Bearticguy7: I love it!

Euphoria: These are all really good ideas!

Dumpstertrashfire123: I originally gave him brown hair because Stone Ocean wasn't animated yet, and Jolyne's mom's hair was that color in the manga, and it's his hair color in the video games. Then the anime made her blond so it was pointless.

So, with the theme of moving forward from the past, I thought it would be a good opportunity to correct that.

Crinightnight: Thank you! The Barge is actually sort of the SCP Foundation of this universe, and it may not be the only facility out there that has a similar purpose...

Ivory Insanity: I love it! Already liking the new cast!

Monster King: Thanks!

Kasumi Kenshiro: No, they are not. The Rock Humans haven't been born yet.

KuJo Stories: Nice! I might have a good use for that!

I'm a KFP Customer: The fruit is, of course, setup for the sequel. As for Jojolands, already 10/10 for me.

Guest: I love how I shat on AFO in this story, and I ended up predicting canon. Tokoyami will have a bigger role from now on.


I forgot to comment on Jojolands last chapter, so...I already fucking love it!


Enji Todoroki exited the hospital, a cross expression on his face.

It had been a while since his attempt to fight Kars, and his reluctant team-up with Santana and Joseph Joestar, and he was finally cleared to go out and continue his work.

The growing support for Santana after the whole incident was concerning.

The League of Villains had changed it's name to New Dawn, and more people were supporting it. There was also quite a few people opposed to it, particularly those who tended to discriminate, calling the movement 'forced.'

He wasn't opposed to Santana's message, per say...especially since he was a part of the problem. If anything, his atonement was what Santana really wanted.

The issue was the chaos the movement might cause. It was far from a peaceful protest, Santana was actively gaining power over certain areas of Japan, and was becoming an active crime lord to rival All For One.

Scratch that, he beat All For One. The "Demon King" has been surpassed.

'I was hopelessly outmatched in that fight. Kars...I stood almost zero chance, he took my Prominence Burn like it was nothing. If it wasn't for Santana things might have been much worse...so that begs the question...should Santana be stopped?'

It would cause a war, but knowing Santana and his methods, he would try and keep casualties to a minimum. Maybe it was best to just let Santana establish his new order...it might honestly be what's best for society.

'No, that's ludicrous.'

A woman stepped in his path, stopping the number one hero in his tracks.

"Good evening, Endeavor."

"Madam President."

The President of the HPSC gave him a polite, but solemn nod, and the two began walking together.

"How are your wounds?"

"Better. I hate to say it...but Kars was far above my level."

"Far above anyone's level, from what the Speedwagon Foundation was telling me." The President said, and turned to look at him. "It was a miracle that you managed to send him back to space, or hero society as we know it would be done for."

"I barely did anything...Santana and Joestar were the ones that actually sent him up there."

"Ah yes...Joestar. That family has always been a bit of a...how do I put this...a wild card." The HPSC President said. "They have fought for peace, and we owe a great deal to them...but at the same time they don't necessarily abide by the rules."

"Giorno Giovanna is a crime boss, and yet half of Japan relies on him. He's a big part of UA's funding, so I'm told." Endeavor agreed. "The best hero school in the country...but from what I've seen...he's a good man. A criminal, yes...but one we need."

"It bothers me."

Endeavor raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"They have free reign to do whatever they want thanks to that Speedwagon Foundation. They can get out of almost any legal trouble, and they can even interfere with official HPSC business without consequences. There needs to be a limit to what they can do."

"It almost sounds like they got in your way recently."

"...they may have. I won't say they made the wrong decision...but the risk they took could have put the simple country in jeapordy. I feel like they have too much leeway, that's all."

Endeavor frowned, and turned away.

"Restricting the Joestars isn't a good idea, in my opinion. I feel like things would only get worse."

"So are we supposed to just let them stick their noses in our business? Top secret information is in their hands now...and that isn't a good look for us. If their businesses, illegal or otherwise, weren't so integral to the economy..."

The Joestars really were quite powerful, now that Endeavor thought about it. Especially Giorno and his influence, the man basically had Italy's underworld in the palm of his hand, and he had several connections all over the world.

He couldn't help but wonder what they were up to...


"So...any idea on what class is going to be? It's our first one since the Calamity."

