Hello everyone! Here is the 24th chapter of Living Things! This is the second part of the current mini-arc, of which this chapter will show another Stand fight involving two enemy Stands. You will now able to see what the enemy Stands I included to fight against four Stand Users. The fight will not be long and complex, but I hope that you find the incoming Stand battle interesting.

Alright everyone! Let's get reading!

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOOOOOUUUUU!?"

Saki did not spare a look at Kotaro as she endured his usual shouting and tirade to her while he leaned on his desk intensely. This time though, Kotaro has a very good reason to reprimand her for her attempt to talk with a living person. Couple with his loud words, his usual behavior to Franchouchou and Rianima has become a fitting move for their own good.

"HAVE I NOT MADE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT COMMUNICATION WITH THE LIVING SHOULD BE IDOL BUSINESS AND IDOL BUSINESS ALONE!?"

"…I remember," casually replied Saki.

Quickly calming down after hearing her response, Kotaro straighten himself and folds his arms, saying, "You don't get it, do you?"

"Hm?" Saki looks straight at him in curiosity.

"You can't get near violence," he began, informing her one of the rules in being an idol. "It's a taboo for idols. Just one of you slips up… and it could ruin everything. Don't forget that.

"Can't get near violence?" she repeated. She find that hard to believe when she and Franchouchou are involved in Rianima's Stand conflict, as well as them being their guardians. Also, she did kick Takeo a month ago, so she is skeptical. "Ain't we gotten ourselves involved with all manners of violence thanks to Rianima and enemy Stands hovering our heads like a hawk?"

"…Well, you have a point… but still! That's different!" replied Kotaro. "If you're worried that an enemy Stand will appear here to attack us all, I have four of our bodyguards currently taking care of two Stands skulking the roads of Mt. Kagamiyama!"

Saki is surprised to hear it from him. She had only seen Johnny, Gyro and Mamezuku, so she was wondering where the other four went because they hadn't told her and the girls. "Huh? They are?"

"Yeah. I dropped them off on the roadside and returned here," explained Kotaro. "Don't worry. I'll be going back to them when they are done dealing with two enemy Stands and called me through a phone that I gave to Bucciarati. They have Avdol with them, so I'm sure they can oppose one Stand, whose specialty is with ice, like White Album."

"Really?" Saki liked the prospect of fire and ice clashing in a show of dominance between classic elements. "Sure wished I was with them to witness it."

"And get in their way and potentially die?" Kotaro bluntly said. No ounce of humor is in his voice.

"'Course not!" She exclaimed, glaring and gritting her teeth at him.

Feeling she had overstayed her welcome in this room, Saki asks, "Soooo, can I go now? I now understand why you're angry at me due to my actions earlier."

"…As long as you keep my words in mind," he said with a frown. "You're dismissed."

Without saying another word, Saki took her leave. After she closed the door, Kotaro stands idly behind his desk, ruminating on what he warned her about. As a producer of an idol group who wants them to become Saga's most famous idols that will surely get the entire Japan's attention, he is incensed and, on the inside, worried over Saki's attempt to communicate with someone who is a gang member. When word of an idol singer interacting with a gang or having committed violence got out, it would trigger a scandal that will not be easily swept under the rug. Idol rules can be such a pain and he must do his absolute best to follow them for the sake of saving Saga.

Having said that though, Kotaro knew that Franchouchou may have broken that rule for a long time because Rianima is affiliated with them. Even if he would have liked the two groups to not be attacked by enemy Stands, that is a wishful thinking. If anything, reviving seven Stand Users mean that he and the zombie girls have dipped their feet in the sea of undulating waves that is Stands. He remembers one statement from his mysterious benefactor that tells him of how exciting and hard it is to be a Stand User:

Stand Users attract other Stand Users.

Judging from the presence of enemy Stands in Saga and Rianima encountering them while Franchouchou get unluckily sucked in their life-threatening fights, Kotaro can definitely say that that statement is true. Heck, Sakura has the potential of gaining a Stand before he revived her, the other girls and their Stand-using bodyguards.

Thinking on Franchouchou and Rianima's encounter against eight enemy Stands so far, Kotaro doesn't have a right to deny that they are all deep in all manner or violence caused by enemy Stands. As much as he hate saying it, Saki is right.

"…Hope Saga is free from enemy Stands soon," Kotaro said with a sigh. "When all twelve of them are dealt with, the one behind it will surely come out and Rianima will finish them off, and Franchouchou and I are free from the enemy's shackles."

"For now I must wait," he sat down with his hands clasped in front of his mouth with his elbow on the desk. "Cherry Boy, Fire Lord, Zipper Man and Li'l Bomber… Don't let me down."

It is quiet here in the mountainside road of Mt. Kagamiyama. The wind is still and the sky is clear, showing many stars marking most of the sky in patterns. Insects can be heard buzzing in the trees, grasses or bushes so as to break the silence and prevent it from becoming too eerie.

