The house was closer to the edge of town. Jotaro walked up to the door, and knocked on it a few times.
"Hm? Who are you?" the door opened to reveal a rather tall man with a swiped-back hairstyle and a green headband.
"My name is Kujo Jotaro," he answered "I'd like to speak with you."
"Why? Who do you work for?"
"If you must know, I'm an affiliate of the Speedwagon Foundation." Jotaro took a step forward. "I believe the two of us have something in common we should discuss."
Rohan smirked slightly, before pulling out a pen, "Heaven's Door!" He shouted, drawing his Stand in the air, the pen leaving glowing yellow lines.
As the Stand began to take shape, Jotaro sighed. "Star Platinum! THE WORLD!" the mangaka froze in place, like everything else, his pen unable to make the final line connection. "Yare yare daze... attacking me right out of the door?" He didn't bother hitting him with Star Platinum, and simply took the pen from Rohan's hand, crushing it in his fist and tossing the fragments to the side. The bits moved with the momentum, before slowing to a halt just like everything in the still world.
"Three seconds." Jotaro muttered, giving the mangaka a slight push, so that when time resumed, he would crash down onto his face. Jotaro took a step into the man's house, before allowing time to resume. He smirked a little at Rohan's surprised yelp as he hit the floor, and was satisfied as the pen fragments shot out like bullets, burying themselves across Rohan's yard. "Get in here." Jotaro ordered, Star Platinum hovering over his shoulder, giving an intimidating glare towards the artist.
"Wh-What just happened?!" Rohan demanded, before catching sight of the creature floating over Jotaro. "Amazing... amazing! That creature, it's like Heaven's Door, isn't it?"
Jotaro turned around, to meet the artist's eyes, but froze in place as he saw the Stand. Paralysis began to grip at his body, and he felt the bizarre sensation of opening, his skin peeling off bloodlessly, like a book cover, to reveal pages underneath. "What the-"
"So, you can see it? My Heaven's Door? How convenient! Most people I use it on can't see it when he floats behind me, and I have to sketch him for them. But you, you can see him in his full glory, his appearance in 'reality'!"
"You don't know about Stands?" Jotaro asked.
"Stands?" Rohan asked, curious. He bent over, and flipped a page on Jotaro's chest, eyes widening in absolute awe and desire. "Stands, coming from 'one who stands by me'. They were named by your friend, Mohammed Abdul. He had one named Magician's Red, and he named yours Star Platinum." He flipped a page, transfixed. "He died fighting DIO. An... immortal vampire? Who had stolen the body of your ancestor, the British gentleman Jonathan Joestar. DIO could stop time... and you can as well?! Kakyoin! Polnareff!"
He was flipping through pages madly, absorbed in the words he saw on the pages, not stopping to absorb it, simply speeding past, "Joseph Joestar! Iggy! Enemy Stand Users! Egypt, boats, planes, Magician, Hermit, Star, Hierophant, Tower, Chariot, Moon, Strength, Devil, Temperance, Emperor, Hanged Man, Empress, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Lovers, Sun, Death, Judgement, High Priestess, Fool, Geb, Khnum, Tohth, Anubis, Bastet, Sethan, Osiris, Horus, Atum, Tenore Sax, Cream... the World." He shot through them, breathless and thrilled. He stared up at Jotaro, who was beginning to seethe in anger. Star Platinum's fist shaking, inches from Rohan's face.
"You wrote something." Jotaro accused.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it, simply 'you cannot attack the mangaka Kishibe Rohan'." he said, waving it off. "But I'd never alter memories such as these! This... this work of art... this legend in the making! Just one of these bizarre adventures would be inspiration for months, but you've fought across the world, challenging monster after monster!" he praised. "I must thank you, Kujo Jotaro, for coming here today..." he flipped another page, but Jotaro reached across his chest and slammed the 'cover' shut, making the pages disappear. "Spoilsport!"
"Why did you attack me?!"
"It's easier to learn what you're here for this way. Most people, I just read what I need, then create a fake memory of them getting whatever they needed in order for them to leave, and I send them away, none the wiser." He shook his head. "But not you, I wouldn't dare harm the sanctity of such a wonderfully unique reality by placing fake memories within them!"
"If you read what you needed-"
"No! Not at all! That was just the tip of the ice berg, wasn't it?" Rohan's Stand materialized once more, and Jotaro shut his eyes, no pages appearing, no surfaces on his skin opening. "Damn. You learned the secret."
"Stop time!" everything froze, and Jotaro walked outside based on memory, resuming time once he was out of the house safely. "Time resumes. What a monstrous Stand. I'll need reinforcements, for this one." he growled. A Stand that can enforce irresistible commands on its victims, peer through their life story and secrets as easily as reading a book...
How disgusting, he thought to himself.
The next day.
Jolyne grinned as she held Josuke's hand, him and Okuyasu walking through town as they tended to do during Josuke's babysitting hours. Okuyasu was amused to find out that Jotaro had been paying Keicho about the same to watch her while Josuke was at school. They would try to make it a schedule; Tomoko would drop off Jolyne with Keicho when she walked to her work, the nearby elementary school. Then, when Josuke and Okuyasu walked home together, they would stop at Okuyasu's house, drop off their bags and supplies, and then take Jolyne out on the town. Around evening, they would make their way back to Okuyasu's house, Josuke would grab his stuff, and then bring Jolyne to his own house for the night.
Josuke wasn't too proud to admit that he was looking forward to it. Okuyasu especially seemed to adore the time they spent together. The boy hadn't had many friends, growing up. Keicho had been forced to become the leader of the family far too early, and Keicho, despite his recent improvements in showing a little compassion for his younger brother, was gruff, judgmental, and a perfectionist, and always had been. Keicho demanded nearly all of Okuyasu's time in just taking care of their father, and then afterwards in helping him track down potential Stand Users.
Okuyasu hadn't really had a childhood. Never before really had time to spend enjoying just being a teen, and he relished the time spent with Jolyne, who gave him back some of that childhood he missed, and with Josuke, who showed him how to be a friend, and how to live like a teenager.
