With a beret on his head, a baguette in his hand and Romero sitting on the floor scratching his ear, Kotaro starts the meeting with a tender sniff of a baguette. "Ahhh~ Merci~"
As everyone contends with Kotaro going French for his act this morning, monsieur Tatsumi leans to Ai's ear and whisper some words in French. "Bonjour, Saga jeune."
"Huh?" Ai, as usual, is a little put-off from his act.
"Saga jeune..." He repeated.
"Tsk. Yeah, yeah, I'm a Saga jeune now, I guess." She complied reluctantly.
"How are you in any way a SAGA JEUNE!"
メッギャン
Kotaro suddenly shouted before whacking her head with the baguette. In response, Ai snatched the baguette and swung it back to his face with enough force to split the baguette apart and sent Kotaro kneeling on the floor with his back turned to them.
ドボォオ
"What is YOUR PROBLEM?!" Ai exclaimed angrily to the producer muttering "dirt" while picking them in his hands.
"You know, if Polnareff is here, he wouldn't like you acting as a Frenchman. I hope you're not making a mockery of him." Kakyoin speaks on behalf of his old friend.
"You better not make an Italian impression that fall short of our features." Bucciarati warned, with Narancia and Gyro agreeing.
"Americans as well." Johnny added.
"And Egyptians." Avdol agreed with their thoughts too.
"I GET IT, GEEZ! Do I look like I'm willing to mock other races, huh!?" Picking himself up, Kotaro proceeds with the main topic of the meeting. "Listen up! None of you are even close to cutting it as Saga jeunes yet! Like a bunch of hick zombies using your sleeves to wipe your snot! However! I've found a way for even you to become Saga jeunes who can compete with even Parisian jeunes!"
"You are gonna participate in the Gatalympics!" Kotaro announces, flipping the board and revealing the phrase, ｢Entering the Gatalympics｣!
"Holy crap... The Gatalympics..."
They heard Saki mumble. Said zombie is covering her face before revealing it to be brimming with tears flowing from her eyes. Everybody is wondering why she is crying, with Sakura remarking, "Are those... tears of joy...?"
"Anyone can participate in Gatalympics, right?" Lily stated.
"And what even is Gatalympics?" Ai inquired.
The former biker is in disbelief everyone hasn't know about Gatalympics, seemingly another one of her favorite things when she is alive. She's happy to hear Kotaro bring it up during the meeting but not for her fellow zombies. "Unbelievable... You guys ｢FAIL｣ at SAAAGAAAAAAAAA! AGAAAIIIN!"
After she is calmed down, everyone watches the video showing participants playing various sports while having to withstand the mud-covered playing field. The viscosity and texture of a mud ensures that players will be swept by the splashing mud and waves and getting covered in them.
"It's not even glamorous or colorful, isn't it?" Junko commented on the nature of Gatalympics.
"People participate in this event?" Narancia asked incredulously.
"Lily don't wanna join!" She pleaded.
"SHUT IIIIIIIITTT!" Shouted Kotaro, who is now showing a t-shirt with katakana and rainbow printed on it. The katakana reads, ｢Furanshikoshiko｣ and the design overall is garish and tacky. Sakura, Kakyoin and even Mamezuku certainly thought so.
"That's the most ugly-looking T-shirt I have ever seen." Lily snarked with a forced smile and piercing eyes.
"You are all going to be entering the Gatalympics wearing these shirts." Kotaro answers with a straight look.
As Yugiri pokes her fingers to get a response from an unresponsive Junko hanging her head low, Saki, ignoring the lurid design of the shirts or being focused on the idea of participating in the event, asks, "When?! When are we doing this?!"
The answer is obvious. Again. "RIIIIIGHT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"
In a girl's changing room, Franchouchou is dressing themselves up using the t-shirts Kotaro designed for the event. They are not the only ones who are joining as Kakyoin and his companions are joining with them too. At first, they tried to tell Kotaro they didn't want to join due to the nature of the event, but the producer wouldn't budge with his decision, stating that the boys are in this together with the girls when it comes to saving Saga. As such, thirteen of these zombies are to participate in different sports while dealing with the prospect of getting covered in mud in no time. Most of them will not like it but they have to do it for the sake of Franchouchou's popularity and in turn, Saga's.
Putting on the garish t-shirt and recalling the mud aesthetic of the event, Junko recalls something about wearing it. "Wearing these clothes reminds me of the swimsuit-only athletic competitions they used to have."
"You were actually in those?" Ai asked, wondering if she had done modeling.
"I-I made sure not to pop out, though!" She quickly responded, her face becoming red.
Having expressed her disgust of the shirt's design early in the meeting, Lily is not looking forward to wearing it for the duration of the event. "I seriously hate this." She speaks her mind over it.
"It's for the sake of advertising. You'll have to bear it." Yugiri told her. She is confused compared to some of them disliking it but because it is required, she will allow it for this specific circumstance.
