"Daddy, what you said earlier to Koichi..."
"Yeah?"
"You said that no matter what ability it has, any Stand can be really effective, right? If the user is smart enough?"
"Yeah."
"What about the Sun?"
Jotaro sputtered, choking on his own breath as he desperately attempted to not giggle, the car swerving for a second. "Pfft-"
"Well?"
"Well, that just proves my point, I think. The Sun was a frigging idiot." Jolyne's eyes widened as she saw the genuine smile on his face. "If we didn't figure out his stupid, stupid trick, we might have died from the heat. The Sun sapped our endurance, and once we realized that it was a Stand, we didn't have any way to even touch it. Me and Pol both had short-range Stands, and Kakyoin and Gramps' Stands don't have any kick. Not to mention that thing's sunbeam attacks or whatever."
"That makes sense."
A few days had passed without incident, and Jotaro was spending the Saturday at their, for the foreseeable future, permanent new home at the Grand Morioh Hotel with Jolyne. He was dropping her off with Josuke every weeknight, now, but still made it a point to spend as much time with her as possible on the weekends. It was ironic. Ever since the divorce, he had felt like he had been saddled with Jolyne. That she was an obstacle to him, to his doctorate, to his schoolwork and fieldwork with the Foundation.
But dragging her along with him, having her be a near-constant companion for the last few years, as he juggled taking care of her alongside everything else in his life, he grew used to it. It wasn't like he hated her or anything, he loved the brat, or he would have refused to take care of her, Stand or not. But his schoolwork was important if he wanted to get his doctorate as a marine biologist. It technically wasn't necessary, with his foundation connections he'd be able to get a job pretty easily. But he felt that he had spent so long earning it, that if he fell behind at this stage, it would be a crushing blow. If he had to be in Morioh, investigating the Bow and Arrow, and the connections with other Stands, he needed a lot of time to himself to focus on the college work.
Tomoko and Josuke had been a god-send. The teen was good-natured about it, despite having to do his own schoolwork. Finally, for the first time since he came to Morioh, he was making steady progress with his thesis.
But it also meant that the near-constant presence of Jolyne was just gone, most of the day. They ate breakfast, he had to leave for the university, or the foundation's local office, or any number of places he was investigating or might contribute to one of his projects, and then in the afternoon he would come back and try to work while also taking care of her. Now, when he came back, he just drove her to the Higishikata house, and picked her up a few hours later.
Eight hours had become forty minutes with his daughter. Soon, he would set her up to begin first grade at a school here in Morioh and he wouldn't even spend the mornings with her anymore.
He hadn't really realized how much that bothered him until now.
"Hey, Jolyne, do you like spending so much time at the Higishikatas? I could pick you up earlier, if you want."
"No, it's really fun! They're all so nice. You should marry miss Tomoko, she's a good Mom." She froze, only realizing what she said after it left her mouth, and already blushing in embarrassment.
Jotaro spent several moments blinking, trying to process that sentence. "What?"
"Nevermind!" Jolyne said innocently, "But it's fun there. Josuke takes me out around the town a lot with Okuyasu and Koichi. I think he's having as much fun as I am too. I don't think he used to have any friends."
"No, no, go back to what-" the phone interrupted him, and Jolyne looked a little relieved. He picked it up.
"Is this Kujo Jotaro?" the voice on the other side of the line asked.
"Who is this? I don't recognize your voice." he responded.
"You know, Kujo Jotaro, you should really just leave Morioh."
"Why should I listen to a random stranger who won't even tell me his name. You haven't even given me a reason. Would you get up and move for something like that?"
"I have the Bow and Arrow."
Jotaro grinned. "Oh do you, Otoishi Akira?"
The line was silent for a few minutes, but then Jotaro heard an irritated sigh. "I should have killed those brothers."
"What you should have done, was keep your mouth shut. You even told him your name."
