Hey, DJH here. I want to issue a trigger/content warning for this chapter. This chapter covers topics that are sensitive to some. If you're disturbed by gross topics such as Child r*pe, abuse, and other things of the such, I suggest that you skip past a certain point. Thank you.

"Out of all the places I was expecting to end up, I was not expecting Uncle Josuke's old high school," Johnny said, observing the abandoned hallways with an eyebrow raised. "It's a shame this building was abandoned...but it wasn't up to code apparently," the brown-haired teen remarked, wiping a finger over one of the window sills, a patch of dust trailing his finger.

The young Stand User shook his fingers, a look of disgust on his face as Kyoka chuckled.

"More like they found out that young girls kept dying here," Kyoka remarked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Hayato Kawajiri exposed Kira's crimes to the world once he got into college, as a means of getting justice for his father. It's why Mr. Josuke got so popular," Kyoka said, playing with one of her earphone jacks out of habit.

"People probably didn't want to send their kids to a place where so many people had died. Who knows how many 'girlfriends' Yoshikage Kira got from these halls... man... I'm glad we don't have to deal with that bastard," the purplette continued, shivering ever-so-slightly at the thought of the man and his collection of severed hands.

"Well... we are acquainted with his ghost," Johnny remarked, earning a scowl from Jirou.

"...and you know just how I feel about spooky shit, Johnny," the purplette remarked, causing Johnny to smirk.

"OooOoooh, give me your hAaaAands!" The Joestar teased, wriggling his fingers in front of his less than impressed girlfriend. The next thing he knew he had to duck under a pair of earphone jacks, and chuckled as they began half-heartedly poking at him. "Oi! Quit it!"

Kyoka retracted her jacks and gave Johnny one of her patented glares, before entering a classroom. Inside, there was a small memorial to Shigechi, set up by Josuke and Okuyasu. Kyoka knelt beside it with a frown. "He was so young... I mean, your uncle said he was a bit selfish, but he was a kid," Kyoka said, her frown deepening

"Yeah…" Johnny muttered, kneeling next to Kyoka, who simply looked down at the shrine.

The memorial consisted of coins, lottery tickets, and a picture of the poor middle schooler himself, smiling cheerfully, not knowing that his life would soon be cruelly snuffed out. That man and his hideous Stand had killed so many people, all of them women. But this boy, along with Kosaku, were the only acceptions of that rule. Both of their families were negatively affected. Apparently, the family of Shiegechi moved out of Morioh once they figured out that their son wouldn't be coming back, and a year after that the mother committed suicide.

At least, that was what Josuke knew. He hadn't checked up on them since then.

"Around two years younger than us," Johnny said, a frown etched on his face.

Kyoka reached into her pocket, pulled out a coin, and slowly set it down next to the others. "I was a toddler at the time... unaware of how all of this would affect my future. Josuke, Okuyasu, Koichi... they were our age, and they were dealing with shit like this like we are now. I guess history really does repeat itself, from one generation to the next," Kyoka said, a solemn tone in her voice as Johnny put a hand on her shoulder.

There was a brief bit of silence between the two as they gave their thoughts out to Shiegechi. The silence was a way to remember the boy, even if they never knew him. He didn't deserve what happened to him. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and because of that, he lost his life.

After the silence, Johnny spoke up, an almost melancholic smile on his face, though with no happiness found within.

"In a way, fate is a weird thing. I'm named after Jonathan Joestar, one of the most heroic members of the Joestar family, but do you see me following in his footsteps? No... I'm carving my own path, redefining the Joestar legacy. History repeats itself...and changes with every individual that makes an impact on it," Johnny said, looking down at his hands, Tusk ACT 4 forming over them for a split second.

"In a way, I'm making the name 'Jonathan' my own, instead of trying to live up to my ancestor. I think that would be what he wanted, anyway. But just because I'm carving my own path doesn't mean I'm not straying away from what it means to be a Joestar, from what it means to be a hero. Even if at one point I was blinded by my emotions—crappy emotions, mind you, but I digress. I'm just glad I was able to get to this point, and with you by my side, Kyoka," Johnny said, Tusk vanishing from sight.

Kyoka let out a small laugh, wrapping an arm around Johnny's before leaning into it, his shoulder falling down to her back as she looked up at him with a smile.

"Y'know, when I asked you out, I didn't think I would be getting philosophy lessons," Kyoka said, smile turning into a smirk. Johnny, from his part, returned the smirk before removing his arm, Kyoka doing the same as they stood up.

"You should've known what you were getting into," Johnny said, cracking his neck from side to side.

"If I recall correctly, you went into my hospital room with the intent of doing the same," Kyoka retorted, a smile on her face as she bopped the tip of his nose, making him scoff.

"Yeah...I guess we both dug our own graves in that regard."

"The snappy musician and the depressed horse boy, who would've thought? I'm...I'm worried that we may lose somebody too. What is the extent that which history will repeat itself? Are we going to lose classmates?" Kyoka asked, her face grim. "I just...don't want us to have to set up a memorial like this for one of our friends," Kyoka muttered, looking back at the shrine for Shiegechi, imagining the picture of Ochako, Ida, or hell, even Mineta on there, a shiver running up her spine in the process.

