Peering Into Another Universe

by DeathlyJazzHands55

[Place Holder Cover] Two Entities far beyond human comprehension are bored. So, they decided to do the most cliche thing in all of existence... have one universe react to another. What could possibly go wrong? [Spoiler: Everything] [Crossover between Dynamite And A Laserbeam and A Legacy To Protect, both JJBA x MHA crossovers done by Donuthair5618 and DeathlyJazzHands55]

7. Den sjette episode

If one were to ask the common folk of Musutafu what they would describe their city to be, the most common answer would be "diverse". Be it because of the various types of food chains, the variety of Quirks, or the fact that Musutafu was known to be The City Of The Mutants or, the less offensive term, The Accepting City. All walks of life, no matter their physical appearance, should be free to live within Musutafu.

And in a country such as Japan, where Xenophobia and Racism against Mutant Quirked individuals were on the rise due to the sudden shift in opinion regarding those with Mutant Quirks—no thanks to The Creature Rejection Clan, or the CRC for short, a city like Musutafu was sorely needed.

But, even in a city where Mutants were accepted, that didn't stop acts of hate from occurring from time to time. Case in point, what was happening across the street from a local McDonalds, where a group of clean-shaven men surrounded something or someone. All of them were dressed in black, leather coats with the CRC's logo on the back, which was of a lizard's face with three slash-marks going through the center of it, encapsulated with a circle. They also wore black leather pants and combat boots.

It was the policy of the CRC to always wear black among their ranks. Only the highest in charge could wear white clothing. And they also had to be clean-shaven, to show that every kind of mutation, even hair was discouraged. Men, women, children, it didn't matter. Being a human with hair to them was considered a mutation. It was unnatural. Impure.

Another policy of the CRC was that their faces had to be covered to some extent so that no one could identify them. The same applied to this group of individuals, their faces covered by black-painted ski masks, only revealing their multi-coloured eyes. From left to right, there were blue eyes, red eyes, and brown eyes.

And the person who they were surrounding, on the other hand, was just a little kid. A young boy who happened to have butterfly wings and antae. He was dressed in a white and yellow stripped shirt, a pair of blue shorts and grey socks with white slip-on sneakers, and he had black hair with rainbow-coloured eyes; a side effect of his Quirk. The young boy had wandered off from his mother, who had taken him to the arcade nearby.

It was unfortunate that he ran into these men, who were staring him down after having shoved him to the ground, a bruise forming on his face from one of the men as he huddled against the wall, shivering in fear. The one in the center, the one with red eyes, scowled under his ski mask, blowing hot air out from underneath.

"Oi, Jugo, whaddya think we should do? We got a freak on our hands," Red Eyes said as Jugo, the man with blue eyes, smirked underneath his mask, reaching out to the boy and picking him up from the scruff of his neck. The boy screamed in fear, only to be smacked by Red Eyes. "Quiet, brat."

The boy whimpered as Jugo scoffed. "We could rip his ugly wings off and burn'em later. Cleanse him of his wretched mutation."

"Yeah, and his antae, too!" Brown Eyes added as Red Eyes chuckled.

"Good idea, Kazuichi. Ya hear that kid? We're gonna help ya. Let's get rid of that awful Qui—"

"Put. The kid. Down," a monotone, borderline furious voice interrupted Red Eyes, who glanced over in the direction of where it came from. The voice belonged to a young girl, around sixteen years old. She was around five feet flat, and her most defining feature was her extended earlobes with earphone jacks attached to them.

...

"HEY! IT'S YOU!" Gyro screamed into Kyoka's face, much to her annoyance. "It's you! You're a part of the story now!"

"I can see that."

"How are you even shorter on a movie screen?"

"Cause it's wide...not unlike your ego."

"I don't have an ego, don't be ridiculous."

"...you wear your name on your teeth, Gyro."

Gyro attempted to refute Kyoka's point, but he was forced to concede on that one. "It's my aesthetic..."

Johnny snorted, knowing full well that despite Gyro's effort, it was an uphill battle if you wanted to beat Kyoka in a verbal duel. Still...it was comforting, seeing this alternate Kyoka standing up for the little guy. That was just who his girlfriend was at her core, empathetic to a fault...despite her somewhat crude attitude.

...

She had fair skin and was a little on the slender side of things. Dark purple, asymmetrical chin-length hair framed her face in such a way that it accentuated her onyx-coloured eyes, both of which were narrowed in a protective fury. She was dressed in a short-sleeved, off-white t-shirt with text in plain English in a dark purple colour that read "The End Of Villains" sprawled on the front in a pointed font.

She was also dressed in a skirt that stopped just above the knees, along with a pair of mesh stockings and black stomper boots that stopped a few inches above the ankle. A dark purple armband sat on her left wrist, with three deep blue beaded bracelets on her right wrist, alongside a black choker around her neck, seemingly covering something.

Red Eyes stared the girl down with a sneer underneath his mask, his eyes blazing with fury and annoyance. "Lookie what we got here. Kazuichi, seems like you'll be doing something after all. Get rid of this freak. Shouldn't take ya that long, she's just a girl."

...

"Bigoted towards mutants AND women...man, the CRC sucks." Himiko said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"...why have I not killed them yet?" Santana asked, and he gestured towards the screen. "I'm asking Blue, why have I not wiped them out yet? The CRC is in our universe too, correct? They should have been the first to go!"

"Questions for me will happen during the Q and A segment at the end of the episode." Blue briefly popped into existence.

"...you forgot all about them, didn't you?"

"..."

"..."

"...let's continue, shall we?"

...

Kazuichi snickered, approaching the girl as he cracked his knuckles. The girl stood her ground, looking over the man's shoulder to see Red Eyes and the other man, Jugo if she had overheard correctly, marching away with the young boy.

Kazuichi reached out to grab the girl, only to stop when, in the blink of an eye, one of her earphone jacks zipped forward faster than he could perceive, stabbing him in the eye, which caused him to jolt backward, covering his face as he howled in pain. The girl then rushed him, before punching him in the nuts, making him double over in pain, falling to the ground.

A group of onlookers stared in their direction, which gave the girl an idea. The last thing she wanted was to get in trouble, and she had spotted a hero off in the distance just about a few seconds away from reaching them, no doubt coming to check out what the commotion was about.

And seeing as she was a girl...

"DAMN PERVERT! GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF ME, CREEP!" The girl cried out, fury on her face as the hero immediately rushed over. They didn't look all that special. The most notable feature on their face was the chainsaw they had coming out of their head and arms. They had a dark yellow cape flowing off their shoulders, along with a dark orange spandex suit with a red X going across their chest. A fellow Mutant Quirk haver like herself, it seemed.

"You alright, ma'am? Did that man touch you at all?" The Chainsaw Hero asked, his glowing red eyes staring at her with concern on his face, placing a hand on her shoulder as she shook her head, glaring down at the collapsed man on the ground.

...

"Why the hell is Denji here?" Johnny asked, gesturing towards the screen.

"That guy actually exists in our world too." Jotaro said, and his son whipped around to stare at him. "He's a HPSC-affiliated hero...he was one of the heroes that was attacking the Barge when we were still inside, our lives be damned."

"Ah...so...probably somebody I'd fight then."

"You'd wreck his ass." His father nonchalantly replied. "Besides...pretty sure he went missing after the Barge...the HPSC is just covering it up."

"Yes, and the sky is blue."

...

"I'm fine. More importantly, two guys dressed like him ran off with a child up ahead. I was following the kid because I didn't want him to get in trouble. Can you please go after them?" the girl asked, worry in her voice as The Chainsaw Hero's eyes narrowed, staring ahead down the road.

"Gotcha kiddo. What's your name?"

"Jirou. Jirou Kyoka, and thank you, Chainsaw Man," Kyoka said as he smiled, his large, sharp teeth-filled face upturning as he did.

"No problem," and with that, he lunged ahead, a blast of air blowing Kyoka's hair back slightly as she shielded her face from the wind. Another hero walked up and scoped up the fallen man, a bog-standard hero with no real outstanding appearance in all honesty, chasing after Chainsaw Man as he tried to catch up to him.

Frankly, she was a little annoyed she couldn't have done anything herself, but the law was the law, and she honestly got lucky that there was a hero nearby. If there wasn't, then she didn't know what she was going to do. Chase after them? Maybe, but then what?

Protecting the weak was something that Kyoka wanted to do. Especially those who had been mistreated by people like those assholes over there. And while she had other reasons to want to be a hero, reasons she wasn't going to get into right now, she didn't know if she had what it took.

Then again, it was said that most heroes had their doubts in the beginning, so maybe it was something that she could eventually get over. After all, she had climbed many hurdles before in her life. What was so bad about this one?

Although, on a different note, Kyoka had partially lied to the hero. She had only just seen the boy getting hounded by those men, and originally she had no intention of stepping in. It was only when she saw his scared, downright pathetic face that she had opted to make it her business. If she hadn't, then chances were she would've been like any other civilian and moved on with her life. She had no need to step in with something that wasn't her business. Even after seeing his face, she hesitated, only stepping in when that jackass mentioned something about ripping off the boy's wings.

...

"...Pathetic?" Kyoka tilted her head to the side in confusion. While she had never been one to mince her words...every time she usually had something negative to say, it was justified. Calling a child in danger "pathetic" was completely foreign to her. Also...she would have absolutely stepped in once she got the impression that the boy was in trouble, she would legitimately lose sleep if she didn't.

'Eh...the wording is a bit jarring, but I don't have to worry yet.' The musician thought to herself, glancing at her friends to see if they had a similar reaction, but so far it was just some mild confusion. 'It's a different me, after all.'

...

She, usually, didn't think like that. She wasn't that complacent with how society was to just not do something. But, she had forgotten to take her medication this morning, and only took it when she left the house. Medication for what, exactly? She didn't know. Her mother and father wouldn't tell her. No matter how often she asked, no matter how she approached it, they simply would not elaborate.

It wasn't that she particularly cared, but it did feel incredibly suspicious that her parents wouldn't open up to her and tell her why she was being medicated. It wasn't like she had any mental illnesses, of her knowledge, nor did she need to control her Quirk using medication. Sure, she was a little sensitive to sound but that came with the territory of having a hearing-based Quirk. Besides, her sensitive hearing was more of an upside than anything else.

...

"Okay...now this is weird. I'm just putting it out there." Johnny spoke up, surprising those who thought Kyoka would be the one to call it out.

Instead, she was sitting in a stunned silence.

It made sense...Kyoka was one of the few people in the room that was blessed to have a functional family. Both parents were around, both were supportive of the life their daughter had chosen to live, and they had raised their child with nothing but love. Now, she was being confronted with an implication that was unthinkable...from her point of view.

"What kind of medication would she be taking?" Momo asked, her eyebrows knitting together in concern. "Why the requirement if she has no illnesses?"

This would normally be where DIO would have thrown a taunt in, like he did with Inko...but for some reason he was strangely silent...sneaking glances at Kyoka to gauge the curveball this episode had thrown her way. He then sat back down...and turned his attention to the screen.

...

Theories aside, she was getting sidetracked. The real reason why she was here was to go to her favourite one-stop shop for all things music-related, pre-Quirk Era and post-Quirk Era. It was a little-known, family-run music shop going by the name Loja de música clássica. While her Brazilian wasn't exactly spot on, she knew that it translated to Classical Music Store.

The store itself was only a few minutes away from where she was. And so, without delay, she began her walk, nothing on her mind at all whatsoever as she hummed the tone to one of her favourite songs, Knocking On Heaven's Door. It was a pre-Quirk Era song by the band "Guns N' Roses".

As she hummed her little tone, her eyes caught something off in the corner of her eye. It was that Chainsaw Hero, arresting the two balding weirdos, whom she had just noticed were members of The Creature Rejection Clan, considering she was now able to see their backs, which had the group's logo on it. Her nose shriveled in disgust. Clearly, she didn't give the other guy enough of a beating then.

She could also see the kid desperately hugging his mother, who had also been crying whilst profusely thanking the hero for saving her son. She could hear the whole thing thanks to her enhanced hearing, a side effect of her Earphone Jack Quirk. She was just glad the boy was able to get back to his mother safely. Even if she hadn't really cared what had happened to him, nor if she had saved him or not, but at the very least she was glad that at the very least he didn't suffer at the hands of those pieces of shit.

Maybe it was cruel to think that way. Maybe it was wrong for her to have such a blatant disregard for others well being—well, maybe not blatant but the point still stood. But deep in her heart, she found it extremely hard to care for people she didn't know. It, to her, sounded outlandish. It made very little sense to her as to why someone would care for a stranger.

