Butterfly Effect
Welcome to the 15th chapter of this fanfic. As I mentioned last chapter, there will be some original fights. Passenger characters and characters that haven't had much action lately will get their time to shine. I look forward to write these chapters, starting with this one. Enjoy!
I do not own JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Chapter 15: Sword vs Gun: the rematch
Kom Ombo was a small town on the Nile. It was small, but very rich in history and ancient sights, so it was among tourists.
A general rule everywhere in the world is: the more tourists, the more tourist traps and scammers. Like those trying to sell brown paper as real papyrus. Neither crusader fell for the scam, not even the most naive, Polnareff.
Speaking of the frenchman, he deviated from the other crusaders and went off alone to a temple. A young swordsman named Chaka followed him for a fight. He claimed his Stand was [Anubis], the egyptian god of the underworld.
As it had to come, the two swordsmen fought it out. Chaka had a tricky technique, his slashes could go right through objects without damaging them. This technique gave him supremacy over most of the duel, but Polnareff's experience came in handy at the last moment.
[Silver Chariot] could launch its rapier and let it ricochet off surfaces. The silver Stand did exactly that, the rapier ricochetted off a temple pillar and pierced Chaka through his neck. The frenchman made sure he wouldn't die, but be unable to fight anymore.
Chaka was not the enemy here. It was [Anubis], a cursed sword. An evil spirit inhabited the blade, but the blade itself appeared extremely beautiful. Polnareff was tempted by the sword, picking it up and barely unsheathing it.
"This sword, when I see it up close, it's beautiful…" he said, his eyes looking and his voice sounding like he was possessed. That moment, the frenchman didn't have a his aura around him, but the aura of someone… no, something else. "Maybe I should take it out of its sheath…"
Just then, the crusaders appeared behind him, coming to the rescue. Of course, Polnareff didn't know he was being rescued.
"Hey, Polnareff! Is that you over there?" Jotaro called his name.
"We were worried when you went off by yourself. We thought you'd been ambushed." Joseph spoke in a strict tone, the same expression present in his eyes. Actually, everyone had those strict eyes, one had to be stern with the frenchman.
Meanwhile, Polnareff completely spaced out, his mind hazy. As the sword sheathed itself on its own, the frenchman forgot what he was thinking a few seconds ago. "Ah…?"
"Polnareff!"
"Huh? Ah, hey… you guys!" Slowly and steadily, Polnareff regained some of his composure, returning to his normal self. He didn't know why he couldn't think straight for a moment.
"Why are you squatting? Did you step in poop?" Kakyoin asked.
"Haha!" Hol Horse chuckled, not wasting any opportunity to laugh about a certain crusader.
"…" The frenchman got into that position because he had picked up [Anubis]. The other crusaders now noticed the blade as well, though not suspecting much.
"Wait, where'd you get that sword? Did something happen?" the careful and attentive Avdol questioned.
"Hey… I was just fighting that asshole!" Polnareff remembered.
"What! An enemy Stand user?" The other crusaders were on alert.
"It's over, though." the frenchman calmly said, pointing at Chaka lying on the ground. "He said his Stand was the egyptian god [Anubis]. It was a Stand that could cut through objects. He was a powerful opponent."
"(But of course, he was no match for me.)" Polnareff quietly boasted in his undertone.
"He was using this great sw-" the frenchman was about to tell, but interrupted himself when he reached backwards for the sword but couldn't grasp it. "Huh? It's gone?"
Polnareff turned around to make sure, he was left speechless with what he saw next. A group of rats were carrying the sheathed blade away on their backs.
"Wh- What… rats?! The rats are running off with the sword!"
"HEY!" the frenchman exclaimed, scaring off the rats. They fled, squeaking in fear and leaving behind [Anubis].
"Rats steal stuff here? If you want to steal, steal some cheese!" Polnareff complained, picking back up the blade.
Having seen enough and considering the happenings harmless, the other crusaders turned around.
"Polnareff, I'm glade you're all right, but you shouldn't run off by yourself. It's dangerous." the old Joestar reprimanded, walking away.
"They'll attack if you're alone for even a few seconds." Noriaki reminded.
"Let's get back to the ship. We need to get to Edfu today." Caesar said. "Now hurry up before you're alone again."
