Killer Queen: A Clockwork Pink
Chapter 11: Iron Maiden
"Oh my god…" Joseph Joestar muttered as he looked down at the mess of rotting flesh, bones, and decaying blood in front of him.
The Aged Joestar had his fair share of investigating heinous, disgusting crimes in the past. He wasn't one to look away from a mutilated corpse. 11 years ago, he watched as a Speedwagon Foundation Employee was horrifically decapitated by the Water Based Stand, Geb, and watched as it dragged the severed head into a canteen they were drinking from, crushing the bone and flesh into a satanic red soup. He and Jotaro were the only ones who weren't on the verge of vomiting. But even this… This seems… excessive.
Ribcage opened like a mouth running vertically down his chest, all organs remained intact except for the intestines, as it was taken out and weaved throughout all cavities in the head, going in one ear, snaking through a nostril and out the mouth, working its way out the other ear.
"I am not touching that…" The Elder Joestar said, pointing at the disemboweled corpse with his prosthetic hand.
"I… don't expect you to, Jiji…" Jotaro sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "But I do need you for something else."
Joseph tilted his head as Jotaro walks a little bit away, to a steel table near the edge of the balcony they stand on. Sitting on top of the steel table was a Polaroid OneStep Autofocus SE instant camera, waiting unceremoniously for Joseph to obliterate it using his foreseeing stand, Hermit Purple.
"I need you to take a spirit photo, that's why I bought this polaroid camara-"
"Oh my God, Jotaro, I may be old but I'm not that senile…" Joseph deadpanned at his grandson.
"Just the other day you mistook Koichi's stand for the Pink Floyd song!"
"Can you blame me? Josuke's stand is most definitely named after another Pink Floyd song… Mokupaku's is too similar to the band: 'The Band- '"
"It's Okuyasu-"
"I do not care… At this point I won't be surprised if there's a stand named after a damn Queen or Mountain song…"
Damn… The Old Man does have a point. I mean, Kira's stand is literally named Killer Queen. But I would rather get my head split open before I admit that he is right. Jotaro thought to himself, disguised as a grimace.
"Anyways, Morioh has always been rife with serial killers… The one who just killed this man especially most likely has been active since the 1980's and looking at the way that he leaves his victim's bodies completely mutilated; it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to say that our killer is a stand user." Jotaro points at the camara with his thumb. "Just like you did inadvertently to Angelo, one Spirit Photo may be enough to identify the killer, before he can kill again…"
Joseph couldn't argue with Jotaro's logic. Using his cane, he trudged up to the metal table, and loomed over the camara. He extended his natural arm, watching as a translucent purple thorn vine wrapped around his entre forearm, before smashing it down on the polaroid camara.
"HERMIT PURPLE!"
BOOM
The Camara exploded into pieces of metal and plastic which flew everywhere, one particularly warm piece of metal bounced off Jotaro's forehead, leaving a red mark on it. (Of course, he didn't flinch, its Jotaro fucking Kujo… he's dead inside…)
BVVV
A small polaroid snapshot still printed itself out despite the camara being completely destroyed. The Old Man pushed up his glasses, chuckling lightly in a "still got it" manner, he grabbed the photo from off the camara looking at it- his face immediately fell.
The Old Man looked at the photograph in different angles, looking at the back, flipping it back around 180 degrees, but the same confusion was clearly plastered on his face.
"What are you looking at?" Jotaro quirked an eyebrow at his grandfather looks at the spirit image as if it were a 500-piece puzzle that he and Suzie worked on in their younger years.
"Well… I was successful in creating the image, but there is something wrong with it…"
"The only thing that is wrong in this equation is your eyesight, Old Man…" Jotaro silently snatched the spirit image out of Joseph's hand and gets a good look at it. "Oh, I see…"
"No, you don't…" Joseph clicked his teeth before sitting down on the building's edge.
Jotaro stared at the image in his hand. In the spirit image which Hermit Purple produced, there was a silhouette of a man, both arms extending his arms out as if he were meeting a crowd of those who consist of his cult of personality. Surrounding him was a series of gears, all ranging inside and shape as if he were standing inside the components of a clockwork machine. The silhouette itself revealed no real indicator of description for the killer.
"I hate to say it, but we are going to get nothing of value out of this…" Jotaro muttered, but the elder Joestar, despite having poor hearing, still heard him, and scoffed.
"You don't say…" The Old Man muttered.
Jotaro threw him an annoyed scowl. He turned his head back to the spirit image before him, sighing he tucked it into his pocket before turning to the Morioh Skyline. I need to figure out what the clockworks means… I'll have to do more research. We'll find you eventually… Don't think hiding is going to keep you safe…
Martin was in fact, not hiding. He is currently in a bar with Holst and Lebedinoye, but we will get back to them in a bit.
Kira stood staring at the alley across the street. Then began to eye the city map that was posted on the wooden board beside him. Looking back and forth between the map and the alley. Usually, Kira himself was never bothered by the existence of what seem to be an inconspicuous path near the side of the Owson grocery, second block in Morioh. However, what was so incredibly off putting about this seemingly random alley is the fact that it was not mapped on the map beside him. In fact, of the 33 years of living in Morioh, Yoshikage Kira had never seen this alley before.
"So, this was the anomaly you seemed so worried about when you called me?" Kira asked the short boy who was next to him.
"Mhm!" Koichi nodded vigorously like a bobblehead, not taking his eyes of the alleyway. "Alleyways like these don't just appear!"