Since it is close to midnight, no one are using the road to travel back home. Rarely do one can see some night owl going somewhere for reasons only known to them. Even then, no humans are present at this time of night because they need to sleep so they will wake up refreshed and ready for tomorrow's work or school.

The above fact may or may not apply to four men walking along the narrow road. Mostly because these are not actually humans, but that's one thing. These disguised zombies are on an important task this late at night to search and eliminate two enemies believed to frequent these mountainside roads. Such task are not for ordinary humans. It is better to have them not get involved in their dangerous job, which is why it's a good thing they are up this late since no one can be bothered to stay awake and go out. And possibly see their true forms behind their make-up.

Taking the lead for the three, Avdol has his eyes both on the road and the floating Life Detector before him. As usual, Bucciarati let the fortune teller go on the front and conjure the flame radar to search for the enemy Stands' presence here in the mountain roads. At the same time, Narancia activated his own radar, this time to detect the enemy's carbon dioxide if they are capable of expelling it. That leaves Kakyoin and Bruno to look around keenly, prepared to bring out Hierophant Green and Sticky Fingers when they found the two enemy Stands or Avdol and Narancia quickly informed them.

This has been going on for nearly ten minutes, and Narancia, ever the impatient member of Rianima, decides to complain of being unable to find their targets quickly. "Maaaaaan, if I was still alive, my feet would be killing me with how long I am walking. When will our targets appear? They are sure taking their sweet ass time staying hidden to irritate us."

"Perhaps your radar must not be detecting the enemies' presence Narancia," remarked Avdol, his eyes not averting from his heat radar. "Since your radar specialized on carbon dioxide detection and has not identified traces of carbon dioxide around here, I believe our main targets were not showing up on your radar because they don't have carbon to expel from their mouths. If it's a user wielding a Stand, they will show up, but if it's just the Stand itself, then they won't."

Narancia could only sigh at his remark, seeing it was useless if what he said is true. "…Well, I guess I could just keep my eyes peeled around us without my radar. That heat radar of yours seem more useful than mine. At least it can detect any traces of energy left by two Stands."

"Do not be discouraged, Narancia," Kakyoin offered some comfort to him. "Just because your radar cannot find our targets' presence doesn't mean you should disregard using it in the future. Being unable to detect the enemies' carbon dioxide should be onetime for this specific fight. It means that our current targets must be built differently."

"He's right Narancia," supported Bucciarati. "Don't take it badly, but you must not also forget of your own weaknesses. If you have the will to overcome it, then you should. You will grow stronger and wiser in the coming battles we must all face."

Hearing his two friends' encouragement lifts up his spirit, so he nodded and smiled at them. "Okay, I'll keep your words in mind! Thanks for motivating me, you two!"

"It's what friends do. Don't forget that," Kakyoin returned his smile with his own.

"Yeah, I know."

Narancia goes quiet after his conversation with the two. Avdol did not interjected, but he is smiling that the boy cheered up. He will not admit it to anyone, much less his friends, but he does have weaknesses that he hopes someone will not exploit it for their own advantage. He was aware of his weaknesses, which is why he chose to wisely step aside instead of blindly charging through and hope for the best. One time his weakness got exploited, he nearly died. If weren't for a stroke of luck, he may have died before he even go past halfway his journey with Kakyoin and the other Crusaders.

The quiet solitude of the roads returned for only a few seconds until Narancia spoke again. "So uh… If I remember right, the two enemy Stands that we must kill are a motorcycle riding Stand with affinity to cold named 「Born This Way」, and the other one takes the form of... balloons, which we must avoid contact with at all costs called 「Tubular Bells」. Did I get that right?"

Kakyoin nodded affirmatively, stating, "Yes. Tatsumi-san informed us about the two Stands we must defeat before we left with him and dropped us here. As usual, it is imperative for us to kill them so all the roads are safe. Not just here, but in all of Saga."

"I do remember how he explained it to us," Avdol chuckled at the memory of their meeting with him. "I mean, it is quite expected from an extroverted guy like him, but still… it's quite something else…"

"Alright, you four! My as-of-yet unknown friend told me about the two enemy Stands said to frequent the roads across the entire Saga during night, specifically the roads of Mt. Kagamiyama. One of them is called Born This Way, a Stand wearing biker gear and fittingly rides in a motorcycle that causes strong winds so cold it can freeze anything and even creates snow!

As for the other Stand, it's called Tubular Bells, a kind of Stand a balloon performer would like to have, 'cause it takes the form of multiple balloons typically created from any metal objects and styled into animal-shaped forms that can track their target's scent. I strongly advise not to let the balloon animals enter your body, 'cause when it did, it will pop back into nails, bolts or heaven-forbid, scissors, which will pierce, stab and cut through your skin and organs painfully! Even a guy like me find myself wincing just from the thought of someone getting stabbed bloodily from these metal balloons!