"I heard that Aizawa wants us to do 1v1s, so I'd imagine we're being paired off." Kyoka replied, taking her boyfriend's hand and swinging their arms back and forth to piss off some girls that were talking about his new hair.

"I hope I get paired with someone who knows what they're doing...it would suck if I had to fight Mineta. His Quirk is great for practical use, but with Tusk it's not much of a fight." Johnny said with a bored expression. "As much as I want to teach that little twerp a lesson on basic human decency, I want a challenge."

"Maybe you'll fight Sato."

"...look, I like the guy, but he gets dumber the more he fights. That's a huge disadvantage in a Stand Battle."

"Yeah, very true. He'd have to eat less if he wanted to stand a chance. I actually hope I fight Mineta, that little pervert snuck a glance up YaoMomo's skirt before I could catch him." Kyoka muttered. "He's damn lucky she wears shorts, or he'd be fucking dead."

"Don't most of, if not all the girls wear shorts under their uniforms?" Johnny asked. "I believe we talked about this before."

"Well yeah! Because of that little shit...and because it's comfortable in my case. God I want to bash his face in every time he starts drooling! Someone needs to finally put him in his place, the teachers have talked to him, he's been warned multiple times...if he actually sees something, he's out of here, your dad will make sure of that."

The two made it to the locker rooms, and faced each other.

"I think we both agree he needs to face some consequences for his actions, more than just intimidation from me." Johnny said.

"We should really bring it up with your father, not that he isn't aware of it already...it just seemed like Mineta was mellowing out after the Pluck mission...but apparently not."

"Definitely...alright, I'll see you on the field."

"Yep. Love you."

"Love you too."


When Johnny came out in his hero costume, he found Gyro on his hands and knees.

"Uh, Gyro?"

"I lost my gum!"

"I didn't know you were a gum chewer, I thought you were a mint guy."

"Excuuuuse me? Maybe I'm both!" Gyro retorted, turning around and pointing a finger at his partner in crime. "Labels are the enemy of diversity, Johnny!"

"...I just thought you preferred mints-"

"You were labeling me as a mint guy! Labeler!"

Johnny blinked in confusion, not really understanding why Gyro was lecturing him about labels and gum, when Aizawa stepped onto the catwalk above them, and cleared his throat.

The class immediately ceased it's chatter, and all attention was on their scruffy homeroom teacher.

"...with recent events fresh on everyone's minds, I believe that now more than ever, we should be prepared." Aizawa said, his eyes perusing his students. "Some of you were affected by the disaster, and that's something I can't stand for."

From the back, Present Mic was giving everyone one of his signature smiles as he began writing names on a whiteboard behind him.

"So, I will be pushing you all even harder, as will Dr. Kujo. These are uncertain times...we have no idea when Calamity may hit us again..." Aizawa continued, eyeing several Musketeers, knowing they would get his double meaning. "We need to be ready. I will not rest until I have seen you all graduate, and that means I need to make sure you all have what it takes. We will be having 1v1 fights, partners assigned by me. No backing out either, or it's a failing grade."

Kaminari's hand shot in the air.

"This better be a question worth answering Kaminari."

"It is...I think. What's allowed?"

"Wow, something smart...these will be no holds barred fights, except for attacks that could seriously injure your classmates. As long as it isn't capable of maiming someone (Kujo), it's allowed."

"I have never maimed a classmate." Johnny retorted.

"Last time we had a training session you shot me in the ass!" Kaminari exclaimed, still bitter.

"That was a low powered Act 1 bullet, you were fine."

"It didn't feel like I was fine!"

Aizawa simply gave them a look, and they both shut their mouths.

"With that out of the way, here is the match ups."

Johnny looked for his name on the list, and when he finally found it, he immediately wished that he hadn't, because his opponent was someone who he really didn't want to fight.

JoJo vs. Earphone Jack.

'Oh my God...I have to fight HER?'

Aizawa was giving Johnny a big shit-eating grin, and Johnny had almost given his teacher the middle finger in response.

He had to fight his girlfriend.

This wasn't a matter of "oh, I can't hit her, I love her!" Johnny wasn't against fighting her for that reason at all...it was because she genuinely terrified him.

It wasn't because she was his girlfriend, it was because she was capable of whooping him.

