DISCLAIMER: I do not own JoJo's bizarre adventure or Rising of the shield hero
"A son. A remnant from my previous world carried over. Is he a weakness or strength? I need time."
"Master. Perhaps time is not what you need."
"[The World]. What is it? What am I missing?"
"A being who disobeys life and death, shatters time, and conquers souls needs not time to discern, only will."
"DIO?"
"Hm?"
"You seem to be abit tense."
"What gives you such an idea?"
"Every step you have taken since we left the room, feels as if someone has died, it is very burdening."
"Apologies. I was not aware I had such an effect."
"Life and death," [The World]'s words rang through DIO's mind, infecting it with some sort of influence. It was ironic, this was the very voice DIO himself spoke with, only echoed back.
"I usually try to think happy thoughts when he gets like that," Senshi spoke while skipping along.
"This is normal?"
"Pretty much."
DIO felt something hearing those words. But in that same moment, DIO felt something new, a threat, a predator. Stalking. DIO shook his head to clear his mind.
"I must attend to something privately. Stay alert, the Wave glooms around us."
With that, DIO walked off, leaving Rishia and Senshi before they had the chance to question him.
"Should we...?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Daughter of Ambra!"
Three women ran up and surrounded Senshi so fast she wondered if vampires felt whiplash.
"You're so big! They have been feeding you well."
"Look at her skin."
"I remember when you were little, poor thing."
The first who approached was old and dressed blue with a cane and slumped posture; the second was tall, regal, middle-aged and dressed red with a long dress and strong amber eyes; the third, youthful, dressed in green, flashing an excited white smile. The women spoke to Senshi as if they knew her all her life.
"Who are you?"
"Oh my, did she not tell you about us?"
"Who?"
"Your aunt."
Senshi scratched her head, trying to remember. It took...too long before Senshi finally beamed with a memory.
"That nice maid lady!"
"Yes, how is she?" The second woman asked.
"Oh, she, uh, went to put someone in the ground or something."
"Oh my," The elder seemed distraught.
"Senshi!" Rishia slapped Senshi's shoulder which hurt her more than it did the fighter.
"What?"
"She went to a funeral!"
"Oh, why?"
Rishia had to take a double take before she could say anything else, luckily the elder spoke first.
"To honour the dead and pave way for the future. Your mother gave her life for yours and I see such a sacrifice went a long way. Do you not think that deserves ceremony?"
"I...guess."
"Come, let me share with you knowledge of the past," The elder urged.
"And I, the present," The woman said.
"The future awaits!" The girl expressed.
Senshi and Rishia looked to each other and shrugged.
"Alright, where does it start."
"I would normally say the beginning, but for you, the end."
Elena laid still on the hospital bed. She looked to her right where Malty once laid before she just stood up. All alone in silence, she felt tormented. Her recovery was one of constant pain and uncomfortability. She was not asleep, she couldn't. Why did her life have to be so hard! It's those damn heroes, fucking everything up! Shit, she just witnessed a slaughter, what the hell is her life. What is she supposed to do now, go back home.
FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"
"Hahaha."
A low chuckle from the dark corners where the hung flames could not touch disrupted her rage.
"What the hell!? Who's there!?"
Elena searched around the room frantically. The room's light vanished with Elena's bed being the only thing bathed in blood red light. Elena looked up for a split second, finding nothing on the ceiling and when she scanned the room once more, two circles of bright red were visible in the darkness. Elena could barely speak as beads of sweat rolled down her face and her breathing was the only thing she could hear in this cold dark room. Those red circles grew larger in her vision, no sound or warmth accompanying their approach.
"Am I going to die?"
Elena searched around the room frantically. The room's light vanished with Elena's bed being the only thing bathed in blood red light. Elena looked up for a split second, finding nothing on the ceiling and when she scanned the room once more, two circles of bright red were visible in the darkness. Elena could barely speak as beads of sweat rolled down her face and her breathing was the only thing she could hear in this cold dark room. Those red circles grew larger in her vision, no sound or warmth accompanying their approach.
"Elena."
The man's voice sounded powerful, but not with his power, hers.
"Yes?"
"What do you wish for?"