"I think at this point, mister Kotaro will shout his lungs out and explain absolutely anything ostentatiously," continued Avdol. "'It's to make his words clear to a bunch of rotting corpses like you!', as he said."

"I can see where he's getting at," sighed Kakyoin while shaking his head. "But he could just explained it normally. Not yelling our ears off just because some of us may not hear him clearly, which is obviously not true…"

"For Tae, that is absolutely true," Narancia pointed out.

"Whatever thoughts we have of him, or if some of us dislike him or even tolerate him, I believe he wants to be as loud and conceited as possible so he can mask what his inner feelings," speculated Bruno, who rubs his chin in thought.

"Do you think that's true?" Kakyoin asked.

"Well, remember when he participated once in the Gatalympic event?" he reminded them. "He was really different. He became quite shy when he is usually bombastic in his manner of speech. He could have used that chance to promote Franchouchou, but surprisingly, he didn't."

"I dunno. Maybe he became that way because he's facing the audience?" doubted Narancia.

"That could be the reason. But I have a feeling that's not true."

"Whatever the reason, I believe we can all agree that we still do not know him even after many months have passed," Avdol summed up their thoughts to the mysterious producer. "It doesn't help that he purposely avoid answering our questions about who he is, opting to yell to our faces when we continue provoking him,"

"And shouting back or hitting him in turn," Narancia mumbled annoyingly.

"B-Besides that… While we may try speculate his mysterious identity, Tatsumi will continue being his usual self for the foreseeable future," Avdol cleared his throat in response to Narancia's own response. "All I hope to see from him is that he toned down his attitude and speak to us without raising his voice."

"I think… he's making a progress on that one," Kakyoin tap his chin, noting the few times he saw Kotaro not shouting obnoxiously. If he continue not raising his voice frequently, he would slightly tolerate him and perhaps others will too. He believes that he is better than being an annoying producer who likes to mock them. It is hard to see since he always acted boastful but beneath his exterior is a man who has the capacity of being nice and understanding. And surprisingly shy.

Can't believe I'm thinking that… Never thought a day would come that I seriously believe Kotaro would try toning down his behavior. His first impressions to us means that it will be hard to shake off and deem him irritating and a nuisance, but I hope everyone become fine with him at best, or most likely tolerate him at worst. Well, I know who some of us would be placed in either categories…

"Huh? Is that a balloon?"

Narancia's words put Kakyoin's thoughts to rest. He, Avdol and Bucciarati turn to the orange balloon shaped into a dog as pointed by Narancia floating past the four as they continue walking.

フワァァ〜ァァ

The balloon left their sights, leaving them confused at seeing it around here. They didn't get to remark about it's appearance when a second balloon shaped into a bird flapping its wings fly past them to their right. Unlike the first balloon, this balloon did not leave the four, making a U-turn so it followed them. The four are currently close to the curved turn of the road when they stopped walking to discern what's the deal with this balloon.

Quickly deeming it following them conspicuously odd, Kakyoin move near the bird balloon with a cautious look. Feeling Hierophant Green's faint presence behind him just in case, he asks, "Guys, should we pop this balloon? I have a feeling that it will follow us if we ignore it and keep moving."

Narrowing his eyes, Bruno had instantly viewed the balloon as suspicious. Remembering Kotaro's words and warning about the other enemy Stand and how it attacks, he grabs Kakyoin's arms and pull him away from the balloon. He says to him, "Don't get near it Kakyoin. I have a feeling that this balloon... isn't an ordinary balloon."

"Not an ordinary balloon?" Avdol is skeptical at first, until a gasp escaped his lips as he glanced to the heat radar. It's hard to see at first if one did not get close to it, but a flame pointing to the direction where the balloon is flickers subtly. Add that with Kotaro's statement about the enemy Stands they shall face and...

! !?

He quickly called out the two close to the balloon in an alarmed tone. "Kakyoin! Bucciarati! Get away! That balloon must be 「Tubular Bells」!"

In his alarm to warn the two, the first balloon that floated past them earlier have sneaked beneath his and Narancia's notice, so they didn't notice it sneaking towards Avdol's left heel until he felt it. "Ungh!? W-What's touching me?"

"Avdol?" Hearing his warning and confused words next, Kakyoin and Bucciarati turn to him. They got distracted by him so much that they didn't see the bird balloon seizing their change of vision to float toward Kakyoin's neck.

Noticing the end of his robe floating up near his feet, Avdol pulled his robe up to see the dog balloon trying to squeeze into his left heel. "Wh-What? This balloon... Why is it trying to go inside my heel?"

Brandishing his switchblade, Narancia moves to pop the balloon with his blade, exclaiming, "Hold on Avdol! I'll pop this balloon!"

Popping the balloon? But, Kotaro told us not to get close to the balloons, or else they'll... AH!

"Narancia, don't-!"