Jolyne and Josuke were his first real friends.
Similarly, Jolyne wasn't exactly isolated, but her own father was constantly on the move, and constantly busy. He didn't force his responsibilities onto her, like Keicho did Okuyasu, but she felt responsible all the same. The time spent with the two boys was the first time she could really relax with other people. The closest thing she had to friends she didn't have to be serious with, or wasn't brushed aside with, were her great-grandparents Joseph and Suzie, her grandma Holy, and Polnareff.
Josuke and Okuyasu were her first real friends too.
Josuke had always been popular, attractive, tall, and generally a nice guy. But he had few close friends mainly because of Crazy Diamond. Koichi had been special in that, after witnessing Josuke's brutal rage resulting from any insult to his hair, he hadn't decided put himself at a distance. Josuke knew how to get along with people, but Okuyasu, Koichi, and Jolyne were the first that he felt he could actually trust, that he could be and remain his true self with, without being afraid they'll leave when he shows his anger.
Koichi occasionally joined up with them, when he didn't have an after-school activity or a cram class to attend, but after the craziness of the previous day, and with the stress of a new, more than slightly clingy girlfriend, he had decided to spend the day absorbed in as much of the mundane as possible.
And so, the three of them walked along the streets of Morioh. Okuyasu stopped in front of a sign, curious. "Huh, they opened up an Italian place nearby."
"Where is it?" Josuke asked, looking around. "I don't see it anywhere."
"The sign says it's a hundred meters after the next turn."
"By the cemetary? Why would anyone go practically out of town just to eat at some restaurant-" he was silenced by Jolyne grabbing his sleeve, stars in her eyes.
"Josuke." She said quietly. "We need to go there."
"What? But my Mom said she was making dinner tonight, she doesn't want us to spoil our appetite."
"It's Italian Josuke!" Jolyne complained. "I haven't had Italian food since I left America!"
"Is American Italian good?" Okuyasu asked, his stomach growling a little.
"Yeah! But not as good as Italian Italian!"
"This'll be Japanese Italian."
"That'll have to be good enough! Come on!" Jolyne said, rushing forward. Okuyasu quickly went after her, grinning back at Josuke.
"My Mom isn't making dinner for me." Okuyasu shouted back, catching up with Jolyne.
Josuke sighed, "Just great. Now she's going to yell at me."
"Trussardi?" Okuyasu asked, looking at the little building.
"I like it." Jolyne said, nodding with approval. The place had a chimney, and she imagined she could smell the cooking from here. It was slightly creepy, to eat in plain view of the graveyard, but it also created a peaceful atmosphere. "My Mom is Italian you know."
"She is? I thought she was American." Josuke said, the first to reach for the door.
"She's Italian American." Jolyne corrected, "her parents were from Italy, but she grew up in America, like great-grandpa was born in Britain, but grew up in America too."
Josuke tensed a little at the mention of his father, but Jolyne didn't notice, pushing past him and into the restaurant. Okuyasu let out an impressed whistle. "I've always liked places like this, the way Italian designs."
Josuke frowned at the two tables. "This place only serves two tables?"
"Ah, that is because I run this place all on my own." the three of them looked up to see the large European man leaving the kitchen. He had a gentle smile, and seemed pleased to see them. "I am the waiter, as well as your chef. As such, I can really only handle two tables at once."
"Are you a foreigner?" Okuyasu asked.
"Si, signore. I'm an Italian."
Josuke grinned, "Like Jolyne here."
"Oh?" the chef smiled at her, before pulling out the three seats at one of the tables. "Please, please sit down. Call me Tonio, Tonio Trussardi."
"So this place will be authentic, right Jolyne? You said that the best Italian is Italian Italian!"
"Yeah! I want ravioli!" she demanded.
"Hey, we should wait for a menu first." Okuyasu said.
"I'm sorry, but we don't have a menu." Tonio said with a smile, "I let the customer determine the meal."
"Yeah, so let me get a menu, so I can choose what I want."
"No, no, sir, I mean, I look at the customer, before deciding what to make for them." he ducked down, looking at Okuyasu's hand. "Tell me, have you been having stomach trouble?"
"S-stomach trouble?"
"And you haven't been sleeping well at all." Tonio chided gently, picking up his hand and moving it this way and that, the other two at the table were transfixed, as Tonio seemed to stare at something invisible inside Okuyasu's hand, "only four hours last night? Your eyes have bags under them. Please, let me see your other hand."
"Is... is this normal for Italian restaurants?" Josuke whispered to Jolyne, who simply shook her head no, just as surprised.
"Hmm, athlete's foot on your right foot? Two cavities, and a tense shoulder."
"Wh-How did you know all that? I guess I should just be happy you didn't say I had anything wrong with my head."
Jolyne frowned at Okuyasu. "You should take care of yourself better Okuyasu!" Tonio moved over to her, and picked up her hand, and Jolyne suddenly became very quiet.
"Hmmm, you haven't been flossing well have you? Your eyes are red, how much time do you spend reading or just watching TV? You haven't been eating as much lately as you should be, your shoulders are sunburned, and you've been eating mainly junk food. You need more calcium! More vitamins."
Jolyne blushed, embarassed. "I don't like Japanese food." she said quietly.
"Eh?" Josuke asked, shocked.
"Wait... is that why we've been running out of bread?" Okuyasu asked, turning towards her.
"And now for you." Tonio said, turning towards Josuke.
"Wait a second here, how can you tell that about them with only looking at their hands?"
"It's a gift of mine. In fact, it's part of why I became a chef. By observing one's hands, I can understand everything about their body. I have been traveling the world, in search of foods and cooking techniques that relieve people's health problems. I want to make people feel as best they can be when they eat my cooking." He smiled proudly, "I have studied Chinese medicinal history, studied under Amazonian medicine men, researched African herbs, and incorporated it all into my home country's cuisine, cuisine that has resulted in one of the longest-living, healthiest, populations on Earth." he bragged.
