Doppio, Josefumi, and Yoshihara all stared at one another. Fear was in the air as the smell of blood reeked throughout the cramped hallway. Copper always had a distinct smell, noxious and vile like the ground it came from. Only it wasn't the ground on which this smell originated but from the blood of one Higashikata Josuke.
The main healer was down, Gyro undoubtedly in no real condition to continue the fight, and Johnny, who granted now had his arm back, was still reeling from several broken ribs—not that that kind of thing stopped him before. The fight with Yagiyama was proof enough of that.
In other words, it was a stalling game that the alternate universe Kujo and Kira were now supposed to play. If they could stall Doppio long enough, they might be able to give Kyoka enough time to use her Hamon to heal Johnny and Gyro to the point that they would be in fighting condition.
However, stalling Doppio seemed to be impossible, namely because of his ability. Epitaph was troublesome enough, but mixed with Time Erasure, it was terrifying. The blood droplet technique was good, but they hadn't re-cut their arms, and right now, they couldn't without outright showing Doppio how they were going to defeat him.
And what made matters worse, was that Doppio was calm as a waterfall. He had no sense of worry about him. Only conviction. A deep, dark conviction that almost looked like a bastardized version of Johnny's dark determination.
"So… Johnny and Gyro are still conscious?" Doppio questioned, catching the two off guard. "Damn, and here I thought I had dealt with them. Whatever. If I was able to top them in a heavily injured and anemic state, they stand no chance now."
No verbal response was needed as Kira summoned Killer Queen, its right fist coming dangerously close to Doppio's face, only for King Crimson to hook its arm around Killer Queen's. Then, the former Mafioso's Stand pumped its arm upward, dislocating Killer Queen's arm with its own, earning a pained grimace from the blonde.
Over to its right flank, Josefumi had Soft & Wet barrel down with a prepared Plunder Bubble, only for King Crimson to knee Killer Queen in the gut, making Yoshihara lurch forward, the blonde spitting up a large amount of blood before the titular enemy disappeared, the erasure bubble hitting Kira instead of its intended target, taking away her eyes.
"Kujo!" Yoshihara shouted, distress in her voice as Josefumi gulped.
His plan was falling apart already.
"On it!" The younger pompadour-haired teen shouted, deactivating his Stand's abilities. Kira quickly turned around and fired a bubble bomb behind Josefumi, which had been perfect, seeing as King Crimson was poised to strike the alternate Kujo.
The bubble bomb connected, making the crimson king seemingly trip over its own attack. Unfortunately, it hadn't been enough as while the Stand was falling, it kicked Josefumi in the ribs, breaking several of them in the process and knocking the teen into Kira, who slammed against the lockers.
"Not happening," Doppio said flatly, shaking himself from the explosion. He shook his arm a few times to make sure that nothing was broken. Luckily for him, the explosion only seemed to leave a burning effect and nothing more. Sure it stung, but it beat having deep cuts and gashes in his arm.
Josefumi slowly pulled himself up, a snarl on his face as he summoned Soft & Wet to his side. The white and purple Stand launched toward King Crimson, who simply batted it away with its superior strength and speed. Josefumi was knocked to the side, a tooth falling out as a consequence.
Kira tried to kick King Crimson's head, only for it to grab the leg with its opposite hand and squeeze, shattering the bones in both its and Yoshihara's right leg. The blonde grunted in pain, trying her damndest to not give Doppio the satisfaction of knowing that she was in pain, which only seemed to make the pink-haired man shake his head.
"You know, for someone related to a serial killer and even sharing the same Stand as said serial killer, you're kinda pathetic," Doppio spat, shaking his head. "You'd be perfect as an assassin. Had this been different, and had I rejoined Passione, I probably would convince Giorno to make you an assassin. But seeing as you're holding yourself back, and seeing as you're from an alternate dimension, that won't be happening anytime soon."
Josefumi didn't have time to think about what Doppio was saying to Kira as he prepared another plunder bubble. Kira was inadvertently distracting him, which was part of the plan! Even if it came late, he could still do it! He could still blind Doppio!
'I have to get rid of his vision! If I do that, then he won't be able to—'
Before his train of thought could continue, King Crimson's foot launched toward his head, banging against his forehead as he collided with a locker, the force enough to shake the wall and leave a head-sized dent in the lockers.
Josefumi was knocked out by King Crimson. Again.
And with no Josuke, he wasn't getting up anytime soon. Leaving Kira, who had a broken leg, a dislocated left arm, and wounded pride to deal with the mafioso.