Say what you want about Mineta, even he didn't deserve a death like that of what Shiegechi had to go through.

"I suppose that's up to us, isn't it?" Johnny said, snapping Kyoka out of her little depressive stupor, causing the punk-rocker to rub the back of her neck.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I'm probably being really depressing right now. That's your job, not mine."

Johnny snickered. "Yeah, leave the pessimism to me. You just focus on being the funny one in this relationship. Now... where the hell are the others?"

"I believe I hear them downstairs," Kyoka replied and stuck an earphone jack in the floor to confirm. "Sounds like Gyro is telling the cactus story.

"With Mrs. Robinson? Ugh...that was a really painful fight," Johnny shuttered, shaking his head. "Cactus needles are NOT fun to pick out when you're in the middle of a desert, much less a horse race."

"There's an echo down there, I can hear it whenever someone speaks. They're in a large room, probably the old cafeteria. Sounds like Izuku somehow got the oven to work in the kitchen, and they brought over a frozen pizza from OWSON. Wanna head down?" Kyoka asked.

"Well... I can't necessarily say no to that, can I? Although... it would take about a half-hour if you wanted to do anything that could kill the time," Johnny suggested, glancing at the door with a bit of hesitation in his eyes. Kyoka caught on to this and rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips

"In other words: you don't want to be in the room when Gyro says something embarrassing about you, so you're using spending time with your girlfriend as an escape route," Kyoka said in a haughty tone of voice.

Johnny said nothing, simply stuffing one of his hands into his pockets as he looked at the floor, shuffling one of his feet against the hardwood. Kyoka chuckled and took Johnny's hand, a small smile on her face. "Never said that I wasn't happy about it. I could never say no to any time spent with you."

The couple gave Shiegechi one last nod of respect and began walking through the abandoned hallways of the old high school, hand in hand, simply appreciating the other.

"Let's just try to keep the mush down around the ghosts," Johnny added, and Kyoka froze.

"...you're fucking with me, right?"

Johnny remained silent.

"Johnny, I swear to Christ I will hurt you."

"You said it yourself...a lot of people probably died here."

The tip of an earphone jack pointed at his face. "Jonathan."

"Alright, I'm pulling your leg."

Kyoka gave him an indignant huff, and they continued their stroll.

"..."

"..."

"...probably-"

"JONATHAN!"

"Pizza Mozzarella... Pizza Mozzarella...Rella Rella Rella Rella..." Gyro half-muttered/half-sang as he stared at the frozen pizza cooking in the old oven. "I hope this thing doesn't explode."

"It might, this place has been abandoned for a while, judging by the amount of mould on the walls," Josefumi noted, looking around the room with a half-hearted smile, a bead of sweat dripping from his forehead. "I'm surprised the oven works at all."

Izuku yawned and leaned backwards in one of the old cafeteria chairs. He had managed to locate a fuse box and was delighted to find that the abandoned school still had electricity. Upon informing Gyro, the Italian immediately produced a pizza box and ran to the kitchen.

How Gyro managed to conceal an entirety of three boxes of pizza without anyone catching on, Izuku had no clue. Maybe it had something to do with the Spin?

The greenette's stomach rumbled, and Izuku frowned as the smell of pepperoni taunted him with its presence. Almost being decayed in an unsuccessful attempt to locate a lost child who had accidentally put their universe in jeopardy would do that to you.

Then, came the worry for Yoshihara.

Izuku was a compassionate person, he had always been the type to go out of his way to help people, ever since he was a child. Knowing that Yoshihara was likely humiliated after her previous job at the strip club was revealed, Izuku couldn't help but feel concerned for the blond's mental state.

The greenette winced as he imagined the hard life his ally must have had.

"Pizza Mozzarella...mmmmmm..."

"Hello Midoriya."

Izuku turned and saw Yoshihara walking towards him with her hands in her pockets. The greenette blinked as she sat down next to him. "Er...hi...l-look, about-"

"It's okay, you aren't the type to judge. I know you, remember?" The blond said, sighing. "What were the others like about it?"

"Well, Kyoka was horrified that you had to do something like that, Gyro got angry at your boss, and Johnny... well... I definitely think he's reevaluating his opinion of you," Izuku said, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at her half-heartedly.

"I...think I'm going to share my story, at least a little bit of it. He was probably right to be suspicious of me, so I'm going, to be honest, and straight to the point. All this distrust isn't helping anybody but Karl." Yoshihara said, her eyes meeting Izuku's. "My version of you has no idea about any of this, and I know you are more mature than he is, but I have to ask: are you willing to hear this? It's pretty fucked up."

"I've seen some shit, I can handle it. Like I said earlier...I'm not naive anymore." Izuku replied, and Yoshihara nodded.

"Good, let me know when everyone else is in the cafeteria. I want everyone to hear this, not just you…" Yoshihara said, earning a nod from Midoriya. As Izuku watched Yoshihara leave the kitchen, Gyro hummed.

"So, she's gonna bring up her past, huh?" Gyro said, crossing his arms as he waited for the pizza to finish. "About time," the cowboy remarked, sighing. Josefumi hummed, stroking his chin. "Say, Pompadour boy, did you know anything about her past?"