Saki doesn't say anything as she is busy doing warm-up exercise. She has to make sure her body doesn't falter when it's her turn.
Tae attempts to wear the shirt but she is having difficulty doing it or she doesn't quite get it. Sakura has to assist her, telling her, "No! Tae-chan, quit squirming!"
As the girls prepare themselves, Rianima is already done preparing to wear the shirt in a boy's changing room. Since Avdol, Bucciarati and Gyro are among the biggest of them, their shirts are larger and fit their bodies. It appears Kotaro is mindful of their sizes and suits the shirt for their needs.
While they are (not really) looking forward to participating in Gatalympics, the only one who isn't is Johnny... because he's not gonna participate due to being unable to walk properly yet. In fact, he is smiling at the thought of not joining them, only sitting in the sidelines to watch them play. He still has to wear the shirt, though that is a small compensation compared to the thirteen wearing a sport outfit consisting of the T-shirt and pair of shorts while he gets to keep his normal clothes.
"Good luck guys. Hope all of you do a good job." Johnny told everyone, not daring to hide his cheeky smile totally-not directed at them.
"Here's hoping. Such a shame you didn't get to join Johnny. I'm sure it's gonna be fun participating with us together." Despite looking forward to the event, Gyro lets out a nervous laugh instead of his signature "Nyoho!", as if he predicts he's gonna mess up.
"Well, with my legs feeling stiff and my movement limited without the use of cane, what choice do I have?" He replied.
"...Guess none. I bet you're happy you only get to watch with that stupid shirt on you whereas thirteen of us have to participate." Narancia asserted, stretching the shirt with a displeased face.
Nail Jockey smirks in response to Plane Kid's statement. "I am."
"Lucky you." Kakyoin sighs. He takes a glance at Avdol, who is not wearing his robe outside when he's going to sleep. Like Narancia, he is also displeased. "Say Avdol, how does it feel to not wear a robe? Does it feel weird?"
"Actually, I would like to wear it in order to cover the shirt as much as possible." Avdol told him with a sigh. "But because it will get dirty, I have no choice but to endure the uncouth event."
"Uncouth is right. I wished Kotaro would let us wash ourselves properly." Kakyoin lamented.
"I think washing from a hose is enough. Also, it's not like we're gonna stink as a zombie."
"Having to maintain the façade of being alive though must not be forgotten."
"Well, I'm glad to have my hat stay. Having to wear something else other than my outfit feels weird." Mamezuku stated, who is wearing a shirt and shorts for the event. He tried to put the shirt on top of his normal clothes, but Kotaro forced him to wear something related to sports.
"Alright. If everybody is done, let's head outside. We must apply to the event before the application closes." Bucciarati ordered, who is also not wearing his normal clothes.
As if on cue, the megaphone built on a pole turns on and the announcer speaks through it, notifying any of those interested to join before the entry closes. Everyone proceeds outside to get their entries except Tae and Sakura, the latter looking for extra T-shirt to cover the ripped Tae did when she attempted to wear it.
"Okay! We can't have you ripping another one so let's put an extra layer on." Sakura told the feral zombie, holding a white T-shirt for her. Hopefully, this will cover the bandages Tae has that could raise questions to her.
And hopefully, nothing can go wrong getting an extra T-shirt.
As an entertaining sporting event watched by many spectators hanging on their seats, it's no surprise there are many audiences in the Gatalympics eagerly waiting for various participants taking part in many games. Their shouts and murmurs buzz around the venue, giving the event a lively atmosphere that can be felt in everyone.
Among the spectators, Arata Okoba and his assistant, Inubashiri are watching in the sidelines separate from the spectator seats, instead sitting under a canopy. The assistant is taking pictures of anything that can be used for the papers when he catches a glance of Franchouchou in the distance. "Huh? Aren't those the girls from that commercial?" He brings Okoba's attention to the seven girls found among the other participants. Their six bodyguards are also found standing beside them too, seemingly on the lookout for anything suspicious. Curious of the girls and the boys who all look like they came from a fashion magazine, Okoba brings binoculars to his eyes to inspect them. "Oh? Did one of them catch your eye, Okoba-san?" His assistant joked.
"I am not ogling them, idiot." He responded in a raspy tone, ignoring him as he looks at the boys first, taking note of an adult wearing a bomber hat, a cowboy-looking Italian, two female-looking Italians, the Egyptian man and a man with a noticeable noodle-like bang. Shifting his eyes to Franchouchou, specifically Sakura and Junko, Okoba has a feeling he had seen them somewhere before...
