Chapter 5: Beetles
As Bushida went to grab the shoe that Issei tricked him into taking, Issei took the complete opposite direction that Bushida went, opting to go deeper into the forest connected to the park from the left-end position that Bushida had seen. Carrying Asia on his back, Issei felt pain rack his body; no doubt from when Bushida destroyed a part of his Stand. That being said, he wasn't as badly injured as the last time. Briefly coughing out blood, Issei ignored the pain and carried Asia deeper into the forest.
Moreover, he was also suffering from the effects of losing his right shoe. His bare sock was tearing open across the rocky road he was running on, and the little things were nearly piercing into his foot as he kicked off them. The pain was near unbearable, but it was all that he could do to keep Asia safe.
He had to come up with something else. Since Bushida was still looking for him, Issei knew that his Stand couldn't remain out in the open. Sure, Issei could disperse them, but Bushida's vortex could easily gather up any stray ones and destroy them all at once, which would needlessly damage him even more. He couldn't simply make them disappear either; they were going to be there unless he guided them out.
That was why he had to come up with some kind of plan.
Issei willed the insects to burrow underground and travel through the loose soil of the park to reach him. That was the only way that he could have the insects escape Bushida's grasp. He gritted his teeth, shivering at the feeling that it gave him. He couldn't feel any damage from the brushing of the sand on his Stand's body, but Issei could somehow feel the sand on his own skin. It was uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt him in the slightest, so he pushed through.
Soon enough, they finally came to stop at a small clearing in the forest, where a narrow brook was crossing through. Hopefully, the soft sound of the waves would cover up any discussion and sounds between Issei and Asia.
"Asia, are you okay?" he asked, finally setting the girl down from his shoulder. Looking at her flushed face with a terrified expression, he saw her closing her eyes and nodding. She must have guessed what Issei was asking her.
"I'm glad," Issei sighed, hoping the feeling was enough for her to understand yet again.
Feeling a finger tapping his arm, Issei looked at Asia once again. She made to say something, then stopped, only to point at the direction they came from, then raise a hand in a questioning manner.
"What happened there?" Issei interpreted. "Asia, what do you mean?" he replied, signing his own questioning hand. He then pointed two fingers to his eyes, then in the same direction they came from, giving another questioning hand after that. "Didn't you see what happened there?"
Frowning, Asia shook her head. She then reached out for Issei's face, making him blink in confusion as she gently touched his chin. She took her hand back soon after, and Issei quickly understood what she tried to do from the drop of his blood on her finger. Issei quickly wiped off the rest of the blood from his mouth.
Asia pointed to the blood, then gave another questioning hand. 'Why are you bleeding?'
Issei gaped in confusion. Hesitating slightly, he pointed back at Bushida's location, then mimicked punching his own cheek. Sending a questioning gaze to Asia, he hoped she would understand. 'He was attacking me, of course!'
Asia, however, shook her head. She then brought her two hands up and pointed her two fingers down, leaving them both on the same plane. She brought her right hand closer to Issei for a moment, then her left at Bushida's direction. Bringing them back, she had the two walk towards each other like they were legs in the air. Just as her hands came closer together, she suddenly threw her right hand to the opposite side, without letting her left hand react. Gesturing to her left hand, she then had her thumb extend out as if the small figure she formed was making a punch. While holding that, she then shook her head.
It was complicated, but Issei managed to get the gist of what she was trying to say from those actions. She was reenacting the things she had seen during that battle, with her right hand being Issei and her left being Bushida. What she was trying to say was: 'Issei, you just approached him and you were sent flying away! He didn't attack you at all!'
Through Asia's puppet demonstration, Issei was left stupefied. How had she not noticed the battle between them? The battle between their Stands?
'Wait,' Issei remembered. 'Raynare hadn't seen my Stand either, right?'
He thought back to his earlier theory about how Daichi had seen his insects. He decided that Asia would be the one to help him prove it.
Issei slowly had his Stand materialise atop his exposed palm, letting the insects swirl around in a ring. Pointing at his palm, he then repeated the earlier motion of pointing to his eyes, asking to see if she could see whatever was there.
Asia simply looked at his palm, then reached out for it, clasping it gently. She hadn't even realised that her hand phased straight through the insects as if they were ghosts.
Issei's eyes widened in shock as he realised why Asia was confused.
'She can't see Stands! That's why she couldn't see our fight!'
That, however, only left him even more confused. Asia still had those rings that healed him; weren't those a Stand? If what Bushida said earlier about how only Stand Users could see Stands was true, then how was it that Asia could not see them? Issei frowned; he still couldn't come to any conclusions about it.
'That being said, being unable to see Stands puts her at a clear disadvantage in this fight.'
"A-Asia…" Issei said, gripping her shoulders. "Run," he said, pointing at her, then at the distance away from the incoming fight. There was no way she could avoid those attacks if she was unable to see them, after all.
Asia quirked a brow in confusion, making Issei sigh and shake his head. He had to somehow convince her to leave without being able to speak to her.