"Nah, this is actually going to be the first time I get to hear about anything. I have some ideas about what might have happened, but that's about it," Josefumi replied, earning a nod from the cowboy, all the while Izuku fretted just a little bit.

Certainly, it wasn't going to be too bad, right?

A little over half an hour passed, and everyone was sitting at one of the tables, Josuke, Kyoka, Johnny, Gyro, and Izuku on the left side, while Yoshihara and Josefumi sat on the other side. "So, er, Yoshihara, you want to talk to us about something?" Johnny spoke up, giving her a quizzical gaze as the blond nodded.

"Yes, I do. However, I would like to warn all of you that what I am about to tell you is a bit… uneasy for me to speak about. I hope you all have eaten at least some of that pizza because I can assure you that you won't be eating anything after I'm done," Yoshihara said, earning skeptical glances from Gyro and Johnny, but nothing much else.

"Kira, I'm sure that nothing you can tell us will make me sick to my stomach, at least enough to the point where I disregard pizza," Gyro commented, earning an eye roll from Johnny, as well as an elbow to the ribs.

"What he meant to say is that it can't be that bad, can it? Especially after, you know…." Johnny said, leaving his sentence open-ended. Yoshihara shifted uncomfortably in her seat, clearing her throat.

"So I've heard," the blond commented before folding her hands together. "As much as I really don't want to, I think that not fully explaining myself is hindering this quest to find Karl. I know Johnny is still distrustful of me, and I know that there are some people here who are disturbed by my mannerisms. So, I'm going to 'come clean' so to speak. I will not be sparing any detail. If it gets too much, I adhere you to leave if you must," Yoshihara warned, causing a few of the people, namely Jirou and, surprisingly, Josuke to avoid the blond's eyes for a split second.

"Well, as I said back in the cafeteria, Kira, I think we can handle it," Izuku said, a warming smile sent in her direction as Yoshihara nodded.

"Very well, then I shall begin," Yoshihara said, clearing her throat. "Now, I don't remember much from when I was younger. All I can really remember is, her, and even then my memory is patchy. I never met my Dad, though I have seen pictures of him. We would talk over the internet due to the fact that he was always away, but for good reason. From what she told me, my father worked at my universe's version of The Speedwagon Foundation," Yoshihara started, earning a few wide eyes from Kyoka, Johnny, and Josuke.

"What, you have a Speedwagon Foundation in your universe?" Josuke said, shocked as Yoshihara nodded.

"Yes. Currently, I'm working with them to solve something, but that hardly matters at the moment, all you have to know is that it does exist and that they have multiple branches across the world in my universe. I don't know about your universe, but that is how it operates there," Yoshihara explained, taking a sip of water from a glass that had been beside her.

"Moving on. My father worked at their Chinese branch, and considering that there was a law in China stating that those who worked in the country stayed in the country unless it was for a short vacation, I never really saw my father. Once as a toddler, and once as a newborn. That was it. For the rest of my life, I never saw him. I believe he's dead, seeing as that was what she told me, anyhow," the blond said as Gyro spoke up.

"Not to sound stupid, but when you bring up 'her' or 'she' do you mean your mother?" the Italian questioned as Yoshihara nodded, earning a nod back. "Gotcha. Continue, please," Gyro said, a pit forming in everyone's stomachs, not liking how this was shaping up.

"Thank you. Now, regarding her…." She paused for a moment, pursing her lips as if she were debating internally about saying something. Finally, after a moment of silence, she sighed, then spoke. "I know that up until I turned four years old, she wasn't all that bad. She took care of me, fed me, clothed me, all that nonsense. But when my father died, I think something in her snapped. She stopped doing that nearly as much as she used to, and when I came back as Quirkless…. That was when the real abuse started," Yoshihara said, earning a bit of a wide-eyed look from Johnny.

He knew what it was like to be abused, and because of that, he instantly felt that pit in his stomach grow tenfold. Jirou covered the bottom portion of her mouth, not liking where this was heading, either. For Josefumi, Josuke, and Gyro, they remained stiff-faced and stoic, though, with Gyro, his shoulders were tensed, just a little bit. As for Izuku, however, it seemed to strike a chord with him.

"You… were Quirkless? And she abused you because of it?" Izuku muttered, causing Kira to nod. The greenette clenched his right hand into a fist. "I… see…."

Yoshihara was silent for a moment, letting everything she said at this point sink in, then, everything came out at once.

"She would beat me, make me eat spoiled food, dress me in rags and snap at me at even the slightest misstep. When she lost her job after being found out to be a drunkard, she turned to prostitution. I thought that… back then if she had someone in the house outside herself, she'd behave. At the time, I thought that maybe if one of them saw the condition I was in that they would call the cops or even a couple of heroes to rescue me. But that never happened. Because of fucking course it wouldn't. I watched it, all of it. All of what that whore did, she did it in front of me. Some would just pay her, fuck her, then leave. But some of them… some of them would… they would..." She shuttered, letting out a shaky breath.

"They would rape me. A child. Four years old all the way through six. A-And, she would just let it happen. She would watch. She would SMILE. I would cry in that stupid fucking closet after they were done with me because that was what I slept in. She didn't even let me sleep in a room. She gave me a blanket, and that was it. I went through that for two years. Two years of abuse, rape, all as a child," Yoshihara continued, looking at the floor, a hollow chuckle left her lips before she continued.