Jolyne looked suitably impressed. "I want ravioli." She reiterated.
Tonio smiled. "I'll see what I can do." Turning to Josuke, he held out his hand. "And you, signore?"
"I'm fine. I just want some coffee."
"Come on Josuke!" Jolyne pleaded. "I want you to try it! It's real Italian food."
"Yeah, Josuke!" Okuyasu agreed. "Me and Jolyne both had all our flaws brought out into the open-" he gave a pointed look at Tonio, the chef merely smiling wider for it, "- you should too!"
"Fine, fine. But the food better be great, got it?" He held out his hand, and Tonio took it up. The man's eyebrow shot up in surprise, and he turned it over, staring hard at it. "My, my. Physical exhaustion, stress, troubled sleeping, stiff limbs, muscle twinges, and that doesn't even begin to start with the scarring. You've had important muscles poked holes into, cut, and badly bruised! I'm surprised you can move the fingers in these hands!"
Both Okuyasu and Jolyne looked at Josuke, surprised. "I keep forgetting... you can't heal yourself in those fights. My bro did most of this, didn't he?"
"Well, the hands and a few other places..." Josuke admitted, at seeing the sadness beginning to stir in Okuyasu's face, he added, "But don't worry! I don't hold it against him, just as much is from before I ever met another Stand User. I've always been a troublemaker, you know?"
"My, my, my. Now, far be it from me to judge one's lifestyle, especially a customer, but you might want to think about a less dangerous philosophy, if you're already this torn up as simply a young man. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should get busy cooking."
"Yes!" Jolyne said triumphantly, mouth watering. He quickly returned with a pitcher of water, filling each of their glasses.
"I'll be as fast as possible, so please, be patient with me." With that, he was gone once more.
"I don't trust this guy." Josuke said, crossing his arms, "Now, I don't know about normal Italian cooking, Jolyne, but people who try to make super-healthy food stuff their food with all kinds of herbs and gross things, and it's usually disgusting. If it's not any good, we should just leave. If you really want Italian food, I'm sure we could get my Mom to find a recipe online."
"Fine." Jolyne assented. "But it'll be good! He's Italian, and this is an Italian restaurant!"
"You can't fault that logic." Okuyasu said, grinning. He took a sip of the water, before pulling away, staring at the glass in amazement.
"What's wrong?" Josuke asked. Jolyne picked up her own glass, and took a sip as well. She let out a pleased noise, and then began gulping it down. "Hey, drink slower, you'll choke!" Josuke chided.
"This water... no, this beautiful mineral water..."
"Beautiful?" Josuke asked, confused.
"It's delicious, it's just water, but it's so delicious!" Okuyasu gushed.
Josuke picked up his glass as well, but Jolyne slammed her now-empty glass down, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Yum~"
"You like it too eh?" he took a sip, and his eyes lit up, "Oh, it's good. I wonder if he'll tell us what brand this is."
"It's like a glass that a princess playing a harp in the Alps might drink! It's just, so soothing!"
"A... harp and a princess and what?" Josuke asked, honestly confused. Okuyasu began to tear up, and Josuke continued to drink his own glass, it was unbelievably refreshing, like he had been craving it for weeks, but just hadn't known it. "This is great..."
Jolyne began to tear up as well, water streaming down her cheeks, and Okuyasu quickly followed, water streaming from their eyes, more than just crying. "Are you guys okay? It's just water, it's nothing to cry over, come on Jolyne, if Jotaro knew I made you cry-" at that moment however, it passed over into something unnatural. Water seemed to pour, as if from a faucet, from their eyes. Josuke looked down to his own glass, and as much as he felt it was wrong, threw it onto the floor. There was obviously something in the water, to have the same affect on both of them. "Are you alright? Jolyne, Okuyasu?"
"It won't stop!" Okuyasu blubbered, sobbing as a tears essentially cascaded down his face. Jolyne's entire outfit, and the table cloth, was stained with the rush of tears.
"Your eyes!" Josuke shouted, beginning to panic as the whites of both Jolyne and Okuyasu's eyes began to shrivel up. He prepared to summon Crazy Diamond, when Tonio walked back in.
"Un Momento! Please, don't panic quite yet."
"You... what did you make them drink?!" Josuke accused.
"I would never make my customers food that harmed them, their eyes will return to normal in but a moment. The water is from Africa, the snow of Mount Kilimanjaro, melted into a fine mineral water. It relieves their eye injuries, and cures their insomnia. A full night's rest and relaxation has just been experienced by both of them." He pointed at the broken glass on the floor, "you could have experienced that as well, but seeing as you've obviously dropped your glass, if I give you more of it, I may mess up the correct portion. My apologies, but your refill will be only normal water."
"..." Josuke glanced at his two friends, and was relieved to see that both had stopped crying, and that their eyes had returned to normal. They seemed to almost glow with well-rested energy.
"In fact, though, it would have had less effect on you. Your eyes, after all, are perfectly fine. You haven't exhausted them, and you've had plenty of sleep." he held out the three dishes, grinning wide. "Now then, for the antipasto?"
Okuyasu and Jolyne seemed to be absolutely without suspicion. Josuke allowed himself to relax, seeing as they were fine. Tonio set down the appetizers, and proudly gave the name of each one. "For Okuyasu, mozzarella and tomato salad, with my special sauce. For Jolyne, panzanella, and for Josuke, pear slices with gorgonzola and prosciutto."
"Mozazaza?"
"Mozzarella!" Jolyne and Tonio corrected at the same time. Tonio then explained the Italian pride in tomatoes, which Jolyne heartily agreed with.
Josuke sighed, he might not take her to another Italian place after this, seeing her turning into a bit of a nationalist. He would have assumed she'd be more proud of America, considering that's where she grew up. Picking up one of the tooth picks that stabbed into his pear slices, holding the prosciutto and cheese to it, without thinking much of it, he placed it into his mouth. "Wh-WHOAH!" Josuke cried, shooting up in his chair. "This is GREAT~! It's delicious! The pear is just the right bit of sour, the cheese with just the right bit of saltiness, and the meat is practically sweet!"