Oh, sure, it was a tragedy if someone got murdered, kidnapped, etcetera. But to her, it didn't matter. It was just another number. Just another statistic. But at the same time, it felt great to save another person. It felt like she was on top of the world, to know that she was the one who saved a life, inadvertently or otherwise.

Maybe it was that mindset that had been the reason why she was being forced to take pills that she had no idea what it was they did. One thing that she did notice when she was on the pills she took was that she didn't feel anything. Her emotions were muted. Stunted, even as if on purpose. Her ambition felt weaker than normal.

...

"I'm sorry...I know full well this is a different reality, but this is NOT the Kyoka I know." Momo said, fed up with what she was seeing. "She wouldn't care? All she does IS care!"

"Momo, it's...fine." Kyoka held up a hand. "It's the multiverse, it's not like every version of me out there is the exact same. This universe leans towards the fucked up side of things...I'd be an idiot if I thought I'd be immune to that."

Momo bit down on her upper lip, and turned around to mull over the increasing differences between her best friend and this colder version of her. To those that knew her...it made complete sense. Kyoka's ability to reach out and put someone's heart at ease was why they became friends, and it was the first true friendship Momo ever really had with someone her age. To see a version of her friend that lacked that...

It was a little more than just off putting.

...

It was as if the pills she was taking were purposely made so that she wasn't at her fullest. Wasn't at her 100% A-Game. Why? What was it that her mother and father were trying to hide from her, and why did it require stunting her ambition and, admittedly, memories—because yes, that was a factor.

She couldn't remember anything from her early childhood. The youngest she could remember up to was from the age of ten, and that was it. And even then, those memories were foggy at best. So on top of the pills suppressing her ambition, they were also tampering with her memories. Unfortunately, no matter what it was that she did or said, she was forced to take those pills.

Without them, she was a shaky, jittery mess that itched from top to bottom. It was safe to say she was addicted to the pills. She needed them. More specifically, her body needed them. It was like being addicted to trigger or crack or any other form of illicit drug. Which, once again, made her wonder what was in those pills.

Finally, after a few minutes of walking, she found herself standing outside of a storefront. In italic, golden yellow letters, the name of the store sat in front of the entrance with blinking red lights. The display window showed several banners, posters, and music tracks in the form of records hanging off of string and or plastered to the window. Vinyl's in glass cases sat on racks with labels on the fronts, contrasted by the inside of the store which had several guitars for sale, and a drum kit that she could see through the window.

Kyoka couldn't help but smile, glancing over to the entrance of the store, and seeing the open sign flickering on and off. She knew it wouldn't close for a little while now. Maybe another hour or so. Even if she had a little detour it didn't impact her that much, which was great. Entering the store, pushing the door open with a half-hearted shove, the sound of a bell rang out.

Immediately following it was a buzzing noise, the same kind a fly made. To someone who didn't know the manager and owner of the store, they would've thought a fly was pestering them. But, Kyoka knew the manager and store owner rather personally, what with him having been a family friend. Not so much anymore, but Kyoka didn't care what her parents thought. The manager at the store was a nice guy, plain and simple.

"Yo! Kyo, haha! Meu amigo! It's been a long time, how have you been?" The voice of the manager had a buzzing-like effect to it, as ruby red, insect-like eyes stared Kyoka down with a gleam of glee and happiness swirling around them. His head was, quite literally, that of a fly's, mandibles and all. Thin, see-through wings that spanned out for a solid two or so feet jetted out from just above his shoulders, happily buzzing and flapping at fast speeds.

The man wore a bright yellow shirt with an orange vest on top of it. Kyoka couldn't see past his chest as the counter covered anything past that, but she knew he was more than likely wearing his favourite pair of dark blue jeans. As to why they were his favourites, it was because she had bought them for him on his birthday.

"Beelz! How're you doing dude," Kyoka greeted as Beelz shrugged.

"Eh, could be better honestly. But hey, my day became just a little bit better seeing you in person! Oh, and look how much you've grown! Você está tão grande agora! I haven't seen you since you were, like, thirteen-the last time you came to the shop! I was beginning to wonder if something happened to you. I know we haven't talked much, but your father never speaks of you when we do," Beelz said, his mandibles clacking together happily as Kyoka couldn't help but smile.

Beelz, otherwise known as Beelzebub Ramirez—yes, he was named after the Arch-Demon of Greed—had, as previously stated, been family friends with her family since she was in diapers. At least, according to her father. She couldn't remember that far back even if she tried. And while it was true they hadn't seen one another in that amount of time, there had been a reason for that.

Beelz and her mother had a falling out. A nasty one, apparently. One that forced her father to stop all contact with him. Maybe it was because he knew something that he shouldn't have? She knew her mother kept a lot of secrets from her, but she didn't know why. Beelz knew something, and that was part of the reason why she was here. The other part was to pick up something she had ordered, though mostly to give her mother a reason why she was going to his store.

They had a whole argument about it. How Kyoka was supposed to stay away from Beelz, saying that he was a bad man and that he had "done something unforgivable" and that "he was a criminal" all in a way to try and scare her off. It would've worked too, had it not been for the fact that she had known Beelz.

Her doormat of a father didn't say a word. He just sat there and listened as her mother shit-talked his former best friend. It drove her up the wall about how passive her father was. Day by day, she was starting to lose what little respect she had left for them.

She loved her parents, and she never would not love them, but that didn't mean she had to respect them. Not one bit.

"Well, I'm sure you know why that is," Kyoka said as Beelz clacked his mandibles together, this time with less happiness and more annoyance, leaning against the side of the counter as she crossed his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Essa vagabunda you call a mother is just that. I honestly don't know what Kyotoko sees in her. Uma bagunça miserável if you ask me," Beelz quipped as Kyoka shrugged. She had been around Beelz to learn some Brazilian from him, and while she didn't know the first thing that he had called her mother, with the venom in his voice, it probably wasn't anything pleasant. She knew that he had called her miserable, at least. Which, honestly, wasn't too far off from the truth.

"You're not wrong," Kyoka said as Beelz chuckled, standing up straight. "Anyway, you have my order?"

"Yup, right here, and ya know what, it's on the house, late birthday gift," Beelz said as he pulled out the vinyl that she had ordered. It was a one-of-a-kind, special, signed copy of the Beatles' first-ever album. Kyoka barely held back the squeal of joy that had made its damned best effort to eke out, snagging the vinyl from Beelz's hand and holding it close to her chest, Beelz laughing at the display.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! Thank you!" She was fully willing to admit that she was being more than a dork right about now, but goddamnit she didn't care! She had originally ordered just their first album. Not the special edition which came with a preview of their next album, nor did she expect it to be the signed version! This was easily worth hundreds of millions of yen, and the best part? It was in mint condition in the same original plastic wrap it had. There were no tears, no attempts at opening it, no nothing!

"Não há problema, meu amigo. Anything for you," Beelz said as Kyoka cleared her throat.

"Uh, can I get a bag?" Kyoka asked as Beelz nodded, handing her a plastic shopping bag to put the vinyl in. When she did, she hooped it onto her arm, her smile ever radiant. And while she was curious as to how much it cost for him to get that for her, she wasn't going to ask. It was rude to ask how much a gift had cost. And besides, the last thing she wanted to be to Beelz was rude. Especially after this.

Her smile faded eventually as she remembered what it was she was here for. She was here for answers, and as a serious expression took up her visage, Beelz raised an eyebrow. "What's with the face, Kyo? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, kinda," Kyoka asked as she crossed her arms, the bag still dangling from her left arm. "But, I have to ask, what caused the fight between you and Mom anyway? Dad never talks about you, either. Every time I bring you up, Mom goes full Karen on me and tells me to never speak of you. I don't want to believe them, but they keep saying you did something bad, and that it involved me somehow. I was wondering if you could tell me what happened. Just so I can tell my mom "I know and it wasn't bad" or something like that."

Beelz stiffened like a board, an uncomfortable gleam in his eyes shining as he shook his head. "Nope. Can't say, kiddo. It's not for me to tell. It was the last thing I promised your father before we parted ways. And you know me, I don't break my promises," as Beelz said that, Kyoka frowned. "But…." That got her to perk up again, as Beelz continued speaking. "What I can tell you is that… well, those pills your mother is making you take? I know where she gets them from. Who her dealer is."

"Dealer? They're illegal products?" Kyoka thought, a nervous expression on her face. "Dealer? As in, drug dealer? They're illegal?"

Beelz laughed out loud before his expression darkened. "Big time! If the police caught her buying them, she'd be sentenced to life in prison! That's how illegal! And I can tell you exactly who she buys them from. Ya see, a little ol' thing about Big B is that I used to work with the local yakuza. Small-time jobs, ya know, nothing major. Just some minor trigger smuggling from time to time, just to make ends meet. Your father was with me, too. It's why he's got a koi-fish tattoo on his back, same with me!"

As Beelz began his explanation, Kyoka shifted in place. She knew of his past. It wasn't a big secret. He was open and proud about it. Which was probably why he didn't get many customers, looking back at it. "Anyway, the group dissolved when it got absorbed by one of the scariest, meanest players in the business. I left shortly thereafter. I was fine for a while, then they made a leadership change that I personally didn't mess with. Even lost a finger for it," Beelz explained, flashing his right hand, revealing that his pinky finger was gone, before shoving his hand back underneath the counter, most likely in his pocket. "And they're the ones who are dealing that drug to ya mom."

"So! Who is it, cut the suspense man, it's killing me!" Kyoka whined as Beelz chuckled.

"Fine, fine. But ya gotta promise me not to tell ya mom, or lash out at her. I don't know why she'd give you those pills, but just because I hate her don't mean I don't trust her. That being said, you should stop taking those pills. Promise me, Kyo." There was a dead seriousness to his voice. The kind of voice he only used when he really was being serious. So, out of respect for him, she nodded, matching his serious expression with her own.

"Promise, Beelz."

"Alright," Beelz said, maintaining his serious expression, his arms crossed. "The people who are giving your mother that drug… is the Shie Hassaikai."

...

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Multiple people in the room shouted in unison. Kyoka had gone just as pale as her counterpart upon hearing that name...because it was one most of, if not all of them, hated with a burning passion. So much so that they had dedicated the first half of their work studies to curb stomp those child mutilating scumbags into the dirt where they belonged.

Susan, a member of the Shei Hassaikai ever since her abuse was exposed, sank further into her seat...trying to avoid the murderous glares being thrown her way.

"NO!"

Eri's scream cut through Kyoka's confusion, and she looked up to find the little girl in tears. From battling Susan on top of a building, to singing "Hero Too" in order to bring out Eri's smile...Kyoka was one of the girl's heroes. Even if it was an alternate version...Eri was watching her role model suffer at the hands of the same people that tormented her.

"Nononononono, I'm fine! Eri, everything is fine!" The musician was quick to try and ease Eri's fears. "I-It's just a 'what if', they're all gone...remember?"

"I-I know that." The six-year-old sniffled out. "I...I just...I just..."

"Easy kiddo." A hand was placed on Eri's head, and Johnny brought her into a hug. "So...Chisaki is supplying Kyoka's mom, safe to say that the Jirou family is in the same vein as the Midoriyas."

"..." Kyoka bit her lip and began anxiously pulling on one of her jacks. She couldn't help but think about what this meant...she had a pretty good upbring, not counting some of the discrimination and bullying she faced, and now she was looking at a life that was unrecognizable.

Sure, she tried to play it off for Momo and Eri's sake...but to say she was disturbed?

Massive understatement.

...

As soon as that name exited Beelz's mouth, Kyoka's face drained of all of its colour. The Shie Hassaikai was one of the very few remaining Yakuza Families in Japan. They mostly stayed within the borders of Esuha and Kamino Ward and had been warring with two other families for control over Musutafu, Hosu, and Shibuya. To hear that not only were they the ones responsible for the pills she was taking, but also the fact that they were Musutafu….

"I know what you're thinking, Kyo. Don't. It's a bad idea," Beelz said as Kyoka looked up at him, a wave of smouldering anger in her eyes.

"Why?" Kyoka hissed as Beelz sighed.

"I don't know meu amigo. Well, I do know, but I can't tell you. If I do, you know exactly what your parents are going to do," Beelz replied as Kyoka looked away, a sneer taking up her visage. It was one thing that she was taking illegal drugs for whatever asinine reason her parents had, but it was another thing to be openly working with and wheeling and dealing with the fucking Shie Hassaikai.

"It just doesn't make any sense. I… I thought my parents were above that sort of thing…" Her tone had lost its usual monotone edge and gained a saddened, near-dejected tone in its stead. She looked back at Beelz, who crossed his arms, leaning against the back of the counter again.