"It's funny. I went to school for one week, but I was removed when people caught on that something was up at home. A hero did show up at the house, but she played an act and actually treated me as a normal child. That day was probably the best thing to ever happen to me, as the hero watched us the whole day. But the moment that hero left, I almost cried out for them to not, because if they did, then I'd be back at square one. But they did leave, and as soon as they did, she went back to her old routine. For another month I had to put up with it all."

"Then, one day, I guess she had enough. She poisoned my food with some sort of poison that I've never really been able to pinpoint, she grabbed someone off the street, and she demanded that they killed me. She left the house, and I had expected to die that day. But then, he saved me. He was a villain, a goddamn villain saved my life. Not a hero, not a civilian, but a villain. Dabi, I think his name was. He gave me an anti-toxin and sent me out the backdoor to escape her. I will NEVER forget him, ever. Had it not been for him I would've been dead in that closet from whatever poison she hit me with."

"After that, I ran away from… Morioh… and moved to Musutafu on foot, not a damn thing to my name. I lived on the streets till I was 10 years old, and that was when I met a guy who pointed me in the direction of that club. I got a position as a janitor and eventually worked my way up to that of a private show performer—much to Akira's chagrin. He hated the fact that I did that and still does to this day, but that's behind me now. I see him as someone to trust, and he sees me as his daughter, not that I mind. Somewhere along the line, I shut myself off from the world. I never spoke to anyone unless I had to, and I kept to myself. No one, not even Josefumi knew this until now," Yoshihara stopped, sucking in a deep breath before letting it out, closing her eyes and raising her head to look at everyone across the table from her.

"That's my story. I hope that, maybe, will let all of the tensions die off, right? Now that you know more about me, you can see where I come from, why I do the things I do, and why I don't open myself up to people. That's why. The only person in my life I could trust was some random villain and a guy who ran a strip club," Yoshihara said, opening her eyes.

And what she saw was nothing less than eye-opening.

Kyoka had her hands covering her mouth, and what looked like tears in her eyes. Johnny was pale, visibly shaking and ill, his hands clenched against the table as if he was clinging on to it for his life. Josuke was pale, too, but his face was stiff, with no emotion, simply keeping whatever he thought to himself. The same thing went with Gyro, but his shoulders had risen up to above his neck, almost as if he was trying to keep himself from slamming one of his Steel Balls into a wall. Then, there was Izuku, who was crying, openly. That was a sight she had been slightly used to seeing, but not the extent that he was now.

She looked over to her left, watching Josefumi, whose eyes were covered in shadow. When his head lifted, there was a fury unlike any other in his eyes. "Tell me, Kira. Is that disgrace of a human being still alive?" Josefumi questioned as Yoshihara shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, and quite frankly, I don't care. If she is, then whatever. She can live whatever life she's leading now, so long as I never have to see her again. Otherwise, I will kill her on sight," Yoshihara spat, looking away.

Silence followed after that, and no one said a word until finally, Johnny broke the silence.

"I- I wasn't expecting that. And you're right, whatever appetite I had is gone. I've… had my fair share of run-ins with… that sort of thing, though not nearly on the same level as you. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that you, and maybe one other person I know, had it worse than me. I'm… I can't… I need to go," Johnny said, leaving the table, Kyoka quickly following after him, leaving only Josefumi, Josuke, Izuku, and Gyro at the table.

Once more, silence overtook the room, and one by one, everyone left, Yoshihara going by herself as a silent agreement to let all the information that had been dropped on them settle for a while, and to let her be by herself after having to dump all of that onto their shoulders. That, and she just wanted to be alone right now.

The blond-haired stand user felt a weight lift off her shoulders as if telling her story helped her. And it did. For a split second, she could feel her shoulder act up, harshly. It made her stop, grunting as she did. She brushed her hair to the side to look at the star-shaped scar and frowned.

"That was probably the most violent reaction it's had yet. I wonder why?"

Johnny turned on the old sink, hoping to splash some water on his face to cool himself down, only for the water to come out brown and disgusting, causing the Joestar to wrinkle his nose in disgust.

Looking into the cracked mirror, he could see that Yoshihara's story had more of an effect on him than he initially thought. He was deathly pale, and he looked as though he had seen a ghost. It reminded him of Susan initially, with a few parallels between the abusive mothers...

Then it got fucking worse.

Susan never tried to kill him until later in his life, and she had a whole 'putting him down for his own good' mindset, although knowing her it was probably an excuse to justify her cruelty.

Yoshihara had a mother that made Susan look like a saint, and DIO a school teacher.

"JoJo...?"

Kyoka's voice came from outside the bathroom, cautious, and a bit shaky. "JoJo... are... are you okay?" All she was met with was silence, as Johnny continued to stare at himself in the mirror, searching the eyes of the haunted teenager right in front of him.

"Johnny, come on... you're scaring me."

There was another moment of silence. Kyoka had half the nerve to bust in to make sure that Johnny was okay, when finally, he responded.

"No, I'm not okay."