"I wanted to learn more about Stands! I had to introduce myself, or I would have been rude, God!" the line responded angrily. "So you know my name. I'm not stupid enough to stay in one place, especially now that I have the power to do anything I want! Now... I want you to know... this is my town, got it? I heard you were pretty tough, so I'm giving you this chance: Get out of Morioh. Josuke too, and his hot mom, I'm not planning to do a thing to them, as long as they stop looking for me and don't get in my way. I just want to have myself a good time. Not worry about normal people shit like exams and a job."
"I already knew you were a student... so you were right there, then, when the Bow and Arrow were stolen, you know about Tomoko's Stand."
"Shut up man! Look, stay too long in my town, or I'll kill you and Josuke both! And don't think your families will be safe either, bastard."
Jotaro's eyes narrowed. "Tell me, are you in contact with any of the other Stand Users in this town?" The voice on the other end didn't give an answer, the phone simply shook as power rushed through it, the electricity exploding the entire construct.
"Daddy!" Jolyne shouted, rushing over to him. "Who was it?"
"Red Hot Chili Peppers." He said simply. "I'm going to pump Keicho for information."
Jolyne frowned. "Pump him?"
"Interrogate." Josuke answered shortly. "I let him off earlier pretty lightly, cause he gave me a solid lead. But I need to know more. Who knows how many Stand Users the guy created? If he knows Akira's name, he might know more."
"Can I help?"
"Nah. Just... stay here for now. I'll come back in an-" he looked back at the smoking husk of the phone. Akira had threatened his daughter. And he knew where Jotaro lived. "...Come on, we're going to Josuke's."
"Yay!"
"You want her... to live with us?" Tomoko asked, surprised.
"Red Hot Chili Peppers knows where I live." Jotaro growled. "Knows where you live too, of course..." he sighed. He already missed her enough, with the short time he spent with her in the last week. "But if she's here, at least, she'll have you to protect her."
Tomoko blushed a little. "Well, you're tough too."
"I know, but I'm a busy guy. I can't bring her with me when I'm investigating, and I can't bring her to university. She has to spend too much time sitting silently watching nature documentaries as it is."
"It's true." She said simply.
"And I can't take her with me when I'm working on my thesis, at least not every day. Not if I have to watch her at the beach."
"I can breathe underwater!"
"She can?!" Tomoko asked.
"No you can't." Jotaro said.
"I could! If I just sent my lungs up to the top of the water-"
"No. We are not trying that."
"What about my head?"
"Jolyne." He said, and the girl closed her mouth, huffing. "Look, if she stays here, she'll be under protection all hours of the day. I'll still come over every day to check on her, and I'll pay the same-"
"Oh no you don't!" Tomoko said. "I'm okay if you're paying Josuke to babysit, but you're asking me to take care of your daughter. I'm not so heartless as to make you go broke just so your daughter will feel safe!"
"It'd be Joseph's money anyway. The geezer is rich as hell."
"Oh." Tomoko said quietly.
Jolyne nodded. "I get the best Christmas presents."
"Still... I won't say no to speaking to Joseph a bit..."
"Well, he doesn't really know."
"You steal from him?"
"Nah, it's just he basically puts everything either on my expense, or it's put on the Speedwagon Foundation's. As an organization trying to protect the world, and being founded by a family friend of the Joestar family, they pretty much help us in anything relating to Stands, even peripherally like this."
"I... see..."
Jotaro grinned. "Honestly, if you were a more crooked woman, you and Josuke would have been swimming in more money in child support than you could believe. And it's not like he'd miss it."
"Fine. Fine." Tomoko said. "Forget the money conversation for now, we'll discuss it later. But I can't watch Jolyne all the time either."
"You... can't?"
"I have a job too! I'm a teacher at Morioh Elementary! Sure, it's shorter hours than a lot of other jobs, but still."
"But you've been at home any time I talked to you. I figured you were a homemaker..."
"Then where did you think we got our money?"
"...Your dad?"
"He did help a bit, but no. The reason I've been at home is... well, he did only die a short time ago. I was taking care of his affairs. I've been having a substitute cover me, but I should be getting back to work within the week."
"Oh..." Josuke muttered. "Crap. And you can't bring her with you?"