Looking back, Issei saw his insects finally exiting the soil of the ground from when he'd last commanded them to burrow underneath. Holding his hand out, he allowed them to enter his body once again.
"Asia, please," he begged in the meantime, hoping to have her understand. He pointed to the opposite end of the brook they were standing by, then followed her earlier puppet motion with two fingers and directed it to run in that direction. He then pointed to her, then gestured once more at the opposite shore.
Asia stood confused for a while, then slowly nodded. She slowly took off her shoes and socks, then carrying them in her spare hand, she began to wade through the brook. However, as soon as she took her first steps, she turned around and brought a hand up to Issei.
"I can't," Issei said, shaking his head. He then gestured in Bushida's direction, then held up a boxing pose.
Asia blinked in surprise, then rapidly shook her head in refusal. She then waded back up to Issei's side, quickly grabbing hold of his spare hand.
"Wait, wha – "
Issei immediately felt how the water squelched through his socks, making him grimace at it. Looking up only showed a determined Asia, still pulling him through the brook. Shaking his head, he finally followed her along, walking with her to the other end of the stream.
In a few seconds, they made their way through. Issei hastily took off his damp lone shoe and socks and wrung them dry. Unfortunately, he could not do anything about his wet track pants. Hopefully, they would dry in time. He had to resort to walking barefoot for a while, groaning in jealousy as he watched Asia wear her still dry shoes and socks.
Sighing, he looked back at the opposite end of the brook.
'Maybe she's right,' he wondered. 'Maybe Asia's right about both of us needing to run away. I know that my Stand can't beat him already, why was I offering myself up for her?'
Once Asia was done wearing her shoes, she hummed at Issei with a nod. Nodding back, Issei went to her side, hoping to find some alternate exit out of the forest.
Just before they left, however, Issei wondered about what exactly was going on. He still didn't have any answers, and that absence was gnawing on his curiosity.
What exactly were Stands? Why wasn't Asia or Raynare able to see them? Why did Bushida attack them out of nowhere? Why did he have his own Stand?
Still in thought, Issei summoned his Stand from his palm, watching the insects fly around it. He decided to actually observe the insects for once.
The design of the insects was rather intricate. Each one was six-legged and completely black, save for a small white star on its back. Their backs were rather pronounced, having a dome-like rear that would open up to expose the translucent black wings used to fly. For their mouths, they had a small probe jutting out of them.
They also seemed a lot bigger than any simple housefly that once would find. Those insects did not seem to be flies as he'd imagined. In fact, the insect in his hand was a –
"Ophelia."
WHOOSH!
Before he could continue thinking, vines sprouted from the grassy floor beneath him, shooting out around him. Issei briefly tried to force himself out, but the vines quickly wrapped around themselves, forming a very strong seal that Issei couldn't even hope to break out of.
'Shit, we spent too much time dawdling! But what the hell's up with these plants?'
Looking up, he gaped as he watched Asia crying out in fear, screaming out something in Italian the whole time. She was struggling against the vines just as he was.
"Asia!" Issei called out, making her look at him. Constrained by the vines, he used the free fingers of his trapped arm to gesture to his eyes and at her, then another questioning gesture.
Asia hiccupped as she shook her head vigorously. She was looking all over the place, clearly wondering what it was that was holding her.
"This is a Stand, then," Issei murmured.
"That's right," a feminine voice called out. Being forcefully turned back to the brook, they saw that a tomboyish blonde girl was standing at the opposite end. Standing right by her side was Daichi Bushida.
"You…" Issei grit his teeth in frustration. "You bastard! Haven't you had enough, already?!"
Daichi simply tsked. "Look, I can't determine if you're actually worth your salt. If you're gonna die here, then it won't matter if I spare you. You'll be murdered sometime later anyway."
"What the hell are you talking about?! You can't say that!"
"Of course, I can! Because that's how this damn world works! Stand Users are always fated to meet other Stand Users! It's our Law of Gravity! It's an unavoidable fate! If you're so weak that you'll lose here, then there's no way you'll manage later on!"
Issei shut up the moment he heard that.
"You have no idea what our class has been through because of Stands!" Daichi continued. "We toiled, suffered and even lost two of our own. We've had to do things that your stupid weakling brain couldn't even handle. If you can't do any of that, then you deserve to die right here!"
"Wait, but I just – "
"You've had your Stand your whole life, haven't you?! If you've had it for so long, and you're still so damn weak, then you're never gonna get stronger!"
"Wait, wait, I haven't – "
"And that girl. Using her Stand so publicly?! It's like she's asking someone to come for her and take advantage of her abilities! The two of you are absolutely stupid, you hear me!"
"Daichi!" The girl beside him screamed into his ear. "Can you listen – "
"I can't, not like this, Zumi! They've had their whole lives to forget their duties. I'll beat them up for it now. Sleep on the Floor!"