"You gotta remember, Kyo. Your father and I were once with The Shie Hassaikai. We know things. Though it was well before you were even born, but that specific drug that you're being forced to take…" Beelz paused, his mandibles clicking as if he were debating whether or not to continue his sentence. Finally, after a few moments of silence, he continued.

"It's a roofie drug, mixed with trace amounts of heroin and trigger for its addictive qualities. It's called "The Jacker" in the circles we used to snoop around in. It's meant to cause brain fog and numb the emotions and ambitions of people who take it. It used to be a legal drug sold at pharmaceuticals back in the early 2030s to treat bipolar disorder, but after it was found out it contained heroin and trigger, well, you can see how quickly it got taken off the market."

...

"...so...Kyoka is a heroin/trigger addict in this universe." Gyro said, a blank expression on his face. "Have to admit, didn't see that coming."

"I'm sorry, did the whole bit about my dad being a part of one of the most vile organizations hero society has ever seen just fly over your head?" Kyoka responded, looking like she was about to be sick.

"To be honest, I'm just trying to ignore that part." The Italian shook his head.

"No kidding." Johnny couldn't help but think of the times he met Kyotoku. His amusing overprotective father act, the small prank war that erupted between the two...but just like his daughter, there was a bleeding heart underneath that tough guy act. He could never imagine Kyoka's father being associated with people like the Shie Hassakai...but apparently this universe was just full of differences.

He was sure this wouldn't be the last time he would be thinking on that.

...

Kyoka couldn't believe it. The worst part was that, chances were, she was going to forget all of this. In another five minutes, her pills would fully kick in, and chances were she would end up—

Kyoka collapsed on the spot, and the last thing she heard was Beelz panicking, hoping over the counter, and then, darkness.

[XXXX]

If there was one thing that Yoshihara was not fond of, it was surprise visits from random people she didn't, or barely knew. Then again, she was fairly certain that anyone in her shoes would feel the same way. However, for this specific occasion, it was worse. The last thing she wanted to see were two people in her home who were both uninvited and unwanted.

So, one could understand why it was that Yoshihara hadn't exactly been thrilled upon seeing the new girl, Sakunami, or Kujo suddenly showing up at her home without warning or anything akin to that. Though, it would apply to Sakunami moreso than Kujo. While she and Kujo had an "iffy" relationship with one another, considering that their first meeting was him quite literally attacking her, she knew nothing about Sakunami.

But, even after just glancing at Sakunami, the first thought that came to mind was that she was a scam artist. It wasn't just based on gut instinct, it was how Sakunami held herself. From the way she looked, the way she dressed, hell, even the way she was looking at her was suspect enough. The sly smirk, the glimmer in her eyes, she had seen it all before. That was the look of someone who was planning to rob you blind. She had seen it on the streets more times than she had not.

What made it worse was her personality. Yoshihara couldn't tell if it was a façade or if it was the truth—and she was good at keeping a façade going. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that she had just finished dealing with someone using a guise to lure her into a false sense of security. She wouldn't be shocked to find out that this was another one of those situations. Though, maybe not.

For all the flak that she was giving Sakunami, her tone of voice seemed honest enough. But, then again, she could never be too sure about strangers. She knew Sakunami was a Stand User—Kujo had said as much—so maybe that was why she was being so cautious when it came to her. There was a certain air surrounding her that made her skin crawl.

She didn't like it. Not one bit.

But, at the same time, she felt as if she could drop her guard around her. Maybe it was because of that gleam in Sakunami's eyes that made her second guess the implied trickery. Or the fact that she was dating Kujo. After all, he seemed like a stalwart kind of guy, so she doubted that he would ever, at least willingly, date someone who had a background in crime. Though, at the same time, perhaps not.

Then again, she was the last person in the room to be allowed to judge someone based on what they did in the past. If she did, then she would be a hypocrite given her previous occupation. Assuming that what she believed Sakunami to be was true, then if that was what she had to do to survive, then so be it.

Then, there was the other elephant in the room.

While Kujo was someone that Kira could see herself getting along with, it didn't mean that she was fond of him just showing up out of nowhere like he had. He was the first person to attack her with a Stand, his Soft & Wet, and it was the first time she came inches away from death in a long time, intentionally or not.

Thankfully, the outcome of that battle was something that landed in her favour. But just because it was all "water under the bridge" so to speak, that did not automatically mean he could just waltz up to her suite and barge in without asking for permission to be there.

"So, Kujo," Yoshihara began, her tone dripping with annoyance, causing him to flinch. "You do know that you've broken into my apartment. Which is a crime might I add, seeing as I did not invite you into my home," Yoshihara continued as Kujo scratched the back of his neck.

...

"Wouldn't be the first time a Joestar has forced themselves into someone else's home." DIO said with a scowl.

"D'arby invited us in." Jotaro pointed out, and the vampire blinked in confusion, before quickly realizing that his nemesis was right.

"Well...you weren't exactly welcome. So I'd say it counts."

"Legally it doesn't."

"Since when was legality ever a factor in our feud?"

"Probably since you threw it out the window, over a century ago."

DIO snorted, and leaned over with a smirk.

"Well, if I couldn't destroy the Joestars...at least I made them stoop to my level."

Johnny swore his father was about to snap at any moment.

...

"Look, I know, and I'm sorry. But we need to talk—"

"No. No, we do not. Need I remind you, Kujo, that you almost killed me? Not only that but you were not invited here either by me or by Kayama-san. You lied to the staff saying you were my friends, which you are not. You are acquaintances at best in terms of yourself, and nuisances at worst. I have half the mind to drag you out myself," Yoshihara interrupted, her irritated expression morphing into an angered one as Kujo sighed.

"Look, Kira… this is important. I know what I did was wrong, and hindsight is 20/20. But please. You're a Stand User, so I figured this would be important for you to know. At least give me a chance to explain myself before doing that. If you don't want to be involved, then that's fine. You probably won't see me again if that's the case. But please at least hear me out," Kujo said as Yoshihara opened her mouth to say something before she clamped her mouth shut.

While normally she would've said something snappy in reply, there was something in his tone of voice that made her brain scream to at least hear him out. If it wasn't obvious, he was desperate. But why? Why was he desperate? And more importantly, why did he come to seek her out? If this was so important, why couldn't he find someone else? Was it because of where she lived? If that was the case, then why talk to her and not Kayama-san?

"You're a Stand User, dumbass… it probably involves Stand Users, and Kayama-san is not one…" Yoshihara reprimanded herself. How did she not come to that conclusion immediately? She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, a frown taking up her visage. The moment she found out about her Stand, it had been like this. For whatever reason, everything was starting to happen for her now.

Was it a curse? To be dragged into everything and anything all at once just because she realized what her power was? She would've thought otherwise if stuff like this hadn't kept happening. Hell, she just wanted to get some rest after a life-or-death situation she had not but even a few hours ago! Couldn't this wait until tomorrow?

Yoshihara sighed, dialling back her frustration."Whatever, it's best to get it over and done with." With that thought, she looked back at Kujo and her frown disappeared in favour of a neutral gaze. "Alright, you've got one shot, and if I'm not interested, then you can piss right off. But first…" Yoshihara drawled as she looked over to the other annoyance in the room. "So, Sakunami-san… you're a Stand User?" Yoshihara questioned as Sakunami smiled.

"Yup! Though most people confuse my ability with a Quirk since I'm related to the Pro Hero: Love Deluxe!" Karera paused to put her hand facing away from Josefumi to her mouth, only to speak in a hushed tone. "By the way, her real name is Yui Sakunami, she's my mom!" As she spoke, Karera crossed her legs together on the designer leather couch, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder. "I'm assuming you don't know about her since she's low-ranked in the hero system," Karera finished.

...

"Okay, first the hotel and now a pro hero are both named after Yukako's Stand." Josuke observed. "Is she a descendant or something? Or are these like...cosmic...references of some kind?"

"Then her name would be Hirose." Kyoka said.

"Well no. We don't really know how many generations have passed. She could be, for all we know."

...

Yoshihara, rather than being annoyed with how bouncy and bubbly Sakunami had been, was amused. She clearly had loads of energy, if that performance was anything to scoff at. Yoshihara cupped her chin in thought at the mention of Sakunami's mother. Yui Sakunami, otherwise known as Love Deluxe. The first thing that came to mind was that her hero's name was close to the name of the Love Hotel Kayama ran, perhaps the hero in question was inspired by it.

The second thing that came to mind was the fact that she had never heard of that hero before. Sure, there were plenty of heroes that she had never heard about before. Dozens and dozens of heroes went unrecognized, so it wasn't a stretch to believe that such a thing was happening in this scenario.

But, unlike most of those heroes, at least with them she had heard reference to them once. But with this "Love Deluxe" individual, aside from right now, she had never heard of them. Maybe they were just that obscure? A lot of heroes fell through the cracks, so she wouldn't have been shocked if that was the case.

Still, it was a little unnerving. Although, maybe that was just the paranoia talking. "Hmm, I've never heard of a "Love Deluxe" before. The only thing similar would be the name of the hotel. Are you sure your mom's a hero and not a vigilante? Not a single billboard in Musutafu has mentioned a hero going by that name—and a lot of obscure heroes work here, so I would've thought to have seen someone going by that name by now," Yoshihara said as Sakunami smiled from ear to ear, rocking back and forth on the couch as she gripped her ankles.

"Either she's super excitable, or she has some form of ADHD…" Yoshihara thought, looking at Sakunami with a skeptical gleam in her eyes. Before Yoshihara could continue her line of questioning, however, Sakunami spoke.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. That's because she doesn't live in Musutafu, and she probably isn't well-known enough to be on the nationwide list," Sakunami said, answering her first question and second unspoken question in one fell swoop.

"That much of a rookie, huh?" Yoshihara muttered as Sakunami shook her head.

"Nope! She's been doing hero work for years and years now! She just doesn't leave the place we grew up in. I wouldn't have, either, if it wasn't for Fumi-kun~!" Karera said, clinging onto Kujo's right arm, leaning into it like a puppy starved of attention. He chuckled nervously, as Yoshihara's attention drew over to him, an eyebrow raised as Kujo rubbed the back of his neck.

...

"That's what Higashikata does, and he's pretty well known." Santana said, raising an eyebrow. "Sure, he isn't too high on the billboards...but from what I've seen, the decent parts of the hero community revere him."

"He's also the best healer in Japan." Dabi replied. "He puts Recovery Girl to shame, is it any wonder he'd be the exception?"

"Ah...true, those who are 'valuable' are far more likely to be noticed than not." The Pillar Man said with a sigh. "Such a shallow way of viewing things..."

...

"Heh, yeah. I moved out here a while ago, mostly because of the reason I'm here with Karera, and now talking to you…" Josefumi said, scratching the back of his neck. "I have to say, living in such a bustling city sucks. I've lived in one before, just not one this busy. It's stressful, that's for sure! For the last nine years or so I've been living in a small town, mostly on my own with financial help from my Dad. So getting readjusted to the city has been a little tough on me…" Josefumi continued.

Yoshihara, for her part, was intriqued. Kujo had been living on his own up until now. While she could tell it wasn't because he didn't want to, it still made her curious as to where it was he could've lived.

Not many people liked living on their own unless they had no choice. It raised a question of what his parentage might have been. Maybe they were more similar than she would've liked. That wasn't a good thing, either.

No one deserved to go through the same crapshoot of a life she had to suffer through. She hoped that he didn't share a similar life growing up. She wouldn't even wish that on her worst enemies. Not even the person who put her through it in the first place.

No one deserved that.

No one.

That aside, Yoshiahra silently cleared her throat, before placing one of her hands on her hip, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Then, if you don't mind, may I ask where you two are from? It's not often someone hears about someone the same age as a teenager living by themselves of their own volition," Yoshihara asked as Sakunami let go of Kujo's arm, beaming with a bright smile.

"Oh! You probably haven't heard of it. It's a little bit of a backwater town closer to the ocean than any other town. But, if you're really that curious, we both hail from Morioh! Or, well, at least I do. I was born there, Fumi-kun wasn't, but that's semantics! It's like, what, a couple of hundred kilometres away, maybe about five, six miles away? Eh, I don't know, I didn't pay attention really," Sakunami said with a shrug.

As soon as Karera brought up the town "Morioh," Yoshihara's heart skipped a beat, and her skin went pale white. For a moment, just a moment, Yoshihara's hands shook as she uttered the name of that town. "M-Morioh?" Yoshihara muttered as Karera raised an eyebrow.

...

Yoshihara's reaction to Morioh was concerning, to say the least.

It was Josuke's town, to which he dedicated his life to making it a safe and happy place. If Yoshihara had some sort of trauma associated with the town...either that meant that the peace Josuke brought was short-lived after his death, or worse...he had completely failed when he was alive.

