Muska watched Coco and the children eat from the widescreen monitor of the Zan-Mari's captain's quarters. Well, he watched the children eat at least. Coco only watched as the still nervous children distracted themselves with the gourmet cuisine.

Little piglets, he thought to himself.

Not that he could blame them. It took escaping this dump of a homeland to realize just how bad people here had it. Like tasting the sweet tangy flavor of an orange for the first time after a lifetime of knowing nothing but the bitter taste of the rind. Meteor City was hell, and Muska felt absolutely no attachment to it…well, there was one. But she was already in his grasp.

She was angry now. Would be angry for weeks he figured, but that was par the course with Coco. So righteous, so noble. It was one of the things that attracted him so much to her. She was the light in his life, had been the light in both his and Mikkelo's lives.

Muska scowled. He didn't want to think about his brother, dead as he was. After all, he had been the one to kill him.

"Tsk, why am I thinking of that bastard now!" He yelled, throwing his wine glass at the wall.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Yo, Boss. Is everything all right in there?" a concerned voice called out from behind the cabin door.

"Just peachy." He replied lazily.

This wasn't how things were supposed to go. If only…if only Coco had just done what she was supposed to. Fallen in love with him, like she was supposed to…If only he had confessed to her, all those years ago…first…like he was supposed to.

Mikkelo, you bastard! You knew! You knew how I felt and yet you!

Muska had to fight to restrain himself when he tasted blood in his mouth. He had let his anger get the best of him again. He was better than that, at his best when he was his cold nihilistic self. That was how he had killed, bribed, and worked his way to this position.

He, the runt from Meteor City that everyone underestimated. He, the man who ran, who built, the white dust drug operation that raked in billions of Jennie a year for a Family that was only three decades old. He, who even their Primo was wary of, because one day, one day Muska would rule from the top, and no one would disrespect him again. Not Mikkelo, not Coco, and not some foundling she had decided to take pity on.

He watched Coco from a camera strapped to the collar of one of the guards he had assigned to her. She and the children were in a tent where they could dine while taking in the last bits of breathtaking scenery only this dump could provide. Majestic mountains of trash and rubble only centuries of worldly neglect could shape.

She'd see things his way. Once you got a taste of the other side of life. Clean water, unripped clothes that hadn't been passed down through two dozen generations, food you didn't have to worry would kill you. She would grow used to it. Then she would understand him. The people were the same, worthless, out for themselves, darkness everywhere. She'd learn that too, was learning it now.

You'll learn how foolish your dreams were. How both of your dreams were. "You can't build paradise in hell. You need to go out there and seize it!" He said to himself through strained teeth. He calmed himself. Not now, he wouldn't lose himself now. Not when he was so close to his goals.

Muska continued to stare at the screen as he watched Coco watch her students. It was so like her. To put her own comfort second to others. Sitting down at his mahogany desk, he pressed a button near an attached mic.

"Jim, is it?"

"Ah, y-yes sir?" Said the man through his earpiece, the sudden shuffle on the screen indicating his subordinate's surprised movements.

"Please walk over to Ms. Abelnite and tell her that I've noticed she's not had any of the food I've gone so far out of my way to provide, and that out of a growing sense of distress over her poor nutrition, I highly recommend she make herself a plate."

Muska watched as Jim walked over to Coco. Watched as her face contorted from anger to fear, and then, resignation.

Do you have to make things so difficult for yourself? Why can't you see that all of this…is for you.

She sat at a foldable table as several students crowded around her, some offering bits of their own food, a young girl, offering a chocolate-covered strawberry. She took some, but more often than naughty had them sit and eat. Talked to them to soothe their nerves. If that was how she wanted to do things, he'd do her one better.

"Jim," Muska began. "Inform my guest that I'll be down shortly."

Enjoy this time while it lasts, Coco. Once I get the call that your little fling's gore is fertilizing the bottom of the Canyon, we're leaving.

He rose to put on his coat and fix his tie, before grabbing the holster of his custom-made pistol.

"And you'd better pray you put me in a good F#% mood when we do."

