All-Stars Lucky 7th 3 - (JJBA 7th Stand User x Precure All Star F)
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Nijigaoka Mashiro was absolutely unsure of what was going on.
First, she was in some mysterious world, then there's the fact she met two other Pretty Cures (one of which was a real Mermaid!) and she also met a strange boy with an equally strange mascot. The strange thing about Taki was that he didn't need to transform to fight, relying on something he called a 'Stand', which looked to be quite the powerful looking golem humanoid.
And the fact that... he was from 1989!
It had been something she didn't expect to come up so suddenly, but as they were discussing their previous situations, Kasai Amane (Cure Finale) pointed out that they may come from different times. And it was indeed the case since Laura (Cure La Mer) came from 2021 while Amane came from 2022.
To say that Taki was shocked to learn he was 'forty years in the future' was quite the understatement, but they all seemed to take hold of this quite fast since... their current predicament cared not for stuff that could be dealt with at a later day.
Their hasty retreat took them back to the mainland, sure, but Mashiro felt dread as she realized they were venturing into a real desert! As much as the girl was quite the lover of nature, deserts were some of the places she had planned to never visit since there wasn't any nature in this specific type of biome. It didn't help that things like scorpions, spiders and other creepy bugs littered the sand.
Amane was the most collected of the girls, trusting herself to...
"Taki-san, you mentioned you had experienced traveling to Egypt. Surely you can guide us through this desert."
The request was met with a hint of surprise, but then utter confidence by the boy. "Sure thing!"
"I thought you didn't trust Taki-kun, Amane-san," Mashiro pointed out, Laura nodding beside her as the mermaid seemed more intrigued by the quiet bunny mascot that seemed to utterly trust the boy as she never left his side. "What changed?"
"Nothing," Amane flatly admitted. "But if I have to pick between walking through the desert guided by paranoia or by someone that seems to have experience on it, I don't need to explain why I would go for the latter."
That made some sense, but it still felt puzzling how Amane didn't trust Taki. Mashiro would have ruled it out as the girl not trusting someone so bizarre, but she could tell it was more of a 'group-wide' form of distrust than a feeling meant solely for Taki.
With the decision made, the trip into the desert started and... not even a hour into it that they were all feeling the 'struggle' as Taki had called it.
"It's your first time. Your bodies definitely are not accustomed to the heat, so we should find an oasis as quickly as possible before the end of the day," The boy pointed out, tending at the bunny, Puca, as they continued their journey towards a specific direction. "We should find one soon."
"How do you know that?" Amane asked, the stoic girl showing a degree of displeasure at how much she was sweating due to the scorching heat.
"Remember when I mentioned Hamon? Well, while I can't exactly use it to do much in such an environment, I can still keep track of the limited water underground and it seems to be leading to a bigger source in a hour or so from our current position."
Ah yes, 'Hamon'. It was something else that Mashiro couldn't wrap her head about. The Stand thing made sense since it was 'his Fighting Spirit', but 'the Power of the Sun by breathing' felt a bit silly now.
Yet, if he is really leading us to water...
Mashiro was willing to ignore the many questions she had about that bit, rather she focused on her own issues - such as carrying Laura as the girl decided Mashiro was her new servant.
Speaking of the Mermaid Princess, she was happily enjoying riding her back and-
"Takkuuuun!" She whined loudly, causing the boy to turn at her with a frown.
"Yeah?"
"Tell us more stories! I am booooored!"
"What about? I have a few to tell but-"
"Your first adventure!" Mashiro blurted out, being curious too about what kind of tales the boy had to tell. "L-Like, when did you first learn about your stand?"
The question gained a few nods from the other girls and Taki tilted his head to the side as he thought about it.
"Hmm... that was a long time ago. But I think it wasn't sudden. Like, Mr. Steel would tell me that I could already use ï½¢Red Garlandï½£ but it took my first fight with one of DIO's goons to unleash it."
Mashiro felt her mind less attuned with the scorching heat and tried to imagine how that went as the boy narrated the setting and the situation for them all to listen to.