Okuyasu, excited, took a bite out of a bit of his own cheese, and tried to not look disappointed, "mine... doesn't have much flavor, does it?"
"Eat it with the tomato!" Jolyne urged, and Tonio nodded, making a biting motion.
Okuyasu mimicked Josuke, sticking a few slices into his mouth at once, before shooting up, "Waaaa! Harmony! Harmony!"
Jolyne quickly took a bite into her own salad, and jumped up, "Yum!"
Tonio smiled knowingly, and then moved behind Okuyasu. "Sir, if I may reccomend you remove your jacket?"
"Ah, yeah, I suppose it is getting a bit hot!" He said, scratching at his shoulder.
Seeing it, Jolyne began to scratch at her own back, shifting awkwardly to try and get to the right spot.
Josuke resisted the urge to scratch, but his hands seemed to become puffy, and not just that, there was a strange sensation appearing in pricks and needles all over his body. "What the-"
Okuyasu began growl as he ripped dead skin from his shoulders, and Jolyne hissed as she scratched skin from her back. He resisted the urge to scratch, but he felt uncomfortably bloated, his skin seeming to rise up to meet the inside of his clothes where before it hadn't, his hands turning bright red and moist.
But it was over soon enough, to all three's immense relief. "My sunburn!" Jolyne said, surprised. "It's gone."
"Ahhh, I feel so light!" Okuyasu said, pleased, bending flexibly, "Look how far I stretch, Josuke!"
Josuke looked at his own hands in wonder, the redness was dying down, but as he felt his hands with each other, he realized how soft they became. The scar tissue that had been building up, criss-crossing his knuckles, was all gone. It was as if he had never punched away tiny bullets and missile fire at all. He stared down at his healed hands, was this how it felt for others, when he used Crazy Diamond on them?"
Tonio smiled at them, gathering the various bits of dead skin onto a plate. "I'll just dispose of this then. I'm glad you've enjoyed the antipasto."
Jotaro, Tomoko, and Keicho stood at the door, determined. "Now, remember. The moment you see his Stand, he'll be able to see your 'books'. He already wrote that I can't attack him in my own 'book', so I'll have to act as support in this one."
"Got it." Keicho said smartly, glaring at the door, holding his hand open, palm-up, a tank materialized in it.
"Oh, this is exciting!" Tomoko said. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to protect the two of you boys."
He nodded, and held a finger to his lips, before summoning Star Platinum. Time stopped, and he reached through the door with Star's hand, opening it from Rohan's side. To his surprise, it was unlocked. Opening the door, he stared at Kishibe Rohan, sitting on a chair, a picture of Heaven's Door sitting framed on his lap. This was what he was afraid of. He closed the door once more, and pushed back the 'cover' of his book. Time resumed, and the others didn't seem to notice any change in the slightest. "He's waiting for us, with a picture of Heaven's Door." He whispered. "He's probably been waiting since yesterday."
Keicho nodded, walking around the side of the house, creeping low to avoid being seen from any windows. Tomoko closed her eyes, and summoned the Wall on the other side of the door, in its second form, appearing to Rohan as if his doorway was suddenly replaced with bricks.
Jotaro opened the door, and strode through, confident. The bricks moved around him to let him pass, some of them flying off toward Rohan, or rather, towards the picture on his lap.
"Ah, so you're back. Wonderful!" Rohan said, "and you've brought Miss Higishikata with you. I'm sure she'll have some interesting experiences for me to read as well!"
"Hmph." Tomoko walked towards the man, and Rohan's Stand appeared. Once again the bricks moved around to place themselves in front of it, hiding it from both Jotaro and Tomoko. "You said that he was troublesome, Jotaro?"
"His power is. Luckily, it's sight-based, and doesn't have any offensive power." Star shot forward, and Rohan laughed smugly.
"You can't harm me, remember? I placed a safety lock on you!"
"Yeah, but stealing this-" he held up the framed sketch of Heaven's Door, "-isn't an attack." Rohan blinked, staring down in surprise as the picture was gone.
"I still have my Stand! You can't dare open your eyes, even with those bricks floating around. You might get a glimpse, and then it'd be all over, wouldn't it?" He sighed, tapping his finger against his face as he considered his options.
Tomoko was advancing towards him slowly, keeping her eyes closed as she aimed for his voice. Her Stand couldn't physically attack, in the shape it was in currently. But he couldn't dismiss her as a threat. In the brief look he had at Jotaro's memories, the mention of Tomoko had been rather sparse. She was trustworthy, her Stand could defend automatically, she cared for Jolyne well, and was quite competent, according to Jotaro. However, she had been labeled, in Jotaro's mind at least, as very much firmly 'not a threat'. Not simply because he trusted her to be on his side, but because her Stand, while troublesome to attack, could not move to defend attacks in Stopped Time. She was literally harmless to Jotaro.
Jotaro could not attack him, because of the safety lock. That was a fact. The man would never be able to physically act to harm him. But he didn't have to prevent Rohan from coming to harm. So Jotaro was hanging back, while allowing Tomoko to lead the charge. Was Tomoko a threat to Rohan, then, even if Jotaro didn't consider her a threat himself? What was he planning for her to do?"
In the time it took to consider that, less than a second had passed.
He very quietly got up, and picked up his chair. Reaching over his head, he threw it with all his might at Tomoko, but a shield of bricks from the Wall quickly formed in front of her, deflecting it entirely. But she was jolted, surprised at the direct attack.
Rohan smiled, and worked quickly, his hand blurring with speed as he stabbed at her with a pen. The blocks automatically came up to meet the pen, and he sketched Heaven's Door's face on each one.
Satisfied, he had Heaven's Door float up to Tomoko, and to punch her. His Stand had almost nothing, in terms of physical power, but it was an attack all the same.