Meanwhile, Kotaro carries Johnny to an open seat located at the top that can give them a good view of the entire playground. The jockey attempted to climb up the bleachers with the help of his cane, but Kotaro, thinking he would have trouble climbing up using only a cane, insisted on having him carry Johnny to their desired seats. Already bearing a dislike to the producer for his annoying attitude and shouting tendencies from the start, Johnny initially refuses his help, telling him he can get to his seat by himself. Kotaro is not having it and they argued, attracting the spectator's stares over the sight of a suited sunglasses man and a flamboyant jockey arguing over walking up the benches. If the argument continues, no doubt anyone may get the wrong idea.
Eventually, Johnny relented to have Kotaro carry him after he insisted for the third time, now aware of the stares they are getting. He has to swallow his pride if he wants to get this over with.
"There we go! We got ourselves a nice view of the playing field to keep an eye on the girls and boys!" Kotaro exclaimed propping his butt on the seat next to Johnny after carefully putting him down. "Now that's not so hard, is it? I'm glad you didn't drag the argument for too long when everyone is looking at us funnily."
"I only let you because we are getting nowhere with our argument." Johnny grumbled, keeping his eyes on the field.
"Well if you just agreed to me immediately, none of that would happen!" He told him while folding his arms.
"Or you just let me get to our desired seats instead."
"...You know the audience will look at you weirdly, right?"
"So? It's not like I mind what they are thinking of me."
"Not sure if you are stubborn or nonchalant. Or both."
After that conversation, the two keep quiet as they look at where their comrades are. Thanks to them sitting on top of the seats, they are given a good view of the entire playing field, which has boardwalks erected above the mud. While Kotaro is familiar with the nature of the event, Johnny obviously isn't and to find out what exactly the sports entail, he just has to watch it unfold.
And see his friends possibly mess around covered in mud.
"...Hey, Johnny."
"What?" Johnny turns to him again, somewhat annoyed he broke the silence between them and thought he was going to bore him again.
"I just remembered." He began. "About your legs..."
"Yeah...?" He folds his arms and leer at him.
"Remember when you found out you have limited movement on your legs without using a cane and you interrogating me rather harshly when you see me as a mysterious man who has knowledge of you and the others and possibly getting you almost paraplegic?" He reminded him.
Scrunching his face at the memory, Johnny snorted, asking, "What? You wanted me to remind you of that day I saw myself struggling to stand up without this cane?"
"Not in the sense of making you remember it in disgust, no." Kotaro has his hands in front of him to placate Johnny.
"Then what is it?"
"...Johnny. The Stand User who I still can't remember told me that you will be ｢able to walk properly again｣, after some months have passed."
"Huh? What did you say?" Johnny had his full attention to Kotaro when he told him he would walk again after a long time.
"I mean it when I said that," Kotaro assures him. "When you were...not woken up-" He whispered the phrase as to not let anyone hear it. "-you were crawling around instead of standing up and walking normally. There are times you did try to stand up and walk but it didn't last a minute before you got back crawling on the ground. At first, my unknown friend thought of making you regain the use of your legs but then, he finds out you will be able to walk without issue for 4 – 6 months. Perhaps this has something to do with you getting...brought back to the living world or my friend retrieving you from a different reality. In any case, the user told me that you will be able to walk again in 4 – 6 months."
Johnny must be hearing things. Turns out that him being almost paraplegic is only a temporary condition he has due to the complications between his death and resurrection. He finds nothing wrong with him being in an alternate universe that looks unfamiliar on the surface but even then, it did contribute to him being unable to walk. And just hearing that he is able to walk again after many months is like a dream come true to him like what he endured during the race getting Gyro's attention and learning the secrets of the Spin in order to walk again after two years spent using a wheelchair.
There is one thing he doesn't understand though. "I see. Guess I was fated to use my legs again but..."
"But...?" Kotaro seems surprised he has some reservations of what he told him.
"Why didn't your friend regain the use of my legs? If his ability, or has the ability, to let me walk, why didn't he? That is something I can't... fathom." His arms are folded again as he became annoyed at the thought.
"Trust me Johnny. I tried telling him even after he found out you will gradually use your legs these coming months but after a convincing argument of how you are capable of as a paraplegic, I... can't help but agree with him. Also, I am a bit curious about how you conduct yourself using a cane. Apologies if you don't my explanation satisfactory!" He bows to him with his hands clapped together.
Letting out a sigh, Johnny states, "You're right. I'm unsatisfied..." His frown turns to a small smile at the fact it is just a temporary condition. "Still... Hearing that surely helped ease my mind, even having to just endure my condition a while longer. Besides, if I was still a whiny and problematic man who views himself as ｢less than zero｣, I would have tried to get out of the mansion together with Gyro. I'm thankful to have changed into a better person after my entire ordeal. In fact, now that you have said it, there are times I am almost willing to let go of my cane because I am standing up normally. Could it be that what your friend said is true?"
"Yes! Absolutely! I mean, why should he keep it quiet? It sounds cruel if he kept that info to himself, y'know?"
"Heh. Guess you're right." For once in his undead life, Johnny has a smile directed at Kotaro, being grateful he told him. While he would like to stay away from the obnoxious producer as much as possible, it makes the meeting between the two less awkward.
