guy to hold a grudge on the little details. He'll probably forget about it in a few days." He gave me a toothy grin. Okuyasu's optimism is something only a few others can replicate. I return his smile with a gentle one.

"Can you not tell Josuke about this conversation please?"

"Sure thing! Oh, I almost forgot!" he pulled a pink envelope out of his chocolate-colored school bag and removed the letter inside of it. "Could you help me with this letter? Someone left this in my locker, but I have no clue what these kanji letters mean. I think it's some advanced level characters."

I take the letter from his hands and open it up. Each hiragana symbol was crooked and each kanji letter was either incorrectly used or had too many strokes. "Okuyasu, it's not that this letter has rare kanji in it, but the person who wrote it doesn't have good penmanship." I squint my eyes to comprehend the gist of what the author wrote. "Meet me after school at the park. I'll be waiting for you at the tip of the hill under the oak tree."

Nijimura's pupils turned into hearts and his violet eyes shined. He crumpled the paper close to his heart and started to cry hysterically. "I FINALLY DID IT! SOMEONE HAS A CRUSH ON ME!"

"I wouldn't count on it, Okuyasu," I responded. Okuyasu paused his celebration and looked back at me. "I used to get those letters all the time in elementary and middle school, and every single one was some kind of cruel prank." The innocent joy quickly escaped from Okuyasu's eyes. Damn it. "Well, that was my case and it was years ago! I bet the crush is waiting for you at the park right now."

His smile returned once more. "You're right! I have to hurry! I don't want to keep them waiting!" He sprinted right past me to hopefully find the love of his life.

"Wait!" I called out. "Aren't we supposed to be waiting for Josuke?"

"He'll be fine!" Okuyasu ran back from the fog, grabbed my hand and continued running. "Come on! I need some emotional backup."

Once we got close to the letter's location, Okuyasu and I hid behind a bush, distancing ourselves from the oak tree on top of the hill. It's orange and yellow leaves were shedding one by one, leaving a romantic atmosphere. The person who awaited Okuyasu was out of sight, they were either behind the tree or waiting for him to arrive first. My scarred friend kept shaking nervously and bit his thumbnail, his lavender eyes threatening to spout more waterworks.

I exhaled, placed my hands on his shoulders, and gave him an earnest smile. "Okuyasu. You'll be fine."

"But…" he mumbled as tears poured down his face. "What if I say the wrong things? They're going to hate me and my chances of getting a girlfriend will be ruined!" His nose started to run down his cheek, making him look like a total mess.

I pulled a fancy cherry-colored embroidered handkerchief out of my bag, one of the few my mom got me for a past birthday and handed it to him. "Wipe your tears off. You gotta make sure you look presentable." Okuyasu dabbed his tears off, blew his nose into the handkerchief, and attempted to hand back the now snot covered fabric. "...You can hold on to it for now. Take a slow, deep breath." He followed my directions. "Now no matter what, try not to cry, ok?"

"Ok!" I gave him a thumbs-up right before Okuyasu rushed from the bush and dashed towards the meeting spot with broad shoulders and a slight increase of confidence in his appearance. He stood there for a few seconds and started to rub his hands and thumbs together. He cupped one hand around his mouth. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

Right before he was about to look around the tree, out came a busty young girl a little bit older than us with long blond locks that curled at the end of her waist. What covered her was a designer denim jacket with a matching miniskirt and a magenta undershirt. Fishnet stockings covered her thighs all the way down to her brown loafers Pink lipstick and blush contoured her emerald eyes with perfect curly eyelashes as a finishing touch. She's what other teenage boys would consider as "sexy", unlike me. Even with the fog decreasing my vision, her beauty outshined her surroundings.

The girl walked slowly to Okuyasu, the male that was sweating out an ocean and couldn't stop blushing. I tried my best to listen to their conversation from afar without being seen.

"Okuyasu?" Her voice sounds meek and gentle.

"Y-yes?"

"You probably don't know me well...considering that I don't go to the same school as you. My name is Yuki Agawa. I actually moved here from England two weeks ago. I'm sorry if my Japanese isn't that good."

"No, it's fine! Your Japanese is great!" Nijimura rubbed the back of his neck roughly and gave her an anxious laugh. Strangely enough, her Japanese sounded perfect but had a solid American accent. Why would she lie about where she came from though?

She let out a small giggle and covered her mouth with her glittery nails. "I've been watching you from afar. The way you care about those around you, the jokes you make with your friends, and your smile is just so cute."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Okuyasu bowed his head multiple times. "You're really pretty as well!"

"Thank you but, that doesn't matter at all," the girl grabbed Okuyasu's hands from his sides and moved one step closer to him. "Because...I think I've fallen in love with you."