Tomoko instinctually opened her eyes, both in response to the sound of the chair slamming against the Wall, and to the whistling in the air as the bricks shot past her face to guard against Heaven's Door's weak punch.
She glimpsed the face, drawn on the brick, and collapsed as her legs unfurled into paper. Rohan dived for her, pen at the ready, but bricks rushed to block the pen once more, not allowing him to write anything down.
Tomoko let out a pained grunt as she fell to the floor. "Dammit! He got me with it."
"Kishibe Rohan!" Jotaro growled. "Did he write anything Tomoko?"
"No, the Wall is keeping him, but my legs are paper now, I can't walk."
"Hm." Jotaro walked towards her, and to Rohan's chagrin the man simply picked Tomoko up. "Well, at least you can see without any kind of threat now. Be my eyes."
"And your fists, right?" Tomoko said, grinning down evilly at Rohan. "He's right in front of us! Just run straight forward!"
"Got it." Jotaro said, determined, as he ran forward. To Rohan's surprise, Tomoko leaned forwards and punched him in the face herself.
He had been punched before. In fact, he had paid a man to do it, as efficiently as possible. It was a learning experience! After all, how could he show his characters in pain realistically, if he had not felt that exact pain! But this punch was worse.
As his nose crunched, he thought back to that experiment, and realized that his reasoning had been flawed. He had been punched before, but never with such malice behind it! Never in a 'real' fight. The force, the experience, the wildness behind the punch, was completely different to his experience before.
He grinned, as he slammed into the floor, and pulled out a memo pad, quickly putting down his reactions to the experience.
"Keep going! He's on the floor, so pick him up first! It's not attacking if you're just holding him up in place for me, right?" Tomoko savagely urged. Star appeared, and in a flash, had managed to grab onto Rohan's shoulders, lifting him up into the air.
"Amazing! Show me your passion!" Rohan commanded, writing furiously. He continued to write as she belted him in the face four more times, blood pouring from his face. "Excellent, the next time one of my characters is punched in the face, it'll be much more realistic!" She reared back to throw another punch at him, when Heaven's Door flung forward, throwing weak punches. The bricks of the Wall moved to block each one all the same. Unfortunately, the placement of those bricks were in the way of the duo attacking Rohan. Jotaro, his eyes still kept shut, couldn't react in time, and tripped over the bricks suspended in the air, toppling over and taking Tomoko to the ground with him. Rohan stalked away, wiping at his face with a napkin. "I must really thank you, it was an enlightening sensation. But I'm afraid I must remain conscious for now, if I'm to learn as much as possible." He walked into his kitchen, and casually washed his face as he listened to Tomoko and Jotaro argue and get untangled from each other, the Wall, acting automatically to defend Tomoko, continually inserting themselves to keep Jotaro from injuring Tomoko in the slightest, and getting in the way.
"Ugh! Just get off of me." Tomoko said, trying to wiggle away, a process hampered by her lack of functioning legs.
"I'm trying, just call back the Wall!"
"He'll be waiting for that!" Tomoko said, watching the kitchen door.
"Where is he?"
"He left the room."
"Place it in the doorway of whatever room he just went in." Jotaro ordered. Trusting him, Tomoko dematerialized the Wall, the bricks holding Jotaro away from her vanishing, and re-materialized it in the doorway to the kitchen.
"Is Heaven's Door in sight anywhere?"
"No-" Jotaro's eyes snapped open, and he jumped to his feet. Star grabbed Tomoko, and lifted her onto his back, "oh! You should have warned me."
"No time. Which room?" he looked to the Wall guarding the doorway to Rohan's kitchen, and smirked. "Alright. Let's get this bastard."
Rohan sighed, looking over his kitchen. What options did he have at the moment? Tomoko and Jotaro were in his entryway, and blocked off the easy access to it, by placing the Wall between it and the kitchen. The kitchen had another door, leading in a roundabout way around the edge of the house, through three more rooms, back to the entryway. But he remembered that one of Star's abilities were excellent senses. If Jotaro concentrated on Star Platinum's ears, would he be able to expect him before he got to the entryway's other doorway?
The answer came soon enough, as he heard heavy foot steps. Jotaro was heading through the same route that Rohan was planning, crossing into the living room on the left of the entryway just as the kitchen was the right of the entryway. He would be trapped between the Wall, and Jotaro carrying Tomoko, unable to leave the kitchen.
He had only one option available to him then. He wanted inspiration, but he wasn't willing to die for it-
Rohan froze in place, suddenly confused. "I surrender." He loudly declared. Jotaro wouldn't harm an opponent with no will to fight, would he?
He waited patiently for Jotaro to appear in the kitchen's opposite doorway, and soon enough, the man was there, an annoyed Tomoko on his back, holding herself in place with both arms around Jotaro's shoulders. "You surrender?" She asked, confused.
"Well, that depends of course. The only reason I attacked you was because I wanted information for my manga. I don't exactly understand why we have to fight. I don't wish to kill you, or even harm you! All I want is your 'reality', your 'experiences'!"
"The secrets I know..." Jotaro said harshly, "...It'd be dangerous for you to read them. I can't allow you to read my memories. Your power is too dangerous, able to conquer the will and impose laws on others... you're too dangerous to be left free."
"Then why not give me the same deal as Tamami!" Jotaro growled, knowing that Rohan could have only learned about him from Jotaro's memories, "I won't make problems for you, and you don't make problems for me. I only wish to create interesting stories, mister Kujo, miss Higishikata." He laughed, "I'm hardly a super villain."
"If a man like Dio had your power, he would have conquered the world."
"But he didn't have my power. He had yours." Jotaro felt a twinge of dread. It had always bothered him, that the World and Star Platinum were nearly identical. If Stands represent their Users's true self, what did it say about him that he was Dio's twin?
Tomoko swatted Jotaro on the head. "Don't get distracted by him. Put my legs back, got it?" She shouted.