Kira sighed as he returned his gaze at the mysterious alley. This could be the work of another stand, maybe like that one Frenchman's. Which would be troublesome due to the powerful natures of those types of stands, it, he almost killed me. This could also be a big trap, like the glowing antenna of an anglerfish, we could be walking into the maws of a beast.
Kira rubbed at his temples as he felt another headache from overthinking coming along.
"Oh, come on. You've at least heard of my works, right?" Oh yeah, there was another reason for his impending migraine, as a certain nasally voice spoke. "Pink Dark Boy is at the top of Weekly Shonen Jump's popularity charts!"
Hayato, who accompanied Kira, albeit begrudgingly because he wanted to sleep in, stared off into space with blank fisheyes, mostly likely losing all hope in the future of humanity after listening to Rohan Kishibe's constant ramblings.
"I have actually bought some of your manga." Hayato finally responded.
"Of course you have, there is not a single soul in Japan who hasn't read any of Kishibe Rohan's works!" I have never heard of you until today. Kira internalized.
"I have to say, it makes really good fire kindle." Hayato smirked as he got immediate reactions from not only Rohan, but Kira and Koichi as well, as the latter two sark and the boy tries his hardest to hold in his laughter from Rohan's outburst.
"YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOUR LUCKY YOUR FUCKING STAND PREVENTS ME FROM EVEN READING OUR FILE, OTHERWISE I'LL LEAK YOUR DEEPEST DARKEST SECRETS TO YOUR DAD OVER THERE!"
"Woah. Slow down, Rohan, I'm not this kid's father." Kira quickly, and adamantly responded.
"Oh yeah?" Rohan bit back. "And from where I'm standing, you're probably already called 'daddy' by this kid's mom already."
Koichi turned beet red at the implications while Kira and Hayato stare at Rohan with mild disgust and impress at Rohan's commitment to getting under their skin.
"So anyways what do we do with the alley?" Kira asked out loud.
"Isn't it obvious? We're going in!" Rohan spoke matter-of-factly, as if there is no room for disagreement.
"Who the fuck is we?" Hayato immediately responded causing Rohan to snap his head back at the Kawajiri with speeds that should be fatal.
"We as in me, myself, and I if you are unwilling to accompany me, even just for a while…" Rohan spoke calmly, but sill emanating with anger as he walked across the street. "I lowered my dignity to ask for your assistance."
I didn't know you had dignity… Hayato thought as he watched the Mangaka cross the street, disregarding oncoming traffic.
"I… uh…" Koichi rubbed the back of his neck in both nervousness and irritation. "We should probably follow him before he gets himself killed…"
Hayato and Kira sighed but followed Koichi as they tail Rohan.
"I need to ask, who to a shit in that guy's coffee?" Kira whispered to Koichi as to not attract the attention of Rohan.
"Uh… well. Rohan Sensei got the crap beat out of him when he insulted Josuke's hair on purpose. He's been bitter ever since."
"He got curb stomped by Josuke over hair?" Kira was flabbergasted.
"It's a long story…" Koichi groaned.
"Is it going to be a severe waste of my time?"
"Yup…"
"Hey, you know I used my Heaven's Door to make my hearing that much better, so I can still hear you assholes." Rohan turned around with a huff.
"Oh good, maybe you can be able to hear who asked for your input." Hayato shot back as the Mangaka flipped the boy off with both hands.
This grown ass man is having feud with an eleven-year-old kid, also, Hayato really needs to not respond to everything with volatile levels of sarcasm, although I do commend him for not trying to stab Rohan just yet…
Rohan was the first to step into the alley, and none of them seem to register the pulse wave that rang out when he entered.
Elsewhere, Holst and Lebedinoye were currently dragging an inebriated M. K. Ultra out of a bar that the trio decided to visit during the early morning hours. Usually, two oddly (or sharply in Holst's case) dressed gaijin hauling another gaijin who is so drunk that he cannot even stand would attract a lot of attention, especially during the peak of rush hour. However, this is not the case as many people pass by these three without a second glance, as if they didn't seem to exist to them.
"Blyat, you are surprisingly heavy, M. K." LI complained as he tried to readjust the semi-conscious American's arm on his shoulder. "How much do you weigh anyways?"
"82… kiloz. I thinks…" Martin slurred out as he tilted his head back, fucking up his weight distribution and causing LI to struggle to hold on to his arm.
"LI," Holst spoke deeply, looking at his Russian compatriot in the corner of his (good, left) eye. "How about you let me hold on to Martin as I can see that you're having trouble over there."
"How about you lick the inside of my asshole." Lebedinoye immediately retorted, causing Martin to stifle a laugh.
"Classy, very classy." Holst grumbled.
Suddenly, Martin's entire body seemed to shiver as he stood stiff as a board without the assistance of either LI or the British Brute, before collapsing to the ground on his hands and knees, gasping for breath before chuckling to himself.
"Somebody crossed the threshold." He spoke without his debilitating slur from the alcohol, looking straight at the concrete in front of him.
"What threshold?" LI asked.
"Between Owson Grocery and Kisara Drugs is an alley, the gateway to Hell and the location of my magnum opus… Investigate… now." And with that, Martin slammed face first onto the concrete.
LI and Holst looked at the unconscious American in front of them, before looking at each other for a moment, unsure of what to do next. That was when Holst abruptly turned around and sprinted away.
"I'll go investigate, goodbye!" He yelled out, rapidly as he left LI by himself to take care of Martin.