Before 'Zumi' could stop him, Bushida dashed ahead and summoned Sleep on the Floor and created two upside-down vortexes along the brook. Bushida used them to jump to the opposite end, and then called forth his Stand to attack. However, it seemed like he'd become wiser from the previous battles. Instead of aiming for Issei, he decided to attack a fear-stricken Asia.
"Ophelia!" 'Zumi' inadvertently called out, throwing some kind of seed in her hand into the floor before her. It started to form the same tendrils that wrapped around themselves, now shooting up to trap Bushida instead
However, Issei knew that it was futile. Bushida would at least get a hit in before he could be held back. Judging by how Sleep on the Floor was by his side, he knew that Bushida would attack with his Stand. Asia would not survive that hit.
Looking at Asia, he remembered how he'd spent the day with her. How they'd struggled so much with simply speaking to each other due to their language barrier. How she'd smiled so cutely when she'd discovered a mobile phone for the first time.
How she'd introduced a shred of normalcy in his life compared to the whiplash of the last morning and night.
'I'm going to protect her, no matter what!'
Once that will resound in his heart, he felt something forming, emerging from himself. Whatever it was, it coalesced around his vine-wrapped left forearm, then spread out into a red aura around it. In a flash, it solidified into a crimson red scaley gauntlet with two yellow strands peeking back from the sides and a bright emerald gem behind his palm.
From this unnatural gauntlet, a voice resounded across the forest.
"BOOST!"
Meanwhile, Issei recalled the form of the insects he birthed. They weren't flies; with the presence of their dome-like backs, they more resembled –
"Beetles!"
A wave of black insects surrounded the gauntlet that just formed over his arm, combining with its body. Once it was done, the crimson red and yellow hues of the gauntlet had morphed into black and grey. Only the green gem was saved from any changes. There was also a giant red star curved along the body of the gauntlet.
Groaning, Issei pulled against the vines holding him back. To his surprise, they barely held him back once he pulled against them. Freeing himself from the vines, Issei landed on the floor with his left foot, then shot out at Bushida, his left arm primed to attack Sleep on the Floor's body.
Before Bushida could attack Asia, Issei called out for Beetles once more. Dispersing a new wave of the insects, he directed them at Bushida to stop him in his tracks.
Bushida yelped as a wave of blackness enveloped his vision. He was forced to stop in his gait due to it, then yowled at how the insects were ripping off chunks of his flesh much more vigorously than they had before. During that time, however, Issei did not remain idle.
He couldn't see the attack. The cloud of black only dispersed the moment Issei's fist made it through. When Issei punched Sleep on the Floor with his gauntleted fist, Bushida could not retaliate at all.
As the fist made its way through, Bushida could feel his jaw slowly cracking.
The force of the hit knocked him to the opposite end of the clearing. The moment he landed, he coughed out blood, even feeling a few teeth loose in his mouth. Wincing, he crawled into a stand, summoning Sleep on the Floor to help him up. However, upon looking up, he couldn't help but freeze.
Azumi was rapidly forming a cocoon of vines around herself trying to defend against the second swarm of insects that went for her. However, those insects were so much stronger; they were able to rip out chunks of Azumi's barrier within, and he swore he saw some blood fly out from within as well. The other blonde girl was treading through the brook to get to her for some reason, now that she was free of her bindings. Issei, however, was walking straight toward him. His left hand was still clad in that black and grey gauntlet and his Stand, Beetles, was forming around his body as well, buzzing around him. His eyes held a sinister glare, one that Bushida had seen before. Those eyes belonged to someone who was out for blood.
He grit his teeth in frustration. Issei had gotten a lucky hit, that was all. There was no way he could beat his Stand.
Focusing, Bushida formed a vortex in the space behind Issei to keep him from fighting. Those vortexes always took a few seconds to form, so he started before he began his attack. When Issei noticed the resistance to his movement and how his insects were being pulled back, Bushida took his chance.
Leaping from the floor, he charged at Issei once more, directing another attack with Sleep on the Floor. Since the boy wasn't able to fight back, he'd be able to defeat him quickly.
Issei easily sidestepped the attack, all but ignoring the pull of the vortex that once held him.
Bushida blinked in shock at his response. How was that possible? How was the boy able to simply walk out of his vortex like it wasn't there?
'Could it be… that gauntlet? An additional feature to his Stand?'
Now that he was on his exposed end, Issei was completely free to attack. Bushida knew that he would; those eyes spoke of that intent as clear as day.
Using his right hand, the one without the gauntlet, Issei punched him in the face at the same spot as earlier once again, yelling in fury as he did so. Bushida staggered to the side from the second hit, nearly collapsing onto the floor as another few of his teeth flew out of his mouth. Despite his now flopping jaw, he tried to raise a defence, but he couldn't hold his arms up firmly enough. He was becoming too weak. The repeated vital hits were getting to him, rendering him less and less capable of fighting back.
Issei shot out his gauntleted fist at him once again, ready to deliver his next blow to his gut.
