Before I begin the chapter, I thought I would share my thought process with you.

You see, one thing that I haven't put emphasis on is costume changes. While I have been using it to shake things up, they are actually meant to symbolize a change in the character's mindset.

For instance, Johnny's outfits:

1st Outfit: An outfit heavily inspired by Jotaro. This was before he forged his own identity, and so he tried to mimic his father as much as possible. Ultimately, this outfit was short-lived since Johnny made unhealthy comparisons to Jotaro, and when he received his injury, his reality was shattered alongside the suit.

2nd Outfit: Johnny's classic Steel Ball Run outfit is meant to show that he is breaking out of his protective shell, and he is coming into his own. The hat, given to him by Kyoka, was key in shaping his sense of style and his personality in the future. The suit was destroyed after his final bout with depression during the Yakuza Raid arc, where his transformation was cemented.

3rd Outfit: His white/blue outfit represents that he is his own man, with his own life. He has found love and acceptance, and Johnny has finally come to terms with who he is.

There will be more outfits for Johnny in the future, and the reason I brought this up is because there is another costume change this chapter, and it's for Kyoka.

Kyoka's new look is going to represent how far she's come, as well as her shifting morals due to Johnny and Gyro's influence.


Kyoka sighed as she observed her room, looking around for her boots. Once she found them under her bed, she took the time to study the new speakers in the soles.

These were a good idea, but it propels me too high. My body can't physically handle a landing from that height...I'm lucky I didn't break my legs. Maybe if I get some sort of landing gear...

Kyoka sighed and put her boots on. Today was the day that she would lead an expedition into the cave system under Mustafu and find the sword for Jotaro. Of course, she needed to get a clear story on what she was finding before she even made an attempt. She took a long look at herself in the mirror.

Her leather jacket was battle-worn, mediocre stitches lining several different parts of it, especially where Blood on the Dance Floor bit into her arm. While Kyoka could pride herself in being a good designer, she was no seamstress. Her salmon colored tank top wasn't doing too good either.

She looked more like a grizzled vigilante than a hero.

Well...I've done a few vigilante type things...I've already killed a woman. Maybe I should take a page out of Johnny's book and change up my costume so I look more approachable...

Upon thinking of Johnny, Kyoka turned to one of her shelves, where a tattered blue/purple hat and a shattered harmonica sat independent of her instruments. Reminders of how much her best friends meant to her.

Kyoka smiled and opened the door to her room, stepping out into the hallway and heading down to Jotaro's office and knocking on the door. The door opened and Midnight flew out, sprinting down the hallway as fast as she could in high heels.

"Uh..."

Kyoka looked around inside, where there was no sign of the elder Kujo any-

"What are you doing in my office Jiro?"

"GUH!" Kyoka bristled as she had come to realize that Jotaro was behind her. "I-I was j-just coming to talk about the mission today, and Ms. Midnight was in here, so I-"

"Wait...ah shit."

"What?"

Jotaro slowly opened his drawer and confetti shot up into his face. "Yare yare daze..."

"I'm confused."

"Midnight wanted to lighten the mood after Aizawa left...so she started this stupid prank war among the teachers. All Might already replaced my dolphin poster with one of his, and don't get me started on what Present Mic did to me-"

"Why don't you get them back?"

"It's dumb. I'm not exactly the prankster type Jiro."

"So you're just going to take it?"

Jotaro raised an eyebrow. "What do you expect me to do? I'm not going to join in on their stupidity, not when lives are at stake."

"You have a life too Dr. Kujo. You should have a little fun once and a while, get them back! You're probably the smartest teacher in the school, you have to at least have come up with a few ideas."

"Well...there is one thing...but that's for another time. I'm sure you want to know about the sword."

"Yeah, I do."

Jotaro motioned for Kyoka to sit, and she did so. "The sword's name is Pluck. It originally belonged to a knight by the name of Bruford, who was turned into a zombie by DIO. However, Bruford was defeated and set free by our ancestor, Jonathan Joestar, Johnny's namesake. Bruford gave the sword to Johnathan just before he died, and Jonathan used it to battle DIO."

"Jonathan...he was the first JoJo, right?"

Jotaro nodded. "The sword is both an important family heirloom, and a deadly weapon that can be used against DIO. You see, Hamon is life energy, and when a certain amount of Hamon is put into an object...it leaves a bit of the user's essence behind. That sword is imbued with the essence of Jonathan Joestar, and it is crucial for Diego to have it. It will bring out his Joestar blood, and keep DIO's influence in check."

"But Santana hid it away...okay, I understand. I will do everything in my power to find Pluck for you, Dr. Kujo...I won't let you down!"

Kyoka bowed respectfully and exited the room to assemble her team. As she went through the door, her earphone jacks caught Jotaro saying one last thing:

"I know."