"…"
The frenchman didn't want to argue, so he only remained on his position for one last purpose, unsheathing the sword again. Though this time, no matter how hard he pulled, it didn't open.
"That's odd… Now the sword's stuck in its sheath…"
He believed he could simply try again later, so Polnareff followed his friends, taking [Anubis] with him. Yes, Polnareff brought back the enemy Stand.
XXXXXXXXXX
Edfu town
In a barber shop, the frenchman was getting a shave. A Middle Eastern shave involving a razor and lots of shaving foam was a shave every man should experience at least once. Out of boredom, the redhead and the cowboy followed him.
"You seriously brought that sword with you?" the gunslinger asked, not seeing the point. The sword was leaning against the frenchman's barber stool.
After asking the barber to lean the blade against the wall instead, Polnareff explained the reason he took it with him, also taking a shot at Hol Horse. "I'm turning it in to the police. It's a weapon you never know who might find it. Besides, it looks expensive. Not that an uncultured nincompoop like you could know of its value."
"Why you…" Hol Horse hissed in annoyance.
"I was rolling around on the ground so my face is covered in dirt. Make me look like the handsome 'Mr. Nice Guy' that I am!" the frenchman requested of the barber, focusing on him again.
Happy to oblige, the barber finished applying shaving foam and started shaving. But the blade was a bit blunt, so it hurt Polnareff when going over his skin. "Ow! Ow!"
"Hey! Use a new blade! Or sharpen your razor!" the frenchman angrily complained. "This is supposed to be the most relaxing part."
"Stop being such a little princess, lil' Pol-Pol." the cowboy mocked, taking revenge for the little taunt earlier.
"Why you…"
'Heh, they're the exact same wavelength.' Kakyoin thought, grinning inwardly.
"Not sharp? Sorry, sorry." the barber apologized, going to sharpen his razor. Before doing that, he placed a warm and wet towel on Polnareff's face, this was supposed to have a relaxing touch.
Noriaki stopped paying attention, diving back into his magazine. The gunslinger just took a nap.
So after the barber finished sharpening his razor, he reapplied some shaving foam onto the frenchman's face, who had his eyes closed and was simply relaxing. With that new sharp razor, he shaved the sides of Polnareff's face.
"Ohhh… Nnn… much better. Nice and sharp, it feels good."
"Good. Glad you like it."
"Thank you! Thank you! Can you shave under my chin too?"
"Sure… under… your chin…"
The barber's voice sounded sinister this time, so the frenchman opened his eyes. The instant he began seeing just a little, his eyes immediately went wide open. For good reason, on the mirror he could see the barber holding [Anubis] below his chin, ready to decapitate.
"Under the chin, right, Polnareff?!" the barber menacingly grinned, emitting an aura of bloodlust.
"What?!" Polnareff suddenly yelled in disbelief, his eyes darting to the barber standing behind him. That man was dangerous now, having both a lethal blade and a muscular body. A minute earlier, the barber was completely friendly and harmless.
"It's me, you fool! The [Anubis] Stand!" the enemy Stand revealed, sticking out the tongue of the man it was possessing.
"Hm?" the redhead noticed the change of tone, so he looked up from the magazine. He didn't expect to see the frenchman getting threatened. "Huh?!"
"Die! I'll shave your jaw clean off!" the possessed barber shouted, attempting to decapitate Polnareff.
However, the frenchman found an easy opening and took it. He pulled the lever of the barber chair, making the man miss his head with the original swing. The possessed barber instead cut himself, drawing his own blood.
"Geh!"
"Wh- what's going on?! You're not our barber!" the agitated Polnareff questioned, recognizing that the possessed man wasn't really himself.
When it came down to life and death battles, even the frenchman could intelligently figure out things. "Is… Is that sword the Stand? Is the sword controlling the barber? Then… the guy at Kom Ombo wasn't the Stand user!"
"Polnareff, what's happening?!" the cherry boy demanded in agitation, manifesting [Hierophant Green].
Hol Horse was slowly waking up, the noise was interrupting his sleep. "Zzz… Shut up…"
[Anubis] didn't care that its secret had just been figured out. It was extremely confident. "Either way, I'm still way stronger than you, Polnareff!" it declared through the possessed barber.
