June 12, 2024 update: Fixed some grammar mistakes and added two more Pocket Mirror characters near the beginning of the chapter.
"Look, look! There we are, Saki-chan! Saga Rock was so amazing! It is great that we participated in it!"
Sakura's cheerful voice never fails to lift everyone's mood for the day. She, Franchouchou and Rianima are looking at an article in a Sagazine Saki is holding detailing Franchouchou's performance in Saga Rock. The title of the article reads, "Angels Descend on Saga Rock!" and the featured picture shows Franchouchou in their idol outfits doing a group pose while their bodies glowed as a result of lightning hitting them.
While everyone is happy that they have been acknowledged enough to be featured in a main article, Junko sees the name of a journalist who wrote it, Arata Okoba,and brings attentino to it. "Oh. This is the same reporter that did the story on the "haunting" at Ureshino Onsen."
"Over the last month, more videos and comments have been posted," Ai spoke up, standing before the twelve holding a water bottle. Tae can be seen looking at the mirror while crouched as Ai continues, "I think we're about to start seeing some reactions. Both the good and the bad."
As everyone considered Ai's words and reread the article, Lily eagerly asks, "Hey, hey, Lily was the most dazzling member of our group, right?"
"What, are you in the pic? Oh there you are~!" Saki teases her. "You were so tiny I didn't see you~."
Lily pouted at her teasing before averting her closed eyes from her with a huff. "Hmph! I wasn't asking you, Saki-chan!" She retorted.
"I think you were dazzling." Sakura candidly told her to placate her, bringing her cute smile back.
"Really?"
"Yup!" Sakura nodded. "I love it when you smile! And your star is really cute!"
"Yay! Lily-chan is right! I am the most dazzling of our group!" She said cheerfully, thankful for Sakura proving Saki wrong. While she knows the blonde girl didn't mean that and was only teasing her as usual, she is bothered by it anyway. No matter what she says, she will continue to be the most dazzling among Franchouchou as many times as she wants.
"Continue being the most dazzling member, Lily-chan," Kakyoin tells her with a smile. "I might refer you as the previous name I gave before you girls decided to be called Franchouchou… ｢Stardust｣."
"Oooooh! I think that sounds nice!" Lily agreed.
Just then, Bucciarati reaches out to the magazine as he says, "Saki, may I read the magazine next? I want to see what other articles printed in it so we are up to date with what is happening not only to Saga, but outside the prefecture."
"Eh, sure. Knock yourself out."
Handing the Sagazine over, Bucciarati flips the pages to find an interesting article out of curiosity and to arm themselves with knowledge of anything worth keeping their ears on. With fast reading skill, the man spots an interesting article found near the end of the Sagazine.
"Oh? What's this?"
"Did you found something, Bucciarati-han?" Yugiri asks, gathering with everyone except Tae to look at the page. Bruno kneels down so some of the shorter members don't try to reach up discomfortingly. In fact, Bucciarati is the second tallest zombie who surpasses Kotaro's height, and only behind Avdol, who is the tallest person overall.
"Yes. This article is what caught my attention," he points his finger to a blurred picture of a woman seemingly walking between pine trees taken in the dark, indicating it was night when the picture is taken. The woman wears white and red clothing that contrasts well with the darkness while two or three wisps-like fire, also blurred, are floating around her. Four paragraphs details what this picture is about. "This article is about a strange sighting of a woman claimed to be seen roaming in the Niji no Matsubara Pine Grove, having occurred for the past 132 years after the first sighting. According to the eyewitness accounts, they say that the woman is believed to be a ghost because they saw her passed through pine trees, walking faster than an average person's walking speed. And also, recently, it claimed she was sometimes accompanied by a girl or two, who are possibly ghosts like her."
"A g-ghost…?" Junko stuttered. "Is… Is she really…?"
"I'm not sure. This article is only speculating. That said, if there is one thing we can be sure of, this woman was said to not carry any malevolent intentions because anyone who encountered her, whether from afar or up close, stated that she stared at them with her black eyes and ｢white pupils｣, before moving away. Also, few children said that the woman escorted them back to their parents when they got lost and while they admit she and her 'daughters' are scary, that changes when she helped led them to safety, holding their hands the whole time until they are safe."
"Huh? Wait, wait, wait," Gyro stops him from continuing so he can address something. "Didn't people say that she is a ｢ghost｣? How can children hold her hands if she is supposed to be ｢intangible｣?"
"Hmm, that's a good point…" Bucciarati conceded. "I'm not familiar with ghosts or spirits, but it is odd she can interact with anyone as if she's alive."
"Maybe… her being a ghost is… partially accurate?" Kakyoin suggested. "What I may say sounds incredulous but… after thinking about it, I believe this woman might be… a ｢Stand User｣."
