Chapter 1: Breakdown, Breakout, Act 2
Today was a 'great' day for Josuke Higashikata. The sun was shining, the birds chirping and flowers blooming. It was warm outside, but not uncomfortably so. More importantly, it was the first day of summer break! This elusive day was finally here.
Yes, how could he not smile as he strolled along the streets of Morioh? His best friends, Okuyasu Nijimura and Koichi Hirose were by his side. The day was peaceful. He no longer felt any pain from his injuries.
Ah, yes. Even on this perfect day, Josuke still couldn't help but flinch at the thought of that day. Reflexively, he brought his hand to a spot on his lower stomach. Even through the jacket and shirt, he could still feel that scar tissue. He had been insanely lucky none of his entrails had been damaged.
Same deal with his leg. The first weeks after the battle with Kira, he couldn't even walk or support himself on his right leg. He had needed crutches for nearly two months. And that's not to speak of his damaged shoulder, second-degree burns, and loss of blood.
He might have put on a brave face all throughout that fight, but the truth was, he was mere minutes from collapsing towards the end of it. That fight with Kira had put him closer to death than any other battle he had been in.
"Oi, Josuke, something wrong?" came the voice of Okuyasu. "You look kinda pale there." Josuke realized he had nearly stopped walking, lost in his thoughts. Now both Okuyasu and Koichi looked at him with worried expressions.
"Nah, I'm fine!" Josuke assured them. "Just got lost in thoughts, you know?" Okuyasu immediately broke into one of his trademark goofy grins. From his appearance, shortcut pompadour hair, rough facial features and parallel scars running down his face, you might think he was some criminal delinquent. While you wouldn't be entirely wrong; Okuyasu was a delinquent alright, and not above breaking a law or two.
"Heh, thinkin' of all the fun we're gonna have this summer, right?" he laughed, giving Josuke a pat on that back that was just a bit too hard.
But above that, if you gave him a chance, you would know that the dollar signs and 'billion' written on his jacket sleeve wasn't just for decoration. It was the worth of his heart, for his heart was pure gold!
Koichi on the other hand still looked worried.
The silver-haired teen stood in stark contrast to Okuyasu. He was short with light hair, Okuyasy tall and dark haired. Koichi was quiet and reserved, Okuasy lacked any sort of social limits. Okuyasu was tall and rough whereas Koichi was short and babyfaced.
"Was it about Kira again?" he asked, the worry seeping into his tone.
In the middle you had Josuke. A tall and handsome teen with an oversized pompadour and way too many pins on his school uniform.
Together, the three of them had saved Morioh from many dangers. Including…
"No, no, nothing like that," Josuke was quick to assure Koichi. Perhaps a bit too quick. "I was just thinking about how it's finally summer. Man, I thought it would never come."
Yoshikage Kira. The man who had terrorized the town for god knows how many years. How many innocent women had met their end by his hand, all for is twisted needs? How many women had been blown up, leaving only a hand for Kira to do whatever he wanted with?
Whatever the answer was, it was too way many.
But they had stopped him. He, Okuyasu, Koichi, Jotaro, and Hayato. Heck, even that bastard Rohan had helped… a little.
They had cornered Kira. They had beat his ass to a bloody pulp. He was dead now, his head crushed under the wheel of an ambulance. His soul had been dragged into hell. They had gotten him. He was gone forever and his victims avenged.
Reimi, Shigechi, Aya, and all other killed by his hand could rest in peace now.
So why then…
"Are you sure?" Josuke's assurances hadn't washed away that worried tone from Koichi's voice. "You don't have nightmares still, do you?"
"Wha…? No!" Josuke exclaimed, sounding almost offended by the mere suggestion. "Of course not! I haven't had bad dreams since the first week in the hospital. That was like eight months ago. I sleep sound as a baby at night."
Koichi didn't look entirely convinced. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Okuyasu.
"Hey, cut it off Koichi. If Josuke says it's nothing, then it is nothing." He leaned forward and looked the shorter teen right in the eyes. "You don't think Josuke would go and lie to us about something like this, right?" he said, with a finger pointing scoldingly at Koichi.
"N-no," Koichi muttered. "I just thought… nah, forget it. Let's just go over to Josuke's place."
The trio walked in an uncomfortable silence the rest of the way. Well, two of them anyway; Okuyasu went along, whistling and humming without a care in the world.
No, Josuke wouldn't lie to his friends about this… actually, yes, he would lie about it. He already had, back when he was still in the hospital. The others had only known because one of the nurses told them. After that, he was forced to admit to having bad dreams. But this time it wasn't a lie. He really didn't have any bad dreams anymore.
No, nothing so extreme. It was just that sometimes… he thought he could still see him. Yoshikage Kira and his stand Killer Queen. Pink, lifeless eyes overlapping with the murderer's blue, a thumb rising into the air. A loud 'click' and then the air would turn into fire.
Today was not going to be all that 'great', huh?
xxXXxx
Jotaro Kujo was many things. A doctor in marine biology, feared stand user and unable to smalltalk. He had traveled all over the world, learned three new languages yet the art of holding a completely meaningless conversation eluded him.
Such as now. He was sitting in the kitchen of the Higashikata residence. In front of him sat Tomoko Higashikata. Occasionally she would take a sip of coffee, most likely lukewarm by now.
While he would rather die than admit it, Jotaro always felt awkward in these type of situations. And if he felt awkward, he could only imagine what the other person must feel. Now, Jotaro wasn't the one to feel guilt over matters like these, but still. That pressure of having to say something lest he comes off as detached and uncaring was not a positive one.
