[Original Chapter Published - February 6th, 2022]

[Revised Chapter Published - January 7th, 2023]

[Secondary Revision of the chapter published – June 15th, 2023]

If there was one thing that Yoshihara Kira wasn't fond of, it was surprise visits from random people she didn't, or barely knew. Then again, she was fairly certain that anyone would feel the same way, but Yoshihara felt that tenfold, especially considering the fact that she wanted some time to herself after what had happened with the Midoriya's.

So, one could understand why it was that the blond hadn't exactly been thrilled upon seeing Sakunami or Kujo in her home, but Sakunami moreso than Kujo. While she hadn't known the girl for more than a few seconds, it was clear that she was a scam artist, either that, or she was a criminal of some kind. Why did she think that? Well, there was a myriad of different reasons, but most of them had to do with how she looked.

The way she looked, the way she dressed, hell, the way she was looking at her was suspect enough. The sly smirk, the glimmer in her eyes, and the way she carried herself were of someone just waiting to sneak their hands into someone's back pocket and yank out their wallet like it was nothing.

Yet, her personality, from what Yoshihara could gather from appearance alone, was that of a young kid with a childlike-esque sense of joy emanating from her whole person. It was strange for someone with that kind of aura to be some petty pickpocket or worse, a full-blown criminal. Sure, it was an assumption, and a bold one at that, but her gut instinct about people was right most of the time, and just recently she learned to never doubt it.

Then again, she was the last person in the room allowed to judge someone based on what someone did. She knew more than anybody in this room that one did what one could to get along in life, even if it was frowned upon by people who didn't know the circumstances.

Then, there was the other elephant in the room.

While Kujo was someone that Kira could see herself getting along with, it didn't mean that she was fond of him just… showing up out of nowhere. He was the first person to attack her with a Stand, his Soft & Wet, and it was the first time she came inches away from death in a long time, intentionally or not.

Thankfully, the outcome of that battle was something that landed in her favour. However, that didn't mean she was just "okay" with him showing up, and bringing another person with him, no less! Letting out an annoyed sigh, an irritated expression dressed the blonde's face. She crossed her arms, levelling a glare at the pair before speaking.

"So, Kujo… You know it's rude to go to a place where you aren't invited, correct?" Yoshihara bit out as Kujo rubbed the back of his neck, sighing.

"Look, I know, and I'm sorry. But we need to talk—"

"No. No, we do not. Need I remind you, Kujo, that you almost killed me? Not only that but you were not invited here either by me or by Kayama-san. You lied to the staff saying you were my friends, which you are not. You are an acquaintance at best, and a nuisance at worst. I have half the mind to drag you out myself," Yoshihara interrupted, her irritated expression morphing into an angered one as Kujo sighed.

"Look, Kira… this is important. I know what I did was wrong, and hindsight is 20/20. But please. You're a Stand User, so I figured this would be important for you to know. At least give me a chance to explain myself before doing that. If you don't want to be involved, then that's fine. You probably won't see me again if that's the case. But please at least hear me out," Kujo said as Yoshihara opened her mouth to say something before she clamped her mouth shut.

While normally she would've said something snappy in reply, there was something in his tone of voice that made her brain scream to at least hear him out.

He was desperate. But why? Why was he desperate? And more importantly, why did he come to seek her out? If this was so important, why couldn't he find someone else? Was it because of where she lived? If that was the case, then why talk to her and not Kayama?

"You're a Stand User, dumbass… it probably involves Stand Users, and Kayama-san is not one…" Yoshihara thought to herself as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes. It was almost like day after day, hour after hour, she was getting caught up in things she really didn't want to be caught up in. Hell, she just wanted to get some rest after a life-or-death situation she had at the Midoriya household. Couldn't this wait until tomorrow?

Yoshihara sighed. "Whatever, it's best to get it over and done with." With that thought, the blonde looked back at Kujo and frowned. "Alright, one shot and that's all you get. But first…" Yoshihara drawled as she looked over to the other girl in the room. "So… Sakunami-san… you're a Stand User?" Yoshihara questioned as the black-haired girl smiled.

"Yup! Though most people confuse my ability with a Quirk since I'm related to the Pro Hero: Love Deluxe!" Karera paused to put her hand facing away from Josefumi to her mouth, only to speak in a hushed tone. "By the way, her real name is Yui Sakunami, she's my mom!" As she spoke, Karera crossed her legs together on the designer leather couch, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder. "I'm assuming you don't know about her since she's low-ranked in the hero system," Karera finished.

Yoshihara, rather than being annoyed with how bouncy and bubbly Sakunami had been, was amused. The girl clearly had loads of energy, if that performance was anything to scoff at. The blonde cupped her chin in thought. Love Deluxe. It was close to the name of the Love Hotel Nemuri ran, perhaps the hero in question was inspired by it. Regardless, Yoshihara couldn't think of a hero going by that name.

She had seen hundreds of names in the top 100 list for Musutafu, even the nationwide lists, and not once had she seen the name Love Deluxe. Yoshihara hummed in thought, a skeptical gleam in her eye as she spoke.

