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The Blackstar - A PersonaxJJBA fanfic


Rapier
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"A former delinquent gets sent to a small town where a series of mysterious kidnappings are taking place, and it's up to him and his new friends to solve the mystery by entering a strange world where the darker parts of humanity are displayed. This story, staring original characters, is mostly inspired by the Persona series, with a few concepts and themes borrowed from JJBA."

 

It is exactly what it says on the tin. This fic isn't mine, but actually from a friend (who I made a thread for with his explicit consent), inspired in Persona 4's setting and borrowing a few ideas from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

It has 20 chapters and is still ongoing. I will link new chapters as they are released.

Anyway, here is Chapter 1.

Spoiler

Ch1: New Town

The train shook continuously as it sped through the rails. The paint was starting to come off in some places, the lights flickered and the orange covers on the seats seemed to be very old, with various scratches and bits off, leaving the yellow filling inside visible. It was an old train, one that had been relegated to only make the less crowded trips, just like that one: the last train between S-City and Moriohcho.

A young man, Daisuke Ichijou, sat in one of the seats, with blue headphones over his ears, the music coming from them loud enough to be heard on the almost empty train cart.

He was a tall youth, with a somewhat athletic build, with dark hair that fell on his forehead in small bangs, and was spiked on top of his head. His sharp dark eyes had a slight green tint to them as they kept staring vacantly through the window in front of him, where barely anything could be seen amongst the darkness surrounding the train tracks.

A small jingle was heard in the train cart and a male pre-recorded voice came from the speakers:

"Next Stop: Moriohcho Station. End of the Line".

Upon hearing the message, loud enough to be heard above the music being blasted onto his ears, Daisuke lowered his headphones, hanging them from his neck, getting up from his seat at the same time and picking up his dark-grey travel bag, walking closer to the door.

The train stopped, with its typical suddenness and the doors opened, letting the passengers out into the station that was more spacious than Daisuke remembered, but as empty as one would expect from the late hour. It still was a relatively well kept station however, as although the town wasn't especially known for tourism, it wasn't uncommon for people to come visit their relatives, and its hospital was well known and rated in the region.

He walked out of the building, lifting his bag with his right hand to descend the staircases on the outside and into the town, walking into a large plaza with a large roundabout in the middle, where a statue of a local folk hero stood, surrounded by lush grass and flower pots, with a few benches sprinkled in.

The last time he had been to the town had been years ago, when he was still very much a child, and had come with his parents to visit his maternal grandparents and his aunt. While his grandparents had eventually moved to the city, however, his aunt had decided to stay to continue working as a nurse in the town's hospital.

"Hey, Dai-chan!"

Daisuke smiled upon recognizing the voice, finding its owner walking up to him from the right: A medium height woman in her mid-thirties, wearing hospital scrubs with a dark-blue wool jacket over them, with auburn hair, and a very characteristic gentle, caring smile on her face. It had been years since he had last saw her, but that was unmistakably his aunt Saeko Hirose.

His aunt walked up to him and gave him a strong hug, letting go of him after a few moments and looking at him from top to bottom:

"Look at you so tall!" she laughed, giving him a pat on the arm, "Hope you're ready to help me out at home".

"Whatever you want, aunt Saeko" he smiled, "Thanks for letting me stay in your house this year".

"Of course, you're family" Saeko looked at the watch on her left wrist, before starting to walk away, "Now come on, it's really late and you have classes tomorrow, besides, it's freezing here".

Daisuke nodded in agreement, following his aunt through the town, walking around the roundabout and through a couple of large streets with houses around them. He only had a very vague idea of how the town was organized, but he did remember that the streets were wide and there really weren't many cars around, and so far, his memory wasn't betraying him. The town was very much a traditional looking town, not completely rural, but still far from the metropolis that was S-City.

"This place must be really quiet" Daisuke said, looking around, "Ain't much going around I suppose".

"Oh, you'd be wrong, Dai-chan" his aunt made a wry smile, "There has been quite a situation as of late, with the shopkeepers all banding together against the big shopping centre in town".

"A shopping centre?" the youth asked, surprised.

"Yup, 'LuckyLand' quite a big one too" Saeko gave a small nod, "It's actually owned by people from the town, but the rest of the townspeople say they are running them out of business. Still I hear it's where all of the kids your age hang out at, maybe it would do you good to check it out".

Daisuke gave a small nod, before stopping, seeing in front of him the house where he would stay the year: it was a traditional looking house, with another two floors and a small garden on the other side of low dark stone wall where the mailbox with the name "Hirose" was placed.

Saeko took her keys from the pocket of her jacket and opened the door, leading Daisuke into the foyer and then to a cosy living room, with a short table, a dark couch, some pillows on the ground, and a medium sized television. A wind chime was placed next to the glass panels to the outside. His maternal grandparents', and now his aunt's house was exactly how he remembered it.