Kyoka fell silent outside, and Johnny closed his eyes, sighing. "Yare yare daze... why can't trauma just go away for good? Why does it have to stick with you?" His question was rhetorical, obviously, though that didn't lessen the weight it had. Silence followed it once more, until, after a solid minute of it, Kyoka broke it once more.

"You aren't using the bathroom right now, right?" The purplette asked, causing Johnny to respond.

"No, I'm not."

"Can I come in?"

Kyoka had enough experience with dealing with Johnny's trauma to know that she had to tread carefully. Not that Johnny would ever get explosive on her, but that it was best to let him have his space for his own sake. If Johnny wanted to be alone, then she would wait until he was ready to talk.

In this case, however, Johnny needed her. "Yes, Kyoka... I could really use some company right now."

The purplette entered the room and as soon as she got to him, she gently wrapped her arms around his torso from behind and used her jacks to wrap around Johnny's shoulders, giving them a massage in order to calm his nerves. She always knew what to do whenever he was like this, and that was to simply remind him that he was loved.

"I'm sorry, that was probably really triggering for you," Kyoka said, her voice soft. "That was...horrific, I'm surprised you managed to sit through that."

"Kira was willing to tell us her story..." Johnny began, glancing over his shoulder ever-so-slightly. "Do you know what bothers me the most about it, though?"

"That she had it far worse than you?" Kyoka followed up, her tone of voice soft, only audible to him and to him alone, even with the slight echo of the empty restroom.

"Yes...but it's a little bit more than that. I became a hero because I didn't want others to feel the pain that Susan gave me... and when I encounter someone like Kira or Eri, people who've had it worse... it hurts more than anything that bitch ever did to me." Johnny admitted. "The only reason I didn't kill Overhaul was that I could've endangered Eri... and even then, you had to talk me out of it."

"Something I regret, in hindsight."

"It just makes me so ANGRY!" Johnny yelled, and Kyoka hugged him tighter. The brown-haired teen settled down, knowing full well he was scaring her. "Sorry."

"You have every right to be disgusted by what she told us, Johnny, especially given your history. Just...don't forget about your future." Kyoka said, releasing him from the hug and placing her hands on his shoulders, turning him to face her. "You're free from her now, and now you can free others. You're a better man than you used to be, now that she's gone. Don't forget that."

"It's mostly thanks to you," Johnny replied, finally managing a ghost of a smile. "Thank's Kyoka...I'm going to say this at the risk of sounding cheesy...you're going to be a big part of that future."

"I think that's obvious at this point," Kyoka replied with a faint blush. "Are you ready to go back to the cafeteria? Knowing you... you probably have a few things you want to say to Kira."

Johnny nodded and leaned over to meet Kyoka's lips, expressing his gratitude. Kyoka was someone who teased him relentlessly but was also his greatest source of comfort. She had a gentle side underneath her tough exterior, and she knew when to use it.

The purplette returned the kiss and separated from him with a smile. "You know I'll always be there to lift you up when you're down JoJo... even if you get on my nerves sometimes. Unlike that steaming pile of shit that gave birth to you, I love you, and I mean that with the most sincerity I can muster."

"I love you too... more than you will ever know."

"I don't know, I think I have a pretty good idea." Kyoka began filtering the banter back into the conversation, upon seeing that Johnny was recovering. "I think... I think we should all start warming up to Kira. Hearing that story...I won't lie, I'm mortified... it's just so disgusting..."

The purplette wrinkled her nose as she emphasized the last word, despite not having a background that would allow her to relate, Yoshihara's confession had definitely gotten to her and reminded her of the heartless woman she killed for the Joestar Family's sake.

"It was. To be fair, what sane person wouldn't be horrified by what we just heard. Honestly, it's a miracle Kira is even alive right now and pursuing a hero career to boot. I definitely have a lot to think about when it comes to her."

"I'm sure," Kyoka said, taking Johnny's hand as they headed back to the cafeteria. Then...a locker opened by itself, right in front of the two.

The purplette shrieked, and dragged a bemused Johnny away from the open locker, not realizing that a certain Italian had used a steel ball to open it. Gyro muffled a chuckle and ducked back into one of the rooms, disappearing from sight, hearing Jirou's screams all throughout the hallway.

Initially, Gyro was angry and disgusted— and who wouldn't be? Especially after what he heard from Kira. All of it, her whole story was fucked up, and just as he thought it couldn't get worse, it did, and not in the way that he would've thought. As Johnny said, any sane person would find Yoshihara's situation to be revolting... but now he was just depressed.

Of course, a healthy prank on Kyoka lifted his spirits ever so slightly. After all, if it worked when Santana attacked, and it worked after beating Necromancer, so therefore, it would work here.

'Nyo ho! Spirits... because I made her think there was a ghost?' Gyro thought to himself, chuckling half-heartedly. The Italian eventually sighed, slumping down in a seat. Not even his legendary puns could bring up the mood, and they didn't exactly work unless he had Johnny's sarcasm to bounce off of.

And without something to distract him, he went back to thinking about what he heard from Kira, and immediately frowned—an expression that didn't suit him, and he knew it too.

He had a hunch that something was wrong with Yoshihara from the start, and Johnny having shared his own suspicion only strengthened his even more. Not to say that he would judge a book by its cover, but he could just tell that she wasn't exactly the perfect image of mental health.

