Chapter 2: Life Goes On
Yoshikage Kira felt an overwhelming sense of relief as he looked down at the corpse of Josuke Higashikata. The blast from the air bomb had turned Josuke's face and brain into a bloody mess, but left his hair remarkably intact.
Turning his attention away from Josuke, Kira saw Hayato fall to his knees. Walking towards him confidently, Kira used Killer Queen to turn Josuke into a bomb and kill an unconscious Okuyasu. As Hayato could not see Stands, it seemed to him as if Josuke and Okuyasu had simply disappeared.
Unfortunately, the boy knew the truth behind Kira's ability. Tears began to run down his face as despair started to set in. Suddenly Killer Queen grabbed Hayato before vanishing into the boy.
Kira then spoke; "I've reactivated Bites the Dust, Hayato. By now, you should have realized it's useless to try and stop me. Run along, you're late for school." As he walked away, Hayato slowly got back to his feet and stared angrily but determinedly at Kira.
After showing up at work, Kira had to make an excuse to his boss about why his suit had a large hole in the front pocket. That was from when Hayato had attacked him with Stray Cat that morning.
Kira pretended that Hayato had hit him with a rock instead which his boss accepted satisfactorily. In the first version of this morning, Kira had made a similar excuse as to why he would be late to work.
The job he had taken from Kosaku Kawajiri after killing and assuming his identity was like his old job. Only, instead of being a senior manager with the Kameyu department store chain he was now a senior manager at a shipping company.
While he efficiently completed his work, Kira considered his next move. His three remaining enemies, Jotaro Kujo, Koichi Hirose, and Rohan Kishibe were all dangerous to confront even one on one.
As Koichi's ability to increase a target's weight had proved to be a direct counter to Sheer Heart Attack, the only ability Kira could use against Jotaro and Rohan, Kira decided to kill him next.
"Excuse me Jotaro but have you seen Josuke or Okuyasu?" Asked Koichi Hirose; "They weren't at school today." Jotaro was initially confused by Koichi's question before quickly becoming concerned.
"No Koichi, but I think we should talk to Rohan." The compulsive mangaka had not seen them either, and it began to dawn on all three of them that the worst may have occurred.
Koichi was the first to suggest visiting Ghost Girl's Alley to see Reimi Sugimoto. "Jotaro, Rohan-sensei, I don't want to jump to conclusions, but it couldn't hurt to ask Reimi, just to m-make sure." Jotaro visibly tensed up even as he and Rohan nodded. The pain Koichi's voice was impossible to mistake.
They all walked to Ghost Girl's Alley in silence. Reimi confirmed their fears; she saw Josuke and Okuyasu's souls pass on earlier that day. While Koichi cried and Jotaro stood in obvious but silent anger, Rohan spoke a few words.
"Josuke, although I disliked you from the moment we met, I've grown to respect you since then. Regardless of our personal animosity, I never meant what I said about your hair." "What do we do now?" Koichi said as he wiped tears off his face. Jotaro quickly came up with a plan of action.
"Since Kira knows he can't attack me or Rohan without using Sheer Heart Attack, he'll try to go after you next, Koichi. Me and Rohan can alternate between guarding you before and after school and searching for Kira." The three of them agreed on this before going their separate ways.
Meanwhile, at the Kawajiri household, Hayato began writing a letter…
To Be Continued