He could very well be looking at a reality where he failed his grandfather, and that left him with a hollow feeling in his chest. Of course, he knew that horrible stuff happened in Morioh even now, he could never prevent EVERYTHING...but with a member of the Kira bloodline, especially one with Joestar blood...Josuke couldn't imagine doing anything other than making sure she didn't follow in Yoshikage's footsteps.

The name of his hometown inflicting a reaction like that...it made him sick.

...

"YEAH! Do you know about it? It's super famous for its Miso with Marinated Cow Tongue! Though not much else…" Sakunami said, glancing over to the left, before looking right back at Yoshihara as she leaned forward.

Yoshihara, for her part, swallowed a lump in her throat. Her pupils dilated, and she began to sweat. She tried to open her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Her right hand clenched into a fist so hard that it drew blood.

The shaking got worse as time progressed, and it was only then that Sakunami looked a little disturbed. Not that Yoshihara could hear anything. Her hearing had become nothing but static, as her heart raced faster and faster.

Why that place? Why mention that place? Anywhere but that place.

Morioh.

That cursed town.

That town where she lived.

The one she ran away from, the one where she….

"Morioh…" Yoshihara muttered again, her voice trembling as she spoke. Why did that punk have to mention that fucking town? It was her hometown, that's what Sakunami had said. She didn't care about that. But why, why, did it have to be Morioh?

"Uh… Kira-san, are you okay?" Kujo asked as Yoshihara's sky-blue eyes looked up at Sakunami, then at him. He shot her a look of worry, getting up off the couch as Yoshihara's breathing turned erratic, her pupils dilating even further, and her legs began to wobble. That was when it finally set in what was happening, as Kujo's tone of voice went from casual to authoritative in a matter of seconds. "Karera, I think she's having a panic attack, I—"

"M-Morioh… I… Wha—? I… I don't want… no…!" The blond spoke randomly as her vision began to blur, and her hearing began to fail her. Tears began falling from her eyes and staining her cheeks. Memories that she had buried for years and years began coming to the surface. Dreadful, awful, suppressed memories.

The ringing from before grew louder and louder, causing Yoshihara to cover her ears, not that it would've helped her any. Her vision began to fully fade to black. The last thing she saw was Kujo walking over to her as Sakunami went to call someone. Before she passed out, the last thing she heard was the suffocating sound of her own heartbeat and rapid breathing as she collapsed to the floor.

Before she went unconscious, she could only think of one thing. Something that had stuck with her since the day she left, and would continue to stick with her for the rest of her life. The sole reason why she had fled that place to begin with.

Morioh was where the bad people lived… It was where she lived.

It was where that monster lived.

[Wednesday, January 7th, 12 years ago - Morioh]

A little girl no older than four sat alone on a dirty, mostly broken couch in an unclean, disgusting living room, staring down at a bowl of weeks-old miso soup. Her unkempt blonde hair drooped over her forehead, partially blocking her vision. She wore a stained white shirt and black pants, and her skin was covered with dirt and grime, along with a few bruises. She hadn't been cleaned in days, and she was not allowed near the bathroom.

It often caused problems. Accidents that she didn't mean to happen. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about it. She would just have to "suck it up" and "get over it." It was bad, and a part of her knew that this wasn't normal. But it was normal for her. To be unclean. To be dirty.

To be treated like nothing more than a used tissue.

As for the soup, it looked rancid, and it smelt rancid along with just about everything else in the room, nay the house. And just like everything in the house, to say it was expired would be an overstatement at best, and an understatement at worst.

Regardless of that, however, the girl was given nothing else to eat. Not because she had no other options, but because she wasn't given any other options. She made sure the girl understood that time and time again. Aside from the soup and its off-putting smell, the only thing to accompany her was the sound of a buzzing light fixture and the chatter of an older woman making a phone call just across from the table that the young girl ate at.

She looked at the soup, then at the busy woman, then back to the soup. The little girl's stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten in days, not because they were too poor to afford food, but because the woman in front of her refused to feed her. In fact, it would be less of a stretch to say that the woman probably forgot about her… or at least pretended to.

It was funny… she never pretended to forget her when it happened. When those awful people would come to their house. They would hand money over to the woman, and then it would happen. She would always watch it with a smile on her face…

It always hurt. They said they would be gentle. They never were. It always hurt no matter what. If she cried, it would hurt more. If she asked them to stop, then it would hurt more. She learned to just stay quiet. To let it happen. If she didn't, she would get mad. And if she got mad, then she would make her hurt.

If she was a good girl, then it would happen less often, as too would the beatings. But, she was never a good girl. So it and the beatings kept happening.

Her stomach felt queasy. She wanted to puke, even though there was nothing in her stomach to throw up. Nonetheless, she wanted to, anyway. But, if she did, then she would get mad. She hadn't been mad in a little over a week. It hadn't happened either, so that was good. Maybe, just maybe, things would be okay.

If she could just stomach the food in the bowl… Then maybe, just maybe she could avoid it for another two days. That would be a new record. She always liked to set new records. New records meant new things. New clothes. New food.

Less of it.

But, even with that desire deep in her heart, sometimes, her mouth did things that her brain didn't want. Which resulted in a lot of accidental questions. Questions that made her mad. And this was one of those times. "Mom… Do I have to eat it?" The young girl asked her voice low, barely even above a whisper.

She didn't hear her. That was good.

She didn't want to be beaten again. That never felt good. Being hurt. That was normal, right? To not feel good after being beaten?

She wouldn't know. The little girl wasn't allowed outside of the house.

Not unless she said so.

If the little girl was caught doing anything that wasn't sitting in that place she would be beaten. If she spoke without being spoken to, she was beaten. If she did anything that the woman deemed unwanted, which included coming out of that place at any point in the day that wasn't when she was being actively called out of there, she would be beaten.

Sometimes, the beatings wouldn't last too long. A single slap, or a single punch. But there were days that they'd go on for hours… how she lived through all of them was a miracle. She remembered one time when the woman had beaten her so badly that she had broken an arm...

Or the time when the woman had dragged a butcher's knife across her back, slashing over the only thing that apparently reminded her of Father…

...

"Jesus fucking christ..." Even Susan was practically speechless. Sure, she had tried to kill Johnny later in life...but turning a knife on a child? She was trying to kill Johnny out of mercy, since he was essentially born cursed (in her eyes), but she would have never dreamed of maiming her own child. Everything she did was out of discipline.

The worst thing she did was kill a mouse, and that was because vermin didn't belong in the house. So what if the little shit had an attachment to it? That was his problem.

THIS though? This was just depravity at it's core.

Johnny, feeling queasy, had inadvertently looked his mother's way, and he didn't really know what to make of her reaction. She was the reason stuff like this disgusted him to his core...but she wasn't nearly as bad. Here they were, confronted by abuse that even made HER shudder...was he supposed to feel lucky or something? She still treated him like dirt, and never showed an ounce of remorse.

Abuse was abuse after all, no matter how severe. Just because Susan's cruelty was lesser, didn't mean she wasn't cruel.

Deciding that focusing on his mother was probably not the best idea, he reluctantly turned his attention back to the screen...regretting it more by the second.

...

Where was Father, anyway? Why wasn't he here to stop her? The woman wouldn't tell her what happened to Father… was Father dead?

If Father was dead… then that meant… that meant she had no one else to turn to…

She didn't want to be stuck here. She couldn't be stuck here…

"M-Mom… D-Do I really have to e-eat it…?" the little girl's voice became shaky. She knew she was pushing her luck talking for a second time in a row, but even though her stomach growled, even though she knew she wouldn't eat again for another few days if she spoke up. But, despite that, despite knowing that this would probably be the only meal she would get for the next little while, she didn't want to eat this.

And that was when she got her attention.

The woman in question was a taller, healthier-looking individual. She was on the phone, talking to someone. She wore a black, pinstripe business suit with a white shirt underneath and a bright red tie. She wore her hair in a ponytail so that it would stay out of her eyes. Her skin was slightly pale, and her eyes were a solid shade of black. She wore red lipstick, and she had tattoo's on her knuckles that said "Love" and "Hope" respectively.

The reason why she was dressed in a suit was because she had just gotten home from work. Wherever "work" was. The little girl didn't know, but it was why she wasn't home very often. That was a good thing because the little girl didn't like her. She would rather be lonely than in the same home, room, or space as her.

Unfortunately, today was not one of those days that she would be at work for hours and hours. Today, she had gotten home early.

"One moment please," the woman said, her tone cheerful as she pulled the phone away from her ear, covered the speaker with her hand, and briefly looked over at the little girl as she sneered. "You'll eat what's given to you, brat. Now eat it, or else you won't eat for another week, got it? I didn't raise an ungrateful brat, did I?" The woman spat.

"No, mom… you didn't…" the little girl said, her hands shaking as she grabbed the spoon in the bowl. She got nauseous… no, she didn't want to eat it, but she had no choice. Mother was staring at her now, expecting her to take a bite. She knew the food was rotten. It was why she was smiling….

The little girl dove the spoon into the soup and pulled out a chunk of severely mouldy tofu. Once again, she felt the urge to vomit, but she couldn't. And so, as the woman's eyes narrowed, she had no choice but to eat the spoonful of the disgusting soup. The moment it touched her tongue, her gag reflexes kicked in as she was barely able to keep it down. Mother stared at her, her gaze lingering for a few more seconds, just in case she spat up the food.

The little girl swallowed the disgusting food… her stomach roaring in response. Sometimes, she thought her stomach was alive. Sometimes, she thought it would talk to her and tell her she was being mistreated.

She knew that… but she had nothing or no one to help her.

"That's a good girl. I raised you right after all," Mother spat, snickering to herself before turning to face away from her, continuing her conversation over the phone. The little girl had the urge to spit back "I hate you," but she knew that if she did, she'd get punished for "being ungrateful."

The woman in question who had spat the little girl out into this world cared not for the child's wellbeing. As far as the woman was concerned, the child was a mistake. Ever since her husband, Yoshimura, went to work in mainland China, the woman has been stuck with his child for the foreseeable future.

It wasn't always this way. The woman knew that, and it had been nagging at her for a while. Why she had begun to hate the little snot-nosed brat didn't make any sense to her. But, then again, her brain was so far from normal that it didn't matter.

She refused to take those pills ever again.

If she couldn't be happy with them, then no one could be happy when she wasn't on them. Petty as it was, that was how she functioned. The brat be damned, she didn't care. She found herself not caring about a lot of things lately. And she liked that. She liked not having to care about anything.

Including the crotch goblin that was sitting across from her.

Yoshikawa Kira was many things, but a mother was not, nor will it ever be, one of them. When Yoshimura had impregnated her, she wanted nothing to do with the baby. However, since abortion was made illegal in Japan 20 years before she had been born, Yoshikawa wasn't able to abort the baby. So, she had to stick with it. It was at the same time that Yoshimura had to leave for work. He was there for the baby's birth, but he had to go back to China to continue his "important studies."

He was there long enough to name the baby, that name being Yoshihara—not by choice, mind you. He was rather distraught by the fact that he had to leave so soon after witnessing the birth of his child, but that was in the past. That didn't matter anymore. She was still bitter about it, as she had every right to be. But, that was beside the point.

The point was that her family had a tradition, and he wanted to honour it. And that tradition was a very simple one. It was a tradition within the Kira bloodline for the first part of the firstborn child's name to be "Yoshi." It was a tradition that had been going on ever since the Edo period and one that her husband had been infatuated with.

He saw it as a sign. Both because his name and hers coincidently had "Yoshi" as the first Kanji. And yes, it was a coincidence. She had even got a DNA test done for him just to make sure he wasn't some far-off removed cousin of hers. Thankfully, he hadn't been. But still, one never knew when it came to family trees.

The point was that Yoshimura was obsessed with her family's traditions. So much so that, a month before Yoshihara was born, he had begged and pleaded to allow him to name their child something related to it.

It wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to name their daughter Aiyako. But, Yoshimura was presistent. So, she caved, and let him. Hence, Yoshihara.

The name was supposed to read as - Yoshi ( 吉 ) Meaning, Good or in this case "Lucky." And then there was Hara ( 原 ) Meaning Field, or in this case, "Plain." Together, it was supposed to read as – Lucky, but plain girl.

However, as far as Yoshikawa was concerned, Yoshihara would never be a true Kira in her eyes. That piece of shit Yoshimura wasn't the Kira of the family despite what the marriage document said. That was her. And as far as she was concerned, Yoshihara was more a part of Yoshimura's family than she'd ever be a Kira.