Seeing he is in good spirits, Kotaro directs his eyes to the playing field after informing him of his temporary condition in response to his dismissive attitude, something that he doesn't hold him against for since he understands his response to his personality.
As the two went on to watch the opening of the Gatalympics, a woman sitting behind them, two benches apart, happened to overhear their conversation, despite keeping their talk as quiet as possible. Wearing an outfit inspired by the Victorian era with a gothic touch, her attire consisted of a long-sleeved black blouse with silver buttons, red-edged collar and sleeve ends covering almost her entire hand that hung loosely at the waist or hip along with two pointed edges, pleated red skirt reaching down past her knees, black pantyhose and black, high-heeled boots. The most noticeable part of her aristocratic-like clothing is her black hood with a red underside, fastened on similarly black capelet that reached down below her ample breasts and covered her upper back and shoulders. Her attire would surely catch anyone's attention because of the striking contrast between red and black and her enigmatic eeriness.
The hooded woman, whose mouth and chin are only shown, has been listening to them whisper the whole time while her eyes focus on the event down there. The two didn't notice her sitting behind them and even if they did, they did not have time to see her there because the event is about to start.
"And here we have the headline event of the Gatalympics, ｢Mud Biking｣!" The announcer proclaimed that the time for Gatalympics is starting. "Competitors ride down a narrow path on a bicycle!"
A female announcer standing on the boardwalk speaks through a microphone so the participants have their eyes for someone on a bicycle beside her. "First, we have a member of the Saga PD here to demonstrate! Care to comment?" She brings the microphone near the policeman's mouth. The same policeman Sakura, Ai, Junko and Gyro encountered the other day.
"Well, y'know, today... The uh, every day... peace..." He lets out, looking like he's nervous even though he isn't.
Junko and Ai are outright nervous when they recognize the policeman while Gyro keeps a cool head as the female announcer says, "All right, let's get this started!"
With the bang of a gun, the policeman proceeds with the demonstration, showing him riding a bicycle on a narrow walkway. Balance is the key for this sport, so he doesn't reach midway through when he falls on the mud rather comically. "Okay! That's all there is to it! Good luck, everyone!"
After laughing at the policeman's expense, Saki is the first to participate, confident that she will wipe the dust off of her opponents due to her skill in being on two wheels. With Sakura, Kakyoin and Avdol's blessing, Saki is ready to take the first place of Mud Biking.
Whether riding a motorcycle doesn't translate to riding a bicycle well or the sport is really that hard, Saki hasn't reached midway through when she fell on the mud.
"...Seems like Mud Biking is harder than it seems." Avdol guessed.
"Or Saki was overconfident that she forgot balance is the key..." Kakyoin added.
"...There's no way we can win this." Sakura expected with a concerned look.
Sure enough, Sakura's words ring true for the next races, as Ai shoves her face on the mud when the bike ran on the mud, Avdol's stature and inexperience force the bike he's on to tumble and dirty him, Junko screams when she fell, Narancia and Mamezuku didn't fare better, Yugiri and Gyro haven't gotten far when they fell the moment the gun is shot, Bucciarati's urge to not use his Stand for cheating spell his doom, Lily gets her front splattered in mud, Tae sink in the mud like a cartoon character while still riding the bike surprisingly, Kakyoin didn't keep his balance and plummet to the mud and Sakura, despite almost making it, is the last to get herself covered in mud.
In the end, everyone is covered entirely in mud from head to toe, standing beside each other with looks of disappointment, dismay and indignation. Looking down at the T-shirt covered in mod, Sakura states, "You can't even tell what's on the shirts now."
"To be honest, I saw this coming." Ai admitted.
"BLEEUGH! Aw man! I got mud in my mouth!" Narancia spits out excess mud out of his mouth in disgust.
"This is humiliating..." Kakyoin said while covering his face.
Seeing them utterly fail, Kotaro could only hit his head softly with his tongue out while Johnny shakes his head. The woman, on the other hand, tilted her head over what she has watched.
Making their way to the cleaning station outside the restroom, they wash the mud off their bodies with a hose. They're so inclined to get the gunk off their body and shirt, that when they turn off the hose, they see their make-up has washed-off too. Their horrified expressions should tell you the trouble they are in.
"I knew it. Washing the mud off would mean our make-up washes off too." Mamezuku said, the only one who didn't dare use a hose for cleaning his body. After two mud-covered kids pass the thirteen zombies while narrowly missing them just a tiny bit, he then says, "What now? You can't let anyone see all of you as zombies."
"YOU COULD HAVE TOLD US BEFORE WE USED THE HOSE!" Narancia shouted, shaking a smiling Mamezuku angrily while everyone else huddled up together wondering what they should do. Under Mamezuku's guidance, the group found cones and buckets for them to use and conceal at least their faces. Emerging from behind a food stand, the group quickly scamper when a dog barks at them, holding the rim of the cones and buckets as if their lives depended on it before discarding them and diving on the mud, covering their entire body again.
