The world began to spin as Josefumi groaned, slowly sitting up as he rubbed his forehead, he took recollection of the previous events that had occurred over the course of the last hour. He remembered punching Doppio square in the face with Soft & Wet, but before he could capitalize on it, he was knocked out by the enemy Italian.
He thought that because Josuke and himself shared a similar haircut to one another that Doppio would've been easily lured out of wherever he was hiding and take the chance to take out the healer. He had been partially correct but hadn't expected the former mobster to be quick on his feet.
If anything, that was scarier than lacking a healer. If Doppio was a fast thinker—something that not even Josuke knew about—then they were all screwed. Nothing was scarier than someone who could adapt in the blink of an eye. It was something he'd have to take into account when he came up with another scheme to defeat Doppio
He felt a small nudge on his right shoulder, which caused a jolt to flare up throughout his body. Upon opening his eyes, he found Josuke and Kyoka kneeling beside him, both with concerned expressions on their faces.
It was clear that the plan failed from all angles. Kyoka had a defeated look in her eyes, and Josuke had an ashamed look on his face. Though to be fair, no plan was perfect, and he knew that more than most. It was best to take it on the chin rather than mope around and pretend that it never happened. "Well...that went well..." Josefumi muttered as Josuke helped him to his feet.
"We did some damage," Kyoka said, rubbing her stomach area. "That was the point, at least on my end. My jacks can cut pretty deep when I want them to, so I was trying to hurt him as much as I could before he took me out," The purplette replied, a small frown appearing on her face.
It wasn't one of disappointment, but one of annoyance. Had she only seen the gut punch coming, she might've been able to defend against it. Kyoka knew that King Crimson was a powerful Stand, but she didn't think it would be that fast too.
It was almost on par, if not slightly faster than Tusk. That was something that was scaring Kyoka. Karl was bringing foes that could match or rival Tusk. First, it was whatever Yagiyama had, and now it was the former Boss… er Bosses assistant of Passione. Karl was working around Johnny, something he had been doing a good job at lately.
When—No, If they defeated Doppio, who would be next? Who would be the next person Karl would send after them? It was clear that they were being watched… somehow, so if Karl saw Doppio get defeated, then who was he going to send in next? Would it be someone more powerful than Tusk? Was that in of itself even possible?
Kyoka was snapped out of her thoughts when Josuke placed a hand on her shoulder, a reassuring smile plastered on his face, something that made the purplette calm down ever-so-slightly. "You banked on the fact that he was only maiming us, that was smart Kyoka, you've given the others an edge." Josuke praised his apprentice before patting her on the back. "Luckily I was nearby with Crazy Diamond. Otherwise what Doppio did would've become fatal."
Kyoka wasn't scared of death, so to speak. Hell, she had brushed with death on several occasions, all of which she came out from alive, if not nearly dying. Nabu Island and her fight with Susan came to mind.
And now, she could add this whole scenario onto that docket. Even against one of the Joestars' most dangerous foes, she survived a small, yet significant brush with death. And somehow, that scared her less than it probably should have. If anyone else from her class had been in that situation, she would've had no doubts that they would be more terrified, if not mortified with that concept than she ever would.
"I was hoping to steal his eyesight, that way he couldn't see the future," Josefumi interjected, groaning as he cupped his head once more, clicking his tongue as he did so. "He saw my bubbles though... even if this isn't his evil half, he's still pretty smart," the younger pompadour enjoyer stated, looking over to Josuke.
'We can't lose him. Even if it's cowardly, it's better than nothing. Not to mention that if we don't do this, then we could lose… horribly…'
"Josuke... it's best if you go with Jirou and stay hidden. The moment Doppio hurts you, or worse, we're done for good. You can't heal your own wounds after all, and we'll all have no hope of recovery if he puts you out of commission," Josefumi stated, a stern expression on his face.
The oldest of the group hummed before quickly nodding. "No one will be able to stop Karl's crossover from killing everybody…." Josuke said, sighing deeply as he closed his eyes in contemplation. He was worried that his alternate universe Great Great Great Grandfather—considering he was the son of Joseph Joestar—was going to disagree with the choice. However, when he looked up at them with a slight amount of wariness in his eyes, that thought was dashed completely.
"Alright... I don't want to leave you on your own though..." Josuke said, his eyebrows knitting together in concern.
"I'm going to rendezvous with Kira, don't worry about me," Josefumi assured the other two. "We haven't fought together before, but we have a mutual understanding of our abilities. She's a quick thinker, too. We might be able to come up with a plan to stop Doppio from advancing. We already have Izuku out for the count, we can't lose anyone else," Josefumi said, his expression stoic yet his eyes were filled with doubt.
His first plan failed, and now he had to make a second one. Killer Queen and Soft & Wet weren't the strongest Stands, nor were they the fastest. Alone, they stood no chance of defeating Doppio… but with the both of them…
'It could work… but we'd have to circumvent Doppio's Epitaph. Otherwise whatever we come up with is going to fail…'
"Josefumi, you good there?" Jirou commented, earning a raised eyebrow from the alternate universe Joestar.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm good. When you meet up with Dad—I mean Johnny, let him know about our situation, got it? I'll catch you on the flip side," Josefumi stated, running off down the hallway as Jirou shook her head.
"What did he just say?" Kyoka asked with a confused look on her face as Josuke shrugged.
"Honestly, I don't know. Let's just go find Johnny, then find somewhere secure to bunker down. I don't like hiding, but if Doppio's after me to take me out of the picture, it's best we get to going."
And with that final statement, the two went to go find Johnny, all the while Kyoka mulled over what Josefumi had said about her boyfriend.