"Like I said, not happening. Epitaph already predicted that he was preparing an attack. He was too slow anyway. Even if he got the chance to fire off that bubble, I would've been able to avoid it, Time Erasure and all that jazz," Doppio said, shaking his head. "Like I said. This will be a cakewalk."
The last thing Kira saw was King Crimson's fist aimed right at her face, and then, she blacked out.
Kyoka felt the Hamon from Johnny's body hugging her as she distributed her own to his wounds. The warmth put the both of them at ease, and it also helped mend his broken bones... just a little bit.
Upon hearing the quick defeat of her mentor, Kyoka leaned forward and put her head on Johnny's chest. Johnny grunted in pain and put his good arm around her. There was nothing but silence between the couple as they processed Josuke's defeat and what it entailed.
"H-how bad?" Kyoka finally asked.
"He wasn't maimed... he's been incapacitated with a blow to the head," Johnny replied, "Doppio let him off easy."
"He didn't with the other two..." The purplette muttered, "We're dropping like flies..."
"Gyro and I aren't out of the fight yet," Johnny replied and was about to get up before Kyoka gently pushed him back down. His girlfriend was giving him a look that said: 'Not yet.'
"That may be true... but there is no way you can fight him directly without proper treatment. Keep in mind I'm still new to Hamon, and it isn't like it's as good Crazy Diamond... you're fighting with a handicap until we revive your uncle."
Johnny sat up and turned to watch Gyro as the Italian patched himself up with Zombie Horse. Gyro caught his eye and grinned, a double meaning in his eyes.
"We won't be fighting him directly... at least not without caution. He's in perfect health now... we're not. So... I propose we break something that he can't recover from, at least... not until it's too late," Johnny said, his gaze turning steely.
Kyoka searched his eyes for a moment, recognizing a look she knew all too well, "You know his weakness... you know how to beat him."
Johnny nodded, "His ego. He was boasting about how I was 'nothing' just before he defeated us, and making snide remarks whenever he took one of us down. It's safe to say... since nobody here can currently confront him directly... we need to take him down a peg instead."
"Crush his ego first, then his bones," Gyro agreed, "Then... we squeeze the answers out of him like pulp."
"That was needlessly graphic Gyro..." Izuku muttered.
"Everything we do is needlessly graphic, Izuku. My arm still isn't fully attached, I'm holding it on right now," Johnny retorted, "Thanks for numbing the pain Kyoka... I can feel my wound closing up."
"Of course," the purplette replied, and leaned forward so that their noses touched. She then got to her feet and brushed herself off, "So... we break his spirit. That could work, and we'd be keeping our asses safe for the most part... but mental damage can only do so much. We've got to knock this fucker out."
"That's where you come in Izuku," Johnny said and pointed towards the silver chest plate on his childhood friend's hero costume.
"Thriller's energy... I'm afraid it activates whenever I'm seriously hurt, so I may have used some of it when I was unconscious. Considering I only have a limited amount..." Izuku checked the capsule located on his chest, frowning at the sight of a dim red light, "I can only heal someone for about two or three seconds before the suit is out of juice."
"If only we were in Musutafu... you could stop for a recharge," Kyoka muttered, "Then again, we have enough going on, the last thing we need is for the Necromancer's doppelganger to start talking our ears off."
"Heal Josefumi, he had a plan, he just hasn't had an opportunity to enact it," Gyro said, "From what Johnny was saying, Josuke can recover from the wounds Doppio gave him. Kira can be healed when Josuke wakes up, but Josefumi obviously has a way to defeat Doppio... so he needs to be revived first."
"In other words... you're gonna be on your own Izuku," Kyoka warned her friend, "The three of us will keep him busy, so it's up to you to get this on track."
"Of course," Izuku said, clenching his fist. This was his way of making up for his abysmal failure at the beginning of the attack, he was going to make sure that this would lead to their victory if it was the last thing he did.
"Good," Johnny turned to his girlfriend, "You have a location?"
"He's leaving the East Wing now... he's heading back here, probably to knock you two out again," Kyoka responded as she heard Doppio chuckle to himself, as well as his footsteps, "Let's take this cocky bastard down a peg, once and for all! It's time for some payback!"
Izuku dashed off using Full Cowling, while the other three awaited Doppio's arrival.
Doppio and King Crimson peered into the cafeteria hallway, only to find no one inside.
"Huh... looks like they could move after all," the mafioso said calmly, "It doesn't matter, Kujo is missing an arm, Zeppeli isn't doing much better, Jirou is useless, and Midoriya can't catch me off guard... if they managed to heal him."
"You should've left Eri out of this."