Once that is done, everyone retreats to the spectator seats, feeling more embarrassed that they almost got caught as zombies and getting the mud on their bodies again.
"...This is kind of heartbreaking, isn't it?" Yugiri sums up their reactions in her words.
"What's our next contestant's name?" They heard the female announcer say.
"Uh... Kotaro Tatsumi."
"Eh?" "Huh?" "What?" They exclaimed in surprise over Kotaro being a participant for the Mud Biking. He is speaking to the announcer while seating on a yellow bike as Sakura yells, "Kotaro-san?!"
"What is he doing there?" Kakyoin wonders aloud.
"And why isn't he wearing one of the shirts?!" Saki pointed out.
"Can we hear your thoughts going into the race?" She asked.
"Perhaps he can talk about you girls? He is your manager after all." Avdol guesses with a hopeful smile. Everyone thought so as well, that is until Kotaro, in contrast to his boisterous attitude, has this to say in a rather meek tone.
"Uh... I'm...gonna do my best..."
"Anything else?"
"Uh, nope.
"What the hell?! Why didn't he say something about you girls!?" Narancia exclaimed.
"Well, his ass is gonna end up covered in mud! Let's all laugh at him!" Saki said, wishing to see him blunder after not mentioning the idol group.
"On your marks... get set..."
With the shot of a gun, Kotaro and the other racers start pedaling. The group are watching him go, most of them looking forward to seeing him fail like them. To their surprise and confusion, Kotaro didn't fall off his bike and managed to score first place in the race. The spectator cheer for the smiling producer while the group has dumbfounded faces over the sight of Kotaro winning.
"...We certainly look incompetent compared to Kotaro." Bucciarati remarked.
Seeing him cross the finish line without difficulty, Johnny spares a glance at the mud-covered zombies with a bewildered look, stating, "Guess all of you fail at riding those things..."
The woman tilts her head again over seeing Kotaro passing the game with no mistake unlike the mud-covered group.
With Mud Biking done, the next competition is ｢Mud Tarzan Swing｣. As demonstrated by the policeman, this game has players swing on a rope to achieve maximum distance and strike flashy poses. They are judged by the, well, judges, which they gave the policeman two 3s and a 2 as an example. In theory, getting to swing on a rope for spectators and judges to see can help raise popularity for Franchouchou thanks to the T-shirts but if they do so, they will be showing the world that they are zombies.
Watching the demonstration behind the railing, Junko laments that they are covered in mud. "They're not going to be able to see the T-shirts anyway."
"That's true." Saki concedes.
"Johnny is wearing the T-shirt though." Gyro reminded.
"He's not participating with us so it's not enough for advertisement." Mamezuku added.
"If we can make it over there, we might be able to manage something." Yugiri pondered on their one more attempt to reach any potential fans of Franchouchou.
"Hmm... How about that podium?" Kakyoin direct their eyes to the podium occupied by three participants, who appear to be interviewed by the newscast. "Do you think we can say something if we get to stand on first place?"
"...Yes. That might actually be the best way of reaching the crowd." Ai likes where Kakyoin is going.
"Sounds good! Let's aim for the top!" Saki is eager to achieve first place for the sake of advertising.
"It's the only choice we have!" Sakura agrees.
With everyone affirming the plan with a nod, the group make their way to the rope in the hopes of earning a place on the podium. While being in first place sounds better, getting a second or third place is the safe bet they have if they get to be interviewed.
Ai is the first one to try swinging the rope, with Sakura believing she can do it. After a deep breath, Ai jumps off the stand she's on...
...and plummets to the mud below without ever going far.
"That's a distance of 5 meters and 20 centimeters! That amounts to nothing!" The announcer exclaimed to Sakura, Yugiri and Lily, who all looked impassive.
Blushing out of embarrassment and indignation, Ai glances to the group to salvage something and says, "Say something..."
The second one is Junko, who is quivering at the height she found herself in. "T-This is h-h-higher up than I-I thought..." She remarks, gripping the rope tightly. Because her hands are covered in mud and she is leaning despite her apparent fear, the rope ended slipping out of her hands and Junko falls to be met with the mud. Her score is 1, 2 and 2
Bucciarati is up next and after inspecting the swinging distance and what kind of pose he is showing, starts swinging his way through the air. When he has achieved enough speed and height, he lets go before spreading his arms as he looks up in the sky with the sunlight beaming down on him. Everyone is dazzled by his pose that makes him look like a soul ascending to Heaven as Bucciarati makes a graceful but uneven landing that almost makes him fall. Cheers and clapping were what he got in response to his attempt and the judge scored him a 3, 4 and 3.