"NO, I CAN'T CARRY HIM BY MYSELF HE'S FUCKING HEAVY, CYKA BLYAT!"
For someone as deadly as Lebedinoye, he is physically average.
Back with the group that entered the alley, Rohan looked at his map with furrowed eyebrows.], frustrated.
"The town map I'm holding was printed by the National Authority, a 1 to 3000 scale and it doesn't mention the existence of this alley at all!" Rohan complained as he studied his map with a deeper scowl.
"Look on the bright side, you might get a gift certificate at the bookstore for finding this error." Koichi stated, ever the positive one.
"If a state sanctioned map drawer never seen this alley, this is more evidence that we are walking into a trap!" Then there's Hayato…
"Jeez kid, how many times did you see someone die in order for you to be so nihilistic?" Rohan quipped jokingly, not expecting an answer.
"Too many…" "Too many…" Kira and Hayato both said simultaneously.
The group walked past the corridor to find another walkway surrounded by houses that didn't seem to exist before. Some small landmarks included some signs, a red post box, and a pile of dog turd right in front of it. Hayato and Koichi grimaced as they look at the pile of fecal matter that seemed to be stepped into, leaving a visible footprint, while Rohan and Kira look at the houses around them.
"Yonemori… Honma, and Onodera." Kira read them out loud while Rohan just scoffs.
"This stupid map doesn't have the residences listed. The damn bookstore is going to owe me so many gift certificates!"
"These houses look rundown; I doubt that we'll find any signs of life around here." Kira analyzed as he stared into the empty houses, their front lawns littered with trash, debris, empty boxes, a desolated doghouse with a stray leash unceremoniously sitting in front.
Hayato and Koichi decided to explore the area while the two adults investigate the abandoned houses.
"What a weird place…" Hayato heard Koichi's comment amongst the ambiance of the footsteps. "All the houses are abandoned. Forgotten."
"The vending machine isn't even powered either." Hayato noted as they pass by a fully stocked vending machine that had all lights off.
"What the fuck?" Koichi gasped as they reached the end of the corridor. "That postbox! It's the exact same one that we saw when we entered!"
Lo and behold the red postbox also had the same pile of dog shit in front of it as some sort of revolting identification marker.
"We somehow ended up where we started!" Koichi cried out.
"That's impossible, we made a zigzag pattern. So, it's impossible for us to go in a circle!" Hayato added as he stared at the steaming pile of crap. This could a stand that affects the environment around us just like Macabre and his Bridges to Babylon… Hayato then manifested Fortunate Son to defend himself and Koichi from any impending attack. "Keep your guard up."
Koichi cried out, causing Hayato to snap his head around, afraid that the Silver Haired boy was being attacked by an enemy stand, only to find up looking up at the sky in shock as Echoes Act 1 curled around him in shock.
"Something blocked Echoes from getting a bird eye view!"
Hayato looked up, seeing nothing but the blue sky with a couple of thick clouds floating around.
"Excuse me!" An unfamiliar voice said. "Are you boys lost?"
Hayato and Koichi both shivered as they turned to see a disheveled, pink haired girl with black markings under her eyes approach them. She was wearing a pinkish white dress with lavender sleeves and a purple choker around her neck.
"I can help you both out if you are." She sounded… tired, maybe she was seeing the black marks under her eyes as indicators for lack of sleep.
"Koichi, Hayato? Where did you go-" Kira and Rohan froze as they round the corner, staring at the girl who made a sudden appearance. "Who the hell are you?"
"Probably the enemy stand user! HEAVEN'S DOOR!" Suddenly the personification of Dark Pink Boy launched itself out of Rohan at blinding speeds and barely flicked the girl on the cheek, causing her face to open up like a book before she passed out, barely being able to react.
Pulling out a pencil, the Mangaka wrote down something in the open pages before sighing. "That should do the trick. I wrote down some pointers that she will be unable to attack any of us."
"That is one powerful stand ability, open people up like book. Quite literally." Kira remarked.
"Man, you have gotten more powerful than the last time we met, Rohan sensei!" Koichi cheered, causing Hayato to roll his eyes.
"Thank you, Koichi, I am trying to reach my fullest potential. Although I doubt it will work on people such as Josuke who wouldn't know art if it nailed him in the balls. Or the bitter child over there."
"Bite me, you moronic fuck." Hayato whispered with venom coursing through each word.
"Check if she has any affiliations with an organization known as The Killing Floor…" Kira requested as he crouched down next to Rohan to look at what was written on the girl's face.
"The Killing what?" The Mangaka asked.
"Don't worry about it just check."
"Okay! Okay, Jesus…" Dragging his finger across the pages, Rohan scanned the entire book on her face. "Well. There's nothing about this 'Killing Floor,' but- oh shit."
"What? What is it?" Koichi looked over Rohan's shoulder to see what he was gawking about.
"This girl is not a stand user at all! She's not here to kill us." Rohan said. "You can't hide anything from Heaven's Door. Her name is Reimi Sugimoto, she is sixte-"
"Wait. Stop." Kira stood up before looking at the pink haired girl again."What was her name again?"
"R- Reimi Sugimoto… Why?" Rohan responded.
"That's not possible…" Kira exhaled sharply in shock causing everyone, including the once disinterested Hayato to stare at him in confusion. "Reimi Sugimoto is dead. She died in 1983 along with her entire family. I should know… I went to the same High School as her."
Reimi found herself standing up. She looked around confused before turning back to the boys she was talking to earlier, blinking in confusion as she saw two more men standing behind them, one with greenish, black hair that is swept to the side, and a taller blonde-haired man right next to him.