Doppio paused. Eri. That name. Was that who that dress belonged to? He honestly had no idea who or what it was for. Karl mentioned only using it if absolutely necessary. But then again, at the time, things were desperate. He was still in a weaker mindset, and he needed to do something to catch them off guard.
And it seemed it did the trick, especially considering how it was Kyoka Jirou's voice that was echoing throughout the hallway. Doppio couldn't help but smirk at her frustration and rage. Even if it was petty, they had put him through hell. Why not jab at them some more? "Have you come to try and beat me again? After your previous pathetic attempt?"
"If it was pathetic, Johnny and Gyro wouldn't have made you cry for Diavolo like a little bitch," Kyoka taunted, still unseen, "I... and my friends, made you sweat."
The pink-haired mafioso growled. Things were starting to get annoying. But, credit where credit was due, he had to acknowledge the truth. "I won't deny that you've proven yourselves more capable than I took you for, but it's over!" Doppio spread his arms wide in challenge, "You have no hope!"
"There's always hope... for those who deserve it. You certainly don't. What you did... with that dress... you're fucking cruel, you know that? You had to have known how much that little girl means to us!" Kyoka snarled in response, her voice dripping with venom, "I could forgive you for the shit you pulled with Susan's ugly ass clothing... but Eri? You've crossed a fucking line!"
"First of all, I don't even know who that brat is! And second, what're you going to do?! What are you going to do to me Jirou?! I'm in perfect health, and I've abandoned my need for the Boss and his guidance! You stand no chance!" Doppio declared and checked Epitaph...
Nothing.
"You have no idea what we're capable of," Kyoka said ominously and went silent.
That's when Doppio saw something that made his jaw drop, "No.. .it's not possible..."
Johnny Kujo was standing in the doorway, flexing his arm with an intense glare on his face, "Hello Doppio... you actually thought you had beaten me, huh?"
"That's... no, I took out Josuke...there's no way you could've healed yourself!" Doppio took a step back, confused, "This can't be possible!"
"Words like 'impossible' and 'useless' mean nothing to us," Johnny responded, his lips turning upwards, mocking Doppio with a grin, "We've done the 'impossible' before... you're just another obstacle to us."
Epitaph gave Doppio a vision of Tusk coming in for an attack, and he quickly activated a Time Skip as the massive Stand barreled towards him. Doppio simply smirked as Tusk went right through him.
'Really? An all-out attack such as this? There is undoubtedly some sort of deception to this... Kujo is way too cautious to be reckless like this. So...I'll just close the distance!'
Doppio sent King Crimson to chop both of Johnny's arms off this time, moving at a speed too fast for Tusk... which Johnny had foolishly sent away from himself, to protect its user.
Only...
'What...WHAT?!'
King Crimson's hands had gone right through Johnny as if he wasn't even there.
Then, Tusk's fist slammed into the back of King Crimson's head, hard. It was almost a full-powered punch, and Doppio's face slammed into the ground from the devastating blow, cracking the tiled floor.
Everything became fuzzy for the mafioso as he fought to stay conscious, and as he whipped around, crab-walking backwards...
He found that, by all accounts, Johnny was gone. Vanished. Disappeared like a ghost would when it's done messing with someone.
"Che... cazzo? CHE CAZZO?!"
"Seems 'impossible', doesn't it?" Gyro's voice taunted, "Where did he go? Is he a ghost? Or is he just better than you?"
"You've... got to be kidding me," Doppio staggered to his feet, glaring, "You must seriously be desperate if you're resorting to insults and parlour tricks."
"No... no, I'm pretty sure you're just pathetic," Kyoka said, giggling, "You're strong Doppio, but let's be honest here... you can't compete with us. The only thing you were ever good for was sucking Diavolo's dick."
That struck a nerve.
"I WIPED THE FLOOR WITH ALL OF YOU!" Doppio snarled, "I HAVE OVERCOME YOU ALL ONCE, I WILL DO IT AGAIN! YOU ALL ARE NOTHING!"
"Really? I'm... pretty sure we're still fighting. You saw it yourself, cutting off Johnny's arm was meaningless. You can't claim to have defeated us when we're far from defeated, it just makes you look like a presumptuous brat. Go ahead... try and beat us down again if you want, we always get back up," Gyro said as he appeared at the other end of the hallway, "Diavolo and his version of your dick are gone, so it's pointless to tell you to go fuck yourself... but go fuck yourself anyway Doppio."
"KING CRIMSON!" Doppio yelled, and once again brought about a Time Skip, this time he used it to observe the Italian. Gyro appeared to be real, made of flesh and blood, by all accounts, he could attack him, and Gyro should take the hit.