"Love Deluxe, eh? I don't quite know who that is. She's never shown up on Musutafu's top 200 board for heroes and neither has she shown up in the nationwide lists. Are you sure she's a hero and not a vigilante?" Yoshihara questioned, causing Karera to giggle.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. That's because she doesn't live in Musutafu, and she probably isn't well-known enough to be on the nationwide list. Besides, I'm only here because of Fumi-kun~!" Karera said, clinging onto Josefumi's right arm, leaning into it like a puppy starved of attention. Josefumi merely sweat-dropped, putting on a relaxed smile.

"Heh, yeah. I moved out here a while ago, mostly because of the reason I'm here with Karera, and now talking to you…" Josefumi said, scratching the back of his neck. "I have to say, living in such a bustling city sucks… I've lived in one before, just not one this busy. It's stressful, that's for sure! For the last 9 years or so I've been living in a small town, mostly on my own with financial help from my Dad. So getting readjusted to the city has been a little tough on me…" Josefumi continued.

Yoshihara, for her part, was intriqued. Kujo had been living on his own up until now. While she could tell it wasn't because he didn't want to, it still made her curious as to where it was he could've lived. Not many people liked living on their own unless they had no choice. "Hmm, might I ask where you two are from then? It's not often someone hears about someone the same age as a teenager living by themselves of their own volition," Yoshihara asked as Karera let go of Josefumi's arm, beaming with a bright smile.

"Oh! You probably haven't heard of it. It's a little bit of a backwater town closer to the ocean than any other town. But, if you're really that curious…. we both hail from Morioh! Or, well, at least I do. I was born there, Fumi-kun wasn't, but that's semantics! It's like, what, a couple of hundred kilometres away, maybe about five, six miles away? Eh, I don't know, I didn't pay attention really," Karera said with a shrug.

As soon as Karera brought up the town "Morioh," Yoshihara's heart skipped a beat, and her skin went pale white. For a moment, just a moment, Yoshihara's hands shook as she uttered the name of that town. "M-Morioh?" The blonde mouthed as Karera raised an eyebrow.

"YEAH! Do you know about it? It's super famous for its Miso with Marinated Cow Tongue! Though no much else…" The green and black-haired teen said, leaning forward as Yoshihara swallowed a lump in her throat.

No… no not that place… anywhere but that place.

Morioh.

That cursed town.

That town where she lived.

The one she ran away from, the one where she….

"Morioh…" The blonde muttered, her hands shaking uncontrollably as they slowly balled into fists. Why did that punk have to mention that fucking town? It was her hometown, that's what Karera had said. She didn't care about that. But why, why, did it have to be Morioh?

To describe the expression on Yoshihara's face would be to describe the look of a child who had just seen a murder for the first time in their life. Wide eyes, pale skin, and sweat dripping from their forehead.

"Uh… Kira-san, are you okay?" Josefumi asked as the blonde's blue eyes looked up at Karera, then at Josefumi. The pompadour-haired teen shot her a look of worry, getting up off the couch as the blonde's breathing turned erratic, her pupils dilated, and her legs began to wobble. "Karera, I think she's having a panic attack, I—"

"M-Morioh… I… Wha—? I… I don't want… no…!" The blond spoke randomly as her vision began to blur, and her hearing began to fail her. Tears began pouring down her eyes like waterfalls as she felt her legs give out on her.

A sharp, loud ringing filled Yoshihara's ears as she covered them before her vision began to fully fade to black. The last thing she heard was Josefumi's shocked and concerned-sounding voice shouting her name, mixed with the loud, suffocating sound of her heartbeat.

Morioh… Why did it have to be that place? Out of all the places she was forced to remember… Out of all of the things she was forced to relive day after day, Yoshihara truly thought that that place would never show up in her mind ever again.

She never… ever, wanted to hear the name of that town ever again…

Morioh was where the bad people lived… it was where she lived.

It was where that monster lived.

[Wednesday, January 7th, 13 years ago - Morioh]

A little girl no older than four sat alone on a dilapidated couch in a dirty living room, staring down at a bowl of weeks-old miso soup. It looked rancid, and it smelt rancid along with just about everything else in the room, nay the house. And just like everything in the house, to say it expired would be an overstatement at best, and an understatement at worst.

Regardless of that, however, the girl was given nothing else to eat. Not because she had no other options, but because she wasn't given any other options, she made sure the girl understood that time and time again. Aside from that soup, the only thing to accompany her was the sound of a buzzing light fixture and the chatter of a person making a phone call.

The little girl looked at the soup, then at the busy woman, then back to the soup. The little girl's stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten in days, not because they were too poor, but because the woman in front of her refused to feed her. In fact, it would be less of a stretch to say that the woman probably forgot about her… or at least pretended to.

It was funny… she never pretended to forget her when it happened. She would always watch that with a smile on her face…

Why? Why did her mother hate her? Why did her mother let those awful men do that to her? Why? What did she do to deserve this?

In an attempt to plead, knowing full well it was going to backfire on her, the little girl looked up from her "food" and stared at her mother.

