บท 39: Chapter 7 - Meet The Joestars: 1
Yoshihara was up earlier than she would've wanted to be. But, there was a reason for it. A reason, mind you, that she was now slowly beginning to dislike. And while it was important, there was something else that she had only now just realized felt wrong.
She hated being alone. Now, most people would say that would be obvious. But being someone who had been alone for so long, now suddenly hating it changed a lot of things for Yoshihara.
For starters: Waking up alone.
It was strange, being alone in bed without someone to wake up next to. She had only done it once, but she hated the fact that it was only once. She wanted to be with Izuku again. She wanted to hold him again, just like she did yesterday. Waking up in her room without him just felt wrong, and she hated it.
But it wasn't as if it was unreasonable to suggest that she shouldn't. It was something new, and new things, at least as of late, had been good.
Before, she believed that change was bad. But now, she thought otherwise. Change was good, in fact, she'd go as far as to say change was great. And so long as it kept doing good things to her, she'd continue to like it.
When she initially got up, Yoshihara looked at the time and found that it had been 4:30 in the morning when she had gotten up. Her flight was scheduled for 6:00 AM, and the airport was an hour away. She had already packed a suitcase for her trip the night prior. It contained several changes of clothes, her hero costume, Volumes 1 through 10 of Demon Slayer, the stupid test, which she shoved into a deep corner of her suitcase, and a few of those cheap instant ramen bowls.
Don't get her wrong, she had tasted American food before and even she would admit that it was okay at best, but that didn't mean she was going to eat it for two whole weeks. That was NOT happening. She'd soon rather die than eat stuff she was not familiar with, and that was not even considering the fact that said food had contained 2 times the amount of calories that she ate already within a day.
Regardless of that, however, Yoshihara found herself once again not wanting to get up. Even though she had to get up. Even though she had to make it for her flight. Something was stopping her from getting up.
She was tired.
Dead tired, to be exact.
It wasn't as if she had no good reason to BE tired. In fact, she did have a good reason. No matter how much she tried to fall asleep last night, she found it nearly impossible. Whenever she did find herself able to fall asleep, she was woken up later by the sensation of having to use the bathroom. It was quite infuriating, but she dealt with it, and that was all that mattered.
She even went through the trouble of going to bed before her usual bedtime just so that she could have some extra sleep. Then again, if she hadn't she probably would've passed out on the couch after dinner anyway, so there was that.
It had been the first time in a long time that she had been restless. The last time she felt restless was the first night she moved in with Nemuri. But that was different. It had different circumstances around it. Back then, it was because she had an inherent distrust of her new location. But this? She couldn't pinpoint WHY she had been so restless, and it was pissing her off.
And then there was Nemuri. The night prior when she had gotten home from school, she was constantly asking questions, and random ones, too.
Questions like if she had been feeling fatigued all day, or if she had been having cramps or other things that made no real sense for someone to be asking her. She answered no to all of them, minus the whole being tired thing. When Nemuri got the hint that she wasn't answering the questions properly, she urged her to see a doctor. She refused that almost immediately.
She was tired, maybe even sick with some sort of cold, but that was it. It was not worth wasting anyone's time. Not even Tooru's. So, just in case, Yoshihara packed some Tylenol into her suitcase to help with the off-and-on headaches she had been getting.
Aizawa was going to pick her up in 20 minutes. Nemuri had received a call from him saying as such. So, that left Yoshihara some time to sit on the couch. She was tapping her foot impatiently against the floor as she slumped forward, hands on her legs as she stared absently at the wall. Nemuri was sitting adjacent to her in the chair to her right, arms folded neatly on her legs with her hands clasped together.
The room was dead silent, with only the sound being that of a faint dripping of water from the sink tap to give the room any sort of atmosphere. The sun hadn't fully risen, so the sky outside was still pitch black. It gave the room a bit of a sombre feeling.
Yoshihara was nervous. This was going to be her first time away from Nemuri for more than a day or two. This was two weeks. Two whole weeks without someone who she considered to be her mother, and it was not a pleasant thought. It bothered Yoshihara… a lot. And Nemuri seemed to catch on to it if her concerned glances were anything to go by.
"Are you alright, Yoshihara?" Nemuri asked, trying to break the silence. Yoshihara didn't respond. She continued to stare distantly out the window, watching the lights of the city flicker on and off, brushing off Nemuri's question as if it were nothing. "Yoshihara… please talk to me. I'm sorry if I made you angry last night with my constant questions. I'm just worried about you…"
There was also that. She wasn't too happy with Nemuri and her invasive questions. It really ticked her off. And who wouldn't be? Asking questions like that… just wasn't normal. It was also sudden, too. And they sounded more like demanding accusations than actual questions, almost like she was mad at her for some reason.
"I'm not talking to you, Mom." Yoshihara finally spoke after half of an hour of full silence. "And yes, I'm still mad at you. Both you and Aizawa-sensei have been extremely pushy with me for the last 24 hours. So I have a right to be angry with you two. I need time to myself. This internship will give me that. Now shut up, and leave me alone."
That wasn't even remotely true, and she knew it. She wanted to talk, but she was being stubborn. Yoshihara was still mad, don't get that mixed up, she really was. But even angry people could sometimes say things that were wrong to get people off their backs.
"Young lady, I—"
Nemuri wasn't allowed to talk back as she felt something push her back down into the chair when she had shot upward from it. It was hard enough to rock the chair backward, and the glare from Yoshihara didn't inspire any sort of confidence in trying to talk back, either. Nemuri wanted to say something, but she decided against it. It wasn't worth making the already angry Yoshihara even angrier, she supposed.
Yoshihara gripped the hem of her uniform skirt, her arms tensing, her knuckles popping, and her eyes narrowing. As per internship protocol, when first showing up to the internship, the person must be wearing the school that they attend's uniform. From there on, the clothing choice didn't matter. Henceforth why she was wearing U.A's uniform in the comfort of her own home.
All Yoshihara needed some peace and quiet. Just for a little bit. Just so she think and try to figure out what the hell was going on with her. She was confused, in pain, and not feeling good. Usually, whenever she was, it was only for a day or two, or just after a fight. And while she was giving herself the benefit of the doubt, assuming it was the first option, she still didn't truly know what this was. But! She was going to push through. That's what she always did. Always. No matter what, that was what Yoshihara Kira did.
Nemuri looked at Yoshihara, sighing. She had never seen Yoshihara so emotional before. She was always stoic and kept her feelings to herself. Hell, there were sometimes when she questioned whether or not Yoshihara had any feelings, to begin with. Even when she was on her period she was never like this. Normally she would just give angry glares more often than usual, or lock herself in her room until it was over.
But this? Being tired almost all the time. Restlessness. Mood swings. Headaches. Whatever had been affecting her was bad, and Nemuri thought she knew what it was. But unless she got confirmation, she wasn't going to say anything. Sighing, she cleared her throat, then stood up, her phone vibrating in her pants pocket. It was no doubt Aizawa texting her saying that he was here, she didn't even need to look. She just knew.