Kyoka was a very serious opponent, even before her Quirk Awakening, and even before she had discovered her Hamon potential. Kyoka knew him like the back of her hand, she knew his tactics, his weaknesses, and was more than clever enough to exploit them.

He couldn't hide from her, she had trained herself to hear his wormholes in order to aid him in stealth operations, but now that could be used against him.

They both had ranged abilities, but her's covered a much wider area.

'She's going to kick my ass.

Then again, she may know me like the back of her hand, but I also know her. That's the real reason Aizawa pitted us against each other...as for Kyoka herself, she's bound to take this 100% seriously...'

Johnny already knew what he would find if he turned to look at her, but nonetheless he did it anyway.

She was already staring at him, challenging him, with a smirk on her face. There was a fire of competition in her eyes, one that couldn't be quelled until they fought, because this wasn't simply a training session...

It was a rematch.

Last time they had been pitted against each other was the very first time they had met, when Johnny and Tokoyami had tricked Kaminari into electrocuting her. That was the old Johnny against the old Kyoka, and Johnny had taken victory.

Now they were both different, both stronger inside and out. This rematch would be a test of their growth since their first meeting.

Johnny met her smirk with one of his own, and they both had the same thought:

'You're going down.'


"...Lady Nagant wasn't in her cell?" Hawks asked quietly.

"Neither, apparently...is STAIN." An HPSC operative said, a grave look on his face. "Or Muscular. Those three were released from prison just like AFO was...but only AFO was put back."

'My predecessor is free...would she come after me? Does she see me as a threat? She's clearly very bitter towards hero society...and why would Kars free those three as well as All For One? All For One served his plans, but the others?'

"There's a rumor going around in the prison that Kaina Tsutsumi committed suicude, and they disposed of her body...but we would have been informed if that were the case. A rumor designed to throw us off her trail." The operative continued.

"If Nagant is truly out there...she might just be the most dangerous woman in Mustafu..." Hawks put a finger to his chin, a saddened look coming onto his face. He didn't blame her one bit, he's dipped his wings in blood a few times, the fact that she snapped made perfect sense.

Neither of them wanted to be killers.

'The status quo needs to be changed, so that people like me, and Nagant, don't exist. I should tell those kids about this...Lady Nagant is seriously a major threat, but maybe she could also be reasoned with? Stain is insane, and that Muscular guy is just a sadist...'

"Why would Kars release them?" Hawks wondered aloud.

"...Nagant was free before that."

"WHAT?! WHY WASN'T I INFORMED?!"

"Because...we're pretty sure Tartarus is compromised."

'Tartarus...compromised? The most secure prison in the country...possibly the world?'

"By who?"

"...Santana. If we went after Nagant immediately, we'd likely invoke his wrath." The operative said. "Between you and me...our superiors are scared stiff of that man. His movement is gaining traction...and if he really does have a hold over Tartarus..."

"He's slowly taking over society." Hawks finished. "With AFO out of the way, he has no real competition either."

'He's fighting for the right thing though...to say that inspiring people who are being oppressed is a bad thing would make me no better than the assholes who put them in that position. So...should Santana be stopped?

What a mess...'


Earphone Jack: Second Symphony vs Tusk Act 4:

Kyoka entered the arena, and threw on her new jacket, grinning.

A chance to fight Johnny again wasn't something she was going to pass up. She knew full well that there was still a good chance that she could lose, but losing wasn't really what she was worried about.

This fight was different, it wasn't about winning or losing, it was about the difference. The difference between now and then, and if she won, then it was a bonus.

For her jacket, she had gone back to black, but it had a purple trim taken from the remains of Magenta's. On it's shoulders was a pair of anchors, another tribute to her mentor, more prominent than ever. Especially after the Barge, she was more than proud to call herself Josuke Higashikata's student.

Beneath the jacket was a white sleeveless tutleneck, tucked underneath her choker.

Over her ears was a pair of red and gold headphones, with a pair of fins protruding from the back. An upgrade to her previous ones, these ones were designed to amplify her hearing slightly more than her jacks already did.

A light purple utility belt was bolted around her waist, carrying all of her gadgets and weaponry, including her swords and her wrist amplifies, which were held in holsters similar to the way Gyro carried his steel balls.