Johnny peered around the corner, wondering how Josefumi's ambush went. He had every reason to be nervous. They were fighting a time manipulator, one that they couldn't enter the world of. Had this been someone like DIO, then they would've been able to beat them easily.
But seeing as this was King Crimson they were dealing with… well, needless to say, it had Johnny on edge.
'There were a bunch of time skips back there... I hope everyone is okay. If that bastard hurt anyone else, I'm going to have a fit.'
Gyro joined his partner, the two gazing down the empty abandoned hallway in search of danger. The Italian sniffed the air, narrowing his eyes, "Hey Johnny... you smell that?"
"Gas." As those words left Johnny's mouth, his eyebrows knit together with a scowl. 'What is that bastard doing…'
"The oven in the cafeteria... someone turned it on," Gyro deduced, scratching his chin, "Why though? If Doppio isn't trying to kill us, it wouldn't make sense to try and blow us up," Gyro continued, his strategist brain going full force as Johnny hummed to himself.
"What if he's using them?" Johnny asked, which led to Gyro looking at him with an 'are you stupid' expression.
"Well obviously he's using them, they're clearly on!" Gyro snarked, the Joestar sighing before turning to face the Italian.
"Think about it Gyro, if he's here that means he survived the ambush. There is no way he got away from that attack unscathed, considering what we know about the attackers," Johnny said, the gears in his head turning as the dynamic duo inched closer to the cafeteria, "He sustained some pretty nasty wounds, I'm sure of it."
"He's using the ovens to cauterize them so he doesn't bleed out," Gyro confirmed, an almost eureka-like tone escaping him as he frowned. "Dangerous, considering how old they are, but smart. Who do you think did that to him?"
"Could've been any of them, but you don't cauterize bruises and broken bones that you'd get from a Stand beatdown, so I'd say it's buncha cuts and gouges."
"Kyoka, then. The fact that he escaped... do you think she's alright?" Gyro asked, concerned.
"If she's hurt..." Johnny growled out, balling up his fists as Tusk Act 4 loomed behind him, cracking its knuckles.
Gyro grabbed his best friend's shoulder and shook his head, "We can't kill him, Johnny, for two reasons. One, he's actively sparing our lives. Two... we've been playing this game all wrong, we need answers. Doppio could know where Karl is, it's obvious he's buying time for something."
"I'm not planning on killing him... I'm just wondering how much I can get away with," Johnny muttered darkly, "He already hurt Izuku, if he did the same to Kyoka, I won't be able to keep my cool."
"GYAAAAAAGH!" A voice cut through Johnny's line of thought, screaming in pain. Doppio had cauterized one of his wounds in the oven, although there was still up to debate.
'If he's in pain... he'll be checking Epitaph like crazy. Chances are, he might already know we're here. Do we wait? The longer we do, he'll close his wounds, and we'll lose our advantage. He's weakened right now... he needs to keep bleeding!' Johnny thought to himself, and glanced at his partner, knowing that Gyro was having similar thoughts.
However, the Italian also had a grin... and one of his steel balls was missing.
'Yare yare daze...'
They heard Doppio gasp, and footsteps rapidly approached them. They caught the slightest hint of pink hair before the kitchen erupted in a burst of flame, and the two had to duck out of the way as a flaming Doppio and King Crimson flew into the hallway, barely managing to put himself out.
"AGH! YOU BASTARDS!" Doppio screamed, his sweater blackened and burnt. "If I hadn't checked Epitaph, that would've killed me!"
"Exactly what I was hoping for," Gyro replied with a grin, watching as a super-heated steel ball came into the room, "You aren't going to kill us, so we aren't going to kill you. I was simply preventing you from stopping the bleeding."
"You're a clever one, aren't you?" Doppio grunted out, King Crimson hovering behind him with a glare on its face, "I underestimated you all... I didn't think I would have had this much trouble with you. Even the ear girl was a threat to me! Still... I'm... not giving up!"
"She better be okay, Doppio," Johnny said, a fury unlike any other deep within his eyes as the pink-haired mafioso grunted.
Doppio soon realized his predicament. Johnny and Tusk, a Stand that he was warned specifically to avoid, were standing behind him. He was boxed in by the duo. Something he knew he couldn't get out of without a small confrontation.
'I've been told that Kujo and Zeppeli are nigh unstoppable together.' Doppio thought to himself, a bead of sweat travelling down his face. 'King Crimson can't hope to take them both on at once... at least not in my current state. I'm wounded, badly, and they've sabotaged my attempt to treat it. I can't piss him off even more than I already have!'
"I punctured her diaphragm to stop her Hamon breathing, but I knew that Higashikata was nearby and watching. She's most likely fine," Doppio admitted, a slight look of annoyance making itself apparent on his face. "I'll be honest, I was told not to kill you, and the last thing I want to do is disappoint that kid," Doppio continued, a crimson red aura flaring about him.
"I know how much the girl with the ears, Jirou Kyoka if my information is correct, means to you Johnny Kujo. I also know that if I were to take her out of the picture you'd kill me. My focus was to prevent her from fighting for the time being. That, and she's one of Karl's favourites. If I were to kill her, he'd most likely tear me apart using some portal magic or what-have-you," Doppio finished, earning a glare from the titular cowboy.
"I won't forgive you for what you did to Izuku," Johnny growled out, "You're lucky my uncle was there to heal her and him... or I'd kill you where you stand."
"Which we are not going to do," Gyro quickly added, raising a hand, warning his partner to calm down, "This doesn't have to be a bloodbath, Doppio. We can talk about this."
"We can talk in the hospital... after I defeat you." Doppio responded, his eyes narrowing as he came up with a plan, "It's safe to say that you both possess Stands that can fight toe-to-toe with King Crimson, I'm outnumbered and outgunned... but neither of you can see the future."