"Stand User?" Saki looked at him incredulously. "How can ya be sure of that, Kakyoin? How did ya arrive to that?"
"Hey, when you've been fending off enemy Stands that is not seen by ordinary people, it's simple logic for me to come up to that conclusion," he shrugged. "Anything strange at all can be a sign of Stand activity. If we can be revived as non-infectious undead, a possibility like that exists, even if it's just a theory for now."
"Well, whether this ghost woman is a Stand User or not, I think we must keep it in our minds," Ai stated to everyone. "Even if I would dismiss the notion that she is a Stand User, the supernatural phenomenon surrounding her is peculiar. I believe you want to discuss it with Kotaro, right Bucciarati-san?"
"Yes. If you will excuse me, I must meet with Tatsumi…"
Once the leader of Rianima leaves, the zombies resume their normal conversations revolving around Franchouchou's popularity. Any resemblance of a regular downtime betweeen Franchouchou's practice is interrupted though, when Tae bites at Junko. Everyone tries pulling the zombie out of the poor girl, only to react by biting Narancia's arm next when he attempts to employ force in his pull. Shouts and strings of profanities followed as Li'l Bomber pushes hard against Number Zero with assistance from everyone.
Whether they admit it or not, moments like this serve to affirm that if weren't for their zombie status and existence of Stands, their every day lives will be anything but normal.
Meanwhile, in an office complex somewhere, the workers inside are starting their lunch break after finishing the remaining work for this morning. One worker with a wild hair and two drooping bangs turns to his co-worker and asks, "Amamoto-san, what do you wanna do for lunch?"
"The Sicilian rice bowl." Amamoto answers, his eyes focused on the TV as he switches channels.
"That's, like, your fav!" He remarks, giving the impression that it's not the first time he heard what his lunch will be. A massiveand muscular man with an intimidating face and a single scar lining his left eye stands up beside him, prompting him to ask him next. "What about you, Go-san?"
"I am fine," he simply answered. "I'm going out for lunch."
"All right…"
Once the muscular man leaves the office with faint tremors in his two footsteps, the worker turns to his boss and asks, "Does Go-san always leave to eat?"
"The man hates TV." Amamoto tells him. The TV then shows a Drive-In Tori featuring Franchouchou and three of their bodyguards as (unwitting) guests.
"Oh yeah. You get a lot of people saying they don't watch TVs anymore." He replied, thinking Go is one of those people.
"That's not exactly why, but yeah." he implied at the end of his statement, making the man wonder.
Sitting on a bench in a park near the office, Takeo Go is eating his lunch he bought from the convenience store, which is stored in a plastic bag along with a small, opened carton of milk containing a straw. He is reading the latest Sagazine in his left hand, putting the whole food in his mouth and chewing it when he looks up and sees a little girl playing with a ball near a swing set. He appears to be in a trance as he continues looking at the girl, who then noticed his staring. She does not get a bad vibe from him and sees he must be so lonely, so trying to be nice, she smiles at him.
However, her mother comes along and brings her back home after noticing the massive man's stare at her daughter. Seeing them causes him to flinch, as if he was affected by their presence or the mother's action. He's not done yet watching someone's daughter around him as soon after they left, two girls step foot in the playground eagerly, both of them pulling their taller mother.
"Here! Let us play together in this small playground, mom!" The green-eyed girl with blonde hair wearing an elaborately designed pink dress and mini cardigan insisted, pulling her mother with one hand because she's carrying a small doll in her other arm. The doll itself is also elaborately designed as it has a royal crown on its tiny, egg-shaped head. "Can we play here for a short time? Can we? Can we?"
In spite of her overbearing request, the hooded woman giggled at her youngest daughter's pleading. The other girl, having a color theme between black, white and gold in her appearance and outfit, rolls her eyes though not without a smile. "Oh alright. You and Enjel can play here until you are satisfied."
"Yay! You hear that Egliette? We're gonna play!" The shorter girl raises one arm up high with a victorious smile. Then she raises the ragdoll's arms up to mimic her owner's reaction.
"Will you play with us too, mother? It would be boring if me, Fleta and Egliette are the only ones playing." The long-haired girl asked her mother hopefully. The hooded woman turns to Enjel before nodding once. This puts a smile on her face.
"I suppose if I must."
As the two daughters choose to swing on the swingset first with their mother assisting in maintaining the momentum, Takeo watches them having fun with a quivering expression. His heart is aching on watching a mother and her daughters having fun, so he diverts his attention off of them to the magazine. He flips the pages a few times until he comes across an article featuring Franchouchou. His eyes fixate on the photo of the idol group, especially Number Six. He has a look of recognition concerning the twin-tailed little girl, causing his body to shiver. It's as if he's trying not to let tears flow from his eyes as he continues staring at Number Six.