Polnareff was forced to use [Silver Chariot]. The silver Stand drew its rapier against the enemy blade. "Kakyoin, we're under Stand attack! Be ready to defend yourself!"
"Alright, got it!" Kakyoin responded, getting into his battle stance.
"I said shut- huh? Stand?" the idiotic cowboy repeated, finally opening his eyes.
Using his Stand, the frenchman parried the swing. Though over time, the egyptian sword was overpowering the french sword. Polnareff struggled, his Stand was getting pushed back by a human's strength. "Ngh… unh…"
Eventually, the knight Stand received a gash on its forehead, which transfered over to the user. "Uaaah! He's so much stronger! This pressure…"
"I've learned [Chariot]'s moves and powers in our last battle! I won't lose twice to the same opponent!" the bound Stand boastingly claimed through its human puppet.
Lagging behind the other two, the gunslinger was mentally catching on, grasping the air of danger. "Oi! What's going on? Is this barber a-"
"No, Hol Horse, the sword is the Stand." the frenchman corrected him, under loads of stress due to simultaneously fighting a deadly enemy. "The barber isn't the Stand user, he's under mind control. So don't shoot this innocent man with your gun!"
"Then, Polnareff, would it be okay to hit this guy with my Stand ability?" Noriaki asked, readying [Hierophant Green].
"Sure, yours won't kill him." Polnareff accepted, parrying another, stronger strike. "But do it fast, he's getting stronger with every swing! This Stand's much stronger than before!"
"Okay, here we go." the redhead nodded, activating his Stand ability.
"Emerald Splash!"
[Hierophant Green] shot dozens and dozens of high-speed green gems at the barber, a great portion colliding with his massive body. The total forced launched the man outside the window, with him landing in the street. Though he didn't lose consciousness.
"Thanks, Kakyoin!" the frenchman gratefully thanked the cherry boy for the help. "You got him."
"No, the barrage wasn't strong enough." Kakyoin clarified, both underestimating the man's strength and holding back for not wanting to injure the innocent puppet too much. "This isn't good, he's really strong… We haven't seen one like this in a while, a Stand that doesn't rely on gimmicks. Just pure power…"
"Oh, so he's kinda like [Star Platinum]." Hol Horse figured, slowly slamming his right fist on top of his left palm as a sign of understanding.
"Yeah, basically…" the other two sweatdropped at the cowboy's simpleness.
On the street, lying in the middle of broken wood and glass pieces scattered around, the barber was starting to get back up. It truly was unusual for a random egyptian barber to have this kind of body. He was even taller and more muscular than Jotaro! Too damn tough.
"[Hierophant Green]… Not bad." the man slowly spoke, rising back on his feet. "In a mass of numbers, the destructive power of your [Emerald Splash] is impressive, even when holding back. But now that I've seen it, I can beat it!"
Noriaki hadn't really fought [Anubis] unlike Polnareff, so the latter was more concerned about this. "Kakyoin, the more we fight it, the faster it gets… It's going to be stronger and faster now!" the frenchman warned, implying they should retreat.
"So if he's constantly becoming stronger and more dangerous, when comes the point where I shoot him?" the gunslinger asked, worried even if they were to run away.
"NEVER!" Polnareff and Noriaki loudly reprimanded, insisting that the innocent puppet should not be killed for the actions of the puppetmaster. Under their intense, stern gaze, Hol Horse took back question.
"Ha! Fools!" Khan, the possessed barber, leapt high into the air, preparing for an aerial blow. "USHYAAAAA! DIEEEEEEE!" the man roared at the top of his lungs, a crazed expression on his face.
"Emerald Splash!"
Reasoning that the puppet couldn't really dodge the broad attack range of [Hierophant Green], especially in midair with only partial mobility, the redhead launched a defensive attack. 'You say you can beat it? I highly doubt that!' the cherry boy confidently thought.
In midair, Khan swung [Anubis], deflecting a wave of the initial bunch of emeralds to crash back into some of the second wave emeralds. Like the first time, the barber did get hit by the crystals, though sustained less damage.
The cherry boy only managed to stop the possessed man enough to receive a non-lethal injury on his shoulder.