"He used Epitaph... careful," Johnny warned.
Then, Doppio vanished. The droplets of blood flowing from Johnny's hand were already on the floor. Both Johnny and Gyro went on the attack, with the Italian hurtling a steel ball down the hallway behind him.
Then, King Crimson emerged from the side. Doppio had predicted that Gyro was aiming in that direction, and had positioned himself accordingly.
"Nice work Gyro, he fell for it!" Johnny shouted, earning a shocked expression from the Mafioso.
'WHAT?!'
A second steel ball smashed into King Crimson's side, and Tusk soon punished his miscalculation by driving its fist into the other Stand's stomach. As if he hadn't fucked up enough, the steel ball that Gyro threw earlier came back, slamming into King Crimson's jaw.
'Their teamwork is too strong! How on Earth did they manage to blindside me?! Wait...'
The steel ball that blew up the ovens was still on the ground when he attacked, but now Ball Breaker was in its place. Gyro had manifested his Stand through the steel ball, and had hurled the other one as a feint... the attack came from Ball Breaker.
Johnny's Tusk grabbed King Crimson by the throat and slammed both Stand and user through the concrete wall before he could do anything. The already wounded Doppio spat out blood as he landed, groaning.
'Shit... Karl warned me about this... they're the main threat! I... need to find some way out of this!'
Tusk's shadow blanketed the struggling Doppio. King Crimson shakily put up its fists, its green eyes widened with fear as the emotionless robotic husk of Tusk glowered down, filled with a fury unlike any other, mimicking that of one irate and bloodthirsty Johnny Joestar.
The cowboy was about to get his revenge. Not only for Izuku but for whatever Doppio had done to Kyoka. What was worse, was that Doppio knew he was pinned.
But as the saying goes… an animal is most dangerous when he is cornered….
Kyoka peered down the hallway, after cutting her hand with her sword, and sighed. Her mind was once again on both Johnny and Josefumi's new plan. It had holes… tons of them, however, the purplette knew she had to trust it.
'They're both Joestars, both are genius tacticians from birth. You need to have faith in them Kyoka, no matter how much the fight with Yagiyama scared you. Who cares if Doppio wiped the floor with you? You did what you set out to do... you gave them an edge.'
The purplette grunted in annoyance. She couldn't just drop it, could she? She had seen only a taste of King Crimson's power, and already it was enough to frighten her. It took down Izuku, one of their group's most powerful and intelligent fighters, in a matter of seconds.
If they were dealing with Diavolo, they'd already be dead.
'No wonder he was considered to be one of the Joestar family's nemeses, he's stupidly powerful, even if I gave them a small advantage... they're going to have a hell of a fight. He isn't going to kill us though... so at least I can count on finding them alive...'
Suddenly, her earphone jacks picked up the sound of an explosion coming from the abandoned cafeteria, followed by their opponent screaming in pain.
"Jesus Christ... what the hell are those two doing?! Bringing down the building?!" Kyoka exclaimed, "We need him alive!"
"Don't worry, Johnny promised he wouldn't kill him... doesn't necessarily mean Doppio will be in one piece though... Johnny was pretty pissed about Midoriya," Josuke commented, his eyebrows knitting together in concern, "He's normally level-headed, but when it comes to the people he loves... Johnny has fury like no other. I suppose that's more of a Joestar thing though than an individual thing..."
"Yeah, except Johnny can be fucking terrifying," Kyoka admitted, "In his final moments... it wouldn't surprise me if Yagiyama was scared out of his mind. I'd imagine... no, I know Doppio is undoubtedly scared shitless right now."
"He gets that from his father," Josuke commented as the two rounded the corner, blood dripping slowly from Kyoka's arm. "Still though, if Johnny does kill him, even if it is on accident, we'll be screwed…" the pompadour-haired adult stated, frowning. "We lose Doppio, we lose our only chance to find Karl."
As soon as the oldest Joestar said that, Kyoka saw something out of the corner of her eye, and as soon as she did, her eyes almost dilated. On the floor was a dress. A red and white dress too small to belong to an adult or a teen. It looked familiar, far too familiar for her to not know what it was. The purplette stopped dead in her tracks, which caused Josuke to raise an eyebrow.
"What's wrong, Kyoka? Is something—"
Josuke cut himself off after seeing what had stopped the purplette from moving forward. The dress, while at first seeming insignificant to the task at hand, slowly began to sink into Josuke that something was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.
Because it wasn't just any dress. It was a child's dress.
It could've been no bigger than a size 6 in kids' size clothing. It was sitting in the middle of the hallway with nothing else surrounding it. All except a small puddle of dubious red liquid that, at first glance, appeared to be red paint—at least, that was what Jirou was telling herself.
Because she knew exactly who that dress belonged to. And if that wasn't red paint, she was going to… do something. She didn't know because she had no answer to what it was that was on Eri's dress. And what made it even worse was that there was a fist-sized hole protruding from the center of the dress, which was the source of where the red liquid then spread to the other corners of it.
Jirou slowly walked up to the piece of clothing, her hands balled into fists as they shook as if small tremours were going off. As she knelt to the dress, she paused for a brief second.
'There is no way… absolutely no way that this blood. This is the same thing that Doppio did with Susan's jacket and mask. It has to be. It has to be…'
As Kyoka's thoughts ended, she reached her hand out to touch the red liquid. Upon touching it, she frowned. It was dry.
The liquid was dry.
Liquids only dried if they had been there for a long time. If it was paint, it'd have to have been applied much later on.
If this was a fake plant, then the hole wouldn't look so… natural.