Rohan shrugged, and the next moment the paper that made up Tomoko's legs furled back into place, becoming flesh once more. "Done, can you see now that I'm being genuine? I know I can't beat you."
"...There's only one way to know for sure." Jotaro said, determined. "Use Heaven's Door on yourself!" He ordered. "Write 'I will not harm other people'!"
"No." Rohan refused. "What if I am under attack? I am allowed to defend myself, am I not?" he grinned. "Especially in such a dangerous town. How about I write, 'I cannot injure any member of the Joestar bloodline'?"
"Or their friends." Tomoko added.
"But how am I to know who are your friends or not?" Rohan demanded. "You cannot be asking me to stop using Heaven's Door on anyone!"
"I am asking that."
"Well, I must refuse."
"You already surrendered!" Jotaro growled. "You're in no place to be making demands at all." his eyes still held stubbornly closed.
"Hmmm." Rohan seemed to think it over for quite some time. "How about I use Heaven's Door on you just one more time, and I read, straight from your memories, all the people whom I must never attack?"
"No deal." Jotaro growled.
"What if I read it from Tomoko?" Rohan pleaded, "please, Jotaro, just be reasonable. You cannot deny me any use of my Stand, when all I am using it for is to create art! Finding credit card numbers, digging up blackmail, forcing people to commit crimes for me, I've done none of those things! Heaven's Door is for gathering information! Heaven's Door is to help me attain 'reality' in literary form!"
"...Tomoko?"
"Well, fine. I don't have any world-shattering secrets to keep. But any funny business, and I'm going to smash your face in."
"Fair enough." Rohan said. Tomoko hesitantly stepped forwards, and presented her hand to Rohan. "Heaven's Door!" Both her own hand, and his arm, split open, revealing pages. Rohan picked up his pen, and held it over his own arm. "Now, watch carefully." He said. "I won't have you saying I cheated you! I, Kishibe Rohan," he wrote the letters into his arm as he spoke them, "will not injure any member of the Joestar bloodline, nor any I know to be their friends! Friends whom I know, from what I am reading-" he carefully spun the pen, keeping the ink-tipped end away from her hand, and showing her as such, as he used his finger to lift a page on Tomoko's hand to continue reading. "-on Tomoko's hand. Among these friends are the Nijimuras, Hirose Koichi, Yukako Yamagishi, and any students going to Morioh Elementary!"
Jotaro grinned a little at the last addition.
"Will that suffice, Jotaro?" he asked.
"Is that what he wrote, Tomoko?"
"What I said is exactly what I wrote down." Rohan said clearly. "Tomoko has no reason to fear me."
She looked down at his arm, and read what was written there. "Yes, it's what he wrote down."
"Good." Jotaro opened his eyes with a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Heaven's Door flung itself in his face, and all four of his limbs turned to paper, spiraling away from him, Star appeared, fist at the ready, but was unable to attack. "What the-"
Rohan grinned, grabbing Tomoko's hand and showing the open page to him. In smudged characters, written with the bit of ink left on his finger tip, was written 'BELIEVE ROHAN'.
He then proudly showed his own arm, which on it was written 'I Kishibe Rohan will not injure any member of the Joestar bloodline, nor any I know to be their friends. Friends whom I know, from what I am reading on Tomoko's hand. UNLESS I FEEL LIKE IT.'
"You bastard!" Jotaro growled.
"Now, now, don't be like that." He grabbed the end of Jotaro's arm, reading the page with serious interest. "I'm just gathering information for my manga, after all." He pulled out his pen, and with some distaste, wrote 'forget Kishibe Rohan as a threat'. Jotaro slumped to the ground, suddenly calm.
"Yare Yare Daze." He grunted. "How much longer will this take?"
"Oh, I could spend hours reading this!" Rohan said joyously.
"I have other things to do today, Rohan." Jotaro said, trying to get up, but with his limbs being made up of scrolls of paper, the act was unsuccessful.
"That's true." Said a member of Bad Company. Rohan froze in place, feeling a chill go up his back. Suddenly, on the outside of every window in the kitchen, soldiers lifted their heads, weapons aimed at Rohan through the glass.
"Oh dear." He said. None of the soldiers were being taken out by seeing Heaven's Door. A tiny strip of paper, like the slip inside a fortune cookie, was all that came off of them. And written on every single one, was simply the words 'obey User'. The individual soldiers had no memories, no experiences. Keicho could speak through them, and commanded them with his thoughts, but the soldiers themselves had nothing Rohan could use. There wasn't even enough space on the paper to write more than a few more characters. "I didn't think you would be here." Rohan said, hesitantly holding his hands in the air. "I surrender, truly, this time."
"Oh yeah?" Keicho's voice rang out from an entirely different soldier than before. "Then complete the message. For real, this time."
Rohan bit his lip, staring down at his arm, and the hand holding the pen began to shake. "Don't you have any sympathy?! This man in front of me, he's the fountain of youth! He's El Dorado! He's a priceless artifact, that I've discovered! You can't take that from me! With his experiences, I can make the greatest manga on Earth!" He grabbed the paper of Jotaro's arm, rushing through it, reading as quickly as he could, trying to grab as much information as possible.
"I don't care." Keicho said. "Honestly, I liked Pink Dark Boy better when you were just starting out. You made it way too complicated, bringing in a hundred and one things you just found interesting, and tying them together in the most bizarre situations..."
"How dare you!?" Rohan seethed.
"Now then. I will open fire, unless you immediately undo whatever you've done to Tomoko and Jotaro. If possible, I want you to counteract any commands you've put on them."
"I can't erase what I've written down." Rohan said, as an excuse.
"But you can edit it, can't you?" One of the soldiers fired through the window, rushing inside, and climbing up Rohan. "You wrote on your own arm, 'unless I feel like it', didn't you? Add to Tomoko's 'believe Rohan' the words 'only if I genuinely believe him'."
Grinding his teeth, he wrote down the words, and Tomoko suddenly realized where she was. "You liar!" She growled, slamming him in the face with her fist, before grabbing his hair and dragging him toward a counter.
