[Posted – 2022-5-17]

[Edited – 2022-5-19] -thanks DJH!

Karl sat on a couch, lamenting his current situation.

The Enigma Boy hadn't come back from his ambush on the heroes, but when he snuck over to Morioh's library, he found the book intact and muttering to itself. It seemed as though whenever someone he displaced from time died, they were simply sent back to their fate.

He had been watching both universes ever since the fight with the Necromancer, and he had grown to love and cherish each of the characters. He found Johnny's struggle during the Steel Ball Run inspiring, Yoshihara's stoicism and badassery, Gyro's gut splitting humour, and Izuku's relentless optimism in both universes uplifting.

Now, his heroes were trying to kill him.

All he had ever wanted was for the people he admired to meet. He wanted to see how they would interact... but they united to kill him, all because they feared his power, according to Terunosuke.

Still, that didn't sound like something they would do. Not even Yoshihara, who was probably the most ruthless of the group, would go that far, not unless she was left with no choice.

Was he actually the villain? Was he the new BBEG? Was he going to meet the same fate as all of the other villains the group faced?

The thought terrified him down to his core. What if he got the Valentine treatment and was spun into nonexistence? Sure, Valentine was preserved by Jesus, but if he wasn't his soul wouldn't have survived. The Necromancer was obliterated that way, and by Valentine's merger sponges, adding a whole new level of misery to his death.

Karl sat in the corner, quivering, terrified of whatever his fate could be.

What if he fell prey to Killer Queen? Sure, his soul would survive, but he would be gone without even a trace. What if Kyoka gave him the Susan treatment? The wounds that the abusive woman sustained were fatal to just about anyone, and he was just a kid, there was no way he could survive a fight with the purplette, her being a non-stand user didn't matter in the slightest.

Honestly, the only person that probably wouldn't kill him would be Izuku...but the Necromancer brought out the greenettes dark side, what if Izuku decided he was worth it?

He had to move, everyone that was coming after him was intelligent and they had experience under their belts. They probably already knew he was at the Morioh Grand Hotel. Maybe they were already watching him...

Karl stood up, and activated his stand, dropping a grey-haired teenager onto the floor with a thud. The man rubbed his lower back, growling out a pained grunt.

"H-hi...I-I'm Karl...er..." Karl began, slowly approaching the teen, only for him to snap at him

"What the hell kid?! What did you do to me, where am I?! I have someone to ki-"

"She wins," Karl stated bluntly, knocking the wind out of his sails before he could finish his statement.

"...what?" the teen asked, narrowing his eyes, causing Karl to falter ever-so-slightly. No. If he was able to recruit Ternosuke, he could recruit this asshole too.

Karl shuffled his feet, still nervous. "Yoshihara Kira wins the fight, and she kills you. I can bring someone in from any time and place, and any reality. You're in a different universe."

The man stared at Karl for a good while, his bright orange eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Prove it."

Karl snapped his fingers, and the man took a step back as another version of himself fell out of a rift. "OW!"

"Wha...?"

"An alternate version of you, brought here by my Turn Back Time. I'll send him back, but you get the point. I like watching alternate realities like TV shows, although I refer to specific events as chapters...your fight with Kira was in Chapter 8...she beats you, reduces you to ash...just as she's planning to do to me."

"That blond fuck actually kills me? I'll...I'LL MURDER HER RIGHT BACK!"

"They're going to come after me in this hotel...can you please cover my escape? I'm scared." Karl asked.

Taro Tatsugi turned to Karl, seething. "I'll do it to get revenge on Kira, I don't care about you in the slightest."

Well, that was pretty straightforward. Karl thought to himself. "Thank you! You won't regret it!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out five bucks, handing it to Taro, much to the stand user's bemusement.

"This is American money."

Taro blinked, Karl was already gone. The teen sighed, walked over to the couch and kicked up his feet on the coffee table, deciding that if he was going to wait for Kira, he may as well be comfortable.

Karl, meanwhile, was descending the fire escape, grinning at his luck. Taro Tatsugi and his stand Renegades were quite powerful, he would certainly throw off his pursuers.

His fight with Yoshihara was thrilling as well, he would pose quite a challenge to those who would have to face him. Mostly because he was a natural killer and a lunatic, but...

Wait.

OH MY GOD, HE MIGHT ACTUALLY KILL THEM!

"Yare yare daze...why aren't we going straight up to the hotel?" Johnny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because he's terrified of us, Johnny," Josuke responded. "We need to approach him carefully, this is a child after all...and no offence, but you are the guy who scared him off in the first place."