Huh, odd, now where was I? Oh yeah… "I'll show you the way out of here. A lot of people get lost in here regularly because all of these alleys look the same." She said monotonously.
"Not until you tell us about yourself, first." The Blonde-haired man with sharp blue eyes said, pointing an accusatory finger at her.
"My, my. How straight forward…" She pulls out a stick of pocky, pointing it at the group. "Before I do, hold the end of this."
Everyone just stared in confusion, before Hayato sighed, holding onto the end of the pocky stick, only for Reimi to break the pocky in half.
"Woof, you're really going to have a rough next couple of months…" Reimi said, matter-of-factly with a slight sigh in her voice.
"Woof. You're really a pain in my ass." Hayato responded bitterly, much to Reimi's displeasure.
"Geez, pocky fortune telling is supposed to be fun…" Reimi groaned. "You act like an asshole because the world around you turned you bitter, and Darwinistic, leading to much more harm than good when you begin lashing out at everyone for even the pettiest of reasons."
"Yeah, right on the money. Now. Information, give!" Hayato began pressing his index finger on the palm f his opposite hand, demanding answers from Reimi.
The Pink Haired girl's frown deepened, before ultimately sighing. "Fine."
She turned away from the group, the air around her suddenly turning cold, suffocating, turning up to look at the house in front of her. "Have you ever heard about the tragedy that occurred in this house? A horrific crime was committed here… 15 years ago."
"A girl woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds what water dripping in her parent's bedroom. She called out to them, 'mommy, daddy?' But no one replied. She had a dog. A guard dog that would lick her hand when she stretched out below her bed. Arnold was her constant reassurance in life. But the dripping continued for 10 minutes. She finally decided to investigate, only to find her trusted dog, completely gutted and nailed to the wall like a crucifix. The blood reverberating into a dripping sound…"
Reimi stopped talking, sucking in her teeth, shutting her eyes hard, shaking her head, opening them only to find hot tears falling out her eyes. "And then… and then. It felt like everything was on fire. Pain was the only thing she felt for the next few seconds of what she had left in her short life."
"'The girl's body was found nailed to the front of her door by her hands. Her tongue and eyes cut out, lower body completely severed, organs completely extracted. Throat slit. Her family and her dog found dead inside the apartment, butchered in similarly graphic ways…'" Everyone's attention was now on Kira. "That's what it said on the newspaper on February 16th, 1983. The headline: School Girl, Reimi Sugimoto, butchered."
"Oh… So that's what happened." She stifled a sob.
With that one statement, everyone's spine quivered as the girl in front of them was confirmed to be the one and only Reimi Sugimoto, a ghost girl.
"Reimi…" Kira said as she approached the crying girl. "My name is Yoshikage Kira. We went to the same Highschool."
"I know who you are Kira… You were always the quiet one, you were in the poetry club. You always liked reading western books. I never thought I'd see you again."
"Can you tell me what happened? What you remember before you died?"
Reimi was quiet at first.
"No…" She said just above a whisper. "I blinked once and suddenly I was dead. Just like… Just like Sumiko…"
Sumiko Kunimido. The girl who was killed in 1982 in similarly gruesome fashion. The only one to 'witness' it being Reimi Sugimoto herself. Both dying abruptly and in the blink of an eye. The girl whose uncle was killed by… Kira… Tomei Kunimido.
Kira closed his eyes, before taking a deep breath in, and a deep breath out.
"This is the passage between the living and the dead…" Reimi wiped the tears from her eyes. "I am forever bound to this alley, trapped until whoever killed me is brought to justice. I think the reason why you're able to see this alley is because there is some spirit either possessing you."
"I think it's because we are all stand users." Koichi replied.
"Stands?"
"Metaphysical incarnations of one's soul. Yadda, yadda, yadda." Hayato said as his blue bat stand, Fortunate Son manifests right next to his head, waving at Reimi.
Koichi's Echoes Act 1 wrapped around its user and Rohan's Heaven's Door began floating around.
"What about you… Kira?" Reimi asked as she looked up at her old schoolmate.
Killer Queen's right side of its head appeared behind Kira, its piercing pink eye staring directly into Reimi before disappearing.
"For the past 15 years I have been here, watching as the spirits of those killed by the same person who killed me go up to heaven. He kills indiscriminately, in the same twisted fashion. All of their bodies defiled to seem like pieces of art."
"If you lead us to the exit, then we'll be able to look for your and Sumiko's killer and bring them to justice." Kira said.
The disheveled Reimi gave her old classmate a slight smile. Kira understood her appearance now. She was disheveled because she was tired, traumatized by the death of Sumiko, she never got a true night's sleep leading up to her death.
"Okay. Okay…" he pointed at the red postbox. "If you walk past that postbox, you'll find the exit on the left."
"Thank yo-"
"Wait, slow your roll. There's something you need to know." She pointed at all of the rest of the group. "Whatever you do. When you are exiting, under no circumstances should you turn around to look behind you… Understand?"
"And if we do?" Rohan asked.
"It's the law of this place…" She responded curling herself in a ball and resting her head on her knees. "It's very simple. Just don't."
Rohan opened his mouth to say something else, but Koichi interrupted. "She's pointing us to the exit, we might as well take her advice."
Rohan sighed as the group proceeded to make their exit. As the pass the red postbox however, the air around them grew cold, heavy, a chill unlike any other passing through their bodies.
"Something's behind us…" Koichi squeaked out.