"Digging the new look."

Kyoka raised an eyebrow as Johnny stepped into view, his horseshoe hat ever prevalent. His now blond hair was blowing in the wind as he gave her his usual smirk.

The design hadn't changed much, but he now wore a star for a belt buckle, which had the letters 'JO' carved into it. Two belts were wrapped tight around his waist, similar to his father's outfit, and he wore studded leather gloves, fingerless of course.

Remembering his ugly Jotaro cosplay at the beginning of the year, he looked almost like a new man to her, but it was a welcome change. If anything, she found him even more attractive than she already did previously, probably because of how it reflected his growth.

"Digging your own grave would be a better description. Flirting and compliments aren't winning this for you."

"Did you get taller? Wait...no, that's the boots."

"Another height joke? I'd be careful Jonathan, I could knock you down a few pegs." Kyoka said, smirking as the couple began circling each other. "You better not take it easy on me, I want a proper rematch."

"THE MATCH STARTS IN ONE MINUTE!" Present Mic's voice boomed.

"Taking it easy on you? As if, that's a good way to get myself blasted to Kingdom Come." Johnny retorted. "I'm not underestimating you, at all. I plan to win."

"So do I."

The two teens stared at each other for a good while, before Kyoka spoke up again.

"I know what you're thinking."

"Do you?"

"You're thinking: 'Are those new jacks fast enough to keep up with my Stand?' Am I right?"

"...are they?"

"30 SECONDS!"

"Honestly? I have no idea, but I do know that they're pretty fast." Kyoka responded. "I'm curious about it myself."

"A test of speed then."

"Mayhaps."

"GOOOOOO!"

Two lightning fast attacks hurtled at each other in an instant, and Johnny couldn't help but feel impressed. The jack was almost as fast as Tusk, only a hair slower.

'Damn...being able to keep up with a Stand like Tusk...that's close to breaking the sound barrier. My Stand is only slightly slower than my father's, which is LIGHT SPEED.

Hell, neither of us are at 100% right now, cause that would be letha-'

Johnny quickly realized that he had been duped.

There was an amplifier on the jack, she was actually going to blast him.

'You-!'

Tusk retreated from the blow, and lept out of the way as a sound attack tore through the spot where he was just standing. Tiles were ripped from the floor...

It was the same size as one of Katsuki's explosions, just as destructive too.

Johnny turned around, only to find that Kyoka had vanished.

'You...clever girl.'


"She almost kept up with Tusk." Gyro said, his jaw hanging open. "She...actually almost kept up with Tusk."

"Genuinely caught him off guard with that too." Izuku said, putting a finger to his chin. "Of course, in a different kind of fight, where they would hypothetically try to actually hurt each other, JoJo would probably still take the cake."

"His Stand can break a dimensional barrier, of fucking course he could." Katsuki replied. "That ain't the point of this fight though, this isn't about power...it's about THEM."

"Where did she even go?" Ochako muttered. "That blast was filled with Hamon, the glare hid her from the cameras...probably JoJo too."


Johnny let out a huff, and shot the ground.

Kyoka could hear his wormholes, but he had a counter to that...and it was simply to make use of Tusk Act 3.

He fired three more shots, and retreated into one.

The others positioned themselves around the battlefield, moving in random directions. It didn't really matter which one Kyoka encountered, he could attack from any of them. With multiple wormholes, it didn't really matter that Kyoka could hear them, she would have no idea which one he would attack from.

It didn't take long for Kyoka to show herself. She walked right out into the open, pressing her lips together.

"I hear multiple wormholes...no point in playing hide and seek at the same time. I suppose...I just have to wait for you to show yourself."

The purplette sat down, and closed her eyes, plugging her new jacks into the ground. She was meditating, calming her nerves.

'You're a terrifying opponent Johnny. If I am this intimidated by you, knowing full well you would never hurt me, I can only imagine how our enemies have felt. Hearing the buzz of your wormholes was once a comfort...

Now, it's a threat, and it's honestly freaking me out. I can't afford to lose my cool though...not with you.'

So she cleared her mind, casting away doubt, and just let the warm energy of Hamon flow within her. Her nerves wouldn't be playing a role in this fight, only her instincts, her intelligence, and her newfound power.