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
"Kakyoin!" the frenchman exclaimed in concern, his eyes widening.
"What?! That didn't stop him?" the cowboy called in surprise, taking a step back. "How?"
"Heh heh, I told you. I don't lose twice, and the same attack never works twice!" the puppet repeated with a laugh, grinning at his success. "After getting hit for the first time, I figured out a way to reduce the amount emeralds hitting me. Besides that, my mind and the body of my wielder both get stronger as time goes. Meaning, this man's durability increases."
Kakyoin sat down, trying to stop his bleeding with a piece of cloth. "Damn it…" he cursed, thinking of a plan. "Polnareff, Hol Horse! I need you to distract him and keep him busy while I think of a plan to disarm him. That's the most important thing we have to do, separating the sword and the man."
As if the cursed sword would let them! Khan initiated another set of attacks, focusing on the frenchman. "Take this! And that! USHYAAAAA!"
"URGH!"
Polnareff tried out many sword stances and styles he learned over the years, one after another. The raw power [Anubis] bestowed on its puppet rendered them all ineffective, though. He couldn't stall the enemy for even 2 minutes.
With the enemy simply powering through, it looked like the end would come for the frenchman soon. His arms were hurting from just the impact of the enemy blade hitting against his own. Defending was getting hard. 'Is this the end for me…? Kakyoin, please, do something fast!'
"Ha! Got you now, Polnareff!" the possessed barber boasted, one step away from victory. He raised his sword especially high, about to initiate the most powerful swing yet. "DIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE- IAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"…"
Khan tripped and fell, changing his yelling voice halfway through. Polnareff, breathing heavily due to the shock of almost meeting his end, was confused as hell. "Haahh… Haahh… Haahh…" The adrenaline rushed through his veins. He'd been saved, but how?
"Over here, Polnareff!" Noriaki called from behind. The wide and astonished eyes of the frenchman and the gunslinger quickly darted over to him.
"K- Kakyoin, how-?"
"I used [Hierophant Green]'s ability to unravel and expand its appendage body. From behind, I shot out surprise tentacles to bind this guy's legs and make him trip." the redhead explained. "I hoped that by doing this, the fall would either break the sword that's swinging downwards towards the ground, or at least knock the sword out of his hand. …Or both."
"Well, thanks for saving me there." Polnareff gratefully thanked. "That was a good plan, otherwise I would've been a goner."
The cherry boy was about to nod with a faint smile when a loud voice interrupted him.
"Hey, guys! Look! Come and look at this!" Hol Horse had discovered something.
Wondering why the cowboy was making such a commotion, the two took a look, just as the gunslinger said.
Hol Horse had been looking at this: A huge bump appeared on Khan's head. Crashing into the ground with full force also made him pass out. That wasn't the only injury though, the barber also suffered a broken wrist on the arm he held [Anubis] with. And speaking of broken things, the main threat, broken in terms of power and potential, was literally broken in half.
"Ain't this awesome?!" the cowboy beamed at how effectively Kakyoin handled enemy Stand problems with his intelligence.
"Yeah! You did it!" the frenchman cheered, holding up his palm to high five his friend.
Noriaki reciprocated the gesture, though his demeanor was a bit more serious. "We've won the battle, but not the entire war yet. The enemy Stand right now is dormant, but may awaken again. We have to seal and destroy this blade."
"Speaking of sealing, I think we can seal this cursed sword by putting it back inside its sheath without touching the hilt." Polnareff suggested.
"Excellent idea." the redhead spoke, carefully letting his friend resheath the blade. Polnareff paid extra attention not to touch the cursed sword's hilt.
"Phew. I got it back in the sheath, but what now?" the frenchman asked. "If someone takes it out, we're right back here. The sword has already learned our abilities, we might not be able to win next time…" A valid reason to worry.
"How about we just toss it in the Nile river?" the gunslinger casually asked, shrugging.
"The bottom of the nile river…" Polnareff pensively repeated, thinking about Hol Horse's words. "Hey, that sounds like a great idea! Perhabs your head is good for something after all!"
Suddenly, a random police officer approached from behind, attempting to take away the blade.
"Hold it! This is the police!" the officer ordered. "I came in response to a report that a fight broke out at the barber! What are you doing with a sword!"