The man got closer and closer, his body was unnatural, unreal like a mirrage, but the light he emanated it had power, power she wanted.
"To never worry...never fear...forever."
The words left her with such conviction, she could have sworn she had not said them.
"What will you give for it?"
The man asked while leaning in close to Elena's face.
"Everything."
The man smiled, two sharp fangs visible like a warning. His body hovered above Elena's. She had not even noticed she had laid down and now he was on top of her.
"I have named my price, it is time to pay. It will be quick, but your mind will drift into insanity."
The man spoke this time, no questions, only statements. Elena had already surrendered to his golden glow, her response being holding the man's incredible body, carressing it like a treasure.
"How about we take it slow."
DIO smirked.
"As you wish."
DIO, in an instant, plunged his arms until his forearms into Elena's sides, taking hold of her heart, encapsulating it.
Blood splurted from Elena's mouth, falling to the ground with such in inpact in Elena's mind, she could hear every drop.
"What a waste. No worries. As you said we can take this slow."
Elena could do nothing against him. All she could do was curse the day she was born and pleasure the way his hands felt inside her.
"Checkmate!"
The juvenile green clad child shouted with glee. Much to the chagrin of Senshi Foo, her opponent.
"Damn! DIO makes it look so easy!"
"I told you to save the pawn!"
Her companion, Rishia Ivyred, stood beside the table where the two were playing, in an isolated room from the rest of the facility.
"I win again!"
"You're incredible. How did you beat me fo—"
"Six," Rishia corrected.
"Really that much?"
Rishia nodded.
"The key is that you focused too much on the next move towards beating your opponent. The destructive outcomes of your actions," The seated elder gave her wisdom.
"When you should have simultaneously examined the current position of all pieces and discovered the opportunities present not on unquantifiable possiblities," The red dressed lady said, one leg crossed over the other and a cup of tea close to her lips.
"You let me lose six times to tell me that?"
"The moral is not affected by how many times you have lost or could have for that matter," The woman explained.
"Then what is it?"
"In every situation, reality happens in all temporal directions. To live properly and succeed, you have to see everything from all perspectives all at once," The child explained.
Senshi took time to digest that, but no matter how hard she tried, it felt like gibberish.
"I think I get it!" Rishia beamed.
"You do?"
"Yeah. You cannot change the past, but you can learn from it. Do better in the moment and the future will be bright so long you know where you're going."
"Exactly," The red woman smiled proudly, finding Rishia quite enjoyable.
"Easier said than done," The elder spoke.
"Hm?"
"One must first confront each one first before unifying them, a long journey indeed, but an important one."
"How?"
"That is for another day, for now, you must return to Lord DIO."
"He's calling!" The girl jumped.
"What? No he—"
"Senshi, Rishia. Where are you? Return to me."
Senshi heard her father's voice through his stand telepathy.
"Oh, he is! Let's go, Rishia! Bye, people who knew my biological mother!"
Senshi shouted as her heavy footsteps guided her out the room with haste.
"She does not know our names."
"No, she doesn't."
"Clotho!"
"Lanchesis."
"Atropos."
The three introduced themselves in ascending order of age.
"Those names sound foreign."
"We are exotic people," The red lady, Lanchesis' striking eyes stared directly into Rishia's as she said that. Rishia noticed in the corner of her vision that her cup of tea was as hot as when they entered half an hour ago.
"Mhm. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I hope we meet again."
With that Rishia left the room, one thought racing through her mind.
"How did she know...How did she know DIO would use telepathy!?"
DIO stood outside the hospital building under a cherry blossom tree, his body clothed with baggy golden pants held by a long overextended plain black belt that hung low to the ground, a tight black shirt and a short sleeved open golden jacket. A black headband held up his hair. Rishia and Senshi calmly walked up to him.
"What's with the look?"
"I am trying something, hopefully to match with my stand. How is it?"
"I'm no fashion expert, but it looks..." Senshi continued not to continue.
"It looks great, though it does need work, it has potential. I like the cape," Rishia chimed in.
"Thank you. I hoped the redness of the cape would match my eyes."
"But your eyes are golden?"
"At this moment, yes."
"Ok. Anyway, what is the purpose of standing here?"