'But... what Kujo pulled back there... that wasn't normal. He somehow reattached his arm without Josuke's help, and I couldn't hit him, he attacked me from behind! What if Zeppeli is doing the same thing?!'
The Time Skip ended, Doppio had assessed the situation, that was all he needed to do. He was clearly being baited into a trap by the taunts.
"You were going to pull the same trick Kujo did. You both are on the same page after all... soon I'll figure out how you two are-"
*BAM!*
Kyoka Jirou's fist slammed into his ear, releasing a burst of sound directly into it. Doppio's head rang as a head-splitting pain travelled through it, and he fell to the ground, screaming as blood began squirting out of said ear and onto the floor.
By the time he was up again, both were gone.
Blood dripped down his fingers as Doppio put a hand to his ear to assess the damage, "You bitch... you... you blew out my fucking ear drum!"
"Makes it harder to hear us coming, huh?" Johnny's voice responded, "Don't worry, we're leaving the other one intact... so you can hear us laughing at how unbelievably incompetent you are."
"As if we'd ever be afraid of Diavolo's errand boy," Kyoka said with another laugh, "Weren't you calling me 'useless' just a moment ago? Because the wounds I gave you earlier and your ear suggest otherwise."
"Weren't you boasting about victory too? Didn't you say we didn't have a chance? Cause right now we're 2-0, you haven't hit us once!"
"If you're trying to bully me into submission, I hate to disappoint... but you're just making me angrier," Doppio warned, "I won't give up...and I am not going to take it easy on you. By the time I'm done, I'll sever all of your limbs! You'll be rolling around like potatoes by the time I'm done with you three!"
"You're adorable," Kyoka said through her speakers, and Doppio snarled as he began searching for them, nothing but hatred in his eyes.
"You will all regret belittling me!"
"You belittled us first, the only difference is that you're the one that deserves it," Kyoka retorted, "At least I don't have to turn into a dominatrix to seem threatening."
"SHUT UP!"
The three heroes, currently holed up in a vent, smiled at each other. They weren't underestimating Doppio at all of course, but it was clear that their words were starting to get to him. Doppio's ego was on the line, and he was being humiliated, battered and bullied by children.
Sticks and stones can break his bones, but at the end of the day, words hurt far worse.
Izuku, much to his own annoyance, was missing out on belittling Doppio. Honestly, he wanted to, just to show him that he could overcome the injuries that had been dealt. However, he was equally important to the overall plan, and that was to bring Josefumi back to the land of the walking.
He made sure to be quiet. The last thing he wanted was to attract Doppio. It would ruin their side of the plan.
He saw the pompadour-haired teen in the distance. He was lying on his side, unconscious and blood streaming from the side of his head. He looked over to Josuke and gulped. He had a small section of flesh by his abdomen ripped off, and the side of his head bloodied.
'Not Josuke, but Josefumi. We'll get Josuke up after we get Josefumi up. Jirou can heal him enough to wake him up using Hamon.'
Izuku walked up to Josefumi and placed a hand on him, activating Thriller's energy and sending it into the alternate universe Joestar. The boy groaned to life, looking up at Izuku and smirking.
"Oh… heya… uh, thanks," Josefumi said, sitting up as he rubbed the side of his head. "Damnit… I hope I didn't—"
"It's okay. It was the last of Thriller's energy anyway. I used some to heal my wounds as much as I could. Mr. Higashikata did the rest. As for you, we need your plan. Now."
"Midoriya, with all due respect… It's not going to work… he's too fast. I can't get past his Epitaph. Whatever plan I had, it's pretty much useless right now, I—"
"Don't say that!" Izuku interrupted, keeping his voice down, but being loud enough to stop the teen from talking. "Look, Doppio's getting restless and I have this really bad feeling in my chest that something horrible is going to happen if we don't do this. Besides, I believe in you, and we're all counting on you" Izuku said, an honest smile on his face as Josefumi bit his lower lip.
He had felt low. Twice his plan failed. Twice he had been knocked out by Doppio. But the saying was 3rd time's the charm for a reason. He looked up at Izuku, and with a determined look on his face, he took the boy's hand and used him as a crutch to help him get up.
"Alright. If you say so. Here's the plan: Johnny, Gyro, and Kyoka have to lure him to the cafeteria by any means necessary. Taunting is preferable. Using the vent system would be the best way to do so. Once in the cafeteria, distract him for as long as you can, and when you have him caught off guard, I'll have Soft & Wet shoot a bubble at him, removing his vision. Without his eyes, he can't use Epitaph, and he'll be down one ability. Then, when he's panicking, I'll pummel him into a pulp before he can activate his Time Erasure!"
