6 months had passed since the Joestars and Murasa set off to find Yukari, and their labour had been proven unfruitful. Murasa was on her back, lying on the top deck, letting the sun warm her body, bouncing her foot to some unknown beat.
"Um... Captain? There's... There's a ship approaching..." Gappy yelled from the crow's nest.
"Huh? Are you sure?" she shouted back.
He didn't have to answer, however, because something cast a huge shadow across the deck, throwing it into almost darkness. Murasa jolted up, and turned her head to see an enormous ship. She couldn't really see, but she swore she saw a person on the deck who looked just like Yukari. A hook latched itself to the deck of the Palanquin, causing it to grind to a halt. A girl with a checker patterned skirt slid down it, grinning all the while. Her brown pigtails fluttered in the wind, but somehow it looked... unnatural.
"Hatate Himekaidou, of the Kakashi Spirit News, reporting live aboard the S. S. Weakling!" she said as she somersaulted onto the deck. "We've managed to get an exclusive interview with the captain herself! So, Ms. Minamitsu, how does it feel to be traveling with those scumbag Joestars?"
A bright flash blinded Murasa, and she felt something smack her in the back of the head. The last thing she heard was Gappy's distressed shout as she went down.
Murasa eventually awoke, surrounded by pitch blackness. She tried to move, but she felt rope cut into her wrists and ankles. She struggled for a while, until she heard the clicking of heels grow closer and closer.
"Ah, so you've finally awoken." a sagely voice said. "Good. DIO will be pleased. Though, I'm not sure why he took you, of all people. Compared to everyone else, you're practically a nobody."
"Y-Yukari? Where have you been?! Everyone in Gensokyo has been looking for you so you cou-"
"Still your tongue. A worm like you has no business speaking to me in this manner. Now, you will answer my questions, and I will then take my leave." Yukari spat.
Murasa felt a pair of hands roughly force her into a chair, and she saw a hand light a lamp. She finally was able to see Yukari's face, and the gap youkai looked awful. Her face was waxy and paid, and her eyes were sunken and hollow. Her hair was messy and filled with split ends, and her usual soft, motherly features were sharpened and quite terrifying.
"Now, ship ghost, we can make this quick and easy, as long as you cooperate. Why were you harbouring the Joestars on your ship?"
"...I needed a crew. I was desperate. You're acting so different. What happened, Yukarin-"
Yukari slapped her. Extremely hard. Murasa's cheek throbbed, and Yukari looked absolutely livid.
"Don't you ever call me that again. My name is Yukari. As a matter of fact, to you, it's Lady Yakumo. Now, answer me this, ship ghost: what do you know about them? Tell me everything, or you'll sincerely regret it."
"I don't know anything, alright?! I just met the crazy bastards 6 months ago, and it's not like they tell me anything! They barely trust me..." Murasa trailed off. Not that they had any reason to.
"Tch. I knew you were useless. I've heard enough. Perhaps DIO will be merciful, and return you to your preeecious 'crew'."
And with that, she turned on her heel, put out the lamp, and left Murasa in the darkness once more. What felt like hours passed, and suddenly, a dim light appeared once more. A shadowy figure stood, somewhat out of view.
She began to wriggle in wake of the shadowy figure that was slowly coming close enough to touch, hoping, praying, that this person was here to save her.
'L-listen, I don't know who you are, but if you bring any harm to me or my crew, be prepared for a world of hurt.' she wanted to say. The words caught in her throat and died as soon as they were created.
The shadowy figure stood her up, and untied the ropes constricting her. A smooth and persuading voice caressed her ear, sending chills down her spine. Whoever it was, they had gotten behind her without so much as a creaking floorboard.
"Madame Minamitsu, surely you grow tired of these childish games, no? Instead of continuing to protect that Joestar scum, why not join Lady Yukari and I?" it whispered, causing her to shudder. "While you may not be exactly what we're searching for, you still have so much... Untapped potential. It is wasted, here, with these mediocre fools."
"I would never betray my crew like that. I don't know what you've done to Yukari, but I will do everything in my power to rescue her from your clutches." She stammered, embarrassed at her cowardliness.