"Yeah. We left Raphtalia all alone," Senshi exaggerated.
"I feel a presence. It calls for my head."
"The invaders!?" Rishia grew tense instantly.
"Perhaps."
"Why would they come after you?"
"I surmise it is due to my percurious nature as an outsider of this universe. And seeing as my power far surpasses the cardinal heroes, my presence is stronger. Jouta likely the same."
"What do we do?" Rishia's voice pitched.
"We wait."
"Huh?" Rishia seemed baffled.
"Beneath this tree, I like it."
DIO sat down cross-legged at the base of the large tree.
"Resting before a big fight, good idea."
Senshi joined him, sitting beside him.
"But what about the invaders!? You heard Eli's words!"
"Let them come. I will not walk into their hands. This is my domain. We shall battle on my terms."
"At the hospital? Isn't that dangerous?"
"It is as you said, Eli stated he saw a glow similar to a legendary hero. If they are heroes, their discomfort battling here will work in our favor."
"You're using these people as a distraction?"
"On the contrary, I am making them aware of what they plan to do by dooming this world. It is basic psychology."
"But DIO—"
"Rishia! Enough!"
Rishia halted her words, complying with DIO's command.
"Sit."
Rishia reluctantly sat on the grass on the other side of DIO.
"Is it that you doubt my abilities or you fear that of the invaders?"
"I...do not know."
"Conflit of the self. I sense this is a constant in your life."
"More than I would like to admit."
"To move forward, one must learn from the past not repeat it."
"Mine is not a past worth learning from."
"Perhaps that is the problem. It is YOUR past. You must relive it from an objective standpoint, otherwise you shall be blinded."
"I do not wish to relive it, ever."
"Not alone."
DIO placed his hand upon hers, expressing something DIO never does, empathy. Rishia could not stop the warm smile she gave DIO and neither could he.
*PHANTASM*
"!"
That was it, the enemy. DIO felt it in his soul. The enemy was only twenty meters away, but out of his stand's effective range.
"Rishia."
DIO turned to his companion.
"Equip your blades, the enemy is near," DIO instructed.
"Um, DIO?"
"Yes, Senshi?" DIO turned back.
"I am Rishia."
"???"
Naofumi laid in bed, his body numb from the sheer pain he has endured, the price of power. But he was unconcerned by that, more focused on his current conversation.
"Cliff or storm?"
"Cliff. My shield will break my fall."
"Poison or starvation?"
"Poison. I'm good with medicine."
"Death or murder?"
"Depends."
"On?"
"Are there witnesses?"
Naofumi and the patient laughed at Naofumi's jest.
"Guess the stories were wrong."
"What stories?"
"The ones about 'The devil of the shield'."
"Oh my god, not those."
"Yeah, get this, some say you're the incarnation of evil on earth like some dark messiah. What's up with that?"
"I honestly don't know. I was accused of something terrible a month back. They turned me into an outcast."
"Harsh. Being a hero isn't easy, huh?"
"Hero? I'm far from it."
"And yet you're in here on the verge of death. In my eyes, that's a hero."
Naofumi's smile upon hearing such words beamed like a newly risen sun, dimming the aura of hatred that had engulfed his soul.
"Maybe."
Naofumi suddenly felt his eyelids grow heavy and a yawn penetrate his mouth.
"Man, it's been fun. Naofumi, by the way, Naofumi Iwatani."
"L'arc Berg Sickle."
"L'arc. Cool."
Naofumi began drifting off. His eyes wandering the room as he did.
"Everyone else is knocked out cold. Jouta is even doing that thing where he manifests a part of his stand before he sleeps. Seeing stands will forever be one of the weirdest perks of being a hero."
"!"
The soft sound of the door to the room locking caught Naofumi's attention. From the corner of his vision, a feminine form wearing bright ornaments entered.
"Who is that?"
"Are they all here?" The presumed she asked.
"No, one of them is outside."
"L'arc!?"
"She will take care of them. She must, after all, she decided not to follow the plan."
"She is one of the best fighters I have ever seen. She doesn't make mistakes."
L'arc uncovered his bed's curtain and stood up beside the strange female. His prominent features were his above average height and muscular body. His shoulder length red spiky hair complemented by a red eye of the same shade. His right eye was white, it had been wounded, a scar running across it.