As Josefumi explained his plan, Izuku absorbed all the information. It was a good plan, and if it worked, they would be able to tie him up and get the information they needed. If his estimations were correct, the plan would work as planned.
This time, they weren't going to fail.
"Let's go. We have a lot to set up," Izuku said as the pompadour-haired teen nodded, looking over to Josuke.
He might've been out, for now, but he knew that once Doppio was down that Gyro could help him. After all, if his Gyro was a wonder doctor with Zombie Horse—which he knew the Italian to have—then Josuke would be fine.
"JoJo! Doppio is listening!" Kyoka said flirtatiously.
"I can't make moves on my girlfriend anymore?"
"We're in a battle!"
"You call this a battle? It's more like a public stoning. The guy has zero chance... so... I don't see why we can't slack off a little bit?"
Doppio was seriously about to blow a gasket. They were seriously flirting without a care in the world, as if he didn't pose them any threat. He had one of the strongest Stands in the world, a Stand that ruled over Passione with an iron fist... there was no way he was being so casually dismissed!
Kyoka's giggling was really pissing him off.
"GET A ROOM!" The mafioso hollered, rage evident in his voice as he shouted, which only made the two snicker.
"For shame! What a vile thing to do... hating on young love such as this?" Gyro chided his opponent like a child, further stoking Doppio's fury.
"You all must have a death wish...! Did you forget how you all failed when you stood against me?! My power is greater than yours!"
"My PoWer iS GreAteR thAN YouRs!" Gyro mocked right back, "You're like... Diavolo... but if we bought him at a thrift store."
'Don't respond... they're trying to provoke you.' Doppio thought to himself as he surveyed the abandoned hallways for their next attack, 'Keep up your guard... do not be disarmed! Playground insults won't work on me, it's all just a desperate ploy to distract me, I know it!'
"You do realize that we're kids, right? You've been getting your ass beat by kids," Kyoka said from behind him. Doppio turned around and glared...
She was actually there, her hands on her hips as she looked at him with a playful smirk, "Had enough yet? How many times do you think you can knock us down before you realize that we're always going to get back up?"
"You doing that thing again... the transparent thing..." Doppio said, turning to face her, "Are you actually there, or is this some lame parlour trick?"
"Says the guy who basically fell for it twice," the purplette responded, casually examining her support gear as if the villain wasn't directly in front of her.
'This is an illusion again!'
Doppio checked Epitaph... and he saw a steel ball hitting him in the back, and Kyoka attacking him from the front with her jacks. Tusk's fist was...
Already through with hitting him?
'WAIT!'
"ORA!"
A sickening crack echoed throughout the hallway, which was made worse by the echo. A gold-plated fist smashed into Doppio's abdomen, just short of rupturing his diaphragm. Johnny was getting payback for Kyoka.
The punch was followed up by Gyro's Steel Ball and seeing as he had checked the future too late, Johnny had already gone through with his attack... and thus the Steel Ball slammed into his back, all while a certain purplette faded out of sight...
A jack whipped Doppio in the side... the same side he had wounded Josuke.
The attack to the back...
They were giving him the same wounds as their comrades, this was calculated and deliberate. They were punishing him for his transgressions against them through mockery and deception, and now he was bleeding again, his spine was cracked, and he had several broken ribs.
Doppio couldn't even retaliate... they were already gone.
"Awww, are you gonna cry?" A taunt from Kyoka had made him even angrier than before. Doppio's pink hair stood on end as King Crimson began ferociously attacking everything in sight, ripping apart the walls and appliances in a rageful attempt to locate them.
"Ha! Diavolo would've killed us by now!"
"SO COULD I, IF I HADN'T PROMISED THE KID!" Doppio roared, "HE IS THE ONLY REASON YOU'RE STILL BREATHING!"
"Really? Damn... and here I thought it was because you're a complete joke," Gyro replied.
"I'M. NOT. A JOKE!"
"You still don't get it, do you? The reason we don't take you seriously is exactly that: you're a joke. You called us 'nothing' earlier... but people will remember us. Will people remember you?" Johnny asked.
Doppio plucked a small speaker out of the wall, glaring at it intensely, "Yes!"
"No, they remember Diavolo. He's the big bad villain, you're the guy who makes the funny phone noises. You were always overshadowed by yourself! You're a side character in your own fucking story!"
Doppio crushed the microphone with pure rage. He could hear them laughing, and it started to make his blood boil. He wanted to kill them so badly that it was almost tempting. Unfortunately for him, he was too damaged to do that anymore. He no longer had the edge, and if he tried, he would've been killed in a far more painful way than he had been when he was still fighting Bucciaratti and the others.