バン

Too late. The balloon had only started burrowing inside Avdol's heel when Narancia popped it. The blood drawn from the "balloons" attempt to burrow inside his leg was miniscule, but when it reverted back to a long sharp nail, the volume increased that small puddles formed underneath Avdol. As well the pain.

"AGGGHHHHH!" He screamed, the pain forcing him on the ground as he clutched his heel that has now the nail piercing through it.

"Avdol!" Bucciarati called out in shock and concern after seeing his heel get stabbed.

"The... The balloon...!? It popped back into...!" Kakyoin exclaimed after now seeing they are already under a Stand attack.

"AHHHHH, OH NO! WHAT DID I THINK OF POPPING IT!?" Realizing what he had done, Narancia wants to apologize, but then he noticed the bird balloon being an inch close to touchign Kakyoin's neck. His breath hitched, before he exclaimed to him, "Kakyoin! Get away from that balloon! It's... It's going to attack your neck!"

"Uhh!?"

Unfortunately, Kakyoin turned to the bird balloon out of instinct, and before he knew it, it began digging through his neck like the dog balloon did to Avdol.

"S-SHIT! HIEROPHANT GREEN!" He lets out before he has difficulty speaking when the balloon is halfway through entering his neck agonizingly. Already being summoned, Hierophant Green grabbed the balloon tightly and starts pulling it out. However, the balloon continue squeezing inside his neck no matter how hard the Stand pulled. Even having the tendrils pulling it did not make a difference. A-Aggghhhh! This balloon! I'm just stretching it! It won't come out and... it must have burrowed almost fully inside my neck!

"GO! STICKY FINGERS!"

ジィィーィィ

Seeing the mortal danger Kakyoin is in, Bucciarati has Sticky Fingers do the only choice he has so Kakyoin makes it through the harrowing experience with as little harm as possible: unzipping his neck in half.

Huh!? B-Bucciarati-san!?

Grabbing Kakyoin's head in his hands, Bruno is pleased to see that unzipping his head off his body means that the balloon is exposed without anything to burrow in. He did not let it stay there for long as Sticky Fingers pulled the half-deflated balloon off the stump. He then threw it up high before commanding. "Narancia, quick! Blow the balloon to pieces with Aerosmith!"

"Alright! AEROSMITH!"

ドガガガ

Thanks to Narancia's quick action, the balloon got ripped apart with his Stand's bullets. It has the effect of reverting it back to its original form: A scissor.

Having saw the balloon turn back into a scissor as Bucciarati puts his head back to his body, Kakyoin is horrified that his neck is almost torn apart by a scissor. If that happened, he is sure he will lose his life to a balloon Stand of all things, painfully. "A scissor... I-I almost got injured from... a scissor."

"What a nasty and terrifying way of attacking someone," Bucciarati concurred. "Sorry for suddenly detaching your head using Sticky Fingers. I have to free your neck from the balloon before it can do major damage like it did to Avdol."

"It's alright, Bucciarati-san. I know that you had good intentions when you did it to me," Kakyoin smiled at him, letting him know that he does not hold it against him. Bruno is glad to hear it.

"Hey, come on you two! Avdol needs medical aid, ASAP!"

Remembering Avdol is injured, the two run towards the two before kneeling to Avdol and Narancia's level. The fortune teller is gritting his teeth in agony as he applied pressure to his wounded heel. The nail is still piercing his heel, so it is not with the amount of pain coursing through his left leg. He and Narancia considered removing it, but that would cause blood to flow out of his wound in bigger volume, and therefore, inflict him with potential blood loss. Determined to prolong his (undead) life, Avdol let it stay there.

Wincing at the sight of the wound and blood, Kakyoin and Bucciarati turn to Avdol, the latter moving to remove the nail. "Avdol, I will close your wounds with my zippers after I remove this nail. Is that okay?"

Avdol nodded, saying, "Yes. I will endure the pain, so please make it quick."

Doing what he told him to the best of his reflexes, Bucciarati has Sticky Fingers remove the nail out, and before Avdol could scream, zippers closed the wounds, preventing more blood from getting lost. With the temporary aid applied, Avdol thanked Bucciarati before he tries standing up, only to be stopped by Narancia.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you think you're doing Avdol? You should sit on the ground. I don't think the pain will not stop just because Bucciarati applied zippers to your heel wounds."

"I will be fine. This pain is... nothing to meeeeee...! Ugh!" He tried to argue as he stands up, only for the pain to stop him and render him kneeling on his left knee.

"Careful Avdol. We need you to preserve your strength in order to fight back against the other enemy Stand," Kakyoin told him, rubbing his shoulder when he crouched down. "Tubular Bells may have sprung into action, but our fight has just started."

"Hm. You have a point Kakyoin," sighed Avdol. "Sorry for becoming a burden to you, Bruno and Narancia."