"Impressive. Bucciarati-san did a great job for the swing." Kakyoin smiles at the capo walking to the top.
"...Maybe there is hope for any of us to get the first three places?" Sakura believes in this prospect.
"If we do an impressive job." Gyro told her.
"Alright! Let's get to the tooooooooooooooooop!" Saki is determined to make her words come true, figuratively and literally, especially the literal part as she swings up high in the air...and didn't achieve any forward momentum as she fell on her back. She got a score of 2, 3 and 3 and her distance is just three meters. The group could only offer collective sighs (except Tae, who is eating takoyaki).
"You're supposed to jump forward..." Lily muttered.
"WHOOOOOOAAAAAAA!" Shouted Avdol as he makes a swing. He certainly didn't expect the swinging to be this intense due to the speed he was gaining. As he tries to set his mind on what the game is about, he almost fails to notice he is at the end of the swing. Acting quickly, Avdol made a futile jump as the rope went backwards and because the momentum carried him, he didn't get far and made an impact on the mud. "Oh dear... This is not what I thought this would go..." He bemoaned, catching his score of three 2s.
"Alright... Here comes Gyrooooooooo!
Gripping the rope like he's holding a horse reins, Gyro holds his hat on as the breeze rushes past him from the descent and momentum he is going. He was about to strike a landing when the rope slipped out of his filthy hand, and since his other hand was holding on to his hat, he didn't get to hold again.
"Uh oh." What Gyro muttered before he plummeted to the mud below. "WAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He got 2, 1 and 3 from the judges. Seeing this, Gyro mutters a curse under his breath. "Dammit."
Yugiri is up and, with a shout of encouragement from Saki and Narancia, (to Lily's and Kakyoin's painful ears), the courtesan manages to impress the group and spectators by striking alluring poses for each three consecutive swings. Once she's done, everyone erupts in cheers for her ｢impressive｣ way of swinging and even got three perfect 5s from the judges. That said, she didn't achieve any distance, so her points are still low.
"Here I go! Magical...Shooting Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar...!"
For Lily's part, she wraps the rope around her petite body before she swings with the encircled rope letting the spinning Lily go as she gets some distance before landing on the mud with dazed eyes and smile. For her attempt, she got a 5, 4 and another 5 while the announcer commends her for the distance she got. She is placed in fourth place though.
"AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Narancia made a distinct yell as if he was swinging on a jungle vine while swinging through the air with his muddy hands on the rope. The thrill of the swing and being caught in the excitement and all is such that Narancia didn't pay attention to where he is going, especially when his eyes are closed, and his hands are slipping from the rope. When he opens one eye, he gets a split second of panic before he faceplants on the mud, making a trail behind. "OAAUGGH!"
"Narancia!" Bucciarati shouted, looking at him with a surprised and concerned look.
"Oh my. I believe I saw his face plant with his mouth open." Yugiri winced out of sympathy.
"BLAUGH! Uuuugggghhhh! Not again...!" Narancia spit mud out of his mouth while receiving a score of two 1s and a 3.
With the knowledge of Hierophant Green and what it is composed of, Kakyoin hasn't faced any difficulty doing the Tarzan swing, jumping off at the apex and striking a pose. While the distance was not much, he got three 2s for his effort.
Mamezuku similarly has no difficulty swinging away and achieves a satisfactory distance. Jumping off the rope, he does a couple of somersaults and strikes the landing with his arms and hands wide. The spectators clap in response, netting him a score of 2, 3 and 3.
With her being last, Sakura's eyes are closed as she grabs the rope with a steady posture. The breeze blows through her hair as she opens her eyes with her face sporting a determined expression. If I believe in myself...then I can fly. I have to... I have to ｢win｣ this!
Sakura jumps off the platform as Saki and Kakyoin cheered for her.
"FLY! SAKURA!"
"YOU CAN DO IT SAKURA!"
With her two close friends encouraging her, Sakura believes she can fly as she stars swinging through the air...
バシャッ
...except that didn't happen. Instead, she makes a hard drop on the mud face first.
"A total bellyflop! And her score is... 1! The lowest score of today's games!" The announcer exclaims to the puzzled group, who are all not believing their eyes of seeing Sakura failing the swinging epically.
"That gotta hurt." Lily only has this to comment on.
"Yeah, that's not impressing anybody." Saki remarked.
"How did she mess up so badly...?" Kakyoin wondered in dismay.
As everyone contemplates their dismal showing or unable to achieve the top three positions, the announcer makes a curious statement over the last participant for the mud swing. "Huh? We've got someone with a unique style on the stand now."
Wondering who he is referring to, the group turn their eyes to one Tae Yamada holding on a rope, who is already off the stand and hanging on without difficulty.
"Tae-chan?!" Sakura exclaimed to the zombie.
"How did she got there without us noticing?" Bucciarati asked in surprise.