She knew Johnny like the back of her hand after all...she knew his tricks.

*pop!*

Kyoka tilted her head, and a nail bullet flew past her.

'An Act 1 bullet by the sound of it, a low powered one. At most, it does as much damage as a bee sting...he was testing the waters.'

*pop!*

Kyoka used a jack to push her body to the side, the bullet bouncing harmlessly off of the cord. The spot were the bullet had made contact briefly lit up with violet light, but soon faded back to silver.

Then she opened her eyes, and proceeded to dodge three out of five of the bullets shot at her. The other two clipped her shoulder, but she didn't seem to care.

Kyoka had decided to press the attack, and made a mad dash for a wormhole.

"Hey JoJo, I had a thought..."

Bullets peppered the area, but jacks proceeded to bat them aside, swirling around Kyoka like a ribbon around a baton twirler. She came to the wormhole in question, and knelt down.

"Your wormholes allow you to hide away without any danger of being attacked, nothing can enter them except you...but you can still hear, can't you?!"

Kyoka pulled a wrist amplifier, and fired it into the wormhole.

Only to be hit from behind...with her own attack.

"YAAAAAAAGH!"

Kyoka was blown forwards, and her jacks shot out and wrapped around her head, working with her headphones to muffle the attack, but did little for the impact.

"Oof!"

"You're right, sound does travel through my wormholes...I was expecting you to pick up on that. I can also position them anywhere I want, in this case behind you." Johnny said, stepping out. "I got out as soon as you-"

Kyoka's fist slammed into his face.

"ZOOM PUNCH!"

'Shit! I forgot she could do that!'

Johnny stumbled back, and Kyoka pressed the attack. She ducked under one of Tusk's fists, and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's torso, lifting him clean off of his feet, above her head, and slammed him into the ground behind her.

'OW! HOLY SHIT!'

It was no secret that Kyoka's physical strength was above that of the average human. She was now around Jonathan Joestar's level of raw power in terms of Hamon, and she had just reminded him of that...painfully.

*CRACK!*

Johnny was forced to evade as a jack lashed at the floor. He rolled to the side and fired a bullet, only for Kyoka to deflect it. She was pulling out the bigger guns now, using whip attacks to keep Johnny at bay.

They were really fucking hard to dodge, even for Tusk.

"I admit Johnny, you got me! That doesn't mean I can't return the favor!"

'Shit...shit...SHITSHITSHITSHIT!'

"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"

Johnny grunted as his Stand began furiously blocking the blows. Whip strikes thudded against Tusk's arms, threatening to break through his guard at any moment. He was unfortunately on the defensive, as the jacks were a lot smaller than a fist, and could easily strike him in the chest if he went for a punch.

So he did what anyone would do...he fought dirty.

As in he literally kicked dirt into Kyoka's eyes.

"GYAH! JONATHAN!"

Tusk punched a support beam, sending part of the ceiling crashing down while Kyoka was stunned. She grunted and rolled out of the way, and plugged a jack into her boot, sending another blast his way.

Johnny propelled his Stand right into it, and Kyoka's somewhat irritated eyes widened as Tusk powered through the sound attack, reaching for her.

'Right...it has an A in range! Johnny doesn't need to be near me for Tusk to attack!'

The Stand's hand began rotating, and it was holding something yellow, but it had become a blur. Nonetheless, she managed to figure it out just in time.

Johnny was using the Spin to hurl handcuffs at her. It was one of the conditions for winning, to either cuff or incapacitate the opponent. If she didn't get out of the way...

"HEARTBEAT BOUNCE!"

She barely got out of Tusk's warpath, grabbing onto the hole that was made in the ceiling. Tusk slowly turned it's head to face her, and pointed.

'You know...being on the opposite aide of things...Tusk Act 4 is really fucking big. I already knew that of course, but now I'm really considering it. It might even be bigger than Star Platinum by a hair.

It's at least 9ft tall.'

The fact that something so huge could move so fast, it made Kyoka appreciate Johnny's skill just a little bit more. He really utilized all four acts to his advantage, making things quite difficult for her.

That's when she noticed that wormholes were tracking her.

'That clever bastard is also using Act 2 bullets! If I drop down, I won't be fast enough to stop the Stand itself, but I also can't hang here! He boxed me in!'