'Oh crap!' the crusaders thought in a combination of annoyance and disbelief, another unrelated person was about to get involved.
"Give it to me!" the officer commanded as pulled on the sheath.
"What? Let go of it!" The frenchman wasn't going to obey this figure of authority, for the latter's own good. "Stop pulling!"
Because they both pulled hard, [Anubis] unsheathed yet for another instance. And it was Polnareff who held the hilt. His eyes were already going soulless, indicating the upcoming possession.
"N-no! Polnareff…!" the cherry boy observed in worry, beginning to sweat and widen his eyes. 'Rotten luck…!'
In the heat of the moment, the frenchman had forgotten to think stragetically. Currently, he was only thinking of murder and bloodlust, what the possessive Stand dictated him. His eyes dramatically narrowed, displaying an outright evil and dangerous look.
"Hey! You!" the intimidated policeman yelled, pointing at the broken blade. "You drew the sword! Put that down!"
"Keh keh keh… I drew the sword? Heh heh… What are you talking about, watchman? And you call yourself a servant of the law?" The frenchman was possessed, but that didn't stop him from being right in this case.
"H-hey… What are you doing?" the now frightened officer questioned, backing off due to the evil aura intimidating him.
Suddenly, Polnareff lunged at the policeman, reading to cut him down. His right arm was stretched to the back above his head, preparing for a powerful slash. "You're the one who drew it!"
"AIEE!" the officer scared shitless screamed, believing he was about to be killed. Luckily for him, a certain green Stand kicked him out of the sword's range, knocking him out as a side effect.
The possessed frenchman initiated the swing, but there was nothing to cut anymore. "Nh?"
"I don't know who you are, but it seems like Polnareff is under your control." Kakyoin observed with an angered undertone, opposing the possessed Polnareff. "Sorry Polnareff, but I have to beat you out of that bastard's control…"
"You? Beat? Me?" [Anubis] mocked, looking down on Noriaki. "Keh ha ha ha. Don't forget that I, [Anubis], have already seen [Hierophant Green]'s moves! If I've fought you once…"
"…I NEVER LOSE TWICE!" the cursed blade bellowed through its puppet, preparing to land a powerful strike.
[Hierophant Green] dodged the first strike, though the next strike violently overpowered the redhead, sending him flying backwards.
"UGEH!" the cherry boy let out, crashing onto the ground in a way that hurt really badly. His barely closing wound from earlier was bleeding harder. "Curse you…"
"Oh no! This is bad!" Hol Horse stated the obvious, afraid.
Polnareff, powered by [Anubis], stepped forward, an irritated expression forming on his face. "Kakyoin… despite being injured and having a physically weak Stand, you're the biggest danger to me… I need you to die before you can figure out another plan to obstruct me."
"…And not to forget that I can't forgive you for breaking me in half!" the cursed sword roared through the frenchman who gritted his teeth. The blade itself moved high for an execution strike.
Gulping, the cowboy reached for his gun. If Kakyoin were to die, he'd be left helplessly against the enemy Stand. Ever since India, not much had changed. The gunslinger still relied on the presence of allies to have even the tiniest amount of confidence in victory and himself. Noriaki was one of the people who captured him, threatened him, forced him to switch organization, dragged him through difficult and dangerous situations. And yet without him, Hol Horse knew he'd die. It was pretty unexpected for him, but the time had come, time for the cowboy to protect the crusaders. Noriaki from Polnareff, Polnareff from himself. The gunslinger did what he did best, pointing [Emperor] against an enemy Stand user.
"That's enough!" Hol Horse loudly called, causing the puppetmaster sword to divert its attention away from the redhead.
"Huh?"
"[Anubis], if you dare try to land the killing blow on Kakyoin, I'll blow your brains out!" the cowboy threatened, standing his ground. He was not retreating. "I mean it, I'll stop you before you can!"
"…" The astonished cherry boy couldn't believe his ears. His eyes nearly bulged out hearing the gunslinger say that with a hint of resolution. "Hey, Hol Horse! Are you crazy?! This is counterproductive, you'll just kill Polnareff!"
"Heh, what he said." [Anubis] agreed, snickering at the stupidity. "Though Hol Horse, spare the bluffing. I know for a fact that you're a little pussy that can't do anything when confronted with real danger. Lord DIO told me about you, and in my opinion, you're the smallest of fries."