"U-Uhhh... Aaaahhhh..." He stuttered, his world around him lost in his presence.
Another day, another meeting between Franchouchou, Rianima and Kotaro begins. With all the crazy things they have seen from the still-mysterious producer like pitching a baseball, making an amateur French act complete with a beret and baguette, and doing a kabuki play acting like a magistrate, the zombies should pretty much expect anything Kotaro can do that will baffle even the quietest members.
Oh, and don't forget the shouting and verbal abuse he will throw at them. That is, if he is feeling brave, or stupid, if he wants to provoke the Stand Users.
ぶぅぅーぅぅぅぅ!
Kotaro blowing through a conch he must have likely kept in his possession adds to the list of bizarre deeds only he, and he alone, knows.
ぶぅぅーぅぅぅぅ!
He blows again, producing a sound that is actually his attempt to imitate the sound of a conch before the fourteen zombies. He next starts the meeting for real through a simple greeting as usual. "G'morning everyone!"
"Good morning!" Sakura returned with as much vigor as she can.
"Good morning," Junko does the same in a soft tone.
"…Good morning as well " Kakyoin decided to return his greeting, seeing no harm in it.
"Refreshed and awake as I'll always be!" Gyro said a different statement but it carries the same intent.
"Well Franchouchou, good job getting that writeup and to Rianima as well for eliminating Weather Report out of Saga," Kotaro acknowledged their accomplishments during the Saga Rock festival, earning sounds of applause from some zombies.
With the conch hanging on his neck, he approaches Junko, having not forgotten their talk in the attic, asking, "How about it, Junko? Any thoughts looking back on Saga Rock?"
With a blush on her cheeks and nose, Junko states her honest response to Kotaro. "Well… I guess it…felt like a glimpse of some potential I have."
"Haha! It totally did, didn't it!? Didn't it!?" He nods enthusiastically, happy to hear Franchouchou is doing well enough that he is seeing them as real idols in his eyes. "You girls are riding a wave of interest right now."
"How about it, Sakura? Are you enjoying the ride?" He turns to Sakura, his usual zombie he likes to talk to aside from Kakyoin.
Not expecting to be picked by Kotaro again, Sakura tries answering him with a confused look. "Eh?! Uh… well… Aren't you gonna tell me not to get carried awa-"
"Get carried then, dumbass! You get in a magazine, you're allowed to get carried away! You get to stick that Pinocchio nose of yours high in the air, so it's the highest point on the big wave you have caught!"
After finishing his usual tirade to Sakura again, who has gotten used to his insults but still exasperated from his usual act of mocking her, everyone noticed that the tirade is different in terms of volume. More specifically, he did not shout Sakura's ears off. That being said, he never hesitated to press his elbow to her nose and make waving motions with his arm for emphasis as he spoke.
Quirking an eyebrow over this slight change, Kakyoin speaks up to him. "Huh... I expected you to raise your volume up when you mocked Sakura again. I would prefer it if you didn't but I can't help but notice it."
"Hehehe, well…" Kotaro lets out a chuckle to Kakyoin, wearing a sheepish smile as he says, "I am already aware you do not want me to shout my lungs out to the point you are almost deafened by my voice. Not to mention, you and your buddies may retaliate against me if I did it once more. In fact, your Stand using buddies are glaring in my way."
Turning to his right, Kakyoin sees their glares directed at Kotaro in response to his mockery of Sakura. Even if he didn't shout, they felt his tirade was totally unneeded.
"…Well, at least you are showing restraint," Kakyoin shrugged. "If you continue being your obnoxious self, I would say enough is enough and personally restrain you until you know your place when we are here with you "
"Haaaaah? Me? Obnoxious?" Kotaro repeated the last word, cupping his ear as he appears offended. "I have you know, I can be a respectable gentleman under the right circumstances!"
"Oh yeah? As if you carry that 'respectable gentleman' of yours to the girls and us!" Narancia insinuated with a glare.
Promptly ignoring him, Kotaro turns next to Lily and asks, "How about it, Lily? Are you enjoying the ride? Is that star of yours gonna start growing and glowing?"
"No!" Lily covered the star decoration with a frown.
"Huh~? Why not~? Huh~? Why for~?" Kotaro continues making fun of her, leaning his face close to her own. The kid has tears in her eyes as she averts her face from him. "It is not gonna get bigger~? How come~? It's going to be as big as the boulder in Kyoseki Park! Y'know~?"
"You're seriously freakin' her out, so give it a rest!" Saki exclaims to Kotaro, having not like him apparently insulting Lily for his own pleasure.