"Mom… do I have to eat it?" The young girl asked, her unkempt blond hair drooping over her forehead, partially blocking her vision. She wore a stained white shirt and stained black pants, and her skin was covered with dirt and grime, along with a few bruises.

She hadn't been cleaned in days, and she was not allowed near the bathroom. Not unless she said so. If she was caught doing anything that wasn't sitting in that place she would be beaten. If she spoke unless she was spoken to, she was beaten. If she did anything that the woman deemed unwanted, which included coming out of that place at any point in the day that wasn't when she was being actively called out of there, she would be beaten.

Sometimes, the beatings wouldn't last too long. A single slap, or a single punch. But there were days that they'd go on for hours… how she lived through all of them was a miracle. She remembered one time when the woman had beaten her so badly that she had broken an arm...

Or the time when the woman had dragged a butcher's knife across her back, slashing over the only thing that apparently reminded her of Father…

Where was Father, anyway? Why wasn't he here to stop her? The woman wouldn't tell her what happened to Father… was Father dead?

If Father was dead… then that meant… that meant she had no one else to turn to…

She didn't want to be stuck here. She couldn't be stuck here…

"M-Mom… D-Do I really have to e-eat it…?" the little girl's voice became shaky. She knew she was pushing her luck talking for a second time in a row, but even though her stomach growled, despite the fact that she knew she wouldn't eat again for another day if she spoke up, she didn't want to eat this.

And that was when she got her attention.

The woman in question was a taller, healthier-looking woman was on the phone, talking to someone. She wore a black, pinstripe business suit with a white shirt underneath and a bright red tie. She wore her hair in a ponytail so that it would stay out of her eyes. Her skin was slightly pale, and her eyes were a dark shade of blue. She wore red lipstick, and she had a tattoo on her knuckles that said "Love" and "Hope" respectively.

The woman briefly looked over at the little girl as she sneered. "You'll eat what's given to you, brat. Now eat it, or else you won't eat for another week, got it? I didn't raise an ungrateful brat, did I?" The woman spat.

"No, mom… you didn't…" the child said, her hands shaking as she grabbed the spoon in the bowl. She got nauseous… no, she didn't want to eat it, but she had no choice. Mother was staring at her now, expecting her to take a bite. She knew the food was rotten. It was why she was smiling….

The little girl dove the spoon into the soup and pulled out a chunk of severely mouldy tofu. Once again, she felt the urge to vomit, but she couldn't. And so, as the woman's eyes narrowed, she had no choice but to eat the spoonful of the disgusting soup. The moment it touched her tongue, her gag reflexes kicked in as she was barely able to keep it down. The woman stared at her before looking away, satisfied as she continued to talk on the phone.

She swallowed the disgusting food… her stomach roaring in response. Sometimes, she thought her stomach was alive. Sometimes, she thought it would talk to her and tell her she was being mistreated.

She knew that… but she had nothing to help her.

"That's a good girl. I raised you right after all," the woman spat, snickering to herself as the little girl in question had the urge to spit back "You didn't raise me at all," but she knew that if she did, she'd get punished for "being ungrateful."

The woman who had spat her out into this world cared not for the child's wellbeing. As far as the woman was concerned, the child was a mistake. Ever since her husband, Yoshimura, went to go to work in mainland China, the woman was stuck with his child for the foreseeable future.

Yoshikawa Kira was many things, a mother was not one of them. When Yoshimura impregnated her, she wanted nothing to do with the baby. However, since abortion was made illegal in Japan 20 years before she had been born, Yoshikawa wasn't able to abort the baby. So, she had to stick with it. It was at the same time that Yoshimura had to leave for work. He was there for the baby's birth, but he had to go back to China to continue his "important studies."

He was there long enough to name the Baby, Yoshihara, keeping in tradition with the Kira bloodline's first part of the name being "Yoshi" and adding something else at the end to make it different.

The name was supposed to read as - Yoshi ( 吉 ) Meaning, Good or in this case "Lucky." And then there was Hara ( 原 ) Meaning Field, or in this case, "Plain." Together, it was supposed to read as – Lucky, but plain girl.

However, as far as Yoshikawa was concerned, Yoshihara would never be a true Kira in her eyes. That piece of shit Yoshimura wasn't the Kira of the family despite what the marriage document said. That was her. And as far as she was concerned, Yoshihara was more a part of Yoshimura's family than she'd ever be a Kira.

That aside, Yoshikawa was a businesswoman and had no time for raising a child. A part of her considered dropping the brat in an orphanage and forgetting about her, however, Yoshimura would've been furious if she did, and as much as Yoshikawa wanted nothing to do with the kid, Yoshikawa knew that if that child wasn't in the house, Yoshimura would leave her.

She loved her husband more than anything in the world, and as far as Yoshimura was concerned, Yoshikawa was taking great care of his baby girl, unknowing of any of the abuse going on at the home.

It was no fault of his own, as whenever the man called home via video call, Yoshikawa made sure to dress his daughter up in the best clothing she could find, bathe her, and put make-up over any bruises.