"Go get your suitcase. Aizawa's here," Nemuri said as Yoshihara stood up and headed for the staircase. Before she could actually go up the stairs, Nemuri embraced her in a hug, catching the teen off guard. "I don't know what's going on with you, Yoshihara. But just know, that whatever it is, even if you don't know yourself, I'll be there for you. Okay? I'll miss you. Treat your new teacher with politeness, and keep in touch. I love you," Nemuri said, kissing the top of Yoshihara's head before letting go.
Yoshihara's breath hitched, almost like she was choking back a sob. And then, as quiet as a mouse, Yoshihara spoke. "I'll miss you too… Mom…." It was enough to make the ravenette smile warmly. Yoshihara turned around and hugged her, burying her face underneath her chest, small, light sobs coming from the blonde.
"Gods… I don't know what's going on Yoshihara… I wish I did…." "I take it you're nervous. Being so far away…. It'll be different, but from what I heard from Josefumi, you're meeting extended family…." Nemuri said, looking down at the crying Yoshihara. That was a sentence that made no sense. Yoshihara never cried, and yet here she was, crying. It was hard to look at, let alone hear. She sounded so vulnerable, scared even.
And that was when Nemuri understood. "Separation Anxiety. She keeps syking herself out, and it's negatively affecting her…." Nemuri thought, feeling Yoshihara's arms wrap tightly around her as Nemuri rubbed her back soothingly. Out of the corner of her eye, Nemuri saw that a part of Yoshihara's shoulders had been exposed. The way she had been positioned, the nape of her neck was showing, and there, she saw a small, barely noticeable Star-Shaped Mark.
Nemuri's eyes widened. She knew that mark. She had seen it before on Josefumi from time to time. She knew exactly what it meant. And that was when she understood what Josefumi had said by saying that Yoshihara was meeting some extended family during their shared internship overseas.
"Oh god…. She's a Joestar. That's what Josefumi meant by meeting extended family…! That's why she wanted to go to the Speedwagon Foundation. I understand now…. And now… I have an idea." "It's okay, Yoshihara, don't be sad. Hey, you know what, I think I finally have a good nickname for you that isn't cringe-worthy. You want to hear it?" Nemuri asked as Yoshihara pulled herself away, wiping her eyes from the tears, and looking up at Nemuri.
"You're my little star. Don't ever forget that. Okay? I might have only met you late last year, but… you really are my daughter. And no matter what happens, that will always be the case. Okay?" the ravenette said, bopping her on the nose, annoyance appearing on Yoshihara's face for a split second, before it quickly faded away and replaced with a sombre smile.
"Thanks… Mom. I… I love you, too…" Yoshihara said awkwardly, Nemuri smiling before ushering her up the stairs.
"Come on, you have a plane to catch, so hurry up. I'll come and see both you and Kujo-kun off, alright?" Nemuri said as Yoshihara nodded, turning and walking up the stairs. She was still tired. Still hurting, though not nearly as much as yesterday, and still confused. But now she could add something positive to that list.
Something she never thought she would be able to even remotely feel. She had felt hints of it before, but nothing like this. For once in her life. She felt Joy. A sense of belonging. Something that she never had before. Yoshihara always felt like an outcast. But now, she felt as if she finally found where she belonged.
She belonged here. With everyone who loved her. From Izuku to Nemuri, to her friends who cared and respected her, to even some of her classmates who weren't still for some reason still against her. And now, she was flying out to the states to meet some extended family. Maybe… just maybe, she could branch out that list of people? Who knew, but she was about to find out.
Grabbing her suitcase from her bedroom, she hurriedly walked down the stairs, slipped on her black dress shoes, then entered the elevator with Nemuri.
She had a plane to catch.
xxXXxxXXxx
A relatively lanky man, wearing a black business suit with a white tie and red shirt underneath stalked the outside of an airport close to Musutafu. It was currently 5:25 in the morning, and he was prepared to get to work on a mission his Boss sent him on. He took out a comb from his suit's breast pocket, brushing back his medium orange and black hair, before putting the comb back. His slanted red eyes stared at a private black jet, guarded by two people in blue uniforms with hats that read S.W.F on the front.
He stood at around a height of 6 foot 9 inches. Compared to most people in his unit, he was the tallest one there. It often made him stand out in a crowd, but then again, not many people knew what he was, even though he was considered an S-Class Villain. No one had ever seen his face, period. No one knew what he looked like, because of the way he attacked his enemies.
That, and any reports on his crimes were only the leftovers. Never any eyewitness accounts. Because he never left witnesses. He was a professional and had been working in the field for decades. He had gone by several names in the past, all of them fake, and never any real.
In fact, he was pretty sure he forgot his real name. He honestly didn't care, though. Whatever name he had at the time was what benefitted him the most. If that identity was forsaken, then it was, and he would cut ties with it. No matter what.
His list of previous names included the following:
Yosuke Munakata.
Senjuro Toriyama.
Hajime Asanuma.
Haruki Fujimoto.
Hideyoshi Haraguchi.
Hisashi Inada, later Hisashi Midoriya after falling in love with, and marrying then divorcing Inko Midoriya (he still pays her child support).
Ichirou Kanzaki.
And many, many more.
Somewhere down the line, a part of him became detached from reality, only thinking about his job as a professional assassin for Damnatio Ad Bestias. It was why after his first and only marriage did he stop trying to woo the ladies. He couldn't afford to. That being said, he never looked back at his time with his past wife as a bad one. But, it did hinder his work, so they had to cut ties.
Especially when she became pregnant. He couldn't commit to something like that. Plus, if anyone knew his connection to her, it would put her in danger, even more so than her being an assassin herself. So divorcing her for her and his at the time soon-to-be son's safety was the best way to go. In fact, he was the one who suggested she retired, and she did just that after they divorced
Now he was hired to kill that kid. Izuku Midoriya. He couldn't bring himself to do it, so he opted for the two other options instead. Yoshihara Kira and Josefumi Kujo. Both Stand Users, both Joestars, and both of them were dangerous. He was never opposed to taking out dangerous opponents, namely because of how his Stand worked.
He had a 100% success rate compared to most of his colleagues, who floated around 75% to 85%. They were still the best in their fields, but out of all of them, he was the best of the best. The crème of the crop, as his Boss put it. He never lost any battles, namely because he actively tried to avoid them. However, this time, he knew he couldn't. That alone brought down the success chance of this to 90%. Not ideal, but still in his favour.
However, he also had to take into consideration that his targets were Joestars. That was the main reason why HE was hired to kill them, and not the others. Joestars, no matter what, always found a way to come out of their situations alive. It happened back at the USJ with Makoto, and The Boss wasn't going to take any more chances.
Still, though, he warned The Boss that he still had a margin of error. The Boss, however, was confident in his abilities, so at least he had that going for him. And seeing as his Boss saw that he had the best chance to kill Yoshihara Kira and Josefumi Kujo, he was going to do the best he could in order to make his Boss happy. After all, that was why he became an assassin in the first place.