That aside, there were other reasons why Yoshikawa hardly had time to care for the waste of skin that was the unwanted brat. First of all, she was a businesswoman and had no time for raising a child. A part of her considered dropping the brat in an orphanage and forgetting about her. However, Yoshimura would've been furious if she did, and as much as Yoshikawa wanted nothing to do with the kid, She knew that if that child wasn't in the house, Yoshimura would leave her.

She loved her husband more than anything in the world, and as far as Yoshimura was concerned, Yoshikawa was taking great care of his baby girl, unknowing of any of the abuse going on at the home.

It was no fault of his own, as whenever he called home via video call, Yoshikawa made sure to dress his daughter up in the best clothing she could find, bathe her, and put make-up over any bruises.

In other words, Yoshikawa was only keeping Yoshihara alive as a means of keeping her husband with her. Had he divorced her at any point, Yoshihara would've been either killed or thrown in an alleyway and left to fend for herself.

The child, Yoshihara, could no longer hold back the soup in her stomach as she gagged, spitting up the vile miso soup, the chunks of mouldy, partially digested tofu lay on the dirty floor surrounded by mucus, flem, and stomach acid. As soon as she did that, Mother sharply turned her head to face Yoshihara.

Fear, panic, and anguish danced in her eyes. She screwed up and earned the ire of Mother. In that split second of respite, she begged God, if there was one, to save her. She begged someone, anyone, to save her. Oh, what she'd give for Police Chief Higashikata to come back and rescue her... She wanted to scream, but if she did Mother would just do worse…

And just like any other time she prayed for someone to help her…

Nothing came.

Yoshikawa hung up the phone abruptly before she grabbed Yoshihara by the arm, the grip being so firm that she knew that spot would bruise. She had to force back a panicked yelp, as Yoshikawa glared at her with malice so intense that it rivalled some of the more terrifying villains in the world. "How dare you waste the food I prepared for you! You ungrateful little shit!" Yoshikawa shouted, slamming Yoshihara's face into the table with her free hand, causing the child to gasp.

As her head was forcibly ripped up from the table, Yoshikawa saw blood dripping down the girl's nose, her sneer still displayed on full, putting the fear of God in Yoshihara, who couldn't help but crack under the stare, as she cried.

It only made things worse.

As the tears ran down her face, Yoshikawa growled like that of an angry bear. As soon as Yoshihara started to cry, Yoshikawa wasted no time slamming Yoshihara's face into the table repeatedly. Every time Yoshikawa would slam Yoshihara's face into the table, she would spit out a single word in order to complete a sentence, and it was all done filled with fury, rage, and hatred.

"How!"

"Dare!"

"YOU!"

When Yoshikawa finished and let go of Yoshihara's head, she then shoved her back against the couch. Tears welled up in Yoshihara's eyes as blood ran down her now busted upper lip, her more than obvious broken nose, and her forehead.

Yoshikawa's anger only doubled at the sound of Yoshihara's crying, which only proceeded to make things even worse. "STOP CRYING!" She shouted, slapping Yoshihara across the face, hard enough to make her whole body move to the other end of the couch. "ONLY GIRLS WHO BEHAVE AND LISTEN DESERVE TO CRY! GOT IT!" Yoshikawa screamed, causing her to cry harder, which earned Yoshihara another slap across the face. This time, it was hard enough to cause the girl to fall onto the floor, her hand banging against the side of the table, which only made her cry even more.

Yoshikawa, not wanting to hear the whining and bawling of Yoshihara, picked her up by the back collar of her shirt and dragged her across the floor face first. The dirty, dusty wooden floor scraped across Yoshihara's face as she tried to choke back her tears. But no matter how hard she tried, they just kept coming.

In a desperate bid to get her to let go, Yoshihara clawed at Mother's hand, her uncut nails clawing and scrapping at her wrist, until finally, she actually caught some skin under her longest nail, that one being her index finger.

She peeled a thin strip of skin off, which was what caused Yoshikawa to stop moving. A curse spat out from her lips, and then, without any chance to recover from being dragged, Yoshihara was thrown into a closet with a piece of paper that read "The time out closet" slapped on the front.

When she hit the rear wall of the closet, all of the air in her lungs was forced out, causing her to cough while choking back tears, all the while Yoshikawa stood at the front of the closet, glaring down at her with her evil, soulless black eyes, while at the same time, she shouted at her.

"DON'T COME OUT OF THERE TILL YOU'RE DONE WITH YOUR NONSENSE, BRAT!" She shouted as she slammed the closet door shut, leaving Yoshihara to her own devices. Yoshikawa growled, rubbing her wrist, cursing under her breath. The brat had scratched it up, badly. She scoffed. She would be impressed if it weren't for that brat being hers.

As Yoshikawa walked away from the closet, Yoshihara continued to cry. Her face hurt, her body trembled, and no matter how hard she tried to stop crying, her eyes just kept welling up. She had come so close to making a new record, but it was all for naught. All because her stupid stomach couldn't handle some old food. Because of that, she had to start over again.

It would happen again.

Her mother would beat her again.

All because she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

Why? Why did her mother hate her so much? What did she do wrong? Why wouldn't her mother love her? Weren't all parents supposed to love their children? Why was she the exception? She had to be doing something wrong, but no matter what she did, her mother would never love her.

Why?

Why?

Why?!

As Yoshihara cried, curling up into a ball to protect herself from whatever was about to come, she hoped—prayed—that Police Chief Higashikata would save her. Or a hero. Any hero, really. She didn't care. She wanted to be saved.

She needed to be saved.

But, unfortunately for her…

No hero came to save her from her mother and those awful, awful men. And it wouldn't be for another two years until she was finally given a chance to escape.

...

In the theater...you could hear a pin drop.

There was not a single snarky comment, nor any observations to be made...everyone was sitting in stunned...or in some cases, enraged silence. What was there to even say after all of that? Nobody in the room was a stranger to cruelty, but that didn't make witnessing it any better.

The direct mention of a Higashikata didn't make things any better.

"JoJo...you...look pale." Kyoka managed to break the silence, her face frozen as if it were a Stone Mask. Johnny looked like he was going to be sick, probably because the scene had reopened some old wounds. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Don't."

"I'm really, really fucking mad." The Joestar admitted, disgust and fury evident by the look in his eyes. "This shouldn't have happened."

"On that, Kujo...you and I agree." Santana was looking nothing short of murderous. "I sincerely hope that those who permitted this to happen get the ending that they deserve. Unfortunately, I am not able to do that myself."

"What would you even do?" Dabi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd tell you, but there are children present...and I wish to keep descriptions of gratuitous violence to a minimum."

"...fair enough."

...

[Present Day]

Karera felt bad, and to be fair, anyone in her situation would be the same, assuming they were normal individuals. Two hours had passed since Kira Yoshihara had a panic attack and subsequently passed out, and in that time, Karera had been beating herself up over it, much to Josefumi's chagrin. Part of it had to do with the fact that she had never seen someone freak out about something that seemed so inconsequential. And yet, here Karera was, standing in Kira's bedroom, with her having passed out with an icepack on her forehead.

Karera sat on the edge of Yoshihara's bed, keeping a close eye on her, while Josefumi stood in the corner of the room, facing Karera on his phone, typing away to someone about their current situation. She glanced over at Yoshihara, sweat pouring down her forehead as she breathed heavily.

It was so strange. She had seen other people have panic attacks before, but none of them were ever this bad. To some degree, she could understand if she had mentioned something triggering on accident, but all she did was mention her hometown, Morioh.

How could the name of a town bring out something like that? To cause someone who, at least from her perspective, cold-faced and uncaring to suddenly freak out so badly that they pass out. It made her wonder just what could've happened for Kira to develop such an apparent and obvious fear of Morioh.

For as far as Karera had lived in Morioh, she never got the suspicion that the place was some kind of cursed place. The police were nice, there was next to no crime rate thanks to Police Chief Higashikata—even if he was in his late 80s, though considering he was a Hamon Master being 80 didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things—and the amount of heroes in Morioh.

...

"So...if we're doing the math here...that IS probably Josuke." Gyro said with a frown. "80 years old, plus Hamon...I mean, he'd want to protect Morioh for as long as possible, right?"

"...how could I let something like that happen?" Morioh's protector muttered. "Even in another universe...I should be better than that. Doesn't matter if she's a Kira-"

"Josuke. Just like Kyoka, you might be different. You're still Morioh's protector in this universe, so it may only be a small difference...but you shouldn't hold this version of yourself to the same standard." Jotaro advised, although he was looking uncomfortable too...probably because he had found a little too much common ground with Yoshihara's absent father. "Just expect the unexpected."

"I know...it's just...did he make the same vow? What did he mean if he did? Cause to me...this seems like the opposite."

...

The heroes in Morioh weren't the strongest, but then again, neither were the villains in Morioh. The last and only real major problem Morioh had to deal with as a collective was that one serial killer, Yoshikage Kira, and even then, afterward, The Kira family did whatever it was they could to get back into the good graces of the people.

Yoshikage was an oddball. Everyone knew that. The Kira family had been one of the founding families of Morioh. Hell, before it was Mayor Daichi Hirose, it was a man by the name of Chihiro Kira. However, that was well over 60 years ago, and he had been dead for a while since then.

From what Karera knew about The Kira Family after Chihiro had his daughter, they went radio silent. And while Chihiro was spotted around the town, he never made an attempt to run for re-election once his term was up. He kind of just fell to the wayside, and let Daichi take the position.

Now, Daichi was 77 years old, and while he wasn't exactly the best mayor, he was better than his rival for the spot, Ichinose Tadakawa. But that was three years ago, and Karera no longer lived in Morioh to care about the current politics.

Her point in all of this was her trying to figure out how Kira-chan grew such an intense fear of Morioh to the point of causing her to have panic attacks whenever it was mentioned. It wasn't normal, which led Karera to believe that something traumatic must've happened to her there. Something so incredibly horrible that it made her afraid of so much as thinking of Morioh.

And to that end, it made Karera want to beat herself over the head with a plank of wood. Sure, she couldn't have known this would be what happened when she mentioned the name of her hometown, but still! The last thing she wanted to do was cause someone who she was trying to befriend any sort of pain.

Pushing those thoughts out of her head, Karera decided to think about something else. The less she thought about depressing stuff, the less depressed she would be about the situation. So, she decided to think about the one person that made her smile the most. Her wonderful, amazing boyfriend, Kujo Josefumi.

What was there to say about him? Well, for starters, he was the light of her world. They had been close friends since grade school. They had a friend group, consisting of herself, Josefumi, some Italian girl and an Italian guy. Giorgio or something like that. The Italian girl she forgot the name of. She knew that her name started with an M but that she couldn't remember anything else.

Apparently, she was dead. Which sucked, but considering that they never found a body, she was very skeptical about the whole thing. And considering her affiliations, it could've been a lie. The last time she had heard anything about those two, they had joined Passione back in Italy, though to what extent they had travelled the ranks, Karera neither knew nor cared.

Those two aside, back to the important person. Josefumi. He had been the major reason why she didn't fall out into obscurity, forgotten about by time itself. Their first meeting was a brief scuffle, but when they found out that they were Stand Users, they became fast friends.

The couple had gotten to know one another over the course of six years, and it was only two years ago that they had started dating. The story behind that was funny, if not a little bit on the sad side, depending on who you asked.

Karera first caught feelings for Josefumi during a dark period in her life. Her mother had been falling down the MLA pipeline thanks to a co-worker, and her father had recently died of Stage 4 lymph node Cancer. Karera was 14 at the time of this happening, and it had caused a rift between herself and her mother.

Her mother would stay out for long periods of time, meaning Karera had to find something to do in that time. And so, with her Stand, she decided to scam people. She had been getting into hairstyling, and so because of that and her knowledge of how to cut people's hair, she would "cut hair" using her Stand, and then, when they paid her, just far enough away for her Stand's ability to wear off, and when their hair would grow back, it had been the perfect scheme.

Over that year, she had made over a million yen in scamming people in Morioh. But, that was when Police Chief Higashikata caught her. How? Well, she tried to pull the same trick on him.

Needless to say, it didn't end well. He sniffed her out immediately, knocked some sense into her, and if it hadn't been for the fact that she needed the money, she probably would've been made to return it all. She hadn't been expecting him to be a Stand User, so sue her! That thing hit like a freight train slamming into her!

If she remembered what it was called, she believed it was called Crazy Diamond or something like that. Apparently, when he was younger, it hit ten times harder. He even joked about it, saying that it was strong enough to knock out his nephew on accident! And his nephew was the legendary Jotaro Kujo!

...

"Well, if there's a positive to be gleaned from this...you're still kicking ass at 80." Kyoka said with a sympathetic smile towards her mentor.

"So...Josuke actually managed to knock me out in this universe?" Jotaro asked, raising his eyebrows. "Looks like our first meeting played out a little differently."

