Living Things (OLD VERSION)

by Yujin Zone

JJBA/ZLS/PM crossover: One man from Saga has revived seven girls as zombies to 'save' his prefecture by making them idols. But when danger comes knocking as supernatural manifestations of one's psyche, seven men with similar powers are revived too as the idols' bodyguards, leading them to a bizarre adventure like no other. (PLANNING TO GO BACK AND UPDATE AS I SHOULD'VE DONE BEFORE)

34. Linkin Park Part 4

Here's the 34th chapter everyone! We will see where Sakura, Kotaro and Romero ended up in and what they are doing during Rianima's fight against Xero fist before their main enemy shows up in front of the reassembled group. Also, the unknown character who had appeared many chapters ago and properly introduced 3 chapters ago will show up near the end.

However, before we can start reading, I must say this regarding what will happen in the end of this chapter: one of the zombies will get mortally wounded thanks to Xero. They will not be dying anytime soon however, so please don't worry if they will be removed from the story.

With all of that said, let us proceed!

---

Sunglass-covered eyes glared at a frost-covered tree found on yet another dead end. He has had enough of only finding trees every way he goes and seeing another one is threatening to make him blow his fuse.

"nnnnnnNNNNGAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH DARN IT ALLLLL! ! ! What is up with these TREES!? Why do they keep on REPEATING wherever we GOOOO!?"

Kotaro is at his wit's end, his mouth twitching and his hair frizzled after running his hands through it in irritation. He looks around for an umpteenth time at the dense rows of trees that were seemed determined to obstruct his way and confuse the hell out of him.

He's not alone on being so irritated for the past seven and a half minutes that someone is almost losing it. Standing behind him, Sakura is frowning heavily due to the lack of progress in finding a way out of the seemingly endless trees, which in her frustrated mind makes her believe the trees are all openly mocking her because they've been walking around in circles and only encountering these annoying trees.

"I don't know," she sighed, clearly exasperated. "Ask the trees…"

"Oh reeeeeallyyyyy?" Kotaro turned to her with the right end of his mouth twitching that barely hides his brewing frustration. "Receive some wisdom from these oxygen-producing organisms? If we ask them how do we get out, will they speak? Do they have two eyes and a mouth to see us and have a conversation with us? As you clearly see, they DON'T, so don't bother asking them!"

Sakura has a deadpan look directed to him before replying, "…I was being sarcastic. I thought you would see that coming from a guy who likes to speak in sarcasm."

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Oh you're trying to be very funny Sakura-chan~? I'm sure you are~" bellowed Kotaro, his laughter not hiding the sneering tone. He then moves his face close to Sakura's, who flinched but otherwise remained her irate look, and exclaims this, "Since when did you started becoming sarcastic as me, huh?!"

Not feeling like coming up with a retort, Sakura turns her face off him with a huff, changing focus to Romero diligently sniffing the ground as Kotaro told the zombie dog to increase the chances of getting a way out of this maze-like trees. Or it's not too inaccurate to say it is a maze.

"Hey! Don't be so rude as to leave me hanging here, Sakura-chan! …HEY! Are you listening to me!?

Ignoring him, Sakura continues walking in the direction Romero is running in after he's finished sniffing and yelled out a bark to let the two know before embarking.

"We will waste more time if we bicker more, Kotaro-san," said Sakura with her back facing him, not entertaining the idea of turning back to him. "Let's keep moving. Who knows? Maybe we might find an exit at long last, or Romero is the one who finds it first. Or better yet, the three of us either find our friends after we got separated from them thanks to the snowstorm."

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fist in more irritation, Kotaro wanted to rebuke Sakura, but he sees no point in prolonging their quarrel born out of disgruntlement over getting lost within these sea of trees that they have no idea on how did they get here. With a grumble, he forced himself to calm down, replying with this, "Fine! Let us see how long we can keep this up until one of us lose it!"

"Says the guy who's close to losing it…" muttered Sakura, ignoring Kotaro for real as she follows Romero. The producer followed not soon after, grumbling all the way.

It is obvious that the two don't like to be in this predicament any longer, nor do they asked to spend the seven and a half minutes walking in the maze of trees that has been created somehow after a blizzard engulfed them and Romero and put them here, away from Franchouchou and Rianima. After they panicked in confusion (more so for Kotaro), knocking a small tower of stones near a tree as a result, the two calmed themselves down after reminding themselves that panicking will not help their predicament. As they stated earlier, the location they are in has many trees hoisted around them and its fellow kind; too close for comfort that it's appropriate to say that dense trees occupy the snow-covered narrow path they soon walked along. Also of note is frostbite or hoarfrost covering the barks, branches and leaves of the trees, possibly as a result of the blizzard earlier. They found out they are covered in it after Romero licked them for some reason and getting his tongue stuck, which they immediately pulled him off (and inadvertently detaching his tongue, but that is not problem for a zombie dog, thankfully).

Their next action is clear after they gathered their bearings: march down the path laid out by the dense trees to return to their friends. Kotaro has a hand-drawn map in him but it doesn't help them much in discerning their current location but hopefully it should do its job of tracing their steps and heading toward an exit out of this maze. However, one and a half minute of walking later, they come across a dead end, the first of the many dead ends that came to plague them. They were confused at first, but they immediately turned around and go in the other direction. Another minute hasn't even passed and a second dead end stops them. "Our eyes or minds are playing tricks on us! Stay vigilant Sakura-chan and Romero!" Kotaro said to them before they go in another direction…only to find a third dead end twenty-seven seconds later.

And so, in the span of seven and a half minutes, added by yet another two minutes totaling to nine, Sakura, Kotaro and Romero came no close to either getting out of the maze of trees or encountering even just one of their friends. It didn't take long before one of them except the studious zombie dog is close to losing it as the frost-covered trees are the only scenery they will have to see in those span of minutes. At this point, they're getting used to seeing trees all around them with no exceptions in between, even with the presence of stones, fallen twigs, and of course, snow. Also, evening has blanketed the mountains, giving them an idea of what time it is. This does not bode well for them at all since they're not making any progress as the trees and dead ends greet them every way they go.

Eventually, Sakura and Kotaro have to rely on Romero's sense of smell to detect one of their friends' scent. They hope he can do a better job than them, trusting the dog's potent smell, at least that's what Kotaro bragged about since he has Romero as a pet before the start of his ambitious project.

クンクン クンクン クンクン クンクン

They've been following Romero for a minute and since he needs to sniff the ground for a long while to properly catch anyone's scent, he's taking his time tracking the scent. Kotaro urgently but lightly prodded Romero to sniff faster, and the dog did. This continues for forty-six seconds until they come across at yet another, and dreaded, row of three trees blocking their current path. Romero looks up to the trees for a moment before he looks down with a whine because he tracked the wrong scent or lost it.

Hearing him dismally whining, Kotaro crouches down and run his hand across Romero to try calming him down. "Hey, hey, it's alright. You did your best trying to aid us in finding the others," he said with a gentle smile. "If weren't for this stupid dead end, you might have succeeded where we failed."

As the producer continues comforting Romero, Sakura looks around again in vague hope that there must be an opening they implausibly missed while they were following Romero. Her earlier consternation is replaced with a mounting anxiety and worry that if they kept this up for an hour later, she's convinced that somehow, she, Romero and Kotaro are truly lost in these dense maze of woods, far from Kakyoin, Saki, Ai, Junko and everyone else. She didn't want to believe it at first after they came across five dead ends, but witnessing Romero failing or losing his scent of others is pushing her to believe it is quite likely they are well and truly lost.

What do we do? How are we supposed to get out of these twisting paths? She paced back and forth, her hands on her head in a bid to calm her racing mind down. She thinks she will be the first one to lose it after many minutes have passed. Related to that, what is up with these place? How does it keep changing the position of the trees and pathways when we weren't looking? Could it be… is someone deliberately changing the layout of this place? But wait, that's impossible! Unless…

She looks up with a gasp. How did she realize this so late? Of course it has become obvious in hindsight considering the shifting layout of the maze, not to mention the sudden snowstorm that engulfed and separated them away from their friends. It's the work of an ｢enemy Stand｣! She concluded… then looks down with an unsure look as she rubs her temple. Um so… how does that help? I've yet to awaken to my own Stand and Kakyoin, Narancia and others are not with us, so it's unlikely they can take care of the enemy Stand. Ohhhh what do we do…? This is starting to feel hopeless.

Before she can sulk in near hopelessness and feeling powerless because she doesn't have a Stand yet, something unexpected happened right not only before her eyes, but to Kotaro and Romero as well…

ガシャァァンッ!

The maze of crowded maze of trees, in an inexplicable way and for a lack of better word to describe what happened, shattered into shards and particles before evaporating into nothing.

"Huh!?" Sakura exclaimed, flinching in surprise.

"What the!?" Kotaro similarly blurt out, standing up quick with Romero in his hands.

With the dense trees fully gone, Sakura and Kotaro find themselves standing in the middle of the barren pathway between trees, though this time, they're not cramping the pathway and situated so close to each other. In other words, they're back in Mt. Tenzan's hiking path.

The two stand in one spot wide-eyed and surprise to have witnessed the location literally smashed into pieces before they disintegrate without fanfare. Then Kotaro snaps out of his surprise with a laugh. "Ha ha ha ha! We're finally back here! Don't know what the heck happened that caused the maze we got dumped into to shatter like glass, but I ain't complaining! Oh sweet merciful freedom! I believe my simple thank you is not enough to express my gratitude from freeing me, Sakura-chan and Romero out of the labyrinthine trees!" In his hands, Romero pants with his tongue out, his tail wagging as a sign he's also happy like him.

While Kotaro is happy to be freed at last, Sakura remained bewildered over the background suddenly shattering before her eyes. She is glad they're not stuck in that place anymore, but that doesn't mean she's exempt from expressing puzzlement over the how and why.

"W-What…? I-I don't… I mean, that's, uhhhh…" Sakura stammered, unable to say anything to describe what she's feeling. She wanted to speak out loud, so with a shake of her head, she says this. "What just HAPPENED!?"

