Master's Academy Dorm
Entrance Hall
Afternoon
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Oh please…
'Honestly,' Haf thought, 'I kinda feel bad for the guy.'
Vuoto was trapped in his own slowed perception. To him, everything would be moving around sixteen times faster than normal, and that product was only growing through the continued eye contact between himself and Haf Horse.
'Sana and Viale are right behind me, Sana and Viale are right behind me,' he kept repeating in his head.
Sure enough, Viale burst through the doors, Sana meekly following suit. Viale had his Stand out, confidently holding its hand out in front of his eyes. Sana, too, had her eyes closed. They had run from the front entrance when they'd seen a student mid-step, frozen in place.
"It's over, Haf Horse." Viale brought out his phone. "The principal texted me 'eyes' a few minutes ago. I know your Stand's ability."
Haf responded, "Is that so? Enlighten me."
Viale sighed. "I hate this trope," he whispered under his breath. Then louder, "You can freeze people. Through eye contact. You did it to Sana and the rest of the school last week."
Haf burst out laughing, slightly scaring Viale, but he held strong. "Correct! Got it in one! As expected from a Joestar!" He wiped a metaphorical tear from his eye. "But that won't help you now."
"What do you mean?"
Haf rounded the slowly-moving Vuoto, though Viale could only hear it. "You already have my Stand, Viale! You al-rea-dy have the ｢Free Bird｣ virus~!" Haf sung, out of pitch.
Viale frowned, ｢Mr. Blue Sky｣ still holding its colourful hand out to block line of sight. "What are you talking about?"
Haf let out another chuckle. "What I mean is that all I need to do is activate my Stand, and you'll be slowed down. Maybe not by much, but enough for me to do something you can't stop."
Viale was still. Silent. He heard things shattering from a distance away, maybe in the communal kitchen down the hall.
Haf gave a manic grin. "I've activated Free Bird for everyone in the school. I could do you and Sana at any time. If you're slowed down, you won't be able to stop me from, oh, I don't know, stabbing some more people with the Stand arrow."
Viale was about to step forward to punch Haf in the face, but the last comment made him halt entirely.
"T-that was you?"
Haf made an innocent face, bringing his hands together and up to the side of his head, forming a little hand-pillow. "Yes. But I'm vewy vewy sowwy." He violently shook his head. "Please. I only used the arrow on people that attracted it. No-one died. Stop being a snowflake."
"You gave everyone here a Stand?" Sana pitched in. "Vuoto, Fragi, Zeppeli, myself?"
"Nah, not Zeppeli. He already had one. No point in stabbing someone twice, amirite?" He continued. "But yeah, I stabbed you. And a few others, two. I bet you'll be meeting them soon."
"Alright, enough of these games." Viale took a deliberate step forward, but when he lifted his leg, the world slowed down. He had half of his speed taken away.
"Actually." Haf was now exuding a red Stand aura. "I changed my mind." His eyes turned to Sana, the last one fully conscious. She took a shaky step back, instantly recognising that tone.
"You wouldn't." She challenged.
Haf's eye twitched. "I already have."
Sana's arm fell down, her eyelids were the only thing protecting her. She assumed, because she had made eye contact with Viale recently, that she would be frozen next.
"If you just, y'know, accept it, that'd be better for both of us." Haf was slowly approaching her, with a certain intent. "I love as much as the next guy seeing a woman completely defenceless, and I found last time that the bitch being frozen… got old quickly." He shrugged. "Plus, if you aren't slowed, it'll just go faster for you!"
"Stop talking."
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - No Music
"Huh?"
"Stop. Talking. I'm tired of hearing you speak." She wasn't finished. Her eyes were now open, ready to face the Emperor's son. She briefly cast her eyes to her volatile friends. She took a deep breath in, and took a few slow steps forward.
Sana Rossi had found her resolve.
"You spit in the adege 'with great power comes great responsibility'. You use your Stand as a tool for pleasure, not to help those less fortunate. I find you sickening, though I doubt you see why." She stared deep into Haf Horse's eyes. "And from the limited interaction we've had, I'd say I've said enough."