"BOOST!"
The gauntlet suddenly yelled out that word, its green gem flashing for a moment. The moment Issei landed his attack, Bushida immediately understood that he wouldn't survive it.
For some reason, Issei was so much stronger than he was earlier, now easily surpassing the strength of Sleep on the Floor. The way his guts churned and turned into mush in his stomach was enough to suggest that improvement in strength.
Bushida rocketed away from Issei's fist, clearing straight through three whole trees from the impact. Those collisions only served to make that damage so much worse.
He couldn't move. Not even an inch. Aside from the burning agony in his gut, there were splinters pockmarked all over his back from the trees he razed on his way to the end. That pain was easily the worst he had ever experienced; not even his time at 1-E could compare to what he felt at that moment.
He had survived back then, after all. But at that current time, he was certain that there was no hope left. Bile and blood were rapidly escaping his mouth and his entire body flooded with burning warmth; a clear sign of immense internal bleeding. Breathing was difficult without coughing out more blood; he couldn't even determine if his broken ribs pierced his lung, but he could certainly fathom.
At that moment, Bushida couldn't help but feel dissatisfied. He knew that he was the one to start that fight, but was it worth it? He was concerned about where those two Stand Users would end up, and why they were wasting their lives despite the danger on their shoulders, but on his deathbed, he couldn't help but wonder if it was truly worth it.
His conclusion was a quick one; absolutely not. The girl, for some reason, pretended that she couldn't see Stands at all. Meanwhile, the boy proved to be much more than what he could handle. The moment he had gotten a lid on his powers and created that gauntlet, he'd easily overpowered him.
'Wait, get a lid on them? Why didn't he use that gauntlet earlier?'
He didn't know. And that irked him so much. Was he the one in the wrong? Had he misinterpreted something, or did the boy just save his best moves for the last?
Despite that, he knew that he would die. He was lying on a bed of arrows, or rather, wood splinters. There was no way he could be saved at that point.
'Azumi… I'm so sorry I messed up…'
The world was rapidly fading away. It wouldn't be long before he did so too. The warmth on his body was scalding.
Yet, for some reason, he couldn't find himself drifting off. He couldn't stop feeling the multiple splinters on his back, but they were quickly fading away. For some reason, the warmth around his body was less burning and more comforting, as if he was being wrapped in a warm blanket, tucked into bed by his own mother.
'Hm? I never imagined the fires of Hell to be this… peaceful,' Bushida wondered as that warmth wrapped his entire body in a cocoon.
To his growing surprise, he could feel his body fixing itself. The splinters were freeing themselves from behind him, and his organs were reorganizing and reshaping themselves to how they once were. Now that light returned to his sense, he was able to open his eyes and see what was happening.
A green glow was covering his entire body, all from that same girl that he'd threatened to hurt earlier. She was healing him.
In the span of a few more seconds, she had finished. Bushida was able to rise to a stand once more, quickly brushing off the stray wood chunks on himself. He winced as he looked down at his tank top. Not only did it have tears from the wood chips, but the region above his stomach was completely blown out, exposing bare skin beneath.
Looking up, he noticed that not only was the other boy who defeated him standing there, but his girlfriend was there too. More importantly, she had that look.
"YOU IDIOT!" she yelled out, immediately grabbing hold of whatever was left of his collar and shaking him around. "WHY DID YOU ATTACK THEM OUT FO THE BLUE?! DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO WAIT FOR THEIR RESPONSE?!"
"I… I just wanted them to stop using their powers in public."
"AND USING YOUR POWERS AGAINST THEM WAS THE WAY TO DO THAT?!"
Bushida couldn't help but wince at that. She was right; in his route to keep their abilities hidden, he'd exposed his own.
"I didn't… I didn't think of that…"
"You… you idiot…" Azumi sobbed as she rested her head on his chest, still gripping onto his collar. "You almost died…"
"…I'm sorry, Azumi," Bushida replied, wrapping his arms around her as well. "I'm so sorry."
Watching the two hug each other, Issei couldn't help but swallow in guilt, knowing that he was the one who'd caused that situation. He'd been too reckless with his ability.
He wanted to kill him.
Issei walked up to the Bushida's resting body after his final hit against him, not caring about how he was or how powerful his last attack was. He didn't care that he was going to kill someone; rage was roaring through his veins. He was seeing red. He wanted Bushida to die for trying to hurt Asia.
He wasn't done yet.
Roaring out in fury once more, Issei leapt ahead, his legs carrying him much faster than he'd imagined. He ignored the distant cry of Ophelia as well as the incoming vines. They barely did anything to him, after all.
Issei was finally atop Bushida, ignoring his pathetic state atop that ripped-out tree trunk. Raising his gauntleted fist once again, Issei was about to deliver another hit.
"Issei!"
That voice was what stopped him. Asia's voice.
Looking back, he watched her running up to him, ignoring every single Beetle fluttering in her path. She grabbed hold of his left arm, holding it back before it could land on Bushida.