"Huh?" Turning to Sakura, Kotaro bears a look of confusion in his face, quirking an eyebrow over the bewildered zombie girl. He wonders why she's close to freaking out over the fact they were freed in a weird but beneficial way. Yeah sure it brought him questions over what caused it and why, but overall, he's not feeling like complaining and deem it as a miracle. With these in mind, Kotaro assumes a professional stance and replies with this, "You're asking that question when we're freed possibly by an outside intervention? You should be happy we're not stuck in that place anymore, perhaps for eternity which I'm not looking forward to and thankful it didn't happen to me specifically, just to let you know."

"Well… I mean yeah, you're right. I am happy we were freed," responded Sakura. "But with the way it suddenly happened, how can I not question it?"

Kotaro shrugs, having no ill will towards her reaction. "Hmm, couldn't blame ya."

"Arf, arf! Arf, arf!"

All of a sudden, Romero starts barking up a storm, shaking with excitement as he pants harder with an open smile. This brought Kotaro and Sakura's attention to him.

"Huh? Romero? What's up?" Kotaro asks him, wondering what's making him so riled up.

Unable to respond to him in words, the zombie poodle jumps off his hands, causing him to almost panic as he fumble his hands trying to catch him but failing, "Whoa whoa whoa! HEY!"

"Romero!" Sakura swoops in with her cupped hands, hoping to catch him before he hurts himself in the fall, only to fail.

Landing on the ground, Romero sticks his nose forward and sniffs the air, then sniffs the ground next. Sakura and Kotaro stared at him in confusion, until the latter realize what he's doing and the indication behind it.

"Oh! Romero! Are you… sniffing the zombies' scent many meters away from here? Have you… finally tracked them?"

"…Arf, arf, arf!" With three series of barks, Romero sprinted ahead, suddenly changing into its beast form, or at least their imagination is doing it to them so they see him like that.

Taking the dog running as a positive answer, Kotaro smiles, saying, "Guess he did ｢have｣ their scents! Alright! Time for us to move! We mustn't get too far from Romero! C'mon, move move MOVE!"

"I-I'm moving, I'm MOVING!" Sakura exclaimed almost exasperatedly as the two followed after Romero, hoping he did have their companions' scent and is running ahead of them to their position.

Two minutes later of following the zombie dog, Romero stops, planting his paws on the dirt. Seeing him stop also does the same to Sakura and Kotaro. They stared at him again, wondering why he stopped.

"Romero? What's wrong?" Sakura walked around him, planning to crouch down to his level. "Why did we stop?"

"Woof woof! Woof woof woof!" barked Romero, his tail wagging and his mouth panting as he walks forward to the approaching group a few meters away.

At the same time the group is approaching two figures and one animal in the distance not too far from them, they heard a dog's distinct bark, one that they are very familiar with.

"Huhhhhh?" Tae looks up after she heard it, looking at the animal walking up to her group. Upon seeing his stitched up skin and fur of varying hues of blue, Tae brings out a smile in recognition and possibly relief, shouting in response. "Aaahhhhh! Raaaa! Raaaaaaa! ! !"

Noticing her odd enthusiasm, they turn to where she's looking at and see Romero sitting before them after he stopped walking. Then they look up and see Sakura and Kotaro, who are approaching them next after seeing them.

Letting out a gasp, Kakyoin is the first one to speak up upon seeing them. "Sakura? Tatsumi-san?"

"Kakyoin… and everyone." Sakura similarly said.

After a moment of staring, the two once-separated groups exclaimed in happiness. They huddled up together, with Saki, Tae, Junko, and Lily hugging Sakura out of relief while Kakyoin, Avdol and Narancia stand next to them with smiles on their face, each letting out shouts of delight and joy that she's okay. The rest who didn't join them, Bucciarati, Johnny, Gyro, Mamezuku, Ai, Yugiri and Kotaro simply watched them with reactions of their own, but aside from a certain producer, they are all equally glad to be reunited with them.

"Sakura-san! Thank goodness you're okay!" Lily wailed, crying in happiness and concern for her friend.

"I'm glad we found you so soon Sakura-san!" Junko shared Number Six's feelings with a smile. "We thought we would be searching for you, Romero and Kotaro-san for longer!"

Saki pats her back after removing herself off her and telling the three to give her space, saying, "Don't go leaving us like that again, a'ight? Better yet, stick close to us next time if another sudden separation happened again."

"Mmmmppphhhffffff!" Tae muffled through her affectionate bite on Sakura's head, which is making her slightly uncomfortable. Avdol and Narancia pry her off before Kakyoin faces her with a relieved, but cautious smile. He didn't say anything and neither the two, but they look at her with their own smile, expressing what they're feeling to her. That goes too for the rest.

Seeing her bandmates and bodyguards display so much concern for her after they were forcibly separated over ten minutes ago, Sakura didn't feel like getting angry at them over Franchouchou's perceived negligence of rehearsing for the Arpino concert. In fact, that's been her main concern during the past ten minutes being stuck between too many trees. Thankfully, she's not gonna be looking at the other trees in contempt anytime since she suspects it's a work of an enemy Stand.

For now, she must say something to abate their lessening worry more. "Please calm down guys. Me, Kotaro-san and Romero are here and together now. Sorry for making you worry over where we could be in after we got separated by a snowstorm."

"It's alright, Sakura. We would say the same thing to you too." Ai remarked.

"And it's not like all of us expect the blizzard to happen," added Gyro. "It just… came out of nowhere and you three separated from us!"

"Hopefully, no more blizzard will struck us," Bucciarati hoped.

"AAAAAAHEEEM! ! !" Kotaro got everyone's attention to him with a loud clear of his throat. He's tapping his foot impatiently while everyone's busy prioritizing Sakura's well-being and ignoring him. He's the only human in this ragtag group, after all. "Are you all forgetting someone?" He reminded them with folded arms.

Unlike their jubilation to Sakura and Romero, everyone adopts an annoyed or blank looks when they turn to him, their smile turning into frown. Kotaro notices their less-than-enthusiastic expressions, causing him to exclaim, "Hey, what's with that looks you're giving me?"

"…Good to see you too, Shades," Johnny responded in a dull tone.

"I believe I can speak with everyone here that we're glad to see you, Sakura-han and Romero safe and sound," Yugiri interjected with a small smile to lift everyone's mood. "I hope you three weren't attacked while we were separated, right?"

"Attacked?" Sakura repeated. "Attacked by what?"

Guessing they weren't actually attacked based on their looks of confusion and Sakura's response, Bucciarati steps forward to explain to them what happened on their end. "I assume you weren't attacked at all, which is a bit of relief for us… and pretty lucky compared to us."

"I need a clear explanation so Sakura-chan and I really knows what's going on," Kotaro interjected, holding Romero in his left hand. "And with you stepping forward, I believe you're ready to explain, right?"

Bucciarati nods before he tells them what happened during their forced separation involving being confronted by Xero, the mastermind behind the attempts on killing them, and how he used the imagination-inducing Stand named Linkin Park to put up a vicious fight that was nearly skewed in his favor, his odd and interesting motive of wanting death to claim him by having any of Rianima attack his Stand which is a major weakness that puts him in extreme agony and dispels his power, and him, Kakyoin and Mamezuku finally killing him through strangulation. The others help fill the blanks between his long explanation, most of which came from Rianima since they're the ones who did the fighting.

"…And that's what happened," finished Bruno.

Sakura and Kotaro look at them in surprise that not only are they attacked so soon after they got separated thanks to the blizzard, but also the mastermind had finally came out of hiding to engage the seven Stand Users in a fight that he hoped would end with him killed while the six girls could only do nothing but watched the fight as spectators before becoming unwilling participants to the fight.

So I was right! I knew there was something off and strange about it and the location Kotaro-san and I got dumped into! Sakura thought. It's all the work of a Stand named ｢Linkin Park｣! Its power is based on imagination, meaning this ｢Xero｣ can change our position through his ｢mind｣ alone, and since he doesn't need to bring his Stand out to activate it as said by Bucciarati-san… Her eyes widen in fear over the numerous possibilities Xero can end the fight just from the use of imagination alone. She gulps, really glad she was exempted from encountering Xero. Oh dear… ｢Linkin Park｣ must be… powerful!

Pushing his sunglasses to his face, Kotaro responds to their explanation. "I see. After eight months, the perpetrator behind the enemy Stands sneaking around Saga and on your undead lives named, rather appropriately, ｢Xero｣, has showed up to fight you thirteen zombies…just so he can die by your hands?"

"That's… what Xero said," Kakyoin stated, clearly still confused over the main enemy's motive. "He also said that his death would benefit us and Saga Prefecture as a whole." Kotaro goes silent for a moment, possibly processing the info.

Then he says his next statement, or more like an opinion regarding Xero's motive for attacking Franchouchou and Rianima.

"…THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF SENDING ENEMY STANDS TO HUNT YOU ROTTING ZOMBIES DOWN IF HE WANTS TO DIE BY YOUR HANDS!? !?"

After shouting unexpectedly, causing Lily, Sakura and Kakyoin to cover their ears, Kotaro quickly calmed down before he continues in a critical tone. "If he wants to be killed by any of you seven Stand Users, then he should have come to us and straight up ask us! Was it so hard to put out a request!?"

Processing his words, Franchouchou and Rianima concede that Kotaro made a good point. If Xero's ultimate motive is to be killed, why did he went the length of sending out enemy Stands and have them attempt to take their second life? Back when they didn't know who Xero is and his motive, they assume that whatever he had planned for Saga, it's anything but good. With Rianima's experience in fighting evil Stand Users, they have expected that by the time they confront Xero, they would hear his motives involving either destroying them or Saga, or world domination. At least those motives make sense for sending enemy Stands to terrorize Saga and later try killing the zombies and has some logic behind Xero's actions before this fateful day when they found out his real motive.

With Kotaro bringing up the perceived obvious flaw behind Xero's actions with the knowledge of his actual motive, it doesn't add up or make sense. Thanks to him, they're seriously scrutinizing Xero's reasons for meeting them, on top of more contempt for the deceased enemy for Kakyoin, Narancia, Johnny, Saki, Ai, and Lily.

"Ummm… Maybe there's a reason why he didn't directly confronted us back when we're fresh off our awakenings?"

Everyone turns to the zombie who decided to express her opinion regarding Kotaro's observation and Xero's motive, which is Junko. Feeling their eyes boring on her, she meekly averts her gaze from their eyes as she quickly clarify her statement. "I-It's not like I'm defending Xero, and I do dislike him. I just… want to say my sentiment about why Xero may or may not have thought of directly facing us when Rianima has been formed."