'Stop! There's no way this is real! I refuse to believe that!' Jirou's worried thoughts continued, her hands no longer the only thing shaking as it was now accompanied by the rest of her body. She kept herself composed as much as she could. Right now was not the time to have an emotional breakdown.
"Josuke…" Kyoka shakily muttered, glancing over her shoulder at the man in question. "Use your Crazy Diamond to send the liquid back to where it came…"
Josuke didn't even respond to her demand. He simply did it. Josuke knew that look. The look of desperation. He understood that look because it made complete sense to him as to why she would have it on her face. He too knew who this dress belonged to. Not because he knew Eri in person, but because Johnny had sent pictures of him, Kyoka, and her to him and his family's group chat.
She was almost like a surrogate daughter to them in a way. Therefore, he could fully understand the concern and fear that Jirou had on display.
Crazy Diamond appeared behind the pompadour-haired man, and as it hovered its hand above the dried liquid, it glowed the same colour as the Stands aura. The dried liquid picked itself up from the dress and began to levitate. It didn't move. Not one inch.
The Blood. Didn't. Move.
If it had belonged to the paint bucket, it would've gone there.
If it had belonged to some sauce bottle in the kitchen, it would've gone there.
But it didn't move.
The Blood. Didn't. Fucking. Move.
The blood dropped back onto the dress, and as such, Jirou's hands dropped to the purplette's knees as she gripped her pants, tears flowing from her eyes as Josuke took a step back. Mortification slowly flowed into the hallway as the two stayed silent. Kyoka cried, and cried, and cried because she had no idea what else to do.
She was too angry to actually get angry. Too upset to move. Too vengeful to think clearly.
The pink-haired bastard killed Eri before coming here. That was the only explanation for—
"Kyoka. I think this is another lie," Josuke stated, catching the purplette off guard.
"What…?" Kyoka muttered, slowly turning her head to face Josuke. "How… how could THIS possibly be a lie! The blood doesn't belong to the paint bucket or anything else in this place! SO WHAT ELSE COULD IT—"
"Kyoka, think about what you just said," Josuke continued, crossing his arms, only earning more angered confusion from the rock star. Nonetheless, she stayed silent, giving Josuke the all-clear to continue his train of thought. ""It doesn't belong to anything else in this place." That's what you said, right? If Crazy Diamond's ability was truly working, then that would mean that the blood, dried or otherwise, still would've made its way out of the building and toward Eri. Right?"
There was more silence as Josuke's words fully began to sink into the purplette's mind as her eyes widened in shock. However, she wasn't able to say anything before Josuke continued. "Judging by that look on your face, you figured it out. This dress, and subsequently this blood, belongs to Eri. But not our Eri. Which means…."
"That this dress belongs to their Eri…" Kyoka muttered, her voice pained and shot from screaming at Josuke, as well as the damage to the Diaphragm that was still healing.
Just because she had gotten healed by Josuke, didn't mean that she still didn't feel the pain. It solved all outside and internal issues minus the pain of the attack done to her.
Even though this dress and blood didn't belong to their universe's Eri, it still meant that it belonged to Kira's and Josefumi's Eri. That could only mean that something foul happened. Which led to speculation. Something that she would have to think about at a later time.
For now, Kyoka got up, glared daggers at the dress that almost gave her a heart attack, and composed herself enough to continue to walk forward to find somewhere safe to hide with Josuke. She just hoped that Johnny and Gyro were handling things well up there.
Tusk and King Crimson locked arms, and the massive pink fridge of a Stand drove an armour-plated knee into King Crimson's wounded side, causing Doppio to spit up more blood.
'Not good! Very not good!' Doppio thought, his mind racing with different thoughts until finally, he blurted something out in his panicked state.
"So... I heard... you and Izuku Midoriya... have been friends for a long time..." Doppio grunted out, sweating.
Johnny was in a similar predicament. The two Stands were roughly equals, but Tusk had an edge in dexterity. Doppio cried out as Tusk's right fist began to rotate, twisting King Crimson's arm.
"Conversation will get you nowhere. If you thought it would get you some kind of advantage, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed," Johnny replied, callously.
"Just curious..." Doppio grunted as King Crimson glared into Tusks' rage-filled eyes. "If you're anything like your uncle, Giorno Giovanna... then it's clear you value your friends a great deal. But if that's the case, why... did you leave him with Kira?" Doppio asked, and Johnny froze, "That's right, I already know where those two are. He's been your best friend since you were kids... and you leave him with the serial killer-in-progress? Kinda stupid, don't you think?"
"I trust her," Johnny growled out, and twisted Doppio's arm further. The Spin had caused the somewhat burned flesh to twist, squeezing the former mafioso's wounds to force even more blood out.
'Using Time Skip wouldn't matter, not while I'm being restrained like this!' Doppio thought in a panic as he screamed in agony. 'Wait...I'm saved!'
King Crimson pulled its head back and rammed it into Tusks. The force of the blow was enough to cause Johnny to stagger back, loosening his grip on the former mafioso.
Doppio then dodged a steel ball and used King Crimson to wrench Johnny in between himself and an incoming attack from Ball Breaker. The green Stand immediately stopped its attack, and Doppio raised his Stand's fist to plunge it into Johnny's back while he was stunned.
'Hope you still have that wheelchair handy, Kujo! Your partner shouldn't have hesitated! His sentiment will be your undoing, just as Epitaph predicted!'
*CLANG!*
Doppio barely reacted in time as a steel ball knicked the back of his head, taking off his ponytail. Gyro had once again deceived him, he had ricocheted a steel ball off the wall behind the mobster and had used Ball Breaker to conceal the throw.
'HOLY SHIT THAT WAS CLOSE!'