Coco ate quietly and nervously as did most of the children. The food really was good. Of such a quality Coco worried too much of it would upset her student's stomachs. That said, she hadn't the heart to limit how much they could eat. They were afraid, and the sweet foreign delicacies of fresh fruit and chocolate fondue, buttered shrimp, and all kinds of sweetmeats were an able distraction from their dire situation.

Jim, as he named himself, slowly walked to her and lowered himself to her ear. "Boss man says he'll be joining you shortly. Best you prepare yourself."

He had a kind face, and the fact that he had gone out of his way to tell her this so as not to frighten the children spoke to his decency as a person, which just went to show Coco just how far afield Muska had been able to recruit from. In another time, another place, in better circumstances, perhaps most of the men here would be at home with their families, kind fathers, and brothers, leading quiet lives.

Muska…, she thought.

How had it gotten to this point? Hadn't they been friends once upon a time? She had known both he and Mikkelo since they had been her students' ages. Memories of bygone days of skipping class to explore, collecting aluminum for the chance to buy a single can of cola they could all share, of sharing an evening on a hill passing around a can of expired lunch meat as they laughed at jokes and gossip only children could understand. All this was lost forever.

"Are you all right, Ms. A? Don't worry, I'm sure Mr. Fix'll be here soon!" Moss said with more bravery than he had any right to.

Silly boy, Coco thought as she wiped a tear from her eye.

Of the students with her, Moss was the only one who had been involved with the original group that had gone to find Jojo when he was just the Badland Beast. His admiration for the repairman who had saved him and his friends was such that he wore his hair in a near-identical pompadour.

"Yeah, Ms. A. Our moms and dads are gonna be real angry when they find out what happened. The others musta told them who took us, right?"

"Of course, Leez," Coco said comfortingly as she petted her young ward's hair.

Unfortunately, the truth was the van had been unmarked, and any from five to twenty large criminal organizations could be operating in Daggertown at any time. While the relationship had changed drastically from when she was a child, where children could be kidnapped and killed in a day without repercussion, the reality was that many of these families still retained much influence through their ability to provide food and necessities, even if they couldn't act with the impunity they once enjoyed.

This meant unless the community had solid proof, many of these criminals would just as likely point toward rivals as they were to point toward the true culprits assuming they even knew who the culprits were. There would be hell to pay for certain, but by then she and her kids could be miles away.

"Who is that guy anyway?" Moss asked through a mouth full of bread. "The one with the stupid green hair who acts like he runs the place."

He was talking about Muska of course. In the few scant moments, he had made his presence known between their kidnapping to their ferrying between the Block and the pier, Muska had clearly shown himself to be the ringleader of this cabal.

But how did one talk about an old childhood acquaintance turned villain?

"He's-"

"Why not ask him yourself young man?" came a smooth voice from behind their table, sending a shiver down Coco's spine.

She didn't have to turn to know who had spoken.

He was wearing an all-around nicer, more expensive suit than he had worn during their last meetings, the charade of being a simple accountant having long been cast away.

"After all," he continued striding toward them, "It's not very polite to speak about people behind their backs."

He was flanked at either side by the same bruisers that had escorted her and the children from the Block to their current location. The same ones that had fired on Josie earlier. Her students were immediately cowed, none daring to look him in the eye.

"Oh, come now, I didn't mean to spoil your appetites. This is some premium fare, real expensive stuff. What would it say about my hospitality if you all didn't eat your fill."

No one dared move as he took a seat across from Coco and most of the children.

"I said," he began gently, "what would it say about me if you little shits didn't eat!"

His last words were filled with so much venom and vitriol every child began to stuff their faces even if they had begun to feel full. Coco too felt fear, but not for herself.

"You don't need to yell at them!" she shot back. "They're scared enough as it is!"

He shot her a cold look that quickly faded into one of supreme calm and gentleness. A lie.

"I'm sorry," Muska began, "I just, get so worked up sometime, Co. You must understand, organizing all these killers, why, it's like running a classroom full of kids." He finished with a laugh.

It was disturbing, listening to him not only use her old nickname, but laughing the same laughter that was so familiar to her. A laughter so very similar to one she had mourned years ago.