Pissed off at the remark, Hol Horse made a loud clicking sound with his Stand gun. "I dare you to say that again!"
"Hahahahaha!" the cursed blade laughed, ridiculing the cowboy. "What's the matter, why don't you shoot? You're surely not thinking about messing up, are you?"
"See if I'm gonna mess up or not!" the gunslinger snarled, shooting with [Emperor]. A bullet was heading straight towards the frenchman.
'Okay, Polnareff knows this trick but the sword possessing him doesn't. It'll surely work, that guy's in for a surprise.' Hol Horse confidently thought.
Polnareff raised [Anubis], blocking the bullet's path towards his body. Though [Emperor]'s bullets were special, they could change their trajectory however the Stand master willed. Thinking this'd work, the cowboy made the bullet swerve to the side, bypassing the half blade. 'Yes! I'll show you what underestimating me means! You're but a sword, and the gun is mightier than the sword!'
Though contrary to the gunslinger's expectations, the cursed blade made the frenchman grin in superiority. Polnareff casually also swerved his sword to the side, deflecting the bullet. "Hol Horse… I bet you were thinking 'You're but a sword, and the gun is mightier than the sword!'"
Hol Horse and the reacting Kakyoin both widened their eyes in disbelief.
"H-how?" the cowboy gasped in confusion. "You've never seen my trick before! How could you deflect it?"
"Silly silly Hol Horse… While I, [Anubis], saw it for the first time just now, someone else saw it happen before." the sword Stand explained. "Who do you think I'm possessing?"
Noriaki immediately found an explanation, and he hated the sound of it. If what he suspected was true, it'd make things harder by a lot. "Wait… don't tell me you peeked at Polnareff's battle experiences!"
"Haha, but I did exactly that!" the puppetmaster laughed. "Polnareff's experiences are my experiences now. Which also means, Kakyoin, that you can't touch me anymore, I know all about your [Hierophant Green]."
"…" The redhead was not one to give up early, he saw that the remaining options were limited. He himself had a grave disadvantage. The gunslinger was in a better position, but then again, not intelligent enough to fight smart, something absolutely necessary against this enemy.
'Shit, if that guy knows what I can do through Polnareff, then I'm screwed!' Hol Horse thought, shaken up. 'I'm not smart like Kakyoin or Jotaro, I can't just invent a new technique to outwit that guy by myself, especially when I'm under pressure! Someone, help!'
"Eh, Hol Horse, are you frightened? You must've been very badly prepared, haha!" [Anubis] mocked the cowboy. "Entertain me with a second shot or just let me gut you, you fool!"
The gunslinger's stressed eyes darter over to the cherry boy. Behind the possessed frenchman's back, he made a pointing motion with one finger in quick succession.
In his desperation, Hol Horse's interpretation of the gesture was totally wrong. But in his moment in need, he took whatever meaning he could get out of it. '[Anubis] said something about a second shot… Hey, Kakyoin's gesture reminds me of a second shot! Is he telling me to shoot twice, hiding the second bullet behind the first? Well, let's give it a try…'
"Huh, you want a second shot?" the cowboy repeated, making a provocative gesture with his palm behind his ear. "Have one for free, bastard!"
Polnareff readied the blade possessing him. It looked like the gunslinger was just repeating his first attack. [Anubis] didn't take the attack seriously. "Hah, you absolute idiot, I'm just going to a- What?!"
There were two bullets. One swerved to the right, one to the left. On instinct alone, the frenchmen went for the left one, deflecting it. Though the surprise of the other bullet existing made his controller hesitate. Polnareff's eyes widened in danger as the second bullet edged itself in his chest. It was a non-vital spot, but it naturally hurt alot.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" [Anubis], also experiencing the pain through the spiritual link, screamed, clutching the bleeding chest of its puppet.
Kakyoin decided to stay quiet and watch. Polnareff had to be stopped, and Hol Horse was the only one there capable of this task. Noriaki tried to be optimistic, hoping the cowboy was aware enough that he'd become an enemy of the crusaders would he actually shoot the frenchman dead. 'Hol Horse, don't do anything stupid…'
"Hehe, I warned you." the gunslinger cheekily made fun of the sword Stand, cooly blowing some air at the tip of his gun, as if it were smoking. "Are you entertained?"
