He was dead, the bastard was finally dead! Karaat was panting as he tried to calm down, his rage wanting him to do more to Jirou, despite the man being dead already. He had never wanted to kill anyone more than he did at that point. And he knew it shouldn't, but seeing that tree fall on the lifeless body had given him more satisfaction than he cared to admit. He had gotten vengeance for those girls. After all these years, he could feel a sense of closure that no amount of therapy could bring to him.
Kars approached Chiyako, letting Karaat calm down. The death had been graphic, but justified. And it was clear the man needed to do it. It was only fair that they gave him time to rest after such a killing. But he had questions he needed answers for. Grabbing her arm, he smiled, "Hold still, this won't hurt too much. Just need to look for something." He then put his fingers to her brain. He was looking for how her abilities worked, though he always forgot how the sensation was unsettling to humans.
Chiyako tensed, trying to pull away from the man when she felt the weird sensation in her head. It hurt but it was also terrifying. Shrieking, she started to cry, trying to pull away again. But the man was too strong. All of a sudden, Karaat was rushing towards them, the anger coming back, but this time it was directed towards Kars.
How dare he hurt her! Karaat didn't care if Kars could easily win against him, he would not let Chiyako get hurt, not again! Rushing towards him with his stand, Kars suddenly summoned his own version of Karaat's stand. As the two stands started to fight, Karaat clenched his fists, shouting, "Let her fucking go!"
"Damn it, it's not worth fighting," Narancia shouted, knowing if this kept up, Karaat would be killed by the man. There was no point in fighting Kars. He was too powerful, and he had way too many ways of defeating even an incredibly talented stand user.
Pucci frowned, shaking his head. "He's not going to listen to reason. Damn it, this isn't good!"
As the stands fought, Kars focused on studying her. To him, this wasn't a major fight. Besides, maybe it would let Karaat blow off some more steam. For the most part, this girl was not that interesting, despite having powers. She had a high healing factor, which was quite impressive for a human. But, after a moment he found something. There was also a large amount of leftovers poison and blood from other people in her body. This was what intrigued him the most. Kars knew that if it wasn't treated soon, the leftovers would kill her. Scoffing as he heard Karaat curse at him again, their stands still going at it, he waved him off before turning back to Chiyako again, who looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
"You're so passionate in protecting her. So passionate though, you're blind and unable to see reason. I would tell you to stand down, but I don't think you'll listen. I was going to do this gently, but since you pissed me off, you've left me no other choice." As Karaat shouted for him to stop, Kars released a Hamon wave through her body, which burned up the leftovers that were slowly killing her. Smirking in triumph, and the anguished scream he heard from both Karaat and Chiyako, he turned to him, calling back his stand and letting her go.
Karaat called back his stand as well, shaking in anger as he caught her. Holding her close, he was relieved to see she was still breathing. She was alive! But whatever he did, it clearly scared her. She was crying and shaking, and she couldn't even speak. Running his fingers through her hair, Karaat held her close. He didn't know what he could do or say but he figured holding her and touching her hair was the least he could do to try to comfort her. After a moment, he sighed, saying, "It's okay, everything's going to be okay. You're going to be safe; I promise." He didn't really know if that was true, but he had to help her stay calm, at least until he figured out what had happened. The look on her face pained him and he wished he could wipe away all that she had just endured.
Chiyako was shaken up and confused. Yes, it had hurt slightly, but she was alive! As soon as the wave went through her body, she had been able to see some spectral beings fighting. The one near Karaat had to have been the thing that killed her grandfather! Shaking and crying, she gripped his shirt, scared of his anger but knowing that she needed him right now. If she had to choose between the two men, Karaat would win, naturally. And as he attempted to soothe her, she nodded, wanting to make sure he knew that she understood.
After a moment, he sighed and cussed. He was getting really tired of that man's antics, no matter what he was! "Damn it all, Kars, what did you do to her?! What did you do, you fucking bastard?!" Karaat demanded, holding her close. As Kars approached, he moved to protect her from another attack, but this time, Kars put his fingers in his brain. Flashes of images moved through his head and he tensed, watching all of them. He had used Hamon, which was a technique of controlled breathing where the user could fill their body or attacks with sunlight energy. He had used this to purge Chiyako of poison in her body that was going to eventually kill her.
As soon as he removed his fingers, he sighed softly, realizing that while it looked like Kars was attacking her, he was doing the opposite. He was helping her. And now, she could see the stands as well. As if that wasn't enough, he was now able to use Hamon. Feeling calmer, and testing the breathing control for a moment, he looked up at Kars who seemed almost satisfied with himself. Hesitating, he glanced over at Chiyako, blushing before glancing back up at Kars, saying, "I'm sorry for accusing you. Thank you. But I still wished you had communicated with us before deciding to do that."
"It would have caused an argument and she didn't have time for you to be doing that." Kars said, glancing over at her. "She will be fine. She'll get used to everything soon enough." Chiyako didn't know what exactly was going on, especially with everyone watching her and Karaat. She probably should be more concerned, but at this point, she didn't care. All she knew was that she felt so much better! It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She would worry about the strange circumstances later. Slowly sitting up again, she brushed some dirt off of her clothes, turning to Karaat. She smiled and helped him up saying, "Relax, I'm fine. Just working on figuring out what happened and adjusting to whatever is going on. Though, I don't know if I'll fully ever be able to understand, I do appreciate all you have done for me. And you too, as well. Thank you for your assistance." She said the last part to Kars, smiling as he shrugged. She bowed anyway, thanking him again.
"Pardon for the interruption," Narancia said, the other two looking just as confused as he was as he glanced at Karaat and Chiyako and then Kars. "What in the hell exactly happened? What did you do to her? It looked like an energy wave. What was that?"
"Just power of the sun," Kars said, smiling. It was clear there was more to it, but if they wanted more of information, they weren't getting it from him. Or at least, they weren't going to get it today. They would have to wait if they wanted the full answer. "We should get going."
"She's coming with," Karaat said, shaking his head when Kars gave him a look. "I'm not abandoning her again. And she's not leaving me again either." As Chiyako looked at him with confusion, Kars only shrugged. Once it seemed everyone else seemed to be somewhat in agreement, he nodded. "Good, then I would also like to do one more thing. We should pray for the victims of her grandfather. They need to be able to rest in peace, after all they've been through."
"I am glad you said that," Pucci said, approaching them. "I would be more than honored to help with praying for them to find peace in the afterlife."
"Humans are so odd," Kars said, shrugging. "Do what you must, as long as you make it quick. We've been here for far too long, and definitely caused a lot of damage." He didn't really worry too much about that, but they should get going, just to be safe.
A few minutes later, thanks to Pucci's guidance, everyone but Kars was praying for the victims of Chiyako's grandfather. They prayed quietly for a moment, Karaat next to Chiyako and a bit of a distance between them and the others, though he wasn't sure if they were doing it to make sure that Karaat didn't think they were going to attack her, or they wanted to give them some privacy. They prayed, hoping that her grandfather's victims found peace in the afterlife and would no longer be disturbed by what had happened to them. As a final prayer, they prayed that the grandfather would burn in hell for his actions and his crimes. Satisfied, Chiyako turned to Karaat and hugged him, smiling. "Thank you, for everything." He only blushed and hugged back, still shocked she was there and alive. But also, very relieved.