"Not any more than you can bring her with you."
"...That means, soon, Jolyne'll be unprotected."
"So? I can fight him! I can protect myself."
"No. Not alone." Jotaro ordered. "I mean it Jolyne. Don't ever fight another Stand User alone. If you get trapped, run, and try to find an ally. I'm not letting you get killed over this." He sighed. "I should send her to New York."
"No! I'll-" Jolyne protested.
"You'd never be able to train a dolphin to swim you all the way back here." Jotaro deadpanned. "Got it?"
Tomoko looked between the two of them. "Are you looking for Chili Pepper?"
"Yeah, but he's pretty good. I've got his name, but his old house was empty, he's stopped attending school, he quit his job, and no hotel I've called will admit to having a Otoishi Akira in residence. Hell, after I called him, he probably signed under a false name. For all I know, he could be sitting in a cave somewhere, having his Stand steal food for him."
"Well, hopefully, if you can find him within a few days, there won't be a problem at all. I'll definitely accept Jolyne here." she smiled down at the little girl, "She's been a joy to have."
"Wait!" Jolyne shouted.
"Hm?"
"You don't have to send me to New York!"
"Why not?" Jotaro asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Keicho." Jolyne said proudly. When no one seemed to get it, she sighed dramatically. "What does Keicho do for a living?"
"He..." Jotaro frowned. "...doesn't do anything, the two of them have been living off their savings. Which is a hefty amount, considering their dad worked for Dio."
"He can watch me while Tomoko and Josuke are at school."
"I don't trust him to know how to take care of a little girl." Tomoko said sourly.
"He doesn't have to take care of me, I can do that."
"She's very self-sufficient." Jotaro said, a little proud.
"He just has to make sure I don't have to fight Red Hot Chili Peppers alone."
Tomoko looked at Jotaro nervously. He looked back, before bending down to look Jolyne in the eye. "You... really want to stay here?"
"Yes."
"Enough you'll stay with-"
"-the asshole? Yeah. He won't mess with me. If he does, I can just wrap him up again."
"Well... I don't have a problem with it."
"You don't?!" Tomoko asked, surprised.
"Heh... Stand Users have a tendency to realize when they've been beaten. He won't risk our wrath. And, if I'm being honest... your Stand is the best hard counter against Bad Company, if he tries to betray us. But Jolyne's Stone Free is the next best."
"I can find them with my hearing, and catch them with my string, without ever having to see them."
"I'll bring it up to him when I interrogate him."
"Daddy's going to hit him with a pump." she helpfully informed Tomoko.
"...Eh, close enough."
Keicho glared at Jotaro, leaning back where he sat. "I'm considering that maybe we should just leave Morioh altogether."
Jotaro glared right back. "How many Stand Users did you create?"
"..." Keicho frowned, looking out the window. "I already told you too much. Red Hot Chili Peppers has made me a target, now. For all I know, he could be watching right now. I'm not sure that I can beat him. I'm not sure you can beat him."
"What does he do that's so terrifying?" Jotaro asked, unimpressed.
"I didn't realize it when I first made him a Stand User, but his ability is possibly the most dangerous in Morioh. Red Hot Chili Peppers can go anywhere, be anywhere. It's a long-range Stand able to travel through anything using electricity, that can control any electronic, and, with enough power, has the same level of brute strength you or Josuke have."
"That's... a problem."
"That's putting it lightly."
"What about the other Stand Users?"
Keicho considered it. Turning an eye towards the light bulb, he said out loud; "Akira, I'm giving you a chance, I don't wanna be involved in this war between you and the Joestars. If you appear, right now, and tell me my bro and I will be safe if we don't say anything, if you protect me from Jotaro, I won't tell him anything else. You'll have me and Okuyasu out of your hair."
Jotaro grimaced, summoning Star Platinum as a precaution as Red Hot Chili Peppers materialized. "Hey Keicho. You mean it?"
"If you can promise me you'll protect me." Keicho repeated, backing away from Jotaro.