Shifting his right hand underneath his shirt and into his pants, he pulled out an M1911. Attached to the barrel was a silencer. The basic sights had been replaced by an adjustable M1911 Novak LoMount White Bar-styled sight. The magazine was adjusted to carry 10 rounds per clip, with two extra clips in his utility belt that he strapped to his normal belt.
Cocking back the slider on his gun, he waited for one of the guards to enter the plane. He only wanted to take out one of them, and switch positions with them. The fewer the casualties, the better. That way he didn't have to deal with too many bodies once he was done.
And so, he waited. For the next 4 minutes, he stood around and waited for one of the guards to enter the plane. And eventually, one did. Once the coast was clear, he activated his communications dampener to block all radio waves for any nearby communications devices. Slinking behind a wall of the small building on the runway, he walked carefully around the plane to get underneath the loading stairs.
The whole time he did this, he made sure to stay in the person's blind spots, always quickening the pace when the guard moved so that he could continue to be in their blind spot, and never once leaving any chance for the guard to see him.
Once he was positioned underneath the stairs, he waited for the guard to get into position. Once they did, he put the ends of his silencer to the back of the guard's head, and before they could react, fired the gun. There was no sound, and the moment the guard fell, they did so in a way that allowed him to collect the body.
He got out of the suit and tie get up, and put on what the guard was wearing; that being a blue button-down shirt with the symbol for The Speedwagon Foundation, a pair of mahogany pants, black socks, black shoes, and a hat that he stuffed all of his hair into as to not look any different. Just for the man's luck, they were the same height as him, so he must've had some sort of height-altering Quirk.
Positioning the body in such a fashion to where it would never be found before it was too late, the man quickly got in place and looked at the name tag. "Ayuma Fukuzawa. That is my name now." "Ayuma" thought, deactivating his communications dampener, pocketing his gun deep within his pants, attaching his belt, taking the guard's spot, and standing at attention as the other guard stepped out.
"Damn… I don't know why, but the radios were on the fritz. It's working now, but it's strange. Jonathon assured us that these were state-of-the-art! Tch, whatever. What about you, Fukuzawa-kun?" the other man asked, "Ayuma" reading the man's name tag to know his name and to not break the immersion.
"Mine was acting weird, too, Satoshi. Could've been interference coming from the command tower. It happens sometimes," "Ayuma" replied as Satoshi shrugged.
"Well, when you put it like that, it makes sense. Say, did you get new coloured contacts or something, your eyes are usually blue and not red," Satoshi said, squinting at "Ayuma," who frowned.
"Yes. I did. Is that an issue?" "Ayuma" asked, his tone harsh as Satoshi put his hands up in defence.
"Wow, dude. No need to be so sharp. I mean, I know it's early, but jeez. It was just a harmless question, who pissed in your cornflakes this morning."
"Ayuma" sighed, shaking his head. "My bad. You're right, it is too early for this," he replied as he crossed his arms. "When will the two passengers be here? I was distracted when we were debriefed about it, and I forgot."
"Ah! Well, Kira-san and Kujo-kun should be here any minute now. We've been told by Kujo-kun that Kira-san is a bit irritable right now, so it's best to give her some space for the time being," Satoshi explained as "Ayuma" nodded.
"So Kira is a bit jumpy right now. Good to know. I'll have to be extra cautious when interacting with her," "Ayuma" thought as two figures appeared in the distance. Both of them were wearing U.A. uniforms, one male, and one female.
The male on the right had shaven purple hair, blue eyes, and naturally tanned skin. He was a bit broad in the shoulders but otherwise lean. He stood at a height of 5 foot 10 inches, and he was carrying behind him a black suitcase. That had to undoubtedly be Josefumi Kujo.
The female to his left had shoulder-length blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, and a pale-ish tan complexion. She too was lean, though he could make out some musculature on her exposed legs. She stood at a height of 5 foot 4 inches, so she was a bit shorter than Josefumi Kujo by around 6 inches. This had to be Yoshihara Kira.
Upon further inspection from the distance that he was at, he concluded that both were in shape, as to be expected for two hero course students.
Satoshi was the first to step out of the way, and so "Ayuma" followed by example. As the two approached, Satoshi greeted them with a friendly smile.
"Good morning, you two. Your luggage will be handled by the two stewards on the plane. We'll be taking off in just a few minutes, so get comfortable," Satoshi said as Josefumi Kujo nodded.
"Thank you, Satoshi," Josefumi said, turning to "Ayuma." "Good morning, Ayuma, how're the wife and kids?" Josefumi asked as "Ayuma" smiled, keeping in character.
"They're doing good. Thank you for asking," "Ayuma" replied as Josefumi nodded. The two Joestars began to go up the stairs and into the plane, but not before Kira gave "Ayuma" a quick glance. She stopped, narrowing her eyes at him. "Ayuma" simply gave her a neutral expression, not giving away any hint or reason for her to be suspicious of him.
"You're a Stand User. Aren't you," Yoshihara snapped, earning Satoshi's attention.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, Ayuma's been one for years. Don't worry, he's trusted by Jonathan. I promise. Actually, we have a few on board. We know you've been targeted by a few assassins lately, so we amped up security. I hope you don't mind," Satoshi explained as Yoshihara nodded.
"Ah… my bad. I'm sorry, Fukuzawa-san. I'm just a bit on edge today," Yoshihara said as "Ayuma" bowed his head.
"You have every right to be on edge, Kira-san. I can only imagine what you must've been put through in your short time at U.A. Rest assured that you will be protected on this flight and that no harm will come to you," "Ayuma" said as Yoshihara gave the man a firm nod, continuing up the stairs. When he raised his head, Satoshi gave him a strange look.
"You're acting pretty professional today, Fukuzawa-kun. What's up?" Satoshi asked as the two began to board the plane with the two Joestars.
"We're escorting Jonathan's son and his niece. I should not have to explain why I am so uptight. We need to care for their safety and make them as comfortable as possible. The last thing we need is for Jonathan to get a complaint, and end up chewing us out for not providing the correct service. We may be guards, but we should also strive to make them feel safe and relaxed. Assuring them is the best way to do that." As "Ayuma" explained that, Satoshi hummed, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Yeah… I suppose you're right," Satoshi said, moving out of the way for "Ayuma" to enter the plane, Satoshi shutting and locking the door behind him. As soon as the two boarded and made their way to where the staff were to hang out, the plane began to move.
And when it did so, the actual Ayuma Fukuzawa's body, wearing what the assassin had been wearing, was bisected by one of the wheels, the two halves of his body launching off to either side of the runway as the plane took off into the sky.
The assassin had successfully tricked his "fellow" bodyguard into believing that he was the real Ayuma Fukuzawa. Now all he had to do was take out his targets. Walking into the small kitchenette of the private jet, he walked up to the breakfast food that was being prepared for the Joestars. The two chefs looked at him, confusion on their faces as he stared down at them.
"Uh… is something the matter?" One of the chefs asked.
"May I check their food for any poisons? It's not that I don't trust you, however, I am taking extra precaution with these two, seeing as they are who they are," "Ayuma" said as the two chefs looked at one another, then shrugged.