Josuke watched his nephew grimace as he frowned, contemplating what happened when he had his first run-in with Karl, flexing his hand slightly with a downcast expression. "Am I really that scary?"

"No, you're adorable." Kyoka came up and assured Johnny, patting him on the back. "It's just that your Stand is huge, and he's just a little kid. There was this one time a little girl mistook my jacks for worms, and she ran screaming back to her mother. I felt awful...but it happens," Kyoka said, reassuring the brown-haired Joestar as Josuke chuckled,

"I remember teasing you about that," Josuke said with a grin, patting his apprentice's shoulder. "We were on patrol at the time, it was during your first internship with me," the pompadour-having man said, reminiscing as Kyoka groaned.

Josefumi took a bite out of an apple he had swiped from the produce section, casually listening into the conversation. 'You know...I'm learning more about people like Jirou here than I am in my own universe. It's actually pretty amusing. Maybe I should try and socialize with the class a bit more, once we get home. Since stands are common knowledge in this universe, people like Johnny don't have to be as secretive with their classmates. Of course, I'm not Kira-san, I don't have trouble socializing as she does...if she's gonna be studying to be a hero for three years with these people, maybe I should work on getting her to put herself out there a little more.

Gyro Zeppeli came from around a corner, stretching casually as he opened a bottle of Gatorade. "It's the Kyokus Jackus origin story...it began with the terror of children-"

"No...actually, since you were sleeping while our lives were at risk, why don't you go and scope out the hotel? Learn how we can get to Karl safely without scaring him." Kyoka suggested, her arms crossed.

"In my defence, I need a good night's sleep to maintain peak physicality, that way I can utilize the Spin effectively," Gyro responded.

"That's bullshit." The purplette fired back, her face frozen in a faux grumpy expression, hiding amusement.

Josefumi raised an eyebrow at Gyro's mention of the Spin. "So it exists in this universe too, the Spin."

The Italian blinked and scratched his chin. "Yeah, it does, I've been trained with it since birth. It's a bit of a niche power...how do you know of it?"

"My universe has Zeppelis too. Question...what's your real name? I know that Gyro is a nickname, but my universe has more than one Zeppeli using it. I want to know which Gyro you are.

Gyro frowned. "More than one Gyro...huh. Well, I keep my real name under wraps...it's pretty embarrassing for me. Only my closest friends know it."

"So you're Julius Zeppeli then, got it."

The Italian turned a light shade of pink upon hearing Josefumi deduce his real name, and both Johnny and Kyoka began snickering. Gyro reached out and gave one of Kyoka's jacks a tug, yanking her head down. "OW! BITCH!"

He then yanked Johnny's beanie over his eyes, and when the Joestar began laughing even harder, Gyro put him in a headlock. "SHUT UP! STOP IT!"

"I remember hearing that Julius Zeppeli-" Josefumi was about to say before Gyro cut him off.

"GYRO!"

"-Gyro Zeppeli didn't really like his original name, so I deduced it from that. The Joestar family was introduced to the Spin through him, I assume the same would be true of this universe?" Josefumi finished.

"Er...yes. I taught it to Johnny. We both met during this nightmare of a horse race, called the Steel Ball Run, and let's just say..."

"My circumstances were less than ideal." Johnny finished. "I was crippled by one of my father's old enemies, so I couldn't continue in UA's hero program. Gyro taught me the Spin to help me recover from that injury, and after the race, I was able to come back. This asshole who hasn't let me go yet gave me a second chance, I owe him."

Gyro begrudgingly let his partner go, and Johnny shook his head in exasperation.

"Huh, weird. In my universe, you taught it to my grandfather, Jouta Kujo."

Kyoka made an audible gasp, covering her mouth with her hands to stifle a laugh as Johnny looked at Josefumi as though he had just said he had murdered a box full of kittens. "What...was that name...?"

"Jouta?"

The purplette fell to her knees, desperately trying to keep her laughter in as Johnny fully turned towards Josefumi with a dark look on his face. "That...cursed name...the eggs...the soap...those all exist in your universe?"

"Eggs, soap? What the hell are you talking about?!" Josefumi exclaimed.

"Answer me devil spawn!" Johnny exploded, grabbing him by his collar as he shouted.

"I'm a Joestar! Just like you!"

Kyoka was now lying face down, she appeared to be holding her breath.

"EGGS JOSEFUMI! EGGS!" Johnny insisted, and the teenage musician on the floor burst out laughing, holding her stomach as she rolled around.

It was safe to say this was now the best day of Kyoka Jirou's life.