Bucciarati puts his hand on her shoulder to calm her. "It's okay. Any opinion helps. Please say what you want to say to us."

With Bucciarati's encouraging words and nods from Ai, Sakura, Narancia, Avdol and Mamezuku, Junko conveyed her belief about Xero. "The reason why Xero didn't come to us when we were fresh off getting awakened by Kotaro-san… is because he may have wanted to ｢test｣ Rianima and help them ｢grow｣ to become a tight-knit group of Stand Users protecting Saga and its inhabitants… The twelve enemy Stands that attacked us, of which one of them kidnapped me," she lowered her voice when she came to that part, "must have assembled in Saga by Xero to hunt us down and engage four or all members at once to a fight that we could easily die in if we weren't careful."

"…You're saying Xero planted the enemy Stands some of us knew of for that purpose?" Mamezuku rubbed his chin.

Junko nodded. "Yes."

"Hmm, he did say something along those lines during the fight," Gyro remembered.

"Going by that logic, as loathe I am to concede it, Xero's actions against us did help us become a tight-knit group who has each others' back," remarked Narancia. "Aside Bucciarati, I was distrusting of you all especially Shades due to being revived without my permission and generally being unfamiliar from the start. But eight months later, I am okay with you all and wouldn't have liked it any other way," he smiled at the end.

Smiling at his response, Junko clears her throat to get everyone's attention back. "Well… This is only my opinion. I'm not sure if I am right unless we hear it from him," she reminded. "Though with Xero dead, we may never learn the truth. Anyway, that's my belief guys."

After Junko finished talking, everyone turn to each other as they process her words. If what Junko said is true, or has some grain of truth in it, then it gives out a reason why Xero didn't plan on taking them all on so soon after he learns they were awakened to consciousness. Then remembering Linkin Park's ability in mind and how it can be so powerful if Xero played his cards right, there is a possibility he could end their undead lives before they can properly start. Of course this is true if Xero didn't chose to send twelve enemy Stands to them and sit back in the background as his underlings did his job, be it killing them or emboldening their strength and resolve for the coming confrontation with him and also, he chooses to go all out with his imagination to quickly take them out before they can exchange some words with him.

Taking all these as a whole, Franchouchou, Rianima and Kotaro have understand Xero's possible reason over why he didn't directly face them so soon and let the enemy Stands harass them until this fateful day. As much they are glad he didn't went that route however, they're still mad at him for not doing his plan immediately if he did want to be killed by Rianima. Their anger is not as pronounced this time around, so their rational side didn't got overtaken.

The same can't be said for Kotaro though. He wants to say more, even opening his mouth but after considering it, he decides it's not worth it so he shuts his mouth.

"Well!" He exclaimed next, clapping his hands together. "Regardless of our thoughts or opinions over Xero's motive and reasoning over why he did that but didn't do that, I believe I can confidently say that, after seven months, Rianima has accomplished their main mission! Which is to eliminate the ｢perpetrator｣ causing trouble in my beloved prefecture and you fourteen walking decaying corpses, in case you may have forgotten!"

"We didn't," Saki deadpanned.

"With the main threat of Saga gone," continues Kotaro. "All we gotta worry now is you girls needing to go home fast and get some rehearsing done after being stuck in the wilderness for a week! Rianima should take it easy from now on as their remaining job is to be Franchouchou's bodyguards. It will be somewhat sad that your Stands won't see use now that our main enemy is gone, but I hope you ain't complaining."

Agreeing with Kotaro when he said they need to rehearse, Sakura lets out a sigh and says her piece to her fellow zombies. "Kotaro-san is right. We had really overstayed our place here thanks to Xero. We need to go home ASAP," she starts walking in the opposite direction without letting them respond. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Wait! Before we go home," Avdol stopped her and Kotaro from walking away. "We must dispose Xero's corpse that we left behind in our haste to find you three."

"Urgh, do we have to do it?" Exasperatedly replied Sakura, tapping her foot in impatience.

"I know you've been itching to rehearse soon Sakura," remarked Ai, who is not liking her current behavior. "But his corpse shouldn't be lying out in the open for other passerby to come across. The last thing we want is them reporting a corpse to the police."

"It won't take long, I promise," Avdol said more. "And besides… this is your and Tatsumi's only chance to see the one who fought against us. You two are curious to see him, right?"

After thinking about it, they decide to capitulate. Kotaro agrees with Avdol's recommendation of disposing the corpse possibly through burning it, as that would decrease the chance of others learning the existence of zombies, whereas Sakura believes it is pointless to argue with them because it will prolong their stay and lose precious time to rehearse.

Oh, and like Avdol said, they are curious to see him too, even though he's dead.

"Fiiiine. Take us to his corpse," Sakura finally said.

Before everyone can disembark, they heard a certain zombie growling.

"Grrrrrrrrr…"

Turning to Tae, who has her attention focused somewhere away from them when Junko expressed her opinion, the group notice her looking at something in front of her.

"Tae-san?" Lily quizzically said.

She's not the only one who's growling, as Romero, who jumped off Kotaro's hands again, stride next to her before joining her in emitting a growl at something that they possibly see as a threat.

"Grrrrrr… Bark, bark, bark!" Romero's growl changed into barking as someone stepped off the rift floating in mid-air, grunting as they did so.

Curious of what are they growling at, they step forward to their position before looking at the figure closing the rift, leaving no trace of it in the air.

! !?

"Huh?" Sakura and Kotaro looked at him in confusion, their reactions paling in comparison to the others' wide-eyed shock.

"WHAT!?"

Except for those two, everyone's breathing hitched in disbelief, puzzlement, and most of all, fear over the person standing five meters away with his clothes being wrinkled, in tatters and stained almost entirely in his blood.

Speaking of his blood, they drip out from his wounds, forming a small puddle near his feet that slightly freezes from cold air. Even if his grievous injuries are aching, he's not giving in as he keeps standing up whilst slouching.

"Hah… Hah… Hah…" Xero panted, raising his head up to look at them with a straining but near placid face.

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

Franchouchou and Rianima could only stand in shock looking at the man whom Mamezuku, Bucciarati and Kakyoin have killed somehow still alive and breathing. They… They must be imagining it. There's no way, and as in, no way, the injured man standing before them is capable of continuing living after his neck is crushed. A dented, bruised mark is visible around his neck indicating how he was killed, meaning there's no mistaking that Xero did had his neck snapped. Additionally, the thirteen zombies saw his body go limp when he was killed, his skin turning gray which is odd to see but they take it as a sign he's dead since they have discolored skin as zombies, and unmoving before they depart to find Sakura, Kotaro and Romero.

And yet, seeing his slouched form standing before their eyes, panting and likely in pain but otherwise breathing… They cannot bring themselves to deny what's in front of them. As much they don't like the only conclusion here and want to express their skepticism, they are forced to accept the sudden change of situation:

Xero is still alive.

As everyone continues staring in disbelief at Xero except Tae and Romero who continues glaring and baring their teeth at him, Sakura and Kotaro notice their silence and wide-eyed look. Couple that with their surprise and confusion over the injured person standing before them, they have to ask them.

"Guys, who is that man? And why is he covered in blood?" Sakura tried not to feel sick at the sight of his blood, even thinking of averting her eyes.

Before anyone can answer her, Kotaro beat them to it after he made an epiphany on looking at him and remembering their conversation earlier. "…Could it be? This injured man standing before us injured is… ｢Xero｣?"

Sakura turns to him in surprise. "Huh? Xero? You mean… the enemy they fought when we were separated from them because of him?"

"Yes. He's right Sakura," Ai confirmed, never moving her eyes off Xero under the belief he might have a trick under his sleeve she may miss if she did. "That is Xero, the enemy Kakyoin, Bucciarati-san and Mamezuku-san killed. Or at least, that's what we believe until we saw him standing in front of us."

?!

Ai's affirmation is suffice enough for Sakura and Kotaro to regard Xero with the same expressions as everyone is wearing. "W-What? That's… That's HIM!?" yelled out Sakura, blinking thrice over the sight of a supposed dead man barely clinging on to life.

"How… How in the hell is this Xero ALIVE?!" Kotaro wanted to know, disbelief evident on his face even with sunglasses on. "You said he was killed, right!? I can see a mark around his neck, meaning he must have died via strangulation!"

"That's what we three did," Kakyoin confirmed.

"And yet, you're telling us that Xero, by some mystifying means, was able to get on his two feet and found us in spite of the many injuries he got thanks to you seven!?" continued Kotaro. The way he's behaving in attempting to make sense of what is truly going on makes him appear like he's close to having a breakdown out of disbelief and skepticism. Shaking his head, he lastly says this, "Just who… or what is HE!?"

Nobody can answer him straight or respond with few statements that can help purge their bewilderment over Xero's mysterious recovery. With Avdol and Ai holding Tae and Romero to prevent them from charging at Xero, they all could only stare at him in silent disbelief, who also stared back at them as his panting slowly fades away after recovering his energy so that he's standing up straight instead of slouching. His injuries is still affecting him however, so he hasn't fully recuperated.

While everyone seems to be unable to think of something, one zombie girl who's the only one having makeup on realizes something. Blinking her eyes, she stared at Xero carefully, observing his appearances for a few seconds with narrowed eyes.

Wait… Is he the fan who regularly, and always, chooses me during our meet n' greet taking place after concerts? She goes wide-eyed again, letting out a silent gasp because she do recognize him in some way. Could it be… Xero was actually present from the ｢very start｣ and we didn't notice it until now?

Unaware of Sakura's internal discovery, their silent look continues for about a minute with no one making a move, not feeling the cold air lingering around them…

ドタァッ

…until Xero takes a step forward clumsily.

!

This snaps everyone out of their stupor, Sakura's included, and causes one of them to act immediately.

"AEROSMITH!"

ドグォォォオ

"Grahaak! ! !"

Xero coughs out a lot of blood when Aerosmith appeared out of Narancia and rammed straight into his gut. The plane's rotor blades immediately get to work cutting his gut open, spewing out more blood and tiny pieces of flesh from him. Agony couldn't begin to describe what he's feeling on top of the aching injuries he received when he let down his guard, and unfortunately, Narancia is not satisfied with that and done yet.