Japan, 1989 - Taki's POV
"W-Why are they all attacking me!?" I exclaimed as I dodged a kick coming from one of the delinquents trying to block my path to the school.
Usually the streets were calmer, but the sudden surge of criminals around and how all those scary-looking people were running for me left me in a rather difficult situation. Darting left and right, I knew that there were too many for me to expect the school to be a safe place- I had to find a hideout.
"You should look for the Stand User-"
"I can't use my Stand and I have no clue where this guy may be," I screeched back at the portable phone, not pausing for a single moment as I turned to another street and eyed the old arcade. "But I found a nice place where to hide!"
The door was open as I slammed my weight onto it, allowing me to close the game corner's building before closing the door and putting the lock on. I waited inside, ducking under ther counter as the horde of deliquents passed by and didn't seem to see me enter the place. I felt like I had dodged the bullet, but I was suddenly shaken out of my brief break as the noise of electricity caught my attention, with various lights suddenly turning on, the arcades buzzing with life as the game's corner came back from a deadly silence.
I stood up from the counter and slowly looked around. Did someone turned the power on or... there was no way that it happened without someone else's input!
Steeling my resolve, I calmly wandered deeper into the building, looking around for any potential gang member that may have slipped inside and may be trying to give me a fright before beating me up. Tense as I was, I couldn't reach for the phone keeping me in contact with Mr. Steel. At first, it was a sense of dread that kept me fully focused on my surroundings but then... it was something else.
Like a tempting whisper, an alluring call, I found my steps growing less aimless and more driven. It just didn't feel like I was the one in charge of my pace. And soon I found myself led through a small hallway taking me to... a large room with a single table. Two chairs, one of which was occupied by a girl of my age. She had shoulder-length green hair, with some yellow spots- her frontal locks were, from left to right, colored purple, orange and blue. She wore a violet robe with a red skirt, greeting me with a solemn look.
"Usagi Taki. I was waiting for you."
W-What?
"You... were?"
"Yes," She offered a tame smile before gesturing to me to sit by the table. "Please, let me read your future."
I frowned. "Who... who are you?"
"My name is Rainbow. I am a Magician and an Hypnotist."
Sitting by the chair, I saw Rainbow retrieve what looked to be tarot cards. She mixed them, masterfully ordering and reordering those before selecting five cards that were one at the time revealed to me.
The first card that came out was... the Fool.
"Upright Fool. You are an innocent young sir. You are naive over the world around you, but you seek to understand it as a free spirit."
I distractedly nodded, feeling a strange squeeze around my chest.
The next card was the-
"The Hierophant, upright. You live a life of conformity- albeit you seek new experiences, too radical of a change gives you the shivers; which is why you are reluctant in your steps."
I felt my eyes growing tired. But I nodded nonetheless.
The third card was-
"The Strength, reversed. You still feel fragile, weak- you know you should be stronger to face your future, but you can't muster the power to stand up to yourself. Not yet, at least."
I heard footsteps and snickers approaching. I should have moved out of my chair as I knew it was the delinquents, but I felt my mind growing more dense with mist- I couldn't think straight.
The fourth card-
"Justice, upright. You shall find the truth, and it shall set you free. Sadly, this isn't how it will go, Taki-kun."
The girl was smiling, but I felt too deep in my sleepiness to care. I couldn't even mind much as the thugs finally entered the room and encircled me. But they didn't attack me. Not at once. They waited for their leader's order. It was Rainbow- she was the Stand User that had hypnotized the delinquents and set them to hunt me down until I got to this place.
"Last card is..." Rainbow paused as she flipped it, curiosity flashing through her eyes. "The Emperor, upright. Only by setting yourself free of your fears, by retaining the truth as your sole drive, you shall achieve control and power."
Something about those words rang true within my deepest and, as if it was the simplest thing in the world, I called upon my Stand. And ï½¢Red Garlandï½£ heeded my call.