"Do what you want with me, Muska. If I'm your goal, you've already won, but you can release these children, can't you?"

He chuckled in a way that suggested he was about to explain something very simple to a small child before snapping his fingers signaling his men to serve him refreshments.

"I suppose I could do that," he said as he began to cut into a steak. "….If I was a complete idiot." His eyes grew dull. "I mean, what better way to make sure you behave than to make sure you can't…well…misbehave."

"Muska.."

He held his hand out to quiet her. "I mean, they'll be taken care of, so long as you don't cause trouble. Oh! I got it! We'll even get you some chalk, and textbooks, good ones too, so you can continue to teach 'em. They'll have three square meals a day, bout as good as this. You kids would love that, right?"

Seconds passed as no one said a word.

*Click*

Panic filled Coco as Crewcut clocked the back of a pistol and placed it toward the back of Leez's head.

"Bossman asked you twerps a qweshtun!"

Coco wasted no time pulling the terrified girl into her chest.

"Damn it, Muska! They're just kids!"

He nonchalantly wiped his mouth before shooting an annoyed look at his henchman.

"You see what you've done, Co. You didn't teach your kids manners and how to address adults. What am I gonna do? Punish Wiskey for being angry on my behalf?"

"You're just a bully!" Moss screamed. "Pointing a gun at a girl! Yer just…a coward. A big fat coward!"

No, Coco thought. This couldn't be happening. She needed to protect him, plead if she needed to.

"Mus-"she tried to say. But the face that stared at the boy was so full of hate, so full of promises of pain and devoid of mercy Coco found herself short of breath as she held on to Leez who began to shake in fear.

"You…look familiar, boy. Where did you get that haircut?"

"Don't answer him, Moss!" Coco yelled regaining her bearings. "Muska, just-" but she was cut off as the large unfamiliar hands of Wiskey grabbed her by the neck before forcing her to the table.

"This….IS THE HAIR OF A MAN!" Moss yelled defiantly meeting Muska's eyes. "It means bravery, righteousness, and style! All the things you wish you had, you leek-haired loser!"

The world seemed to stop as Muska, her kids, the henchmen, and even criminals from other families who had been within earshot, digested her boy's words. Her poor, stupid, idiotic, brave brave boy.

I have to act now! Coco thought, "Muska! He didn't mean-" she stopped mid-sentence, worried, as her old acquaintance slowly began to laugh, first as a chuckle before transforming into something more maniacal.

"Scotch," he said to his purple-haired goon. "Please grab that boy so I can kill him."

"No!" she screamed as she tried to lung toward her student. All of her kids were panicked now, some crying, others trying to form a wall to protect Moss. Her children, she had to protect her children, but it was no use. Scotch was a hefty fellow nearly seven feet of pure muscle and had no problem lifting Moss from among the small crowd by his pompadour.

As Moss kicked, Muska patiently unfastened a pistol from a holster inside his coat before nonchalantly loading a bullet into one of its six chambers.

"Let's see if Ms. Abelnite's taught you any math," Muska said bemused. "Assuming I've placed one bullet into a pistol with six slots, and spin it like so," he said spinning the chamber. "What are the chances that if I fire at you, you'll die?"

"Muska, don't you dare!" she screamed, eyes moist. "So help me if you hurt him I'll-"

"It's all right Ms. A! No matter what, Josuke'll save you! I know it!" Moss yelled.

Muska chuckled at the boy's proclamation. "There's that name again. If only you poor fools knew…The answer to my question kid, was one in six."

*Click*

"No!" Coco screamed as her children cried out with her.

"Now," Muska continued, "It's one in five."

*Click*

Coco summoned all of her strength to try to escape Wiskey's grasp without hurting Leez who still clung to her abdomen.

"One in four"

*Click*

Damn it, Wiskey! I said not to hurt her!" Muska chided.

"I-Im trying boss, but yer lady's being a real handful."

"Tsk. Lucky little shit." Muska said voice laced with annoyance. "Fine, Coco, fine. He lives, for now. But let me tell you something I was hoping to surprise you with later. I should be getting the call any minute now about how your little boy toy i-"

"Boss!" called a henchman from the direction of the yacht, one who was quickly running in their direction.