グオォォォ

After Aerosmith lifts up, carrying Xero along the way, Narancia proceeds to rain hell upon him.

スドドドドド

"VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA! ! ! VOLARE VIAAAAA! ! ! ! !"

Aerosmith lets go of Xero, who falls back to the ground with blood and bits of flesh gushing out of his belly, screaming in pain. "AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH! ! ! !"

ドグシャァァァア

Eyes trained on Xero's lying form without pity, Narancia lets out a huff of satisfaction as Aerosmith flies back to him. This time though, it didn't make a landing on his arms as it stays in its corporeal form floating besides its user. Narancia is not planning to dispel Aerosmith yet.

"…There. That should do it," Narancia said to the stunned zombies and Kotaro, with Sakura, Ai, Junko and Lily looking at the enemy's corpse after averting their eyes off him when they noticed flesh flying off Aerosmith's rotor after ramming into Xero's gut. "No way in hell this bastardo will get up after Aerosmith filled his body with lead. No one can survive taking in so many bullets, after all."

Now understanding why Narancia shot Xero up, they ease themselves up, feeling their tension abating, but not entirely. They look at Xero's still form lying on his own pool of blood. Such a sight makes the sensitive girls to blanch in disgust, even the hardened and calm girls like Saki and Yugiri. They have expected to see injuries when they are witnesses to Rianima's fight against enemy Stands, but the sheer brutality on display feels too much and shouldn't be understated.

"…Is he dead?" Kakyoin asks after few seconds of silence.

"Most likely he is," replied Narancia with one hand on his hip and one heel raised up. "As I said, no way in hell can he survive a blade and bullets cutting his stomach open. Even if he's an ordinary person, he's not immune to an injury like that."

"Well, just to be sure he stays dead…" Bucciarati glared at Xero's corpse intently before turning to Avdol. "Avdol, let's get close to him. Have Magician's Red out to burn the corpse."

"Understood, Bucciarati."

"Hey, I'm coming too!" Gyro chimed in. "Have to supervise the execution since I was an up-and-coming executioner."

The three steps forward to erase Xero forever. The others hang back and leave the work to them, content to be witness to an upcoming corpse burning. Being a living corpse themselves, it will definitely feel weird to witness a dead corpse going to be incinerated. Maybe they take it as a learning experience, though some like Junko and Lily are unsure if they want to watch or not. At least no one will blame them from choosing to not watch a corpse burn.

Once they are close to Xero, Bucciarati, Gyro and Avdol survey the damage done by Aerosmith to his stomach and chest. It's filled with bullet holes and slashing wounds, as well as blood filling and flowing out. If this was any other person, it would be a terrible sight. Then they look at his face, which has his eyes wide open and nearly rolled over and mouth agape with blood trickling out of his lips. Lastly, his limbs are spread out, similarly looking worse for wear.

After a short inspection, Gyro gives Avdol permission to burn Xero. "Alright Avdol. Please do your thing."

"With pleasure."

Calling out Magician's Red, the Stand generates a flame in its hands before moving close to the corpse. Avdol thought of increasing the fire's normal temperature a little in order to properly cremate the body, which was hot enough to burn a metal.

After considering it, Magician's Red then brings the sweltering fire close to his face…

…then Xero's eyes move to stare at the flame.

"Wha!?"

Alarmed and genuinely spooked out, Magician's Red return to Avdol as he, Bruno and Gyro hurriedly back away. Once they're a little far from Xero, they feel themselves panting out of fear with sweat trickling down their faces. They… They couldn't have imagine that, right? They saw Xero's eyes move to look at Avdol's fire that was about to incinerate his face. There's no way they can mistake that.

"Uhhh, yo! You three!" Saki peaks around them with a confused expression and noticing their agitated faces. "What's the holdup? Why did ya back away? Don't tell me you got scared of being near his corpse~?"

Ai lets out a scream, taking a step backward in fear over what she's seeing. "Ai? What's wrong?" Kakyoin asks.

Shakily raising her pointed hand, Ai stutters for a moment before she properly says an urgent matter. "H-H-He's… H-He's still… a-a-alive!"

Perplexed but alarmed, everyone turn to Xero rising up from his lying position, supported by his hands.

"HUH!?" Their shouts or screams of more shock and fear couldn't be overstated over what they're witnessing.

"Ugghh…" Grunting during the whole process, Xero raise himself up using his legs to a crouching position, his stomach injury making it hard for him to stand up or else the pain throbs, which isn't helping him much because it's throbbing with every slight movement he did. He doesn't want to give in though, so he endures the agonizing injury until he's shakily holding his body up while crouching. He then look at the stupefied zombies and one human all wondering the same question: why the hell is he still alive when he's so grievously or fatally injured?

"Haah… Haah… Haah…"

Xero stayed in that position for a few seconds, panting in agony that he refuses to give in. He regards their expressions a little more before pushing his feet up.

"Gyro! Paralyze him using the Spin!" Johnny exclaimed, really freaked out of his mind.

"Right, right, right!" Fumbling his hands, Gyro quickly charges the Spin in one steel ball before arching his arm and throwing it with all his might. "OOOOORA!"

Seeing the ball rushing towards him in the air, Xero lets out a sigh with a shake of his head. "Linkin Park."

"TAMA NA!"

The glass Stand's right arm appear to deflect the ball back to Gyro, who catches it after coming out of his brief surprise over Xero reacting. "Whoa whoa whoa!"

This is enough to spurn Rianima in action, quickly summoning their Stands to deal with Xero again. However, the man puts a stop to that before it can begin.

"Everyone, settle down! I'm… I'm not looking for another fight!"

His booming command and Linkin Park doing its magic halted everyone's movement, some of them were halfway summoning their Stands and finding a cover to protect themselves from any stray attack that was soon to come.

"What?" Most of them uttered, looking at Xero in confusion and wariness.

Holding his healing stomach with his right hand, Xero gets up on his feet, feeling his legs shaking due under his weight due to the pain lingering in him. He promptly ignores it even if it's flaring up and makes a declaration to his wary crowd.

"I'm… I'm not looking for another bout, all of you," his voice croaked because his neck weren't healed wholly and blood lacing his throat and mouth, which he wipes it off with his arm. "In fact, since Rianima have won against me and Linkin Park, I consider our fight done and dusted. As such, me coming here before you all embark back to your home isn't because I want to reignite the fight that you did won." To show he already accepted his defeat it, Linkin Park's arm returns back to him.

Naturally, they are skeptical of him and couldn't accept his words. But as much they don't want to deal with Xero anymore, they realize that this is their only chance to squeeze more info out of him related to his impossible recovery in spite of his neck getting crushed and slashed and shot to hell and back. Also, this is a proper meeting between him, Kotaro and Sakura since they weren't present during their fight, so they'll have a conversation with the man who had threatened their companions' lives and Saga for his apparent selfish motive.

Nevertheless, their wariness doesn't subside even if Xero makes no move to attack them, so they cautiously approach him under the belief his mind might be active to manipulate their surroundings with his imagination. As usual, Rianima is in front while Franchouchou, Kotaro and Romero hang back for their protection whilst covering everyone's rear. Because of their wariness, they wait for a moment to see if Xero is going to do something heinous to them.

Once noticing Xero just standing there with one arm down, everyone relaxes their guard slightly, before Kotaro gets in the front to personally speak with him. Clearing his throat, he begins talking. "So! We have finally met at last. The man who has been lurking in Saga's shadows to closely monitor our activities and sending hostile enemy Stands against these zombies, all to stop this prefecture we're standing on from flourishing! Orrrr…" He eyes Xero questioningly before continuing, "that's what you want us to think about for the express purpose of hiding your actual motive, which is to die by Rianima's hands! …Did I get that right?"

Xero nods, replying with this. "Correct, Tatsumi-san. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance at last," he puts his hands on his chest before bowing respectfully. "Apologies that our first meeting happens in such an unpleasant situation."

"Ohohoho," Kotaro seems amused of his politeness. "A gentleman, huh? And a formal talker, at that. Your behavior doesn't seem like it came from a man who wants to either kill Franchouchou and Rianima or die by the guys' hands."

"Ever heard of the phrase, 'don't judge its book by its cover'?" Xero replied. "That applies to me quite succinctly, wouldn't you agree?"

Kotaro understands the meaning, so he nods. "Eh, guess so. Now then! Let's cut to the chase Xero. All of us has some questions we would like to ask you. I hope you agree to have possibly one last talk with us before you… die by Rianima's hands. …Is that what you came here for?"

Xero sighs before nodding. "Yes Tatsumi-san. That is why I came before you all. Mamezuku's and Narancia's attacks on ｢me｣ weren't effective in ending my life, all for one simple reason… You didn't land a ｢fatal blow｣ to ｢Linkin Park｣."

Getting reminded of the supposed method on killing Xero serves to spur Narancia to question him agitatedly, "Well we hope you better explain that! How in the hell are you still alive when Aerosmith thoroughly smashed your guts and your neck being broken thanks to Mamezuku!?"

Having expected that would be the very first question, Xero lets out a sigh again before he proceeds to answer, as well as reveal something about him related to his unique biology. "It's because… I'm ｢not a human｣. I'm a ｢zombie｣."

His answer stuns the fourteen zombies and the sunglass-wearing manager to silence. Of all the responses they would hear from him, none of them expected the answer that Xero is a zombie all along like them. Since there was absolutely nothing on him hinting or pointing to that answer, they believe he's a human being who knew they are zombies disguised as humans through makeup.

Predictably, his answer isn't readily accepted by some of them because it changes their perception of him appearance-wise. "You're… You're a ｢zombie｣?" Ai is one such person who's skeptical of his response. "But if you're really a ｢zombie｣, then how did you hide that fact by disguising yourself as a human?!" She demanded.

"Why… Through ｢Linkin Park｣, of course. Using my ｢mind｣ alone," he pointed his temple again. "I changed my gray-colored skin into tan ones similar to the one when I was alive so I appear human. It's that simple really," he lastly shrugs.

"Changing your dead skin color? Ah! I see," Yugiri nodded to herself. "That explains why your skin turned gray when you first died."