"Oh yeah! Field trip!" Kaminari yelled, earning a smack on the back of his head from Kyoka. "OW!"

"Field work, Lighting Dolt. We have a mission to complete."

"Jiro is right, it's time to get serious." Uraraka replied. "We don't know what's down there."

"Why are we here again? I just want to go back to my p- I mean manga." Mineta said, earning dirty looks from the girls on the squad. "Why is he here again?" Mina asked Kyoka.

"He can stop a cave-in with those balls of his."

"So can I..." Uraraka muttered.

"I know, but you'd have to touch every single piece of debris, and you could get crushed. Trust me Uraraka, I wouldn't have brought him along if he didn't give us a tactical advantage."

"I assume I'm here to light the way?" Kaminari said.

"Yep, you're our beacon. While everyone has flashlights, you're the guy who's going to keep us from getting lost."

"Why didn't you get Aoyama? He's brighter than Kaminari."

"In more ways than one..." Kyoka muttered. "Aoyama was considered, but he can only fire his laser in short bursts. Kami can produce electricity for long periods of time."

"Hey."

Kyoka turned to see Johnny and Gyro walking towards the group. "Came to wish you guys good luck!"

Johnny looked at Kyoka and smirked. "Try not to let people die, alright?"

"That's not nice!" Uraraka shouted, but Kyoka knew what Johnny was really saying:

Good luck out there...and come back safe.

"Listen asshole, I'm gonna do my best! God, you're lucky I like you."

I'll do my best, I love you.

Johnny smiled and nodded his head, and Gyro took that as a cue. "What the fuck is that?" He said, pointing towards the sky, and everyone else turned around to see what the Italian was talking about.

Johnny quickly used the opportunity to close the distance between them, kissing Kyoka right on the mouth. "I love you too, and I believe in you." He whispered, and Kyoka laid her head on his chest. "I wish I could just stay here forever...but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

"And she's going to do it well, as easy as she stole my heart."

"Bleh, that was gross."

"That was the point."

Kyoka reluctantly separated their bodies as her team began to turn around. Johnny quickly put a frown on his face. "There's nothing there Gyro..."

"Nyo ho! Get pranked!"

A loud beating sound suddenly filled the air, and the group watched as a Speedwagon Foundation helicopter touched down. The door slid open, revealing a grinning Joseph Joestar. "Are you ready kids?"

"Aye aye captain!" Kaminari yelled out, earning a groan from Kyoka.

"Jiro is the captain this time Kaminari." Uraraka reminded the electric quirk user. "Oh right, I forgot."

Johnny bristled when he noticed the expression on Kyoka's face, it was one that he unfortunately knew too well. Her eyes were pointed towards the ground, and she began to nervously tap her jacks together.

She was doubting herself again, thanks Kaminari.

However, it was too late to attempt to comfort her in some way, because the group was already boarding the helicopter. Kyoka gave him a brief glance and a nervous smile before she disappeared inside.

As the helicopter began taking off, Johnny mentally wished her well. You keep saying that you have faith in me Kyoka...well it goes both ways. I've always thought that you were a true hero...and I'm not talking about the profession. I know you can do this...

And...you just got into a helicopter...

With Gramps...

...

...

...

Gramps, you better not crash that helicopter, or I swear to God.


Toshinori Yagi had to take a Detroit Shit.

Considering the fact that he only had half a stomach, he really shouldn't have eaten so much, but he was too engrossed in conversation to really pay attention. As he rushed into the bathroom, he caught a glimpse of a long black and red coat before it mysteriously vanished.

Must be my imagination...

Toshinori sat down on the toilet and began the process. What he didn't know, was that someone had put plastic wrap between the seats.

As Toshinori's scream filled the air, a dark figure retreated from the scene, chuckling to themselves.


"See kids? Nothing to worry abo-"

The helicopter then bumped into a tree, spun around a bit, and landed with a THUD. Joseph groaned as he shifted his weight. "Is everyone okay?"

Kyoka gave Jospeh an unenthusiastic look, and then realized that Mineta's face was buried into her chest. "OI! GET OFF!"

"Mmm, boob pillow..."

Next thing they knew, Kyoka was tossing Mineta out of the helicopter like a football. "STUPID FUCKING PERVERT!" Mineta cried out as he hit the ground, and the rest of the team disembarked , each of them looking furious with the little gremlin, minus Kaminari.

Kyoka hugged herself, embarrassed, as Mina patted her back. "A-alright...the cave is u-up ahead, let's move."

Dammit Kyoka, don't stutter! Leaders don't stutter!

Do they?

As the group made their way to the mouth of the cave, Kyoka couldn't help but listen in as her earphone jacks picked up Kaminari and Mineta's conversation.

"Dude...how was it?"