"Well, that should be the good news now."

Coco's heart filled with dread as the man approached. His face wasn't one of triumph, rather, it was one of worry. Carefully he approached Muska, as if anticipating trouble before dipping his head to his boss' ear to whisper his news.

Coco allowed herself the briefest feeling of satisfaction as she watched Muska's face contort with confusion and rage, clearly, he hadn't received the good news he had anticipated.

"How many?!" He howled at the messenger.

"W-we think all of them, sir." The man squirmed, "It was Quill who phoned it in. H-he sounded hurt, real hurt."

"How long ago did this happen?!"

"We just got the call from Tom's phone a few minutes ago. He's dead, sir."

"I didn't ask if he was alive, I asked when this happened."

"H-hard to say, boss. Quill barely told us what happened before he cut out. Could have just happened just now, could have happened almost an hour ago."

"Damn it!" Muska snarled. He shook in anger before dragging his hand down his face, revealing a visage that was ice-cold murder. "We're leaving." He said simply.

"Muska," Coco said pleadingly. "Leave the chi-"

*Pow!*

Coco was cut off by the sound of gunfire that came from Muska's pistol. Gunfire that had just barely missed Moss.

"No no," Muska began in a sinisterly calm tone. "No more talking. You listen as I tell you what's going to happen. Understood?"

Coco nodded, terrified.

"You," He said to the messenger, "How much explosives do we have in the hull of the yacht?"

"Maybe twenty or thirty pounds of C4." The man replied.

"You and Jim, go hook up half of it to our spare schooner. Somewhere near the engine room. While that's happening, Wiskey, gather some men and have these kids put somewhere on that same boat. Somewhere they can be locked up"

Coco's blood ran cold as Muska's evil intentions dawned on her.

"You can't!" she screamed before Muska's vile finger touched her lips.

"Now now, what did I say about talking? There'll be no more of that. Only listening," he said with quiet viciousness. "Because if you don't start listening, well, I'll have to treat you to the grandest fireworks this side of the City has ever seen…and you wouldn't want that…would you?" he said tenderly caressing her cheek.

Hot tears ran down her face, but Coco nodded in affirmation.

"Hey, boss. What should we do with this one, she won't let go." Scotch said tugging at Leez who still clung to Coco.

"Leave her. If what I do to the others doesn't get her to behave, we'll need at least one more to make an example out of."

Coco held Leez even harder, burying her face into the young girl's hair, even as she felt the child cry into her blouse.

Grandma, Jojo, someone…please…please save them…

How does one describe with mere words the desperation one feels when every moment you're not there to save someone is another moment wasted? How do you describe how every second stretches into eternity as apprehension and worry stack in your heart like so many bricks that form a wall?

This was not how Josuke felt as he and Sen drove toward Daggertown, what he felt was so much worse. He didn't want to stop and tell the worried people what had happened to their children, he wanted to save them. He didn't want to stop the buggy to drop off Sen, he wanted to keep moving. Yet he was going to do those things, not simply because they were right, but because they made sense.

The people had to know what was going on, they had to organize themselves and he had to get Sen to safely back home. Where he was going, bullets were sure to fly, and he wouldn't be able to protect her at all times.

As they approached the heart of Daggertown's inner district near the Abelnite household, Josuke spotted a large crowd some of whom had begun to block the driveway.

"Move! Move! Out of the way!" He yelled.

People who noticed gave room, many more gasping at the sight of Sen.

"Josuke!" a familiar voice yelled.

Josuke looked out toward the source where he spotted two meaty arms attached to a large bald-headed man.

"Horso," Josuke called back, "get these people out of here!"

"It's bad, Josuke! Those same dogs from the market kidnapped Coco and seven kids. We're rounding everyone up and were about to march on the Block to raise hell."

"Wait," Josuke said confused, "How did you know about the kidnapping and the Block?"

"Some scum Jon brought us from the gym sang like birds as soon as we broke their teeth."

Right, I forgot about them, Jojo thought. "Horso, I don't have time to explain, but going to the Block is a waste of time. Coco and the kids were kidnapped by some guy named Muska who's taken them to the Pier. Take Sen and talk to the Elder, I'm going ahead."