"You can take your mum's room upstairs, I already cleaned it up for you" Saeko gave him another of her friendly smiles, "I'm glad someone else can stay here, it's not rare for me to sleep in the hospital in long night shifts".

"Thank you, aunt Saeko" Daisuke took a small bow of appreciation, "I'll take my stuff upstairs then".

"Hang on",she asked, and her smile wasn't there anymore, "I won't do it right now, you're tired and you have classes, but, tomorrow I want you to tell me the truth of why you're here".

The truth. He knew what she meant, the reason why Daisuke Ichijou, promising heir to the Ichijou Fruit Parlour successful business had been sent to spend a year in the small and old fashioned Morioh with his aunt.

"I will" Daisuke nodded, "I promise".

A kind, understanding smile came back to his young aunt's face, and she wished him good night before going back into the living room, while Daisuke dragged his travel bag with him, up the stairs and through the hallway, finding the door of his mother's old room and stepping into the small bedroom.

The room that had belonged to his mother, and now his, was small and yet, welcoming, with light coloured walls, a redwood wardrobe and desk, a mostly empty shelf with only a few books, a small television on top of a stand covered in green cloth, and a large and comfortable bed, whose covers where the same tone of green as the cloth under the TV and as the window dressings.

He started to unpack, taking special attention to leave his new uniform on the chair, to be worn on the next day. He then switched clothes, changing into the grey slacks and black long-sleeved shirt of the pyjamas, pulling the covers on the bed, preparing to go to sleep when he remembered that he had forgotten to charge his phone.

He walked back to his worn clothes, searching for the phone on the right side pocket of his jeans, taking it out and looking at the black screen.

"No battery" he mumbled to himself after he pressed the unlocking button with no success, "Right... Time to charge you up".

He took the charger of the desk drawer where he had just stored it, and took it near the bed, to plug it into the outlet, but just as he was about to connect it to his phone, something unexpected happened, as the sound of buzzing came off from the speaker, and the screen was filled with static.

"Huh? It's broken?" Daisuke furrowed his brow.

As he was cursing his bad luck, he looked back into the phone and he saw something even stranger: It wasn't just normal static, there appeared to be a humanoid silhouette in the middle of it. And just as soon as he noticed it, it vanished and the phone went black again.

"What the hell?" he looked into his phone with a puzzled expression, "It's completely mad, I really need to fix it".

Daisuke looked at the black screen for a few more seconds, before plugging the charger into the phone, and, as soon as it did, his phone vibrated and a picture of an empty battery was shown with a "0% charging" message underneath.

What was going on with his phone? It seemed to work well while he was on the train and now, after turning it on while charging, it also seemed to be perfectly normal.

It's just my imagination, he thought, I'm tired, I should go to sleep. He laid back down on the comfortable bed and, after turning around a few times, eventually fell asleep. Deep in his mind, however, the strange vision had stayed and it took over his dreams.

 

Edited by Rapier
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Chapter 21 was released a few days ago.

For convenience's sake, I'll start posting the chapters from here on in the main thread and update the first post with the first chapter (I can't include them all in spoilers, sadly).

Spoiler

Hunted:

Daisuke left his house, immediately feeling the hot air surround him. June 21st marked the start of summer, but also, the first day where the students of Budoga Oka got to wear their summer uniforms. As such, Daisuke had ditched the blazer and the long-sleeved shirt, wearing instead a black t-shirt underneath an open short-sleeved white button shirt with the school's logo on the left side pocket and a small dark blue stripe on the sleeves. The pants however, were exactly the same as the ones they wore during winter.

"Senpai!"

Daisuke turned to look behind him, where he could see Ryoji walking fast to catch up with him. The first year, as was his custom, wore his uniform with as much dignity as he could, with the white shirt tucked into his pants and the black tie properly in place. He carried his sketchbook on his left hand, and his school bag on his right.

"Mornin', Ryoji," Daisuke greeted his underclassman, as they got back to walking towards the school, "You're back to carrying your sketchbook?"

"Huh? Oh, yes," Ryoji made a somewhat embarrassed smile, "I wanted to try and reconquer my passion for art. I figured the way to do it is to just do what I used to do before and draw whatever idea comes to mind."

"Seems like a good idea", Daisuke opined with a nod.

"Oh, but I have something to ask," Ryoji said, changing the subject, his face darkening as he took a look around and lowered his tone of voice, "Hasn't it been too long since the last incident?"