"I don't see why not. Just call us over when you're done," the other chef said, the pair walking away as "Ayuma" stared down at the food. The food in question was two plates of scrabbled eggs, some bacon, and a glass of orange juice each. A highly acidic drink. "Perfect."
Taking a bite out of the eggs to make it look as if he was doing his job, he opened one of the pockets on his utility belt, pulling out two dissolvable zolpidem pills, a fast-acting sleep medication that, once ingested, would knock both Kira and Kujo out, allowing them to fall victim of his Stand. He watched as the two pills turned into mist, mixing into their drinks seamlessly. All they would have to do was take a sip, and they would be rendered asleep.
Stepping away from the food, "Ayuma" looked over at the two chefs, and stuck his thumb up. "It's all clear. You may serve it now." And with that, the two chefs did just that. They took the food, put it onto trays, then carried it out to the two V.I.P.s. "Ayuma" sat down in one of the chairs, clasping his hands together as he waited. He was perfectly calm, and sound of mind. All he had to do now was to let his Stand do its job, and once it was finished, he would blend in as "Ayuma" for however long he needed to.
After all. He would do anything to please his Boss. Absolutely. Anything.
xxXXxxXXxx
Josefumi had been a little worried about Yoshihara. He couldn't get his mind off how she had been acting the day prior, but, considering what it was she did with Izuku, it was hard to not see why she had been in pain. It even explained the tiredness of the day prior.
The headaches could've been from the stress of the Sports Festival still waning on her, and as for the restlessness… well, travelling across the world to go meet someone you didn't even KNOW was family until just recently was… well, it would make anyone feel restless and antsy. However, the paleness of the skin? Well, there was a chance she could be ill, but clearly, it was not enough to put her off going to America.
Still… it was a bit worrying. "Hey, Kira. How're you feeling? Any better from yesterday?" Josefumi asked as Yoshihara gave him a sideways glance.
"Pain's lessened… everything else is the same, though…." Yoshihara said, her tone low, her eyes already having trouble staying open as she absently stared at the floor. It was honestly concerning. He knew his dad liked to push people when it came to training. So if she was going to be training with his dad, and technically her uncle, then that meant she couldn't afford to be this tired.
"Kira-san, Kujo-kun, your breakfast. We knew you didn't eat anything before boarding the plane, so we'd like to give you this as a complimentary bonus," the voice of one of Jonathon's private chefs said, one walking behind the other as the one talking carried a tray with two plates.
Where the two had been seated, there was a table in front of them, nailed down to the floor of the plane for obvious reasons. After all, they couldn't have the table sliding back and forth while in the air, now could they? The two chef's placed the plates of food and the glasses of orange juice down on the table, both teens looking at the food with eager eyes. Josefumi smiled, giving a thumbs up to the chefs.
"Thanks, guys," Josefumi said as the two chefs bowed before walking away. Immediately, Josefumi watched as Yoshihara shovelled eggs into her mouth with the provided fork, not wasting any time chowing down on the food in front of her. He chuckled, patting the girl on the back. "A little hungry, are we?"
She swallowed her food, giving the teen a deadpan expression. "I haven't eaten all day. I think that should be obvious, Fumi-kun," Yoshihara deadpanned, turning back to her food. Josefumi snickered, then started to eat his. Around halfway through their breakfast, the two took a sip of their orange juice around the exact same time. Afterward, they had a few more bites of their breakfast, and that was when Yoshihara started rocking back and forth.
"Ugh… I think I'm going to catch some sleep. Might as well, seeing as we have a 10-hour flight ahead of us," Yoshihara said, yawning. Josefumi also yawned, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, me too… catch you later… Kira… san…."
And just like that, Josefumi passed out, falling limp against the side of the wall of the aircraft. Yoshihara also fell asleep, though she just barely missed faceplanting into her breakfast. The two guards watching them shrugged. They honestly couldn't blame the two kids for falling asleep. Waking up at 4:00 in the morning, at the earliest, was tough for them, let alone for children their age.
But what they hadn't noticed, was "Ayuma" watching them from a distance, arms crossed and red eyes narrowed. Underneath that emotionless mask, he smirked, turning away as he entered back into the staff room of the plane.
When Josefumi's eyes opened again, he found himself squinting. There was a bright light, a heavy contrast from the plane's passenger cabin, which had dimmer lights. He put his right hand above his eyes, trying to open them wider so he could figure out what had happened, and where it was he had been. When he did come to, however, his eyes didn't just widen, they shot open.
Because he was no longer in the cabin of his plane, but somewhere he hadn't been to since he last took Karera on a date. He was at Tonio's. He recognized the place for its white walls, wooden frame windows, circular tables and wide open dining room. There was a wooden desk at the front where staff would make seating arrangements. Tonio's was often a very busy food restaurant and a place that he used to frequent when he went to school in Japan before moving back to the states.
But it was strangely empty. There was no one, not even a single waiter. And while that in itself was not right, there was another, more glaring problem.
Why the hell was he in Tonio's right now, and NOT on a plane to go to his internship? He quickly scanned the area and noticed that Yoshihara was also there, slowly stirring awake as he lifted herself from the table, eyes squinted and unfocused. "Yoshihara, Yoshihara get up! Get up, now!" Josefumi urged, standing up quickly from the table, and grabbing her from underneath her arms, shocking her awake.
"W-What, what the hell is going on? Are we there already?" Yoshihara said, confusion in her tone as Josefumi frantically looked around.
"Nope. Not even close. We're in Tonio's a restaurant located in…" he paused. "That place. The town-that-shall-not-be-named. And I think something bad happened. We might've crashed and someone dragged us here, or something like that. Point is, wake up, and start investigating," Josefumi explained as Yoshihara shook her head, getting her barring's as she wiggled out of Josefumi's grasp, turning to look him dead in the eyes.
"What do you mean 'that place.' How is that even possible? We were—" she stopped, looking around her before her mouth slowly opened, eyes widening with disbelief. "What the…."
"I told you, now stop standing around and—" Josefumi was about to say something when Yoshihara stumbled backward, eyes wide and scanning the place as if it was hostile territory. Her breathing started picking up in speed, and her mouth straightened out into a more frightened expression. Her body language became more defensive and shut into herself as her body began to shake.
"Shit! A panic attack, now! Of all times NOW she has to have a panic attack!?" Josefumi thought, taking in a few deep breaths, calming himself before slowly approaching Yoshihara. "Kira… calm down. Take deep breaths, and look at me." Josefumi began as he closed the distance between him and her, putting his hands on her shoulders as she tensed.
"Kira. Look at me. Deep breaths. Do them with me. Okay?" Josefumi asked, his tone of voice soft and slow as he took in a deep breath. Kira did the same, her eyes slowly but surely focusing on him. For the next minute, the two did a breathing exercise to calm her down, and after a minute, her body stopped tensing, and her body language became more relaxed along with it. "Good. Now tell me, where are we?"
"T-Tonio's… and you said it was in… M-Morioh… right?" Yoshihara asked, her voice still shaky.
"Yes. It is. Now, I need you to focus. We might be in that town, but, we need to concentrate. Something's not right here. Do you think you can summon Killer Queen to have Sheer Heart Attack explore? I know it's an automatic Sub-Stand, with a range of at least 50 meters. So, if you could do that, we can figure out what's going on."