"Keep your head forward, whatever happens, don't look back." Kira said as he walked forward at an agonizingly slow pace.
"There's weird shit oozing down my neck…" Rohan groaned.
"Turn around…" A mysterious, breathy voice commanded Kira as he kept walking.
Nope, absolutely not…
"Turn around…"
Go away…
As they turned around the corner, they saw a shining light at the end of the tunnel.
"I can't take this anymore-" Koichi proceeded to bolt down the corridor, however Hayato grabbed the boy by his collar, causing the boy to flail around before crashing back down to the floor, Koichi tried to open his eyes, only to feel to small hands covering his eyes.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Hayato whispered into Koichi's ear causing him to tense up as it was much ghastlier than the whispers of the entity behind him. "Stick with us, and keep you head forward. Understand."
"Yessir…" Koichi wheezed out, before standing up, clinging on behind the smaller boy.
They got closer and closer to the exit, just about 5 meters away, they're so close they can taste it-
"Shit stain…" Kosaku Kawajiri called out.
Hayato froze, causing Koichi to bump into him. He's just a few feet away…
"Shit stain, I'm talking to you…" He heard his biological father call out to him.
No, no, he's not here. I'm almost to the exit.
"I know you can hear me, boy…"
He's nothing to me. He's nothing to me…
"You and your mother… will amount to nothing."
Hayato flared with rage, as his eyes became wide.
"Hayato?" Kochi whispered to him, wondering what was wrong.
The eyes bearing nothing, but rage turned around fast than anyone can blink.
"HAYATO, NO-" Kira screamed out, before darkness completely engulfed him, only being incapable of anything, but watching as the darkness curled around Hayato.
Hayato watched as hundreds of hands reach out from the void to grab him, Hayato's heart began to pound as he realized his sudden lapse in judgement. Inches away from his face the hands suddenly cease their movements, twitching as if wanting to move forward, but they stayed in their place, not a single one moved to grab him.
Fortunate Son? Hayato thought for a moment before being pulled backwards by someone.
Landing on the concrete, Hayato looked around only to find himself on the same street he was in earlier, before entering the alley. Turning around he found Kira, Koichi, and Roan all sweating and panting, looking forward he realized that the alley was no longer there as the space between Owson Grocery and Kisara Drugs closed, leaving no room to walk through.
"ARE YOU CRAZY, KID?" Hayato heard Kira yell into his ear, as he felt his ear being pulled slightly, not too much in inflict pain as Fortunate Son prevented his ear from being tugged completely. "THE ONE FUCKING THING THAT REIMI SAID, AND SOMEHOW YO MESSED THAT UP-"
"I heard my old man speaking to me." Hayato said bluntly causing Kira to pause. "It was a very convincing trick, he called me 'shit stain' and said how me and my mother would amount to nothing…"
Hayato trailed off as his "father's" words resonated in his head.
"I tried doing that, look where it got me… And why the hell would I change for an ugly bitch?"
"Or what you manlet? The only reason why you were born is because of an accident…"
"I never wanted the shit stain anyways…"
*Pat*
Hayato felt a large hand fall on top of his head, patting him lightly. He looked up to see Kira's blue eyes, now much softer, and with a slight smile to them.
"I'm just glad you're okay."
The pat only lasted for a moment, but Hayato put his hand of the spot where Kira placed his hand, wanting to emulate the warmth and comfort he felt from that single head pat, but it wasn't the same. He looked a Kira for a moment as the man's eyes were staring elsewhere. Kosaku never looked at Hayato with the same fear as Kira did when the entity swarmed him, never gave him a single head pat, or hug, or any sort of embrace, he never heard his father say: "I'm glad you're okay."
"This is far as I can go…" Reimi's voice said right behind him.
Everyone turned to see Reimi standing on the sidewalk, flanked by a brown dog with a deep cut going down from his throat to its torso, wagging his tail and panting as if nothing is wrong. Arnold.
"We will have to stay here until our killer is caught, and when that day finally comes, we'll rejoin my mommy and daddy to rest in eternal slumber."
The group watches as the girl fades away, with a smile on her face.
One, heavily scarred man watched from across the street.
Rohan sat staring, studying the grave in front of him. Sugimoto Family Grave. Until he heard footstep approach him. Turning around he saw Kira in his bright pink buttoned-down shirt and white pants walk up to him.
"Kira. Where is the little shi- uh… Hayato?" Rohan asked.
"He left with Koichi to tell Josuke and Okuyasu their discovery." Rohan tsked before turning back to face the grave where Reimi, Arnold and her parents are buried, studying the dark grey marble, immediately uninterested with what Kira as to say after uttering Josuke's name. "You know if it wasn't your self-centered, blasé attitude I would have recognized you sooner."
Rohan quirked an eyebrow, turning his head back to stare at Kira.
"What on Earth are you talking about?"
"I went to school with Reimi. She sat close by me during lunch, talking to her friends about her day." Kira said, before facing the grave. "But soon she started talking about someone more and more, rather than herself."
"Oh great, not only did you know her, but you stalked her."
"Shut up, get your head out of your ass and let me finish." Kira sighed before crouching down, right next to him. "She started talking about a little boy who she babysat regularly, a very close family friend. The little boy's name was Rohan."
Rohan's eyes went wide as saucers, but Kira continued.
"She'd talk about him, about you regularly, telling her friends about the pictures you drew of her, the games you played with her, the episodes of Astro Boy you two watched on the television. She even joked that you were her little brother, but soon that joke was something she genuinely began believing in."