Daisuke nodded. He had been thinking about it for a while now. Ever since they had managed to save Ryoji, the killer had remained strangely silent. His pace had already dropped somewhat between Yukino and Ryoji's kidnapping, but ever since they had braved the museum, they had yet to enter the Shadow World. The Dead Phone Watch had also not had a single transmission since the day where they had seen Shadow Ryoji's last warning.

"Do you think, maybe the killer turned himself in?" Ryoji suggested.

"No, even if the police tried to keep it secret, which I don't know why they would, the news would've have caught up to it by now," Daisuke said, scratching his chin, "So no. Unless he got careless and a Shadow got him, which I also doubt could happen, he is still out there."

"But… Why hasn't he done anything?" The underclassman insisted.

"I don't know," Daisuke shook his head.

They finally reached the School, the two of them going in different directions then, to their respective classrooms, Ryoji staying on the ground floor and Daisuke taking the staircase up. Once he reached his classroom, he found Yukino by the door. She wore capri-length black leggings underneath her uniform skirt. Her short-sleeve shirt was buttoned all the way up, but she didn't wear the tie. She greeted him with one of the big smiles she used to give him.

"You're up earlier than usual," she commented, moving a bit to the side, letting Daisuke lean on the wall next to her.

"I am?" Daisuke checked the clock on the wall in front of him, only five minutes remained before class, "Are you sure, it's not just the rest who are late?"

"Oh yeah, I think you're right," she said, looking at the clock as well, noticing the time, "Riko is normally the first one here. Since she's not here yet, I just assumed we'd all just gotten here earlier, or something. I'm silly, ignore me."

As if to answer Yukino, they heard the sound of people coming up the stairs and in an instant, Tatsuya and Riko both appeared on the floor. Tatsuya had discarded the uniform button-shirt, instead opting for using a t-shirt of his own, that was yellow in colour with "SKOOL DAZE" in black graffiti styled writing in the front. Riko had unbuttoned the first of her shirt buttons, and wore her normal orange hoodie jacket tied around her waist, short white socks and white trainers.

"Yo," Tatsuya greeted with a quick wave.

"Sorry, we're late," Riko said, touching her own head, with an apologetic smile, "I needed to do some extra chores for my club before class. Tatsuya helped me out."

"You actually helped someone?" Daisuke asked, looking at Tatsuya, with a mocking grin, "How much did she pay you?"

"Shut up!" Tatsuya said, trying to appear serious, but having a hard time not cracking a smile, "I can be a gentleman when I want, ya know?"

"Shame you don't want it more often," Riko teased him, punching him lightly on his arm.

"I'm already regretting helping you, you harpy," Tatsuya said back, holding his arm, with a wry smile.

"You two are really like an old married couple," Yukino said, raising her closed right hand in front of her lips as she quietly chuckled.

Riko grew alarmingly red, while Tatsuya looked away from them, even if Daisuke could tell that he was also looking redder. Before they could "defend" themselves however, the bell rung and they made their way inside the classroom, where Sakakibara was already waiting for them inside. The teacher looked even more annoyed than usual, even if in a different way than he had looked in the camping trip. As the students all settled into their seats, he cleared his throat, and began to talk:

"Listen up, you lazy bums! I've been given an announcement to make by the principal," he said, showing the class a sheet of paper he was holding in his right hand, before putting it back in front of him, and starting to read aloud, "Starting today, agents from the Moriohcho Police Force will be conducting searches in and around the school."

The police? Daisuke repeated in his mind, as noise was heard around the classroom, as all the students started to comment the news with each other. Daisuke saw his three teammates all turn on their chairs to look at him, and at each other. That news was certainly a surprise, even if, Daisuke thought, it did make sense.

"They are looking into the murder of your classmate, Mayoi Yumeno, as well as the serial kidnappings that followed it," Sakakibara continued, after he shouted twice to force the cloud of noise to die down, "A new detective from the S-City Police Force was called over to oversee the investigation. She believes that this school has some connection to the case."

Daisuke nodded without thinking. When they had discussed the case before, they had established the clear connection that all of the kidnapped victims had been Budoga students. As for why that was, he wasn't sure yet. The most likely explanation would be that the killer could be a student, but that possibility scared him, more than he would like to admit. As he looked around the room again, he noticed that some glances were thrown at Yukino, as she had been one of the victims. However, even if Daisuke couldn't see her expression, as she had her back to him, she didn't seem bothered.

"For the most part, the police will focus their efforts on talking with school staff and looking for physical evidence, however, some students might be called for questioning," Sakakibara continued, reading from the note. When his eyes looked back to the class, he was staring right at Daisuke, but he looked back at the paper once again, "The school, as such, asks the students to cooperate with the police during their investigation. That is all."