There was a moment of silence between the two as Josefumi let go of Yoshihara's shoulders, taking a step back to give her some breathing room. After one more deep breath, Yoshihara steeled herself, and closed her eyes… only for nothing to happen, making Yoshihara's eyes widen. "I… I can't. I can't summon Killer Queen. I can feel it, but… nothing's happening…." Yoshihara said, looking around.
Little did she know, Killer Queen had been summoned and was floating around her unconscious body on the private jet. The cat-like humanoid Stand was confused. It normally only got summoned when its user was in a tricky situation, or when she needed to be defended by an enemy. She never summoned it when she was asleep.
Killer Queen knew something was up. But it couldn't pinpoint what it was. What it did know, however, was that its user was in danger. Something was going on, and it needed to get to the bottom of it.
Back in "Tonio's" Josefumi was confused. "What do you mean you feel it, but nothing's happening?" Josefumi said, his voice laced with concern and dread as Yoshihara stared at him with wide eyes of her own.
"I mean what I said. I know I summoned it, but… it's not here! I can feel it, but it's not here, that's what I mean, Kujo. I don't think I can get any simpler than that," Yoshihara explained as Josefumi tried summoning Soft & Wet. When he did, he felt his Stand summon, but it didn't appear next to him. Josefumi narrowed his eyes and immediately put two and two together.
"Stand attack. This is the doing of an Enemy Stand," Josefumi said, earning a nod from Yoshihara.
"That makes sense. But… how? It's not like it could've transported us to Morioh, somehow stripping us of our Stands, all the while several other Stand Users are around us who are meant to protect us. They would've died trying," Yoshihara said as Josefumi hummed.
"Yes, but I don't think that's what's happening. Yoshihara, do you remember the last thing you were doing?" Josefumi asked as the blonde narrowed her eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Yoshihara. What were you last doing?" Josefumi urged as Yoshihara hummed, looking down at the floor. Then, her eyes widened.
"I fell asleep…. This is a dream!" Yoshihara exclaimed. Josefumi smirked, but that smirk immediately dropped and turned into an expression wide with panic as he pointed.
"BEHIND YOU!" Josefumi shouted as Yoshihara quickly dove out of the way. When she did, she narrowly escaped a white and purple striped fist from impaling her and watching as the chair that she had been right in front of shattered apart into tiny little wood chips.
Yoshihara hit the floor with a thud, groaning in the process. Josefumi quickly grabbed her out of the way, narrowly avoiding being stomped in two by a white foot, which caused the floor beneath it to crack and shatter.
When they got a good distance between themselves and the Stand, they were able to get a good look at it. The Stand was snow white and appeared to be a masculine Humanoid of average build. It had purple stripes going down its arms, waist, and legs, and it wore a pointed helmet that covered its face up to its nose, blocking its eyes from view. The top portion of its chest was littered with golden lumps and indents in a 1,2,1,2-like pattern. Its upper body and waist were separated by two steel poles, revealing a massive gap in between them.
The Stand was tall, freakishly so, and it loomed over them with a presence like none other. "I see… you're very intentive, Kira Yoshihara," its unnaturally deep voice spoke to her, sending chills up the pair's spines. "That gives me even more incentive to kill you, and your cousin. You Joestars are quite troublesome. You already saw through the ruse. No matter, without your Stands, you are defenceless. In Outrunning Karma's domain, you are powerless to stop me. It's best for you to accept your fates, and die."
Without breaking a sweat, Outrunning Karma launched forward, aiming to impale either of the two on its right fist. Kira and Josefumi jumped out of the way, watching as The Stand slammed its fist into the wall. "Scatter! Split up, and find somewhere to hide! We'll figure out a way to wake up once we find a safe place to meet, go, now!" Josefumi commanded as Kira nodded, the pair bolting for opposite ends of the building, exiting Tonio's from both exits.
Outrunning Karma dislodged its fist from the wall, frowning as it turned around. "Fools… I know my domain better than anyone else. There is no escape. Those two will die before they have a chance to wake up. Although it's troubling. I can usually kill my user's targets without having to hunt. The only time this happened was when I was new to this." Outrunning Karma said to itself, sighing. "It's Just like he thought. The two Joestars are going to give me a run for my money. But, no matter. They will die before they reach America!"
Back on the plane, Killer Queen was absently minding its own business, still trying to figure out what was going on, when suddenly, Soft & Wet appeared beside its sleeping user. Killer Queen raised its non-existent eyebrow, staring at Soft & Wet with a hint of confusion.
[Shibo?] (What's going on?) Killer Queen asked.
Soft & Wet shrugged. [Ora, Ora.] (I have no idea, I just got here.)
Killer Queen cupped its chin, looking around the room. It knew there were, at the very least, 8 other Stand Users aboard the plane. Question was, where were they? Someone walked out from the storage room, a man with long black hair, seeing as his hair was sticking out from underneath his hat. The man's eyes widened at seeing it, so…
[Shibo, Shibo?] (Hey you, are you a Stand User?) Killer Queen asked the man, only for him to tilt his head, confusion on his face as he spoke.
"Uh… are you talking to me?" That answered its question. Killer Queen nodded. It was rare that it had been summoned and allowed to act of its own free will. But, whenever that happened, that meant that its user was in serious danger, so it had to act fast in order to protect its user. "Uh… well, I don't understand Standanese, so, can you like… write what you're saying down on a piece of paper or something? I can get you one if you'd like?" the man said as Killer Queen nodded.
The man disappeared back into the room as Soft & Wet looked at Killer Queen with disbelief in its eyes. [Ora!? Ora Ora?! Ora!] (What the hell was that!? What if he was the reason why our users are in danger?! Idiot!) Soft & Wet scolded as Killer Queen crossed its arms.
[Shibo. Shibo Shibo Shibo. Shibo?] (Well, it's better than not doing anything at all, besides, it's better to take risks than to stand around picking our noses. Right?) Killer Queen retorted as Soft & Wet facepalmed. The man came back, this time with a pen and paper, and a curious stewardess tailing him.
"Jack, there's nothing there. The passengers are asleep, so I don't know who else you'd be getting this for."
"Just watch this, Jessica. Here, take this and tell me what the issue is," the man, Jack, said as the woman, Jessica, looked at him as if he had gone insane. Nonetheless, Killer Queen took the pad of paper and pencil and began to write. Jessica's eyes widened, and she nearly screamed.
"GHOSTS! THIS PLANE IS HAUNT—"
Jack clasped a hand around Jessica's mouth, making her eyes widen even more. "Shut it, Jess! You're going to wake them up! I told you about Stands, did I not? Well, normal people can't see them, but Stand users like myself can. They can't speak to normal people, either, and speak their own language, I think. But, they can write in their user's native language. You can read Japanese, so I need you to translate what it says."