'Damnit! Goddamnit!' Doppio thought, King Crimson thrashing around destroying lockers, breaking walls, and shattering the tiles. Rage was a powerful weapon, but when it was aimless, it was pointless.
What made it worse was that… they were right. He hated how much they had been right. Doppio had always—ALWAYS—been in Diavolo's shadow. No matter how much he tried to be his own person, Diavolo would put him back in his box and never let him try and do anything.
And when he tried to make a name for himself, they were reminding him of that box. They kept comparing him to that monster—because he was. Apparently, he had a daughter. A daughter he never got to meet because Diavolo wanted her dead. He didn't even know her name. It was heartbreaking. And to be compared to that monster…
"Don't compare me to that monster." He muttered, slowly standing up. His back hurt, his body ached, and he was bleeding all over the place, but since when did that stop him? "I'm not him. I will never be him. And I know that."
He had no idea if they were hearing him. If they were, they were probably laughing and cracking jokes. It stung his pride, and as an Italian, that only pissed him off more. Only, he had nothing to be proud of. The only thing he had to his name was King Crimson—Diavolo's sloppy seconds—and those stupid phone noises.
And in a way, so long as he thought about it like that, he could think about a way to put them down. To ignore them. To push past them.
In the back of his head, he remembered something that Diavolo told him one day when he was feeling down about himself.
'Don't forget, my dear Doppio. You are above the world. You are above them all simply by knowing me. And because of that, you have a power that is meant to rule the world! With me by your side, we can rule the world!'
'Except, you're not here anymore. Now It's all up to me.' "I'm going to do the one thing that Diavolo never did. I'm going to protect that child from you bastards. I'm not gonna let you kill him, you hear me!"
And with that shout, he made his way to the cafeteria. He had to cauterize those wounds of his. If he didn't. he was going to pass out.
"He thinks we're trying to kill Karl?" Johnny mused, scoffing, pulling himself out of the vent and into the classroom where they had gotten into the vent from. "The only person I want to kill is him."
"Unfortunately, we can't," Gyro replied, fixing his hat before crossing his arms. "He has Karl's location, remember?" As Zeppeli said that, Johnny let out a defeated and agitated sigh.
"He makes a good point. He's heading for the cafeteria. It's where Josefumi wants him, so let's get ready to back him up. He's going get there before we do, so we better pick up the pace," Kyoka stated, making her way out of the room the three had been held up in.
Kyoka had to admit: she was new to creating auditory hallucinations and hadn't expected them to look as lifelike as they had. But it did the trick. They never once set foot in front of that asshole. Tusk was sent there from underneath the floor, and the Steel Ball had been thrown through one of the vent shafts. She did the same thing with her ear jacks. She extended them through the vent shaft and whipped him in the back.
'Course, now that he was heading for the cafeteria, they couldn't continue the keep-away strategy. They needed to actually confront him, and hopefully, it was when Josefumi took his eyesight.
As they made a run for the Cafeteria, they could hear Doppio cursing and groaning. Intercepting him was a bad idea, so they waited for him to go by. They were on different floors, but Kyoka could hear him from a distance. As such, she prevented Gyro and Johnny from going past her.
"You think his plan is going to work?" Johnny asked as Kyoka nodded. It needed to work. Because if it didn't, then either Doppio was going to die, or someone here was. Just because Doppio was getting weak, didn't mean King Crimson was.
"As strange as he's been acting as of late, I believe in him," Kyoka said, a small smile on her face.
The group of three stormed down the stairs of the second floor and watched as Doppio's shoe stepped past the threshold of the Cafeteria. And at that moment, just before Doppio could activate Epitaph to check his surroundings, something slammed into Doppio's head, and the distinct popping sound of a bubble reverberated around the Cafeteria and hallway around it.
'Did he… already have it set up?' Kyoka thought to herself as the group of three stepped behind Doppio, who wasn't moving purely out of sheer confusion and shock at the fact that what had happened had happened.
And in the Cafeteria, sitting on one of the benches in front of the entrance, one leg over the other and a smug grin on his face with his Stand right behind him, Josefumi Kujo spoke, putting a finger up to his lips.
"Shhh… Soft & Wet. When my soap bubble touches something and breaks, I take something from there. I took the sight from your eyes. Your eyes are mine," Josefumi said, a confidence in his voice that reminded Kyoka of Johnny in a familiar way. Josefumi was a Kujo after all, and being a Kujo made one a Joestar.