Obviously, the wormholes wouldn't be used to their full destructive potential. The last thing either of them wanted was to actually seriously harm each other. If anything they were just a way for Johnny to get to where she was by using Act 3.

Nonetheless, she was still trapped.


Gyro was mad.

"I-I'm really sorry Gyro, I didn't mean to dent the steel ball, honest!" Izuku said, waving his arms around. "I just saw that it had stopped spinning, so I kicked it away from you. I didn't know I did it that hard!"

"My beautiful...handcrafted steel balls. Carved with so much care, so much love...only for a fucking asparagus to disrespect my craftsmanship." Gyro put the back of his hand to his forehead and pretended to swoon. "I have never been more insulted!"

"Izuku, he's messing with you." Momo cut in. "He can fix a dent in his weapons without issue. Gyro, stop teasing him just because you lost."

"Well, I wanted to go easy on him cause he still hasn't fully recovered! He took advantage of my kindness!"

"I didn't know! I thought we were taking it 100%!" Izuku protested. "You never said: 'Hey, let's take it easy so you don't hurt yourself', we just went!"

"That should be the first thought on your BRAIN, DUMBASS! Who fights seriously in a training exercise after an injury like that?! Nobody, except you!" Gyro repeatedly poked his friend in the head.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow-"

"Take better care of yourself!"

"I was fine Gyro!"

Momo put herself in between the two, placing a hand on both of their shoulders to pry them apart. "What is done is done. Izuku, Gyro's concerns are quite valid considering your history of being reckless. Gyro, Izuku still beat you fair and square."

"I know..." Gyro said with a pout, earning a light chuckle from Momo as she patted his cheek. "You seem to be in a slightly better mood."

"Yes...Mr. Joestar and I had a long talk about the fight with Kars. It...still keeps me up at night as of now, but I've come to appreciate that we had a bit of fortune on our side...which is odd considering there was a Calamity, but I digress." Momo said with a huff. "I'm just glad we can all still be together."

Izuku adjusted his Mid-Gauntlet bracers, and nodded. "If anything...I think we grew just a bit stronger as a group. DIO's plan was to scatter us, which led to several close calls, so if anything it shows how we need to stick together."

"You know...after the Doctor passed away, All Might mentioned that we could register as an 'Agency-to-be.' I think we should seriously consider that..." Momo said. "We'll be counted as a team, officially, in work studies, training, and our grades will even be counted as an average to determine how good we are as a group, although we'll still be able to graduate individually. It might truly be best for us...although it's apparently unheard of for first-years, and it's usually only two or three people."

"Could be beneficial...holy shit, what is Kyoka doing?!" Gyro exclaimed, pointing at one of the screens.


Kyoka had drawn her sword, Vibrato, and had plugged a jack into it's grip. She was slowly and carefully using her jack to bring her sword over to one of the wormholes, all the while keeping her grip on the ceiling.

Johnny's head emerged from a wormhole, raising an eyebrow.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Improvising." Kyoka grunted out.

"You...do know that my wormholes disintegrate anything other than me that tries to enter them, right? Even then, I know you would never stab me."

The sword stabbed into the ceiling, and cut a circle around the wormhole. Johnny's eyes widened as his wormhole fell to the ground along with the piece of ceiling.

Kyoka grinned, her experiment had worked.

"Your wormholes need a surface to travel on, so I cut out that surface!"

His girlfriend climbed up into the hole, escaping his trap. Johnny shared a glace with Tusk down below, and his Stand gave him a shrug.

'She countered both Act 2 and Act 3. I can't decide whether to be frustrated or to find that attractive...

Both it is.'

Tusk shot up through the floor, carrying it's user. Kyoka had just made it through the door when she saw Johnny barreling towards her, looking like a bat out of hell.

"SHIT!"

Her jacks barely made it in time, and fired her wrist amplifiers in two separate directions, desperately trying to defend herself from Johnny's blitzkrieg tactic.

*BOOM!*

Johnny's eyes widened in surprise as his Stand's fist thudded harmlessly against a wall made of of Hamon-enhanced sound.

Kyoka looked equally as shocked.

'Did...I just create a shield?

I created a shield! Holy shit, I just found a new move!'

"Er...HEARTBEAT WALL! YEAH, I TOTALLY MEANT TO DO THAT!"