I couldn't see his face clearly, but I knew that this is what he's been waiting for all his teenage years. Every day since Koichi and Yukako started dating, Okuyasu has been dying of lovesickness. From crushing on college cafe waitresses to questioning if someone likes him just because they keep looking at him. I can't help but feel happy for him, but this seems too good to be true.

"Can I...be your girlfriend?" She teased.

It was as if my friend just drank Tonio's mineral water. Waterfalls of tears went down his cheeks as he tried to suck all the snot his nose was dripping. "Yes!"

"Thank you so much!" Yuki tackled Okuyasu and smacked her lips against her "boyfriend's". Instantaneously, an explosion of blue smoke surrounded the two, blocking my view.

Yuki Agawa is a stand user!

I sprint to examine the situation up on the hill. Once the smoke cleared, I witnessed an Okuyasu lying on the ground struggling to get up from the muddy ground with Yuki towering over him. A more feminine version of The Hand rose behind boiled in my veins as my topaz irises meet hers. A smug smirk was spread across her face. "Damn you!" I screamed. I helped my friend stand up by lending him my shoulder. "Iron Maiden!" My black and white armor stand was summoned as Okuyasu slowly opened his eyes.

"What happened?" He spoke in a groggy tone.

I pointed my finger at Okuyasu's stolen stand. "She attacked you and has your stand now"

Nijimura released his weight off of my shoulder and rubbed his eyes. "Where? I don't see anything."

"Of course dumbass," She scoffed. "My Smooth Criminal can remove anyone's stand ability from someone emotionally unstable. Why would you be able to see a stand if you're not even a stand user anymore!" Yuki placed her hand on her hips and scratched her scalp. "My only goal was to eliminate Okuyasu Nijimura. They didn't tell me if I needed to kill any other stand users." A smile spread on her face. "Oh well. If an obstacle is ever in one's path," as soon as her stand raised its hand, I kicked Okuyasu to the side of me. The Hand pulled me to its user. "Destroy in with full force!" She tried to use The Hand once more, aiming for my chest. It was too late to block her attack. I jumped back as far as I could, only for her to erase the torso part of my red uniform.

"Kuro!" Okuyasu screamed at me.

"Okuyasu! Run! Her target is you! Run and get Josuke!"

"But,"

"Now!" I argued back. He ran with a worried face, knowing that doing so will put me in danger. But that doesn't matter. He would only make the situation worse without his stand. My eyes met my enemy once more as she cracked her neck and sniggered. "You know, I'm not a big fan of fighting. I'm more of a "defense" person myself, but," I pulled my stand out once more. The white armor part went back inside me and the stand's black body hovered over my skin, creating a suit of armor above me. "When you hurt one of my friends, you've crossed the line. I'll give you one chance to surrender before I end this fight." This is the other half of Iron Maiden's ability. The white is to protect, and the black is to attack ten times my normal strength. This phase's range has an extremely short rang3, and it's nowhere near as strong and fast compared to Crazy Diamond, but I can't count how many times my stand has saved my life within these past months.

Yuki stood menacingly across from me and let out a slight giggle. "You seem like a sweet person." She used The Hand to teleport right up to me "Too bad I have to bring you down!" The Hand gets ready to erase me once again, but Iron Maiden uppercuts her stand, knocking her back onto the ground with blood drooling from her mouth.

"Seems to me that you're not accustomed to fighting" I ventured. "When did you get your stand? I'm referring to Smooth Criminal of course." Yuki struggled to get back on her feet. Her ruined brown loafers and fishnet tights sunk into the ground as it started to pour heavily from the sky. I held my hand out to feel each raindrop landing on my hand. "It's a good thing that I brought two umbrellas." This should be easy. She charged at me once again, with another swipe of The Hand. Iron Maiden ducked, tackled the stand by the waist, and threw her back down, with ease. Yuki started to cough up what was left of the air she had in her body. "Are you ready to give up now? You obviously don't know how to use a stand effectively."

"Shut up you bitch!" She snapped back at me. Yuki charged at me once more. It's best to tire her out until she gives up or Josuke comes and gives her the real beat down. Iron Maiden's attack form retracted as a white shield bubbled around me. Multiple punches darted towards my face, all were blocked by the bubble shield.

Except one.

Blood spewed from my mouth the second she used The Hand to erase a fraction of my shield right before the last punch, flying me back. I rubbed my head and winced in pain, accidentally pressing on the fresh wound she opened. The Hand spawned right behind me along with its user and attempted to erase me once more. It was already too late to guard, and if I did pull out my stand, I'll be killed if she erases that. I pushed myself away enough to almost miss her attack.

Almost. The hand-scraped away a fraction of my skin on my torso and hips, and landed a punch in my raw bloody stomach.