"Muska?" Horso said confused, "That little twerp, and what do you mean take Sen? The hell is she?"

Josuke looked toward the passenger seat of the buggy. Empty, save for her wrench. She must have left as soon as he had stopped to disperse the crowd. How long had she been gone?

As soon as he finished the thought, he heard her familiar boyish voice yelling as it drew closer from the direction of her home. People made room for the Elder's granddaughter as she made her way back to the buggy. She was wearing goggles where her hairband used to be, hefty-looking boots, and welding gloves with steel fingers, wires, and buttons jutting out from their sides. Josuke didn't have time for this.

"Sen, get back inside, and tell your grandmother what's going on."

"I already told some of her assistants, let's go." She said ignoring his irritated tone.

Patient, he had to be patient. "Sen, I can't watch you and-"

"Then don't watch me!" she snapped cutting him off. "That's my sister out there with that freak! Every minute you waste scolding me is a minute they're getting away!"

"Sen!" he yelled harsh enough to quiet the crowd, "I am going to kill people. They're going to try to kill me. I don't know if I can protect you and save everyone at the same time!"

"Then don't save me, we'll save them. I'm prepared to die for my sister, and I don't need your permission to go anywhere, or save anyone, dumbass dumbass dumbass!"

"She's right, boy." Horso said as he put a firm hand on Josuke's shoulder. "You don't have time to waste arguing over this. You two go on ahead, I'll get us organized and we'll meet you at the Pier as soon as possible."

"But-"

"No buts. Meteorites aren't soft, especially if they've been sharpened into daggers. Sen'll be fine, but our kids won't be if ya dally any longer."

Josuke took a single second to look into the eyes of Coco's sister. Fierce, resolved, determined. He could have [Crazy Diamond] chuck her out of the buggy right now, but no. He didn't have the right to keep her from helping.

"Fine. Let's move."

"You heard the man!" The barkeep yelled. "Everyone, off the road!"

As the people rushed to obey, Josuke stepped on the gas causing the roaring engine to mix with the cries and pleadings of the townspeople. They were counting on him. He just hoped their prayers weren't misplaced.

He was angry. Sen wasn't stupid, she could understand why, but she wasn't half the helpless girl Jojo imagined her to be. The only reason she had been successfully ambushed by the Stay-moes, or whatever, was because she had been caught unaware. Now that she had several experimental tools from her workshop on her person, any thug that stood in their way was in for a shocking surprise.

As they drove in relative quiet, Sen's thoughts drifted back to her earlier kidnapping and what had taken place at Junkanyon. Josuke had wonderous abilities like her grandmother. She had always known he could do crazy things; had understood he was a monster in a fight. But rumors and imagination did little to prepare her for the spectacle she witnessed as he beat over a dozen men in little more than half a minute as if aided by some invisible force. She had been especially unprepared for how brutal he could be. Could she do that? Kill men and walk away?

As if reading her mind Josuke finally broke his silence. "If you have to kill someone, it that time comes, do it and move on. If you feel bad, consider it the rightful punishment to a righteous conscious. We don't have time to pity these people, and I won't have time to comfort you, understood?"

"Yeah." She said simply, eyes forward. Whatever else, her sister and those kids were in trouble. This wasn't the time to internally fight her demons. It was the time for action.

They drove for several dozen more minutes bypassing jeepneys, fixer-uppers, and dump trucks as they steadily made their way toward the Pier. Eventually, they rounded a ledge giving them a full view of one of Meteor City's lifelines.

The Pier was one of several well-hidden harbors that citizens used to facilitate trade with the outside world. Officially, 95% of this trade was between vessels that 'offloaded' waste from across the known world. Unofficially, the Pier and other similar yards worked as unscrupulous fulcrums of illicit dealings. Food and other goods were smuggled into Daggertown and other neighboring districts in return for drug storage, recruitment offices, and good old ammunition and weapons processing.

Sen smelt the familiar scent of the salty sea air, mixed with the rusty noxious fumes their land was so known for as she gazed out into the crowded harbor. "How are we gonna find them?" she asked.