Issei knew that with his magnified strength, he could easily shrug her off. She was basically a fly in his presence. But that thought immediately made his heart go sour.
This was Asia. This was the one he'd done all this for. Why in the world would he even consider hurting her?
Gazing at the tears falling from her face, Issei immediately called it all back. He brought back Beetles and even let the now crimson red gauntlet fade away.
"Daichi!" another voice called out in anguish. Looking ahead again, Issei watched the other girl running up to Bushida and holding him.
"Daichi, you'll be okay, please!" she yelled out. "Either of you, please call an ambulance! Please, he's going to die! Ophelia!"
As Issei watched her vines wrap around Bushida's body, he couldn't ignore the feeling of horror that crept into his heart.
'I did that.'
Bushida was on his deathbed. Even with the girl's intervention and the multiple plants now wrapping his body, she couldn't save him.
His death would be at Issei's hands. Issei had actually killed someone.
Just as Issei pulled out his phone, hoping to not end up at that outcome, she watched another person running up to the body.
"Asia!" he noticed as she ran up to Bushida. Crouching down at his side opposite the other girl, Asia nodded at her. Slowly, she nodded back and opened up her vines as Asia raised her hands over Bushida's gut.
"Twilight Healing."
Manifesting the same two rings on her hands, she started to heal Bushida. Issei gaped at the way she'd summoned her ability. It was hardly the time to think of it, but he marked note of Asia's 'Stand' name.
In a few moments, Bushida was completely healed and was being held in an embrace by the girl. Looking at them, Issei couldn't help but frown.
That was his fault. He'd taken their battle too far.
Issei could deduce that Aniki had a Stand as well. Did he know how dangerous it was? Yes, he certainly did. He did everything he could to keep Issei away from it, after all. Unfortunately, Issei ended up in the same boat as him despite his work.
Looking down at his left hand, he couldn't help but wonder what that ability was. What was that ability that allowed him to nearly kill someone? For some reason, it did not give the same feeling his Stand gave. While his Stand was quiet and silent, that gauntlet was different. It felt sorrowful, mourning. It felt disappointed.
Regardless, he couldn't help but view it in fear. He was afraid of what would happen if he brought it out once more. Would he resort to those same instincts once again? Would he end up going too far and actually killing someone?
Issei was lifted out of his thoughts by a gentle palm on his shoulder. Upon checking, he found it was Asia that rested her hand on him, smiling at him. Turned out, she was done healing the boy who was then being screamed at by his girlfriend, only to hug her in tears.
To that, Issei couldn't help but smile back at Asia. Putting his left arm away, he gently rubbed Asia's head with his free right hand. Asia was initially taken aback by the sudden movement but then leaned into Issei's headpatting eagerly.
"Thank you, Asia," he said. "I know you can't understand this, but I'll find some way to tell you. Thank you for stopping me."
Asia looked up, casting a confused glance. Issei simply shook his head with a smile.
"Hey…"
Looking up, he noticed Bushida standing up, being supported by his girlfriend. His workout clothes were completely soiled and destroyed, but he ignored it in favour of keeping support over his still weak body by using his girlfriend as a crutch.
"I'm sorry. For everything," Bushida said. "I promise I won't attack you or your girlfriend anymore, but I need to know this. You were going to say something by that small river. What was it?"
Issei pressed his lips together, musing on the question. "What I was going to say… was that you were wrong about me having my Stand my whole life. Beetles first came to me yesterday, when I was nearly killed by… something. Last night."
"W-What?!" Bushida nearly lost hold of his footing the moment he heard that, making 'Zumi' grunt. "You… You got it last night? But you managed to fool me with it today! And… And you knew… wait… did… did you figure out the rules in the middle of the battle?"
"The rules? What do you mean?"
"He means," 'Zumi' spoke for him. "The three rules that every Stand User should know."
"Three rules… Well, you've told me that Stands can come in any shape or form, only a Stand can cause damage to other Stands and that all damage is reflected onto its user. I'm still figuring out how some people see them and some don't, though…"
"Well, the last two are official rules, while the first one is still right, but not mentioned," 'Zumi' said. "The last rule is that only a Stand User can see Stands."
"Wait, really?" Issei remarked, casting a questioning glance at Asia. 'If that's the case, why was Asia unable to see them despite being a Stand User?'
"Yeah, did something suggest otherwise?"
"N-No, it's nothing, don't worry," Issei spoke with bated breath, hoping to handle Asia's case on his own.
"Still, I liked what you did today," Bushida said with a small smile on his features. "I was wrong about you, then. You're pretty strong."
"… Say, why did you attack me in the first place?"
"I tend to be honest, so it was as I said earlier," Bushida explained. "I didn't know you as a Stand User, so I came for two or three things. I wanted to find out your threat level, and if you were strong enough, I would figure out who you were sided with. Since I thought you were weak, I thought that you wouldn't be able to hold up to any other Stand Users, so I hoped to give you a quick and easy death at my hands. Turned out that with the two of you together, you were a lot stronger than I imagined, and then you went ahead and pulled out that damn thing on your forearm."