In other words, Yoshikawa was only keeping Yoshihara alive as a means of keeping her husband with her. Had he divorced her at any point, Yoshihara would've been either killed or thrown in an alleyway and left to fend for herself.

The child, Yoshihara, could no longer hold back the soup in her stomach as she gagged, spitting up the vile miso soup that remained in a mix with the other contents of her stomach. As soon as she did that, the woman sharply turned her head to face the little girl.

Fear, panic, and anguish danced in the little girl's eyes. She screwed up and earned the ire of her so-called mother. In that split second of respite, she begged God, if there was one, to save her. She begged someone, anyone, to save her. Oh, what she'd give for Police Chief Higashikata to come back and rescue her... She wanted to scream, but if she did the woman would just do worse…

And just like any other time she prayed for someone to help her…

Nothing came.

The woman hung up the phone before she grabbed Yoshihara by the arm. The older woman glared at her with malice so intense that it rivalled some of the more terrifying villains in the world.

"How dare you waste the food I prepared for you! You ungrateful little shit!" The woman shouted, slamming Yoshihara's face into the table, causing the child to gasp. Blood dripped down the girl's nose as Yoshikawa raised the blonde girl's head by her hair, glaring at her. Tears ran down her face as the older woman growled. Immediately afterward, the woman grabbed the young Yoshihara and repeatedly slammed her face into the table repeatedly, each time pronouncing a singular word.

"How!"

*THWACK!*

"Dare!"

*THWACK!*

"YOU!"

*THWACK!*

When the woman let go of the child's head and shoved her back against the couch, more tears welled up in Yoshihara's eyes as blood ran down her lip, nose, and forehead. "STOP CRYING!" The woman shouted, slapping her across the face, hard enough to make her whole body move to the other end of the couch. "ONLY GIRLS WHO BEHAVE AND LISTEN DESERVE TO CRY! GOT IT!" The woman screamed, causing the girl to cry harder, which earned Yoshihara another slap across the face. This time, it was hard enough to cause the girl to fall onto the floor.

The woman, not wanting to hear the whining and balling of her child, picked Yoshihara up by the back collar of her shirt and dragged her across the floor. The dirty, dusty wooden floor scraped across Yoshihara's face as she tried to choke back her tears. But no matter how hard she tried, they just kept coming.

The blonde child clawed at her "mother's" hand, trying to get her to let go. The older woman stopped moving, then, without any chance to recover from being dragged, she was thrown into a closet with a piece of paper that read "The time out closet."

"DON'T COME OUT OF THERE TILL YOU'RE DONE WITH YOUR NONSENSE, BRAT!" The woman shouted as she slammed the closet door shut, leaving the poor child to her own devices. Yoshikawa growled, rubbing her wrist. The brat had scratched it up, badly. She scoffed. She would be impressed if it weren't for that brat being hers.

As Yoshikawa walked away from the closet, the young Yoshihara continued to cry, tears and blood pooling on the wooden floor as she writhed in the corner.

There was only one question plaguing the young girl's mind, and that question was: "When will I be free from this hell?"

[Present Day]

Karera felt bad. It had been two hours since Kira had passed out, and in that time, the green and black-haired teen had blamed herself for causing the girl in question to have a panic attack. She had never seen someone freak out about something that seemed so inconsequential. And yet, here she was, standing in the girl's bedroom, with Kira having passed out with an icepack on her forehead.

Currently, Karera sat on the edge of Yoshihara's bed while Josefumi stood in the corner facing Karera on his phone, typing away to someone about their current situation. She glanced over at Yoshihara, sweat pouring down the blond's forehead as she breathed heavily. All she did was mention her hometown, Morioh, so how could've it caused her to break out into a panic attack?

All these thoughts bubbled inside the Stand user's head. She looked over to Josefumi, and when she did, the boy in question glanced at her, gave her a weak smile, then looked back down at his phone.

The two had been together since the end of the last year, and ever since then, he changed her life for the foreseeable future. Being the daughter of a low-ranked Pro-Hero in a rural town such as Morioh didn't exactly bring you a lot of credit in the big city, and unlike in Morioh, her scams didn't exactly work.

Don't get her wrong, she didn't like scamming others, but how else was she supposed to get any sort of money here? Work a job? Hell no! She'd rather keel over and die than set foot inside a local Mcdonald's or work at a footlocker. However, as time passed by, that was what it was slowly beginning to look like, much to her increasing dismay.

When she met Josefumi, the two got along quickly, and she developed a crush on the boy. However, when she learned that he was a family member of the wealthy Josetar bloodline, she practically gave up even trying, as, in her mind, he was way out of her league in terms of social standing.

That was until Josefumi asked her out on a date. Ever since that day, he had practically dragged her out of the depressive slump she had been in after learning that he was a Josetar, and made her life far better than anything that she could've ever possibly imagined it to be.

However, right now, she felt like she had been dragged back to square one. To say that she felt horrible, then that would be stating the obvious. No that would be an understatement. Karera hated hurting others unless she absolutely had to. But the pain that she had caused Yoshihara was something that she felt especially guilty about.