"TURURURURURURURURURURURURURU! BOSS, I NEED HELP! TURURURURURURURURURURURU! PICK UP YOU DUMBASS!" Doppio screamed as he attempted to use King Crimson to escape, but Johnny had recovered and shot a nail bullet through Doppio's knee.
Ball Breaker punched him across the face, sending him flying into a wall.
He was bleeding profusely at this point. Whip lashes, a busted knee, burns, bruises... but if there was one thing about Vinegar Doppio, it was that he always thrived when he was in a pinch. Tusk terrified him to his core, and the intelligence and adaptability of the duo made it even worse...
In the face of all that, Doppio's expression became steely, determined.
'Stupid... why am I calling the Boss for help? I've already taken out three of them. I don't need him! What I need is to keep a cool head, even in the face of these two. They're both good, very good, so I'm not going to beat them by whining to a dead man like a little bitch!'
King Crimson angrily bashed Tusk's fist away and drove its fist into the other Stand's gut, while simultaneously kicking Ball Breaker in the face. Both of his opponents grunted as he forcefully separated them.
'I WON'T LET THAT KID DOWN!' Doppio thought as he activated a Time Skip. Epitaph predicted that they would both charge him at once, and that Gyro would hit high, and Johnny would hit low. This time, however, Doppio was wise to their tricks. He made sure that he was a good distance away before the Time Skip ended.
They hit each other. Since the Time Skip could only be perceived by Doppio alone, they had no idea that they were about to hit each other until it was already done.
As Johnny and Gyro both staggered back, King Crimson rose to its full height, its regal aura coming back in full force. Doppio had pulled the mental switch he needed, he was going to overcome them despite the odds.
Yoshihara whipped around and pointed a bubble bomb once she heard a noise, only to find Josefumi frantically waving his arms, "Woah! It's me!"
"Sorry... can't be too careful," Yoshihara replied distantly, Killer Queen slowly lowering its hand.
Josefumi huffed and sat next to his friend and the unconscious Izuku, putting his head in his hands, "The ambush failed... at least on my end."
"So the bastard that hurt Izuku is still wreaking havoc," Yoshihara responded, bitterly.
"Yes... Jirou is currently helping Josuke find a place to hide so Doppio doesn't take out our only healer. She ended up doing more damage than I did..." Josefumi said with disappointment, "As it stands right now, Johnny and Gyro are taking a crack at him, but it might honestly come down to you and me."
"We need to get Izuku to Josuke if that's the case," Yoshihara stated as an embarrassed and frustrated look appeared on the pompadour-haired Joestar, all the while the other simply smirked at his frustration.
"Damnit! I should've asked for Jirou's number! Or Josuke's! Now we don't know where they are!" Josefumi facepalmed.
"I can find them... probably," Yoshihara said as Killer Queen raised its left hand. The skull emblem popped off and formed into Sheer Heart Attack, "Go and find Josuke Higashikata and Kyoka Jirou, and report their location to me when you do."
The small tank was about to leave when Killer Queen held up a hand.
"Wait, you're too big, Doppio could see you."
Sheer Heart Attack shrunk down to the size of a coin and wheeled into the abandoned hallways of the school. Josefumi raised an eyebrow at his friend, and Yoshihara turned to explain.
"It's tiny because its goal isn't to detonate, it's merely a messenger. Jirou should hear it coming and go out to meet it, and then we'll be able to get their location," The blond narrowed her eyes and sat back down, "Hopefully under Doppio's radar."
Josefumi nodded and turned to look at Izuku. The OFA user was in a sorry state, having underestimated how far Doppio was willing to go. To be fair, the mobster was initially only using scare tactics... but nonetheless, Izuku paid for it. He looked over to Yoshihara, who had a pained look on her face when glancing over at Izuku.
To see pain on her face was rare. Come to think of it, to see any form of emotion on her face was rare. Pain even moreso. Even in their fight when they first met she never showed pain. But this was different. He chalked it up to it being a different situation and not wanting to show pain to what was at the time an enemy.
"Are you okay? I know it's a different version... but Midoriya is still Midoriya," Josefumi asked, concerned. Yoshihara clenched her fists, and unclenched them, her eyes showing the slightest bit of fury.
"If we didn't need that bastard alive, I would've sent Sheer Heart Attack after him instead. Izuku is the last person to deserve something like this," Yoshihara said, her eyebrows coming together in anger, "I hope Johnny gets payback, at the very least."
"If not, it's up to us... and if it comes down to I have an idea."
Kyoka's jacks perked up upon hearing the familiar sound of tank treads. They were faint, but her ears could pick them up with no problem. Motioning to Josuke to let him know she was opening the door, she peeked out into the abandoned hallways.
'That sounded like Kira's Sheer Heart Attack... but I don't see it. Why would she pull it out?'
"My user requests to know your location."
Kyoka blinked and tilted her head down to find a miniature tank on her foot. She lifted her leg until she was face-to-face with it, and titled her head, "Wow...that's...actually kind of cute."
"Location, now."
"Alright, alright... give me a second... I just had a pretty big scare and I'm not all there right now. We're in the old 2-B classroom, second floor... as of right now the fight with Doppio is still in the cafeteria, I've been listening in. They should be able to get up here without being noticed if they hurry."
"Understood, is there any more you wish to convey to them?" The Sub-Stand asked.
"Yes, take the vents... can you carry stuff?"
"I can."
"Good," Kyoka pulled out a small notebook from the inside of her jacket, and flipped it open, pointing at the page she turned to, "This is my notebook, sort of a lyric book/journal, I need you to take this to them. I drew a map of the ventilation systems and the hazards inside on page 34, it'll help them get here undetected."
"Understood."