"The act of making a little girl uncomfortable should warrant a death penalty," Gyro darkly implied with a frown, hovering his hand over his holster. "You do not want me to do that on you so that I live up to the title you gave me, right Shades?"
…
…
…
"Teehee!"
Going back to the center of the basement, Kotaro has his hands on his hips as he begins announcing the topic of this meeting. "Listen up. Since you're zombies, you have to use anything you can to your advantage, including miracles. For you girls, the next step is to become a group that everyone in Saga, from elderly to little kids, knows about. That means community events, mini concerts, local TV... You're gonna be doing anything and everything."
"As for you boys, you will continue being the girls' bodyguards, accompanying them in every event I put them in. With Weather Report's passing, it appears the remaining enemy Stands will not be coming out to attack Franchouchou and Saga for now. My unknown friend sent me a letter earlier telling me what I said to you zombies. It's such a relief to hear it from him, I tell you that. We can all breathe easy no enemy Stands will cause us trouble for at least a month."
"Of course, I haven't forgotten about the ghostly woman sighted in Niji no Matsubara Pine Grove located not very far from here Zipper Man talked to me about," he brings up the topic about the eerie woman. "The way I see this, she has not made a move against you fourteen so far, so I believe we must not bother with it until further notice."
Everyone is pretty much happy and relieved to hear no enemy Stands will appear for a month. While they do have some reprieve between Stand fights, they are constantly worried and wondering when, not if, an enemy Stand appears to give them trouble. So to hear the remaining enemy Stands will not appear to attack them and Saga for maybe a month sounds like music to their ears. It is like someone's parents deciding to go easy on their children after seeing them being hardworking. While Franchouchou will work as hard as ever under Kotaro's orders and Rianima continue being the girls' bodyguards for every event they will tackle on, they should all relax for now after being in danger every time an enemy Stand appears.
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen!" Kotaro announced next. "It's time to go on the offensive!"
In the following days, Franchouchou joins in every event and concert Kotaro can get his hands on, capitalizing on the idol group's mounting popularity to make them household names in the entire prefecture. While mini concerts are pretty much standard for Franchouchou, Kotaro does not pass up any opportunities to have them appear in more events, such as Ureshino Onsen Summer festival where they use traditional Japanese instruments like shamisen and taiko drum to bring with them the spirit of tradition and their very style typical for such a bizarre idol group like them.
Their bizarreness will not leave them anytime soon when during one event, Franchouchou tries pulling Tae off the leg of someone wearing a kappa mascot suit. Kakyoin, Bucciarati and Narancia came in to assist them and succeeded, only for Tae to start biting Narancia's leg next. As the impending chaos continues, the rest of Rianima tries to assure the stunned audiences that it is just a quirk of Number Zero and they should not worry about her odd behavior. Thankfully, they do not seem to mind as it only added to Number Zero's reputation as a wild card.
Franchouchou and Rianima are so focused on placating the audiences and removing Tae off Narancia that they do not notice the massive man standing behind a pole, looking at Franchouchou with curious and hopeful eyes. One that is directed at Number Six.
"All right, we're going to move on to the photo session."
Kotaro announces to the fans after Franchouchou's mini concert has finished. He came up stage holding a mic to announce what many fans have been hoping for, as part of further extending Franchouchou's appeal to many people of all ages.
As the fans cheer, Kotaro adds a notice regarding Number Four's situation during meet-and-greets going forward starting this day. "For Number 4, we will be offering these signed glamour shots instead," he shows five pictures of Junko to the fans, three of which show her practicing holding a water bottle as a makeshift mic, Tae biting her hair much to her dismay and another one showing her sitting on a couch.
"Also, please be aware that touching the members of the group is strictly prohibited," he warned. "I hope you can follow that, otherwise you will answer to the bodyguards that are dutifully watching over the girls and you all."
Whether the fans are respectful for the girls' privacy or feeling fearful of the ｢menacing｣ bodyguards walking around the lines as they keep watch over them, the meet-and-greet goes off to a decent start. Kotaro and Bucciarati stand on the stage so they can see the queue better while the girls sans Junko attend to every fan who wish to see their favorite Franchouchou idols.
After a picture is finished processing in a camera, Sakura gives the picture to Lily, who happily marches to her spot where her fans are waiting. She is quite happy that Franchouchou has been doing well for the past few days. This good fortune must have come forth due to the successful concert in Saga Rock and Kotaro is keen on making the most of it to boost their popularity and Saga in return. They have Avdol to thank for divining their fortune using tarot cards and concluded that they will be granted good fortune, which is commissioned by Kotaro and see if his fortune telling pedigree is not a joke. The Egyptian was determined to prove him wrong, feeling insulted.
As she's about to keep watch over her bandmates, her smile turns into a frown when Saki walks up to her with concerned face and says, "Hey, trouble just walked up!"