"Huh? Oh yeah, we were wondering about that and thinking on asking you about it," remarked Johnny.

"Well you shouldn't ask it anymore. It's all thanks to Linkin Park that I appear human to cover my dead, gray-toned skin," Xero reaffirmed. "Like your makeup disguise fooled the populace, I fooled you all with my own disguise."

"…You really did," Lily admitted, and so too everyone.

However, Kakyoin has one issue about Xero's answer. "Hold on, if you're a zombie like you said, how come can you bleed like normal humans?"

"Huh? Bleed like… Ah! Kakyoin-san's right!" Junko exclaimed. "We zombies don't bleed anymore because we don't have blood in our bodies. If you're claiming yourself to be a zombie like us, then why do you bleed when you're injured?"

Ignoring the aching pain lingering in his healing injuries, Xero hesitates for a moment before he relents. "While it is true I'm an undead like you all, the way I was revived back from the dead is ｢different｣ compared to Tatsumi-san's method on resurrecting fourteen of you. As for how I was revived, well…" Putting his hands down, his chest's features disappear partially like he's in x-ray to reveal something embedded in where his heart should be.

"Huh?" Everyone gazed at the dark crimson crystal-like organ and multiple vessels installed around it coursing through his chest and past it, possibly continuing to the rest of his body. Even though it looks like a crystal, it has a gelatinous and slimy appearance seemingly convulsing to a limited extent, almost willing to mold into different shape but it didn't, keeping a fist-sized shape.

"…It's thanks to this ｢always morphing crystal-like organ｣," Xero pointed it with a sad look in his eyes. "This organ functions like a heart, pumping a ｢unique｣ kind of blood throughout my body to distribute nutrients and replenish my tissues and organs, as well as maintaining an endless steady flow. Unlike normal hearts, this crystal heart doesn't beat to pump the blood normally, only rarely, and because of that, I don't have a pulse," he covers his chest after the impromptu x-ray is done. "So… Are you satisfied with my explanation that I'm a zombie that has blood in my arteries and veins?"

"…I suppose we are satisfied," Gyro conceded and the others agree with him. "But wait, just one question though! I was a surgeon when I was alive and I'm curious so… How did you get that uhhhh, what did you call that…? A… morphing crystal-like heart in your chest? Did your heart changed shaped after you died ooooor…?"

Gyro's question causes Xero to stiffen his body, his calm expression suddenly showing a hint of fear within his eyes. He goes silent, never opening his mouth as it was clamped shut, something they quickly notice.

"Huh? Hey, what's with that look and abrupt silence?" Gyro asked with one eyebrow quirked. "Cat got your tongue or something?"

After staying silent for three seconds, Xero breathes deeply two times to calm his shivering body. Steadily, his fear abated and once it's suppressed, he has a composed expression on him again, but hints of his subtle fear is discerned in his answer. "I… would like it if you drop the question, please. It's a… ｢sensitive｣ topic for me…"

"What? A sensitive topic?" Lily parroted.

"P-Please! I… I don't want to say more about it!" He insisted, then he hangs his head low, "I apologize for my abrupt response but… I really, really don't want to talk about it."

Wondering why he's refusing to answer, Gyro opens his mouth to say more, only for Johnny to stop him, saying, "Drop it Gyro. His expression tells me he's not gonna answer it," Staring at his face again, he decides to drop it, shrugging his shoulder, "Fine, if you insist."

Xero breathes a sigh of relief upon hearing him, visibly glad they didn't push deeper with that topic for now. He's anxious and scared to talk about it, making everyone curious to the reason why. "Alright, are there any more questions? Please don't be shy. This is your only chance to hear my answer to your eager questions before I die," he reminded that he will march straight to his death after he's done answering them. His reminder causes one of them to speak up, deeming this a perfect time to have him confirm what she suspected about him.

"I have one," Sakura steps forward, looking at Xero's eyes with a demanding expression hoping he won't avoid her question like he did to Gyro. "…Have you been ｢watching｣ us from the ｢start｣?"

Everyone turn to her after hearing her question that was obvious to them. Of all the questions she want to ask, she chose to know if Xero is monitoring their activities from the start?

Even Xero is confused. "…What do you mean, Sakura-san?"

"If you want your memory to be refreshed," she continued. "You're a regular in our meet and greet, right? You always show up to our shows and the subsequent meet and greet taking place after. When you show up, you always choose my line and me to take a photo with me or purchase a merchandise. Not once did I saw you choose other girls before or after you picked me, leaving the venue when you're done."

Sakura reminding him of his regular attendance during meet and greets confuses them especially the girls and Kotaro. That is until Ai takes a good look on Xero and gasps upon recognizing him. "Wait, Sakura is on to something! I do remember him showing up and always picking her line while ignoring ours!"

"Huh? What!?" Saki shouted, her surprise shared by everyone. Facing Sakura, she says, "You sure Xero was attending our fan meetup?! I-I mean, do you recognize him at all, Sakura?"

"She's right!" It was Kotaro who supports her statement. "I remember the faces of notable fans who show up to Franchouchou's fan meetups. And after looking at Xero, I recognize his unforgettable and elegant appearance! There's no mistaking it! This man has attended ｢every｣ shows and meetups ever since our first meet and greet!"

! !

"And that's not all I have to say!" Kotaro continued. "I have one more question for Xero…! Why do you choose to spare Sakura-chan when one of your enemy Stands fight them! Well?! Do you have a response?"

"I'm hoping for a response to my question that I'm going to rephrase now that I refreshed your memories!" Looking at Xero, Sakura repeats her question with added context. "Were you watching us from the very first meetup?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Actually, I started watching you all even before Tatsumi-san has enough budget to have Franchouchou's meet and greet," he replied after pondering in silence.

"Huh?" Franchouchou and Rianima stared at him in puzzlement.

Taking a deep breath again, Xero proceeds to answer Sakura's and Kotaro's questions, "Either way, I'll gladly answer the questions, starting with Sakura-san first."

Without hesitation, Xero opened his mouth to give her an answer. But before he can do so, he flinches when something grazes the back of his neck. Something sharp, like a claw or talon. "Huh?" Xero looks around to see what grazed him with a muddled expression on him. "What was that? What scratched my neck just now?"

Five seconds later, his neck, shoulders, arms and even his head and face started becoming numb, then later, his lower body followed. He didn't realize what's happening at first until he noticed his movements were slowing down. If he can move his face, his expression will be a look of shock and alarm.

A-Aaaagh! W-What? My body! I can't… I can't move! Why can't I suddenly move, starting from my neck!? Right after something scratched it! Xero alarmingly thought, finding himself facing away from the group and his left hand frozen over the back of his neck. Just then, an epiphany came to him as he thought over what he said in his head. Wait, something scratching my neck? Something… sharp, like a… talon…

…Wait, if Lynn did this to me using her ｢Stand｣, then it means… AH! OH NO! They… ｢They｣ found me…! Especially ｢HER｣!

Amidst Xero's panicking thoughts, one human and fourteen zombies are watching him just standing there, unmoving and with his left hand over the back of his neck. Naturally, they are puzzled about what he is doing. Their impatience is running low, so one of them must bring his attention back. But before they can do so, an animal interrupts them.

!?

Appearing between their legs out of nowhere so they are startled them because they didn't notice their presence at all, the animal charging at Xero in ludicrous speeds unbefitting of its kind is a striped tabby cat with orange, black and white fur, whose copper eyes are laser focused on Xero. Their intention is made apparent when it jumped at him baring its sharp teeth and front paws ready to pounce on him with a roar. Xero only realized what's happening until it was too late for him and Linkin Park to intercept.

"HAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH! ! ! ! !"

His paralyzed body is forced to lie on the ground hard after the cat's small paws pushed him somehow easily. To Xero, it felt like a strong tiger or lion was shoving him.

"AAAAACK!"

Feeling two deceptively strong paws pinning him down so hard he's unable to push the cat off of him if he wasn't paralyzed and forbidden from calling out his Stand because of it too, Xero tries to raise his head up, struggling again his numb body, but unfortunately, he can only rely on his ears to hear anything, and with that sense being used does he listen to a cat's intimidating growling similar to a tiger. Then, another animal call is heard coming from his left, a sound that he recognizes to be an owl's hoot…and one he's also familiar with.

"Hoo hoohoohooooo… Hoooo! Hoooooohoo!"

…S-So it's just as I thought! Lynn and Hartzler are here! Xero thought, a growing dread filling his mind. And consequently, ｢SHE｣'s HERE!

Unaware of Xero's mounting paranoia and dilemma involving his body going numb and someone arriving that can put a wrench to his plan, Franchouchou, Rianima and Kotaro looked at the tabby cat, who displayed surprising amount of strength when it pounced Xero, somehow keeping him on the ground even though his small size shouldn't logically pinned him without much effort exerted. Not to mention, the tiger-like growl heard from the cat that is decidedly not usually so lower pitched, much less coming from a normal cat.

"What the hell…? How is that cat so strong enough to put a grown man to the ground?" Saki questioned the sight they witnessed.

"How should we know?" Kotaro answered. "We haven't seen a cat having brute strength comparable to wild felines before!"

"Hmmm… That cat doesn't look like an ordinary cat to me," remarked Mamezuku. "Or maybe… The cat is more than it meets our eyes…"

Before anyone can comment, Kakyoin gets their attention to a horned owl landing softly on the ground by flapping its wings after having perched on a branch. "Guys look! An owl!" Kakyoin said, pointing at it with his finger.

"An owl?" Bucciarati repeated. "Does it live here near the mountain's peak?"

"As far as I know… No," confirmed Kotaro with a shaking head. "If I was aware of it living here, I would've recognized it. And from its appearance, I'd say that owl iiiiiiiis… a great horned owl."

"A great horned owl?" Johnny looked at the animal striding to Xero whipping his head around with a distressed look in suspicion and curiosity. "Isn't that species native to my country? What's it doing here in Japan?"

"Hmm, it's unlikely it migrated so far away from its native country," added Ai. "Its presence here in Mt. Tenzan is perplexing."

The zombies and Kotaro watch the scene unfold in front of them again for few seconds before Yugiri speaks up, "Should we do something? As much I don't like helping a man who tried to claim out lives, he is not liking being close to those animals for some reason."

"No need to do more by yourselves, everyone. Hartzler, Lynn and I shall take it from here."