"JOUTA'S REAL!"

Josuke rolled his eyes and walked over to Gyro, putting a hand on the Italian's shoulder. "Even though she was being sarcastic, Kyoka had a point. You and your sense of humour could probably put Karl at ease should you encounter him, and we also need to survey Morioh for any anomalies...so, do you think you could check out the hotel?"

"Yeah, of course," Gyro said, nodding. "As much as I'd like to bring Johnny along, Karl's terrified of him for some stupid reason. Do you know where Izuku is? He's pretty good with kids."

"I believe he's talking with Kira. She's taken a bit of a liking to our Midoriya as well, believe it or not." Josuke said with a small smile. "She's still a bit...odd...but it's safe to say she has won my respect."

"She has yet to win mine, I wasn't there," Gyro responded. "I've got to borrow her boyfriend, hope she doesn't mind." The Italian went deeper into the store, seeking the OFA user.

Josuke rolled his eyes and strolled over, stopping the rolling Kyoka with his foot. "Alright, I think you've tormented Johnny enough. We need to see how fast this merger is happening, that way we can take action accordingly."

"Well, I suppose we can't camp out in a grocery store forever." Kyoka agreed, still snickering. "The enemy knows where we are."

Josefumi was still taken aback by the reaction to his grandfather's name.

Johnny pointed at him with a stern expression. "This isn't over."

"What is so weird about the name Jouta?!"

...

"So...there are actually demons in this universe?" Yoshihara asked, curious. As far as she knew, all her universe had in terms of the supernatural was Stands.

"Well, he got his Stand from the Necronomicon, so his body was mutated until that became the only way we could describe him," Izuku responded. "So...that's why the Enigma Boy managed to catch me, I really don't want to deal with that bastard again."

"I would've killed him for what he did," Yoshihara said, narrowing her eyes.

"I almost did...I was going to. If he hadn't gotten a power boost, his blood would've been on my hands."

The thought of Izuku actually taking a life felt foreign to Yoshihara, she couldn't imagine the hero nerd with blood on his hands...but this version of her friend had considered it. Yet, he was still roughly the same person, his relentless optimism unchanged.

"He taught me a valuable lesson, though. Some people just don't deserve compassion...so I shouldn't bother even trying to hold back. I don't want to dirty my hands...but someday I will have to." Izuku hugged his knees to his chest. "There's a quote I like that describes this perfectly: 'Heroes often aren't as polished as the legends make them out to be.' Not even All Might, the man I've looked up to since I was a kid, is without flaws."

"You and my Midoriya should talk," Yoshihara said with a dry chuckle. "Maybe you could knock some sense into his head."

"Let him be naive...at least for right now. It's a blessing, to be able to believe in the idea of pure heroism. Protect him from reality, while you can." Izuku said with a small sad smile. "Don't get me wrong, heroes, true heroes, still exist. There's good in the world...but everyone has skeletons in their closet."

"Izuku, I'm taking you." Gyro suddenly said, breaking into the conversation and dragging the verdant hero by the hood, heading out the door. Yoshihara was just about to respond to Izuku's statement but was now just standing there, taken aback by the Italian's sudden abduction of the alternate version of her friend.

"Um...bye I guess." The blond muttered and got up to walk toward the rest of the group. They were moving out of the OWSON today since the enemy figured out their location.

However, she wasn't worried about the move. It was actually the fact that Izuku was heading right into enemy territory. Yoshihara was so used to protecting him, being from a universe where the public couldn't see stands, that him getting into a potential fight with a stand user put her on edge.

He's fought stand users before...this universe is different. Yoshihara told herself, her brows coming together in concern. 'He just told me about the Necromancer, if he could fight someone like that, your average stand user could be...Just as deadly.'

One rule about fighting Stands was that even the most inane and seemingly useless abilities can prove to be fatal, even to those who possess stands with a high amount of power. Yoshihara had no idea what Johnny's Tusk can do, only that it seemed to be pretty powerful, it might be on par with her Killer Queen, or even stronger. Yet...he was bested by a guy who could turn people into paper.

Johnny seemed pretty intelligent too, he had to be if he was related to Josefumi...even if it's in an alternate universe kind of way. Everyone has their flaws, and in Johnny's case, it was his love for Jirou.

Of course, was love really a flaw? It wasn't something Yoshihara could understand, having been deprived of it, but...maybe she wouldn't be the way she is now if she had it. Johnny and Jirou could easily rely on each other, both in battle and in their daily lives...