Finishing the school's director's message, Sakakibara turned back to the blackboard and began to write on it, resuming his regular grumpy tone, returning to teaching his subject. The class, however, had no intention of focusing on the teacher's monotonous drivel, as their minds were now wandering, thinking about the message they had just heard. Daisuke, focused on his thoughts, was nearly startled by the sudden vibration of the phone in his pocket. He saw that Yukino in front of him had also picked up her phone, Tatsuya was already holding it, as he had been the one messaging the chat:

Magician: dude, he was lookin right at u! wtf was that!?

Daisuke looked to Tatsuya, who had moved his eyes to look back up at the blackboard, but still holding his phone. Daisuke then started to write his reply:

Death: I know. They probably know about my past
Strength: Didn't you say they had no proof, Daisuke-kun?
Death: Official no
Empress: And… Unofficially?
Death: I don't know

"Hey! You four!" Sakakibara's voice echoed through the room. The teacher threw a piece of white chalk at Daisuke, who dodged it, making the stick bounce against the window and fall onto the floor. Sakakibara clenched his teeth: "Phones off!"

"Daisuke Ichijou?"

As they had made their way out of the classroom, following the conclusion of the last class of the afternoon, they had found a policeman waiting by the door. He was a severe looking middle-aged man, with dark hair and a bit of a stubble. Daisuke felt his friends' eyes on him, as well as a few of his other classmates who had heard the policeman.

"That's me," Daisuke admitted, in a neutral tone.

"Detective Kuronuma has some questions for you," the policeman said, "Please, follow me."

Kuronuma? The name had caught him so off guard that he even kept still for a few moments, while the policeman was already walking away. Waking up from his sudden confusion, he then gave a quick word to his friends, that he would meet them later, and followed after the man. The officer took him to a room that was normally used by the Student Council, but had the regular tables and chairs rearranged so that only a single table remained in the centre of the room with two opposite chairs. The blinds on the winds were nearly completely close, giving the room an eerie vibe.

Behind the solitary table a tall woman was sitting, wearing a tailored black suit, the first few buttons of her white shirt were loose, revealing a small silver pendant. The woman looked to be in her mid to late twenties, with short straight auburn hair with a fringe. Her sharp light-blue eyes were attentive and analysed Daisuke from the moment he stepped into the room and took the seat in front of her. As the other policeman left and closed the door behind him, the woman uncrossed her legs, and leaned forward:

"Good afternoon, Ichijou-san," her voice wasn't particularly deep, but it still carried a distinct air of someone who was worthy of the utmost respect, "My name is Asuka Kuronuma, I am a detective for the S-City Police Department, working together with the Moriohcho branch on the case we have dubbed the 'Fog Killer'."

She took a moment to study him once again, as if expecting him to say something, even if he didn't know what he should do or say. As he looked more at her features, he could notice a closer and closer resemblance to Shiro Kuronuma. The detective had to be related to him, and from her apparent age, she either had to be his cousin or his sister. From how eerily familiar the calculated looks and words were, he settled on her being Shiro's big sister.

"We believe that there is a definite correlation between the school and the killer. My current theory is that the perpetrator must be a student here," Asuka said, leaning to her side to pick up a file from her bag, and placing it on the table, "This here, is a file pertaining to a series of disturbances and fights that occurred between youth gangs in S-City. Your name, Ichijou-san, is here."

She took a small pause, just observing him again. Her eyes were quite alluring, but they also carried an aggressiveness that made it hard to maintain eye contact with her. Still, Daisuke made his best to not look away. He didn't want her to think he was afraid.

"I will ask you to answer me with the truth," she said, dragging the file in front of her, "My file says that you were named as being a member of the Ghosts street gang. However, my colleagues at the station deemed the testimony unreliable and you were never called in for questioning. Is this correct?"

"Yes," Daisuke answered, maintaining as neutral of a tone as he could, "The police never contacted me about anything."

"Do you deny your involvement with said street gang?" she didn't relent in her stare, "It is best that you are completely honest with me."

Or else, Daisuke completed mentally. He kept eye contact with her as his mind raced, thinking about what he should say. On the one side, if he didn't admit to it, then, as far as he knew, they didn't really have much to go on, besides the previously rejected testimony, which would let him go free, at least until he could help his friends find the killer. On the other hand, his conscience was heavy. He had been waiting for a chance to make significant progress in his rehabilitation for months now, and confessing would, at least, set his mind more at ease. Can Yukino, Tatsuya and the others do it without me?

"Ichijou," she called again, tapping on the table, as if to wake him, "Were you in the Ghosts? Yes or no?"

"Yes," he finally answered, "I was recruited by classmates back in my old high school. I was involved in several street fights with rivals gangs," he looked away, "And I regret it immensely."