"Trouble?" Curious of what trouble they will be having, Sakura moves her eyes only to see a colossal man that towers over all fans, including Avdol and Bucciarati*, walking to one of the queues. "Uwaaah! He's so huge!" She stated in awe.
"That dude's gotta be a yak," speculated Saki.
"A yak?"
"Maybe Shades got himself a shady loan and now this guy's here to collect."
"Eh?! So he's a debt collector?! A… yakuza!? W-Where is Kotaro-san and Bucciarati-san?" They turn to the stage, only to find the two are not standing there anymore.
"Oh great! They have run off!" Saki exclaimed. She expected this kind of thing from Kotaro not that she likes it, but Bucciarati? Where could he possibly go off to? Is there an emergency? No, that's not possible because there are no enemy Stands that Rianima should concern themselves with for now.
Worried for the intimidating man, Sakura turns her eyes back to him and sees he is standing behind an average man holding a card that says "Number Six, End of the Line. When he notices him, he gets scared by his intimidating size so he gives him the card and lets him take his place. "Hey look, the yak just got in line…" She told Saki.
"…Huh? That's… ｢shrimpy's line｣!" Saki realized.
"Maybe he's a fan of Lily-chan's? Sakura suggested.
"I wouldn't relax yet," Saki doubts that. "We're big enough to get into Sagazine now. Maybe the dude's here to kidnap shrimpy."
"Kidnap!?"
Oblivious to the two's conversation about the tall man who is next in line after the current fan talking to Lily is done speaking to her, Lily has her eyes closed with a smile as she listened to him ramble about their show being amazing and promising to see her and the girls in their next concert. Gyro, who is standing behind her and leaning against the wall, is glad to hear his words and that, so far, no one has touched the kid. He doubts that will happen because, well... She is the youngest among Franchouchou. Little does he know that statement will be proven wrong when the tall man walks close to Lily.
Whoa! This guy sure is packing beef in his bones! Gyro cannot help but praise him. Seeing he is taller than him, he feels envious that this guy must have either worked out to achieve his current body build or fortune has granted him a growth spurt in his youth. Or both. And he is checking on Lily, probably the cutest girl in all of Franchouchou. Well, I am not one to judge for his taste in music so...
Still showing her cute face, Lily introduces herself to the next person. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Number Six!" It is not until she opens her eyes does she see the intimidating man looming over her. Instead of being scared however, she is… perplexed and... surprised.
"Y-You… You are r-really…"
Without thinking, the man crouches to her height before reaching his big hands to touch her lithe body.
!
"What the hell do ya think you're doing, pal!?"
"Hey! Get your hands off her! ORA!"
Acting quickly, Gyro quickly spins a steel ball before he throws it to the man in point-blank range. The man sees it coming and catches it with his hands. But the ball didn't stop spinning, and before he knows it, he lets go of Lily when he notices his right arm going numb. "H-Huh? Arrrgh… What… is this?"
"Eeeeerrrrrr….RYYYYAAAAHHHHHH!" At the same time, Saki delivers a spinning kick to his face, sending him crashing to a large speaker.
ブォッギャア
"ARGHHHH!" He lets out in pain, releasing the steel ball from his hands which came back to Gyro. Whistling in approval of Saki's spin kick, he says, "Nice kick ya got there!"
"No time for celebrating yet, cowboy," Saki stated seriously, glaring at the man slumped against the speaker.
"Right, sorry. Can't help but compliment you," he follows her glare, feeling contempt of the man who dared touch Lily.
Instead of being disgusted of him, Lily has a look of sympathy, shock, and recognition directed at the massive guy. She tries taking a step forward only to be stopped by Sakura and Kakyoin, who was watching nearby when it happened. "Come with me, Lily-chan!"
"But… th-that's…" Lily tried telling them but the two escorts her to the backstage with the intent of telling Kotaro and Bucciarati.
As for the fans, most of them are wondering what just happened but they are enamored by Gyro's quick response and strange spinning ball and Saki's strong spin kick that seems to knock the offender unconscious, if not, then dazed.
"That girl is scary. I think that dude's dead," The lanky metalhead commented.
"That is what I love about Number 2! Must be nice being a fan of her," His chubby friend complimented with a smile.
After Sakura and Kakyoin escorted Lily to safety, who is conflicted over what happened, they both tell Junko and Bucciarati, who are having a pleasant conversation in the backstage, that a suspicious man touched Lily, prompting Gyro and Saki to stop him. They relayed this to Kotaro after he is done using a restroom, drying his hands with towel. He is quite agitated that his rule has been broken.