'I'm getting off-topic,' Yoshihara thought to herself, shaking her head in order to clear it. Despite not really comprehending such emotions, she did care for Izuku. He was the same person, different only in terms of his experiences, so to her, his safety was important. 'I can't exactly baby him either, no matter which reality it is, Midoriya is pretty damn smart. He has the advantage of being able to see and damage stands, something that my Midoriya can't. I don't know what Zeppeli is capable of, only that he is a Stand user as well. He'll be fine.'

Yoshihara's eyes glanced at the doorway, watching Izuku scramble to his feet, awkwardly following Gyro through the exit.

He'll...be fine.

Izuku lept up towards a second-story window, grabbing onto the windowsill and peering inside. He pressed a button in an earpiece in his left ear. "Alright Gyro, I'm going in through the second floor. Do you have the lobby locked down?"

"I got in a little too easily," Gyro's voice responded. "The door was unlocked, and the lobby is empty. Like...completely empty. No employees in-sight."

"This is totally a trap," Izuku said, his brow furrowing in thought. "The question is...if Karl really is in here, should we spring it?"

"Where did the employees even go? I mean, think about it...Karl could theoretically bring back anyone, from any universe, at any point in time. What if he brought back a monster? Those people could be dead..."

"He's aware of the people he brings in though, right? Karl is just a kid, and he is far from evil," Izuku said, opening the window and climbing into the room.

"If he was aware of everything he was doing, would we be trying to save the universe right now?" Gyro replied. "He has no idea what he's bringing into our world with this crossover...which is why someone needs to tell him before we all die."

"I guess that could be up to us if we find him."

"Up to you. I'm the funny guy, you're the one that's good with kids."

Izuku looked around the hotel room and flinched as soon as he heard a noise, dashing to the other side of the room in an instant. "Quiet on the comms, we have company."

"That sounded really official."

"Quiet!" Izuku hissed. "Someone is near me."

Izuku hid around the corner, pulling his hood over his face in order to turn on his tactical lenses. His Mk. II hero costume was designed by his friends, the lenses in particular were Kyoka's contribution, due to her combat being largely stealth-based. They allowed him to switch between different modes of vision, allowing him to have some advantages during tactical situations.

Right now, he was using a thermal lens to spot his opponent's heat signature through the wall.

The man in question was waiting outside of the door, waiting for Izuku to lower his guard and come out. One For All was not a subtle quirk, that was for certain. It was made for an aggressive brawler, an up-close and personal fighting style.

However, Izuku couldn't just recklessly attack the enemy without getting some sort of info on his power. Not only could that result in a painful death, but if Karl was in the building, it could result in the boy getting hurt as well.

"Gyro," Izuku whispered into his earpiece, the glowing green pupils of his cowl trained on the enemy behind the wall. "Can you cause a disturbance from where you are? This guy could be onto me."

"On it."

"I'm calling Kyoka for advice...it's best if we meet up to take this guy out, but I'm not good at sneaking around like she is. It's best to avoid confrontation if we don't want to scare Karl."

"Don't fuck up and die on me, Izuku Midoriya," Gyro said, his tone becoming serious. "I'm about to cause a bit of a ruckus, hopefully, he'll get off of you."

"I won't...hopefully."

"Is there a vent that's big enough for you to go through?" Kyoka asked for her phone, twirling a jack in thought. They were walking throughout Morioh, both to observe potential merging, and to find a new place to set up shop. "No? Shit. Try going back through the window and sneaking on the ledge, if there's a window into the hallway, use your speed to dart across it while he isn't looking."

"Is Midoriya asking her for advice?" Yoshihara asked Josuke.

"Kyoka is the stealth/tactics person in their group, everyone usually comes to her for that kind of stuff," Josuke responded. "She's far from an expert, of course, that takes years of training, but she's more experienced than the others in that department."

"It sounds like she made herself irreplaceable." The blond noted, watching Kyoka relay instructions to her friend. "Honestly, if our Jirou was like her, I would want her on my side."

"She's pretty similar to my friend Koichi, she didn't start off with that much confidence, but now she's become a leader," Josuke said with a smile. "I'm really proud of her, for all she's accomplished."

"I can hear you gushing about me over there!" Kyoka yelled towards Josuke, before turning back towards her phone. "Sorry about that, Mr. Josuke was being a giant super sweet mush fest. Is the room clear? Double-check."

Meanwhile, Johnny was interrogating Josefumi about Jouta.

"Did he smell like soap?"

"I-I don't know! He's dead!"

"Did he come out of an egg?"

"We all come out of eggs, that's biology."