Number Zero starts swinging to build up speed and momentum, emitting grunts with every swing while the group follow each sway. Feeling she mustered up enough speed, Tae makes an incredible descent through the air that sends the rope to a high enough height for her to let go of it, carried by the momentum she built up. As everyone's eyes are set on her, the sunlight got bright enough that Tae is obscured...
...which is fortunate because Tae's head, arms, and legs teared off her body.
"AH!" The group cried out in unison, summing up their horrified reaction upon seeing Tae split apart.
The disembodied Tae plops on the mud as the spectators, announcers and judges are wondering what just happened. "Woah, that's... What the? It's...hard to tell because of the sun. What... What just happened...?"
While everyone is confused, the group quickly make their way to Tae in panic, pleading and hoping no one didn't saw what happened when Tae was in the air. "QUICK! WE MUSTN'T LET EVERYONE SEE SHE'S A ZOMBIE!" Saki shouted. After running across the boardwalk and swimming in the mud, everyone made it to Tae and attached her head, arms and legs back. The assembled zombie raises her arms in triumph with her companions hyperventilating out of panic and energy exerted while the announcer commends their display of teamwork.
"And so we're here to interview the winner! Let's get a word from her right away. How do you feel right now?"
With Tae making a surprising act of achieving first place, something Bucciarati lamented that made them really incompetent, the zombie is being interviewed over her thoughts of the event. With the gold medal shimmering on her neck, Tae groans to the microphone as she is unable to formulate her own words at all. The group watches her continue making unnatural groans, with Saki stating, "So much for advertising..."
"For sure." Lily sighed.
"Errgh. Ehhgg. Aagh." She continues grunting.
"I wonder if she got too much mud in her mouth to be able to speak? In any case, that was an amazing jump! Congratulations." The audience clap for her first place while not paying attention much to her odd sounds and gestures.
"Well, what's done is done." Ai accepted the fact that they tried their best. Seems like they won't be reaching far in getting Franchouchou's popularity to the entire prefecture. Just then, Sakura remembered giving Tae an extra T-shirt. Seeing that the T-shirt is covered in mud but not the T-shirt underneath it, Sakura relays this to the group.
"Really? Then, that means..." Seizing one more chance to advertise Franchouchou, Kakyoin stands up and shouts to Tae, "Tae-san! Tear your shirt, please!"
Apparently hearing him clearly, Tae rips the dirty shirt with her hands...
...to reveal a ｢Drive-in Tori T-shirt｣.
He and Sakura are left speechless over the sight of a T-shirt made for a restaurant instead of an idol group. Their silence transfers to everyone as they process the T-shirt Tae is wearing. And then...
"Oh! Eh-oh-oooooooooh!"
With the jingle playing in the speakers as they recognize the woman who did a rooster call in the commercial, the audience continues cheering for the still crowing zombie except for the others, who all looked defeated and downtrodden, with Kakyoin and Sakura taking it too hard.
"Aaaaaggghh...!" Sakura lets out her frustration over wearing Tae with the shirt, knowing she's at fault for choosing the wrong shirt.
"Darn it! We were so close!" Kakyoin lamented with his hand on his face.
Clapping with a big smile, Kotaro has only two words to say over this unexpected scene: "｢Nice Bird｣."
"Nice bird?" Johnny repeated, also dismayed at the apparent failure of advertising Franchouchou. "You're saying that when everyone's efforts in promoting Franchouchou are all for naught?"
"Nope! It's not!" He responded, still bearing a smile and clapping.
"And what makes you say that?" He asked with one eyebrow raised.
"Really!? How come you forget it!?" Kotaro leaned to his face in agitation.
"What did I forget!?" Johnny shouted back in irritation over him unexpectedly leaning close.
Composing himself to prevent Johnny's wrath and everyone's unneeded attention on them, Kotaro stands up straight and says, "Franchouchou starred in the latest commercial Nail Jockey. The way I see it, we got the girls some advertising even if they failed."
"The commercial...? Oh yeah." Johnny sees what Kotaro is getting at. While Franchouchou doesn't get advertised at all, having Tae be recognized as the woman in the commercial could lead any curious observers to know who the girls are. Granted, it is perhaps not much promotion for the fledgling idol group but it's better than nothing.
"Now you see it. Well then! Let us embark! Our friends below are perhaps waiting for us!" Pleased that Johnny sees why he remains upbeat despite the supposed failure on the surface, Kotaro picks Johnny up by his arms. "Whoa! Hey! Warn me first before you carry me! And let me step down by myself! I don't need your-"
"No time for small talk! Let's go to your mud-covered mates below!"
As the peculiar duo left, the hooded woman watches them go. She sees that the man in shades and the flamboyant paraplegic are related or acquainted with the ones covered in mud.
"It appears... It is just what I suspected..." She stands up, continuing mumbling to herself. "Those fourteen people employed under that man are ｢zombies｣. I have only come here to relax and enjoy the game unfold after the search for... for ｢him｣ yielded no result. I did not expect to see them here to participate, albeit poorly, but it's a good thing I did as I encountered three of them in that hotel without them seeing me.