Jack let go of Jessica's mouth, who blinked several times as Killer Queen finished writing down what it wanted to tell the other Stand user, passing the notepad to Jessica, who hesitantly took it. "Uh… wow, for a ghost entity it has neat printing. Um, but… it says here: My user, Yoshihara Kira, and her cousin, Josefumi Kujo are in danger. They summoned both myself, Killer Queen, and Soft & Wet, but they're not awake. That means they're being attacked by something that we can't fight against. I want you to gather all the other Stand Users on this ship and systematically, one by one, have them summon their Stands, explain their abilities, and what they can do. Whoever can't, or refuses to, dies. Because if they don't that means they're the ones whose causing the issue."
Jack bit his lip, then nodded. "Well, we can't have that, now can we? I'll see what I can do. I can't guarantee anything, though. Some of them might disagree on the sole principle of being exposed to other Stand users. You know what I mean?" Jack replied as Soft & Wet nodded. Killer Queen also nodded but had a smug smirk on its face.
[Shibo, Shibo Shibo.] (I told you, taking risks is a good idea.) Killer Queen said, earning a slap up the back of the head from Soft & Wet, making it stumble forward, hitting its head on a wall. Soft & Wet "laughed" as Killer Queen rubbed the back of its head, glaring at the robotic humanoid.
Back in the dream world, Yoshihara was sprinting down the streets of "Morioh." It looked… different from the last time she had been there. But, she chalked it up to because this was a dream version of Morioh, meaning it was bound to look different compared to how it looked in the real world.
She rubbed the back of her head, a sudden pain spiking from it. "Stupid headache…." The blonde thought, dipping into an alleyway and peaking up a glass shard. Without access to Killer Queen, she had to use the environment around her. And luckily, or unluckily, for her, she had grown up on the streets for the majority of her life. She knew how to fight, so it wasn't as if she didn't know what to do in situations like these.
"Any damage, any at all, and it'll weaken the Stand considerably," Yoshihara thought, gripping the glass shard as she stayed in wait. It was going to hurt her to the ends of this little dream reality it cooked up, so, she planned to use that to her advantage.
"Did you really think you could hide here?" The voice of the Stand spoke out to her as she looked around. A hand jutted out of the wall, but not destroying it, as it walked through the wall like a ghost. "I know how my domain works more than you two brats. I'll give you credit, most people can't escape their first encounter with Outrunning Karma. But then again, you're not most people, are you? Joestar…." The Stand seemingly growled.
"I'm a Kira. Not a Joestar. I may be related to Kujo-san, but don't lump me in with them. We're not the same," Yoshihara snarled as the Stand laughed.
"That was the same thing that Giorno Giovanna said when he met his relatives! It didn't change the fact that he is a Joestar. That senile old fool. Had it not been for his abilities and ties back to DIO Brando, he would've died a long time ago. But you're different. You're not him. You might say you're different, but what separates you from all the others? Whatever, it doesn't matter. DIE!" The Stand shouted, lunging forward to tackle Yoshihara.
Yoshihara barely side-stepped out of the way, Outrunning Karma slamming into the wall beside her as it growled. "STAND STILL!" The Stand shouted as it over-extended its arm backward to try and backhand Yoshihara. All it ended up doing was allowing the blonde to duck underneath its attack, and using her new advantage of being lower to the ground, she sprung up. Using her open palm, she shoved the sharp shard of glass into the Stand's chin, making it stagger backward, "blood" erupting from the Stand's chin.
"GAHHH?! HUH?! HOW DID YOU—"
"This is your Stand ability, is it not? Everything here is Stand Energy, meaning it'll affect you. We might not have access to our Stands, but that doesn't mean we can't use yours against you," Kira spat, grabbing dust off of the floor and throwing it in the Stand's "eyes," blinding it as she ran out of the alleyway as fast as her legs could carry her.
Outrunning Karma took in a deep breath, calming himself down. "Damn brat… I don't know why I thought a direct confrontation would've worked. Joestars are creative and extremely analytical. She seems to know her way around these streets… or perhaps, she just fights dirty. I'll try my luck with Josefumi Kujo, then I'll bounce back to Kira. Whittle both of them down, tire them out and make them vulnerable. They still don't stand a chance…. That is the way of the world. Skill and years of honing my trade are what made me this strong. I won't lose to some stupid fucking high schoolers!"
And with that sentiment, Outrunning Karma slinked back into the wall, "blood" dripping from its chin.
Meanwhile, with Josefumi, he ran toward Morioh's central bus station, the one by the fountain. As he ran, he noticed the lack of people, only confirming to him that he was caught within a Stand's ability. The fact that he was stuck in one really set him off. However, that still didn't change the fact that he had to do something.
He knew that he was going to be hunted down by Outrunning Karma, which had been the name of this assassin's Stand. He already dealt with one in the form of Makoto Takiyama and her Die Very Rough. So it wasn't as if this would be any different. The only difference was that he didn't have Soft & Wet with him, and for that, he needed to improvise.
picking up a smooth-looking rock, he decided to test something. He didn't have access to his Steel Balls, they were in his suitcase and not on his person, but if what Gyro said was true, someone who was inherently strong with The Spin could make anything into a vessel for it.
He tried to make the rock Spin, and after a few seconds, it did just that, golden sparks flickering off of it. He smirked. At least he knew he had a weapon now. The trouble now was wondering what Kira was going to do. She had no idea as to how to use The Spin, nor was she even aware of Hamon. While someone with Hamon couldn't learn The Spin unless you happened to belong to the Zeppelli Bloodline, he didn't know if Yoshihara even knew either, or had even tried to see if she had any affinity for The Spin in the first place. Or if she even knew how to check.
Regardless of that, he was confident enough in Kira to believe in her to find something out. She was smart like that and had experience fighting without her Stand, whereas Josefumi didn't; seeing as he was made aware of his Soft & Wet's existence when he was a small child. It took him fighting Yoshihara for her to fully awaken Killer Queen, so she had that going for her.
He kept his guard up, looking over his shoulder every few seconds. "Where are you, you piece of shit! I know you're around here somewhere…." Josefumi thought, keeping his mind divided between the enemy and focusing on The Spin.
After his fight with Bakugo during The Sports Festival, he used most of his time after school to train with Karera, helping him fight someone while he kept his mind divided between The Spin and his opponent. It helped him continue his Spin Mastery, and it allowed him to get better at fighting with it. His eyes widened, hearing the sound of some sort of puddle being stepped in, and using that, he dodged to his right, avoiding an uppercut from the ground.
Using this to his advantage, he found the Golden Ratio in a perfectly square chunk of the road and focused on that to add to his Spin's power, and as soon as Outrunning Karma came out of the ground, Josefumi threw his Spin-infused rock at the Stand.
"Throwing rocks, Kujo? Oh, how far have the Joestars fallen, to be throwing stones—" Outrunning Karma started to taunt, catching the rock, only for it to dislocate his lower arm and twist it in the same fashion as a towel being drained of water, making the Stand shout in pain, throwing the rock at the ground. "What the fuck was that!? You can't use Stand abilities in my domain! How the hell did you activate something like that?!" The Stand shouted, exhasturbated and in pain as Josefumi smirked, picking up another smooth rock, making it Spin in his open palm.