"No! Like...a giant human-sized egg, did he hatch from it?!"

Josefumi stared at Johnny incredulously. "How did you go from one of the most rational people here to the exact opposite?"

"Every fucking time I hear that name, I start getting random thoughts about eggs, and soap. I hate it, I hate that name with a burning passion." Johnny said, pointing a finger in Josefumi's face. "I need to know what your grandfather was like, and if he had anything to do with those two things."

"To be frank Johnny, I don't know that much about him myself. That is...really weird though, I don't have any explanation for why that happens to you."

Josuke narrowed his eyes, raising a hand to catch everyone's attention. "There...by the random club. Less grass, more concrete. It's turning into a city block."

"The merge is spreading...like an infection," Yoshihara noted. "It's like one world is being corrupted with another."

"Kira...I want to ask permission before I do this, but I want to check the building out." Josuke said, and Yoshihara took note of the man's gentle tone. Remembering her reaction towards the building when they first encountered it, she grimaced. She had basically clued the others in that she had a history with the place, she should have feigned ignorance a bit better.

Still, the fact that Josuke was asking for her permission meant that he respected her boundaries, which was something that she appreciated. After deliberating on the matter for a few moments, Yoshihara gave Josuke a nod, earning one back.

"No you idiot, you can't use a cardboard box. That only works when there are other boxes around. You hang out with Kaminari too much." Kyoka said into her phone, before shaking her head. "Gyro, I'm gonna kill you."

"Why is Gyro sneaking around? I thought Izuku was trying to get past the enemy." Johnny said.

"I recommended a pincer attack, if the two of them can take the enemy by surprise, then there won't even have to be a fight. The enemy didn't fall for Gyro's distraction...so it's best to take him out and eliminate the threat before a fight can even break out." Kyoka replied.

"A knockout blow when he least expects it, good advice."

"Wait, nonononononononono, I'm not here for that!" Josuke's voice came from within the building. "I'm Josuke Higashikata, pro hero, protector of Morioh. I'm investigating supernatural phenomena."

"Do you think my club has ghosts?"

"No...you're...how can I explain this without sounding like a nutjob?"

Yoshihara went pale as soon as she heard the other voices, something that the other three noticed. Johnny raised an eyebrow, and Kyoka took the phone away from her ear and met the blond's eyes, mouthing 'Do you want to leave?'

"Sir, you need to leave."

"Have you ever gone outside?! You're not in the city anymore! Sir, I really must-" Josuke was calmly escorted out of the club by a massive man, about 6' 3", but he was not threatening in his demeanour. Upon stepping outside, the man went slackjawed.

"Told you," Josuke said with his arms crossed.

"Akira...you need to come out here and see this..."

A man wearing blue overalls followed suit and adopted a similar expression to his friend. "Well...I'll be damned...wait, Yoshihara?"

Yoshihara coughed, clearing her thoughts and gathering herself. 'Pull yourself together, Yoshihara.' "Akira, Otoshi...it's nice to see you."

Well, that wasn't a lie...but the people surrounding her had no idea about her former place of work. Such information could damage her reputation, and she was already on thin ice with Johnny.

Then again, would they be the kind of people to judge her for something like that?

"How've you been since the whole hospital thing?" Akira asked.

"Akira...Otoshi...Akira Otoshi." Josuke said with a confused expression. "Your universe keeps getting weirder and weirder to me."

"Surviving. Um...look, you were brought into a different reality. I know it's outlandish and weird-"

"Kid, the club is in the middle of a grassy park, I believe you," Akira responded. "It seems as though you made some new friends here."

"Er...yeah, yeah you could call us that. So, sir, I would highly recommend staying in that club and locking the doors. Our two realities are becoming one...and let's just say that if we don't stop it, it'll be an Armageddon of sorts." Johnny said, crossing his arms. "You'll be safe in there."

"Are you guys going to hide from this too?" Akira asked. "If it's really as bad as you say it is...I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with you being out there, Yoshihara."

"No, we're fixing it." The blond responded.

"Come on...you always have to get yourself into more trouble, don't you?" Akira said worry etched onto his face. "Listen...you know damn well that you're like a daughter to me, ever since you came to work for me-"

The club owner realized what he had said, and shut his mouth, but it was too late. Yoshihara's face scrunched up in a mixture of embarrassment and anger as everyone's eyes turned toward her. Akira, while having good intentions, basically just revealed she was a slut to everyone present. Without another word, she retreated from the watchful eyes of her companions, using Killer Queen to jump away and sprint out of sight.