"You leave that to me" Josuke replied. He didn't sound like he had a plan, but who could reasonably have one when things were moving so fast?

Two ruined antiquated pillars at either end of the dirt road leading into the harbor served as the entranceway to their much-anticipated confrontation. On either side were a set of guards, one stationed by the mobs, the other by Daggertown. As their buggy approached, one man from each side stepped forward to wave them down.

"Oy!" One man exclaimed. His brown hooded uniform informing Sen that he was on her grandmother's payroll. "Josuke, s'that you?"

Sen watched as Jojo's face shifted from annoyed to relieved as he seemed to recognize the guard.

"Ponch? Thank God. Ponch, we don't have time to waste talking. In about half an hour most of Daggertown'll be on your door ready to burn this harbor and everyone in it to the ground. I need yo-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Joe, calm down. Take a deep breath and-"

"We have no time, Ponch!" Josuke snapped. "Coco and several students were kidnapped in broad daylight. We know they were brought here, and the entire town's ready to raise hell when they get here."

"Yer not going anywhere." A voice said from the other side of the buggy. He had spiked hair, and an open white dress shirt, likely on account of the hot sun. Sen instantly knew him to be one of the mob guards. "Rules is rules. Civilians don't enter without express permission. Course I could be inclined to let this all slide if you…" Sen watched the slimeball rub his fingers together, the universal code for bribery.

"This is serious you shithead," Ponch yelled to the other guards, Josuke remaining curiously, viciously quiet.

"These are yer own hag-boss' rules, punkass." One of the gangsters jeered. "Don't like it, tough." As they began to laugh Sen saw the slightest bit of a blue-pink flash, moving so fast she thought it was her imagination. Suddenly the thug who had started all this jolted forward as if pushed extremely hard, his neck falling perfectly into Josuke's outstretched muscled fingers.

There was also a jolt of orange electricity on his bicep, but it disappeared near as soon it appeared. Instead, Josuke's arm bulged with raw toned muscle, his fingers digging into the villain's neck.

"Gaah! Thoot thith baathterd!" He managed to say through his strained throat.

His colleagues raised their automatic rifles, causing everyone save for Jojo and Sen to gasp, a part of her having grown used to bizarre situations like this.

The barrels of each rifle had been bent, cartoonishly, back at their users, all in the blink of an eye. Somehow Josuke had done it again.

*Grip!* Josuke's fingers began to easily delve into the man's neck like a vice grip.

"W-waay, pleath!" The man cried out.

"I need information," Josuke said icily.

"P-pleath don k'll me!"

"Staymos Family, led by a man named Muska, these names mean anything to you?"

"Yeth! Yeth!" The man cried desperately through a strained windpipe. Josuke loosened his grip just enough to let the man continue talking. "Gah! Th-they're big spenders, youngbloods trying to look like hot shit. They have a yacht parked East of the water."

"I want specifics, what dock are they in." Josuke asked menacingly, the air itself seeming to grow heavy as he spoke.

"I-I don't" Josuke tightened his grip, "Mebeh numbah thirtuh" The gangster tried to scream. "Ith white, the onle yach…pa...pleeeth"

Sen watched the man's eyes roll into his head as he finally passed out, feeling only the smallest sense of pity for the fool as his men threw their rifles to the ground and ran.

"Damn," Ponch said hesitantly as he and his own guards ran to inspect the downed man. "He's alive…barely. Joe, we'll take care of things here and meet the town when they arrive. You go save our kids."

Josuke nodded, face firm and resolute before stepping on the gas.

As they drove and Sen tried to find her own sense of resolve as she mused on what he had said earlier, just before they had entered the Pier. I guess he was right, she thought. He really did take care of it.

Coco looked out onto the Pier as the Zan-Mari slowly began to leave the dock. It had taken all of twenty minutes for Muska's men to set the C4 in the cargo schooner, separate her and Leez from the other children, and drive home just how powerless she was. She had almost broken down and burst into tears as they escorted her students away, her unwillingness to allow them to hear her pain and fall into despair themselves being the only thing that kept her strong.