Doppio let out a guttural scream as his eyes shrivelled up and fell out of their sockets. No blood came out of the holes where the eyes once were, which made it even stranger. A part of Johnny wanted to recoil at the sight, but he saw worse from Tonio and his Pearl Jam.
Izuku launched forward from the shadows of the kitchen, and tackled Doppio, knocking the air out of him. Doppio wrestled the ninth wielder of One For All off of him, but all that did was help Izuku get what he wanted. The green-haired teen kicked him with Full Cowling in his back, knocking him toward Josefumi and into his range.
King Crimson summoning to his side, Doppio panicked, throwing a punch with King Crimson, only for Josefumi to move his head to the left and avoid the punch, which smashed into the tabletop to his right.
Doppio activated Epitaph, but couldn't see anything.
'WHAT THE FUCK! I SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THE FUTURE! WHY CAN'T I—'
That was when it hit him. That was when it began to make sense.
'I can't see the future because that Josefumi brat stole my vision! They weren't just taunting me! They weren't just getting payback for what I did to them! They were herding me to the cafeteria to get my vision stolen by him! SHIT!'
His eyebrows raised in fear, and just as he was about to Skip Time to avoid and recoup, Soft & Wet sent a brutal punch his way, hitting him straight in the chest and winding him.
And when the first hit landed, another one came after it, and another, and another. It wasn't what he had been doing before, it was at full power. For humiliating him two times over, for hurting his friends, and for almost killing the man he looked up to. Even if this Johnny wasn't his father, he looked enough like his father that it made him vibrate in rage at what Doppio did to him.
And if there was one thing that one never did, it was to harm a Joestar, from another dimension or otherwise.
"ORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAARA! ORAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
With the final punch, Doppio was launched into the wall behind him, the wall breaking under the weight, force, and speed that which Doppio was launched into it. Johnny looked over to Doppio, then back to Josefumi and smirked. "Wow… I mean, I kinda wanted to do that, but I guess you beat me to it."
"Well, it doesn't matter now…" Josefumi said, standing up from his seat. "Midoriya, get some rope from the gym and tie him up on a chair. Gyro, I know you got that Zombie Horse on you. If you can use that to heal Josuke's wounds, I can splash his face with cold water and wake him up, then he can heal everyone else to full health," the alternate universe Kujo said, earning a smirk from the friendly Italian.
"Already on it."
And with that, Gyro left the cafeteria as Izuku went to grab some stray rope from the gymnasium. Josefumi felt a sense of pride. He had actually done something useful, and now, he could gladly say that he put his weight's worth into contributing to helping get to Karl and stop the calamity that was this crazy crossover.
Doppio's mind raced as he slowly opened his eyes. He could see the floor… he could see rope tugging his body tight to a metal chair, and as he looked up, he saw… everyone.
Josuke was standing tall and proud, his eyes full of anger and rage. He was still hurt with bandages wrapped around his forehead and waist, but it didn't deter him in the slightest. He saw Kira fully conscious and sitting down on one of the benches, also fully healed. He saw Gyro, arms crossed and eyes narrowed at him. He saw Kyoka and Johnny standing side by side, both glaring at him. He saw Izuku, healed completely from his crippling, and sitting in the center was Josefumi, one leg crossed over the other with a smirk on his face.
Everyone was back to full health. He felt a little bit better after the beating, but that was it.
'If I can—'
"Don't even bother," Yoshihara interrupted his thoughts before he could formulate a plan. "Killer Queen has already turned you into a bomb. You make one wrong move, and there'll be nothing left for you to bury."
Doppio heard the finality in her voice and watched as Killer Queen had its thumb hovering gently over the top of its hand. "Go ahead, make my day," Kira said darkly, nothing but apathy in her eyes as the mafioso grimaced. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he moved, he was doomed. If he unleashed his Stand, he was doomed. If he did anything that wasn't what they wanted, he was doomed.
"I… I guess I don't have a choice in the matter, now do I?" Doppio grunted out, reclining his head back against the chair. "Well, you caught me. What do you want? Are you gonna kill me? Are you gonna sell my organs to the black market? Whatever you want, get it over and down with."
"Stop the dramatics," Johnny spat, glaring at the former mob boss. "We want to know where Karl is. We want you to bring us to him. You do that, and we'll let you go," the cowboy said, earning a scoff from Doppio.
"And what? Let you kill him?! What are you, mental?! I'm not telling, leading, or doing shit when it revolves around that kid, I—"
"We don't want to kill him," Izuku interrupted, sighing. "He thinks that because one of the people he brought here before you said that was what we wanted to do," Izuku clarified, shaking his head. "We're heroes, not murderers. We only kill if we absolutely have to, or if the enemy is trying to do the same to us. Karl is scared, but so are we."