"I'm glad you decided to tell me the truth," she moved back on her chair, crossing her legs again. Something in her tone had changed, it didn't seem nearly as intense. Had she decided that the regret in his voice was genuine? "In truth, the testimony wasn't really exactly what I call 'unreliable'. We could've used it, maybe we should've. However, it was deemed that pursuing charges against the heir of the Ichijous on something like that would be a waste of time and resources," her expression hardened again for the next sentence, "The same cannot be said for murder."

She interlaced her fingers in front of her face, still looking right at, and seemingly through, him:

"As I said before, I believe the killer to be a student. Someone smart and resourceful, that doesn't crack easily under pressure," Asuka Kuronuma's voice was only slightly louder than a whisper, yet, it still seemed to be as impactful as thunder, "The kidnapping of Mayoi Yumeno and later death, took place within a week of your arrival. Is this truth?"

"Yes," Daisuke nodded. There was no point in lying there.

"I don't like to believe in coincidences, Ichijou-san," she said, "The next victim, Yukino Yamaguchi, is on your class. She even sits directly in front of you. What is your relationship with her?"

"We're friends."

"Your teachers claim that Yamaguchi-san's behaviour was altered after her kidnapping," Asuka had picked up another file, this one seemed to pertain to the current case, "She became more outgoing and active in class. One would expect a victim of such a traumatic event to become more introverted, not the opposite. Apparently, the next victim, Ryoji Mochizuki, also changed his behaviour for the better. And they have both been seen in your presence."

"I don't know what happened to them," he said, opening his hands, "I'm sorry, but even when we asked them what happened, they can't seem to remember a thing."

"That was the conclusion my local colleagues reached after their own interrogations, yes," she closed the file again, staring at him again, "I have a theory, however. And my theory is that perhaps they are suffering from a phenomena akin to Stockholm Syndrome, and have thus become attached to their kidnapper."

"No, that's not true," Daisuke adjusted himself in his seat, his own resolve flaring in his eyes, "I would never hurt my friends. Never." He stared deep into the eyes of the detective, who never seemed to stop analysing his words, tone and posture. "I don't know who the killer is. I sincerely wish I did, so I could tell you. But I have no idea. I did things that I'm not proud of and I regret them. I already told you about them. But believe me: I would never, ever, kill anyone."

They stayed in silence for a few moments, as Asuka seemed to be pondering his words and their veracity. Finally, she leaned back on the chair again:

"It seems that my brother was right about you," Daisuke could see a sort of half-smile form in her mouth, "Are you serious about your rehabilitation?"

"As much as I can possibly be," Daisuke nodded again.

"Very well, I will hold onto your word," she made a movement with her head, signaling that he could get up, "Be warned: You're still not cleared off suspicion, just so we are clear. If I find out you lied to me, your sentence will be even worse. Keep that in mind."

"I know," he got up from the chair, placing it back on its place, "But thank you."

"Just one more question," Asuka stayed on her chair, but leaned forward once more, "Do you know someone named Kyohei Akaashi?"

"No, never heard of him," he said, after looking up, trying to recall if he had ever heard the name, "Is he connected to the case?"

"You can go, now," Kuronuma moved her hand towards the door, making clear that she had no intention to answer the question, "Thank you for the cooperation."

He threw himself on the bed, dead tired. Even if, in reality, he hadn't actually done any physically demanding work, the interrogation he had been subjected too still weighed heavily on his mind. As soon as he had left the school, he had met up with his friends again, where they had bombarded him with never ending questions about what had the police asked of him and what he had answered. They had all shown their evident worry, not only on how the team might've been compromised, but also in Daisuke's own safety and freedom. Yukino, in particular, had asked for his well being at least four times.

Tatsuya had also instantly started to chastise Shiro, assuming that he had probably been snitching on every other student to his sister, even if Daisuke thought that wasn't really the case. From Asuka Kuronuma's words, her brother had actually dissuaded her from looking at Daisuke as the key suspect, and not encouraged her.

What had stuck out to them, however, was that last name the detective had mentioned, almost in passing: Kyohei Akaashi. Daisuke had no clue who he was, and neither did any of his friends, not even Ryoji. Whomever he was, he was certainly connected to the case. Maybe he was the police's main suspect. However, Daisuke knew that it would be impossible for the police to prove anything, due to the way how the Shadow World was used. Still, he wondered if that man was already being suspected by the police before, or if Asuka's arrival had shifted the police's attention to him.

The sound of static woke him up from his daze as he shuffled in his bed to pick up his phone, where he saw the unsettling static of the Dead Phone Watch had appeared. Contrary to what he expected however, the picture wasn't distorted and silhouetted, but clear: A short and a bit stout girl, with curly light brown shoulder length hair and the golden eyes of a Shadow behind large oval glasses whose frames shone with a neon pink light. Her clothes had a distinctively futuristic look, made of a black material also with the same neon lights making patterns in them. Surrounding the strange looking girl seemed to be a large machine full of cables and screens where what seemed to be binary code was constantly being displayed. What seemed to be keyboards made of a strange translucent pink material floated around her.