They had only one chance now. One minuscule hope that Josuke, the only man she knew who was capable of saving their lives, might actually be able to pull it off.

You see, Coco had an understanding. Not a perfect understanding, but enough of one of the things Josuke could do that she had formulated the most desperate of plans. Her grandmother had only given her the sparsest education in aura and Nen, the psychokinetic energy of life that all living things possessed. If one could utilize it, train it, then it was possible to invoke a myriad of supernatural phenomena.

Josuke was one such individual. As he had explained it, he did not so much fix or heal as he restored. He could restore the wood on a door that had been smashed to splinters back to its prior condition, but it went beyond repairing the wood. Even if a wall on a house was destroyed, including the plaster, rebar, and door, he'd be able to restore it all just by holding the doorknob. So long whatever he held had once constituted a complete and whole "thing" at one point, what once was broken could be made whole, for the most part.

With this in mind, ten minutes prior from her separation from her children, she had torn off a large portion of her skirt to dry their eyes and tell them that everything would be all right. That Josuke would come for them. Then, she had torn that fabric in half before giving the original piece to Moss.

"You don't drop or let that go under any circumstances, understood." She whispered, "Not even if it tries to fly away." Seeming to understand her intentions, Moss nodded, face now braver than that of his peers.

The second piece she placed under a rock near where some of the tables and food lay untouched, explaining to one of her guards that it was a traditional Daggertown way of saying goodbye to one's identity and home. Luckily, he seemed to have bought the lie.

As the yacht and schooner drifted further out to sea, she thought she saw, in the distance, a trail of dust speeding toward their direction.

Feeling Leez squeeze onto her leg, she picked up the girl and slowly began to stroke her hair.

"Ma'am," a voice from behind said. "I've been instructed to escort you to your suite."

Coco ignored him briefly in favor of calming her girl and watching her home a few more seconds, before turning to the man. "Lead the way."

As Josuke sped toward dock thirty the fading white color of the backend of a large luxury ship in the distance confirmed his worst fears. They were too late. Anger, fear, and anxiety washed over Josuke. He should have pushed the townsfolk out of the way, never stop at the entrance, never spoken to Horso. Dozens of 'should haves' bombarded his thoughts.

They drove toward the end of the dock, where the remains of a feast were laid out, still yet to be scavenged by the desperate locals who worked the shipyard.

Exiting the buggy, Josuke wandered around the tables observing the small child-sized plates and teeth marks left on the food, a depressing reminder of his failure. This had indeed been where Muska had brought Coco.

Damn it! Damn it! "Damn it!" he yelled falling to his knees, tears on the verge of streaming down his eyes. Several feet away, he heard the beginnings of sniffles coming from Sen. She too understood what had happened. How they had failed.

In his anger, Josuke kicked one chair, then another. Smashed a table flinging gravy and filth everywhere. Surrounded by garbage, tears falling down his cheek, he began to punch the earth, his Hamon-charged fist mixing with the strength brought on by his fury and sadness. Onlookers, both local and Mafia who were within earshot began to back away at the sound of what they believed were cannonballs. A small fissure forming in the ground unfortunate enough to be his punching bag.

"How! How! How!" Josuke howled. But he knew, he knew it was all his fault. He had been too slow, too weak, and now, too late. Even as he despaired, Josuke knew the ships would continue forward, every moment making an already impossible rescue unattainable.

Tap...tap…

Josuke raised his head ready to take a verbal beating from Sen. Ready to kill himself for his failure. Yet, when he raised his head, Josuke found it wasn't Sen who had gotten his attention, but…

"C-Crazy Diamond?" Josuke murmured. His stand knelt next to his body, a look of understanding and stoic comfort on its face as if to say, 'I understand your despair, but now is not the time to give up.' Jojo hadn't even been aware C.D. had anything resembling self-determination or individuality. Yet, he also found himself unafraid…Could he have forgotten this?

"But how? We're already…"

'No' Crazy Diamond gestured with a shake of its head before pointing to its own chest, jabbing Josuke's chest, then bending down to pick up a rock and throwing it into the unobservable distance of the sea.