"Wait, Tomoko!" Keicho's soldier pleaded. "Let him fix Jotaro!"
"Fine." Tomoko dropped Rohan, who limped over to where Jotaro was.
"Can... I just run some of this through my photocopier? To read later?"
"No." Tomoko growled out.
"Fine!" He grabbed the part of the paper that contained 'forget Kishibe Rohan as a threat'. "What should I write?"
"Just add a 'don't' in front of it." Keicho ordered.
"I'm done." Rohan said, saddened. With another flash of Heaven's Door, paper returned to flesh, and Jotaro got up, enraged.
"Remove the safety lock!"
"Fine!" Rohan grumbled. With a flash, Jotaro's chest opened, and Rohan flipped to the right page, Bad Company soldiers watching his every move. He wrote, after 'You cannot attack the mangaka Kishibe Rohan' the words 'unless it is necessary'. "Is that okay? Are we done here? Because if you don't mind, I'm bursting with inspiration! I think I could make an entire chapter in today alone! No, three, no! There's no limit to what I can do with this information, I'm going to start an entirely new story arc, today!"
"What about what you wrote on yourself?" Keicho asked.
"I know when I'm beaten." He growled. "I wouldn't be challenging you again any time soon either way. I need to work on my manga!"
Jotaro let out an angry sigh, and Star Platinum punched Rohan through the wall, destroying the wall in the process and leaving the mangaka unconscious and bleeding. "We're done here. Either he decides to be a nuisance again, or he doesn't. We at least know he isn't working with Red Hot Chili Peppers."
Tomoko let out a sigh of relief. "So, that was a fight with a Stand User... That was something else."
Jotaro managed a small smile, "you impressed me with that. You can throw a strong punch."
"My father raised a punk daughter, who raised a punk son." Tomoko said proudly.
Keicho joined them as they walked back to their car. "I'm glad that the plan worked out."
Josuke stared in horror as Jolyne turned bright orange and was beginning to melt, and Okuyasu was exploding into a fountain of blood, screaming about his guts.
Then, moments later, they were fine. It was a terrifying pattern, addictive cooking, a gruesome effect, and then sudden relief. Josuke looked down at his own main course, the entire cooking process undone by Crazy Diamond, to reveal strange, pepper-looking creatures. They shot back to the kitchen, where Tonio stopped him at the door. "Did you enjoy your meals, Signore?"
"You're a Stand User!" Josuke accused.
"A... what?"
"Those floating things! That you made us eat, that have been messing up our bodies the entire time we've been in your restaurant!"
"Josuke, calm down, he hasn't hurt us or anything!" Okuyasu pleaded. "The only thing he's done is make some amazing food and healing some junk we had wrong with us!"
"I'm going to eat here every day!" Jolyne declared, stuffing the last of her ravioli in her mouth, seemingly unworried how the last few bites had made her change color.
"Wait, you can see 'Pearl Jam'?" Tonio asked, surprised.
"Is that what it's called?" Crazy Diamond appeared over Josuke's shoulder, and taking his cue, Jolyne and Okuyasu brought out their own Stands as well. Tonio seemed flabbergasted, staring at them.
"Wh-What are those things?!"
"These are Stands. It's like what you put in the food... now what did you do to us?!"
"Nothing! I swear." Tonio said, determined. "All they do is go into my cooking, and they amplify the health benefits in the food. My salad really did cure Okuyasu's stiff shoulders. It's simply that what should have taken an entire dietary change, and weeks, could be made to happen in seconds!"
"So... you really just heal people with good food?" Josuke asked, surprised.
"Yes."
"Huh."
Jolyne cleared her plate, and looked to Josuke and Tonio. "Josuke's Stand can heal people too."
"It can?" Tonio asked, intrigued. "Without cooking?"
Josuke nodded, beginning to blush a bit, embarrassed over the accusations. "Do you still have that broken glass from earlier?"
Josuke and Jolyne walked into the house, surprised to find Tomoko lying on the couch. "Mom, are you okay?"
"Me, Keicho, and Jotaro went to Kishibe Rohan's house today. No one got seriously hurt, but it was my first battle with a Stand User. He could control minds by writing things on you." she sank further into the cushions, "I'm sorry, but I just want to rest for a while. It was pretty draining."
"Whoah! How did you beat him?" Jolyne asked, excited.
"Ask me later, okay sweetie?" Tomoko said. "Um, Josuke? I know I promised to make you two a big dinner tonight, as celebration for you finding Yukako yesterday, but would it be alright if we did that tomorrow? Maybe you and Jolyne could go to a restaurant."
"We al-" Josuke covered Jolyne's mouth, and smiled at his mom. "That sounds like a great idea, Mom. Don't worry about a thing."
"Thanks, you two."
As Josuke led Jolyne back outside, he let out a sigh of relief. "Saved~"
"But I want to find out what happened!"
"We'll hear it from Keicho or your Dad later, for now, let's find something to eat that won't make us explode."
"Okay. Should we tell Dad about Tonio?"
"Probably." Josuke smiled, looking down at his hands again. He had deflected missiles with that hand, not too long ago. Taken tiny gunfire with it. He had almost gotten used to the new scars, and now they were simply gone. Stand fights were dangerous. And with him around, his friends wouldn't have to keep their injuries, but he always went in knowing he would come out with more scars.
Knowing that there was someone in town that could heal him, it made him feel safer.
Rohan groaned, sitting in his hospital bed. He had demanded art supplies be brought to him, but the doctors wanted him to relax.
He was burning up inside, so many ideas he needed to put onto paper! Jotaro had been the greatest find of his career. A few weeks in the hospital, compared to that? It was nothing.
Night had come, and he was having trouble sleeping. Determined to simply sit in the bed and wait to recover, he was mildly surprised as a nurse opened the door. "Two visitors for you, Mister Kishibe." she said sweetly.
"At one AM?" Rohan said sourly. "If it's the police, I'm sticking with what I said earlier. I don't give a damn. I'm not interested in getting anyone arrested."