"You know, she actually had something there! Granted, they weren't the biggest-"

"Like, how big are we talking?"

"Big enough to pass, small enough to be mediocre. I prefer the BIG ones."

"You know, I still think she has a thing for JoJo."

"What girl doesn't? Although she's just wasting her time. I saw one of those hotties from 1B talking to JoJo the other day, and they really looked like they were hitting it off."

Hitting...it off?

Kyoka felt a the small hole of insecurity get bigger, before she shook her head. No, that's a dangerous place to be Kyoka. He loves you...he wouldn't leave you for some girl he just met, all because she's a bit more feminine, he's better than that...

"Do you really think Jiro is leader material? I mean, she's really smart, but she isn't all that assertive."

...fuck you.

"I'm also quite deaf Kaminari." She called back.

"Really? I didn't kno-oh."

Mina turned on her flashlight and pointed it around, only for a bat to fly into her face. "EEK!" She ducked and hid herself behind Kyoka, who shuddered as the rodent flew away. Uraraka raised her hand.

"Uraraka, this isn't class, just ask the question."

"What are we looking for again?"

SHIT, I forgot to tell them! I'm such a dumbass!

"A sword, it was stolen from a museum. It has the word "Pluck" written on it."

Uraraka nodded, and Mineta tugged on the back of Kyoka's jacket, and accidentally ripped a piece of it off. "Whoops..."

"Mineta...give me a good reason for why you did that before I kill you."

"I-I t-think someone's f-following us."

Kyoka's instincts kicked in, and she quickly turned around and brandished her jacks. "Mr. Joestar, did you see anyone enter the cave after us?" She asked her earpiece.

"No...do you hear someone?"

Kyoka grimaced as her earphone jack detected soft footsteps heading in their direction. "Yes..."

That's when a dark shadow blocked the light from the other end of the cave, and began to cackle. "And here I thought it was Santana...well well well, I haven't seen you guys since the USJ."

No...no it CAN'T BE!

"Mr. Joestar...we have a problem...a BIG ONE."

Tomura Shigaraki stepped into their light, grinning. "Sorry...you'll find that it's VERY hard to get service down here. Come...let's chat, shall we?"

"HE'S GONNA KILL US ALL!" Mineta yelled as he ran into the cave as fast as he could, disappearing from sight.

"MINETA YOU-"

Kaminari discharged his electricity in an instant, and Kyoka had to dodge as Mina hurled acid. Unfortunately, she and Uraraka were caught in the crossfire, and the acid was ignited into a burst of flame.

Kyoka seethed in pain as her jacket caught fire, and she quickly ripped off her sleeve and threw the burning leather aside. Uraraka fell back and landed on the ground and hit her head on a rock, falling unconscious.

Shigaraki just stood there, and that's when Kyoka got a good look at him. His face, while still cracked and worn, was now sunken in, he looked almost skeletal. His red eyes gleamed with hunger, and Kyoka could tell that the former leader of the League of Villains wasn't particularly healthy.

Shigaraki noticed Kyoka surveying him and smiled, pointing towards his face. "Courtesy of Santana...the bastard kept me locked in a cage...starved me. Luckily Dabi and some of the villains still loyal to me have been nursing me back to health..."

"I don't care...it sucks what Santana did to you, but you're just as bad. Why are you here?"

Shigaraki blinked. "You...aren't here for me?"

"No."

"Makes sense." Shigaraki observed the scene in front of him. Mina and Kaminari were tending to Uraraka, Mineta was nowhere to be found, and the only hero that was actually facing him was Kyoka. "They would've sent their best."

Kyoka said nothing, although she was pretty much dying in the inside. Just then a second figure stepped out from the shadows, and a woman dressed in some sort of medieval garb appeared by his side.

"Do you need assistance, Tomura?"

"Just a bunch of clowns. Take care of them."

The woman reached out and a sword appeared in her hand. "EXCALIBUR!" Several smaller blades began splintering out from the end, and Kyoka immediately knew that she was going to fire them.

If I can't lead this team...I may as well save them.

Kyoka slammed her fists into the ground. "HEARTBEAT FUZZ!" As she did so, she remembered what Jotaro had told her about the caves:

"Remember, these caverns have multiple levels, so you really have to search all of them.

The floor collapsed around herself and what remained of her team, but just before she fell, one of Excalibur's blades hit her square in the chest.

"JIRO!" Both Mina and Kaminari cried as they and their classmate fell into the chasm she created, blood flying everywhere.


"JIRO! COME IN!" Joseph screamed into his earpiece, but as before, he didn't get a response. There had been a cave-in, and dust and debris now littered the outside of the cave. If Joseph didn't know any better, it looked like Kyoka had caused it.