The group flinched in surprise and alarm after hearing an unknown voice. It didn't sound like it came from one of the girls so they look around to see where it came from.

However, it took Narancia, Johnny, Gyro, Rai, Ai, Yugiri and Lily a moment before their eyes widened in more surprise because they recognize who the voice belonged to. "Wait, I know that voice!" Lily exclaimed.

"Huh? You do, Lily-chan?" Sakura asked.

Number Six nods affirmatively and is going to say more when the same voice speaks again in a reassuring tone. "What she said is true, so please do not panic. I am on your side."

Not long after saying it, a woman manifested before their eyes, fading in to their view with her eyes closed. Then she opens them and stared at them all with a blank look, showing her purple eyes and white pupils to the group both dumbstruck and glad to see the lady in white and red clothing.

ドーン

The zombies who have met with her back in the pine grove a month ago is happy and pleased to encounter her again. "Whoahoa! Look who decided to show up!" Gyro exclaimed with a smile.

"Emi-san! I never thought we would see you again!" Ai expressed her surprise with a smile, being glad to see her.

The woman gives the seven zombies she encountered a nod. "Greetings. We have met again as I told you in our first meeting before I left," after addressing them, she turns to the ones whom she didn't met before. "And to the rest of you, this is our first meeting, so please let me say this. It is my pleasure to be finally meeting you all."

Sakura, Saki, Junko, Tae, Kakyoin, Avdol, Bucciarati and Kotaro look at her with different reactions each, but all of them are regarding her appearance and presence with curiosity. So this is the woman who their friends met over a month ago? The Ghost of Niji-no-Matsubara? Ever since they heard their friends recount how the fight against Emperor and Anubis went, they were somewhat expecting to meet the woman who assisted their friends in the last part of the fight. They are suspicious, and still is to this day especially once they're meeting with her, but they're not wary of her. At least not yet. And even then, they're not gonna act hostile to her soon because she helped their friends in eliminating the last enemy Stands. Some of them wanted to thank her properly when they come to face her.

Not wanting to leave Emi hanging when she formally greeted them, Sakura puts a wary smile and returns her greeting back, "Oh! I-It's our pleasure to make your acquaintance, Emi-san! Me and the others have been eager to meet you after my friends told us about your help about a month ago. We just… didn't expect it would be this evening!"

"We were hoping our first meeting isn't taking place when we are fighting for the fate of Saga," Bucciarati sighed, peering pass Emi to the paralyzed man who weirdly isn't making any moves to get the strong cat off him. "If you haven't noticed him yet, the ｢wrongdoer｣ is incapacitated by a… cat and… an owl."

"Haaaah? An owl too?" Saki incredulously repeated, the others share her feelings too. "You're saying an owl is involved now? Then how is that owl keepin' Xero down?"

"It's just my hunch," admitted Bruno. "I mean… there must be an explanation on what that owl is doing here and why is it staring so hard to Xero. It… couldn't be a coincidence the owl appeared soon after that cat immobilized Xero somehow."

Emi smiles after hearing his thought about the two animals, "As expected of the leader of a group of zombie Stand Users, you are correct in assuming Hartzler and Lynn were not just here without a reason."

They turn to her in surprise, "Huh? I was right?" Bruno stated.

"And you called those two Hartzler and… Lynn…" Kakyoin reminded. A look of recognition spreads across his face when he put two and two together, "Emi-san, that cat and owl… Are they your ｢pets｣?"

Compared to the formal look Emi have given to others, when she made eye contact with Kakyoin, her face softens. It's almost hard to tell what her expression is because she seemed unemotional but when she looked at Cherry Boy, there's a hint of… mirth in her gaze which he immediately noticed. Adding to this, he felt a pang in his chest when he stared at her eyes. It puzzled him, yet it didn't perturbed him.

Huh? Emi-san? Why do you looked so… ｢wistful｣ when you turned to me? And… why do I feel like this is not… our…

"You are correct," Emi nodded again, her passive expression returning a second later. "The tabby cat who had restrained the enemy is ｢Hartzler｣ and the owl glaring from his side is ｢Lynn｣."

Franchouchou, Rianima and Kotaro thankfully understands her. They would have thought Hartzler must be a stray cat while Lynn is a wild animal possibly living in this place if discounting her species' native country and the mystery behind her migration.

"And since they are my pets, they follow my every command," added Emi, stepping forward to the pinned enemy. "Do not worry however. As I told you, I am on your side, so these two are on your side as well. They will not regard you as an enemy needing to be eliminated."

"Well… We already figured that part out because they were absolutely gunning against him," Narancia said.

"And since they're your pets, we are not wrong to say that you're here with us to confront Xero?" Johnny assumed.

Without turning around, Emi confirms his statement, "That is correct. You have held up against Xero, so please step back everyone. I shall take it over from here and finish him off."

"NOOOOO! LINKIN PAAAAAARK!"

Screaming that out in panic after having heard the entire exchange between Emi and the group, Xero gets Hartzler off him by vanishing himself, then reappearing a meter away from the cat who landed on the ground with a look of confusion. As a result of this, he's able to move his body again, so without saying a word, he makes a run for it.

"Hey! He's getting away!" Kotaro exclaimed, puzzled over his decision to run away instead of facing them. "Cherry Boy! Peel Planter! Capture him with your Stands!"

The aforementioned zombies are about to follow his command when Emi speaks up to stop them. "Hold it, you two! I will stop Xero from escaping."

"How? Using your pets again?"

"No. It is likely he will not fall to the same tactic Hartzler and Lynn did," she replied as she hold out her open palm while her body face sideways. "So a change of tactic is in order, one that I will carry through… using my ｢Stand｣."

Immediately after saying it, a blue flame shoots out from her palm aimed at Xero's back. The trajectory is fast enough to catch up with him when he's nearly far away from them, so it managed to hit him under three seconds.

ボォォーン!

"AAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH! ! ! !"

Adding to the pile of injuries he was afflicted to, Xero fell back to the ground, writhing in intense agony because of the pale blue fire flickering and dancing atop his back threatening to incinerate him. However, he immediately knew that the fire isn't burning his back at all for it's not any ordinary flame. Rather, it merely stayed on his back, flickering without a care for the cold environment that couldn't put it out. It feels more like it's a weight keeping him down but it contains all the property of a fire that is hurting him regardless.

"A-Ah… It burns… It burns…!" Xero mewled, feeling himself unable to crawl away from the approaching group now consisting of Emi, Hartzler and Lynn, the latter perched on Emi's right shoulder.

Franchouchou, Rianima and Kotaro gazed at the blue flame with wonder and curiosity. They were surely not expecting Emi to shoot out a flame to stop Xero from escaping. She did mention about having a Stand, so they were expecting her to bring out her Stand, not shoot out a flame like Avdol do.

Fittingly, Fire Lord turns to ask Emi about the blue flame she shot out and her Stand as a whole. "Miss Emi, is your power related to ｢fire｣? If it is, then we must have the same kind of Stand as Magician's Red."

With her eyes solely focused on the writhing man, Emi replied without turning to him, "Actually, generating a ｢purifying flame｣ of blue color is not all what my Stand, ｢Bring Me to Life｣, can do, mister Avdol."

"Bring Me to Life?" Yugiri repeated.

"The name of my Stand," continued Emi. "｢Bring Me to Life｣ allows me to manipulate the ｢souls｣ of living beings, whether they are humans, animals or even plants. With my Stand's esoteric ability, I can form specific actions derived from someone's living soul, like sensing one's presence even from afar, peering into their souls to see their thoughts, feelings or sense of morality, stare straight into someone's eyes to directly manipulate their soul, be attuned with any soul I can sense or find to gain their knowledge or understanding, and most commonly…" Before everyone's eyes, Emi's body becomes, for a lack of appropriate word, intangible. Everything about her changed from a black-haired white and red lady into a pale, almost see-through, blue ghost with wispy aura coating her entire body. "I can turn myself ｢invisible｣ like a ｢ghost｣, allowing me to float and fly freely and have control over how intangible and unseen I can be from all living beings, be they a Stand User or not."

The group is in awe over Emi's explanation and demonstration of her seemingly integrated Stand, Bring Me to Life. The power to manipulate the soul of living creatures… That power is definitely esoteric and possibly a rare ability that a user may get if luck favored them.

"Related to the soul aspect of ｢Bring Me to Life｣, I can also create blue flames made out of my soul, allowing me to use long-ranged attacks to damage an opponent with all the properties a normal fire has. As Avdol guessed, my sub-ability is similar to Magician's Red, with the differences are my flames being colored blue and they are very effective against the undead."

"I see. So I'm not wrong to say that it's the same kind of Stand as Magician's Red. Of course I'm aware of the minute differences between both Stands," commented Avdol with a nod, amused that a different Stand User has a similar ability like his own even if their respective fires' colors being different and was stated to be a sub-ability spun off from a main ability.

"I am aware," simply replied Emi.

"So uh… if you can create a blue flame that has all the properties of a fire and is weak against the undead," Gyro pointed to the fire latched on Xero's back. "Why is that flame not burning him? It's been twenty-one seconds and we don't see it spreading across his body. And yeah, I counted."

Emi turns to the flickering flame, "That is because I can choose if my casted fire can burn something or not," she replied. "Right now, all it is doing is weighing him down and putting him in a lot of pain, preventing him from escaping," she turned back to Spin Cowboy, "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes it is. Thanks for your clarification," Gyro gives her a thumbs up.

"Ugghhhh…" They heard Xero groan, trying to push himself up only for the searing pain and weight of the fire to keep him glued on the ground.

Narrowing her eyes, Emi believes she mustn't wait this out no longer. Her main target has been captured at last, and now, she must see to it the blight of Saga is eliminated before it can begin its rampage across the prefecture she have lived for a long, long time.

"I am afraid I must cut Hartzler's and Lynn's introductions and the explanation behind their Stands short, everyone," she announced to her allies. "Right now, we must finally kill this man who had endangered your lives as you spread your music and influence across the prefecture for over 8 months."

Her words employed a stern tone unlike her gentle and forthcoming one she displayed to them few seconds ago. It's not a drastic change of personality, but the subtle change in her expression is noticeable enough to warrant some looks from the group. Regardless of that, Emi has a point. Their enemy is made defenseless and this is their chance to kill him. They were going to fulfill his wish of dying at their hands, after all.