The thugs panicked as the Red-armored humanoid, invisible to them, but very visible to me and Rainbow, started to rapidly punch them unconscious. The sight shocked the magician, the fellow Stand User standing up from her chair as she soon glanced at me with renewed fear... but I was fine. I felt at ease, calm and then I stood up. The hypnosis was still working on me, but I felt like my mind was hardly thinking on what was going on - only acting upon instinct.
"So... this is is the power of a 'Stand User', what a fearsome might..."
"Rainbow."
I don't recall what I had planned to tell her, and I didn't get the chance to utter more beyond that as the girl jumped on the table and tried to attack me while wielding a knife. ï½¢Red Garlandï½£ intercepted her by grasping her hand, squeezing and breaking her wrist in the process. Squeaking in pain, Rainbow didn't notice that I had moved too, my own fist cocked as I delivered an uppercut.
"ORA!" I exclaimed suddenly, waking up from the inner slumber I went through. The young woman found herself falling back on the ground, going unconscious as she nursed her aching wrist and I...
I was embarrassed by what had happened. D-Did I do all of this? No- this was- this was my Stand's-
As I tried to grasp at what had just occurred, I realized I had indeed mustered my Stand, and I knew his name. ï½¢Red Garlandï½£ appeared in front of me, arms crossed by his chest as he looked at me calmly and I looked back at him in awe.
"You're amazing," I breathlessly commented and I think he smiled at me for saying that as-
You are amazing too.
Frowning at this odd thought, I couldn't get much more of what I just heard as the loud buzzing of the phone finally caught my attention.
"T-Taki, are you alright? Are you listening?"
"M-Mr. Steel, I am fine."
"Taki, how are you? Did you get hurt? Caught? O-Or-"
"I am fine," I muttered, my eyes turning to look at the unconscious greenette. "I found the Stand User. I think I can... approach the school now."
"I am glad to hear that but... how are you?"
"Fine."
I think.
"And that's how I defeated my first big foe as my bizarre trip started," I concluded the story, noticing as the other girls were giving me awed looks.
"Takkun sounds so cool!" Laura beamed, "To think that we would have a gentleman and a warrior to help us."
I chuckled. "You're being too kind, Laura-san."
"Laura or Laura-chan both work for me, Takkun!"
"Can you stop being so forward with Taki-san, Laura-san?" Amane dryly asked, only for the mermaid to stick her tongue out at her.
"W-What happened to Rainbow?" Mashiro asked with a curious tone.
"From what I remember, she was taken to the hospital for the wrist, but she was overall fine," I remembered while nodding at my recollection. "Still, that encounter left me with so many thoughts that the trip helped me unravel. I suddenly had a lot of power, and I then learned that it was far more than any others. And to have that kind of... realization, it's freaky. It's like having so many burdens at once and one can easily be overwhelmed at times."
"And what is your answer to that weight?" Amane inquired, sounding very intrigued by this very point.
I looked down instinctively, almost forgetting I was carrying Puca as she was looking at me too with... heavy eyes. Tired eyes. Familiar eyes. I reached her head with my hand, and softly patted it as she appeared accepting of my care. A smile appeared on my face.
"Sometimes we don't get the choice of having the might to do many things. We can do good or bad things but... there is no greater joy in employing this power to protect those that can't do that. And to save lives of those that have done nothing to warrant death. Maybe it feels a bit selfish, but I would have put my life on the line for my friends in Egypt. I knew I could have died, I knew that I could have been hurt really bad but... I could rest knowing they would be able to leave that nightmare with a smile, and remember me fondly."
I looked up and then I stared in the distance.
"...Girls! The Oasis is over there!"
Everyone picked up their pace at the news and we were indeed close to the oasis. But as I rushed up with the rest of the group, I still stole glances at Puca as she looked to be a bit more at ease around me but... also around herself.
AN
Rainbow is an optional boss in the 7th Stand User, and she could also be recruited in the Chaos Mode. Also, Taki is unwittingly helping Puca by telling the others more about his stories. After all, these two are very similar for multiple reasons. Next time... the girls reach the Oasis and the last Precure of the group finally joins up!