Chapter 6: Tomoko Higashikata meets Lucky

Tomoko Higashikata was a temperamental woman. She had a short fuse and was quick to anger. She knew this herself. It had gotten her into trouble more than once. It had gotten better with age, as she had matured. Some might say having to raise a kid as a single mother had something to do with that. Bullshit. If anything, it had made it worse.

Do not for a second think it was Josuke she had been angry with. He had been the most adorable baby in the world, and don't you dare suggest otherwise. Once he got a bit older though… he could be a pain in the ass.

No, baby Josuke had never, ever, earned the ire of Tomoko. The other young mothers of Morioh though… Even by the "young mother" standard, 21 was on the younger side, especially considering she had still been college. Tomoko could still remember those condescending smirks, small comments, and chatter behind her back. And they had dared to call her baby boy a bastard.

Tomoko was lucky her father was a policeman, otherwise, she might still be paying off those fines.

Even now, years later, Tomoko could still fell her blood boiling as she thought back to those days. But, they were in the past. She had moved past that. Comparing her rage to a fire was an accurate analogy; it burned up quickly, devouring everything in its path. But as quickly as it flared up, it burned itself out. She remembered how she felt in that moment all those years ago, and it did stir up that old rage. But it didn't resurface in the same way; she didn't hate anyone from back then. Tomoko was very much a woman who lived in the now. Keeping a grudge was not her style.

That said, she was not incapable of keeping grudges, oh no. She was doing that right now, as a matter of fact. Today's target was Jotaro Kujo.

It had been a little more than a year since that man first turned up in Morioh. He had come, practically looking for trouble by tearing up old wounds from the past. Still, that Tomoko could live with. She could live with her past coming back to haunt her.

What she couldn't live with was her son being put in danger.

It had started with Jotaro spending entire days with Josuke. That in and of itself wasn't that part that ticked off Tomoko. A nephew spending some time with his long lost uncle was normal enough… even if the traditional roles were switched around. And the nephew was about as antisocial as one can be without being an actual psychopath.

No, what she couldn't live with was the stupid excuses and cover-up stories. Gone hunting, really? Josuke, going hunting? Please, that boy couldn't hurt a fly. And if he thought she was so stupid she wouldn't notice when he came home with bruises, then he might as well come out and say it to her face. Call it mother's intuition or just common sense, but it was clear as day there was something he wasn't telling her.

Tomoko was not a woman of regrets. She was not one to let old mistakes haunt her. She learned from them and then moved on. That was who she was and had always been. Right now, she could only think of two regrets. Interestingly, the events that had caused these had happened only after Jotaro showed up in Morioh…

The first was not being at her father's side when he… passed on. She knew very well that there was nothing she could have done. She knew that the death had been almost instantaneous. But still… a word, a look, a touch… a last farewell.

The second regret was different. That one, she didn't have any control over. She couldn't have known in advance, no one could. But for her second regret, it was something she did notice but never did anything about.

She should have asked Josuke for an explanation. She should have nailed him down and demanded an answer to everything, the bruises, his weird behavior, the lies, and half-truths. That's what she should have done, that's what a responsible mother would have done.

But she hadn't. She had let him keep at it. At the time, it made sense to her. She knew her Josuke, and he wasn't stupid. He was practically an adult now. He could take care of himself. Beyond that, he was also one of the kindest and gentlest people she knew, only surpassed in her mind by her own father. He had a bit of a temper sometimes and could be rash, but Tomoko trusted him to always do the right thing. Plus, Tomoko hadn't exactly been a saint herself at his age.

Hindsight was a cruel mistress, wasn't it? Of course, she should have asked. Wasn't it obvious? Maybe then her baby wouldn't have nearly been blown to bits in an explosion caused by a "gas leak," or some other bullshit like that. Maybe then, he wouldn't be gone now, on his way to half-way across the Earth on some trip with the man Tomoko was ninety percent sure was responsible for her Josuke being injured in the first place.

Now, these words may sound like they come from sad and helpless mother, sitting at her kitchen table worrying about her son. Be assure, Tomoko Higashikata was none of those things. While there might be traces of these emotions within her, at the moment they were replaced by another, much more pronounced one.

Anger.

Tomoko was boiling furious. One of the two types of anger you never want to meet in a dark alley. Or light alley for that matter. For this type of anger is one that consumes everything in its path. The type of anger that breaks doors, floors, tables, walls, and chairs. The only reason Tomoko hadn't wrecked the entire house was that she had learned to keep this type of anger under check. As in, she would sit down, take a deep breath, and focus every last fiber of her being into channeling pure hatred an malice into one objective. This action didn't just keep her from destroying everything around her, but also exude an aura of hostility that kept people from getting top close.

"Ding dong"

Except for that one person who was dumb enough to come visiting right now.

Tomoko was tempted to ignore the bellringer, and simply let them stand there until they went away.

"Ding dong"

That would be the best alternative… lest she is faced with another fine for physical assault. She should probably try to calm down a little too. Her doctor hadn't mentioned anything at the last check-up, but she had heard about high blood pressure being caused by rage.