Slowly it dawned on Josuke what C.D. had in mind. Perhaps it was just inspiration from an implacable spirit to a broken body, or perhaps he was just remembering a small part of what was long forgotten, but now…now he had an idea. But even with a means of catching up, how would he be able to find the yacht when they had long since disappeared into the horizon?

As if reading his mind, C.D. revealed from his fist a familiar red fabric. One he had seen dozens of times before in a classroom not so far away.

"Sen!" Josuke called out.

"*sniff* Y-

-yeah?" Sen answered back. She had been crying for the better part of two or three minutes, wailing at the thought that she'd never see her sister again when she heard Josuke call out to her. Surprising, considering he had seemed to take their failure so much worse than herself.

"Get on my back," Josuke began, "we're getting them back."

She was flabbergasted. What the hell was he smoking? Was he gonna walk on water or something? "But but…how?"

"You'll see, do you trust me?"

She nodded, doing as she was told. Here she was, her sister kidnapped, and now she was on Josuke's back, piggyback style. It all seemed…so shameful. Yet she did as she was told, after all, she did trust him. He believed it wasn't too late, so neither should she.

"Drop the wrench, or you'll lose it." He spoke.

"But-"

"No buts, and hold me tighter, like you're trying to choke me, understand?"

She did as she was told, slightly embarrassed at the idea of holding her sister's boyfriend even a little tighter, not that she minded. Then quickly dismissed those thoughts as now was simply not the time.

Josuke faced the sea in the direction the ships had long since sailed. Then, to her wonder, bent down into a sprinting position.

"Josuke. Wha-what are you-"

"Get ready," he said, deathly serious.

His body leaned toward the ground, his hands and knees bent and spread like he was prepared to take gold for a school he never attended. Sen heard the small crackling orange charges of electricity coalesce at his feet. Was he actually going to try it? Sprinting into the ocean?!

"Coco," Josuke whispered, "guys, I swear it. I'll get you all back."

"Don't worry, I've got your baAAAAA!" Sen screamed as Josuke abruptly burst forward at unheard-of speeds.

Within a half second, maybe less, Josuke was already at the water, moving so swiftly that Sen could barely register that he had miraculously taken his first steps onto the salty polluted water when it happened.

For half a second, instinctively holding on to her friend with all her strength, Sen felt as Josuke crouched on the ocean as if it were solid pavement, thousands of ripples seeming to reverberate from his feet, and using the momentum of his previous sprint, jumped. From. The. Ocean. Maybe as much as 100 feet into the air.

Yet as unbelievable as that was, it was nothing compared to what he was about to do next.

As they flew higher, eventually, they slowed as they reached the initial lump's crescent, Josuke crouching in the air as if preparing for something.

No…he couldn't be…Sen thought, mind, and body spiked with adrenaline.

*Step*

She felt it. The slightest bit of solidity as his foot touched….something. Something invisible, but definitely there.

Suddenly, they burst, no, soared forward. Over and over again, covering huge distances as Josuke lept through the air. No, he was flying. Josuke was flying!

Authors note:
Assuming Crazy Diamond can manifest within a specific radius or can never leave said radius around Josuke. It doesn't strike me as impossible for Josuke to be able to develop a technique in which C.D. briefly manifests, tosses Josuke (or acts like a springboard), then rinse/repeat.

Addendum: I have since been informed that Jotaro, Dio, and possibly Pucci did something like this…..so there goes my originality.

I originally wanted this chapter to finish with the rescue and fallout. Unfortunately, I was already above 6k words, and I didn't want to leave this story un-updated much longer, especially since I have other stories I tend to. The next chapter will either be just the rescue, or the rescue and departure. So, one or two more chapters for the intro arc. I know people are longing to see Josuke finally meet Gon and the gang. Just be patient.

Unfortunately, my home has been devastated by a typhoon recently, and while some limited power has returned, we are currently experiencing inconsistencies with power shedding and overall infrastructure, which leaves my ability to write sporadic at best. Hopefully, this resolves itself sooner than later.

Please. Leave a review. I enjoy hearing the thoughts of others on this story. Otherwise, why bother?

If you see errors, please let me know so I can correct them asap.

Best regards.

-Mero