"Hello world! I have accessed the depths of humanity. Now I will have my revenge for how you treated me. Execute Project Maki!"

Static took over the transmission again, and the screen went black once more. Daisuke held his head in his hands, feeling his headache worsen. He saw Garm appear at the door, looking at him with a curious expression:

"Something's wrong?" the dog asked.

"It started again."

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Chapter 22 and Chapter 23 were released. For convenience, they're in spoilers, respectively:

Spoiler

A Deep Mentality:

The re-emergence of the Dead Phone Watch, combined with the police searches and interrogations of the previous day had significantly lowered the team's morale. After two straight victories, and a large period where they didn't have to worry about the newly dubbed 'Fog Killer', it seemed that everything bad had returned at once, with a new kidnapping. More than that, however, for the first time, the Dead Phone Watch didn't give them a series of warning transmissions before the victim was taken. This time, the first transmission had also been the last. Whomever the girl was, she was already inside the Shadow World.

As soon as the bell signalling lunchtime had rung, the four second-years had once again walked up into the rooftops, their "hideout". As they settled on their usual places, Tatsuya got his phone from his pocket, texting Ryoji to come meet them at the usual spot.

"I don't like this," Riko said, holding her head in both hands, "We never had a kidnapping with just a single warning before. Why was this time different?"

"Maybe the killer found a faster method," Yukino suggested in a grim tone, "We don't know how he pulls people in, right?"

"Garm didn't say how he did it," Daisuke started to pace around the rooftop, with his arms crossed, "We just know he throws them in, but what then? Is he the one who leaves them knocked out with their Shadow? Or does he just drop them in like that?" He snapped his fingers, to consolidate his previous statement, before sighing, leaning against the chain-linked fence, "I hate to admit it, but there's a hell of a lot we don't know."

"Yeah, like who that girl is, for starters," Tatsuya said, his frustration was obvious, "Is she also from school?"

"Yes, I know who she is."

Ryoji opened the door, just then. His sudden appearance made them all nearly jump, something the first-year noticed, as he looked guiltily to them, lowering his head:

"Sorry for bursting in like that," he said, closing the door behind him.

"No, it's ok, Ryoji-kun," Yukino gave him a reassuring smile, "We're all just really on edge, since... you know."

"More importantly," Daisuke looked to Ryoji, "You said you know this girl?"

"Oh, yeah," Ryoji nodded, holding his sketchbook closer to him, "She's from my class, her name is Maki Himekawa."

"Oh! Now I remember," Yukino said, raising her hand, "You were with her during the camping trip, right?"

"Huh?" Tatsuya made a large grin, "Baby Ryoji got himself a girlfriend?"

"No, that's not it!" Ryoji shook his head, blushing, obviously embarrassed, "I just… Hum… Before I met you guys, and you helped me... I really didn't try being social. I just stuck to the corner, to try and avoid people picking on me. Maki, she… She does the same thing. She's very quiet and doesn't like to talk, so the other girls are always picking on her…"

"You tried to help her," Riko said, with a compassionate look.

Ryoji nodded sadly. Daisuke stepped away from the fence, and walked up towards his underclassman, placing his hand on the younger boy's shoulder:

"We'll save her," he continued to look forward, as if to confer further meaning to his words, "I promise you."

"Ye-yeah," Ryoji said, trying his hardest to sound convincing as he nodded.

"We need to do it today," Tatsuya said, grabbing everyone's attention, once more, "It will rain tomorrow."

"Then it's settled," Yukino also got up from her seat, "After school, we'll gather our stuff, and we'll meet at Owson."

"Are you going to leave again?"


Daisuke descended the stairs back into the living room of his house. He had changed his clothes, from his uniform, to a pair of dark slacks, black shoes with white soles, and a steel-grey t-shirt, with black sleeves and a black print of diagonal crosses on the chest. He had his Garm-made Glasses on his pocket. Saeko sat by the kitchen table, in casual clothing, a pair of jeans, and a light blue shirt with lacy details on the sleeves, with a book open in front of her, while she ate a green ripe apple.

"Yeah, I'll go meet up with my friends," Daisuke said, before he bent down to pick up Garm, who wiggled his tails and had his tongue out, looking at Saeko, "We'll take Garm out on a walk with us."

"Oh, ok," Saeko said, stretching her arm forward to pat Garm on the head, and as she did, she looked up at Daisuke again, "Make sure you don't get into trouble, alright?"