"Ding dong"

Tomoko stood up so violently that her chair almost tipped over. Her footsteps practically burned holes in the carpet as she made her way to the door to tell whoever it was to fuck off. Oh whoever it was, they sure were going to pay.

She nearly tore the door off its hinges as she threw it open.

"What the hell do you…want?" Her rhetorical question died halfway through and was turned into an actual question at the sight of who was outside the door.

"Oh! I'm sorry if I come at a bad time. It was not my intention to disturb you in any way."

A blue woman. A blue-skinned woman, with white-blue hair and a cape. Tomoko wouldn't say Morioh was home to the most normal of people. Heck, the city had plenty of weirdos. But at least none of them had blue skin. She by no way wanted to sound insensitive, but she was fairly sure people didn't come in that color.

For a moment, Tomoko was so started, she forgot her anger. Though it soon returned, if dampened somewhat.

"Who are you, what do you want?" she scowled at the woman. To the blue ones' credit, she didn't stop smiling, only raising her eyebrow slightly.

"Ah, see, I'm looking for Josuke Higashikata. I was told he lives here?"

"What do you want with Josuke?" Tomoko hissed.

"Hm…" the woman tilted her head. "I think that it is best if I talk to him about that personally. Could I do that?"

"Josuke's not hom…" Tomoko stopped herself halfway through the sentence. This woman unnerved her, and it was just more than she was blue. Not, there was something about her… she had a big smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. No, her eyes were focused, a sharp gaze that seemed to cut through Tomoko, see right through her.

"I take it he's not available at the time." There! right there was that focus, that attention to detail, the one that unnerved Tomoko. As soon as she heard it, the woman had latched onto that half-formed sentence. You could practically see the cogs turning in her head as she analyzed every last little word, deciphering their true meaning.

People like that had always unnerved Tomoko. People who were so good at reading people they could practically predict your every sentence.

"That's none of your business!" Tomoko said, her anger coming back full force again. "Who even are you again?"

"Oh, my name? You can call me Lucky." She extended her hand for a handshake. "Do you know when Josuke will be coming back?"

So her name was Lucky, eh? A little strange she would omit to tell her last name.

"No!" She ignored the blue woman's hand. "What do you want with him anyway?"

The woman blinked, that look of someone considering their next words carefully on her face.

"Does the words 'stand' 'crazy' or 'diamond' tell you anything?"

"No," Tomoko said truthfully. What kinda question was that? A standing crazy diamond? What was that supposed to mean? Then the realization hit her; a stranger shows up looking for Josuke and starts spouting nonsense.

"Do you work for the Speedwagon Foundation?" Tomoko didn't know exactly what the foundation did, but she did know Jotaro and Joseph were connected to it somehow. And the foundation was well known for having a bunch of weird people working for it.

"Would that change your answer?" the irritating woman Lucky said, that irritating sly grin on her face. You know which one. What was that answer even supposed to mean? It probably meant she didn't work for the foundation… then again, maybe she did and was just trying to screw Tomoko over. She was playing games with her.

Tomoko decided to try some of it herself.

"Would my answer to that question change your answer?" Ugh, this whole "mind-games" thing was harder than it looked. That didn't sound as cool or witty as Tomoko had imagined it.

"Heh, that's was a funny answer," Lucky said with a little snort. "Would you like a banana?" She did indeed pull a banana from somewhere within her cape and offered it to Tomoko, whom could only stare in disbelief. What the hell was this? One second, they're having some a battle of wits, or something like that, the next, Lucky offers her a banana. See now why she absolutely hates people that do this?

"No, I don't want a banana," Tomoko said. Her voice, previously filled with anger had now deflated in a really sad and pathetic way.

"Oh," the blue woman Lucky seemed legitimately disappointed as she put the banana back in her cape. "Very well, I don't think there's much either of us has to gain from a continued conversation. Goodbye, Tomoko Higashikata." And with that, she turned around and simply started to walk away. Tomoko was so stunned by this, she even forgot to yell at the blue woman to get right back here this instant. Instead, she was left at the door, only a faint breeze keeping her company.

Okay. So that happened.

She should probably go call Josuke.

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Man, it seems no one in Morioh City likes bananas. Bummer, eh Lucky?

Okay, so I said this chapter would be from Hayato's perspective… and I thought it was going to, I had just planned to make a short scene with Tomoko first. And then my inability to make anything short and concise turned that short scene into an entire chapter. Whoops.

In my defense, we probably won't be seeing any more of Tomoko for the rest of the fic (at least I haven't planned anything), so maybe it's for the better I do as much with her short time in the story as I can. Plus, I have planned for Hayato and his new friends to have a multi-act chapter the next time they appear, and there will be a bit more action and information revealed then. So for now, I'll just keep the fate of Hayato hidden a bit longer.

So, what's up next?

If everything goes according to keikaku, the next chapter shall feature the Duwang Gang dealing with another enemy stand user. Unfortunately, this one is a little more powerful than the last two… yeah, this one gonna be a lot more trouble dealing with.

So that's gonna be fun.

But until next time, take care of the planet Earth, and remember that anything can happen in space!