"Heh, bitch." Haf's eyes flared, and Sana went sluggish. "Have it your wa–"
"FORA!"
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Diamond is Unbreakable
An arm shot out of Sana's body, which was now radiating a pink aura brighter than the sun. The arm slowly grew as a head and torso phased out of Sana. Its whole body was pink and blue chequered, top-to-bottom. Its eyes were yellow, with large green pupils. The checkers flowed down into a short dress, stretching down past the knees. Its torso featured a large hollow circle, composed of the checkers as the borders – although they were squares, they formed a ring. Across its arms and legs were black-and-white stripes that separated two sides of the sequence pattern. It was topped off with a pure-pink sequin hat, with shining gemstones seemingly glued to the brim.
The Stand struck Haf in the abdomen, causing him to double over, spewing out blood onto the very arm that punched him. A swift punch to the head sent the boy flying, crashing hard into a nearby wall. The Stand flew back up to its user, whose mouth's corners were slowly turning upwards, and placed a palm on her head. Instantly, Sana regained her speed, falling over from the shift.
The Stand hovered around the vicinity and did the same to Viale and Vuoto. Vuoto fell over like Sana, while Viale used his Stand to catch himself. He looked around in disbelief, and spotted Sana looking at him with a small smile. He knowingly returned the gesture after seeing the multicoloured individual standing behind her.
In a second, Viale was holding Haf Horse down with Mr. Blue Sky, its hands over Haf's eyes to break any unwanted eye contact.
"YOU FUCKING FAGS WILL PAY FOR THIS! MARK MY WORDS!"
Sana stood over him.
"What're you gonna do?" Viale left Sana the choice.
She breathed out. "Let him go."
Viale looked at her quizzically, before recalling Mr. Blue Sky. "You're the boss."
She nodded.
"You idiot! What are you doing?!" Haf rolled around, but–
"FORA!"
In a fraction of a second, Rossi's Stand struck Haf across the jaw, his head ringing as he spun with the momentum of the punch, sagging against the wall moments before another blow landed upon his ribs.
Haf felt bones break.
He needed eye contact, he needed–
A blink. One small, mistimed error.
"FORARARA!"
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Diamond is Unbreakable
The force of the Stand cracked the wall behind him as he was punched in the shoulder, head smacking against the wall. Haf screamed as he felt his bruised jaw strike the wall, flesh tearing in his chest.
And then, just as suddenly, he felt it leave. Flesh melded together, splits in skin seamless and unremarkable, bruises vanishing into nothingness. He blinked hard, gasping as he felt up his body.
"Wha–?"
He was cut off as Rossi stood before him, arms crossed, her eyes firmly shut.
"Give me a minute, GioGio," she said as her Stand rematerialised behind her.
Haf felt his blood run cold. Rossi twitched her hand, and the Stand twitched with her. There was something uncanny, inhumanly terrifying in the brief glimpse he saw of her eyes as her eyelids fluttered. Her pupils flamed, a Dark Determination had settled in, cold and intent, the gaze of a sniper staring down a target through a scope.
"I have a few… choice words to say," she spoke as her Stand strode forward, fists clenched tight.
Viale, knowing that he was in a danger zone, put his hand on Vuoto's shoulder, and slowly backed away, Vuoto following suit. "We'll uh, we'll leave you to it." Rossi nodded as the two boys left the room.
"Now, friend." Sana dropped down to Haf's level, slightly tilting her head. "What was it that you said you'd do to me?"
"U-u-u-h-h-h-h–"
"Come on, you can do it." Her death stare deepened. "Hmm. Maybe your jaw is still broken. Let me fix that."
With her own fist, she right hooked his jaw, whipping his head to the left with a snap. She might've broken his neck with that punch, but they'll never know, because as quick as it happened, the damage was reversed.
"That's better. Now, I believe you inferred you'd rape me?" She tutted. "That's… unacceptable. For that, and the fact that you're a repeat offender, I won't. Hold. Back."