Being made fun of by such an opponent hurt the prideful [Anubis] more than the injury on its puppeted body. "Grrrr… I'll quarter you for that, Hol Horse! Watch and see what awaits you when I'm out for you!"
"Watch this!" The cursed sword threw iself in the air. It rotated around a few times, spinning airborne circles, but eventually landing back in its puppet's grasp. "Hol Horse, you're an annoyance I shall take care of this instant!"
[Silver Chariot], summoned by its master through the master's puppetmaster, now had two blades to wield, its own rapier on the left, and another Stand on the right. The silver knight also posed menacingly to appear more intimidating to Hol Horse. Which it did, poses ALWAYS work. "[Silver Chariot] and [Anubis]! Two sword technique!"
The redhead gritted his teeth at the level of difficulty increasing. Possessed Polnareff was dangerous enough with only the damn sword, but with [Silver Chariot] added, it was like fighting 2 elite Stand users. 'Crap! Crap! Crap! Hol Horse won't make it, he's dead meat for sure!'
"Hahahahahaha! Frightened?" Polnareff laughed as his equally possessed Stand spun its blades around in a circular motion. Through his eyes, [Anubis] watched the cowboy's reaction. The gunslinger's expression and body posture changed drastically, he began sweating out of danger.
Hol Horse, almost frozen in fear, glanced at the cherry boy. With such an upgrade to the frenchman, the cowboy needed urgent help. Anything! His eyes spied Kakyoin reaching his hand forward, fingers all outstretched.
'Aaahhhhh, Kakyoinnnn! You're such a help, I couldn't imagine doing anything without you to help me here! Let me think of what you mean!'
"Ushyaaaa!" the evil Stand had waited enough, it went and resumed attacking, rapidly approaching the gunslinger.
'OH SHOOT, HERE HE COMES!' Hol Horse panicked, reaching hard in his mind to find any meaning in Noriaki's hand gesture. Running away was useless, Polnareff would catch up for sure. He had to defend himself here and there. 'Calm down, calm down… Okay, compared to the first gesture, the second gesture had all fingers outstretched. Does that mean I should shoot 5 times?'
Seeing that the frenchman was less than 3 meters away, the cowboy no longer had the luxury to think. He had to act now. 'Aaahhh, fuck it!' the gunslinger thought, shooting 5 bullets in the direction of the puppet.
"Hmph! Weak!" [Anubis] scoffed. His controlled body attacked and defended twice as fast in this form. [Silver Chariot] and the cursed sword itself had nearly no problems at all, fending off the 5 bullets individually.
Not slowed down to any noticable degree, Polnareff went in for a cross-slash, drawing a lot of blood. A massive red X appeared on Hol Horse's torso.
"WUAAAAAGH!" the cowboy cried out in pain, dropping to his knees. He just received critical damage, one more hit and he'd certainly die.
"Hah!" [Anubis] controlled its puppet to point the silver Stand's rapier in front of the almost defeated gunslinger's neck. "This is the end of the line for you, Hol Horse. You are nothing! If I were a lion, you'd merely be a fly! Hah, that's actually fitting, though. Flies are attracted to shit, and you have shit for brains. Really, I don't have a brain and I'm smarter than you. Any last words?"
'Shit for brains? ...Maybe, that's surely what the others are thinking about me, but don't say it out loud!' Hol Horse inwardly complained, breathing hard. He'd have liked to say it out loud, though he was not in a condition to speak clearly. '…In all seriousness though, you and they, all are right. I just am not smart, my way of fighting will never be considered smart fighting for you. To y'all I'm just a dumb guy fighting dumbly!'
'But hey, if I'm oh so dumb, then I shouldn't try fighting smart, I can never pull that off, can I?' For some reason, he was feeling better. As if he accepted himself. 'If I cannot become smart, and cannot fight smart, that's what all you fucks say... Then I can only fight in such a dumb way it's actually smart!'
Although there was a weapon held against his neck, the cowboy shot out a great number of bullets, like a machine gun. Just in the opposite direction, he'd never be hitting his enemy like that. Even more ridiculously, the gunslinger threw away his own gun in the air. All of this looked like a joke.