A beat.
"The night the Sugimoto's were massacred in their own home; I was walking by with my mother after we got home particularly late one night from a visit to my grandparent's house. And we saw all of these police cars and ambulances swarming their home. And you were there, crying in front of the officers, repeating only one word. 'Reimi is gone, my sister Reimi is gone…'"
"You were… there?" Rohan choked out as he felt his throat constricting in on itself.
Suddenly the flashes of that night, that fucking night flashed through Rohan's mind. Hiding in fear under Reimi's cold bed, as she screamed out in horror as she saw Arnold's body, crucified on the wall. And then finding himself on the cold grass, outside. Nothing, no events in between, only a concussion and bloody nose.
The police were alerted to a screaming child outside. And when the cops began questioning him, he completely broke down, uttering the same sentenced over and over again as Rohan was reduced to nothing but a ball. The only thing he truly remembers from his break down was a pair of blue eyes and golden blonde hair staring at him in sympathy, and sadness.
Rohan stood up as he felt hot tears. I was there, I was the only survivor. But why can't I remember what happened before I found myself outside. Why can't Heaven's Door seem to remember.
He began trying to stifle his panting as he was beginning to panic, his stomach doing gymnastics in his torso. He couldn't be seen like this. So vulnerable, so weak.
"Excuse me…" Rohan stuttered out before turning to exit the cemetery.
As Rohan turns to try and exit the cemetery, he is met with a massive punch to the gut by an unknown assailant. Rohan felt as if someone flattened every bone in his body. The air in his lungs seemed to have evaporated as his lungs were forcibly deflated and shriveled up like a balloon. Quickly the mangaka began to gasp for air before being punched a second time, sending him careening and crashing into a massive tombstone, shattering it into pieces of rock and going limp immediately.
Kira damn near choked in spit at seeing just how quickly the stand user was defeated.
"I didn't know someone else was going to be here…" A distinct, deep accented voice muttered to themself. The figure was a massive old man, a good part of his face seemed to be scarred from burning, and his right eye seemed to be permanently shut.
The Old Man tapped his chin in thought, "Hm… he's not quite dead… yet. Must be a stand user. Good, I hate seeing people die so easily. It is not as fun for me…" He then turned to Kira was only staring at the, obviously not Japanese Man.
"You," he pointed. "You're Yoshikage Kira, correct?"
Kira only groaned in annoyance. "Are you another member of the Killing Floor?"
"Yes, the name is Holst. And you are the one responsible for the death of my comrades, no?"
"Hey, the lady killed herself!" Kira waved his hand around agitated.
"Quite the defense you got for yourself, Yoshikage Kira." There was a dangerous glint in Holst's eye.
This guy reminds me a lot of the Giant from A Princess Bride, but more murderous, and probably a psychopath. Kira thought to himself before NARROWLY dodging a massive fist headed towards straight for the head. Kira stumbled backwards over a tombstone, quickly getting on his feet, shocked at the old man's speed.
"You… are aware I'm a stand user, right?" Kira asked, confused at the British Behemoth's decision to use his bare fists rather than a stand, summoning Killer Queen behind him.
"Oh, I am well aware… I just don't need to use my stand to kill you."
Holst then sent a punch onto the tombstone in front of Kira, as the blonde-man backed up he felt multiple rocks coming from the exploding marble tombstone smash into him, shattering ribs and cutting into him. It's getting hard to breath as the rocks lodged into his chest is compressing his lungs, all the while Holst continues to wail on Kira, with punches as light as jabs, but with the weight of neutron stars.
Soon Kira found himself backed into a corner, or rather, a tree, flanked with a tombstone on either side, he was trapped.
Shit, I'm going to get my face caved in by this monster, if I don't make a smart play now, I'm done for!
With a mighty roar, and a heave of his fist, the tree that sat in the center of the Morioh Cemetery was blasted into nothing but splinter and dust, however, Kira was no where to be seen.
Shlink.
A pain exploded in Holst's abdomen, looking down, Killer Queen had inserted his entire fist onto his stomach, having to put plenty of strength in order to release its hand from the now gaping wound. Holst staggered backward, dropping his to see the shocking amount of blood that is now flowing freely from the wound.
"Hohoho…" He chuckled. "Now that's the good shit…"
In a flash of light, Holst finally revealed his stand. It was a giant metal, cylindrical sarcophagus with the face, eyes, and mouth open, as if it were screaming, eternally. An iron maiden.
"This is… Iron Maiden." Holst began laughing, smiling as blood seeped through his teeth. "And you're really not going to like it when its truly free."
He pointed back at his stand, as the metal sarcophagus begins to crack. "That is just a shell, a restraint from showing off its true power… The more you hurt me, the more it cracks. And when its free… heh… You, the ones you love, everyone will die. Over and over again. Mountains of broken bodies…"
"Not if I kill you first!" Soon, Killer Queen charged forward, throwing his hand up, and smashing Holst in the chin cracking his mandible, but remaining unmoving, Iron Maiden, cracking further.
"That's cute. RAH!" Throwing a massive fist through Killer Queen and impacting Kira right behind it, smashing into his arms as he desperately defended his chest, launching him backwards, smashing and brutally bouncing off a tombstone and landing headfirst into another one, severely dazing him.