"Gauntlet," 'Zumi' kindly supplied with a soft smile.
"Yeah, gauntlet."
"By the way," 'Zumi' said, turning to Asia at that time. "I've only heard of one healing-type Stand before. They're really rare, you should be lucky you have one. How did you get it?"
Asia simply cocked her head in confusion, looking at Issei.
"Sorry about that, she only speaks Italian," Issei spoke on her behalf.
"Well, can you ask her?"
"No, I don't speak it either. I've been talking to her through hand gestures and name-calling this whole time."
"Hm?" 'Zumi' quirked a brow. "How long have you known her?"
"I met Asia just today morning, actually. I stumbled into her during my morning run, and figured out that she was a nun looking for the local church."
"Wait, she's an actual nun?!" Bushida yelped, once again making 'Zumi' hiss. "Wasn't that some weird cosplay?"
"Well, I don't know. She was wearing the clothes, but she did ask me where the church was, so I assumed that she was."
"Oh… fuck, I nearly killed a nun, huh?"
'Zumi' snorted. "Yeah, and that's why you don't jump to conclusions like that, you big dolt. Hey, what was your name again?"
"Oh?" Issei yelped, realising that he was being talked to. "I'm Issei Hyoudou. I was in your class, 2-E. This is Asia Argento, the Italian Nun."
"Ohhh, that's why you seemed so familiar!" the girl replied. "Well. This dumbass is my boyfriend, Daichi Bushida. I'm Azumi Ahame. Don't you dare forget it!"
"Wait, 'was'?" Bushida caught on. "Oh yeah, didn't you say earlier that you were leaving Kuoh?"
"Well, yeah," Issei said.
"Listen, if that's because of me, then I'm really sorry about – "
"No, don't worry, it's not just you," Issei said, letting Bushida frown upon the inclusion of 'just' in his last sentence. "It also relates to last night. I don't want to talk about it, but I'm leaving because of that too."
Bushida shook his head. "Listen, Hyoudou-san. It may sound stupid from a guy like me, someone that tried to kill you, but that's not a good idea. I meant what I said about Gravity, you know?"
"Okay… so what?"
"So what?! Stop being overconfident, someday you might face a Stand User that's leagues stronger than you. In those cases, it's better to work with a group. Most Stand Users we knew worked in groups, even our Senpais from Alliance. Heck, those guys were all in the same Literature Club. We're all lucky to be in the same class when compared to them. Going at this all alone is just suicide, we all know that, so should you."
Azumi blinked blankly. "I don't think I've heard you speak so much before. You're setting new records here, Daichi!"
"Oi, shut up, Zumi!"
"Oh, I'm just saying! But seriously, Hyoudou-kun, he's right," Azumi continued. "It's best that you stay with us."
"Wait, so…" Issei spoke up. "Is your entire class made up of Stand Users?"
"Yep! Well, not Kenta-kun, but he's an exceptional case. But still, our class is Stand User exclusive!"
Issei took a moment to remember the feeling that came to him when he'd met Fumihiro Sasaki, their class's delinquent. When he'd threatened to unleash his Stand. Sakuna had easily come out and told him off for it. That moment proved what they were saying.
Despite that, he still made his decision.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather not get into this," Issei said. "You know… I nearly died thrice in less than a day. Twice in less than 2 minutes. I nearly killed a guy too. My brother asked me not to get too close with anyone in Alliance, and I betrayed that wish. I was supposed to leave Kuoh Academy the moment I figured out I was being placed in 2-E, but I thought I'd hold out for a while because of a stupid wish. But now… Now I don't think it's worth it to stay anymore."
"Hyoudou… You're dumb," Bushida deadpanned at him. "If you were going to drop out, you should have left before you stepped into our class. Right now, there's no way you can leave. Even if you do, your Stand will always keep bringing you into trouble.
"Don't you think we feel the same way? Did you think I wanted to kill you because of my doubts? I've killed before, you know. If it weren't for Azumi, that shit would have fucked me up all night. Don't you think I want to run away too? Don't you think we want to run away?!"
Issei gaped as he heard those words. He recalled how that class had stuck together at all times after their incident. Had whatever they went through affected them so much? In that case, how frequently did they nearly die back then? He remembered how two students died during that event as well; how long had they been carrying that guilt? Issei couldn't answer, but he didn't need to the moment he noticed Bushida's tears forming.
"What I'm trying to say is that now you've got your Stand, you have no choice. You have to stick with us and fight, no matter if you like it or not. You can run all you like, but all that will do is leave you to be killed.
"We're not asking you to join us because we want your help. We're asking you this because we feel bad for what we did to you, and we want to make up for it by protecting you. As long as you're with us, you'll be just a little safer. So, please don't leave."