Doppio couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, really! You think for one second I'm going to buy that poor excuse! What do you take me for, a fool! Lots of people say they don't want to kill someone, then they turn around and do it anyway!" The pink-haired man snapped back, shaking his head. "Honestly, you all would suck as interrogators…"
"Vinegar," this time, it was Josuke who spoke and used his first name too. That got his attention. There was a hint of seriousness in his voice, not like there hadn't been before, but this was different. "The lives of over 16 billion people are laying on your shoulders. If we don't find Karl and get him to deactivate his Stand, both our, Josefumi's and Kira's universes are going to collide and kill each other. Do you really want the blood of two worlds on your hands? Or would you rather lead us to Karl so that we can stop this disaster from happening?"
Doppio's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "That's… that's not possible! There's no way that's possible! A Stand can't be that powerful! I—"
"Gold Experience Requiem can bend time and space to its whim. King Crimson can predict the future and erase time. Tusk can make someone's body spin at the cellular level through any universe no matter what. Do you really think Karl's Stand can't do that? If he brought you back from the dead, do you truly think that's not out of its capabilities, purposefully or otherwise?" Josuke asked, crossing his arms.
"Face the facts, Doppio. We need your help. Please? I know we've put you through the wringer, and you did the same to us, but we would like it if our worlds didn't eat shit and die, thank you very much," Gyro stated, looking at Doppio in the eyes. "In nome di Dio e dell'Impero Italiano, se ci aiuti, ti risparmieremo."
Doppio looked down at the ground, let out a sigh, then looked back up to Gyro. "Va bene... Slegami e guariscimi così posso camminare, e tu hai fatto un patto." As Doppio said that, he looked over to Josuke and nodded his head toward the pink-haired man.
"He said he'd help. Heal him so he can walk," Gyro translated as Josuke summoned Crazy Diamond.
"Don't try anything funny. Remember, I'll kill you if you do," Yoshihara warned, earning a sincere nod from Doppio.
"I'm not stupid. I know when I've been beaten," Doppio replied as he felt a wave of replenishment wash over him. Afterward, Josuke untied him, and as soon as he did, Doppio stood up, kicked the chair over, then motioned for the rest of them to follow him.
The walk wasn't a particularly long one. But the location was definitely an eerie one:
The Kira Residence.
"You gotta be kidding me. He's holed up in Yoshikage's old house?" Josuke said, shivering out of reflex. "Creepy…"
"This is where Karl is," Doppio stated as he glared at the place. "Come on, before he leaves and we can't stop the merger," Doppio said as he walked forward, pushed open the door, and saw the boy standing in front of a portal by the doorway.
"Karl! Please, stop this! Deactivate your Stand, I—"
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Karl shouted, interrupting Izuku as he hauled his ass through the portal, vanishing from sight.
"Quick, after him!" Johnny shouted as the group of eight did as they were told, launching themselves toward the portal. And as soon as they entered the portal, and as soon as it shut behind them, everything that had been brought with Kira and Josefumi was now being moved back to where it belonged, people included.
However, the OWSAN store, as well as a few other knicks and knacks were also transported with the rest of the group. And once the group of eight tumbled out of the portal, they were surrounded by a crowd of people spanning 100 feet long and 16 feet wide. But Karl was not in the sea of people that the portal had spat them out and into.
"Where did he go!?" Doppio shouted, looking around the place.
"No idea!" Yoshihara snapped back.
"Why'd you follow us?!" Izuku said, the noise of cars honking and people talking amongst one another almost drowning him out.
"YOU SAID TO FOLLOW HIM!" Doppio replied, earning a sigh from Josuke.
"Doesn't matter now, you're stuck with us till we find Karl," Josuke said as Kira's eyes honed in on one building that stuck out to her. One that made her eyes go wide.
"Guys… I know where we are," the blonde-haired stand user said, a sigh of both relief and concern worming its way through the loud noises. The building that she was staring at was her home. Love Love Deluxe. "We're in my universe."
-To Be Continued-
If you thought this was over, you're far from the truth. This IS a crossover, after all, it wouldn't be fun if we were stuck JUST in Dounthair's universe, now would it be? Hope you guys are just as excited as both me and Dounthair are because this will be a bit of a doozie. Yours truly – DeathlyJazzHands55
Yep, we're entering Act 2 baby! Old enemies from JoJo's past, Doppio is now stuck with the gang, and the characters from my universe are now in unfamiliar territory! One thing's for sure...this is gonna be nuts! I hope you all are enjoying it, because it's been a blast to write so far!
-Donuthair5618