The glowing figure turned on Keicho, grinning evilly, "It's funny... you should have thought about that before telling Jotaro everything about me. What do I care if you rat out the other useless Stand Users in Morioh town?"
Keicho began to sweat. "Is... is that it, then? You want me to be your enemy?"
"Hah! As if you're a threat." Looking towards Jotaro, with Star Platinum floating above him menacingly, RHCP smiled broadly, a disturbing image with its beak-like mouth, "Mister Kujo here, however, he's actually dangerous!" His tail swished back and forth, meeting Jotaro's glare. "I bet you're wondering why I'm willing to confront you like this?"
"I've been giving it some thought." Jotaro responded casually.
"I'm not, right now. I want some more time to psych myself up. You see, the reason I'm not afraid of you, is because right now Jolyne Kujo is watching TV."
Jotaro felt a chill go down his back. "Now, what I'm wondering is, how fast is your reaction time? I've heard you can only stop time for a few seconds, and that's deadly as fuck, I appreciate that. During those few seconds, I'm utterly helpless... but really, you're all the way on that end of the room, and I'm here on this end. How many seconds would it take you to move that distance? Not long, but it'll take up some time... and I'm pretty durable. Even taking a Star Platinum punch or two won't kill me. Finally, the moment I think you're about to attack me, I'll be in front of Jolyne at the speed of light." RHCP narrowed his eyes "So... are you going to risk it, or do I have to kill your daughter?"
"Akira-" Keicho began.
"Shut it! I don't give a damn about you anymore, like your toy soldiers have anything to do in the battle between Stands of our caliber!"
"If Jotaro tries to kill me-"
"Yes, yes, I'd let him. Now shut up." Akira waved him off. "So, Jotaro. I'm gonna be generous. You leave Morioh, right now. You take whoever you want with you, get them all out of town, Josuke, Tomoko, your kid, whatever, and leave. I don't have to bother you, and you don't have to bother me. It's not a bad deal, right? I'm not a serial killer, or want to take over the world or anything. I just don't want to have to follow the rules society puts on normal humans, when I'm not one anymore. Is that so wrong?"
"You threatened my daughter." Jotaro growled. "Of course I'm going to kill you."
"So there's no way you're leeeeeeaaving what just happened?!" Red Hot Chili Peppers shouted, the crackling energy around him fading as he looked up at the suddenly dark light bulb. "WHAT?!"
"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!" In less than an instant, Jotaro was there, and Star Platinum was pounding in RHCP's face. Bits and pieces of the Stand were coming off, cracking under the pressure of the sustained blows. "OOORAAA" the impact launched the Stand through a wall, not harming it the ghostly ripple simply passed through, but sending the Stand careening away from the house.
"Damn it!" Keicho growled. "If you kept him here, we could have finished this!"
"What did you do?" Jotaro asked.
"I have Bad Company spread through the house. I had my men physically cut the house off from Morioh's electric grid.
"But now that he's out of the house, he's probably already back at full strength from the electricity."
"Yeah."
"...Thanks." Jotaro said simply. "You wanted protection, right?"
"I don't think you'll be able to stop him if he really aims at killing me."
"We can at least try. Look, tell me about the other Stand Users in the town. I already said, I'm not taking you to the police. Prison wouldn't be a punishment for someone with Bad Company."
"...I shot thirteen people in Morioh."
Jotaro nodded. "And how many developed Stands?"
"Seven, that I know about." Keicho sighed, "I stuck around and had Bad Company observe each of them to analyze what type of Stand they had, if they didn't just die. Once it became obvious none of them had the power to kill my father, I then ignored them. Except for Akira, who noticed Bad Company and sought me out, wanting to learn more about Stand."
"Who are these seven?"
"You know Koichi and Akira."
"And Angelo the serial killer."
"That wasn't in Morioh."
"Continue. That's two down, what next?"
"Tamami Kobayashi. His Stand lets him weaponize other people's guilt, and manipulate them."
Koichi stared helplessly at the dying twitches of whatever was in the bag he just ran over. "That's a real shame, what happened there." Tamami said, hiding an evil grin, "Real shame."