Issei gulped as Bushida wiped his eyes. Ahame was looking at her feet, crestfallen. It seemed that she was agreeing with Bushida's words as well.
"Is it… true?" Issei asked, hoping that there was some other alternative. "This Gravity rule you're talking about. Are you certain that I won't be able to take it easy anymore?"
"I wish we could, but Stands always force their Users to keep fighting. In fact, most of our Senpais and a classmate of ours who was with them ended up joining some American company to defeat enemy Stand Users. It's a life you can't escape, really."
Issei inhaled sharply, then softly nodded. If that was the case, then it could be doubly worse for him. He couldn't forget what happened before the current encounter, after all. Raynare as a Fallen Angel, Rias Gremory as a Devil. Were they just Stand Users as well, or were they for real?
No, that didn't matter at that moment. The real question was whether he would stay away from Kuoh as he'd decided before or if he would stay there, trying to connect those two entirely different realms together.
"Hey, Bushida-san, Ahame-san," Issei asked, hoping to grab a better understanding of the situation. "Do you believe in the supernatural? Like Angels and Devils?"
"Angels and Devils? That's a weird question to ask," Ahame said. "Well, we're atheists, but there could certainly be a Stand that gives people horns and halos."
"R-Right." 'So, they have no idea about the Devil(s).' Issei sighed as he registered that information.
He had no idea how 2-E would react to people like Rias and Raynare, but from what they'd said, Issei could conclude that they'd suffered enough. If he gave them that information, then he'd be dragging them into another world entirely. One where they'd probably suffer much more than they had back then.
The World of Stand Users and the World of the Supernatural. Those two worlds could never be allowed to meet if they haven't already. If he weren't there to keep them apart, they would eventually collide.
"Okay then. I'll stay at Kuoh Academy. Thank you for having me."
After telling Bushida and Ahame that they would meet the next day, Issei and Asia made their way out of the forest and back onto their route. There was nothing that stopped them on the route at that time. The silence between them was strong enough.
There was so much Issei wanted to ask Asia. He wanted answers to things, and yet he couldn't get them. Their language barrier was in the way, after all.
"Issei?"
"Yes, Asia?" he turned to her, glad to hear her voice again. He didn't know when he'd dropped the honorific to her name, but he didn't mind it anymore.
Asia curtly pointed to Issei, then at her own left arm. Following up on that she pointed to her eyes, then nodded.
"Wait, did you see something?!"
Asia didn't say anything, but Issei surmised that that was what she was saying. Once again calling out Beetles, he had a few of them spinning around his hand. He gestured to them, asking if she could see them as well.
Frowning, Asia still shook her head.
"What then…" Issei wondered until it eventually clicked. Looking around, he was glad to find that they had reached a rather quiet region in the suburbs by then. There was no one around them.
Visualising that previously wrought-out will from within himself once more, he let its red energy coalesce around his hand. The Red Gauntlet formed around his left arm once more.
Asia immediately nodded, pointing at his left arm. She then pointed to a nearby traffic light: Red.
"That's… That's right," he said with a nod, looking down at his Gauntlet once more. "Beetles."
Allowing the Beetles to combine with the Gauntlet and greying its colour palette, he showed it to Asia again, making sure to hide the red star atop it. She simply stared in confusion, then nodded once more, pointing at another red traffic light.
'So, it's still Red for her,' Issei realised. 'That means that this Gauntlet is something else entirely. Something that isn't a Stand? What is it?
'Wait, then is her ability not a Stand either? What's going on? What the hell is this?'
Gulping, Issei willed the gauntlet to vanish yet again. He shook his head, swearing to himself that he would figure out what was going on sooner rather than later.
Asia then said something, then pointed with a frown. Looking in that direction, Issei understood what she was talking about.
They had reached the church, and Issei faced what he was afraid of. The Church at Kuoh had long since been deserted. The dirty white walls of the Catholic Church were outlined with untamed, shin-length weeds. The pavement leading to the entrance had similar weeds peeking through the cracks, showing signs of rot themselves. The statue of Jesus that once stood proudly by the entrance was now cracked across the centre, and half of its head was missing.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Issei said, apologetically bowing to Asia hoping that she would understand the gesture despite its Japanese-exclusive nature. "This is the only church in Kuoh," was said accompanied by a point to the church, then another upright finger signalling the number one.
Asia gaped in shock as she understood Issei's actions, then grimly looked down and nodded. Repeating the bowing gesture to Issei, Asia smiled at him and walked up to the rickety gate of the church.
"She's really going to enter that place, huh?" Issei thought out loud. "I wish I could still… wait, why didn't I do that sooner?!"
Immediately fishing out his phone, he opened a translator website and typed out a message to translate to Italian. Copying the message, he pasted it into his phone messages to Asia. She, unfortunately, could not use apps like LINE with her flip phone, but standard messaging would still work. He'd have to apologize to Aniki for the carrier charges, however.
Asia blinked in surprise as her phone buzzed in the hem of her dress. Fishing it out, she noticed that a message was displayed on it. A message that was entirely in Italian.