"I was only testing my abilities." She scoffed while looking at her stand's hand. "Erasing space with my hand huh." I put back my shield and brought back Iron Maiden's fighting form once more. Damn. Well, she got adjusted to Okuyasu's stand quickly. I keep forgetting how dangerous The Hand is. Using my shield is pointless against her if she can just scrape it away, and fighting her is too dangerous since I'm nowhere near as fast as The Hand. What's the best option for me?

Each second I spent thinking, Yuki kept walking towards me with The Hand, ready to erase my existence. I only have one option.

I sprinted down the hill into the park. "You coward! Get back here!" My enemy screamed, but her voice distanced itself as I traveled. Right now, I have to think of a plan.

I slipped on the mud at the bottom of the hill, leaving a trail and almost landing in the deep pond in the middle of the playground. This got the gears in my head rolling. I made the trail go into the pond and hid behind a nearby bush. I witness her taking the bait by folding the tracks I made all the way into the pond. Once she jumped in the water to look for me, I ran towards the pond and used a shield to cover the lake. Just like catching a rat with a mousetrap. I peered down into the pond, witnessing the blonde teen pull out her stand and struggle to erase my stand. Each attempt she removes the water inside and I lower the shield to make sure there's no way out. 30 seconds pass and Yuki stops struggling. Usually, it takes a bit longer for someone to drown but it doesn't matter.

I released my shield and pulled Yuki out of the murky pond and onto the grass. There's no reason to let her die, even if she tried to kill me. I laid my head on her chest, getting ready to save her from internal drowning. Wait...something's not right. I could feel slight movement going up and down. She's...still breathing! I instantly glance at her face.

A smirk.

Shit!

I summoned the shield.

But it was too late. I could feel The Hand's hand wrapped around my skull.

*CRACK*

A thousand needles stabbed through my skull as blood trickled down my face. I let out a blood-curdling scream right before kissing the ground. My vision fogs when Yuki crouches to face me. "You're a nice person. You could've let me die in the pond but you saved me. I know I said that I'll get rid of anyone who gets in my way, but I'll make an exception for you." She ran into the foggy distance as I lost consciousness.

**JOSUKE'S POV**

Dear Kuroko,

I'm grateful for all the times we've laughed, hanged out, even fought together. I am happy that even though all these tough times, you're always there to protect me. And now, I need your help more than ever. Every time I'm near you, my heart…

DORA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA DORA!

Crazy Diamond obliterated the letter and tossed it's remaining pieces into the recycling bin as I laid my head down on the cold school desk. It was my third attempt. Damn it. What am I even doing to myself? A love letter? That's the cheesiest way to confess to someone. Just thinking about confessing to Kuro makes my heart pound. It would be easier if I was a secret admirer, but if she finds out that I love her and she rejects me, what will happen to our friendship? She will never look at me the same way ever again.

I glance at the clock as it keeps ticking. 4:00. "It's that late already?" I say to myself. "I need to head out. Okuyasu and Kuro are probably bored to death waiting for me." I'm met with showers when I walk to the entrance of my school. Damn. I should've brought an umbrella. I know Kuro probably brought two but I don't want her to see me as someone she can't rely on. The two of them should be close to the school though. I saw a familiar face jogging from a distance. It was Okuyasu, soaked from the weather and waving his hand, desperate to get my attention. His movements slowed down, and once the two of us made eye contact, he collapsed face-first onto the ground. He… just dropped dead. "Okuyasu!" I screamed while rushing to his side in the icy rain, not caring if my hair gets wet or not. "Okuyasu! Are you ok? What happened?" I asked as I kept pushing his shoulder.

He twisted his face to the side, allowing him to speak in hiccups while gasping for air. I helped my buddy up onto the closest bench and let him catch his breath. "Kuro is...in trouble!"

"What!?" My heart instantly fell into my stomach.

"A girl took my stand away! Now I can't see stands and...I'm extremely tired and dizzy...she told me to get you as soon as possible but...I'm just so drowsy and I don't know why!"

"Where's Kuro?"

"In the park! The girl she's fighting...she's using The Hand!" I bit the bottom of my lip and clenched my fist. If she was fighting Okuyasu, I wouldn't be scared. But The Hand is a dangerous stand, and now it's in the hands of an enemy.

"Thank you Okuyasu! Stay here!" I rush over to the said scene. My mind went blank with each step I took into the fog. She's admirably clever and smart, but I can't help but flashback to every time she got seriously injured when we were hunting down Kira. I promised myself that I wouldn't let her get hurt like that ever again.

And that promised broke, as I stood over her body with severe head wounds on the ground.

A/N: Thank you for reading. This chapter was extremely hard to write and I may edit it in the future (Don't worry, nothing major will change). The next chapter will come out a bit later due to how long it will be. :)