"Guess I got lucky." Josuke replied with a shrug.

"...no, you almost got me. If I hadn't managed to stop time, Crazy Diamond would have bashed my face in."

"So...what you're saying is...I can measure up to the great Jotaro Kujo after all."

"Don't push it kid."

...

How that came to be, though, was a story for another time. Something about stopping the universe from being reset because of some egotistical priest or something stupid like that. Honestly, if it wasn't for Stands existing, and her being aware of them, she would've never believed that.

Back to the topic at hand, when her scamming scheme was shut down by Higashikata, she had nowhere else to turn to. Luckily, she never dabbled in drugs or anything like that. She wasn't that desperate to get away from her further radicalized mother to delve into literal mind-killing alternatives like heroin or crack.

All she had back then was Josefumi. And even then, he had been growing distant. She was worried that, soon, she would be without friends. And that had been shaping up to be a possibility nearing the end of the school year. Josefumi actively avoided her like the plague, and she didn't even know the reason for it.

For a little while, she believed she was going to be left all alone.

That was until Josefumi asked her out on a date.

When that had happened, she had been so caught off guard by it that she was left speechless. Apparently, at the same time that she had caught feelings for him, the same had happened to him but in the reverse. He had caught feelings for her and had no idea what to do about them.

But, that was all in the past. Now, they were together, and Josefumi had promised that after they finished high school they were going to get engaged and married. That was how deep their relationship went, and he nor she regretted it. They were like a match made in heaven—even Josefumi's dad, who hadn't exactly liked her for the longest time, had started to warm up to her!

When they started dating, it felt as if her whole world had been turned upside down, and in a good way! She had never had so much fun in her life. She got to travel the world, from Japan to Dubai, and from Dubai to Britain, and from Britain to America, and then from America back to Japan. And that was just the highlight. She liked Thailand the best, but it held no candle to Dubai or Egypt.

That aside, despite all of the good memories, right now, she felt as if she had been dragged right back to where she was before they had gotten together. She felt like shit, and all because she had accidentally caused someone to suffer—and that was the last thing that she wanted to do.

It wasn't like she had meant to send Yoshihara into a downward spiral of tears. She just wanted to tell her what town she and Fumi-kun came from! If she had known it would've caused this, she would've just kept her mouth shut. But, hindsight was 20/20, as the saying went. And right now, she was witnessing the consequences to her actions.

"Hey, Fumi-kun, do you know if she'll be alright?" Karera asked as Josefumi sighed, looking up from his phone as he slid it into his pocket.

"Yeah, I think so. I just got off the phone with Kayama Nemuri, Kira-san's caretaker. This isn't the first time she's had a panic attack, but never to the extent of passing out like this. She would come over to check on her, had it not been for the fact that she's dealing with… things. She wouldn't describe anything, but she asked for us to just stay by her side and call if anything crazy happens," Josefumi stated as Karera rolled her eyes.

"In other words, she wants to shrug the responsibility off to two kids who don't know better. Great, best guardian of the century, I guess," Karera said, her tone sarcastic as Josefumi scoffed.

"You got that one right…." Josefumi agreed as he rolled his shoulders. His eyes then flickered with an idea, glancing at Karera. "Maybe it was a Stand attack?" Josefumi asked as Karera shook her head.

"Nope. If it was, I would have sensed someone else other than ourselves if that had been the case. The only Stand users here are you, me, and Kira-chan, who are currently unconscious. Aside from that, and unless the person who was a Stand User was also invisible, there's no one else here," Karera replied as Josefumi hummed, tapping his chin, before glancing at Karera.

"Hmm… maybe it was something you said?" Josefumi suggested as Karera frowned, looking away, shame on her face, which caused Josefumi to raise an eyebrow. "Wait, seriously?

"Yeah… I think so," Karera muttered, crossing her arms. "Pretty sure it was when I mentioned Morioh. After that, she seemed to just…" Karera flopped her arms to her sides, slumping forward as she continued, "Shut down. Maybe she had a bad experience with the town?" Karera said as Josefumi scratched the back of his neck.

He looked over at Yoshihara and grimaced, studying her facial features as he tried to piece something together in his head. There was something about her that Josefumi wanted to get to the bottom of, now more than ever, especially after her reaction to the name of Karera's hometown.

No one had a panic attack based on the name of a town. Especially not one like that. Not unless something extremely bad happened there, so much so that even so much as a passing namedrop would cause Yoshihara to shut down completely, curl up into a ball, and cower in literally life-or-death fear as she had.

The only reason why they had been able to get her into her bed was because she had passed out a few moments after that happened. All in all, it made no sense. If it wasn't a Stand attack that caused her to react that way, which was what he had assumed until just now, then a part of him wanted to know just what exactly happened to cause such a visceral reaction.

As he continued to observe her, the more he looked at her face, and the more he looked back toward his early childhood when he was living with his Great, Great, Great, Grand Uncle, the more she looked familiar.

Almost as if he had met her before.

Josefumi shook his head, clearing his thoughts as he did. There was no way that they were the same person as that girl. If that was the case, then that would mean that, technically, Yoshihara was dead. And that was impossible. There was a funeral and everything, and a coffin had been lowered into the ground and buried.

Confusion turned to frustration as he looked away from Yoshihara's unconscious form. There was no way those two were the same. That wasn't possible. But, even then, considering the kind of stuff he had seen in his life, the impossible was often possible.

"Is there something you need to tell me, babe?" Karera asked, snapping Josefumi out of his thoughts as he blinked, looking over to Karera. His frustration melted away, his gaze returning to normal as he sighed.

"No, I was just… thinking. Kira-san looks like someone I once knew back in Morioh's primary school system. I doubt it matters now, but…" Josefumi paused, trying to think of a way to word his question properly. "Do you think that it might've been a possibility that Kira might have been…" He stopped, biting his lip. No, that wasn't right. He had no reason to speculate that. "Never mind," Josefumi said as Karera clicked her tongue.

"Don't lead me on like that, jeez," Karera huffed, leaning her head back as she stared up at the ceiling. It was clear she was starting to get bored. "Bah, whatever. If it doesn't matter, then it doesn't matter. On another note, do you think that I should wake her up or…" Karera suggested, gesturing to Yoshihara, as Josefumi shook his head.

"No, I don't think that's the best course of action. The last thing we need is her freaking out again. Whatever she was having a panic attack about might have been super visually intensive, and for all we know, if she wakes up suddenly, she might get thrown right back into it. And we don't know what that could entail if she does. The last thing that we need is a panicked Stand User. You remember the Chicago incident?" As Josefumi said that, Karera shuttered.

"Yeah, I remember that. Remind me to never piss off an angry cat like that again," Karera muttered as Josefumi snickered.

"What's the issue, Karera, were you antsy to use your Stand?" Josefumi asked as Karera nodded, pouting. Josefumi restrained a laugh., which only made Karera pout. "Let me guess, you were hoping Kira turned hostile as well?" Josefumi asked as Karera looked away.

"Stop teasing me!" Karera huffed, uncrossing her arms as she played with a strand of her hair. That was something she did when she was embarrassed. It was kinda cute, in Josefumi's opinion. "Look, it's just, ugh! I rarely get to use my Stand against anyone, mostly because those who I do end up fighting tend to give up after a few seconds! My Stand isn't that strong, but people just get weirded out by hair…" Karera said, grumbling out the last bit as Josefumi patted her on the back.

"There, there, everything is going to be okay," Josefumi mockingly comforted as Karera huffed indigently.

"Yeah, yeah, you big meanie..." Karera pouted, causing Josefumi to snicker to himself. He always found it funny how easy it was to get Karera to pout or to complain or things similar to that. It was part of her charm, to be bouncy and animated. Her endless charisma was what had drawn him to her.

Of course, there were other things, too. Personal things. But that wasn't a topic for conversation. What was a topic for conversation was what he was going to do to pass the time while he waited for Kira Yoshihara to wake up.

What he had to show her was of vital importance, and the longer he sat here twiddling his fingers doing nothing, the less time he had to follow up on the lead that he had been investigating. For all he knew, the source he was using could have already been "dealt with" due to their vulnerable status.

But, unfortunately, he wasn't given a choice but to wait. And so, for the next few hours, as the pair continued to watch Yoshihara, Karera explored the suite that Yoshihara lived in, while Josefumi stayed with Yoshihara in her room, picking up one of the Manga she had on her shelf—Soul Eater—and got through the first volume.

A part of Josefumi had been confused about the whole thing, especially due to how surreal it was. Weapons becoming people, or was it the other way around? He didn't know, and quite frankly, it was bizarre. But that wasn't the weirder part. What the weirder part was that the weapons—or people weapons—ate Souls!? And not just any kind of soul, souls of witches, who were apparently super-duper evil.

Then there was also the fact that The Grim Reaper, like, the actual, real-life Grim Reaper, was also running a school to train people to kill witches as well, which put a bow on that gift box of strangeness.

Oh, and then there was the fanservice.

So. Much. Fanservice.

Like, to an uncomfortable level.

Though, for all of its faults, and for all of the weirdness that it contained it wasn't nearly as bad as some other stuff he had seen. That, and, after looking past all of the not-so-family-friendly stuff, he was actually rather invested in the plot. Maka was a convincing, slightly relatable main character, and Soul was a relaxed, chill if not slightly psychotic best friend archetype.

BlackStar and Death The Kid, on the other hand, were more than a little annoying. Especially BlackStar. Josefumi wasn't a big fan of him. Everyone else, though, that was fine.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous!" Karera exclaimed, walking through the doorway of Yoshihara's bedroom, resting an elbow against the frame, putting one hand on her hip as she frowned. "I've wandered around the entire building, twice, and she still isn't awake! How long will it take for her to wake up, huh?" Karera questioned, earning a shrug from Josefumi, who put down the book in his hands and placed it back where it belonged on the shelf.

"I honestly can't tell you how long. Panic attacks, especially ones like those, don't just tend to go away. When I was little, my Great Grandma Jolyne, would have random panic attacks if she ever saw a white horse. No Idea why, she died before she could tell me, but that's beside the point," Josefumi explained as he glanced back at Yoshihara.

...

"...I didn't scare Jolyne with Slow Dancer, did I?" Johnny asked.

"I don't think so, she never said anything about your horse bothering her." Jotaro replied, and then he narrowed his eyes. "...she wasn't hiding it, was she?"

"I hope not."

"Cause Slow Dancer's a good horse."

"I know, she's my horse."

"Maybe we should get Jolyne to bond with your horse, just in case she has that fear."

"I mean, if Slow Dancer reminds her of Made In Heaven, don't you think it might be a bad idea to force her to spend time with something that elicits a trauma response?" Johnny asked, oblivious to Kyoka rolling her eyes in exasperation. "But...Slow Dancer is family..."

"I'm pretty sure Jolyne isn't afraid of horses." Josuke said, giving his nephews a bored look. "Can we get back on track?"

...

He placed a hand on her forehead just underneath the ice pack, his eyes focused on Yoshihara's closed ones. He felt bad for her, and he wanted to help her, but he didn't know how. He had never dealt with panic attacks this up close and personal before. The first panic attack he had ever witnessed was, again, from his Great Grandma Jolyne, and even then he was barely a toddler when he saw it.

Hell, he didn't even retain a single thing about what had happened. All he had remembered was that it had happened, and that was about it. Usually, her husband would've calmed her down, but he had been dead for two years at that point. It was actually his father who had to calm her down and physically restrain her using his Stand.

What he did know was that Yoshihara needed another ice pack, considering that the ice had melted. But, just before he was about to tell Karera to go get another ice pack and pass her the old one, Yoshihara began to stir from unconsciousness. Josefumi stepped away, whilst Karera stood up straight in the doorway.

It took a few moments for her to fully sit up, but when she did, she groaned, eyes squinting as she rolled her neck from side to side. Confusion was clear on her face as Josefumi stayed silent, not moving a single muscle. The last thing he wanted to do was spook her.

"Ugh, what the hell…" Yoshihara grumbled, breathing in loudly through her nose. After another few seconds of her not noticing that he or Karera was there, Josefumi decided to make his presence known.

"Well, glad to see that you're awake," Josefumi said, putting his hands into his pockets as Yoshihara squinted, staring blankly at Josefumi, as if not registering that he was there. Then, after another few seconds, when her eyes popped wide open with alarm, she jolted up in her bed before grabbing her blankets and bringing them up to the base of her neck, as if she was trying to hide her body—which made no sense seeing as she was fully clothed.

"GAH! How did you get here!? And why're you in my fucking room!" Yoshihara nearly screamed as Josefumi rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't know how to handle this, and given the death stare he was given, he knew that if he didn't trace his steps carefully he could get punched in the face. And he wanted to avoid that.