It wasn't like she had meant to send the girl into a downward spiral of tears. She just wanted to tell her what town she and Fumi-kun came from! If she had known it would've caused this…

"Hey… Fumi-kun, do you know if she'll be alright?" Karera asked as Josefumi sighed, looking up from his phone as he slid it into his pocket.

"Yeah, I think so. I just got off the phone with Midnight, Kira-san's caretaker. This isn't the first time she's had a panic attack, but never to the extent of passing out like this. She would come over to check on her, had it not been for the fact that she's dealing with… things. She wouldn't describe anything, but she asked for us to just stay by her side and call if anything crazy happens," Josefumi stated as Karera rolled her eyes.

"In other words, she wants to shrug the responsibility off to two kids who don't know better. Great, best guardian of the century, I guess," Karera said, her tone sarcastic as Josefumi scoffed.

"You got that one right…." the purplish-black-haired boy said as he rolled his shoulders. "Maybe it was a Stand attack?" Josefumi asked as Karera shook her head.

"Nope, I would have sensed someone else other than ourselves if that had been the case. The only Stand users here are you, me, and Kira-chan, aside from that, no one else here could be a Stand User," Karera replied as Josefumi hummed.

"Hmm… maybe it was something you said?" Josefumi suggested as Karera nodded

"Yeah… I think so. When I mentioned Morioh, she seemed to just… shut down. Maybe she had a bad experience with the town?" Karera said as Josefumi sighed.

The pompadour-haired boy looked over at Yoshihara and grimaced. There was something about her that Josefumi wanted to get to the bottom of, specifically her reaction to Karera saying the name of the town, Morioh. It was a perfect indication that something bad had happened to her there, what that was, however, was up in the air.

As he continued to observe the sleeping girl, a part of his brain screamed at him that the blonde looked familiar. He blinked, shaking his head. No, there was no way that she and that girl were similar.

"No… that girl looked leagues worse than she does, not in the sense that she looks bad, but because of the condition she was in. Nobody knew her name, other than the fact that their mother was named Yoshikawa… if this is the same girl, then…" Josefumi thought as he huffed air out of his nose, a frustrated look on his face as Karera raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something you need to tell me, babe?" Karera asked as Josefumi shook his head.

"No, I was just… thinking. Kira-san looks like someone I once knew back in Morioh's primary school system. I doubt it matters now, but…" Josefumi paused, turning to look at his girlfriend. "Do you think that it might've been a possibility that Kira might have been…" He stopped, biting his lip. "Never mind," Josefumi said as Karera clicked her tongue.

"Don't lead me on like that, jeez. But, whatever. So, do you think that I should wake her up or…" Karera asked as Josefumi shook his head.

"No, I don't think that's the best course of action. Right now, she needs to rest, lord knows she needs it," Josefumi said as the other female Stand user got up from the edge of the blond's bed.

"Fine… I mean, I guess that would be beneficial for her," Karera said as Josefumi snickered.

"What's the issue, Karera, were you antsy to use your Stand?" Josefumi asked as Karera nodded, pouting as Josefumi restrained a laugh. "Let me guess, you were hoping Kira turned hostile as well?" Josefumi asked as Karera looked away.

"Stop teasing me!" The green and black-haired teen huffed, uncrossing her arms as she played with a strand of her hair. "Look, it's just, ugh! I rarely get to use my Stand against anyone, mostly because those who I do end up fighting to give up after a few seconds! My Stand isn't that strong, but people just get weirded out by hair…" Karera said, grumbling out the last bit as Josefumi patted her on the back.

"There, there, everything is going to be okay," Josefumi said as Karera huffed indigently.

"Yeah, yeah, you big meanie..." Karera pouted as Josefumi snickered to himself.

A couple of hours passed after the interaction as the pair continued to watch Yoshihara. Over the lapse in time, Karera explored the suite that the blonde lived in, as Josefumi stayed with Yoshihara in her room, picking up one of the Manga she had on her shelf—Soul Eater—and got through the first volume.

A part of Josefumi had been confused. Weapons becoming people, or was it the other way around? He didn't know, and quite frankly, it was bizarre. But that wasn't the weirder part. What the weirder part was that the weapons—or people weapons—ate Souls!? The Grim Reaper was also running a school to train people to kill witches as well, which put a bow on that gift box of strangeness. It was weird, though, for some reason, Josefumi could understand why a person like Kira would enjoy that kind of stuff.

The boy hadn't known the blond-haired Stand user for long, but it was enough for him to gauge what kind of person she was, well, sorta.

In his mind, he envisioned the blonde to be somewhat of a recluse. Someone who'd rather the world come to them than the other way around, living passively until the moment arises to do something about a problem.

However, a deeper, darker part of his mind told him to steer clear of the girl. There was something that she had been hiding, but he couldn't tell what, or even if his mind was right or not. He didn't want to assume anything bad of the girl, but he felt as if he had no real choice in the matter.

"Kira... that sounds familiar... but why?" Josefumi thought before he shrugged. He had no real idea of what to think of the girl. She was strong, a bit of a hard head, and stubborn. But that was all he could gauge from the girl. As he closed the volume of Soul Eater, he was about to put it away when he heard Yoshihara mutter something under her breath.