"I will continue keeping my eye on them. Their appearance here in Saga is possibly connected with the presence of enemy Stands causing trouble and following them as we speak. Perhaps, then, that having them on my sight will take me one step closer to finding ｢him｣. All I can do for now is hope."
After she is done speaking to herself, the woman ｢vanished｣ completely. Everyone didn't see her disappear, meaning not a single soul came to suspect of who the woman is.
Meanwhile, Okoba has his binoculars in his eyes again to observe the group carefully. His assistant takes pictures of them being interviewed, commenting, "They sure are an eccentric group. I don't think I have ever seen a group like them before."
After eyeing them for a while, Okoba lets out a gasp when he recognizes the shy blue-eyed girl. "That's it! I remember now!"
"Remember what?" The assistant asked.
Putting his binoculars on again, he takes a glance at Junko with an inquisitive look before concluding, "I must keep my eyes on those thirteen and investigate them, especially that girl." As if feeling someone being watched, Junko's wary eyes turn to somewhere else.
To be continued
Onomatopoeia:
メッギャン (Meggyan) - Baguette striking someone
ドボォオ (Dobouuuu) - Baguette striking someone back hard
バシャッ (Basha) - Painful faceplant
*sigh* Why does the second batch of Stone Ocean has to release during Fall season? While I may tolerate a batch release, seeing I have to wait for at least 6 - 10 months before I can watch episodes 13 - 24 is something I can't comprehend. What were Netflix thinking?
...
Ahem. Forgive me for my little rant there. Just need to blow some steam after hearing the second cour of Stone Ocean is releasing many months for now and how profoundly disappointed and frustrated I am. Well, at least us JoJo fans got the All-Star Battle remaster to look forward to. Speaking of which, I find it amusing that the game and second batch are releasing during Fall this year. Regardless though, guess I have to endure the wait before I can watch the second part of Stone Ocean...
Anyway! This chapter might be the shortest one I have written. While that may have to do with the absence of Stand battles, it doesn't mean I have fun adding Kakyoin, Bucciarati and Gyro, AKA, my most favorite JoBros, getting humili- I mean, getting added as an extra for the Drive-in Tori commercial together with Franchouchou. Since the commercial posits the girls to be the star along with Cocco-san (or Cocco-kun, don't kill me for this Saki), I must think on how can the boys be involved with them. Watching the shoot from the sidelines is feasible enough for Avdol, Narancia, Johnny and Rai while having Kakyoin, Bucciarati and Gyro added as extras for Tae to try and take a bite on them seems acceptable for me. I hope I make the already humorous Drive-in Tori segment even more hilarious, even if it's not much from my view.
Oh, and I'm sorry for putting my three favorite JoBros to the spotlight through humiliation, but I'm not regretting them taking part in it! Hehehehe.
To make up the other four not involved with the commercial, I make it so that six of them are joining with the girls to partake in Gatalympics. Johnny is not included because he's unable to walk properly. I'm aware he endured his paraplegia during the Steel Ball Run race and managed to ride Slow Dancer but for this specific occasion, I excluded him. That said, Johnny will slowly but surely regain the use of his legs in the coming months so he doesn't have to put up with using a cane the whole time. For now, Johnny has to be patient until his legs regain enough strength to let him stand up.
Because of his near-paraplegia however, he is spared from the utter humiliation the zombies faced during the event, up to getting covered in mud. I feel bad for them having to put up with Kotaro's antics but it is funny all the same. At least Yugiri, Tae, Kakyoin, Bucciarati and Mamezuku tried their best.
Oh, and who's that hooded woman sitting behind Kotaro and Johnny? What does keeping an eye on them when she has the chance benefit her? Along with the unknown boy saying Franchouchou's name near the end of seventh chapter, the mystery deepens...
And we have the journalist Arata Okoba also keeping an eye on them. He plays a minor role like in the anime but he is involving himself nevertheless.
With the Saga Rock arc coming up, I decided to add a new chapter between chapters that adapts episodes six and seven respectively. Like how the anime starts delving in the backstories and causes of deaths of Ai, Junko, Lily, Saki and Sakura, it is inevitable I do the same for the fanfic as well. In fact, I'm thinking on revealing the deaths of Avdol, Bucciarati, Narancia, and maybe Johnny or Mamezuku before the battle-oriented fanfic-exclusive chapter starts off in high gear. Hope you may look forward to it as I try my best adapting the Saga Rock arc to the story while adding in a brand new chapter.
I believe I have said what I need to say for this chapter. Hope all of you keep yourselves safe at all times and have a great day!
And with that, I bid you adieu~.
Edit (04/20/2023): Changed the enigmatic woman's appearance so that she has a red and black color scheme.