"It's fine. We need you to stay alive under our watch," stated Bucciarati. "We still need to find where the enemy that is riding a motorcycle is. That means we have to walk again, so I have to lift you up. Is that alright with you?"

"No. Thank you again, Bruno."

ギラー

Before the four start moving again, a light suddenly shined on them from nowhere, momentarily blinding them enough to cover their eyes. They also heard rumbling engine as Kakyoin recoiled, exclaiming, "Ugh! W-What is…?"

At the same time, one of the Life Detector's flames burned brightly, which Avdol and Bucciarati noticed. "Ah! The radar! It detected something in front of us!" exclaimed Avdol.

"Really? Then what is it?" Narancia asked, moving to the front to see the heat radar and the source of the light currently shining on them. Seeing the one fire in the front grew large and flickering, Narancia connects the dots of the fire and the object in front of the group. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, wondering if the sudden appearance of the light might be the cause.

Deciding to confront it, Narancia took few steps forward before shouting, "Hey! You there! Is there a reason why you'd flashed your headlight before our eyes? Some of us could get blinded!"

"Narancia, step back. We do not want them to be offended by your angry words," Kakyoin tried to placate him, thinking the one who flashed their light at them must be harmless and didn't mean to do it.

"Wait. Don't get close, Kakyoin," Bucciarati put his arm beside him to stop Cherry Boy from walking forward.

"Bucciarati-san?" He turned to him.

Staring at the humanoid rider seating on an armored black sport bike, decorated with decals of a smiley-faced flower on the hub caps and stitched design on the front fork, Bucciarati, Avdol and Narancia's eyes are set on the similarly armored helmeted rider that looks vaguely human. In fact, this rider has a cyan aura covering its entire body. They glanced at one of the flames that is pointing in the direction of the biker, as if it's responding to its presence.

Kakyoin followed their eyes as well after having noticed the flickering flames and the biker itself…

..Just as it starts revving up the motorcycle before taking off with a head start…

…towards the four, with the intent of ramming into them.

! !

Seeing it's about to crash into both Narancia and Avdol quickly, Bucciarati and Sticky Fingers pushed the two and Kakyoin to their sides, with Zipper Man stating, "Get out of the way!" Thanks to their quick reaction, the three are safe from getting hit by the biker.

Unfortunately for Bruno, he is left in the open for the identified Stand, 「Born This Way」, to strike him instead and he won't be able to get away because it is near him.

Shit! I should have my Stand pull them out of the way instead of doing it myself!

Having no choice, Bucciarati sees the only course of action between himself and the motorcycle.

"STICKY FINGERS!"

ジィィーィィ

Appearing out from a zipper, the Stand protected its user by holding the front of the motorcycle. Bucciarati can feel his arm throb in pain but he has no time to deal with it because he quickly finds himself carried away or pushed by Born This Way, who hadn't stopped driving.

"Bucciarati!" The three shouted at him in surprise.

"Gck! GrrrrrrRRRRRRRRAAAAARRRGGGHHH!" grunted Bruno, as Sticky Fingers planted its feet on the ground for added resistance to stop Born This Way from accelerating more. However, the Stand proves to be stronger and resilient than he thought because it kept going even with the friction from Sticky Fingers slowing it down a little, which is not enough and only cause Bruno's feet and shoes to scratch roughly against the asphalt.

Summoning Hierophant Green, Kakyoin shouted, "Hold on Bucciarati-san! Take this! Emerald…SPLASH!"

"Go, AEROSMITH!"

"Crossfire…! HURRICANE!"

The three sent out emeralds, bullets and flaming ankh directed at Born This Way to stop it from pushing Bucciarati towards the cliffside. They quickly realized Born This Way's intention when it kept going in one direction and didn't stop. It is possible Bruno also noticed it as well, as they can hear him grunting loudly as Sticky Fingers tried its hardest to even decrease the motorcycle's speed, which is proving to be useless. The fact that its user will get rammed harshly for sure if it ever let go means that it's unable to create any zippers with its hands. At that point, they are both trapped.

Hopefully with the three helping out by attacking Born This Way directly, they can stop its charging and save Bruno from falling down the cliffside.

However, in their haste, they almost forgot that Born This Way is just one of the Stands that they must fight.

When it looks like their attacks will connect, a group of animal balloons with sheen skin and twisted body to formed specific forms of animals intercepted their projectiles.

!

"What!?" Kakyoin, Avdol and Narancia shouted in shock.

Some of the balloons popped when they got hit by all of their attacks. They turn back to nails, knives or screws before falling on the ground with audible clangs.

Staring at the group of balloons and the "popped" balloons at once, the three realized that their second target have made their appearance protecting Born This Way. It didn't take long for them to recognize what these balloon Stands are. "Those… Those balloons… So sending two balloons at me and Kakyoin is not enough, it seems," Avdol exclaimed.