"God dammit Jiro...you better be okay. The last thing I want to do is tell Johnny that I lost my future great-granddaughter in law..."

Joseph put a hand on the pilot's shoulder. "If I don't come back, call Jotaro." He then pulled out his Tommy gun from underneath the seat, ready to mow down any villain who dared to cross his path.

Until his earpiece bummed to life.

"Shit...oh that hurts..."

"Jiro?"

"Mr. *cough* Joestar! Thank God!"

"You sound hurt, what happened in there?!"

"It's Shigaraki. He's been using this place as a hideout ever since he escaped Santana. *cough* I almost got impaled, but I managed to *cough* catch the blade before it went too deep."

"What about your team?"

"We got scattered...I couldn't lead them for five fucking minutes before things went to shit. Just...come and save us already."

Kyoka sounded like she was both in pain and in tears. "Jiro, liste-"

"No...this was a mistake. Just...take care of this. I'll let you know if I get into any more trouble."

"Jiro, you're capable. You just need to believe in yourself."

But all Joseph got was silence. He sighed and put his gun out in front of him. I was hoping she could handle this...but now I have to fight Tomura Shigaraki...

I'm sorry to take this opportunity away from you Jiro...

Joseph went into the cave.


Kyoka sniffed, and wiped her face, the full weight of failure bearing down on her. Even after all that progress I made, how far I've come...I still don't measure up. As soon as I was trusted with something important...I blew it.

I just hope I managed to save the others...

Tears started anew at the thought of her leading her classmates to their deaths. What if Uraraka was lying somewhere, slowly bleeding out from the head? What if Mina and Kaminari were turned into Swiss cheese? What if Mineta lived?

Kyoka slowly got up, looking at the blood running down her tank top, and she ripped off the jacket in a fit of anger. Why? Why do they have so much faith in me? Why...

She could already picture it. Jotaro giving her the death glare as he took away her hero license. Johnny breaking up with her and never talking to her again. Gyro saying absolutely nothing, looking at her with disgust, because her incompetence led to everyone being killed.

She had their faith, and she failed them.

She walked into a small alcove, and she found a lamp. Perplexed, she reached up and flicked the switch, and to her surprise, there was still electricity.

The alcove, which she now recognized as a room, was decorated in fancy drapes and in the middle there was a desk. On the desk, there was a book and purple top hat.

No way...could this be...

Kyoka flipped open the book, and put a bloody hand to her mouth. It was a journal, and she knew who it belonged to.

-:-

Dear Diary,

I fucking failed. I joined the USJ attack for Lord DIO, and I got my ass beat...by CHILDREN! There was the little baby Joestar, throwing insults around. I was so MAD! I wanted to snuff him out right there, but then he ran away!

I chased him down, but he got to his stupid little friends. 20th Century Boy was more than a match for them, I even almost nailed this little punk-looking girl with these long floppy ears. The way she froze up like a little mouse getting cornered by a cat, it was HILARIOUS!

Until that stupid Joestar pushed her out of the way. I was really looking forward to the splatter. Then he fucking SHOT me! I fell, so hard! He ruined my favorite jacket!

I have a job in America coming soon, so I think I'll just leave my shit in my cave hideout until I get back, shouldn't be too long. I'm going to have to bring my other jacket, the one Kujo didn't put holes in...

I think I'll leave the diary here too, wouldn't want anybody getting their hands on it.

-:-

He was hiding down here...all this time. Three villains have been using these caves...

Kyoka stared at the page, reading Magenta Magenta's words intently. He called her a scared little mouse...

That's not me anymore...what the fuck am I doing?! Am I really just going to throw it all away?

After Mr. Josuke took me in? After I brought Johnny back from the brink of darkness?

After SUSAN?!

Everything I've done...I am NOT the same Kyoka that bastard was describing...and I'm about to PROVE IT.

Kyoka looked at an old wooden crate in the corner, and kicked the old lock right off. She began to rummage around inside, and pulled out a familiar tattered purple jacket. She ripped off the fancy coattails and threw the jacket around herself. Then she turned around, the Dark Determination was burning in her eyes.

"Mr. Joestar..." Kyoka said into her earpiece. "Go back to the helicopter."

"No can do Jiro, you clearly can't handle this, I'm not go-"

"That's a fucking order!"

She could hear Joseph do a double take. "Excuse me?"

"That. Is. An. Order. I can handle this, you focus on contacting the other members of the team and bringing us together. We're going to find that sword, and we're gonna give that crusty bastard a piece of our minds."

"Jiro, with Shigaraki there, there's no way I can just let yo-"

"Mr. Joestar, I need you to trust me."

"...I'll keep you updated."

"Thank you."

Kyoka turned off her earpiece and walked into the darkness, the only thing visible being the glow of her burning pupils.

"Earphone Jack doesn't give up."