Sheer Heart Attack wheeled away with Kyoka's notebook, and the purplette pressed her lips together and was about to go back into the classroom when a sudden thought popped into her head, "AND TELL THEM TO STAY AWAY FROM PAGE 50!"
King Crimson ducked under another attack sent to him via Tusk, then weaved behind another Steel Ball from Gyro, all the while Doppio jumped upward to avoid the secondary Steel Ball that had been sent toward him through sleight of hand. Both Johnny and Gyro sent nervous glances at one another. This had been the second time now that Doppio had avoided an attack sent by them without being damaged.
He was learning how to avoid them. Learning how to adapt. And now, it was clear he was looking for an opening. One that the two would not give him.
Because if they gave him an opening, it was game over.
Tusk went to drill a punch into Doppio's side, however, King Crimson caught the attack and gripped down on the fist. Hard. The resulting impact left Johnny with a completely broken hand, making him grit his teeth. Gyro tried to punish the attack by winding up another Steel Ball, only to get kicked in the family jewels by Doppio, which made him flinch and groan.
Although Gyro had been kicked in the balls a lot, it shouldn't have made him slip. Yet it did. And because it did, Doppio was able to grab the blond Italian by the face and slam him into the wall. At the same time, King Crimson kneed Tusk in the gut with a sharp impact, making Johnny spit up a glob of blood.
But Gyro and Johnny weren't about to go out that easily. Gyro grabbed Doppio's wrist and pulled in an attempt to knee-check the pink-haired mafioso. However, at that moment, Doppio Erased Time, harmlessly falling through Gyro and tumbling to his right.
"Idioti… Pensavi di potermi sconfiggere. Ti do un po' di credito, ci sei andato vicino. Ma ora... Adesso che mi sento più forte..." As he monologued to himself in Italian, he walked up behind Johnny, who was scrambling to turn around and attack him. Doppio adjusted himself to move slightly over to left along with King Crimson, that way he would avoid Tusk's punch.
At the beginning of all of this… ever since he had arrived here, he had 5 Seconds of skippable time. He assumed that it was because The Boss was gone, and he would've assumed correct. That was what these two had been banking on for their fight.
But now… he gained access to the original abilities full 10 seconds. All because he accepted the fact that The Boss wasn't going to be there to help him. It was funny how much The Boss made him weaker. But now that he no longer had to deal with that, he could finally become his own competent person.
And it was made all the better when Johnny's face morphed from one of stern confidence to one of confusion and concern as he frantically looked around him in a state of pseudo panic.
Because the tides were now in Doppio's favour.
Even as Gyro threw a Steel Ball over to his right, it didn't stop Doppio from having King Crimson raise its arm over the top of its head, its hand making a spear-like shape as a deadly gleam appeared in Doppio's eyes.
No more kiddie gloves.
No more mercy.
He was going to make sure Johnny Kujo was out of the picture for the rest of the time he was here.
King Crimson's hand fell at rapid speeds, and as the Time Skip ended, and as Johnny felt that familiar wave of confusion, King Crimsons' hand came right down on his left shoulder… and sliced through it, slashing his right arm off with a speed unseen from King Crimson before.
"YOU ARE NOTHING!" Doppio shouted with anger and ferocity so loud that it shook the building. Johnny tried his damndest to keep a level head, but the pain was too much. He had been shot, impaled, and been disabled before. But he had never had one of his limbs sliced off and stayed alive to feel the pain. The only time he had that happen to him was when Overhaul crushed him in half, and he had died as a result.
Had it not been for Eri, he would've stayed dead.
"JOHNNY!" Gyro shouted, anguish in his voice as he glared daggers at King Crimson and Doppio. "BASTARDO! TI UCCIDERÒ CAZZO!"
King Crimson kneed Johnny in the gut for a second time, this time with enough force to break the skin and shatter bone. Johnny once again vomited blood, but this time it was more than it had been before. The force was enough to send Johnny into Gyro, slamming the blond Italian with enough force to wind him completely.
Using a brief Time Skip, Doppio appeared to Gyro's right and had King Crimson chop his neck, blocking the blood vessels to the brain for just enough time to knock the irate blond Italian out cold. Johnny had also been knocked out via the gut check, which had been enough for Doppio to allow him to relax ever-so-slightly.
Without saying a word, the pink-haired man walked over to Johnny's arm and threw it at him. Before he walked away, he had King Crimson cover the wound with Johnny's sleeve and tied it up tight enough to stop the bleeding.
"Like I said… I'm not going to kill you. I don't want to disappoint the kid. But I never said maiming was not an option," Doppio said, looking down the hallway. He had to get rid of that healer. If he didn't, they'd be able to get back up in no time flat and go after him again.
Josuke needed to be knocked out.
Now.
Josuke watched his apprentice nervously pace around the room, mumbling to herself as she listened to the battle raging downstairs. Her face grew increasingly more concerned with every time skip, something that Josuke felt. "Hey... Kyoka, relax."
"I don't like not being there. I know I'd be a hindrance and a distraction, considering the power of our opponent... but the sidelines is literally the worst place I can be," Kyoka retorted, "I hate not knowing how they're doing."
Josuke sighed, and stood up, walking over to place his hands on his apprentice's shoulders. Without speaking a word, he pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back. Kyoka almost immediately returned it, squeezing her mentor appreciatively.
"I do too."
"Thanks, Josuke...you're the best..."
It was weird at first, knowing that someone looked up to him... but now Josuke truly treasured it. The teenage girl currently seeking comfort in his arms had become a daughter of sorts to him, and every time she made progress and overcame another hurdle... it felt even better than finally bringing Yoshikage Kira down.
Kyoka came to him for advice, and not just for hero work. He remembered how he vowed to shave his hair if Johnny didn't return her feelings, back when they were pining for each other. Granted, he already knew Johnny felt the same way...