What made it worse were those empty, soulless eyes that she always adorned. No matter what happened, not even when she was hurt, did her eyes gleam with any sort of emotion. The only emotion she seemed to express was anger, and even then it felt… robotic.

And with what happened to her, he couldn't blame her for it, either.

Now that he thought about his past reservations of the golden blond-haired Stand user... he actually felt ashamed. With a backstory that completely blew Johnny's story out of the water—not that he was comparing the two to see who had the worst childhood, it was just an objective fact at this point, which he didn't know was a good thing or a bad thing that his friend hadn't gone through what Yoshihara did—but he digressed. Nobody who lived through any kind of abuse would come out of that situation squeaky clean. Of course, Yoshihara wouldn't be entirely put together. He had been so drawn into his thoughts that he didn't see Josefumi walk into the room.

"She never told me about that, you know... all of that was news to me too, and I've known her for a little while now," Josefumi said, standing in the doorway, a distant expression on his face.

Gyro turned to see that Josefumi had entered the room, and patted the seat next to him, indicating that the pompadour-haired teen could sit. "Well, it's not something I'd want to be public knowledge, hell, I'd be afraid that I'd lose respect because of it," Gyro said, putting his hands on his chin. "Raped, as a child… Buon dio… I can't even begin to comprehend what goes through those people's heads to turn around and just… do that…. I'd like to think that the crazy bitch forced them to, but how Kira said it…"

Gyro almost puked right then and then thinking about it. Luckily for him, he had a strong stomach. Josefumi sighed, leaning his head back against the wall as he crossed his eyes, glancing over to Gyro.

"It only goes to show that she is trying to win your trust. You don't just share stuff like that without reason... I have to ask—"

"I'll be more open-minded around her, yes," Gyro replied before the kid could finish, glancing back at him before looking straight ahead. "Honestly, if I ever met her mother she'd get a steel ball to the skull, full-powered throw," Gyro said, reaching for one of his Steel Balls, tossing it up and down in his palm.

"I wouldn't hold back either. I'm... I'm livid." Josefumi admitted. For a split second, his Stand shadowed over his arm, its white arm and purple ball elbow showing before quickly returning to his body. "Kira is my friend, and hearing about what that cunt did to her... I want to hit something. Hard."

Gyro had to repress a snicker, holstering his Steel Ball back in his pocket. Though, he did notice how Josefumi's eyes lingered on it for a few seconds, a sign of recognition dancing within them. He pushed whatever thought he had into the back of his head and continued the conversation.

"Well, I suppose we've got to wait until the next assassin comes along..." Gyro said, brushing the bangs of his hair out of his eyes and back underneath his hat. "You know what, let's change the subject. You said that Jolyne was your great grandmother and that Jouta Kujo…" Gyro stopped, looked around, then breathed a sigh of relief, before continuing, making Josefumi snicker. "…was your grandfather. What about your parents?"

Josefumi smiled, sitting up straight as he spoke. "Oh! That's actually pretty funny. The name of my parents, specifically the name of my father, is why I was so taken aback when we first met you guys. His name's Jonathan Kujo." As Josefumi said that, Gyro jumped up from his seat and looked at him with wide eyes.

"You're kidding!" Gyro near-shouted, his mouth agape in shock as Josefumi shook his head.

"Nope, I'm not. Jonathan Kujo is the name of my father."

"Johnny's your dad?!" The Italian's eyes began drifting back and forth as he began theorizing. "You have purple hair too, and you're funny, you're smart... are you Johnny and Kyoka's secret love child?!"

"No, Gyro, no! Jirou is my classmate in our universe!" Josefumi replied, waving his hands in a defensive manner.

"But purple—!"

"Purple hair isn't exclusive to her!" And that was when it hit him, and he laughed, earning a smirk from Gyro. "You're... screwing with me, aren't you?" The purple-haired teen realized, smirking.

"Took you long enough... you know what would be really funny?" Gyro said, sitting back down and putting an arm around Josefumi's shoulder with a sly grin. "If Johnny and Kyoka start thinking the same thing... wouldn't that be just the kind of pick-me-up this group needs?"

"You truly are evil Gyro Zeppeli... and I think I like it," Josefumi said, a sly grin forming on his face as well. "What do you want to do?"

"Have you ever heard of the term: Freudian Slip?" Gyro asked, causing Josefumi to raise an eyebrow. The term felt familiar to Josefumi, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He turned to Gyro and shook his head.

"It's when you slip up when you're talking, but it conveys your true feelings. Essentially, when a person misspeaks, they are actually revealing their subconscious thoughts and desires. What if we fake a Freudian Slip, after you mention your dad, and you accidentally call Kyoka 'Mom?'"

"I think we've already established that my universe has its own Jirou and that she's my age, though," Josefumi said, frowning.

"Yes... until we plant the seeds of doubt... and soon they will grow into confusion! That's our goal here! It'll be fun, messing around with those two, a good way to pick up the morale!" Gyro said, widening his arms to encompass the whole building.

Josefumi seemed to consider it for a moment and then nodded. "Could be good for a laugh... alright Gyro, I'm in."