"Well, that's a long story. Would you like the abbreviated version or—"

"We were waiting in your home, suite, apartment, whatever the hell this place is, for you to come back from wherever you had been. We had a discussion, then I brought up my Hometown..." Karera interrupted, glaring at Josefumi, who flinched, before looking at Yoshihara. She paused, giving a downcast expression, to which Yoshihara met with furious confusion. Despite that, she continued.

"You had a panic attack and passed out. After that, we brought you here so you could rest. It's now 8:30 PM, and I was about to wake you up so that we could understand why it is that when I mentioned my hometown, ya know, that place, you freaked out," Karera explained as Josefumi paled in surprise.

"I-I- You… Really?" Josefumi stammered out as Karera sighed, giving Josefumi a stare that, in all but saying it, told him that he was being stupid. Something he caught onto immediately, faltering as he did.

"Oh, cut it out. I'd rather not sugarcoat that shit to her anyways. She's obviously more than capable of taking care of herself and it's not like she's a little kid. Besides, she deserved to know," Karera snapped, causing Josefumi to look away in embarrassment. Karera groaned, looking at Yoshihara. She hummed before crossing her arms, giving Yoshihara a blank stare.

"Look, I just want to understand why you had a panic attack and passed out. I feel like it's my fault you passed out, and I'm sorry for that. But please, I want to know why. If you want to tell us why, anyway," Karera said as Yoshihara sighed.

She had no words for either of them. Not that she was angry with them, but she wasn't exactly happy about them being here. At the very least, she was glad that they had stuck around if what they had said had actually happened. And the fact that they watched over her too…. They really didn't have to do that, but they did anyway.

If she really did have a panic attack, and it was because of something that they had said, whatever that something had been, then that was a little upsetting. To have been so vulnerable in front of strangers. If anything, it had made her feel ashamed.

The last time she had a panic attack was when Kayama-san made an offhanded comment about acting like a brat. It sounded pathetic, and it probably was, but she had… horrible experiences with that word, to say the very least.

There were certain trigger words that Yoshihara had that would cause her to have a full-on mental and emotional breakdown, and brat was one of them. They were often messy, and it took upwards of an hour for her to be coaxed out of them. Sometimes, they got so bad that she would shut down completely and pass out due to being so overwhelmed.

Another thing about when she had panic attacks is that she never remembered the reason for them—especially when they got to the point where she passed out. And considering that they had to pick her up and take her to her room, that meant it was one of the especially bad ones.

"I… Had a panic attack?" Yoshihara questioned, her tone carrying a sense of confusion and alarm as Karera raised an eyebrow.

"You don't remember? I mean, I know that sometimes people forget as a defence mechanism, but I've never seen it before," Karera said, straightening her posture as she walked further into the room, standing next to the bed. Yoshihara flipped the blankets off of her body, crossing her legs in the process. She guessed that she owed them an explanation.

"Yeah, whenever I have panic attacks, regardless of what they are about, I never remember them. The only thing I remember is blacking out, then waking up in a random place—usually my room—and getting the rundown from Nemuri-san. Outside of that, however, there's nothing but an empty, blank space…." Yoshihara explained, looking down at her bedsheet as Karera huffed, a surprised, yet also curious look adorning her face.

"Interesting. Look, I don't mean to pry, but, when was the last time you had a panic attack?" Karera questioned as Yoshihara snapped her head up to face her, an annoyed look on her face as she spoke.

"What are you, my therapist?" Yoshihara spat as Karera sighed.

"Okay, jeez, sorry. I… I just want to get to know you more, and more importantly, so that I can know what not to say so I can avoid triggering something like that again. If your Guardian tells you what happened and how it happened, you could at least write it down so we know," Karera explained.

In response, Yoshihara nodded, reaching for her bedside table as she pulled out a notebook. It was a black and pink polka-dotted notebook with a black spiral binding. There was a red pen in the spiral binding, and across the notebook were the words "Trigger Words."

Before she handed the book over to Yoshihara, she narrowed her eyes at Karera and spoke. "In this notebook is a list of my triggers. If any of these words are said in the context described in the book, I will go into a panic attack. Do not, for any reason, say these words when I'm present, even as a joke. I'm trusting you, which I never usually do. So I want your word. Do you promise to never say anything in this book?" Yoshihara demanded as Karera nodded.

"I promise that I won't say any of the words in that notebook," Karera replied, as Yoshihara looked at the book, before looking back at Karera. She frowned, then passed the book to Karera, who took it and opened it, turning to face away from Josefumi and more toward Kira. And when she read what was inside the book, her skin crawled.

List of Triggers:

Morioh. Never ever say this to me for any reason. That place, even hearing its name in passing, makes me physically ill, and usually draws the worst kinds of panic attacks out of me.

Brat. She used to call me this and it hurts me. Deeply. I don't fully pass out when I'm called this, but, it takes me a while to recover from being called a brat. Although, over time, the reactions to this word have gotten less and less bad. Saying this around me won't cause me to break out into a panic attack. It's when I'm being called it that it's a problem.

Whore. This is self-explanatory. It reminds me of something she and the people she would bring over would call me.

Slut. For the same reasons as above.

Juices (Specifically the plural and in the context of "your", "Juice" is fine).

"You are worthless." Specifically the whole sentence as it brings me back to a time I wish to forget.

Being called a "Loli" reminds me of it. This never usually happens, because who on earth would just call someone that? But, there have been times I've been called it, and the reactions have been extremely violent. Akira-sama's had to call the ambulance a few times for people who've called me that.

As soon as Karera closed the book, she gave it back to Yoshihara, who put it back in her drawer. There was a look of horror on her face as Yoshihara's expression stayed completely neutral causing Josefumi to raise an eyebrow. "What, do I not get to look at it? It can't be that bad, can it?" Josefumi asked as Karera shook her head.

"No, it very much is. I'll tell you back at home. You'll probably want to break something when... Oh god, I'm… I can't even begin to imagine what you went through…" Karera said, paling as Yoshihara looked away.

"Can we please change the subject, I really, really don't want to talk about it, please?" Yoshihara asked, a hint of desperation in her voice as Karera nodded.

"Y-yeah," Karera stammered, clearing her throat. "Anyways, so, uh, what I said earlier. About the whole panic attack thing. That happened, and it was because mentioned my hometown. The first thing on your list there. I'm really, really sorry, and I won't say it again. I promise," Karera said, bowing in apology as Yoshihara waved her off.

"No, no. You don't need to apologize. You wouldn't have known. But, I do appreciate it. Thank you," Yoshihara said, before glancing over to Josefumi, who had a contemplative look on his face.

Josefumi felt the urge to ask what exactly happened to her. What happened in Morioh to cause her to become fearful of it? Whatever it was that caused her to gain that fear, he wanted to know what it was. At the same time, however, he knew just how insensitive that would've been. Resisting his urge to ask, he cleared his throat, getting both Kira's and Karera's attention.

"Well, seeing as you're now awake, I think it's about time we get down to the reason why I came here in the first place. From what I've been told, you were recently in a Stand fight with someone, right?" Josefumi asked as Yoshihara raised an eyebrow.

"Who told you that?" The blond asked as the pompadour-haired teen chuffed.

"Your Guardian did. She didn't know it was a Stand, but I inferred it through the fact that you were attacked. Regardless, what you just said proves it to me," Josefumi said, a smug smirk on his face as Yoshihara huffed. "But that's beside the point. I don't know if you've been paying attention to the news, but there has been a development recently that has disturbed my family, The Joestars, and by extension, The Speedwagon Foundation," Josefumi explained as Yoshihara's eyes widened.

"Wait a second, you're with the Speedwagon Foundation?!" Yoshihara nearly shouted, again, for the second time in the same hour. In response, Karera clamped her mouth shut, shocking Yoshihara.

"Quiet! Do you want the rest of the world to hear you?!" Karera stressed as she let go of Yoshihara's mouth, who frowned, rubbing her lower face as the stinging sensation of being slapped over the mouth faded away. "Yes, we are, but mostly through his Father. He runs the place, so we're kinda obligated to work with them. Regardless, it's that important, so please, listen, okay?" Karera asked as Yoshihara cursed under her breath.

"Great, not only have I been attacked by two Stand users in the last few days, both being Kujo-san and my friend's mom. But now, to top it all off, I'm getting involved with the Speedwagon Foundation, just great…" Yoshihara mumbled as Josefumi sighed, crossing his arms.

"No, you're not getting involved with the Speedwagon Foundation, rather, should you choose to accept, you're simply helping us help them. Oh, and before you ask, no, they won't know, and that way it'll be better off for you. The last thing you or I want is any of our enemies clinging onto you like some sort of foreign disease…." Josefumi said as he glanced over to Karera, who was now standing next to him.

"Both Karera and I were sent here to go to U.A., mostly to act as insiders for them. The Headmaster is aware, so it's not like we're doing it under his nose. But that isn't the main reason why we were sent here. The main reason why we were sent here, was because of this," Josefumi started, pulling out a bag that had a yellow needle-tipped bullet with the Latin words: De mortalitate hominis contained within it.

Yoshihara raised an eyebrow, confusion dwelling over her as Josefumi put the bag onto her bedside table. "This bullet is why we are here. We don't know who manufactures them, or what's inside of them. All that we know is that, according to my sources, anyone who is hit by the bullet loses their Quirk, and gets transmitted a disease, which then gives a person a Stand. Essentially upgrading someone's Quirk to that of a Stand," Josefumi explained as Yoshihara blinked.

...

"Stand bullets?!"

Needless to say, that was a worst case scenario. The Stand Arrows were hard enough to track down, and they caused a boatload of problems wherever they went...but if they were being manufactured as bullets, it made things ten times worse. Stand Users would multiply like a raging forest fire, and those who were unworthy of Stand Power would die. It would be grounds for a massacre.

"Okay...I'm already seeing how this universe is going to go to shit. Quirk Users can't see Stands in this universe...and if the overall percentage of Stand Users increases...we're toast." Aizawa commented, crossing his arms with a dark look on his face. "...and I think we can all recognize the model of those bullets..."

"Are they using Eri's Rewind to...recreate the virus somehow?" Josuke wondered, disturbed. "The Shie Hassakai is showing up far earlier than they did in our universe...I don't like the look of it either."

"Fucking Chisaki..." Johnny muttered. "Figures he'd do something like this. All to put his stupid little gang on top."

...

That… made absolutely no sense. How did that even work? How did someone's Quirk just, turn into a Stand? That sounded like something out of a fairytale. But, then again, that would explain why Inko was able to get away with calling her Stand a Quirk. If her Quirk simply evolved into a Stand over time.

The question was, how, and when? She had said that she had been a Stand User for quite some time now. And if that had been true, then she must've been young when her Quirk evolved, be it naturally or through some other means. Still, she was curious as to how that was possible.

"Really now? And I don't suppose you know how it works?" Yoshihara questioned as Karera shrugged, once again leaning against Josefumi, who had to rebalance himself when she did.

"We don't know how it works, nor why it works. But, from what we do know, the virus that is inside the bullet is the same virus that was found within the ancient artifact known as the Stand Arrow. If you don't know what that is, it's an arrow that can grant someone the possibility of gaining a Stand. Those who didn't, well, they died," Karera paused, which emphasized the seriousness of the side effects of this so-called "Stand Arrow." After a few more seconds, Karera continued.

"Seeing as this bullet does the same thing, My guess is that this bullet is the modern equivalent of it, and currently, it's being mass-produced by a group of unidentified people. We only got a hold of it because of a recent encounter I had a little while back in America, hinting at the fact that these things are sold on the black market across the world. Luckily, we were able to pinpoint its origin being here in Japan. Its exact location, however, not so much."

"And to add fuel to the fire," Josefumi began, "Random civilians have turned up dead across Japan, the culprit being these exact bullets. Whoever is manufacturing them and selling them is doing a good job of covering their tracks. I don't think I should have to mention what happened to those who lived," Josefumi explained as Yoshihara bit on the inside of her lip.

What if that was what had happened to Sayaka? What if she had been shot by one of those bullets? For all Yoshihara knew, she was dead, and that was why Otoshi hadn't said anything as of late, not even to Akira.

If Sayaka was dead… "No. You have to believe in her. She can't be dead. She just can't be, I refuse to accept it," Yoshihara thought, frowning. But, if she did survive, then that meant that she would become a Stand User. And with how Josefumi was explaining this whole ordeal, then that also meant that assuming Sayaka survived, there would be more Stand Users.

And if there were more Stand Users, then there was a higher chance of there being more of them showing up at U.A., or worse, the recommendation exam. If she ran into a Stand User at U.A. or during the recommendation exam, the last thing she wanted to have happen was for a battle to break out.