"No, it's obviously not enough," lamented Kakyoin. "I just did not expect them to appear by shielding its partner and prevent us from saving Bucciarati. Darn it! We mustn't face them now! Bucciarati is still in danger!"

"But there's so many of them!" Narancia pointed out, gritting his teeth in irritation as more animal balloons typically consisting of dogs, swans and fish take the place of the "popped" balloons while increasing the number. "I don't like saying this when one of us is currently in danger, but we have to fight them! I have a feeling that we will have a hard time, including Bucciarati, if we ignored them in favor of trying to save him!"

"…Nngh!" Avdol wanted to deny that. If they don't act fast, who knows what will happen to Bruno? Either he will froze to death or fall down the cliffs. Seeing no options here, he relented, bringing Magician's Red by his side as he entered a battle stand supported by his hands gestures. "I have faith in Bucciarati that he will get out of his predicament! He has proven to be an expert in using a Stand and fighting the opposing Stands! We must do what Narancia said and let Bucciarati deal with Born This Way!"

"Yeah! We must pop those little pricks with our Stands!" he exclaimed, beckoning Aerosmith to be on stand-by.

While Kakyoin has his doubts, he decides to join with them, aware of what Tubular Bells can do if they slip up and let them pop close to their bodies. "I may not like it, but we have no choice then. Alright! Let's pop those balloons quickly!"

At the same time, Bucciarati gave up applying friction to the ground to stop or decrease Born This Way's speed, or else he could damage his feet because the soles of his shoes are almost gone due to his attempt.

He is very far from the others, so he's on his own fighting Born This Way. Right now, the two are close to flying off the edge of the roadside cliff, and Bucciarati knows what Born This Way intends to do to him. What's worse, his own hands got stuck on the windshield of the motorbike caused by the enemy Stand commanding freezing winds against him. Feeling the chill running down his spine is the least of his worries when his hands are stuck frozen in the front. It seems like he has no avenue of escape, especially since he called back Sticky Fingers and grab the front with his own hands.

Born This way believes that it will now eliminate and cripple Rianima when the battle barely made it too far.

"Trying to push me off the road and send me tumbling across the mountainside? I don't think so…"

Bucciarati raises his head to stare at the Stand back. Or at least he would if he can open his eyes, which are frozen shut due to the wind.

"I did not grabbed the front of your motorcycle because I got desperate. In any other situation involving getting pushed by a bike, I would have my Stand stop it to protect me and prevent myself from getting run over. It is pointless telling it to you since you may not pay attention, but Sticky Fingers can create any zipper when its fists touches something."

"It has a range of 2 meters and it attacks by rapidly punching or sometimes kicking an opponent with all the strength it can muster," he continued despite both of them dangerously close to the cliffside. "Right now, I was thinking on stopping you by using zippers. But no, I want to save that up when I regain my advantage. In fact, I can feel it close to me. I can stop you and get off this bike."

Born This Way responds by increasing the speed just as it went over the edge.

Bucciarati however, remains focused.

"Perfect. This is the opening I'm waiting for!"

Behind the helmet, its eyes widen, but it didn't get a chance to comprehend the next course of action when Bruno finally retaliates.

"GO! STICKY FINGERS!"

"ARI!"

Sticky Fingers put all the strength in that one punch, shattering the visor as Born This Way flung away from the force.

In a matter of five seconds, Sticky Fingers quickly gets to work to free Bucciarati and throw him back to safety of the road. With precise fast movements, Bucciarati's hands are free from the windshield of the biker, grabbed him and threw him back to the road as far as it can. Born This Way tried intervening by grabbing his leg, which it did. The Stand intends to take Bucciarati with it so it is not alone making a rough landing on the mountainside.

He is not having of it though.

"Quick! Unzip my wrist!"

"ARI!"

Born This Way's attempt failed when Sticky Fingers unzipped Bruno's wrist that was being held, freeing itself. In retaliation, Sticky Fingers sends out dozens of kick to its face, muttering its cry as it did. "ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI! ARRIVEDERCI!"

With one last kick, Born This Way fall towards the trees, using the momentum and support of the enemy getting kicked in the face to jump up together with Bucciarati and managed to grab the edge of the road with his other hand. His unzipped wrist also returned to him when the enemy lost grip with it.

Watching the enemy tumble through the bushes, Bucciarati lets out a sigh of relief that he made himself to safety. He never thought his plan of waiting to be flying in the air with the enemy Stand would work. It was full of risk and there is a high chance that he will be plummet across the mountainside with Born This Way, accumulating bruises, wounds and fractured bones along the way.

"Okay. Time to get up."

Doing just that, Bucciarati rolled over the asphalt to rest a little after the intense life-and-death situation. While he is glad he made it to safety, getting rammed by a motorbike hurts so bad. He believed he must have a bruise somewhere on his torso.