Yoshihara was seated back in the cafeteria, alone, just like she wanted, fiddling with her hair. She was kinda shocked at just how much she revealed, looking back at it now. In hindsight, maybe she should've spared a few details, but the moment she started talking, she just couldn't stop.

It was like her mind just kept telling her to spew out more and more of her past, like accidentally cranking the water tap on a tub and not stopping until it overflows. That was the best way she could describe what happened back there.

Not that she could blame, well, herself, she needed to vent. There were people who were willing to listen, and so, they listened. She was grateful for that.

"Kira."

Yoshihara was brought out of her thoughts as she turned to see Johnny walking up to her, and turned to face him. "Johnny."

The former jockey stopped in front of her, and took off his hat, brushing off the white and blue beanie. There was a different air about him now, something a little less cautious, something genuine.

"I would... like to apologize. I..."

"You don't have to. I was feeding your doubts by being so secretive, if anyone is to blame for the mistrust, it was me. I remedied that... now, I really don't feel like talking about it anymore. You'll have to forgive me," Kira said, a defensive tone to her voice as Johnny shook his head.

"I'm not here to grill you on your past... judging by my reaction in the other room, I think you know I've had enough of that," Johnny said, sighing. 'Here goes nothing…' "My mother...she was a real piece of shit too, although not to the same extent as yours."

Yoshihara remained silent, allowing Johnny to continue.

"She... uh... hated me because I was initially supposed to be a twin, but my hypothetical brother died in the womb. For some reason... she got it into her head that I was born to be a killer, and all subsequent acts of abuse that I endured from her were attempts to 'correct' me," Johnny said, causing Yoshihara to narrow her eyes ever-so-slightly.

"I see…."

"Look... I'm not going to go into detail about it like you did, and that's not an attempt to hide anything, more so... I'm not the only person my mother hurt…."

"Jirou, right?" Kira said, raising her head to look at Johnny.

Johnny blinked and then frowned. "You knew?"

"I overheard your argument, and she kept looking at the scars on her arm, scars which she told me came from one of the deadliest Stand users she had ever faced. It didn't take much to piece together some of the stories from there. Your girlfriend killed your mother, right?" Yoshihara asked.

"She had every reason to. After my father divorced her, she went from cruel to crazy... and let's just say her actions led to me being in a very dark place in my life... Kyoka was the one to pull me away from all that. I'm getting off-topic... what I'm trying to say is... I understand you now. We came from similar places, shared a similar pain... and I'm sorry for not picking up on that sooner."

It seemed as though they were both dealt a cruel hand in life, Yoshihara simply had it worse. Perhaps, in another world, she would've been more like Johnny if she had any love growing up, and vice versa. They were mirrors of each other, in a sort of, disturbing way.

"You don't need to apologize. We need to work together, you and I both know that we can't find Karl without that. All I ask is that you put your trust in me from now on, and I'll do the same for you." Yoshihara said.

"I can do that," Johnny said with a small smile. "Take it from someone who can somewhat relate to you... it takes a lot of strength to open up about stuff like that. I used to put on a facade of confidence because my mother made me feel worthless. I hid behind a lie...and when it shattered, certain people anchored themselves in my life, and they showed me that I was worth something to them. What you did back there...it was pretty damn impressive."

"Thank you...I appreciate that." The blond responded, a small facsimile of a smile on her face. It was hard to see, but Johnny did, something that shocked the brunette, thinking that she couldn't smile.

Johnny sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I'll leave you alone now...I know that is what you would want... just, one more question."

"Yes?" Kira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you have a mark just above your left shoulder, towards your neck? In the shape of a star?" Johnny asked, making Yoshihara raise her eyebrow even higher.

She was a bit taken aback by the question but answered honestly regardless. "Yes, it has been there for as long as I can remember. I always assume it was a scar from... you know... why do you ask?"

"I have it too, and so does Josefumi I'd imagine. My uncle does as well. It's not a scar, but a birthmark that belongs to the Joestar family." Johnny pulled down part of his shirt, revealing his own birthmark, in the exact same spot as Yoshihara's, making the blond lower her eyebrows, but analytically narrow her eyes. "You likely have some Joestar blood, meaning that you and I are kind of related, in an interdimensional sort of way. Most likely on your father's side too...since Joestars are innately good people."

"A birthmark..." Yoshihara muttered, putting a hand over where the birthmark was. "Why does it hurt then?" The blond questioned, causing Johnny to nod to himself.

"Our family has a blood connection...sometimes we feel it when something happens to each other," Johnny explained. "I once exploited this when we were pinned down by villains, I shot myself as an S.O.S of sorts, so my family could feel it. We can just sort of...sense things about each other."

"...I see." 'Then if that is the case, then why didn't my dad feel me then. Did he just ignore it, or was there something else going on… maybe he didn't know that… whatever.' "That explains a lot, then…" Kira said, backing away from the birthmark in question, grabbing her shoulder where hers was. "Hmm…"

"You might want to talk to Josefumi about that when you get home. It could be important later down the line." Johnny said as he walked towards the exit of the cafeteria, leaving the blond to process the information that was just given to her.

As Johnny turned the corner, he came upon his girlfriend, who had a jack plugged into the wall. Kyoka lifted her head to meet his eyes and gave him a small nod and a smile.