Yoshihara cursed under her breath as she knitted her hands together as they rested in her lap. As annoying as that was, there was nothing she could do about it. "Alright, I guess I don't have a choice. Besides, I'm planning on going to U.A. as well, so I might as well help seeing as we'll be in the same school. I take it the two of you got recommended by someone?" Yoshihara asked as the pair of them shook their heads.

"Nope, we have to do things the old-fashioned way, which is fine, but I take it you were?" Karera asked as Yoshihara nodded once, leaning back against the headrest on her bed.

"Yeah. That sucks, but whatever. If I see any other Stand users at The Recommendation Exam, I'll be sure to let you know," Yoshihara said as Josefumi smirked, uncrossing his arms.

"Then we'll do the same," Josefumi agreed, looking at his phone as he sighed. "It's getting late, and we have to get home. I'm supposed to call my Dad before he starts to get worried. The last thing I need is a full-blown security detail sent to my doorstep because I forgot to call…" Josefumi grumbled, mumbling something about "stupid paranoia" before looking back up at Yoshihara.

"How about this? let's meet up at the café by Aldera tomorrow, and bring that other Stand User with you, assuming they're on our side," Josefumi asked as Yoshihara waved off his concern.

"Don't worry about them, while we may not be friends for any reason, we are allies, even if I forced her to be. Also, one more thing, I'm going to bring my other friend with me. His name is Midoriya Izuku, in case you wanted to know. He might not be a Stand User, nor does he know his mom was the Stand User that attacked us, but he knows about them and he's razor-sharp intelligence-wise, even if he doesn't think so, "Yoshihara said as Karera smirked.

"As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier," Karera said, smiling brightly before tapping her chin in contemplation, dropping the smile as she continued. "I say we meet up for around lunch, and once they get there, we'll debrief them. But, for now, we gotta go! See ya later, alligator!" And with that, the two left Yoshihara's room. She waited for the sound of the elevator doors to close as she laid back down on her bed.

Things were starting to escalate, far more than she wanted them to. Stand Bullets? The Speedwagon Foundation! potential criminal organizations!? For Yoshihara, it was all too much for her to handle.

"Ugh, can't I just live a peaceful, quiet life?" Yoshihara asked, her question going out to the world, only to be left unanswered. She groaned, getting out of bed. Her stomach growled at her, and she wasn't exactly in the mood to cook anything, so, instead, she ordered some KFC.

...

"She should be careful, didn't she think that there was cocaine in that?" Shoto asked, and Johnny facepalmed. "What?"

"I'm pretty sure she wasn't being serious."

"Oh no, don't you know Johnny?" Kyoka asked, faux concern on her face. "The fast food industry is a conspiracy ran by our cocaine overlords to keep us complacent."

Shoto gave her a dirty look, much to the musician's amusement. "I'm not completely oblivious to sarcasm, you know."

...

It didn't take long for her delivery to get her address, which had admittedly confused the delivery man. She thanked him and took it to her room, leaving some out for Kayama-san when she got home.

After she finished eating, she got into her employee uniform, seeing as she still had a job to do. Panic attack or not, she still needed to pay off the damages to the building caused by her fight with Kujo. After she finished getting changed, she walked out of her room wearing the hotel uniform.

The uniform was all sorts of varying shades of red, matching the outer of the building. It consisted of a red baseball cap-style hat with the company logo on the front and a dark red flannel waistcoat, accompanied by a knee-length, frilled skirt with crimson stockings and black dress shoes.

The uniform was alright. At least it covered more of her body. The last thing she wanted to do was show any more skin than necessary.

Without any more delay, Yoshihara walked downstairs, toward the elevator, and down to the lobby to begin her shift. And once her shift began, the night passed by fairly quickly. Not many people came by that night, which had been surprising. She supposed today just wasn't a good day for business.

By the time her shift was done, only about eight people came in, two for a full night stay, and three couples who stayed for a few hours. She didn't claim to know what they were up to, nor did she care, but when they came back to check out, they looked a little more than pleased.

After her shift, she went back upstairs, wrote a note for Kayama-san, and immediately went to bed after having a shower. An hour after she went to bed, Nemuri stumbled through the elevator door, though surprisingly not drunk. Rather, she had just tripped at the entrance of the suite. The bartender of the bar she frequented had a rather convenient Quirk that sapped away the poison in alcohol, though in turn, he got sloshed as a result.

The reason why he used his Quirk on her was that she was called to help in an ongoing burglary, and was needed to knock the culprit unconscious. They had a hostage, and it was a little boy. Needless to say, the bartender helped her so that she could help the heroes and police on the scene. After that, she kept getting call after call and overall was tired. Especially after her fight with a man whose Quirk was turning into what was essentially a werewolf.

To make matters worse, she had received a text from an unknown number, telling her Yoshihara had a panic attack. She was able to find out who it was, thankfully, during some downtime. The person in question was someone named "Kujo Josefumi." The same person who had attacked Yoshihara in the suite.

She had been seconds away from dropping everything and running back home to beat the snot out of him. But, after a very long back and forth over text message, she decided not to. Apparently, it was all "water under the bridge" between himself and Yoshihara. While Nemuri didn't exactly buy it, if Yoshihara trusted him then so be it.

He asked a lot of questions. Questions that didn't make any sense to her, but she answered them regardless to the best of her ability. After a while, he stopped texting entirely. That had worried her, but she kept getting inundated with call after call until about half an hour ago.

Scanning the living room, Nemuri panicked, not seeing her adopted daughter anywhere, until her eyes landed on a note sitting on the coffee table. She ran over, picked it up, and let out a sigh of relief after reading its contents.

If you're reading this, and not piss drunk, then you should know that I'm fine. Kujo and his Girlfriend stuck by my side until I woke up. I know you might not have the best opinion of Kujo, but he's a nice guy if not a bit on the dull side. By the time you're reading this, I'm probably fast asleep. Please don't wake me up, I've had a long day. Best regards – Yoshihara.

Nemuri put the note back down on the table and quietly walked up to the second floor and to Yoshihara's bedroom door, which was left slightly ajar. Peeking inside, she caught a glimpse of Yoshihara underneath her blankets, lightly snoring away as a smile took up Nemuri's visage.

Taking a step back, she left the door as it was, walked to her bedroom, and went to bed herself. She also had a long day, and the last thing she wanted to do was stay up any later than she had to be. After all, Nedzu had an important meeting scheduled for the next few days leading up to The Recommendation Exam, and she needed to be up early at 5:30 a.m., which was four hours away from now.

And so, without a second thought, Nemuri changed into some sleepwear, crawled into bed, and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in a standard-looking office building in Esuha, looking down at a photo provided to them by someone who had been close to them, a man dressed in a matching orange hat and suit with dark purple eyes glowing in the dark with his face obscured by shadow sat behind a desk with several stacks of paper and a name stand, also obscured by heavy shadow.

This was perfect. Just perfect. Well, not perfect in the traditional sense, more in the sarcastic sense. Of course that pain in the ass had a chance to reproduce. Just wonderful. Though, maybe he had gotten lucky to have found them at such a young age.

If he could get rid of her as soon as possible, then that meant that no one would interfere with his and his organization's plans. The photo was taken a few hours ago by one of his men. It was of a girl with pale skin, sky-blue eyes, and chin-length blonde hair. She was dressed in a completely red outfit and seemed to be working at some kind of Love Hotel.

The resemblance between her and that man was uncanny to say the very least. They shared the same hair colour, and the same eye colour, though they didn't share the same skin tone. But there was no mistaking it. This girl was the daughter of that man.

That man…

The man who almost killed him all those years ago.

His purple eyes gleamed with hatred at the mere thought of him.

"Oh ho, Now this is interesting. Who would've known you had a child… Don't worry, you'll reunite with her soon," The man said, passing the photo back to the person who brought it to him. "Bring this to the boy we recently turned into a Stand User. From what I understand, he has a grudge against her for some reason or another. Let's not waste manpower, and just have the kid deal with the other brat."

"As you wish, Boss," The thug who brought him the photo said, turning away and exiting the office where The Boss resided.

As the saying goes: Deal with your problems before they become problems, and you'll live a peaceful life. And The Boss wanted just that. And no one was going to get in the way of that, his plans, and what his dream was. Not All Might, not The Joestars or The Speedwagon Foundation, and most certainly not anyone related to him.

"Rest peacefully while you can, Kira Yoshihara. Your days are numbered, either because you'll die at the hands of that brat, or, if you somehow survive, when you eventually cross paths with me. I know you will. It's in your family's blood," The Boss thought, as he leaned back in his chair, with one final thought dancing through his brain.

"Damnatio Ad Bestias will rise again. For that, I am sure."

...

As Roundabout began to play for the sixth time, albiet quieter than the first time, DIO spoke up. "Ah, another pretender...thinking they can measure up to me." DIO said with a smug grin. "This Damnatio Ad Bestias seems formidible enough, but I highly doubt this upstart can match me. Still...the grudge against her father is interesting."

Blue materialized in front of the screen. "Well...I'm sure ya'll have some questions..."

"Yeah...what's the deal with my weird twin?" Kyoka asked, crossing her arms.

"Well...as we explained last time, there are certain people here that are different than what you know-"

"Yeah, yeah...I got that. I'd just like some more details, since you're my creator and all. You are my creator, right?"

Blue pondered for a moment, and the light almost seemed to pulse for a moment. "Well...no, I'm not your creator, actually. I was inspired by your creator." Seeing the puzzled looks the room was giving them, the ethereal being elaborated. "Red and I didn't fully create the worlds you're living in, we simply made our own versions of worlds that meant something to us."

"So...you stole us."

"No, we borrowed you." Blue replied. "You, as well as many different alternate versions of you, are based on your 'canon' self."

"What he said," Red backed up, frowning as he did. "For example, take Midoriya. There's a universe where he has the Omnitrix from Ben 10, there's a universe where he has the same abilities as Luffy from One Piece and Devil Fruits exist within his world. There's a universe where he's the reincarnation of Muzan Kibutsuji from Demon Slayer, and my personal favourite one, where is the son of All For One and is trying his damndest to separate himself from his father. Honestly, such a wonderfully drama focused read. I could wax poetic for hours, but you get the jist," Red explained as Izuku blinked, confused.

"Uh… I don't know if I like the last two, but that sounds… interesting. So, wait, why though? Why not just make your own stuff?" Izuku asked as Red shrugged.

"Speaking for myself, I just like the base universe too much. I might be eons and eons old, but when I was just a young eldritch God, I grew up loving that place. So did a bunch of others like me. So, we made our own universes. As long as we didn't try and claim we made, essentially, you, we were allowed to do whatever we wanted…"

"And some people took that a bit too far…." Blue said, shuttering. "I will never understand those kinds of people. Gross."

"You mean the normal gross or the actual gross?"

"The actual gross," Blue spat as Red nodded, frowning as grumbled something under his breathe.

"Uh… what do you mean by that?" Inko asked as Blue looked over to her.

"Trust me when I say you really don't want to know."

"Okay, but can you answer my question, please?" Kyoka asked. "For my own peace of mind, please."

"Well…" Red grumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "I could be an asshole and just tell ya to wait. But, I'm willing to give you a hint, and by hint I mean cryptic clue. A-hem: The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions."

"That literally doesn't tell me anything!"

"I think that's the point," Johnny pointed out.

"Okay, but how about me? I want to know this universes version of me didn't help Kira when he had the chance to," Josuke said, crossing his arms as Red smirked.

"Ya don't think he didn't try?" Red said as Josuke frowned. He didn't like that answer, but he supposed that was all he was going to get.

"How many more times will we see Kira's past?" Yaoyorozu asked as Blue hummed.

"Uh, one glimpse and one more full segment regarding it, and they're pretty far apart. After that, it only gets briefly mentioned but that's about it," Blue answered as Yaoyorozu nodded.

"Alright, is that it? We've got two more episodes to do before we finish the first third of Season 1. Then, you all get to rest for a bit," Red said as the theatre was filled with silence. "Okay, well, onto the next episode!"

With that, just as the credits finished rolling, the screen faded directly into the next episode….

A/N: It's been a while! Sorry about that. I can't speak for Donut, but I know I've been busy with a lot of things. I've been re-editing DLB with a bunch of new content and as a result, it caused this reaction series to go on a bit of a hiatus. We also had to re-visit the original reaction documents and change them, as well as update the reactions in order to fit the current version of DLB, which is why it's been almost over a year since this has been updated.

Hopefully, this won't happen again (the almost a year long wait, I mean) but you never know what the world outside of the internet can throw at you.

Welp! That's all from me. See you all in the next one! Peace out!