"Then were two students at the high school. A girl and a guy, both kinda nuts. One Yukako Yamagishi, and one Toshikazu Hazamada." Keicho continued.
Yukako walked down the street, her hair flowing beautifully behind her. When Monday came, she would make her move! She would finally confess to him, or close enough. She would invite him to eat next week, and then they would begin dating, and eventually they would go to college together, and then they'll get married, and have as many kids as they could stand.
She grinned happily, a little bit of skip to her step as her hair whipped out, tripping a man who had been looking in her direction for a little bit longer than she cared for. She would be taken quite soon, and she wouldn't have anyone looking at her body besides her darling Koichi!
"C'mon Surface, don't be like this!" Hazamada muttered, sitting in a tree with a pair of binoculars.
The Stand shrugged, and the boy in the window across from them mimicked the movement without noticing "Hey, you try grabbing something without ever having fingers before!"
"You didn't exist before a few weeks ago!" Hazamada growled. "Now pick up the pencil! Look, he's already got it in his hand, you just have to- gah! You dropped it again!"
"That's five. Who are the last two?"
"The mangaka Kishibe Rohan,"
Rohan walked down the street, bending down to smell some flowers. The woman tending to her garden smiled. "Do you like them? I'm very proud of-" he plucked one from the dirt, yanking it up, roots and all. "-Hey!"
"What type of flower is this?" He asked, curious.
"How dare you rip flowers right out of my garden, I have half a mind to call the police, you know!"
The author sighed, "Heaven's Door!" He shouted, and the woman's face opened up like a book before she could panic, he simply wrote 'hold still' on the page. "Hmm, so it's the Gebera Daisy." He nibbled a bit on the petals, before dropping it back into the garden. "How dull. The color was a bit interesting, but in the end it's just a daisy. Oh!" he stopped himself before he walked too far away, taking out his pen with a flourish. Continuing from the words 'hold still' he continued 'until Kishibe Rohan walks out of sight, and then forget about the incident with him and the daisies.'
Putting his pen back in his pocket, he closed her book-like face, and it was suddenly back to normal. He walked away. Before he was out of earshot, he heard a sudden shout of "My daisy!"
"and a business woman, Hideki Yasu." Keicho frowned "But I had to kill her when she proved troublesome. Her Stand revolved around detecting hidden objects, and she immediately went after my Bad Company. I killed her in a way that should have been undetectable. "
Jotaro grimaced, but nodded. "Thank you, for the information."
"I just hope you can beat Akira." The eighteen year old said.
"Now, you've proved your worth tonight, nearly beating Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think I can trust you. And this is how you can help me. I want you to guard Jolyne while Tomoko is at work."
"Wh-" Keicho blinked, "why me?!"
"I can't leave her to fight Red Hot alone. Josuke and Okuyasu have school, Tomoko has her own work, I have work." He shrugged. "You're wearing a uniform, but I've checked, and you didn't sign yourself up for high school here."
"I was going to try and figure out what I want to do..."
"Will you watch her?"
"I don't exactly have a choice in the matter, do I? If I say no, you can just threaten me into saying yes... besides, Jolyne actually has a power better suited to fighting Chili Peppers. If anything, I'll be needing her protection."
"Good."
Tamami sat in the room, staring down Koichi. His mother was staring at him, horrified at his apparent theft, his sister looked worried. Koichi could see the locks, but there wasn't anything he could do about them for now.
Never before in his life had he felt this enraged. When he had seen Josuke in a fit, when someone foolishly criticized his hair, Koichi was frightened by the look in Josuke's eyes. Blind to everything, blind to consequences, blind to morals, blind to the situation.
Koichi, for the first time in his life since he was a baby, had what might be called "Fighting Spirit", or rather, "a desire to fight"!
The egg that Keicho had brutally gifted to him appeared in the air behind him, floating and glowing menacingly. "I'm not going to forgive you." He stated.