"Mom… no… please… I'll be good…" The blond spoke softly as a tear ran down her cheek. Josefumi almost choked on air. What did that mean, was… was that why she… he bit his lip, by the gods, what happened to the poor girl? Was she...?

He stopped. No, he wasn't going to jump to conclusions. She could've just been having a nightmare. At least… he hoped that was the case. Even back when had first assumed, he had no proof, and now, even with what she had just said, he still had none.

But with the fact that panic attack after the mentioning of Morioh, the fact that she looked like that one kid from elementary school back in the town, and the fact that said girl vanished without a trace a year later or two after her first appearance, it was starting to make sense.

"I'll have to ask her at some point. I don't know when, but I will," Josefumi thought as he put the volume back on the shelf. As soon as he did so, Karera walked into the room, her arms crossed with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I've wandered around the entire building, twice, and she still isn't awake. How long will it take for her to wake up, huh?" Karera questioned, shifting her weight to one side of her body, leaning on her right hip as Josefumi shrugged.

"I honestly can't tell you how long. Panic attacks, especially ones like those, don't just tend to go away. When I was little, my Grandma, Jolyne Cujoh, would have random panic attacks if she ever saw a white horse. No Idea why, she died before she could tell me, but that's beside the point," Josefumi explained as he glanced back at Yoshihara.

He placed a hand on her forehead, his eyes focused on Yoshihara's closed ones as the boy sighed. He felt bad for the girl, and he wanted to help her, but he didn't know how. He had never dealt with panic attacks before, not in a state where he could help, anyway. The first panic attack he had ever witnessed was, again, from his Grandma Jolyne, and even then he was 3 years old when he saw it. So, he had no idea how to deal with one.

What he did know, however, was that Yoshihara needed another ice pack, considering that the ice was now melted. Just before he was about to tell Karera to go get another ice pack, Yohsihara groaned, and began to sit up.

"Ugh… what the hell…" Yoshihara grumbled as Josefumi scoffed in surprise.

"Huh, didn't see that one coming…" Josefumi muttered, jerking his head back as he blinked. He truly hadn't been expecting the blonde Stand user to wake up so soon after she fell asleep, yet here she was, awake. Not wide awake, mind you, but awake and semi-aware of her surroundings.

Still, though, he was relieved that she awoke from her panic-induced nap. Business needed to be attended to, important business. While he'd have to wait until she was fully aware enough to understand the gravity of the situation, it was better that way. Otherwise, this would become far harder than it needed to be.

"Well, glad to see that you're awake," Josefumi said, putting his hands into his pockets as Yoshihara squinted, staring blankly at Josefumi before jumping up in her bed, her eyes widening with alarm.

"GAH! How did you get here!? And why are you in my room!" Yoshihara near screamed as Josefumi rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, that's a long story. Would you like the abbreviated version or—"

"We were waiting in your house for you to come back from wherever you had been, had a discussion, then I brought up my Hometown..." Karera interrupted, glaring at Josefumi before looking at Yoshihara. She paused, giving a downcast expression, to which the blond met with furious confusion.

"You had a panic attack and passed out. After that, we brought you here so you could rest. It's now 5:30 PM, and I was about to wake you up so that we could understand why it is that when I mentioned… that place, you freaked out," Karera explained as Josefumi paled in surprise.

"I-I- You… Really?" Josefumi stammered as Karera sighed.

"Oh, cut it out. I'd rather not sugarcoat that shit to her anyways. Besides, she deserved to know," Karera snapped, causing Josefumi to look away in embarrassment. Karera groaned, looking at Yoshihara. The green and black-haired teen hummed before crossing her arms, giving the blond a blank stare.

"Look, I just want to understand why you had a panic attack and passed out. I feel like it's my fault you passed out, but I want to know why you, well, had that panic attack in the first place," Karera explained as Yoshihara sighed.

The blonde had no words for either of them. Not that she was angry with the pair, but she wasn't exactly happy. She was still confused as to why they were here, in her room, without her expressed permission, but that answer would have to come later.

What was more unnerving, however, was the context as to why they were in her room. She… had a panic attack? When? The last time she had a panic attack was when Kayama-san made an offhanded comment about acting like a brat. It sounded pathetic, and it probably was, but she had… horrible experiences with that word.

She had… certain trigger words, brat being one of them, and depending on the situation, it would cause her to lash out in rage, or, it would cause her to break down and zone out, or even, well, have a panic attack.

The catch was that Yoshihara never really remembered her panic attacks. So, when someone would mention it to her, she would have no idea what it was about, why it happened, or how it happened. This is included now as well.

"I… Had a panic attack?" Yoshihara questioned, her tone carrying a sense of confusion and alarm as Karera raised an eyebrow.

"You don't remember? I mean, I know that sometimes people forget as a defence mechanism, but I've never seen it before," Karera said, straightening her posture as she walked further into the room, standing next to the bed as Yoshihara flipped the blankets off of her body, crossing her legs in the process.