This reaction extends to everyone who came over to the backstage after they dragged the man for questioning. In particular, Tae is growling at the intimidating man, Kakyoin has his arms folded with a frown and glare, Narancia is eager to point his switchblade to him but Bucciarati forbids him, and Gyro stands next to him, steel ball prepared to be thrown against his head if he shows any hint of defiance in his decision to break the rule again. Kotaro is present, leaning against a wall as Ai and Saki have it out for the harasser. Also, Yugiri, Lily, Junko, Johnny, Avdol and Mamezuku stand behind a partially closed door, eavesdropping so they know why he touched Lily.
Lily, however, already knows why.
"Y'know no touching is allowed, pops!"
"…I'm sorry," The man has a decency to apologize. "She just… looks so much like…"
"Looks like who?" Gyro quirks an eyebrow in suspicion.
"…Seven years ago, there was a child star who used to be on TV a lot… ｢Her name is Lily Hoshikawa｣."
Everyone except Lily, Tae and Kotaro are surprised. They did not expect it will happen today that someone recognizes one of them and visits them to see if they really are what they thought to be someone they know. They knew this was coming many months ago, so it's just a matter of time before their loved ones recognize the idols and bodyguards suspiciously looks like someone they know who died many years ago, but still, it happened sooner than they thought.
Later that night, the zombies are getting ready to sleep. Despite that, what Takeo Go said to them reveals a possibility that someone they know will recognize that they must be the same man or woman who died so early, or at the very least, sees the similarities or coincidences.
This fact is brought up by Ai. "What happened to Lily could happen to any of us. Especially for myself and Junko."
"You're right…" Junko agreed. "Even if our names aren't public, it is a cause for concern."
"It's a shame how having a job that puts you on display is as dangerous as it's ever been…" Yugiri lamented.
"Aaahhhhhhhh…!" Not liking what she is hearing from them, Saki lies down on futon with her hands behind her head. "Damn it, what a drag! I ain't sure if you boys are lucky we don't share the spotlight with you all but, judging from the looks on your faces… You're worried that someone you know might recognize you, right?"
Letting out a sigh, Kakyoin nods, saying, "Tatsumi-san may try not to let us have the attention even if we do have few fans because we are affiliated with you girls, but I have a feeling that even with Tatsumi-san's best, there will come the time when someone Avdol and I know will visit Saga and find us."
"While I do not deny such a possibility," Avdol remarked. "The last thing I want is for Polnareff, Jotaro and Mr. Joseph to see me and Kakyoin as zombies, which is if Mr. Joseph is still living in his advanced age. We do not want the Speedwagon Foundation to be involved in our affairs."
"Speedwagon Foundation?" Yugiri repeated, having heard the name for the first time.
"Oh. It's an influential organization founded in 1910 that dedicates itself to medical research and environmental conservation that has members from many countries working to make our world a better place," Ai answered, having search the organization's name and learned about what it is and what they do. "These members include physicians, archaeologists, attorneys and field agents. I heard that their assets and technologies are some of the most advanced ever since its conception."
"Interesting." Mamezuku stated with a curious expression.
"They are not the only jobs Speedwagon Foundation works for," Avdol interjected. "One branch is focused on containing supernatural occurrences with the help of the Joestar family, which as you may know, have ties to it ever since Jonathan fought against Dio and Robert E. O. Speedwagon witnessed their fights as Jonathan's friend. As such, the organization helped our team many times during our journey to Egypt."
"That includes doing surgery to my damaged eyes caused by an enemy Stand made out of water. It's why I have these two scars. If not for the best doctors available, I would be completely blinded." Kakyoin added.
"Oh, yikes," Saki winced. "I bet it hurt like hell."
"Going back to the possibility someone we know might recognize us," Bucciarati brings everyone back to the topic. "I predict Giorno will personally go visit Saga once he finds out Narancia and I are revived from the dead. I could only imagine his reaction when he sees us."
"I bet Mista, Trish and even Fugo could be tagging along as they fly over Japan," Narancia says about his old friends. "I wonder if they will be happy, sad or mad that we were revived without our consent. Especially since Abbacchio is not with us."
"Don't forget Polnareff, Narancia," replied Bruno. "I believe he would get here when he hears Kakyoin and Avdol become zombies."
The aforementioned two look at Bruno and Narancia in surprise when they mentioned Polnareff's name. They… They couldn't have misheard them. Did these two former gangsters of Passione encountered Polnareff? If so, how did it go? And what happened to him? They want to know how he is doing nearly thirty years after their deaths.
Before they can respond back, Sakura notices that Lily is taking a long time outside. "Hey, isn't Lily-chan late coming back from washing up?"
"Hm, you are right," said Johnny. "I remember her reaction when we hear from the muscular man that he thought she was someone he knows. She must have been surprised to see him again. If she is taking a long time, I believe she won't be because she wants to sort her feelings about her encounter with him."