"Is he blind in that eye?"
A large black tattoo covered his entire arm and the right side of his chest and neck. Naofumi could tell it covered gruesome wounds. The dark red and black colours he wore blended in perfectly with the giant scythe he wielded. Forged from seemingly black obsidian, it's handle seemed broken as it dangled via chain from L'arc's arm.
"What happened to him?"
"In any case, let's do what we came for."
"Kill the heroes of this world, starting with the big guy and the shield hero, no one else."
"The invaders! L'arc is one of them!"
"Will the effect last long enough?"
"You know my Slumber Smoke could put a raging dragon to sleep."
"Good. I knew I could count on you, Therese."
Therese was the woman's name. She had blue hair in a single long braid and similar to L'arc, a damaged left eye covered by an eyepatch. She was relatively small but Naofumi could tell she was dangerous.
"That explains why I can't move, I'm being put to sleep."
"It seems you need assistance?"
"You again?"
"I am the only reason you did not fall prey to this magic. You became too relaxed, now you must bring forth your rage!"
"Why should I listen to you?"
"I am equally invested in self-preservation. Which do you prefer, death or power?"
"I hate you."
"Good."
"FURIOUS BURST!"
Naofumi jumped from his bed with such force it exploded into pieces and utilized a reduced version of Furious Rampage, launching the destructive energy in a quick burst that travelled as a red energy wave.
"Naofumi."
L'arc almost seemed unfazed as he gripped his chain and spun his scythe in defense. The scythe absorbed the destructive energy and nullified it.
"L'arc!" Naofumi angrily shouted.
"I'm sorry, this has to happen."
"Save your excuses. They won't save you!"
Naofumi charged forward with a barrage of punches at L'arc.
"OWARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI...!"
L'arc blocked each punch with the chain wrapped around his arm. Barely moving in response to Naofumi's barrage.
"So it's true. These guys are capable of tracking light. I'm a snail in comparison."
"ARI!"
His final punch was faint in hopes of catching L'arc off guard to land his true punch. The sound of Naofumi's fist colliding with L'arc's palm destroyed the illusion.
"Impressive, kiddo."
L'arc gripped the short handle of his scythe, pulled it back and swung it in a perfect arc for Naofumi's head. Words likely deceive how quick all of this was for Naofumi, his senses were always five steps behind.
"FURIOUS BURST!"
Naofumi saved himself, repelled backwards by firing against L'arc's palm. It had been the fastest instant reaction he had ever made.
"Hmm."
L'arc examined the palm of his hand, smoke rising from it. Point blank pure destructive rage energy. It stung.
"Let us make this quick, L'arc."
A shiny gemstone glowed in Therese's hand. Simultaneously, in seemingly choreographed motion, the two utilized their unique abilities.
"Deadly..." L'arc got into a crouched stance, power shifting the air around him.
"Shining Stone:..." Therese was similarily prepared to attack, holding out her palms.
Naofumi searched his surroundings. Broken material littered the floor, useless. His comrades were still asleep.
"Wake up, wake up, dammit!"
He internally screamed, but he knew it was in vain. His only hope, or rather the last thing he could count on, was to hold up his shield, hold his ground, and pray they can not kill him instantly.
"Dance!"
"Protection Shatter!"
A spell left Therese's palms and flew threw the air. L'arc seemed to follow it rhythmically, meaning once the spell hit so would L'arc's scythe.
"Damn you, L'arc Berg Sickle!" Naofumi's thoughts raged through his mind. And somehow, somehow Naofumi's hatred manifested itself once more in the form of a new ability. One that enabled him to stand his ground as L'arc's scythe slice through his body with not a single drop of blood.
UNRELENTING HATRED
This ability focused the destructive hate energy inwards, generating a pull effect that held every cell of Naofumi's body together, regardless of injury.
"Dammit, kid. That was meant to kill you!"
L'arc jumped back, frustrated by Naofumi's stubborness. He didn't want him to suffer.
"Therese, what happened? Why didn't your spell work?" L'arc asked his unshaken companion.