"We're unsure if we can trust you so soon Emi," Bruno admitted. "But if you said you're the only who can truly put this scourge of Saga to rest, then... We'll leave it to your hands."

No one raised a complaint or rebuttal. They are in agreement that regardless of what Xero want and his motives that he never get to clear up or clarify, he needs to be eliminated so they and the entirety of Saga have one problem less to face.

One zombie has one reservation though. "But… we didn't get to hear his answer to my question," Sakura reminded.

"Too late for that, Sakura-chan. The verdict has been decided," Kotaro replied. "And there's no stopping our Stand Users when they decided the time is now."

Extinguishing the blue flame off his back after it weakened him, Emi, flanked by Hartzler and Lynn, has some words she must tell them before she kills Xero, "This is it. I will kill him through burning him with my ｢purifying flames｣. You have all done a good job holding your own against him, so please… let me do the rest as you lick your wounds clean he may have inflicted upon you all. Oh, before I forget… As all of you are zombies, my fire can larch on to your bodies and burn you back to death, so please stand back for your safety."

"Are you sure Emi?" Kakyoin asked her, speaking with his friends or acquaintances through his words. "Can your flames incinerate everything about Xero, including the creepy heart that is keeping him alive even if he's inflicted with a fatal injury or brutalized to death?"

"My flames, or any fire in particular, are the only things that can completely burn the ｢horrid heart｣ and his ｢tainted blood｣ circulating in his body," replied Emi, never turning her head to them. "Everything you may throw at Xero except Avdol's own flames will be ineffective as long his heart is left untouched and there is little blood in his body to revive Xero. All he will do is prolong the fight until you are all exhausted and he seizes the chance to kill all of you."

"What? You mean… Xero is completely ｢immune｣ to any power except yours and Magician's Red, Emi-san?" Junko questioned in disbelief.

"…Yes," Emi confirmed, eliciting shouts of surprise from them. "If I have not made it in time, you will be stuck in a prolonged fight than necessary until Xero has the advantage, which I am glad it did not come to that."

"Well don't just stand there and talk more to us! Finish him off, NOW!"

Abiding Saki's request, Emi aims her right palm at Xero after Lynn gets off her shoulder. Speaking of Xero, he rolls his body around to face the woman staring down on him without a hint of mercy in her eyes, grunting the whole time from the searing pain he got that not even removing the flame can extinguish it.

"N-Nnnggghh… Agh…" His body weakened, Xero lies on his back supported by his elbow pushing his chest up a little as he looks up to meet Emi's purple eyes piercing straight down on his nervous gray ones. The man who displayed an unflappable bravado that was slowly whittled down in the course of his fight against Rianima until his 'defeat' has all but disappeared, and in its place is a frightened man who doesn't want to look up to the fearsome woman with demeanor comparable to ghosts. He doesn't want this. He doesn't want to die by her hands. More specifically, he doesn't want to involve Emi and her pets in his plan to die in Rianima's hands at all. He knew he should've done something to Emi to keep herself out of his conflict against them.

But… at the same time… I want to see Emi again… just… one last time… lamented Xero, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. Even though meeting with her would mean I have to ｢condemn｣ myself to be killed by her, I… I have wanted to face her again, so I will have no regrets before I leave this world behind and… and…

…

…Well, it doesn't matter… in the end, I couldn't escape the ｢fate｣ I… I truly ｢deserve｣…

"This is it then… Finish me off… Burn me to ashes…" Xero said his last words before bowing his head and closing his eyes, not stopping his flow of tears as he accepts his impending death. "Erase my sordid existence from this world…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

Ten seconds later, Xero opens his eyes when he didn't felt his body suffering a fiery death. "Huh?" Baffled over why he's getting killed yet, he looks up again to ask Emi why she is taking so long to ignite him in unforgiving flames.

Upon meeting her eyes again however, Xero instantly notices Emi's eyes having… softened and… replaced her look of hostility with one of curiosity directed at him. Additionally, her right palm stops generating fire as it flickered and disappeared. In spite of that, her right arm remained in that position, as if she's overly cautious of him still.

He's not the only who realize Emi is taking so long as everyone, including Hartzler and Lynn, turned to her seemingly hesitating to burn Xero to ashes using her Stand. "Emi-san? What's wrong? Why did you put out your flame?" It's Mamezuku who asked her after noticing her right palm stopped generating fire. "Aren't you going to kill this man?"

Emi remains silent for many seconds, not even bothering to answer his question as she continues staring Xero down, who is growing more confused over how she's staring at him.

"…Emi?" Xero uttered her name fearfully, wondering why she's hesitating.

The woman remains silent but is now inspecting the man with scrutiny, her brows contorting and her lips slightly moving. Then after what felt like half an hour has passed, Emi finally speaks, "You… Have we… met before?"

"What?"

Xero blinks twice, surprised to hear it straight from her mouth. Franchouchou, Rianima and Kotaro are surprised too, as well as her pets. While everyone is outright confused, Xero is feeling a little… hopeful and… melancholic over Emi's simple yet enigmatic question.

"I ask you again…" Emi sounds a little demanding as she repeats the question. "Have we ｢met before｣?"

Believing this is leading what he thinks it is leading to, Xero cannot help but answer her earnestly, "…Yes. We have met before… about ｢six years ago｣."

"Six years… ago?" Her voice trailed off as a dawning look falls on her face.

Suddenly, a headache came into her, making her clutch her head with her left hand as she closed her eyes and groaned.

"N-Nngh!"

"M-Miss Emi?" "Emi-san?" Everyone looked at her in concern, wondering what's gotten into her that causes her to get a headache. Hartzler and Lynn looked up to her with the same concern as them, also wondering why their master is having a headache.

Five seconds later, Emi opens her eyes with a gasp. "Ah!"

"Emi-san? What's the matter? Are you… feeling alright?" Kakyoin asked her.

"I'm… I-I'm…" Finding herself unable to say it, Emi simply nodded to him, telling him she's alright now. After that, she looks down on Xero once more with wide eyes, which has no traces of hostility in it. Xero, too, stared back at her, becoming more hopeful and melancholic upon making eye contact.

"Emi?" Xero called out, his voice filled with unease, worry and hope all at once.

…

…

…

"Shino…? ｢Shino｣, is that… you…?"

Gasping, the man almost stands up in surprise but he remained sitting on the ground after hearing Emi utter his name. His real name. When she spoke it out, her voice was filled with tones of hope, happiness, surprise, and most of all, distress. He was initially skeptical, but seeing her look of recognition and hearing her say his real name out loud is proof enough for him that the woman… her beloved… has somehow recognized him. And it scared him.

"Emi, you…" He almost wants to deny her or use Linkin Park to fully purge her memory out of her and everyone behind her so that they sees him as just an enemy needing to be disposed. However, he reconsidered it, not when this will probably be the last time he can talk to her. "It's been… six years since we last saw each other. That time span should be enough to make you forget me but…" Chuckling, he lets a small grin appear as he looks up. "I was wrong. Long time no see, Emi."

"By the gods!" She exclaimed, her face full of relief, guilt and sadness as she lowered her right arm. "How could I not recognized you when we first met after six years have passed?"

Shino didn't have a reply to that. He momentarily gaze longingly at his possible significant other before he looks down sadly, blocking his eyes from her view. Emi gazes at him still with eyes full of admiration, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Possibly following their master's feelings or they have a change of heart when they possibly recognize him, Hartzler and Lynn are also delighted to see him after six years, their previous hostility vanishing as they look at him.

Witnessing the sudden change of the mood between these four, the zombies and Kotaro are more perplexed than ever after watching Emi apparently lose the will to kill him and hearing her call the man Shino with a tone full of recognition and surprise. "Uhhhh Emi-san," Lily speaks up, "What's going on? Why aren't you killing him already? You started acting too friendly to him."

"And why did you call him ｢Shino｣?" Sakura chimed in. "Isn't his name ｢Xero｣?"

"Huh? Ah!" Almost forgetting they were present, Emi turns around to look at them for a moment before turning back to Shino. She finds herself unable to say something to clear up the amount of confusion she's feeling in them, her mouth gaping to let out words she almost can't say out loud. Finally, she turns back to Xero to ask him, believing he's the one who can explain his relationship with her. "Shino, would you…"

But when she looked back at him, she immediately noticed something.

ドドドドドドドド

Shino/Xero's eyes remain obstructed, but his mouth is visible, of which he was grinning the whole time after Emi expressed surprise over meeting him again. However, his grin changed into a frown and when he raised his head, his once-hidden eyes have become ill-boding in its expression, piercing straight through her eyes without a look of recognition he displayed seconds ago. Most troubling of all though is the abnormally swollen nerves or veins on his hands and below and right by his eyes, colored in dark red.

Emi is freaked out by the sight of the swollen veins and the rapid change of his demeanor, "Huh? Sh… Shino?"

Then his Stand appears behind him and he calls out his name as a tell-tale sound of his power activating is heard by everyone akin to glass pieces moving and scratching against each other or on a surface, as if they're trying to put itself together.

"LiNkIn PaRk…"

"GunIGUni…"

! !

Their looks of surprises are the best they can respond before most of the zombies are suddenly lying on the ground, groaning and writhing in pain while clutching their heads, with Rianima, Saki, Yugiri and Tae being the most affected by Linkin Park's sudden imagination. Additionally, those affected zombies were moved near Xero while the others subsequently moved far as an exchange.

ドドン

"HUH!?" "WHAT?!"

Seeing it happened in a flash before their very eyes, the only ones who weren't struck by Linkin Park's power, Sakura, Kotaro, Emi, Romero, Hartzler and Lynn, stared at them groaning in discomfort, as if they were badly wounded somehow. Sakura puts her hands on her gaping mouth, so shocked to see her friends got brutalized which she tries not to wince outwardly over the sight of their injuries, Emi and Kotaro's reaction are reserved but they still displayed a level of surprise, Lynn spreads her wings wide while clicking her beak and squeaking with shrunken irises in her unmoving eyes and Hartzler arched her back up and bristled her tail down, hissing to Xero. The two animals want to charge at him and stop him but they need Emi's permission first, so they wouldn't act otherwise even if they won't like awaiting her command.