"The hell is that egg-shaped thing?" Tamami grinned stupidly, sure of himself and his victory. As the egg began shuddering, Tamami took a step back, staring as the shell shattered, and a bizarre tadpole-like creature fell out onto the ground. The thing's eyes were weird, but he got the distinct feeling it was glaring at him. "That thing just came out of the egg! Shit looks like a larvae or something! Is that your 'stand'?"
"What?" Koichi's mom asked, looking back and forth between the two of them, utterly confused at the situation. She couldn't see the lock on her own breast, or Koichi's newly-evolved Stand.
Koichi frowned, grabbing both his mom's and sister's hands and leading them out of the room. "Mom, Sis, just leave us alone for a moment."
"Is- Is this about the money, Koichi?" his mom asked, the lock on her chest growing in weight at the mention of what was making her feel guilty.
"Just let me sort this out." He closed the door on them, before turning back towards Tamami. "This is the first time I've seen my Stand either, you know. But Josuke told me how it works..." the Stand shot forward, coiling around Tamami's neck and raising its fist to attack him.
"H-Hey! If you beat me up, their guilt is just gonna get worse, you know!"
"Take off the locks." Koichi threatened.
Tamami grinned. "I can take a beating, I showed you and your punk friends that earlier today! The only thing that matters is money! If it means I get a bigger payoff, I'm okay with you beating me up!"
Koichi narrowed his eyes, considering it. "What if I killed you?"
Tamami's grin disappeared. "You wouldn't." Koichi frowned, but his Stand's tail coiled a little tighter. He considered it for a few moments, before a lock appeared on his chest, as well as on his Stand. The green creature dropped from the weight, releasing Tamami, who couldn't believe his luck. "Hah! You really wouldn't! Look how guilty you are!" He smiled evilly, rubbing his fingers together. "Tell you what, if you be my work for me every day for the rest of your life, I'll get rid of that weight, hm? Maybe we can use your lizard for something useful, and you'll work for paying me back for you trying to kill me, eh?"
"Sh-Shut up!" Koichi growled, the tail of his Stand whipping out to slap at Tamami's face with a resounding THWAP. Both Stand users expected the impact to do a lot more damage, but it didn't even leave a bruise.
"Hahah! You're so weak!"
Koichi stared at his Stand, feeling almost betrayed. He knew it was only an extension of himself, and that the arrow nearly killing him was a sign he wasn't strong enough to have a Stand. It wasn't an egg any more, but perhaps it was still just a dud, compared to abilities like the others.
The lock grew heavier, and he began to cough as the weight pressed down on him.
"Hehehe..." thwap "...huh?" thwap. "What the hell was that?" Tamami looked over his shoulder, looking for the source of the sound, thwap!
Koichi looked at the sound effect character for 'thwap' seemingly tatooed on Tamami's face where his Stand had hit him. "Huh? Could this be... my Stand?"
"You're doing this?!" thwap thwap Thwap.
The sounds were getting louder and faster with each second that passed. The lock didn't disappear, but he managed to get to his feet. His Stand floated forwards, and slapped and smacked Tamami.
THWAPslapTHWAPsmackTHWAPTHWAPslapTHWAPTHWAPsmackTHWAPTHWAPTHWAPSlapSlap~!
"Make it stop!" Tamami shrieked.
"My Stand can paste sounds to things..." Koichi said, amazed, "it reminds me of a haiku I read... 'In lovely silence, a single cicada's cry, sinking into stone'."
"Grrr... I'll show you how dangerous my Lock is!" Tamami growled, rushing over to a shelf and pulling out a knife. Koichi was surprised for a second, and the weight of his own Lock sent him sprawling to the floor in his distraction, his Stand following suit, accidently smashing the window nearby him as it came down. His eyes widened as he saw Tamami turn the knife towards his own chest. Thinking quickly, Koichi through the sound of the window smashing at the door his mom and sister were behind. Before Tamami could stab himself and scream out, the door opened. "...Shit."
"K-Koichi!?" his mom shouted, staring at the man her son called a conman, holding a knife, standing over her son, looking pained, lying on the ground, broken glass surrounding him. Her lock promptly vanished as she turned towards Tamami, eyes angry and wild. "L-Look! I don't know about this money thing, but if you don't leave, right now, I'm calling the police! You hear me!?"