"You can block Stand abilities, and I'll go ahead and assume you can block Quirks, too. You're an assassin, and I take it you've done this for years. Throwing wrenches into how you know your Stand works is going to frustrate you. So why should I tell you my secret?" Josefumi snapped back, preparing another Spin rock. He noticed the blood dripping from the Stand's chin, and smirked. "Kira got you good, didn't she? You got sick of dealing with her or lost track of her, but you knew where I was. So you wanted to test your luck. And look where that got you?"
Outrunning Karma pulled the rest of itself out of the liquid-like ground, charging toward Josefumi with a sneer on its face. "You little shit! You'll pay for that!" Outrunning Karma shouted as it reached out with its good hand to grab Josefumi, only for the teen to throw the Spinning rock at The Stand's chest, causing the "skin" to twist and distort, ripping and tearing as "blood" erupted from the wound, just like the arm, making Outrunning Karma gasp in pain.
Seemingly knowing this was going nowhere, it slipped back into the ground, the rock harmlessly plinking off of the ground. Josefumi smirked. He loved pissing off his enemies. The enemy was weakened, severely, and now it had to recuperate, meaning that now was the chance to either get rid of it completely, or meet up with Kira and plan a counter-attack strong enough to either make it deactivate its ability or, distract it long enough to escape the dream world.
"Our best option is the former one. I don't think this place is designed to be escaped from. The only way I can see this working is by killing The Stand. It seems that the user isn't feeling any pain from this, or at least the wounds aren't replicated on the user's body. If that had been the case, then the other Stand Users would've caught on by now." Josefumi deduced, his guard still up, just in case the Stand tried anything funny.
When nothing happened, he smirked. "Time to find Kira."
Back on the plane, "Ayuma" was starting to get annoyed. Outrunning Karma usually had finished the job by now. And yet, he hadn't felt its power return to him. That could either mean two things. One: The Joestars really were giving it a run for its money. Or two: It failed and had gone back to him, and it was just recharging to go back in for another round. But if that had been the case, then the two Joestars were awake.
And seeing as he wasn't hearing any commotion coming from the passenger side of the plane, he knew that the second option was not a possibility. Meaning that the Joestars, true to their family bloodline, were giving Outrunning Karma a run for its money. Which was not good.
"If they end up defeating it, they'll wake up. Granted, they don't know who I am, or who the user is, but that would mean they'll stay vigilant, and not eat anything they're given. They'll be too worried about who the user is, and who on board is a traitor. This is my only opportunity." "Ayuma" thought as he looked around the room.
He couldn't go after them in their sleep. Such as pointing a gun to their head and blasting their brains out. Not only would be jumped by every other Stand User on the plane, but it also wouldn't work because of how his Stand worked.
Whenever anyone was placed under the effect of his Stand, they were protected from any outside violence. In other words, if he tried to shoot them from a distance, his Stand would pop out of them and knock the bullet away. The same went for if someone tried to wake them up. His Stand, in that state, was intangible to anything and everything, so if it popped out, no other Stand could harm it. In other words, it wanted to its thing its way without interference. It was kind of like how he worked.
He never worked with partners, and never collaborated with his colleagues. He would admit that it was out of stubbornness. That, and his Stand didn't mesh well with the others. It practically made it so that he had to work alone, and with how his Stand behaved, it made sense. His Boss understood that most of his brethren understood except Nicholas, who was now the head of the debt collection department, so he had nothing to worry about.
That being said, there were times when he wished his Stand wouldn't fight against him. It would make his job that much easier. But, of course, nothing could ever be easy. And with the situation looking grim, he needed to believe in his Stand and how it behaved to finish the Job. After all, while he could see through his Stand, he knew he didn't have to. It wasn't as if he could control it, so he saw no purpose in doing so.
That was when the door burst open, one of the other Stand users walking through, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, listen to me! Those who are Stand Users, come to the main passenger cabin. We have a traitor in our midst! Someone is attacking the two V.I.P.s So if you want to deal with Jonathon peeling you off the wall for not cooperating, you should listen, got it!"
Despite keeping his emotionless mask on, "Ayuma's" eyes widened within his subconscious. "Huh?! How did they find out!" "Ayuma" thought as one of the Stand users spoke up.
"How do we know that for sure?"
"Because, as hard as it is to believe, both of their Stands summoned themselves, and are saying that their users summoned them unconsciously. That means they're being attacked by an ability that works within their user's minds. If we don't do something now, they might die. They requested for all Stand Users to come out and summon their Stand in front of them, and explain their ability. We'll do this one at a time so that privacy is kept, and you don't have to reveal your secrets to others. Failure to comply will mean that you die. Got it?"
There was silence in the cabin, leaving "Ayuma" to think about the situation he was now put in. Outrunning Karma had to finish the job. Now. Otherwise, they were going to die, and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.
Back in the dream world, Yoshihara rounded a corner, her breathing laboured from running as much as she had been, mixed with the tiredness she was feeling overall. Why was it that the dream world applied every affliction one had in the waking world? It made no sense to her, but! She couldn't fight it. It was just how things worked out for her.
During her run across "Morioh", she had found a metal pipe that was loosely hanging off the wall of one of the many buildings. She would use it as a weapon if Outrunning Karma came back around to her.
Yoshihara knew that Josefumi wasn't about to go down fighting, so whatever state Outrunning Karma was in before after she slammed that glass shard into its chin, it was probably in a worse state after its run-in with Kujo.
And speaking of Kujo, running toward the bridge over the pond by the high school-like building—the same place she was heading for—was Josefumi Kujo, no worse for wear minus a scrape on his cheek from probably dodging something or falling on his face. He waved her down, and when he did, she slowed down to catch her breath. He ran up to her, looking her over.
"You okay? You look exhausted," Josefumi said as Yoshihara narrowed her eyes.
"I just ran what is equivalent to a marathon with little to no sleep from last night. What do you think, Kujo-kun," Yoshihara said as Josefumi sighed.
"Yeah, alright, my bad. Look, here's the plan. I did a lot of damage to that thing, meaning it's weak. I think our only chance of waking up is to beat its teeth in. So, we wait here for it, then jump it. I doubt it's going to be nearly as fast as it was when we first encountered it together. With that pipe of yours, and with my Spin, we can kill it."
As Josefumi explained that, Yoshihara raised an eyebrow. "The Spin? I thought that was linked to your Soft & Wet. How can you use it here if you can't use Soft & Wet?"
"Ah! No, it's not linked to Soft & Wet. The Spin just so happens to be incorporated into some of its abilities. The Spin is a fighting technique, often mistaken for a Quirk. Anyone who has an affinity for it can learn it, but right now that's not important. We need to kill this thing, and now," Josefumi said as a pair of footsteps echoed throughout the area. The two turned around and standing there, mangled and broken, was Outrunning Karma.
It looked like an absolute wreck. Its left arm was wrung out like a towel. Its chest was twisted and torn, and its lower jaw was damaged. "Blood" coated the Stand as it breathed heavily, glaring at the pair underneath its helmet the whole time.