"It worked, his defenses were completely nulled, however, he seems to have reversed the flow of his negative energy. It is holding his body together, but it is not healing his wounds. Logically he should still be dead. It is likely due to a combination of abilities that grants him this immortality."
"What do we do then?"
"Utterly erase every fibre of his being."
"I'll take care of Naofumi. You kill the big guy."
Therese nodded.
"!"
Naofumi spat blood, his eyes lacking no determination, he shifted in front of Jouta's bed and braced himself once more.
"I can do this all day."
L'arc couldn't help but smile. The shield hero.
"Deadly..."
L'arc leapt forward, he was not gonna hold back this time. He had been treating Naofumi like a child, but now he saw Naofumi as the hero he is. He was going to kill him as a hero.
Therese nodded.
A barrage of untold ferocity and speed from the black scythe aimed at Naofumi. The hero of the shield could see his own reflection within the blade of the scythe, his life flashing before his eyes. It was an instantaneous process, but at the same time, painfully slow. This was the power of L'arc, that in the end, all one will see is the black scythe. This image engraved itself into the victim's mind, taking advantage of a weakness of human psychology, recollection. Memory was not an organised timeline of events one could draw one at any moment, but a reconstruction based off stimuli. From the victim's perspective, the feeling of death L'arc's weapon aroused was related to every near death experience in their lives. To them, the scythe had always been there, lurking in the shadows, waiting...
"He must be the scythe hero. As I am now, I could never defeat something like that."
Naofumi silenced his own fury and accepted his fate.
Naofumi deactivated Unrelenting Hatred, which removed the protection he gained from it. And without rage fueling him, Naofumi's leg snapped and he dropped to the ground.
L'arc's scythe's first swing missed. As it turned out, the effect of hopeless despair that the dark scythe had was even faster than itself. And as a result, Naofumi's deactivation of Unrelenting Hatred and snap of his leg were just as nigh instantaneous. L'arc pulled back for another swing, his damaged eye rolled downward to his target. The air was wild and swift, but even then, Therese noticed something off. Her stern focus allowing her to catch the slightest detail. The odd green energy that emanated from the large black haired man, disappeared. While this green energy is known as stand power, Therese lacked the capabilities of visualizing such a thing, but she was experienced in sensing the spirit or energy of an object or place, stand energy being no exception.
"Foreign, but before it vanished, it possessed an actively threatening frequency. If it relates to emotions in that way, it must by mentally manipulated. It is a surprise attack! L'arc is at the perfect angle for his eye! I must act."
Therese, wasting no time, did not rely on casting a spell, it could take too long. She dashed forward, her foot pushed against the earth beneath and propelled her body forward.
"?"
L'arc was distracted by her sudden movements, widening the opening.
"L'arc!"
Therese screamed as she pushed him out of the way.
"URYA!"
The emerald dazzling fist of [Charmy Green] rocketed upward in a curved trajectory. Therese' face was reshaped by the fist, the stand somehow holding her above the ground with its fist before following all the way through in a perfect arc.
"Ah. My hand. I broke it," Jouta Kujo spoke holding his hand.
"Jouta. It worked. That was close," Napfumi smiled gently at the Joestar descandant. Jouta, however, responded by berating his comrade.
"Why the fuck would you spit your blood on me!"
"I thought a bit of Hamon would jolt you awake. I was right."
L'arc watched the two bicker without the slightest bit of context, it was strange.
"I am so going to get you after this. You're lucky I already hit something, it should have been you."
"Relax, you got your punch, now let's focus on waking up the others."
DIONA said, peaking over the back of Jouta.
"Even...?" Naofumi asked cryptically.
"Yep," Jouta answered cryptically.
"Best we split up, you handle Therese. L'arc is mine."
"Good luck, don't die."
Jouta with DIONA on his back walked to the edge of the hole in the wall. Looking back once more, Jouta gave Naofumi a simple nod before dropping from the edge in pursuit of Therese.
"You realize I am still leagues ahead of you."
"I don't care."
L'arc pulled back his scythe and Naofumi's rageful aura blazed once more. Black and red auras swirled in the air, unaware of a third one that hid with only the slight glimmer of polished metal.
"The invaders. You shall face my fury."