Koichi grinned slightly at the change in luck, and promptly tripped Tamami as he took a step forward to try and explain himself. He considered for a moment just letting the man fall on the knife, but the thought's brief existence increased the weight of the lock noticeably. His Stand shot out, knocking the knife away before Tamami hit the ground with a bonk.
THWAPTHWAPTHWAPbonkSLAPSMACKSLAPTHWAPSLAPSMACKbonkSLAPTHWAPTHWAPSMACKTHWAPSMACKSMACKSLAPBonk~!
"Aggghhh!" Tamami shouted, as the new sound was added to the cacophony already surrounding him. The man turned towards Koichi, furious, gripping the sides of his head. "Damn you!"
"I'll call the cops!" Koichi's mom insisted again. "You stay away from him!" Koichi grinned weakly at the sight of his shocked sister's lock disappeared as well.
"Damn it!" Tamami roared, furious. He looked between them, the lock on Koichi the only one still in place. "Y-you... how dare you make your family have to see something like this!"
"What?" Koichi asked, honestly surprised.
"Look how scared you've made them! If you had just given me the money, it wouldn't have come to this!"
The lock increased in weight, and Koichi found it even harder to breathe. He could feel the pressure increasing on his chest, even as the lock that was only visible to himself and Tamami grew even larger. "Remove the lock!" Koichi growled.
"The lock?" His sister asked.
"He... Did something to my chest, I can't breathe." He managed. The weight increased slightly with the lie, but he refused to drag his sister into the world of Stand Users any more than she already was.
His mom looked conflicted, before rushing into the kitchen and dialing the phone. "No! Don't call the police!" Tamami said, unaware he was shouting harshly, unable to hear his own voice over the sounds Koichi stuck to him. Koichi made eye contact with Tamami, coughing, and having his Stand grab each cough and toss it towards Tamami, sticking even more sounds to him. The man collapsed in place, futilely trying to cover his ears, but the sound was a Stand's strange psychic sound, one that can't be heard by non-users, a sound that can't be held back by mere matter.
"Hey." Koichi said quietly, "Get rid of the lock, and I get rid of the sounds."
"N...nggh... I... want my money." Tamami said stubbornly. Koichi began tapping the floor quickly, sending each sound at Tamami and making the man wince. "Y-you tell your mom to not call the police!" He shouted.
"Get rid of the lock."
"...Fine!" the lock disappeared, and Koichi got to his feet, making a show of stumbling and continuing to cough for the sake of his family. "Now get rid of it!"
Koichi raised an eyebrow. "Why should I? You were going to take five hundred thousand yen, right?"
"L-look! What I said before about the money, forget it!" Tamami managed.
"What was it you said earlier... about being a loyal servant?" before they could continue, Koichi's sister Ayana rushed to his side, quickly lifting his shirt to look at the bruise that the Lock had made.
"Oh Koichi!" she said, disturbed, half-carrying him away from Tamami, rushing to the kitchen where his mom was hidden in the kitchen. Tamami got up to follow, still begging for the noise to stop, when Koichi took pity and had his Stand erase the sounds from the conman. Ayana and Koichi's mother then tugged him into her room nearby locking the door behind them. Mrs. Hirose began to cry, distraught over all that happened.
"What did he do to you? Why did you want to speak to him alone?" Ayana asked.
Koichi considered it for a moment, deciding to tell as much truth as possible.
"He's a conman." Koichi began,"I ran into him earlier today, not directly into him with my bike, like he said, that was a lie!" He clarified to his mother, "he had put a toy cat and some fake blood in a bag, and put it in the middle of the road, right by the corner, I didn't see it and ran it over accidently. So he comes up to me and starts trying to make me feel guilty enough to pay him back for 'killing his cat'. I was feeling sorry for the poor cat, so I got out my wallet, when Josuke and Okuyasu saved me. Josuke showed me the cat was just a toy, but then the conman tried to guilt them into paying him by making it look like they had knocked one of his teeth out, but it was a trick again, and Josuke saw it.