"You know how I got all of these scars, Kira? In battle. I fought in the Second World War, killing krauts, and destroying their livelihoods, killing anyone in my path with just my fists, as I thought guns were for pussies. I was shot, blown up, burned by a flamethrower, ran over by a half track. But all of those were minor inconveniences to me, the more I was wounded, the more I got to use Iron Maiden on those around me. And I fucking loved it." He approached Kira, slowly as he watched the blonde Japanese man try to pick himself off the floor. "And then I fought in more wars. Korea, The Suez Crisis, The Irregular War, Falklands, and Kuwait. And I will not hesitate to destroy all of Morioh, just to kill you!"
"SHEER HEART ATTACK!" The small tank came out of Kira's left hand, barreling towards Holst at high speeds.
Holst grabbed a large piece of marble debris and smashed it over Sheer Heart Attack, burying it, however, the little tank still clicked and exploded, causing marble to shoot everywhere like a landmine, sending several pieces directly through Holst, and one grazing his scalp for good measure.
Iron Maiden cracks some more.
"Bollocks…" Holst groaned in pain, as he dropped to one knee. "I haven't been blown up like that since that one cheeky car bomb in Northern Ireland… Bastard."
I need to end him, fast. If I can just get close enough to him… I cannot let him take more damage. Kira fought through the pain, standing up as he heard his lower ribs breaking ever so slightly. He rushed forward only to be met with a large stone to the face, impacting him like a sling shot, causing him to flip backwards, before landing on his broken ribs, crying out in pain.
He suddenly felt the winds shift near the back of his head, indicating that Holst was bearing down on him. He rolled away and watched the British Behemoth slammed his fist down on the concrete right next to his head, cracking the earth below. Kira then tried to kick Holst in the face, but missed, somehow and slammed his foot down on his shoulder, causing the British Behemoth to stagger back.
Kira got up, and wondered why his vision was so splotchy, specks of darkness preventing to him to see completely. He turned around to see Killer Queen, gasping when he saw that Killer Queen's left eye was now completely dark, cracked. And since Killer Queen reflects Kira, he came to a revelation. He is now blind in one eye. Nothing that Josuke can't fix, but something that will be troublesome in a life-or-death fight-
WHAM!
Kira barely dodged a hand chop that could have severed a man in half, for maybe a car, who knows. Kira doesn't, because he's not dead just yet. However, what Kira wasn't expecting was an elbow to the chin completely dislocating his jaw a knocking him to the floor. On his back he looked back up at Holst as he tried to reset his jaw back into place.
"You are being… Very annoying…" Holst huffed as he picked up a grave from its foundation using nothing but his brute strength. Hoisting it up, over his head, intent on crushing Kira under it. "You are holding back, to not release Iron Maiden from its restraints, looking for an angle to kill me in one fail swoop. Smart, but irritating."
Crack. Pop.
Kira's jaw is finally back into place. "But what you failed to realize is, as I went down, I grazed my finger in the very gravestone you are holding!" He stuck his detonator thumb out. "KILLER QUEEN, FIRST BOMB!"
"FU-"
Click
KABOOM!
The large tombstone exploded in fiery glory, completely engulfing Holst. Kira sighed in relief, before he heard the trickling of water. Looking forward, he noticed that Holst was still alive, somehow someway, but not unscathed in the slightest. A majority of his upper body was covered in smoking third degree burns, all of his hair, singed off, a piece of his skull completely gone, exposing his brain, his left hand completely mangled, bent in several hundred… thousand directions, gushing blood.
"HAH… HAH…" He breathed loudly, heavily, trying to subsidize the agonizing pain all over his body. "HAH… HEH… HEHEH… HEHEHEHEH…"
He then descended into boisterous laughter that echoed throughout the demolished cemetery. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
Behind him, the Iron Maiden restraint sarcophagus cracked, and cracked. Until finally. KABOOM!
Iron Maiden's true for is revealed…
It stood at least seven feet tall. Its body completely chrome, its face was still wide eyed and open mouth, just like its restraint form. Its arms were as big as tree trunks, which is supported by a large, herculean physique. It inhaled…
ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR.
Letting out an awful, deafening roar that reverberated throughout all of Morioh, only being heard by Stand Users.
Tonio was in the process of peeling a potato while having a full diner of customers waiting on their food. Halting, sweating, wide eyed in fear as he heard the ungodly howls of a beast.
Risotto, Dies Irae, and Sweetlick were at The Killing Floor Hideout, the latter two members standing up, looking around, sweating.
"Scheisse… Scheisse…" Dies Irae whispered as she had a face of pure fear.
"What's wrong, what is that sound?" Risotto asked, looking around, more confused than scared.
"Holst got himself into a fucking scrape and is going all out. You might want to take cover under the table Gotisch."
"What the fuck?" Jotaro whispered, looking out of the window wondering what that sound was.
Joseph says nothing as he is currently sprawled out on a couch, snoring loudly.
Koichi, Hayato, along with Josuke and Okuyasu were sitting outside on the lawn of Josuke's house, discussing the discovery of Reimi Sugimoto and he Ghost Girl Alleyway when the roaring began. They were confused and scared, wondering why no one else around them, no animal, not even a bird, is disturbed by the sound.
"Shit, that is coming from the Cemetery. Kira and Rohan were going there!" Koichi yelled as he got to his feet.
"What are we waiting for they might be in trouble!" Josuke said, before bolting down the streets to the Morioh-cho Cemetery, off to the races to save Kira and Rohan.
LI couldn't believe his ears, staring at the sky, teeth clenched, knowing what the sound that no one else but himself and Martin heard.
"Someone's going to die~" Martin sung in a low voice, with a smile on his face.