"You two brats… have given me hell the whole time…. First, it was that Kira brat, who figured out that the environment could be used against me, something I didn't think to be possible until now. And then, it was you, Kujo, with that stupid spinning rock trick. Something I can see you're using again. But that won't matter. You're already dead, you died the moment you entered my realm, for I am the one who controls this place! I won't let two hormonal teenagers kill me!" The Stand shouted as it ranted. Both Kira and Josefumi got into a fighting stance, Josefumi readying himself to throw the spinning rock, and Kira ready to bash the Stands face in.
They stood there for a few seconds, and then, they charged at one another. Outrunning Karma tackled Yoshihara to the ground, knocking the pipe out of her hand in the process as she hit the pavement with a thud. It raised its right arm, ready to punch her in the head, only for Josefumi to throw the spinning rock into its right shoulder, throwing off its accuracy as it punched the concrete instead, and dislocating its right shoulder.
Outrunning Karma screamed as Yoshihara threw him off, picking up the pipe and rushing toward the downed Stand, raising the pipe and slamming it down. Outrunning Karma rolled out of the way, picking itself up as it rolled its shoulders, biting back a hiss of pain. No words were exchanged as the Stand rushed them again, this time going for a roundhouse kick. Its target was Josefumi, but it had overextended, allowing for Yoshihara to bash it away with the pipe, making its leg bend inward.
Outrunning Karma hit the pavement face first, its helmet shattering in the process as Yoshihara slammed her foot down on its neck. She stared down at the Stand, a murderous glare locked behind it as it quivered, trying to get up, only for Yoshihara to apply more pressure, a sickening crack echoing throughout the streets as Josefumi smirked.
"Kiss our asses, you piece of shit! Don't mess with the Joestars!" Josefumi cheered as Yoshihara smirked. It was corny, it was lame, but it was true. She was related to them, which made her one of them. Yoshihara might've been cautious about associating with them, and she still was, but she wasn't going to ignore the fact that she was a Joestar, even if she had only met Josefumi. But if they were all like Josefumi….
"Yeah, don't mess with the Joestars…" Yoshihara said, a smirk on her face as she felt her vision begin to blur. I guess that meant she was waking up now. And just as she thought that her vision darkened, and was greeted with the colour of wood, and for Killer Queen to be the one that was helping her up from being face first in the table.
"Oh! Shit, they're awake now!" An unknown voice to Yoshihara echoed out to her as she slowly sat up, looking around to where it was she was. Much to her relief, she was back on the plane. To her immediate left was a man—Satoshi, if she remembered correctly. Next to him was an unknown, and one of the stewardesses.
"We… beat it… the Stand, now… where's the—"
The sound of a gunshot came from the staff room, as well as the sound of screaming and shouting. Josefumi, who was just waking up, jumped to attention. "The assassin! He's in there!" Josefumi exclaimed, jumping onto the table and leaping off to the floor, Yoshihara following in his stead. As soon as they swung open the door to the staff room, Ayuma was dead on the floor, a gun next to his head and blood pooling around it, his hat off, exposing his orange and black hair. Satoshi stumbled in, along with the stewardess and the unknown, their eyes wide.
"I was right to suspect him. He was the assassin… bastard," Yoshihara spat as Josefumi shook his head.
"No. That's not Ayuma. I knew him. He was a family friend. He didn't have orange and black hair. He had white hair with naturally green eyes but wore blue contacts. Chances are that he killed Ayuma, then he took his place. He most likely killed himself because he didn't want to give any information away, meaning he was extremely loyal to his boss and knew things he couldn't say. A true Mafia man. We're lucky he decided to do that instead of going after us again."
Yoshihara looked at the body with a neutral expression, then kicked it for good measure. "Do you think this is linked to The Stand Bullets?"
Josefumi shrugged. "It's likely. We've been digging deeper into the issue than I think anyone else has. Whoever hired him knew who we were, and knew we were digging into the Stand Bullets. However they know, we'll have to find out. But it's clear now. We have a hit out on us, whether it's worldwide or localized to Japan, I have no idea. We should expect that Midoriya, Inko, and Karera have a hit out on them too. When we touch down in the land of the free, call your boyfriend and tell him to warn his mom. I'll call Karera and that way they should know not to let their guard down."
Yoshihara nodded, clenching her teeth as she thought about Izuku. If he also had a hit out on him, that meant Stand Users were going to be after him to claim the reward. Or perhaps, it's more personal, and that whoever this guy's Boss is, perhaps he was a much stronger, much bigger criminal than what she had initially thought.
It was clear to her that they were going against a much larger organization than your simple low-tier Yakuza. But for someone to be this powerful… they would have to have the Underground under their complete control. Or worse, they were the preverbal kingpin.
"We'll dispose of the body," One of the other Stand Users said, a disgusted expression on their face. "You kids go relax. We still got 9 hours ahead of us. Maybe actually get some real sleep. You guys are going to need it. Someone will contact Jonathon and tell him about what happened. You won't have to worry anymore."
Both Kujo and Kira looked at one another and nodded. They were going to need some sleep, especially after what just happened. And this time, they won't have to deal with some assassin trying to kill them in their dreams.
xxXXxxXXxx
Outrunning Karma (Born Stand User)
User: "Ayuma Fukuzawa" [Assassin for Damnatio Ad Bestias]
Status: Utterly Defeated
Stand Type: Long-Ranged Automatic.
Appearance: Outrunning Karma only appears within someone's dreams. It typically takes the appearance of a snow white, masculine Humanoid Stand of average build with purple stripes going down its arms, waist, and legs. It wears a pointed helmet that covers its face up to its nose, blocking its eyes. The top portion of its chest is littered with golden lumps and indents in a 1,2,1,2-like pattern. Its upper body and waist are separated by two steel poles, revealing a massive gap in between them.
Abilities:
Forced Dreams – So long as the user, "Fukuzawa," has put his intended victim(s) to sleep, Outrunning Karma will force that person(s) into a dream-like state, where they will not wake up until they defeat Outrunning Karma. Within the dreams, those who are affected cannot use their Quirks or, if they are a Stand User, summon their Stand. They must defeat the Stand using the environment around them, whatever fighting techniques they already know, or simply escape it. That is how the victim will wake up. Otherwise, they will die when the Stand catches and kills them in the dream world. Within its Land of Dreams, Outrunning Karma has complete control of itself and how it travels, allowing it to pop out through walls, through the floor, and out of impossible locations like pockets in the air.
Protective Sleeper – No matter what the user can try, Outrunning Karma will protect the person(s) who are sleeping and under the control of its ability from any physical pain, injury, or attempted drugging. In other words, once the Stand is activated, the user must wait until the person wakes up, or until Outrunning Karma has killed them within their sleep.
Land of Dreams – When someone is affected by Outrunning Karma's Forced Dreams ability, they will "wake up" in its domain. The location that Outrunning Karma whips up is usually something that the person is either familiar with, or hates. There, Outrunning Karma will hunt the people until they find a way to escape or defeat the Stand.
Stats:
Destructive Power: B
Range: A
Speed: D
Persistence: E
Precision: C
Developmental Potential: C
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