"No, mister Kishibe. It's actually two very important people. You see, they're fans of yours, and they're here with a proposition."
"Oh? And why would the hospital let people come in and see me at one AM just because they're my fans?" He quickly sketched Heaven's Door in the air, but to his surprise it had no affect on the woman.
"So you've brought out your Stand for a mere friendly nurse? My, you're a shrewd one. But I'd expect nothing less from the great mangaka, Rohan-sensei!"
"Who are you?" He demanded. The nurse walked forwards, and place her hand on his, and before Rohan's eyes, she quickly transformed into him. The mannerisms, body language, and expression changing to something that Rohan would see in the mirror.
"Why, my name is Surface. Although I currently have the honor of being a copy of that mangaka Kishibe Rohan! You know the copy robot from Perman, right? Of course you do, you're a mangaka. I'm like that. I'm the Stand of a young man named Hazamada, another Stand User, and an avid fan of yours. If you'd just remove Heaven's Door from view, I think you'd like to meet him and a friend of his."
"A fan, hm? Perhaps we'll be compatible. And a fellow Stand User." he grinned. "Stand Users are always leaders of interesting lives, from what I've seen. Come in." Heaven's Door disappeared, and Hazamada and Akira walked in.
Hazamda grinned widely, pulling out an autograph paper and a pen. "If you don't mind, Rohan-Sensei?"
"Of course not!" His hand flashed out and his autograph was proudly displayed on the paper. "So, how did the two of you come to find me?"
"We're Stand Users, who like you, were shot by Nijimura Keicho." Akira answered. "We've decided to embrace our Stands, and live free of the trappings of normal society!" He strummed his guitar. "I'm going to become a rocker myself, and live hard and wild! Now that I have my Stand, Red Hot Chili Peppers-"
Rohan's eyes flashed with recognition, and Akira fell as his legs and arms became paper, Heaven's Door materializing in front of him. His Stand grabbed the end of the paper of Akira's leg, pulling it up to Rohan's bed. Using the pen provided by Hazamada, he quickly wrote in a command-
and stared, confused, at what he had written. Otoishi Akira will from now on be immune to the affect of Heaven's Door. Rohan tried to scratch it out, to attempt writing a new command, but his arm couldn't move. His eyes shifted to Surface, who was holding his hand in the same position's as Rohan's. "I'm afraid, Rohan-Sensei, that I was the one who wrote that down." Surface admitted.
"You controlled my hand?" He asked, interested. "Are you a Stand User Jotaro was unaware of?"
"I never met the guy." Hazamada said. "It depends on how much Okuyasu and Josuke told him about my abilities."
"Sensational. So this is what it feels like to lose control of your own body." he said, pleased. "I apologize for trying to put a Safety Lock on you, mister Otoishi." he said, Heaven's Door disappearing and the paper returning to flesh. "But Jotaro's memories contained a frightening description of you, and I just wanted to be sure I could trust you."
Akira rubbed his legs, surprised. "It's good you stopped when you did, or my Stand would have taken your head off." as confirmation of the threat, Red Hot Chili Peppers rose from the lamp nearby Rohan's bed. "You see, it's Jotaro and his friends that are the problem." He glanced at Hazamada, before looking back at Rohan in earnest. "Want to get revenge on those guys?" he asked, smiling evilly, "Join us in living without fear of society's rules and limitations."
"No thank you." Rohan said. "I have little interest in existing outside of society, no one would read my manga if it didn't go through normal channels. I want my work to be recognized. The same might go for you as well... a criminal, and anarchist, booking lucrative locations for his concerts? I don't see it happening."
"Wh-" Akira growled, "What do you know!? People will come in droves to hear me play! And with Red Hot Chili Peppers at my side, I can destroy anyone who tries to stop me from performing!"
"Well, either way. Thank you for the offer, but I'll be staying neutral in this conflict. I've already had it beaten into me that I have no hope in defeating the Joestars and their allies, and honestly, I don't care about beating them. If doing so could get me a few hours reading through Jotaro's memories, then perhaps it'd be worth it, but I'm willing to be satisfied with what I already have. My manga will improve by leaps and bounds with the limited looks I've gotten already!"
Akira and Hazamada shared a look. "He doesn't want to join us..." Hazamada said helplessly.
"Well... who says he has a choice?" Red Hot Chili Peppers reached down and gripped Rohan's wrist tightly. "How about it? Can you draw without your dominant hand?"
"Y-You wouldn't..." Rohan said, glaring at him.
"Th-Think about what you're doing, Akira! No more Pink Dark Boy!" Hazamada mourned. "Can you really accept that!? Pink was just about to find out what happened to his grandfather!"
Rohan nodded fervently. "You would destroy my magnum opus, right after I find the inspiration to bring to new levels?!"
Akira stared between the two of them, dumbfounded. "You two... are more worried about the manga not getting finished, than him getting maimed?"
"Of course!" Both shouted.
Akira sighed. "Look, Rohan, we need your power if we're going to be able to fight the Joestars! I gave them the chance to run, and they've chose to escalate the conflict. We need more Stand Users. We need you." RHCP squeezed the wrist. "And I'm not taking no for an answer. Summon Heaven's Door, and use it on yourself. Now."
"..." Rohan looked at his hand. He had practiced with his non-dominant hand. But he was nowhere near confident enough in it. How could he portray the beautiful reality Jotaro's memories had shown him without it? "Fine." his arm flipped open, revealing Rohan's own 'book'.
Surface forced Rohan's other hand to pick up the pen once more, and lifted it over to Rohan's arm. It lowered down, and in Rohan's own handwriting, the words I cannot disobey Otoishi Akira were written.
Akira and his Stand both grinned savagely, and RHCP grabbed Hazamada and Surface, before all three disappeared into light. In a moment, Red Hot Chili Peppers had returned, and placed a hand on Rohan's shoulder. "Welcome to my side, Kishibe Rohan."