"No time to check my wound," he told himself as he rises up, feeling the rough surface touching his feet. "For all I know, that enemy is still not dead. Must have survived rolling down the mountainside and recovering back to its bike. Avdol must be the one who should deal the critical blow against Born This Way, provided it doesn't have a trick on its sleeves."

Rolling his shoulders, Bucciarati starts running back to his friends, worried if they are under attack by Tubular Bells while he was busy trying to save himself.

Little did he know, Born This Way was just around the corner of the road, having quickly recovered after sustaining injuries crashing through the bushes, trees, rocks and of course, tumbling along the steep mountainside. The visor on its helmet also stayed broken thanks to Sticky Fingers, but its robotic face and eyes and lilac skin that can be seen in the helmet remains unscathed in spite of the visor shattering into many sharp glasses. Even if it did got wounded on its face, it didn't care for now as it chased towards Bucciarati.

Much to his relief, Kakyoin, Narancia and Avdol appear uninjured and safe when he reached them. They are catching their breaths however since they were fending off Tubular Bells while avoid getting touched by any of the animal balloons. Getting touched by them equals getting punctured by sharp objects.

"Crossfire Hurricane!" shouted Avdol as Magician's Red roared and shot out another flaming ankh against the inflated guard rail, which acts like a slithering snake when it inflated. The rail evaded it, and the ankh flew through the air before exploding as the rail lunged toward Avdol.

"AEROSMITH!"

A hail of bullets fired against the snake-like rail, which it swiftly dodged all of them. At the same time, the plane Stand tried ramming itself against the rail, intending to have its spinning propellers slice it up. Again, the snake dodged every attempt of Narancia's attack, much to his irritation. "Goddammit! Would you please stay still and drop dead, already?!"

Carefully maneuvering away from Aerosmith, the rail balloon found an opening for it to lunge towards the Avdol, the one man who can end Born This Way swiftly because of its fire-controlling Stand. It did just that when Narancia realized it flew out of Aerosmith's sight. "Ah! Avdol!"

"I know!" Magician's Red appeared behind its user with its beak and both hands aflame, ready to engage against Tubular Bells.

"There! Hierophant Green!"

The guard rail completely forgot the teenager who was with Avdol and Narancia the entire time. Since it got distracted evading their attacks, it didn't see Kakyoin already having a plan in mind to kill its pesky form.

As such, the guard rail makes a screaming gesture when tendrils erupted from the ground and stabbed through its body. Grinning that he successfully executed his trap, Kakyoin says, "Caught you. And for good measure…" Hierophant Green conjured more tendrils to stab its body more, just to be on the safe side.

Narancia is wide-eyed over Kakyoin's strategy, having never thought Hierophant Green would dug its tendrils or even itself on the ground and stayed hidden. "Whoa! You finally got that puntura!"

Avdol chuckled at his tactic, really impressed of his Stand's capabilities and making the best of its unique and limited ability. "Good job Kakyoin. I knew I should expected you to have a scheme in making."

"Well, we are in a cramped space, something Hierophant Green likes. And not to mention," Pointing his finger while posing, he watched as the snake-like rail screamed out its last cry inaudibly when Hierophant Green teared it to shreds. "Hierophant Green loves nothing more… thanto rip things to shred!" The rail "popped" back to its original form, and all that remains of it are the scattered parts of the guard rail. If they are worried that any passing vehicle could fly off the road while turning, they shouldn't because there is only one guard rail loose.

With the last of the Tubular Bells taken care of, the three let out sighs of relief and content. They never thought slaying animal balloons that can pop back to its original form like a nail or screw to puncture their bodies messily would take an amount of effort and teamwork to eliminate.

"I see you three were busy," They hear Bucciarati's footsteps and statement as the man approach them with a smile.

"Bucciarati!" The three called out in relief. They approach him, all of them worried that he might have got injured by Born This Way. Being close to him, Narancia first asked him if he is fine, stating, "Hey, are you alright? Did that biker Stand hurt you bad? And speaking of the Stand, where is it? Is it gone?"

"I doubt the enemy would be easily defeated like that by himself, Narancia," Kakyoin doubted. Looking down the road, he quickly noticed a light that grows larger. His eyes narrowed as he informs the three of the approaching the Stand. "And sure enough, the enemy is still standing."

"Just as I thought. Sending it down the cliffs is not enough," sighed Bucciarati. He turns around to face it properly, bringing out Sticky Fingers. "I believe we need you Avdol. You know that you must be the one to defeat that Stand. I have a luck of experiencing its freezing wind back when it tried pushing me off the cliff."

"How is it? Is it really cold like Kotaro told us?" Avdol inquired, summoning Magician's Red as she stood beside him.

"Very much," nodded Bucciarati. "My hand got stuck frozen on the bike's windshield, my body shivered from the amount of cold running down my spine and even my eyes were forced to be closed shut because they actually froze."

"W-Wait what? Not even your eyes are safe when cold wind blows on your face!?" Narancia exclaimed in disbelief.