"Yeah, whenever I have panic attacks, regardless of what they are about, I never remember them. The only thing I remember is blacking out, then waking up in a random place—usually my room—and getting the rundown from Nemuri-san. Outside of that, however, there's nothing but an empty, blank space…." Yoshihara explained, looking down at her bedsheet as Karera huffed, a surprised, yet also curious look adorning her face.

"Interesting… I don't mean to pry, but… when was the last time you had a panic attack?" Karera questioned as Yoshihara snapped her head up to face her, an annoyed look on her face as she spoke.

"What are you, my therapist?" Yoshihara spat as Karera sighed.

"Okay, jeez, sorry. I… I just want to get to know you more. You know, to avoid triggering something like that again? If Nemuri tells you what happened and how it happened, you could at least write it down so we know," Karera said.

Yoshihara nodded, reaching for her bedside table as she pulled out a notebook. "In this notebook is a list of my triggers. If any of these words are said, I usually go into a panic and eventually suffer from a panic attack," Yoshihara explained, passing it over to Karera, who opened it. The list in question consisted of a singular page of words, and each of them made Karera's skin crawl.

List of Triggers:

Morioh. Never ever say this to me for any reason.

Brat. She used to call me this and it hurts me.

Slut.

Whore.

Juices (Specifically the plural and in the context of "your", "Juice" is fine).

"You are Worthless", specifically the whole sentence as it brings me back to a time I wish to forget.

Being called a "Loli" reminds me of it.

As soon as Karera closed the book, she gave it back to Yoshihara, who put it back in her drawer. There was a look of horror on the teen's face as Yoshihara's expression stayed completely neutral. This caused Josefumi to raise an eyebrow. "What, do I not get to look at it? It can't be that bad, can it?" the pompadour-haired teen asked as Karera shook her head.

"No, it very much is…. I'll tell you back at home. You'll probably want to smash something when... Oh god, I'm… I can't even begin to imagine what you went through…" Karera said, paling as Yoshihara looked away.

"Can we… change the subject, I really… really don't want to talk about it, please?" Yoshihara asked as Karera nodded.

"Y-yeah, err… anyways. I'm just going to finish explaining what happened, then we'll move on to something else. That way you know what happened in full. A-hem, anywho, in the most basic way possible, I brought up the name of my hometown, and you had a panic attack over it. I don't know why, but if I had to guess, you had a bad experience with that place, but considering I know now it's one of your trigger words, I'll refrain from using it from now on, okay?" Karera said as Yoshihara bit her lip.

"I… see. Thank you for understanding, most people don't. Anyway, it's true that I've had a bad experience with that place, and I should've told Kujo-san that, but I guess it slipped my mind. I wasn't expecting to meet anyone who came from that place in the first place. So, I guess I didn't see the need to mention anything about it."

As Yoshihara spoke, Josefumi felt the urge to ask what exactly happened to her. What happened in Morioh to cause her to become fearful of it? Whatever it was that caused her to gain that fear, he wanted to know what it was. At the same time, however, he knew just how insensitive that would've been. Resisting his urge to ask, he cleared his throat, getting the pair's attention.

"Well, seeing as you're now awake, I think it's about time we get down to the reason why I came here in the first place. From what I've been told, you were recently in a Stand fight with someone, right?" Josefumi asked as Yoshihara raised an eyebrow.

"Who told you that?" The blond asked as the pompadour-haired teen chuffed.

"Midnight-san did. She didn't know it was a Stand, but I inferred it through the fact that you were attacked. Regardless, what you just said proves it to me. But that's beside the point. There has been a development recently that has disturbed my family, The Joestars. But not only them but the Speedwagon Foundation as well," Josefumi explained as Yoshihara's eyes widened.

"Wait a second, you're with the Speedwagon Foundation?!" Yoshihara nearly shouted, again, for the second time in the same hour. In response, Karera clamped her mouth shut, shocking the blonde.

"Quiet! Do you want the rest of the world to hear you?!" Karera stressed as she let go of Yoshihara's mouth. "Yes, we are, but mostly through his Father. Regardless, it's that important, so please, listen, okay?" Karera asked as Yoshihara cursed under her breath.

"Great, not only have I been attacked by two Stand users, both being Kujo-san and my friend's mom. But now, to top it all off, I'm getting dragged into the Speedwagon Foundation, just great…" the blond mumbled as Josefumi shook his head.

"No, you're not getting into the Speedwagon Foundation, rather, you're just helping them. If you want, that is. Before you ask, no, they won't know, and that way it'll be better off for you. The last thing you want is any of their enemies clinging onto you like some sort of foreign disease…." Josefumi said as he glanced over to Karera.

"Both Karera and I were sent here to go to U.A., but that isn't the main reason why we were sent here. The main reason why we were sent here, was because of this," Josefumi started, pulling out a bag with a yellow needle-tipped bullet with the Latin words: De mortalitate hominis.

Yoshihara raised an eyebrow, confusion dwelling over her as Josefumi put the bag onto the bedside table. "This is why we are here. We don't know who manufactures them, but what I do know, is that, according to my sources, anyone who is hit by the bullet loses their Quirk, and gets transmitted a disease, which then gives a person a Stand, essentially upgrading someone's Quirk to that of a Stand," Josefumi explained as Yoshihara raised an eyebrow.