"...I almost got you."

Kyoka was sweating profusely, a nervous grin on her face. "M-maybe so, but you have to admit it's kinda cool...and it bought me time!"

She separated her sword into her dual Allegro blades, and cut the door to pieces, ducking around the corner.

'She's fleeing there for a reason, Kyoka probably heard something through the walls...chasing her directly might lead me into some sort of trap...may as well take a shortcut.'


"So that is how you take care of a mango tree." Giorno Giovanna finished, presenting a sapling of said mango tree.

Josuke Higashikata scratched his chin, staring at the plant with a intrigued expression. "Okay...sounds kind of interesting, I'm not going to lie. You know, becoming a farmer of sorts could be a nice side business, and I'm sure Tonio would love to buy stuff from me."

"Your Crazy Diamond can also prevent them from rotting." Giorno noted. "As long as they're damaged you can fix them. What's with the interest anyway?"

"...someone I know said that she likes fruity things."

"..."

"..."

"...you're trying to impress a woman?"

"No, I already did that. Er...Giorno, can you promise to keep quiet about this?"

The head of Passione nodded with a smile. "Of course."

"I uh...oh boy...I may have gotten someone pregnant."

"...oh wow."

"Y-yeah...we thought we were being careful but, y'know..." Josuke said with a nervous smile. "Look, I wasn't really planning on starting a family, but we're going to keep it. I barely knew this woman, just one thing led to another, etc...that's...why I want to earn a little bit more money so I can support whatever's happening."

"Like, what do you mean you by 'barely knew?'"

"As in we just met and we were drunk."

"Holy shit Josuke!"

"I know, I know!" Josuke waved his hands up in the air. "I'm taking full responsibility for this. Just...don't mention anything to the family just yet, until I can be sure of what's going to happen."

Giorno nodded, taking a deep breath. "I can do that. Just don't keep it a secret for too long, the last thing we want is for this to get messy."

"I'm not going to hide it forever Giorno, I just want to handle this myself. Once I'm sure we're in a good place, I'll let everyone know." Josuke replied. "On a different subject...where were you when the Calamity hit? Jotaro mentioned you were fighting somewhere."

'I know the real reason why Josuke isn't keen on telling people yet...' Giorno thought to himself. 'It's pride. He wants to succeed where his father, Joseph, failed.'

"I was in Tokyo actually. A new group has formed that directly challenged Passione, they call it Humarize. They started a huge drug racket in an area under our protection, and you know I can't stand for that." Giorno responded. "If I had known what was happening over here before I sensed it, I would have come straight away, although I do not have the arrow at the moment."

"I see...what's the deal with Gold Experience Requiem anyway?"

"Hm?"

"Sometimes you need the arrow to activate it, other times it is just there. Why is that?"

"It fluctuates. Gold Experience's transformation into Requiem is temporary, but the amount of time it's around is not set in stone. Sometimes it's a few minutes, sometimes it's months. As of right now, I'm back to normal Gold Experience until I use the arrow again."

"Ah...I see...Giorno?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for the help." Josuke said with a smile. "I knew I could count on you."

Giorno returned the smile. "It's no problem at all Josuke, I'd do anything for family."


Johnny punched a hole through the wall, and barely managed to avoid a blast of sound. He and Kyoka were in a chase, and so far she was ahead of him.

Every attack they hurled at each other was tearing UA's arena apart. Sunlight was poking through the holes they made in it's structure, and their pursuit of each other was making quite the mess.

Part of the wall ahead of him shattered, and Kyoka lept into it, firing a grappling hook from her wrist amplifiers. A multitude of guns was wrapped around her wrists, an attachment to her amplifiers that she can pop out at will, and Johnny knew a secret to her costume:

Under her sleeves, and the straps keeping her amplifiers on, was red colored straps containing over 50 bullets each. Within her belt were cartridges containing even more.

Kyoka turned around in midair and aimed her guns at him, causing Johnny to raise an eyebrow.

'Those are still real bullets, there's no way she's going to fire them. It's clearly some kind of fakeout...the question is what is she covering for?'

That's when the crimson straps flew out from her sleeves, and wrapped around his arms. She had used her bullet casings to make her own Hamon-ified version of Aizawa's capture cloth.