"Haha… Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" [Anubis] couldn't hold back its laughter. "You've got guts for shooting while in the position you're in, but is this what you've been reduced to?! Have you lost your mind? Is this you going insane before you die? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I was right, you're nothing more than a lousy little fl-"
The cursed blade stopped ridiculing the gunslinger when it noticed that the bullets were returning in midair, aiming back at Polnareff. Though the sword didn't panic, it raised itself to defend against the bullets. For it saw this as a final attempt of Hol Horse to fight smart. "Again, you're not fooling me! You're a failure!"
[Anubis] truly prepared itself to defend against the bullets. Though for some reason, they weirdly enough didn't aim for it. This confused the spirit of a god. "Huh, what's the big deal? Are you even more stupid than I assumed?"
Its eyes, no, the possessed frenchman's eyes didn't followed the obviously(?) missing bullets. Big mistake. Apparently, the cursed blade forgot about its counterpart of a weapon Stand, [Emperor] itself. All the bullets that [Emperor] shot gathered together, hitting the gun itself. Said gun practically became a bullet itself, accelerated by all the kinetic energy the bullets possessed when hit by all at the same time.
This special bullet, the King, no, [Emperor] bullet, a pretty blunt bullet, hit Polnareff in the back of his head. Unlike a regular bullet, this one didn't dig into his head. Just some regular but intense blunt trauma.
"Ugh!" the cursed sword let out in utter shock as its final word out of the frenchman's mouth, accidently letting go of itself due to the surprise. Polnareff was no longer a puppet.
'Yes, I did it!' the cowboy celebrated, too exhausted to force out his voice. That attack did a number on him, he also received a portion of the blunt violence.
They both dropped on the ground. Meanwhile, Noriaki elevated himself, slowly heading towards the gunslinger. The redhead wasn't feeling well and still bleeding, though in a better condition than the freshly injured Hol Horse.
These two made eye contact. The cherry boy first bore a super neutral expression, which mistakenly caused the cowboy to think he was hiding some anger. 'Ahhhhhh, why are you staring at me like this? Did I screw up?!'
Not knowing what to say, if he could, the gunslinger made a worried face. Contrary to his expectations, Kakyoin proceeded to smile. And compliment him, actually compliment him. "Hol Horse... that wasn't too bad. You actually saved me and Polnareff, making it even for the first time we met. I never would've expected this, but you actually did that, you madlad."
Noriaki stretched out his hand, helping the far too injured Hol Horse get up. "The way you did it though... that was really dumb. Think about it, what would you have done if your Stand broke?"
He did have a point, which the cowboy inwardly admitted. 'Right, I just expected [Emperor] to be able to withstand that...'
"But honestly, that was super brave. That's something I really have to praise, Hol Horse. Whether you're smart or not, you bravely pulled off a win. Never thought I'd say this, but you've earned my respect." The redhead really meant the last part, affirming with his eyes.
The gunslinger was about to cry. 'Wah... Kakyoin... you really mean that? Really? Respect a poor clumsy idiot like me?'
"Now..." The cherry boy also picked up the unconscious frenchman. "Let's get back to the others, shall we? And get Polnareff to sleep somewhere comfortable. Once he wakes up and gets told the story from me, you can bet he'll end up respecting you as well."
'Polnareff... respecting me...' Hol Horse didn't like Polnareff, not in the slightest. But still, getting told something like this, he felt some pride. He recognized the reason why until now, people were picking on him. Respect was the way to popularity and decent treatment. And today he recognized the wonders what doing something respectable would bring to oneself. 'Alright, I'll accept that! Even if I'm an idiot, I'll at least become a respected idiot!'
With that, the cowboy felt truly happy, something he hadn't felt a long time ago. Nevermind his outward condition, he was just in the right spirits.
As you've probably read in the top line of next chapter, this chapter has been overwritten. It felt good finishing this chapter this new way, IMO better character development for Hol Horse, more fun to read, and making more sense in a story perspective anyway. Speaking of overwriting, I may or may not overwrite next chapter. Depends, maybe a better solution will appear in my mind after I've already published the chapter, just like it did with this one.
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