"Really now? And I don't suppose you know how it works?" Yoshihara questioned as Karera shrugged, leaning against the wall near the door of the blonde's room.

"We don't know how it works, nor why it works. But, from what we do know, the virus that is inside the bullet is the same virus that was found within the ancient artifact known as the Stand Arrow. It's an arrow that can grant someone the possibility of gaining a Stand. Those who didn't, well, they died. My guess is that this bullet is the modern equivalent of it, and currently, it's being mass-produced by a group of unidentified people. We only got a hold of it because of a recent encounter I was in, so, I'd say, two or so months ago. We were able to pinpoint its origin being here in Japan, but its exact location, not so much," Karera stated.

"And to add fuel to the fire, random civilians have turned up dead across Japan, the culprit being these exact bullets. Whoever is manufacturing them and selling them is doing a good job of covering their tracks. I don't think I should have to mention what happened to those that lived," Josefumi said as Yoshihara groaned.

More Stand Users, and the fact that it confirmed her worst fears had made it twice as worse. The more Stand Users there were, the higher chance it would be that said Stand Users would be at the exam.

The blonde cursed under her breath as she folded her hands together. "Alright, I guess I don't have a choice. Besides, I'm planning on going to U.A. as well, so I might as well help seeing as we'll be in the same school. I take it the three of you got recommended by someone?" Yoshihara asked as the two of them shook their heads.

"Nope, we have to do things the old-fashioned way, which is fine, but I take it you were?" Karera asked as Yoshihara nodded.

"Yeah, and if I see any other Stand users at The Recommendation Exam, I'll be sure to let you know," Yoshihara said as Josefumi nodded.

"Then we'll do the same," Josefumi agreed, looking at his phone as he sighed. "It's getting late, let's meet up at the café by Aldera tomorrow, and bring that other Stand User with you, assuming they're on our side," Josefumi said as Yoshihara hummed.

"Don't worry about them, they are. But, one more thing, I'm going to bring my other friend with me. His name is Midoriya Izuku, in case you wanted to know. He might not be a Stand User, nor does he know his mom was the Stand User that attacked us, but he knows about them, "Yoshihara said as Karera smirked.

"As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier," Karera said, smiling brightly. The ex-con artist tapped her chin in contemplation, dropping the smile as she continued. "I say we meet up for around lunch, we'll debrief them about it too, for now, see ya later, alligator!" And with that, the two teens left Yoshihara's room. The blond waited for the sound of the elevator doors to close as she laid back down on her bed.

Things were starting to escalate, far more than she wanted them to. Stand Bullets? The Speedwagon Foundation! potential criminal organizations!? For Yoshihara, it was all too much for her to handle.

"Ugh, can't a gal just live a peaceful, quiet life?" Yoshihara asked, her question going out to the world, only to be left unanswered. She groaned, getting out of bed. Her stomach growled at her, and she wasn't exactly in the mood for cooking anything, so, instead, she ordered some Mc Donalds.

It didn't take long for her delivery to come by. After she finished eating, she got into her uniform, seeing as she still had a job to do, that job being the night-time receptionist. After she finished getting changed, she walked out of her room wearing a red dress, and a cap with a double heart logo that read: Love Love Deluxe, and went into the elevator and took the spot of the previous receptionist for the night shift.

The night passed by quickly after the fact. When she was done with her shift, Nemuri hadn't come home yet. It wasn't all that surprising, being a hero was a tough job after all. When she did get home, however, she was greeted with a note that said:

I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me. Enjoy the rest of the night – Yoshihara Kira.

Nemuri was left relieved. She walked up the stairs to Yoshihara's room and creaked the door open, watching as Yoshihara slept. A small smile came over her face as she gently closed the door. "Sweet dreams, Yoshi-chan…" Nemuri whispered, walking over to her room to get some rest from her own rather frantic and busy day.

Meanwhile, sitting at a desk in a building in Esuha, looking down at a photo, a man in an orange pinstripe suit smirked. The photo was taken a few hours ago by one of his men. It was of a blonde-haired girl with pale skin and sky-blue eyes. They were wearing… interesting clothing but then again, who was he to judge. If he were to be honest, he had been shocked to know that he had any descendants.

That man…

The man who almost killed him all those years ago.

Purple eyes gleamed with hatred at the mere thought of him.

"Oh ho… Now this… is interesting. Who would've known you had a child… Don't worry, you'll reunite with her soon," The man said, passing the photo back to the person who brought it to him. "Bring this to the boy we recently turned into a Stand User. From what I understand, he has a grudge against her for some reason or another. Let's not waste manpower, and just have the kid deal with the other brat."

"As you wish, Boss," the thug who brought him the photo said, turning away and exiting the office that The Boss resided.

As the saying went: Deal with your problems before they become problems, and you'd live a peaceful life. And The Boss wanted just that. And no one was going to get in his way. Not All Might, not The Joestars, and most certainly not anyone related to him.

-To Be Continued-