"I kept my promise, I didn't overshare," Johnny said, rolling his shoulders, cracking his neck, then relaxing.

"I wouldn't have been mad if you had... but thanks. She definitely has the Joestar intuition, considering she deduced that I had to kill Cummings," Kyoka said, unplugging her jack and stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"Yeah, I just think she could've benefited from that information, make her feel less alone. And even if she didn't, then I think it would show that I trust her too by at least sharing some of what happened to me," Johnny explained.

"You wanted to help her because people like her are the reason you want to be a hero. Considering you've been suspicious of her from the start, and you helped her anyway, it goes to show that underneath all that depressing grumbling and caffeine addiction, you're a great guy," Kyoka said, a small smile on her face as Johnny huffed out of laugh.

"I'm not really suspicious of Kira anymore... promise. But, uh, you know, you're kind of gushing a bit," the brunette pointed out as Kyoka rolled her eyes, wrapping an arm around his shoulder with a smirk.

"I think I'm allowed to be a little sappy now and then, especially considering you had a bit of an episode today. Now...I want to go punch Gyro in the face for that stupid stunt in the hallway... that fucking asshole," Kyoka said, grumbling that last part under her breath as Johnny chuckled.

"We should go ghost hunting sometime."

"Absolutely not."

"It'd be fun! We could all take turns being alone in the most haunted room of wherever we would go, we could even spend the night!"

"...we're already spending the night here, Johnny. I'm already creeped out enough."

"We could ask YaoMomo to create the equipment, bring some snacks, maybe a camera or two so we can film you shitting yourself, and it could be a nice little recreational activity for us to do," Johnny replied with a smirk.

"Nope, not doi—"

*SLAM!*

Kyoka jumped when the sound of a door slamming echoed from the far side of the building, on one of the upper floors. "Jesus...wait...no one is up there right now..."

"Either an enemy or more likely..."

"I have to sleep here..." Kyoka growled out, pinching Johnny's arm.

"I wasn't kidding this time... I'm sorry Kyoka, but it's likely some of Yoshikage Kira's victims had some unfinished business. This school could be haunted as hell."

The purplette's eyes widened and began nervously shifting from left to right as she inched just a tiny bit closer to Johnny. "Great... just great... fucking ghosts...there goes any sleep I was hoping to get."

Johnny took Kyoka's hand, and she wrapped her other arm around his, holding on tight in an effort to calm her nerves down.

"The toughest girl I know, scared of a door."

"I don't. like. ghosts." Kyoka replied through gritted teeth.

"I know... don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

As soon as they rounded the corner, they ran into Izuku, who was going to check on Yoshihara. Kyoka yelped and immediately began attacking him with her jacks.

"OW! KYOKA STOP! OW!"

Karl was terrified.

Taro Tatsugi didn't stand a chance, although Karl was definitely relieved the psychotic had failed, as he didn't want to have his favourite characters killed.

Then again... his favourite characters were probably trying to kill him.

He was also hungry, after being on the run from his pursuers for a few days now, Karl didn't have the time to build up supplies for long-term survival... and they weren't going to abandon their pursuit any time soon.

How was he going to get out of this?

There was really only one solution... and that is to bring an opponent into the playing field that nobody is expecting, that nobody knows.

Someone from the original JoJo canon.

There is an infinite number of universes in a multiverse, and an infinite amount of multiverses. The canon JoJo multiverse could be the only way he could truly overcome these foes. He couldn't just lay down and die, as much as he loved the characters... he didn't have a choice.

Activating Turn Back Time, he opened a rift in reality, and a figure fell out.

Landing right on his feet, the shadow figure slowly lifted his head, standing up to his full height. Karl shivered, remembering the threat that this man posed to the Joestar of his arc.

"Boy... where the hell am I?" The figure growled, narrowing his green eyes narrowing at the child. Fear shot throughout Karl as he began to talk.

"I-I...I..."

"Where am I? I was on Josuke Higashikata's trail, and you dragged me away from him. Do you understand how much I want to finish that bastard off? Those two will not escape their demise this time..."

"You would lose... I-I can pull people into different universes," Karl said, collapsing. Reaching into a different multiverse had spent all of his energy, it was dangerous, even for him.

The man scoffed. "So? What of it? If it's true, why bring me here and risk my wrath? Depending on your answer, you could die here, so choose your words carefully."

"You.. .could have the opportunity... to destroy another Kira." Karl wheezed out. "She... and a few others... are trying to kill me, and... I'm scared..."

"Do you think I care? Then again... Kira... what about Kujo?"

"They're both here... in a way... you'd finally put them down, eliminating the threat in this universe before our you ever has to deal with them."

The man cocked his head, then smirked. "So... you want me to kill them to save your own ass? Fine, I'll do it, but only because I hate their guts. They won't see me coming... no one does."

"That's why I brought you..."

Karl's eyes filled with tears as the newest assassin went off to go put an end to his quarry. 'I'm sorry...I'm so sorry! I never wanted things to be like this...I'm sorry everyone.' Because this person, he was different. Karl knew that, and because of that, he genuinely feared for them.

Not because they were powerful. Well, they were, but that was beside the point. He feared for his favourite characters for a completely different reason.

He feared for them because their opponent wasn't human.

-To Be Continued-