"Wait Kira, it's okay-" Josuke tried to call out, but realized it was hopeless. "Shit!"

"Me and my big mouth..." Akira muttered putting his head in his hands.

"She worked here..." Kyoka said quietly. "No wonder she was so apprehensive when we first found the building, who would want people to know about this? She had to...oh my God, that's horrible!"

"We already knew she must've had a hard life...but she's made it clear that she isn't that type of person to just sleep around, she must have been in a pretty desperate situation," Josuke replied. "We shouldn't have come here."

Josefumi was just sitting there, quietly.

Needless to say, this new revelation had changed everyone's views on Yoshihara Kira, even only slightly. Johnny stared towards the direction Kira had run off, a conflicted look on his face. Kyoka was mortified, not by Yoshihara herself, but at the situation, the blond had previously been in.

However, when Akira looked at the different expressions of each of the people present, he was relieved to find one thing:

There was no judgement.

Gyro squinted down the hall at the grey-haired man prowling for Izuku. Kyoka's advice had come in handy, they were now all set up for a pincer attack. While their assailant couldn't see him, Izuku was outside on the ledge protruding from the window, ready to strike as soon as Gyro said the code word in comms.

When asked what a good code word would be, all Kyoka would say was: "Up to you."

She really shouldn't have given him so much power.

"Dicknozzle."

"Gyro...why are you the way that you are?"

However, the code word was still the code word, and Izuku just had to live with that. Gyro whipped around the corner and whipped a steel ball directly at the foe, and Is you smashed through the window, aiming an OFA-powered fist at the opponent's head.

Except both felt a sharp pain in different sides of their body, and a humanoid stand emerged from the man's back, a large mouth filled with jagged teeth grinning at them.

"Ow...fuckhead." Gyro said, looking at the small needle embedded in his arm. The steel ball the Gyro threw earlier ricocheted off the wall and went straight into the enemy's back before he could even let out a single word.

Their assailant cried out in surprise, and the momentum of the strike sent him face-first into a wall.

"Nice throw," Izuku commented.

"That was supposed to break his jaw...the guy shot me in the arm before I could complete the throw," Gyro responded, and glanced at his arm, his skin was turning a purplish hue, and it was starting to peel away. "Shit! Poison."

"That's right! These...green things really pack a punch, but my Renegades will make you crumble away!" Taro said with a grin, spitting out some blood. "I'm a little disappointed, to be honest, I was hoping that you were Kira."

"Another displaced villain with a grudge? Why am I not surprised?" Izuku said, removing a needle from his side. "Look, maybe we can just talk thi-"

"Wait a fucking moment..." Izuku had removed his cowl in an attempt to reason with his foe, giving Taro a clear view of his face. "Izuku Midoriya...ohoho, this just got a hell of a lot better! Now I can actually kill you for real instead of bullshitting Kira...this is an even better form of revenge!"

The greenette blinked, and then his face morphed into a scowl. "You're the type of person who uses the people we care about against us, I see. Why? Why would you go that far?"

"Kira took my spot in the Recommendation Exam, and I found out she was a Stand user, so I decided it would be best to eliminate her, and then I get pulled here by that kid like some sort of shitty gacha mobile game, and I'm told that she kills me...well, I'm gonna return the favour!" Taro said as Renegades aimed a finger at Izuku.

"I'm a whole different ballgame than your version of me," Izuku replied, pulling his cowl back over his face. "I won't hesitate to hurt you...please consider surrendering."

"You know, with that mask of yours, you don't really look like a hero, more of a vigilante." Taro taunted.

"Are you gonna shoot me with that ugly stand of yours, or what?"

"You...can see it?" Taro said, baffled at this new information, his eyes widening.

Izuku responded by dashing to the side and kicking off the wall, and Taro wasn't ready for the OFA user's maneuverability. Renegades fired in a panic, missing Izuku by a hair, and Gyro punished Taro with a steel ball, finally making contact with the jaw as intended.

*CRACK!*

As Taro was stunned by Gyro's blow, it left him wide open for an attack from Izuku. A silver-plated fist slammed into Taro's stomach, sending him flying through the wall. Cyan sparks flew everywhere as Izuku slowly got to his feet.

"Still thinking about killing us? All you have to do is give up you know."

Taro swallowed the vomit in his mouth and used Renegades to punch through a wall, going through to the other side. 'This isn't good! Midoriya is actually competent in this universe, and he can see stands! That Italian guy might be even worse! I need to get some distance on these two!'

Izuku was about to give chase when Gyro put a hand on his shoulder. "Hold it."