Josuke would've shaved his hair regardless. His precious pompadour... he would sacrifice it for her in a heartbeat. He would do anything for his family.
Just then, a vent cover popped on the ceiling, and Killer Queen popped its head through. Upon spotting Josuke, the explosive Stand gave him a curt nod and began lowering an unconscious Izuku into the room.
Crazy Diamond took Izuku in its arms, and almost immediately used its power, restoring the OFA user's body. Izuku groaned as he sat up, and looked at the Stand currently holding him in its arms, "Oh... you got to me, that's good. Is Doppio defeated yet? Did you guys get my message that it was Doppio? ImeanIbarelyhadenoughtimetowriteitthebastardbrokemybackand-"
"Recovered from the brink of permanent disablement, and he's already muttering like Eminem," Kyoka quipped with a smirk.
'You know... maybe him being conked out for a while was a good thing. Imagine if he found Eri's dress before I did... this building wouldn't be standing.' Kyoka thought to herself, shuddering at the memory.
Yoshihara dropped down, followed by Josefumi. The blond put a hand on Izuku's shoulder, squeezing it, before moving to stand beside Kyoka, "Are those two still fighting?"
"Yeah... it'll probably take Doppio giving his all if he hopes to beat them. Not to say it's impossible... but together they can do some pretty serious damage," Kyoka stated, still listening to the sounds of battle raging below, "Even if Doppio manages to escape, I doubt he'll be in good enough condition for another fight, especially after all we did to whittle him down."
"I'd imagine he's feeling a bit anemic, considering how he was bleeding when I fought him," Josefumi agreed, "But this is not an enemy we should underestimate... he's powerful and intelligent, and that's a very dangerous combination."
"If those two can't beat him, how are we going to take care of him?" Josuke asked with a frown, "As deadly as those two are together, it's also a possibility they will lose."
"Kira and I have a plan that might work, but-"
Kyoka suddenly gasped and put a hand to her mouth, "NO!"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Josuke dropped to his knees, clutching at his shoulder as his eyes shot open. His breath came out ragged as he struggled to get back to his feet, "Johnny... damn it!"
Izuku ran over and put an arm on Josuke's back, worry plaguing the greenette's face, "What just happened?"
"They were defeated..." Kyoka whispered, her back turned to the rest of the group, "Doppio... I heard it, it happened in an instant... somehow, he managed to catch them off guard. I..."
"I know you're listening, Kyoka Jirou," Doppio's raspy voice came from the floor, causing her to shut her mouth as the villain addressed her directly, "You're checking on your boyfriend, I know you are. He fought well, never have I felt so desperate... not even when Risotto Nero attacked me... it's safe to say I'm burnt out."
"Kyoka?" Izuku asked, but the purplette raised a hand, silencing him.
"I've chopped off his arm, but the bleeding has already been stopped. I've made it clear I don't want to kill any of you... however, I've also decided that enough is enough. I can't... fight you directly at the moment-," Kyoka listened as the mafioso began hacking up a lung. Doppio was seriously wounded, that was for sure. Thinking quickly, she plugged the other earphone jack into a wrist amplifier and began playing the audio to everyone else in the room, "-but...I won't give up until I do what I came here to do. So... I've hidden Kujo's arm in one of the lockers in the East Wing. In other words...you want your precious little JoJo healed? Josuke has to come to me."
"Motherfucker..." Yoshihara breathed out.
"That does it," Josuke stood up, gritting his teeth in rage. Strands of hair from his pompadour were standing up as he began heading towards the door, "I'm done hiding!"
Kyoka, recognizing the signs of her mentor going into 'Berserk Mode', placed her hands on his chest and began trying to push him back, "Josuke! You're his target!"
"I. DON'T. CARE!"
Josuke grabbed the purplette by her shoulders, lifted her clean off her feet, and set her to the side... without his Stand.
"This is where I draw the fucking line! I'm not sitting on the sidelines while my nephew is being threatened! In case you all forgot, the fight with Yagiyama happened YESTERDAY! I CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH!"
"It's a trap!" Kyoka pleaded.
"I know! Johnny is..." Josuke paused, lowering his head. He was about to say that Johnny was worth the risk, but he'd be putting himself in danger, putting their entire effort in jeopardy, "...going to kill me if I actually went through with this."
Kyoka inched over to her mentor and took his hand, gently leading him back into the room, "I'm not saying that we shouldn't find his arm...but we should locate him too. I know where the battle took place... if you heal his body, the arm should return regardless."
"Doppio could be expecting that. The arm could be an obvious red herring, that way he can attack us when we go after Johnny," Yoshihara said, her eyebrows coming together in concern, "Perhaps... as cliche as this is... we should split up?"
"We're gonna Scooby Doo this shit?" Kyoka asked, and then she begrudgingly nodded, "Yeah... that might be our best option. Gyro must be hurt too, not as severely as Johnny, but going after those two is the most effective path for us to take...which is what Doppio would undoubtedly want."
"Then he can't be near the arm."
Kyoka opened a hatch on her wrist amplifier and tossed Josefumi one of her speaker bullets, "Here, this'll solve our little communication problem, I'll be able to talk to you through this."
"Got it Mo-Jirou."
The purplette groaned, still perplexed by whatever Josefumi was doing, but decided to just go with it, "Whatever... you and Kira still have that plan right?"
"We do," Yoshihara confirmed.
"Good, Josuke, I know you're my boss and all, but I'd recommend going after the arm like Doppio said. Izuku and I can go after the boys... Hamon does have some healing properties, so I think I can at the very least ease their pain," Kyoka said, gently, "If Doppio is there, he's injured pretty bad, and they can enact their plan to finish him off."