"What, did you think I wrapped my arms because it looked cool?"

Kyoka fired Heartbeat Bounce, and slammed her boyfriend through a wall while she had him restrained. Johnny crashed to the ground, but his arms were still bound...

So he integrated Tusk's arms with his own, and yanked Kyoka towards him with ease.

"Get over here!"

"Really?!"

Kyoka headbutted him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him, yanked him into an elbow, which he caught in his palm. He proceeded to drive his knee into her stomach, causing Kyoka to spit out saliva, and reached behind his belt...

Instead, a jack wrapped around his hand.

The two grappled for dominance for a moment, staring into each other's eyes in the weirdest romantic moment they had ever been in.

Johnny finally broke free by spinning Tusk's left hand, forcibly curling the jack that was restraining him and tying it into a knot.

"OW! YOU DICK!" Kyoka yelled.

"ORA!"

*CRACK!*

A low powered swipe from Tusk hit her right in the jaw, and she crashed into the wall. Johnny briefly paused, worried that he had overdone it, but Kyoka got back up.

"What was that baby punch for?" She asked, blood running down her face. "You know I could take more than that!"

"A moment of weakness, I'm afraid."

"Pfft! Ha ha ha ha! You looove me!"

"Yeah, I do...which is why I won't insult you by making that mistake again." Johnny replied, taking a fighting position. "My next blow will be much stronger."

Kyoka's eyes softened, and her smile lost it's wild energy, and turned gentle. She took a fighting position as well. "Thank you...Johnny. I won't insult you either."

She proceeded to punch the ground with an armed wrist amplifier.

"HEARTBEAT OVERDRIVE!"

'You already knew I was running to a location, not from you. You willingly stepped into my trap, not to let me win, but so you could legitimately try to get out of it.' Kyoka thought as the floor collapsed into a small flooded room. 'You knew I intentionally broke parts of the building too, so I could follow the sound of running water.'

Johnny was thinking something similar.

'This is your trap huh? Clever as always. However, I still fully intend to win!'

Tusk rotated it's fist, and punched into the water before Kyoka could use it for her Hamon, forming a whirlpool. Kyoka willingly dove into it after taking a big breath, and it began glowing a bright blue.

'I see, you're going to use-!"

'TURQUOISE BLUE OVERDRIIIVE!'

Kyoka fired it from her wrist amplifier, so the sound spread through the entire body of water, causing the attack to ricochete off of the walls and towards the middle where Johnny was. The attack hit him head on, like multiple fists striking his torso at once.

Tusk had retaliated just in time, hitting Kyoka with a hard (non-lethal) right hook at the same exact time.

Kyoka fell to the ground, spitting out blood, but propped herself up with her hands. She had gotten a punch to the side of her face, and her vision was getting blurry.

'Ow...oh fuck...that hurt...but I'm not down yet! That Overdrive hit him hard, so it'll take him a while to get up...I can cuff him if I just...put in...a little more effort!'

Johnny wheezed, the attack had knocked the wind right out of him, and Tusk was fading in and out. He slowly got to his feet, grunting, and reached into his belt to pull out his extra pair of cuffs, and turned around as soon as he heard a noise.

*clink!*

Both Johnny and Kyoka froze, and they both slowly turned their heads down...

They had handcuffed each other at the same time.

"Heh..."

"Heheh..."

"...BWAH HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!"

They both broke out into laughter, because not only had the fight ended in a draw...but they were in the middle of a bathroom. The irony wasn't lost on either of them as they embraced, laughing their asses off.

A bathroom, where they had their first fight, where they had first met.

When Johnny had taken victory, all the while trying to fight as someone else. When Kyoka's confidence had been at an all time low, defeated by not just Johnny, but her own doubts and fears.

Their rematch, in a bathroom, and a draw. They were walking the same path together now, and this fight had proven it.

Aizawa, from the surveillance deck, was smirking. This was the result he was hoping for, his students had exceeded his expectations with this fight.

'My job is to make you all stronger for the coming storm, but truth be told...I can't do that as effectively as you can for each other. That's why I put you two lovebirds against each other.'

Thinking back to the beginning of the year, he looked at their expressions now compared to then.

They were joyful, proud of each other...

Proud of themselves.