Issei: This is Issei! I just realised there were ways to translate messages online, so let's talk like this from now on! These apps aren't always reliable, so sorry if something sounds weird. Let me know if you ever need anything!
Asia immediately turned back to face Issei, who simply grinned at her while holding his own phone up. Beaming at him once more, Asia began typing on her phone. It took her a few trials to understand the typing method because of the Japanese scripted hardware, but she eventually got there. The moment Issei's own phone pinged, he put her message through the same translator.
Asia: Thank you, Issei! Thank you for everything!
Issei: Don't mention it, Asia. Are you sure you want to stop here, though?
Asia: Yes, this is fine. I was told that the Church wouldn't be as I expected it.
Issei looked up at her again, only to see her frowning. She started typing out on her phone again.
Asia: Can you tell me what was going on back in that forest? Thank you for keeping me safe, but did you see something that I couldn't?
Issei frowned upon seeing the message as well.
Issei: Honestly, I don't understand much of it either. There was something there that you couldn't see, yes. I don't understand it at all, but when I do, I'll let you know.
Asia: Thank you, Issei. Thank you so much. Even with all that, today was definitely the best day of my life. Thank you for helping me, Issei!
Issei couldn't help but blush as he read the translated message. Beaming at Asia once more, he returned to typing.
Issei: You're welcome, Asia. It was nothing, and I'm sorry for putting you through that fight. Let's meet again sometime! Hopefully, no one will try to hurt us then!
Asia chuckled upon reading the message.
Asia: Of course, let's meet again sometime!
Understanding that their conversation was drawing to a close, Issei vocalized another 'Goodbye!' and waved his hand at Asia while walking away. Asia smiled at him and waved back just as well.
After some time, Issei was out of the vicinity of the church. Thinking about Asia once more, he let a smile curve his lips up.
'She really was cute. I'm so glad that I kept her safe,' Issei thought, gripping his left hand.
'So, I'm going to stay at Kuoh Academy? Okay, I will. From what I've heard, those guys have suffered enough. I'll do whatever I can to keep 2-E away from Gremory-san and anyone like her.'
Remembering the other, hotter redhead, Issei couldn't help but smirk at how he had gripped her breast earlier that day.
'Wait, my hand…'
He had grabbed that tit with his left hand. The one that was used to attack Bushida. The one that manifested that gauntlet.
'W-Wait… I swore that I wouldn't touch anything else! How could I taint such a blessing?!'
"NOOOOOOO!"
Stand User: Azumi Ahame
Stand Name: Ophelia (inspired by the song from 'The Lumineers')
Abilities: Plant Growth. The User can create seeds as a part of their Stand and toss them onto the floor. If the seeds are able to penetrate through and leave only one of their sides open, the required plant will grow from it as the User desires. Whichever known variation of plant can be grown.
Destructive Power: Depends on the Plant Species used
Speed: B
Range: C (10m)
Precision: C
Durability: Depends on the Plant Species used
Development Potential: B
Stand User: Issei Hyoudou
Stand Name: Beetles (inspired by the band 'The Beatles'. Pretty niche one, I know.)
Type: Colony Stand
Abilities: Unknown
Destructive Power: D
Speed: C
Range: A
Precision: B
Durability: E
Development Potential: A
Additional Abilities of User: Unknown Gauntlet
(Note: Stand Card Can be Updated at any time)
A/N: Now we have Issei's Stand Name! Okay, I get that 'Beetles' is a bit on the nose, but it's the best thing I could give it! I initially wanted to name it 'Black Beetles' after 'Black Beatles' by Rae Sremmurd, but the original band won out in the end.
For those who've read/watched DxD, you know now that Issei has the Boosted Gear. Yes, Issei has both the Boosted Gear and a Stand. Yes, Issei is OP, I know. The Boosted Gear is a cracked ability on its own, even without the Balance Breaker, all its needs is a completely invisible implementation to knock it up to even more absurd levels. DxD seriously undermines the potential of the Boosted Gear. In two or three Boosts, Issei should be able to surpass Kiba's speed and maybe after one more, Koneko's strength. The dude should have been OP from the very beginning, there's no way he could have failed against Raynare in their final fight, that was just idiotic. Rather, it was a way to implement Rias in his heart, but still. I've already mentioned this before, but DxD compromises plot for horny. It's stupid.
Okay, enough of that rant, I'll go on forever otherwise.
Ya know, I was supposed to be doing some coding work at this moment. I've got so much stuff pending, I dunno when I'll be able to do any of them if I'm such a slacker. I just lack motivation to do that stuff anymore. I hardly want to do anything but read and write anymore. After all, the story within programming isn't the type that I like; I don't like non-fiction as much as fiction. Hopefully I can draw a better connection between both to help me go forwards. If you can, let me know your tactics for when you lack motivation for urgent work.
No reviews this time. Sad, I know. Anywho, I'll see you next chapter!