Although he had initially resisted the idea, he had eventually told Saeko about the interrogation that Asuka Kuronuma had put him through. His aunt didn't seem too surprised by the idea that he had been one of the students called for questioning. After all, even if it technically had been voided, he did have a record. However, the relief she had shown once he told her that Asuka didn't believe him to be the killer, was genuine. Even then, Saeko's worry for him and once again increased.

"We'll be fine, don't worry."

Saeko nodded, then, and Daisuke made his way past the door, walking out into the scorching summer heat. He let Garm go on the ground, the dog following behind him, as he started to make his way across the town. It's going to rain tomorrow. The thought kept popping into his head. It was extremely hot, and there didn't seem to be any clouds in the sky, and yet, the nights were filled in thick fog, and heavy rainfalls happened seemingly at random, even if, by the next day, the sky was clear again. Was it the killer's Stand that could influence the weather? If he had a Stand that was. Or maybe it was just the Shadow World's interference with the "real" world. Whatever it was, as the case continued unsolved, he became less and less sure of everything he believed he knew.

When Daisuke arrived at Owson, only Ryoji was not yet there. Tatsuya leaned against the wall, wearing a black tank top with yellow bird silhouettes and camo capri pants, and white trainers. Riko, by his side, also wore a sleeveless shirt, but light orange with small stars printed near the hem, over white shorts, short loose white socks, and teal trainers. Yukino, who stood facing the other two, wore a plaid blue, black and white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, over a white t-shirt, and a dark blue skirt. She wore dark blue trainers over short black socks.

"Where's Ryoji?" Daisuke asked, once he greeted the others.

"He went to the Antique shop," Tatsuya answered promptly.

"You guys let him go alone?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow. His mind racing to what sort of weapon the artist could pick.

"Sorry I'm late."

Daisuke saw the expressions on his companions' faces, before he, himself, turned around to look at the recently arrived Ryoji, resisting the urge to slap his own face in despair. The first year, wearing a light green button shirt with small white dots and dark trousers, held with both hands a package covered in cloth that seemed long enough to be even taller than he was. He removed the cloth, once he got into the alleyway, showing an elaborate looking spear-like Japanese weapon underneath: a nagitana.

"I didn't know what to pick," Ryoji admitted, showing the others his new weapon.

"So you picked the one that was the hardest to hide," Yukino said, with a nervous smile.

"You're not one to talk, Axe Lady," Riko said back at her, with a judging sideways glance.

I wonder how long it takes before Asuka Kuronuma comes to arrest me, Daisuke thought to himself, covering his hand to hide his smile of desperation, I'm sure she'll love having me explain why I'm building a small army.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot," Garm said, nearing Ryoji. He stuck his paw forward, and hovering on it, there were the new team member's glasses, with light green frames, "These are yours, Star."

Ryoji nodded with a cheerful expression, as he thanked the team's canine advisor, putting the glasses on his face with a very child-like joy. Following the rookie's example, Daisuke put his own glasses on, as did the others. Trading final looks, they then all huddled together, to activate the portal to the other side. Riko was the one to activate the app, pulling them from the well lit, summertime Morioh into the darkness.

As soon as Daisuke felt solid footing underneath him, he opened his eyes again, taking a few steps away from his friends, as he looked around. They were in the usual gateway street, however, something felt different. Even if their glasses heavily diluted the fog's effects, it still seemed to be a lot stronger and more oppressive that day. Looking to his feet, he could see that the floor was cracked in several places, and from those cracks, blood-red vein like things came out, that seemed to glow in a faint red colour. Those same strange veins were also found among the walls, as well as on the houses. As he looked up to the clouds, Daisuke noticed that the moon had a reddish yew to it, akin to a Lunar Eclipse.

"What's going on? Why does everything look so screwed?" Tatsuya asked, as he turned back to the others, after taking several steps forward. He, like the others, looked terrified.

"I do not know," Garm said, shaking his head, "I've never seen it like this."

"You mean… This isn't normal, Garm-chan?" Yukino asked in a concerned tone, lowering herself to look straight at the dog's eyes, "You mean, something is causing this to happen?"

"Yes… Maybe," Garm seemed to be about as confused as the others, as he avoided Yukino's inquisitive gaze, "I really don't know."

"Well, never mind that for now," Daisuke said, grabbing his sword, as Garm materialized their weapons, "Can you find Himekawa?"

Garm nodded, standing straight, and starting to sniff around. He did it a few times, even taking a few steps in every direction, or starting to sniff at the ground, but as he did, it started to become clear that his attempts at finding the girl were all coming up fruitless. He was as lost as the others.

"I can't find anything…" Garm said, shaking his head.

"You mean…" Ryoji became pale, "She's…"

"No, she is alive." For once, Garm sounded confident in his answer, "But… with how strong the fog is, my tracking becomes a lot worse. I can't be precise."