"Well, I think we should find her," Gyro stands up, rotating his left shoulder in preparation of finding her. "Poor kid needs someone to talk to, or if not, then someone to accompany her. I'm dreading to think she is anything but happy."
"I must find her as well," Yugiri stands up too. "She must be alone as we speak."
"I'll join with you two!" Sakura volunteered.
"Might as well have my part. I'm in," Johnny, with slight improvement to his leg muscles, stands up almost without his cane.
With the party assembled, the four goes out the living room, leaving Kakyoin and Avdol to tell Bucciarati and Narancia about their encounter with their old friend with Saki, Ai, Junko and Mamezuku listening.
When they find her not in the bathroom after she apparently washed off her makeup, the four believes that Lily could have went outside so they walk out the mansion. Their guess is correct as they found Lily sitting all by herself on a playground slide, looking down.
"So this is where you are, Lily-han," Yugiri called out.
"Oh? Yugiri-san, Sakura-san?" Lily turns to them, noticing Johnny and Gyro accompanying them too. "Johnny-san and Gyro-san, too."
"We were surprised when you weren't in the bathroom over by the faucet," Sakura says to Lily.
"Don't go outside all by yourself without having any of us with you, especially when you don't have makeup," Johnny lightly scolds her. "You could make us worry sick if you were suddenly gone like that."
"Sorry. I just… need to be alone with my… thoughts for a while," Lily replied, closing her eyes with the same downcast look.
"Lily-chan…" Sakura looks at her with a sympathetic look.
"Everyone, that man from this morning…"
"Hey, I already said sorry!" Gyro believes Lily might be giving him a cold shoulder for attacking the man, even if it's for justified reasons. "How should I know that was someone you know that was holding you?"
"Gyro-san, it's okay. I forgive you. I understand why you and Saki-chan attack him because you don't know him," Lily assures him.
"Err, well… If you say so then... Okay. Good to know you do not hate me because of that." Gyro chuckles, feeling himself silly for believing Lily will not forgive him.
"As I was about to say before Gyro-san interrupted me, about the man this morning… That's my ｢actual pappy｣."
"Pappy?" Johnny parroted.
"Huh!? You mean… the yak?" Sakura exclaims in shock.
"The who?" Lily and Yugiri looks at her in confusion.
"He was... your father?!" Gyro feels guilty again when he realizes he attacked her father.
"…Y-Your father was freaking huge!" Number One gestures by tracing a circle with both her hands, expressing her disbelief that Lily is the son of Takeo, the massive, muscular man.
"I take more after my mommy," she told them, before glancing down with a sad look. "I didn't even think he'd ever show up…"
"You didn't?" Yugiri asked.
"…To be honest, I was trying to forget about him… But pappy… It was just the two of us, see? But I was never lonely. I knew that Mommy was looking down on us from the sky. And we had a TV. In fact, he really loved TV! He said it was great to watch it with someone... He always talked about how much fun it was to laugh and cry alongside someone. He'd always make me sit next to him! He could be so silly, but I loved seeing how much he enjoyed TV. That's why I thought 'It'd be great if I could make him smile from inside the TV."
As she narrates her past, Lily remembers the times when she was with her father, being happy by each other's presence. They would eat on a table with Lily's favorite condiments like ketchup and mustard next to her plate, watch TV together, sharing a laugh about the funny moments shown on the screen and one time, Lily sees her pappy crying after watching a sad scene. All of these memories... They gave her a sense of happiness and nostalgia. One that serves also to make her sad over the times lost.
Sakura is sitting next to her as Lily continues telling them about her backstory, with Yugiri, Johnny and Gyro standing beside them. "When I signed up for a children's talent agency, he quit his job to be my manager. So he was always with me when there was work. I was cute and great at acting from the start, so every show I was in turned into a magical hit!" She was smiling when she said that, but that turned into a somber face. The four guess that this is the part where everything goes wrong in Lily's life. "But… right when I was at the top, it happened…"
"It… happened?" Yugiri repeated, moving closer to her to comfort her, urging her to continue even if it is painful to remember it.
"｢Masao｣! Open the door! They need you to get the show moving!"
"No! I'm not coming out!"
Throwing her stuff toys to the door, Lily hugs a pillow close to her with an angry look as she ignores her pappy calling for her to come out. They are having an argument regarding Lily's part in a TV show.
Standing before her door, Takeo's head rises past the height of the door as he tries to make her daughter come out. "It's fine. That part's not going to show on TV.
"You only care about me when I'm on TV!" Lily insinuates. "You don't worry about the ｢real me｣!"
"Of course I do!" Takeo trieed reassuring her. "A little leg hair isn't a big deal! It just means you're growing up a little."