Josuke wrinkled his nose, but nodded, "Fine... it makes sense. I... trust your judgement."
With that, the four split apart to go find their friends.
Josuke stepped out into the East Wing, his eyes shifting from left to right as his footsteps echoed in the abandoned halls. It felt like the beginning of a Western showdown, as though his opponent would step out from around the corner on the other side of the hallway, hand on their revolver.
With the added bonus of it being a haunted abandoned school, that is. Maybe it was more of a horror movie.
"I'm here for Johnny's arm. I don't know why the hell you're doing this, or what Karl told you... but you've crossed a line... buddy," Josuke snarled, his hair once again standing on end as he made his declaration to the abandoned hallway, "So here's the deal: you let me heal my nephew, I'll see to it that you'll be healed as well... not fully, but enough to where the pain you're in will be bearable. That's the only mercy I can offer you, and believe me, I'm stretching."
Silence.
Josefumi already had Soft & Wet out, the anchor-shaped Stand cracking its knuckles as he surveyed the area, followed by Yoshihara and Killer Queen.
"Start opening lockers."
Yoshihara peeled one open, only to find a discarded purple sweater, "He was wearing this... Doppio, it's been torn to shreds."
"Not like it would've done him much good, Johnny and Gyro probably tore him to shreds before they went down. He's on his last legs... that's for sure," Josuke said, still glaring at the surroundings as he opened a locker, "I'd imagine the pain he's in must be unbearable."
"We're taking a huge risk right now... doing this..." Josefumi warned, "Doppio could be anywhere, and all it would take is one good hit from King Crimson on you, and we're all fucked."
"I know..." Josuke said, knowing that I serum I had something up his sleeve. If Doppio was truly in the area, he would need to believe they were unprepared.
"I found it."
The other two whipped around to find Yoshihara staring at a severed arm in one of the lockers. Without hesitation, Crazy Diamond went right for it while the other two guarded him from behind.
As soon as Kyoka saw that Gyro was sitting up, she broke out in a sprint, followed closely by Izuku, "Gyro!"
The Italian looked up, his face worn and bloody, but nonetheless he flashed them one of his signature grins, "Ah, I was afraid Doppio had a change of heart and was coming to finish us off. Good to see you up again Izuku!"
"How's JoJo?!" The greenette quickly asked.
"Eh... could be worse," Johnny mumbled from the ground, and he opened his eyes to glance at the other two, "Doppio said he hurt you."
Kyoka kneeled beside her boyfriend and kissed him, relieved to find that he was at the very least able to function, "Thank God he didn't hurt you as bad as Yagiyama did... I was expecting worse!"
"Thankfully... Gyro was one step ahead this time around," Johnny held up his reattached arm, and Kyoka took a step back.
"Wait... did... Josuke already send it back to you?"
"No? I had Zombie Horse with me," Gyro said, holding out a spool of familiar brown thread, "I was going to make a one-liner about how Josuke wasn't the only doctor in the house when we scare the shit out of that pink bastard with our inevitable second wind."
Johnny sat up, spitting up blood, "I still need him to heal the broken ribs though... Kyoka, why are you paler than usual?"
Both Kyoka and Izuku looked terrified.
"...was my uncle supposed to be looking for my arm? Doppio... left it... with me... oh no," Johnny began to realize the full gravity of the situation, his eyes widening.
Kyoka pressed a button on her headphones, and a microphone popped out.
The speaker in Josefumi's hand buzzed to life, catching the pompadour-wearing teen's attention.
"JOSUKE, DON'T HEAL THAT ARM! IT'S A TRAP!"
Josuke, who was watching the arm float around the corner, turned to the speaker in shock, "WHAT?!"
"JOHNNY HAS HIS ARM! THAT ISN'T JOHNNY'S ARM!" Kyoka screamed through the speaker, but by the time the other three realized their mistake, it was too late.
That's when time skipped.
In the hallway stood a glowing silhouette, its arm snapping back into place as it began walking towards them, "It was a desperate gamble... your nephew and his friend really messed me up. I knew that my next battle would be my last if I didn't do something about it..."
King Crimson manifested behind its user, posing triumphantly as Doppio, covered in shadows, continued.
"You were right, I was in a lot of pain... but I endured, just as I always have. I knew you were desperate to heal your nephew... so I severed my own arm, banking on that desperation."
"No..." Josuke breathed out as their opponent came into the light.
"I've already died once," A fully healed Doppio said, his brown eyes intense in their gaze as his body gave off a blood red aura, "So I was willing to take the risk. After all... I knew what came next. Thanks, Doc...I feel much better!"
There was a vicious tone to Doppio's voice. It was like they were encountering a demon, ready and willing to do anything to win. The now fully restored mafioso cracked his neck side to side as his eyes landed on Yoshihara.
"Yoshihara Kira… I've heard a lot about you. Same goes for Josuke 2.0." Doppio spat, narrowing his eyes. "Karl told me that Killer Queen is dangerous and that Soft & Wet is too. But nothing nearly compared to Tusk and Ball Breaker. If anything, this'll be a cakewalk."
And then, Time Skipped.
Neither of them had the time to react to it as Josuke felt pain surge through him. A first erupted from Josuke's side, taking a clean chunk of skin out from the source. Not fatal, but definitely harmful to his wellbeing. The next attack came swift, King Crimson punching the healer in the side of the face, knocking him out and sending him into the wall.
Josefumi and Yoshihara's eyes widened at just how fast he had been moving. And then, with a devilish smile on his face, Doppio glared at Yoshihara and Josefumi, a smile on his face.
"And now, The Doctor is down for the count. That leaves you two!"
-To Be Continued-