Iron Maiden seemed out of control, thrashing around like a rabid gorilla, sending punches in every direction that seemingly disintegrated tombstones with just the force of the winds, including the Sugimoto Family tombstone, reduced to nothing but its most basic elements.
It suddenly began slamming both fists down on the ground below him, sending shockwaves throughout Morioh, with just magnitude that it was detected on the Richter Scale, a 6.3.
Now, all of Morioh felt this one. People panic as the ground shook under them, it is hysteria in the Business District, Tonio ran out of the kitchen as food supplies and cutlery began falling around him, telling all of his customers to hide under the tables as they were secure and bolted to the ground as ceiling panels fell overhead. Risotto, Sweetlick and Dies Irae all huddling under the table of the hideout as the sky begins to fall and the ceiling caves in on itself. Jotaro had a hard time keeping his balance, as Joseph finally woke up and began panicking, he hadn't shit himself this hard since Suzie discovered of Josuke's existence. Koichi, Hayato, Okuyasu and Josuke continued to sprint down the streets, as car began to swerve into buildings. If it wasn't for Fortunate Son, Hayato would have gotten killed three times over.
Hold on Kira. I am almost there! Hayato said as his sides begin to hurt from how much he is expending his energy sprinting.
The hulking stand stopped its mindless tirade abruptly. By that point the entire cemetery was nothing but a now empty lot. It snapped its head around to stare at Kira, snarling as it began to charge, running in the same fashion as a gorilla sprinting down to its victim. Kira was completely expended, there is no more energy left in movement if he wanted to survive, forcing his eyes shut as Iron Maiden threw a massive right hook. However, it never made contact, instead the force of the punch was redirected by at Iron Maiden's punching arm, completely annihilating it, dethatching itself from its socket. It looked at its shoulder, with more confusion than pain, as it tried to figure out why its arm was gone, before turning to see someone else standing in the newly created wasteland. Rohan…
"Heaven's Door says that whatever Iron Maiden throws at Kira will be redirected back at it with 100% strength. Have at it you stupid son of a bitch."
Kira looked at his leg and realized a bleeding Heaven's Door opened a book on the back of Kira's leg. But Iron Maiden was not impressed. At all… It was furious. Letting out another roar of the century it barreled directly at Rohan.
"That's all I can do… Avenge Reimi for me, tell thank you for what she did for me all those years ago…" Rohan said to Kira as he closed his eyes, accepting his fate at the hands of Iron Maiden.
A major inferno then roared in Kira's eyes, as he pushed aside the agonizing pain, standing up mercifully, clenching his bloodied teeth as the inferno manifested itself as a pink flame.
Dark Determination.
Suddenly Iron Maiden stopped, twitching. Rohan opened his eyes just a squint but widening them at the sight before him. Killer Queen had both of its hands impaling Iron Maiden through its body so deep that they popped out on the other side, allowing Rohan to watch as the pink cat stand wrapped its hands around Iron Maiden's spinal cord.
"You're going to thank her yourself." Kira said.
"SHI-BO!" Killer Queen cried out as it snapped the entire spinal column in half, causing the behemoth stand to disappear.
Both Kira and Rohan collapsed to the floor at Iron Maiden's demise, panting, bleeding… They won.
"There they are!" They heard a familiar voice ring out.
The two men turned to see Hayato, Josuke, Okuyasu, and Koichi all standing at the entrance of the cemetery, sweating an panting in exhaustion, gaping at the destruction before them.
"Holy crap. What happened?" Okuyasu asked.
"Stand user. Killing Floor…" Kira responded, trying not to choke on his own blood.
"You never… told me what The Killing Floor was…"
"Long st-"
"BEHIND YOU!" Hayato screamed out pointing behind Kira.
Kira immediately turned around, summoning Killer Queen to give an ambushing Holst a chop so powerful that it cut completely through his neck. Slowly his head slid off of its stump before Holst finally collapsed to the ground. Officially, finally, permanently dead.
Kira finally fell back to the floor looking at the sky with his splotchy, failing vision. Not only was he blind in one eye, but he has lost so much blood that the anemia is causing his vision to blur. This is the closest to death he has ever been, closer than when he was fighting Macabre, closer than when he was attacked by Zarzuela and Saxxy. He was not having a good time, not at all.
Suddenly, his vision returned and all the pain throughout his entire body was gone. He slowly got up to see Crazy Diamond had reverted all his wounds back to its healed state, not a single scar present.
"Thank you…"
"Don't mention it…" Josuke smiled at the blonde-haired man before turning to heal a resentful Rohan.
Kira then felt something wrap around its arm. He turned, surprised to see Hayato, with tears rolling down his face, gripping onto his arm.
"I'm… glad you're okay…" He whispered as he wiped his tears on the sleeves of his shirt.
Kira opened his mouth to say something to Hayato, but no words came out. He only smiled and hugged the boy back.
"Don't worry kid. I got you…"
Holst's Iron Maiden Status: Deceased, decapitated by Yoshikage Kira.
End of Episode 11
Stand Name: Iron Maiden
Stats:
Power – ?
Speed – ?
Range – ?
Stamina – ?
Precision - ?
Potential - ?
Abilities: In its Restraint Form, it is completely inert, no of much use, unless the User takes damage from an opponent. That is when it begins to crack, slowly as it takes more and more damage before finally breaking out of its Restraint Form into its Tru Form. It then becomes a God of Destruction, destorying everything and everyone in its vicinity until the user decides to send it away or it kills everyone around it. Rip and tear until it's done.