"He's getting away!"

Gyro looked Izuku in the eye. "He isn't leaving until he kills us, he's made that clear. Besides, you completely forgot that you are still poisoned."

"...Right...I did."

Gyro removed the needle that pierced Izuku's side, and pressed a steel ball into the wound, twisting the damaged skin until Renegades' poison squirted out. "Dude, you're usually on top of this, what's the deal?"

"I don't like people who use others against us... it's cheap, and depending on the reasoning behind it, heartless. Kira is friends with the alternate me... and he used me as bait for her, all because he wanted her spot in some stupid test. That's just so petty, it reminds me of..."

Gyro sighed. "I get it. He ran off because he knew he wouldn't stand a chance in close combat, he's probably going to try and snipe at us using hiding spots around the hotel. If we get hit by those needles, we'll end up like Voldemort...we need to find him before he spots us."

"This just keeps sounding more like a mission for Kyoka, she's our tracker too."

"We shouldn't cut ourselves short. We have our own strengths after all..." Gyro said, grinning. "I may have an idea... just remember, just because I can remove the poison, that doesn't mean it won't do damage. My arm is partially decayed, hurts like a bitch."

Izuku looked down at his chest, where the core of his silver chest plate was. "The energy from the Necromancer's eye is healing the wound, but it's slow. That energy is supposed to be for when I strain my arms...do you need to borrow it? I don't need it."

"No, I'm fine, my muscle fibres are undamaged. I managed to remove the poison in time, so it's only a flesh wound. All right, here's my plan..."

Taro grinned, waiting in anticipation. Izuku seemed to know where he was, indicating that he must have had some sort of tech that could see through walls. If he had to guess, it was probably thermal vision.

Which was why he had turned on the fireplace in his room on, and lit a few candles he had found in the cupboard. Obviously, all of this heat would draw the other two to the room, since none of the other rooms weren't nearly as hot.

But they wouldn't be able to immediately locate him once inside, and he would lay into them with everything Renegades had.

The door opened, and Gyro came right in. "I know you're hiding somewhere, you bastard. Let's get this over with."

Izuku dropped from above Gyro, startling Taro. Did he just faze through the ceiling? How on Earth would Izuku be capable of something like that?

And why were the glowing pupils of the greenette's cowl looking down? As if he was looking at something?

There was no possible way Izuku could see him through the counter he was currently hiding behind, right? The candles should render the thermal vision useless.

It didn't matter. Renegades slowly pointed a finger at the two, ignoring the strange humming sound. With a grin, he opened fire.

Gyro's body jolted as several of the needles made contact, and he fell to the ground...but Izuku was still upright, and completely silent. In fact, the OFA user was readying a punch.

'WHAT?! I HIT HIM! HOW IS HE SHRUGGING OFF MY NEEDLES?!'

Taro and Renegades came out of cover and fired at Izuku again, but the greenette was still looking down, raising his fist.

Gyro sat up, coughing out blood and grinning. "Still haven't figured it out? I took those needles on purpose so you wouldn't pay attention to the floor."

"What?"

Taro looked down and saw two steel balls spinning in opposite directions. More importantly...he saw himself in front of Izuku.

That's when he realized, the reason Izuku seemed to materialize out of nowhere...the reason that Izuku was looking down...and the reason that his needles weren't hitting him, was that he was fighting a reflection.

Izuku was glaring at him from behind the entire time. He had dropped in through a vent.

What had once been the utmost confidence was now fear as he felt a cold chill creeping up his back, and the hero costume that he had taunted had become the image of wrath itself. Suddenly...he was terrified of the same stuttering and nerdy boy that he had threatened earlier.

Renegades quickly turned around and fired a needle into Izuku's shoulder, but the greenette simply grunted, following through with the attack, the last thing that Taro would see was the cold green eyes piercing into his soul from the blackness of the cowl.

"WAI-"

"DETROIT SMAAAAAASH!"

*BOOM!*

Izuku pounded the enemy right into the ground, sending Taro's body straight through the marble counter, splitting it in half. Izuku had put the max non-lethal percentage into that strike, straining his arm.

Gyro grabbed one of his steel balls and pressed it onto his own chest, and all of the needles popped out, along with the poison. However, his body was in pretty bad shape, not fatal, but there were multiple spots where Izuku could see exposed muscle. "Come here Izuku...you were hit..."

"No need, his ability is fading," Izuku responded. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Once we get to Josuke, yes. It's safe to say that Karl isn't here...we're back at square one." Gyro grunted out as Izuku helped him to his feet, putting an arm around the Italian's back to help him walk.