"In the confusion, he had taken my wallet, we thought that he was giving it back in the end, but really he just handed me my empty wallet back... I guess he thought I was an easy target, or wanted revenge or something..." Koichi sighed, before looking to Ayana, "when you were bringing him tea, he admitted that he knocked your foot, so you would get it on him and he could hold it over your head. He was going to try and blackmail us, but when I confronted him, he punched me in the chest so hard I hit the window..."
"Oh Koichi!" His mom cried, hugging him close. "Don't worry, the police will be sure to catch him."
Koichi nodded, feeling a little better for himself. Sure, his family got scared, and he lost two thousand yen to Tamami, but he also unlocked his Stand. Ultimately, today was a good day. In the future, with his Stand, the newly named Echoes, at his side, he would be able to help protect Morioh with Josuke.
The sounds of police sirens suddenly made themselves known, and Koichi brought out Echoes once more, sending it through the floorboards to look for Tamami. The conman was huddling in the corner of the room, shaking out of his wits. Refusing to feel guilty, he sent Echoes forward.
Tamami, upon noticing Echoes shot up and preemptively covered his ears.
"Don't worry." Koichi said using Echoes' mouth. "I know that you can't keep a Stand User in prison. Sending you there wouldn't eliminate you as a problem, or make you pay for your crimes."
Tamami nodded enthusiastically. "Of course it wouldn't! But, I definitely want to reform, I feel real terrible about all this Koichi, no, SIR Koichi, if there's anything you could do..."
"I'll lead the police off, say something I can use, to lead them in the opposite direction... and after that, never come near my Mom or sister again, got it? Maybe change your hair so that no one will recognize you."
"You got it Sir Koichi!" he said, afraid of Echoes' power.
"Now say something I can use, they'll be coming in soon!"
"Uh, you'll never take me alive!" Tamami shouted. Echoes grabbed the words out of the air, and carried them to the opposite end of the house, before dropping it on the ground. As the police entered the building, Echoes silently lead Tamami out of the house. While the police searched for the source of the voice, the conman made his getaway, followed by Echoes. "I... I owe you, Koichi. You really saved me, y'know? Anything I can do to pay you back, tell me and I'll get it done!"
"I'll hold you to that," Koichi said a little harshly, "after all, you need to pay for the window, and for my shoes, and I'll of course need reparations for the traumatic act you made my Mom and sister witness."
Tamami gulped, as Echoes grinned.
Jotaro called Koichi's house later that night, "Hey."
"Uh, this is Jotaro, right?" Koichi asked, "Oh! I have some big news, I figured out what my Stand can do, it can-"
"Not over the telephone, alright?"
"Oh, uh... okay."
"I'm happy for you though. I was using my Stand for almost two months before I figured out its ability." Jotaro said warmly, "now, I have something important to tell you. At your school are two Stand Users."
"Wh-What?!"
"Keicho just told me. A girl named Yukako Yamagishi, and a boy named Toshikazu Hazamada. There's also a man named Tamami who can-"
"Oh, I already met Tamami. I fought him, so did Josuke and Okuyasu."
"You... what? Why didn't you call?"
"I didn't get the chance during the fight, and... afterwards, I didn't think of it."
"Good grief... fine, but next time, call in for backup... I'm saying that now, but I'd actually like you to do me a favor. I want you, Okuyasu, and Josuke to look into Yamagishi and Hazamada. If they're threats, try and lead them to somewhere where I can catch them, and if they aren't, I want you to tell me anything you can find out about them."
"I... Alright. I'll do it. If these kids are dangerous, I can't just let them go."
"What did you do with Tamami?"
"I uh... let him go. But he respects me now, he knows what I can do with my Stand, Echoes."
"Hm. Alright, try and get him to meet with me, the more Stand Users on our side, and the less on Akira's, the better."
Notes: At the moment, no Tomoko/Jotaro is planned for the future, but who knows? She's seven years older, but they're both adults. I don't know yet. Tell me what you think of it.