"I am never growing up!" She throws her pillow at the door in anger.
"You can't look like that forever."
"Lily can, too!" She retorted, looking at the mirror showing her cute, little form. Turning to the door, she finishes her argument with her Pappy by exclaiming, "I don't want to look like you, Pappy! YOU DUMMY!"
Now getting angry, Takeo shouts, "Masao! A lot of people are really looking forward to this show! Now, open the door!" He starts pounding against the door, hoping Lily can listen.
Unfortunately, Lily does not as she continues looking at herself on a tall mirror. "I'm never gonna grow up…" She wishes her statement to be true. She wants to be cute, little, and happy forever, never growing up like her father. To her, this is proof that her deceased mother lives on through her appearance and she wants to keep it that way, as part of her real self and her wanting to live on as her mother.
However, Lily notices something on her face. "Huh? Do I have some food stuck to my face?" She moved her hand to it to clean it off, but when it didn't, she proceeds to tug it.
She realizes, to her shock and horror, that it is a single piece of facial hair growing on her pretty face. Something that she is dreading and does not want to happen on her cute face.
"A-A-Aaahh... Hai… Hai… Hai… Hai…" Feeling her chest starting to get heavy as her body shakes in pain, she lets out one last word to the living world. "HAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrr...!"
And with that, Lily falls backwards to the cold hard floor with her eyes and mouth open after her heart gave out from the stress of her work and finding out she is growing up into something she does not want. Her star decoration detaches from her hair, symbolizing the death of a star.
Hearing her shout of fear, Masao kicks the door open and goes in to find her daughter lying on the floor, motionless. Fearing the worst, Takeo kneels before her and clutches her gently. He does not want to believe it. He refuses to believe it. Her daughter… Her only daughter and link to his deceased wife… She… She was gone…
Gone from this world…
On top of that, the last time they ever communicated is through an argument that supposedly ended up straining their relationship. Because of that, Lily Hoshikawa died on bad terms with her pappy…
"Masao! MASAOOOOOOOO!" He cries out in anguish, which is unfortunately unheard by Lily.
"That was the last time I saw him," Lily finished telling her story to the four.
Their reactions vary, but hearing Lily's story and how it ended badly through an argument with her father before she suffered a heart attack is nothing short of tragic. Her story ends up hitting too much close to home from Johnny and Gyro, both of which had an argument with their father that is also the last time they ever see from them. While Johnny is fortunate that his once-abusive father apologized for his treatment of him when he was child and made up during the last leg of the race, Gyro died before his body was delivered back to the Kingdom of Naples. Johnny can only guess what their reaction was once they find him dead.
So a heart attack killed her... Lily shouldn't have gone under too much stress for someone too young like her, Gyro said his piece in his thought. I wonder… will my father sees me as a decent successor if I continued the duties of the Zeppeli family back then? Does he... loved me even if our jobs take precedence above sense of sentimentality? I may never know…
"Uh… Sorry, Lily-chan…" Sakura started speaking because she is confused of one thing. "I'm having trouble keeping up here… Who was this Masao guy you started mentioning partway through?"
"Ah, right. I thought this was your story, Lily," Gyro agreed with Sakura. "I was confused when your father called you by that name. From the sound of it, it sounds like a guy's name. Can you tell us why you were called that?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"That was my ｢old name｣." Lily revealed.
"…Oh." Sakura and Gyro seem satisfied of her answer… until they realize the implications behind it.
"W-W-Wait, WHAT!?" Sakura exclaimed in surprise.
"Lily-han… Are you… Are you saying…?" Yugiri tried to say something as she looks at her in shock.
"You were… actually… born as…?" Johnny speaks up with wide eyes.
As for Gyro, he's… a little dramatic about his surprise.
"OHHHHHHHHHH! MYYYYYYYYYY! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! ! ! ! ! !"
To be continued
I already imagined the ending of this chapter when I first started writing the very first chapter. It is a fitting reaction for such a surprising reveal and in typical style of JoJo. And knowing Gyro's personality, I already chose him to shout the classic "OMG!" from Joseph.
Anyway, how did I do writing this chapter that adapts episode 8? Are the characters written within their personalities or out of character? Do you like the new additions and changes done? Hope I can do the reveal justice in this chapter and the next. Oh, and please leave a review and constructive criticism so I can see how I can improve my writing for the future chapters. I would appreciate it if you did.
*Takao Go's official height is 220cm tall. While he towers over Bucciarati and Avdol, who are both 185cm and 188cm respectively (and making Avdol the tallest zombie overall, including Kotaro), he is 25cm taller than Jonathan, Joseph during his prime and Jotaro! (The three JoJos are 195cm tall)