"Oh... Oh my god..." Sakura uttered in response, standing completely still as she looked at the hunched man standing up while his Stand floats behind him. His face is obscured because he's looking down and he didn't say anything when he got on his feet.

"What the hell…? How did he… overwhelmed them?" Kotaro asked in disbelief, feeling Romero whimpering in fear on his hands. "It's like… his ability happened in over one second! They didn't get to retaliate before they went down!"

"Shino… Why did you…?" Emi raised her hand, making a reaching motion to the man still slouching with his face obscured…

ジローッ

…before Xero reveals his fierce gray eyes glaring at them with a swift of his head moving upward.

"Ah!" Sakura, Kotaro and Emi flinched upon seeing his glare.

"GUnigUNi..."

Linkin Park quietly said before many flexible branches snatch Kotaro, Romero, Emi, Hartzler and Lynn, wrapping themselves around their both their arms and legs or waist.

"Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoa!" Kotaro screamed in panic as the branches holding his wrists and ankles tightly carry him up in the air. "T-These branches…! Gah! Get off me you stupid branches!"

Sakura looked up with a mixture of fear and surprise on her face, reaching her hand up high. "Kotaro-san!"

パッ

"WAAH!?"

Sakura recoiled instantly when Xero and Linkin Park suddenly got close to her without walking. The two glared hard to her, filling the girl with so much dread her legs is feeling like jelly that's preventing her from getting away.

Believing he's gonna do something bad to Sakura, Emi, squirming under the many branches or vines constraining her against a tree along with her pets, shouts at her, "Sakura! RUN! He is going to attack you!"

Having guessed that already, Sakura turns around and starts running, but she didn't go past two steps before she's forced on the ground when a hand pushed her back viciously.

"OW!" She bellowed out, her cheek rubbing against the dirt and snow. Feeling a hand holding her down, she strained her neck to turn her head around slightly, only to regret her decision to look behind when her eyes fell upon Linkin Park's creepy eyes staring right back at her. Behind the Stand, Xero stands emotionlessly with his back hunched a little, glaring at her with the same expressionless face.

"Ah… A-Aaaahh…" Sakura stuttered in fear, having never expected she would be looking right at Death's eye the second time this evening. He's… He's going to kill her. She can tell. It seems Xero has second thoughts of sparing her and decides she's eligible to be killed by Linkin Park after being made an exception for 8 months. No no no no no no no! This is not happening… This is not happening… This is not happening… This is not happening!

Eyes widening behind his sunglasses, Kotaro screams out in panic as he tried squirming out of the branches with all his might. "SAKURA!"

"Shino, STOP!" Emi similarly shouted, horror in her face over what's going on to his head and what he's about to do.

Franchouchou and Rianima look on in despair, realizing they're about to watch one of their own getting murdered by their main enemy. They wanted to retaliate, but something is preventing them from acting, akin to them having injuries. Even Rianima struggles to get their Stands out to act in their place, albeit not entirely.

"SAKURA!" "SAKURA-HAN!" "SAKURA-CHAN!" Their pleading screams were gone deaf to Xero's ears as he pointed his finger to Sakura and issued an order to Linkin Park.

"KILL. HER."

Linkin Park dives it fist towards Sakura's head, and the girl could only close her eyes in fear over her impending death.

ドッゴァーッ!

A sickening sound of flesh being torn apart reverberated between each individual, halting their attempts to intercept Xero. Their eyes gape upon the sight of Linkin Park's left fist puncturing through flesh in shock and terror, their breath taken away. No one moved from their position as they only react to the horrifying sight laid out for their eyes.

Johnny, Gyro, Mamezuku and Bucciarati all stare with varying looks of disbelief.

Yugiri's calm exterior has been shattered, causing her to look on with wide eyes and her right hand raised near her gaping mouth. Lily covers her mouth, her wide eyes trembling over what she's seeing. Junko and Ai do the same, the former reaching out her hand in shock.

Tae imitates everyone's expression as she comprehended the bad sight she couldn't get up and stop in time because of her head throbbing pain. Saki grabs her arm and shoulder just to be sure but her eyes are glued to the horrid view like hers.

Kotaro drops his jaw, the look of shock present even with his sunglasses.

Emi displays shock, terror and hints of trauma on her expression after witnessing a gruesome sight she wasn't expecting. Hartzler and Lynn shares her feelings too.

Avdol and Narancia has strong reactions over what they're seeing, really hoping beyond doubt that scene did not happen so unexpectedly

However, their reactions can't compare to Sakura's as she stared at the Stand's white fist pierced through the abdomen starting from the back with shell-shocked silence and creeping despair over who took the blow meant for her.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…Hierophant… Green…?"

Despite being the one who did the deed, Xero appears shocked Hierophant Green stood between Linkin Park and Sakura to take the punching blow. Not only shocked, but also instant regret and fright once he realizes the gravity of his action. Also of note is the throbbing veins near his eyes and over his hands that seems to slowly crawl so close to the edge of his eyes and through his hands' middle, which he lifts his left hand to inspect it close.

…

…

"…No. NOOOO! ! ! !"

Seemingly out of panic and shame, Xero and Linkin Park vanish, leaving everyone and Emi behind and shards of glasses afterwards. This has the effect of freeing Hierophant Green, who stumbled for a moment before disappearing, returning back to its user while the branches and vines holding Kotaro, Romero, Emi, Hartzler and Lynn lose its grip and returned to normal, freeing them (and making Kotaro to land ungraciously, though thankfully not on his face).

They didn't have time to remark and protest Xero's disappearance. Turning to one man in particular, they gaped at him experiencing a great pain judging from his burrowed eyebrows and weak wheezing, his hand laying over his stomach so frailly and barely leaning against a tree with one hand after lifting himself up a little. In spite of this, he formed a strained smile, relieved to see Hierophant Green reached and defended Sakura from getting her head crushed by Linkin Park's fist.

"...K-Ka… Kakyoin?" muttered Sakura.

"Saku… ra…"

Blackness takes over his vision as he falls on the ground face first.

Everyone stared at the inert Stand User for five seconds, their shock preventing them from responding or taking action. They would remain that way until they collectively shouted his name out of shock and horror.

"KAKYOIIIIIIINNNNNNN! ! ! ! ! !"

To be continued

---

Finished!

That's right! Kakyoin is the one who got mortally wounded by Xero, getting punched through his gut again like DIO did to him back in 1989. The difference, of course, is that Hierophant Green was on the receiving end and no large wound, blood and flesh appear on Kakyoin's body when his Stand was stabbed. Since he's a zombie and he was clothed, I have to imply that his stomach was punctured prominent.

Other than those differences, I am... proud that, in true JoJo fashion, a character was "donutted' and was done by a main antagonist like DIO, Kira, Diavolo and Pucci did before. What luck Kakyoin had that he received a second helping of 'donut' by Xero, making sure Hierophant Green has its fill like its user! Hahahahaha!

...Okay, I feel bad saying that to Kakyoin, especially after everyone regrouped after getting separated for many minutes. Sorry everyone.

Anyway, about Xero, we learned few ner details about him:

-Starting with his name, turns out Xero is a false name and his real name is Shino. This was revealed by Emi herself, and since she happens to know his real name, a possible connection between her and Shino that was forgotten or abandoned six years ago is made.

-Second, as some of you may have guessed already after seeing him still living despite getting his neck snapped, Xero/Shino is a zombie disguising himself as a human, similar to Franchouchou and Rianima. Unlike them however, Xero/Shino is capable of being injured normally like a human, up to spilling out blood from any wounds he suffered. Said blood, and the abnormal, gelatinous heart in his chest, is keeping his body and soul alive even after he died through an as-of-yet unknown cause, so while it is beneficial for him, it's also doing harm to him simultaneously, possibly more.

-Lastly, and related to the second paragraph, something happened that caused Xero/Shino to lose himself or at least lose control of himself. The probable cause is the tainted blood in his veins, marked by them getting swollen on his hands and near his eyes, threatening to fill his head and hands in red color, the same color as his blood. It can't be anything but good when he made a hasty exit out of fear and guilt over what became to him in that moment.

That is all I can say about the main antagonist for now. In the coming chapters when the final battle takes place and its aftermath, expect to learn everything there is to know about him, including his backstory and reason behind his motive and what made him do those deeds.

Next, Emi has appeared once more, this time accompanied by her two loyal pets: a tabby cat named Hartzler and a great horned owl named Lynn! Presenting herself as an ally to Franchouchou and Rianima, Emi has made her intentions clear to them that their main enemy must be eliminated so Saga is safe from a powerful hostile enemy Stand User's machinations, and also a zombie carrying a dangerous blood. She was planning to kill him with her Stand, deeming him a monster who shouldn't freely roam Saga Prefecture and would have carried out her mission until she recognized him from six years ago. Just as Xero/Shino carries a lot of mystery and intrigue, so too Emi, and her two pets, do too which will be revealed in the upcoming chapters, of course. She may have appeared late, but she's an important player.

Part of that is her Stand, Bring Me to Life, which allows her to use the souls of any living beings, herself included, to achieve impressive feats emphasizing her ghostly nature. In fact, after thinking hard about Emi's design, I realize wearing black blouse actually does not fit what I pictured her general motif, which is being a ghost, to be. As such, I decided to make her clothes both white and red, and with her pale skin and long black hair, I achieved a more accurate ghost girl look or inspired by it and made her look like a White Lady ghost heard as a story around the world. I think I'm satisfied with what I really want Emi to look like, so I returned back to the other chapters where she appeared to recorrect the words describing her outfit. Oh, and I took that chance to recorrect other errors or inconsitencies I only realized after reading some chapters. Man, I should've remember every detail so I don't get it wrong.

That's enough from me everyone. I'll see you next chapter that will conclude the current arc before marching straight to the next, and possibly penultimate arc, before the final battle! The fight against Xero/Shino may have disrupted abruptly but he will be back for the finale, stronger and dangerous than he was before... Oh, and just to placate your worries, Kakyoin will not die despite getting heavily injured. Healing him will be the first scene in the next chapter, but that doesn't mean he'll come home with his friends. Again, it's nothing serious, I assure you.

Time for me to sign off. Stay safe and have a good day or night everyone! Adieu for now!