"It's such a shame things had to come to this. I had expected more cooperation from a seasoned ship captain such as yourself. No matter, however. If I cannot convince you to join, then I am forced to do things the hard way."
The owner of the voice snapped, and out of the shadows came a girl with short black hair, glowing red eyes, and a pair of mismatched red and wings that looked razor sharp. A blue and green snake bracelet twisted itself around the arm she used to push some of her hair out of the way.
"N... Nue? I thought you..." Murasa trailed off, unable to process the given situation. Nue was supposed to be back at the Myouren Temple, lazing about, much to Lady Hijiri's chagrin.
"Houjuu, darling, be a dear and restrain this defector," the voice said, leaning away from Murasa's ear. "You should be honored. I don't usually take the time to bother with individuals such as yourself."
Nue sprung forward, and grabbed Murasa's arms, forcefully drawing them behind her back. She held them with an iron grip, and her hands were as cold as ice.
"Nue, it's me, Murasa! This isn't like you! What would Lady Hijiri sa-"
A hand clamped itself onto Murasa's mouth, silencing her pleas for help. The owner of the voice, a strikingly pale man with shockingly vivid blonde hair, stepped into view, with a sinister grin plastered on his face.
"This hurts me more than it hurts you, dear ship ghost. This will be over soon enough, so just relax, and stay still. I wouldn't want to kill you, for that would be SUCH a waste." he said, his voice dripping with artificial syrupy sweetness.
Hair-like tentacles with knife sharp points at the end surrounded Murasa, and a pale hand gripped her chin, turning her face this way and that. It finally decided on an angle, and one of the tentacles pulled back like an angry cobra about to strike. Murasa shut her eyes, preparing to lose everything she had worked for. But the sharp stabbing pain she had expected never came. She opened one eye to see not one, but two blades close to her face. One was definitely from the man, without a doubt, but the other was flat and a little less sharp, and was emitting tiny orange sparks and a noise like a finger rubbing the edge of a wine glass.
Murasa knew that noise from anywhere.
"JOMAPHAN? JOPHEPH? IPH THAT YOU?" she shouted, hoping that they could hear her despite the muffling.
It had to be one of them, right? They're the only hamon users I know... But that blade looked like it was wielded by someone my height, based on where it was...
"Y'know, I would have expected the Oh-So-Great-And-Powerful-DIO to be more strong than this. I mean, a little ripple and a dull sword? You CAN'T be this weak." a voice said.
A young, female voice, with a weird mix between a Japanese and British accent.
A young girl with sunglasses and a shoulder length, ink black bob stepped out from behind DIO as he fell, twirling a broadsword like a baton with one of her hands.
"I mean, isn't that a story to tell? A child, an adopted Joestar, no less, defeated you. I can just see the headlines now," she said, gesturing wildly. "'Shizuka Joestar, age 13, eradicates vampire menace' has a pretty nice ring to it, wouldn't ya say?"
She looked Murasa up and down, a puzzled look on her face.
"You must be Murasa, then. Ready to blow this popsicle stand, toots?" The strange girl said, touching her shoulder and giving her a sly wink.
Murasa looked around, trying to figure out what had changed. She turned around to see Nue looking for her confusedly. To her surprise, Nue had also released her wrists, but the girl immediately grabbed one of them.
"Listen, as much as I'd love to stick around and give that chick a piece of my mind, the others are waiting for us, I can only use Achtung Baby to make you invisible for so long, and something tells me that's not the last we're gonna see of DIO. We gotta go."
"Understood. Lead the way, uh..."
"Shizuka. You could call me JoJo, but no one really does. I don't blame 'em."
"Got it. Thank you for rescuing me, Shizuka. I was worried I was a goner out there."
The girl simply flashed her a sly grin and continued forward. Something about her seemed oddly familiar. And all at once, the cause for that strange feeling struck Murasa.
'Watch closely now, toots!'
'Ready to blow this popsicle stand, toots?'
Somehow, this strange girl was the spitting image of Joseph Joestar. She looked nothing like him, and yet... They were almost like twins. She'd definitely have to grill the brit with questions if she made it back in one piece.
Though, something about this strange girl's demeanor made her think about changing that 'if' to a 'when'.