"I guess Tatsumi-san is not lying that Born This Way may gave us a difficult fight if we didn't have Avdol," Kakyoin concurred with the producer's claims about Born This Way. "Aaaaand… looks like it has animal balloons flying by its side." He noted as the enemy Stands got closer for them to be able to see more of them.

"What? Seriously?!" Li'l Bomber shouted in disbelief again.

"Not just on that side! Look!"

As pointed out by Avdol, another group of Tubular Bells manifested from nowhere, this time having the guard rails join the group after getting themselves off the ground.

"Ah come on!" Really angered of the balloon's persistence, Narancia choose not to wait for their command as Aerosmith shoots out dozen of bullets it possibly can to give himself a head start in eliminating the enemies. "Who's blowing through the metal and shaping them into different animals, anyway?!"

"No time for questions, Narancia!" Bucciarati told him. "We must focus on eliminating the enemy Stands for good! I think… you three knew what to do next, right?"

"I believe so. No need to tell us more, mister Bruno!" Avdol replied, prepared to face down Born This Way's freezing winds with Magician's Red blazing flames.

The four Stand Users get to work fighting the enemy Stands, engaging in teamwork while looking out each other so the enemies did not resort to cheap shots and inflict damage when they did not look.

Stand Analysis:

Tubular Bells

Destructive Power: D
Speed: D
Range: B
Stamina: A
Precision: E
Developmental Potential: B

Tubular Bells is a colony Stand which has them appear as balloons that is shaped into any animals. These balloons, however, isn't any ordinary balloons, but actually metallic objects blown and inflated to simulate the appearance of a balloon.

After they are shaped into a dog, a bird, or even a snake, they proceed to track their targets marked by their scent. Once they found them, they will make contact with their body and burrow deep through any external body parts, before "popping" back to their original forms like a nail or scissors, harmfully lodging themselves in their target's body. Potentially, these colony Stand has the potential of dismembering or injuring their target's body through inflated knives or scissors.

Born This Way

Destructive Power: C
Speed: B
Range: A
Stamina: B
Precision: E
Developmental Potential: E

A Stand wearing a biker gear who rides around on an armored sports motorcycle, Born This Way typically hunts its targets through riding a motorcycle. Once they find them, they will relentlessly chase them, producing strong freezing winds that can immobilize their opponents through an unnatural drop of temperature. It's so cold that it can potentially freeze their body, even their eyes and mouth because of the moisture and salive contained within them. Let it persist and snow will start appearing.

Only a Stand with equal speed and strength and has an ability capable of countering its freezing winds can one stand a chance against Born This Way even if they got used to being chased by it.

Onomatopoeia:

フワァァ〜ァァ (Fuwaaaaa) - Something floating/flying in the air.

バン (Ban) - Balloon popping.

ギラー (Giraa) - Light shining too bright and suddenly

Finished!

As you may had read it, this chapter sees Kakyoin, Avdol, Bucciarati and Narancia fighting against Born This Way, who is flanked by Tubular Bells. Since Saki's episode is focused on two biker gangs, both past and present, I see to it Born This Way is included because it obviously fits to the motif of the episode, and find it cool (pun unintended) to have a Stand who moves around by riding a sports bike. Sure the Stand will not attack both Dorami and Korosuke as it is focused on killing four of our Stand Users along with the balloon colony Stand, but I am satisfied to have the Stand be included in a mini-arc with a biker gang theme.

About Tubular Bells, I thought to give the Stand who is originally from the Steel Ball Run universe to give it company as the duo of parellel world Stands. Other than that, it's ability to have metal objects be inflated as a balloon and shaped into any animals that can squeeze through their victim's skin before popping back into their original forms to skewer and dissect them gorily is interesting to me. I have to include it for the fight as a colony-type Stand.

As I said above, don't expect the fight to be long and complicated, as with Magician's Red being a good counter against Born This Way's freezing cold winds, I see no other exciting and bizarre way this fight will end. Then again, I like to have Avdol get in a couple of fights after he was shafted in a majority of them during Part 3 thanks to his strong Stand. That being said, that doesn't mean he will make the fights easier for his friends and companions.

The next chapter will conclude the current mini-arc, which will also see Saki and Reiko attempting to stop Maria from doing the stunt that killed a certain legend, as well as the reunion between two partners, even if Saki must deny that she is the same Saki who died before Reiko.

After that, a fanfic-exclusive fight similar to the Weather Warning SAGA arc is up next, and for that fight, I'll have Johnny, Gyro, Mamezuku, and some of the girls. I'm still deciding who will unwittingly get themselves kidnapped by the couple of last enemy Stands before the fanfic's second act is done. Hope you are looking forward to it, as few plot development will be set up for the long third act of Living Things.

For now, please wait until the next chapter is added this week, and if you like, leave a review. Stay safe everyone, and as always, I bid you all adieu~.