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Diamond is Unbreakable
"FORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
He was slammed into the floor, bloodied and bruised, struggling to stay conscious. But as if the Gods wanted nothing more than his suffering, he found his injuries being healed yet again.
The Stand pummelled and pummelled, never giving the disgraced Son of the Emperor time to breathe. Sana didn't let up. Over the constant Stand cries, Haf heard Sana shout, "This is my Stand, ｢Out of the Blue｣!"
"FORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
She chuckled darkly. "And you never saw it coming."
｢Free Bird｣
Bound/Shared Stand
Stats:
Power: ∅
Speed: A
Range: D (eyesight)
Stamina: ∅
Precision: A
Potential: E
Giovanna Estate
Nighttime
Naples
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Peace
"Thanks, Gioviale. Yeah, I know it's disappointing, but these things happen. Have that SID agent have a go at Mr. Horse, why don't you? Hmm? Rossi? Give Higashikata a call, and let her talk to him. He'll understand. Alright. Yes, goodnight, son."
Giorno sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he hung up the phone. Yet another late-night call. He was sure Grace would understand; it was their son, after all.
He heard a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Pannacotta Fugo popped his head in the door, still donning his cheese-like jumper. "Status?"
"They didn't find it. Horse had it, but he gave it away a few days before Gioviale found him."
Fugo took a deep breath in, before slamming the door behind him as he fully entered the room. "This is bullshit!"
"Calm down, Fugo."
Fugo sat down with a huff, before shifting his eyes up at Giorno. "Sorry," He winced. "It's just… we've been dealing with this arrow for almost thirty years. We had Volpe, Pucci… and that Kars guy a few years ago."
Giorno hummed in agreement. "I think… it's time we destroy the Beetle-shaped arrow."
Fugo raised an eyebrow. "How do you suggest we do that? Kujo already tried that years ago, but it just split into more pieces."
"I believe one of Higashikata's friends could help."
"Nijimura? Yeah, he could do it, if he didn't fuck up every time he uses his Stand."
"Josuke vouches for him, so I'll trust him."
Giorno turned his head to the calendar next to his laptop. "Fugo," he addressed, "Ready the jet. It's… that time of year again."
Apollo Clinic
Venice
Evening
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Bad
The flame in Sana's eyes had completely extinguished. She was now feeling the backlash of shattering someone's bones over and over again with what were essentially her bare fists. She was currently at the Speedwagon Foundation's Apollo Clinic near the city centre. Beneficci urged her to get checked up, as well as Haf, as her Stand ability wasn't fully understood.
It seemed like she could heal anything that she caused herself, but otherwise only if the things that caused the damage were no longer a danger could she heal the damage. For example, if someone was stabbed, she wouldn't be able to heal the wound until either the knife was gone, or the perpetrator was taken out.
Beneficci came out of the room where they were keeping Haf Horse – sunglasses were required, although he himself had a permanent pair of goggles he couldn't remove without alerting the SID. Even then they were practically fused to his face.
"He's a babbler," Gatrice declared. "He said he'd tell me everything if he didn't see…" She discreetly nodded towards Sana.
Viale spoke up. "So what does he know?"
Gatrice yet again tried to flip open her notebook, but it caught on her trenchcoat and slipped out of her hands. Luckily, ｢Hotel California｣ was ready to catch it with its beak. She retrieved it from her Stand, and cleared her throat. "He doesn't know where the arrow is. Hid it behind a dumpster last night after he received a text from a blocked number. We couldn't track the number. A burner."
"What's a burner?" Vuoto asked.
"Dunno. Anyway, he told me he made a total of nine Stand users, including you two," she looked between Vuoto and Sana, "...Mr. Fragi Vole, and this Matito guy Vuoto told me about."
Vuoto frowned and put his hand on his chin. "So, that leaves… five, unaccounted for."
Viale stood up, staring into nothing. "Then I guess we've got our work cut out for us."
To Be Continued ===