"Yes...what do we do about him?" Izuku asked. "It wouldn't be right to kill him when he's already down, and I'm not ready to do something like that yet."

"Izuku, you punched him through marble, he isn't getting up."

"We leave him here?"

"Well...maybe for a bit of insurance...is there any towels in the bathroom?"

As the two retreated from the building, Taro was left suspended in a wedgie, towels tied around the vent cover from the ceiling to keep him above the ground. His body too broken to free himself, he would remain in extreme discomfort until the incident was over.

*BOOM!*

Yoshihara blew up the last of the cars in the parking lot, her anger simmered down to a broil. She knew that Akira didn't mean to expose her the way he did, but the damage was done. What did the others think of her now? Was she going to be excluded, judged?

"Kira."

Yoshihara turned to find Josuke standing in the middle of the wreckage, repairing the damage with Crazy Diamond. "Sorry, had to get some frustration out."

"I understand. Er...no one is going to judge you for what happened back there, just to let you know. I understand that you'd rather not talk about your past...but even though we learned something about it, everyone understands your situation." Josuke said, sympathetically.

There was a small moment of silence from the blond, Killer Queen hovering just behind her. Yoshihara's eyes narrowed, an emotionless expression on its face. For a split second, Josuke could see Jotaro's cold stoicism within Yoshihara's eyes, although, much like Jotaro, her stand betrayed that coldness.

Killer Queen had a small smile on its face, though it looked strained, forced, practiced. Josuke slowly approached the blond, causing her face to fall. "Is… Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Josuke asked, a slightly concerned, if not wary tone to his voice.

Yoshihara sent away Killer Queen, sitting down on the side of the road, hands placed under her chin as she looked down at the floor. Josuke took the time to sit next to her, and then, there was silence. For a full minute, there was nothing.

And then…

"When we first met…" Yoshihara began, frowning. "Kyoka mentioned someone by the name of Yoshikage Kira. I was confused about who he was, and why she had such a concerned expression on her face. So… I want to ask… who was he? I remember my…" she paused, her frown deepening. "My mother mentioned him in the past. But I don't know why."

Josuke hadn't expected that. He could see the desperation in her body language. She wanted to change the subject. 'Fair enough, I wouldn't want to talk about something as sensitive as a finacial situation desperate enough to do… what she did,' Josuke thought, sighing. "Yoshikage Kira, huh? I guess Kyoka did mention him, didn't she?" Josuke said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, she did. I want you to tell me everything you know about him. I never knew my Great Grandfather, and I've always wanted to…" Yoshihara said, causing Josuke to hum. There was a brief stint of silence before he decided to speak up.

"He terrorized Morioh for years, killing women to satisfy his creepy hand fetish. A Sociopathic, Psychopathic, Stand using Serial Killer. He had the same Stand as you, though its abilities were more… destructive. It could turn anyone or anything it touches into a bomb. He had another ability where he could launch a small tank out of his Stand's left hand called Sheer Heart Attack. Its final ability was to rewind time using a bomb called Bites The Dust, though he only gained that one after getting stabbed by the arrow for a second time—a requiem ability if you even know what that is. He died getting his head crushed by an ambulance, pretty fitting if I do say so myself."

Yoshihara sat there in silence, a deep scowl on her face. "So… in a way… he's like me, minus the psychopathy. The only difference separating us is that I don't kill people," Yoshihara stated, earning a raised eyebrow from Josuke.

"You're a… Sociopath?" Josuke questioned as Yoshihara bit her lip, a frustrated look on her face.

'Damnit… well, he knows… damnit!'

"Yeah, yeah I am. I know that what happened back there is going to need an explanation, so therefore I plan to fully explain myself as much as possible, omitting information such as that. Please, do not tell the others. Not even Josefumi knows about my Sociopathy and would prefer to keep it that. I know I'm already on thin ice with Johnny, and the last thing I want is to completely lose trust with him…" Yoshihara explained as the pompadour-having adult nodded.

"I understand. Oh! Getting completely off-topic, Gyro and Izuku returned. They ran into some grey-haired guy with a Stand that could shoot out nails that decayed skin. Said something about getting revenge on you. You know him?" Josuke said as Yoshihara's eyes widened.

"Taro… are they okay?" Yoshihara asked as Josuke chuckled.

"Yeah, they're fine. I healed them using Crazy Diamond. Now c'mon, we got a new place to stay, we better get over there before everyone gets worried about us," Josuke said as Yoshihara nodded.

Perhaps this meant things were looking up for the blond?