Rarely would anyone say that the sound of three chatting teenagers bustling in through the door was a heaven send. In this case, though, it might as well be the answer to his prayers. Purely metaphorical mind you; Jotaru Kujo did not pray, no matter what any gods might claim.
"Hey, mom, what's up with the car outs…" Josuke stopped in the middle of the sentence as the answer sat before him.
"Josuke," Jotaro said, giving his uncle a slight nod, before turning back to Tomoko. "Miss Higashikata, would you mind leaving? I wish to talk to Josuke and his friends in private."
"How come?"
Silence again. Thankfully, not the awkward one. No, this silence was one Jotaro was much more comfortable with. The silence of two people having a battle of will.
The two adults in the room stared at each other. Tomoko had been suspicious of Jotaro ever since Josuke got hurt in the battle against Kira. She didn't know anything about stands or the serial killer. Only that Jotaro had suddenly appeared one day, spent days on end with Josuke and then one day, her baby boy had nearly been blown to smithereens. Jotaro didn't blame her.
He sighed. Tomoko may not look like it, but she had a will of steel that could rival his own.
"Yare yare… fine." He abruptly stood up and turned to the three teens starring in awe at the display. "Come, we'll go somewhere else."
Tomoko groaned loudly.
"Fine," she hissed. "You can stay here." She shot a glare that could kill small animals at Jotaro. "But you better not make any trouble, or else…" And with that, Tomoko left the kitchen.
Jotaro was always fascinated by how women could make their very footstep scream 'annoyance' or 'anger.' He wasn't the best at reading emotions, but he would never mistake a woman's angered footsteps for anything else.
"Yare yare…" he muttered once again under his breath.
"Oi, Jotaro, what's all this about?" Josuke asked with the slightest of edges in his voice. The boy was quite protective of his mother and even Jotaro wouldn't be safe against that protective instinct.
"Sorry for showing up at such a short notice," Jotaro said. "But time is of essence. The world is in grave danger."
xxXXxx
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Okuyasu said. "A vampire has escaped from the Speedwagon Foundation with three stand arrows and a mask to make more vampires with… and you need our help to beat him?"
"Santana isn't technically a vampire, but yeah, that about sums it up." Jotaro shifted in his seat while muttering a quick 'yare yare.'
He had tried to explain the whole situation as well as he could, but it was not easy. Had it been just another stand user and arrow, it would be fairly easy. But ad the stone mask and Santana into the mix and the already surreal story becomes abstract. Frankly, Jotaro was surprised he was as sane as he was considering the life he was leading.
"What's important is that he is dangerous, even without the stone mask or arrows on his side." He made a pause and looked at the three teenagers in front of him. He knew they were brave and could hold their own in a fight. still, this did weigh on him. Jotaro wasn't the most open and caring person in the world, but sure as hell wasn't going to intentionally put anyone, especially not family in the line of fire. Unless he had to.
"With them, he is a threat to the entire world as we know it." One by one, he looked them all straight in the eyes. "I'm not asking you for this lightly. Death is a real possibility."
These boys had already faced dangers no one should have to, and they had overcome them. Koichi, in particular, had grown much. On some level, Jotaro felt proud of him. Standing up to the nigh inhuman monster that was Yoshikage Kira, who had gotten the better of Jotaro himself.
"If you say no, I won't judge. It's your choice to make."
It didn't take Josuke three seconds.
"Of course I'll come!" he said a little too cheerfully for Jotaro's taste.
"Count me in too," said Okuyasu. "I'm sure as hell ain't gonna let you fight this thing alone. 'Sides, wherever Josuke goes, I go too."
Of course, Jotaro hadn't expected any other result. Throwing themselves at supernatural dangers were practically their modus operandi.
"I'll come too."
There was a certain tension in the air as Koichi spoke up.
Jotaro, Josuke, Okuyasu… they were all fighters. Koichi was not. They didn't doubt he was brave enough to fight a thousand-year-old super vampire. When push comes to shove, the little guy would certainly stand up to the task. But he was no fighter. Out of all the teenagers, Jotaro felt the most guilt over bringing him.
"Um… are you sure you want to come." Josuke scratched the back of his head while avoiding eye contact. For a second, Koichi looked uncertain. For a second. Then his eyes filled again with the determination he had shown in the past.
"Yes, I'm absolutely certain," he said, the steel in his voice as grey as his hair.
"Then it's settled." Jotaro abruptly stood up. "If Koichi says he'll come with us, he'll come. It's his decision." He then began walking out of the house. "Josuke, go pack some clothes and other necessities. Okuyasu, you do the same. Kochi, you come with me. I'll drive you to your house to get what you need."
No, Koichi was not a fighter. However, paired with another stand user, he made for good support. Even if temporarily, his Echoes could stop almost anyone dead in their tracks. And in a stand battle, a second could make the difference between life and death.
"This is just 'great,'" Josuke muttered as soon as he though Jotaro couldn't hear him. "So much for summer break."
AN: And so, the Duwang Gang is now on their way to save the world! A lot of talking in this one, but I'll promise you, there will be a lot of action in this fic, begining in the very next chapter. And it's looking to be a three-parter chapter to boot.
Without spoiling anything, I can say we're shifting perspective to another crazy town... and noisy too... also, it's at a beach. I guess you could say it's a... Crazy, Noisy, Beach Town!
See you next time!