"Great, you're useless…" Tatsuya said, throwing up his arms, not hiding his frustration in the slightest.

"I'm not useless!" the hairs on Garm's back rose sharply. He never had seemed as angry at something, as he was at that comment.

"Garm-chan, isn't there something we can do to help you?" Riko suggested, touching Tatsuya's shoulder to stop him from talking back, feeling the mood.

"Ahm… Maybe," Garm said after some consideration, "Tell me about the girl. The more I know about a person, the stronger the connection and it makes tracking them easier."

"Ryoji," Daisuke called, "You're the only one who met her. Can you help him?"

"I don't know her that well, to be honest…" Ryoji looked down at his feet, leaning against his nagitana, "She's very quiet, a complete introvert. She barely talks to anyone. In class she sits by the corner, and she always stays there, even during breaks. She either reads or listens to music by herself, or is on her phone."

"Anything else?" Garm enquired.

"Well… Back during the camping trip, I went to talk to her. Just so she wasn't alone," Daiuske couldn't tell if Ryoji was blushing or if it was the red fog passing by his face, "We didn't even get to talk that much, she was shy. Even more than me, but… She did say that I probably was the only 'friend' she had…"

Garm nodded with his eyes closed, as if he was focusing on Ryoji's words. They stayed in complete silence for a while, before, finally, Garm opened his eyes once again, and started to walk forward at a brisk pace.

"I've found her. Follow me."

They did as he told them, starting to walk after their canine companion and guide. However, they soon stopped, as they heard a loud, bone-chilling sound: the screech of a Shadow lusting for a kill. As if answering the first cry, others were then heard, creating a deafening, horrifying cacophony. Soon, the sound of Shadows' irregular steps could be heard, louder and louder, as a mob of the dark creatures appeared at the end of the alleyway, barring their way. Within the mob, they found both of the common varieties that were usually found outside of the "dungeons": the shambling quadrupeds with the large arms that they had now gotten used to calling "Husks" and the floating spherical ones with the large teeth-filled mouths, they had dubbed "Biters".

"Where did they all come from?" Riko questioned, spinning the chain on her kusarigama, preparing to fight.

"Shadows are attracted to large peaks of energy," Garm explained, as he took a few steps behind the humans, for his support role, "They must've found us when I increased the range of my tracking powers."

"And you didn't think to warn us!?" Tatsuya asked not making a single effort to hide his anger, "Do you want us to die?"

"It was that, or not finding the girl!" Garm said back at him.

One of the Biters flew towards them at top speed, trying to barrel through the middle of the group, when Daisuke jumped ahead, both hands on the hilt of his sword as he cut through it in a single strike, smoke slowly dispersing around him, as the Shadows seemed to hesitate to move ahead. Taking a look back to his companions, Daisuke focused his attention on the Shadows again, his sword raised. They are unfocused. Time to make my leader status count for something.

"We have no time for this," he said, "Let's break through."

He rushed forward then, two more Biters flying towards him at high speed, rotating around themselves, their teeth shining, reflecting the mysterious red light that flooded the streets.

"Lazarus!"

Daisuke's metallic knight of a Stand created a broadsword of sharp glass and, in a single strike, slashed past both creatures, ripping them apart with characteristic wildness. As Lazarus slowly faded away in a dark blue glow, Daisuke placed his sword in his shoulder, with a taunting grin towards the remaining Shadows. His inner cockiness seeping in more and more:

"Time for your punishment."

The masks on the shadows cracked suddenly, Daisuke being taken aback by it. For a second, he even believed that his threats had been enough to defeat the creatures, but as they started to melt into black goo, they ended up melding together, assuming a much larger, but unified shape. The resulting fusion was even harder to understand than the regular Shadows, seemingly being just a mess of pitch black limbs, sewn together without any sort of structure, to a central spherical body, like some sort of horrific, mutated spider, with a dark red mask. Each of its 8 top hands held onto a sharp-looking sword with a pure white blade.

"What the—" Tatsuya muttered, once the creature assembled, "Whoah!"

The large Shadow lunged forward, all of its sword arms pointing towards them. Despite its extremely strange and illogical appearance, it moved fast. Faster than they could imagine it would be possible for it to ever move.

Daisuke summoned Lazarus in front of him, not having enough time to create a wall of glass, he instead split his broadsword into two smaller long swords. He had to attack, before the creature got a chance to reach the others. Lazarus's blades connected with the two centremost blades, stopping the Shadow from charging past him, and pushing it back. The Stand and Shadow then traded blows, Lazarus speed was higher, but the over abundance of arms made it almost impossible for Daisuke to actually break through.

"I will end this!" he shouted, moving his arm decisively, "Rip him apart, Lazarus!"

Lazarus managed to smack one of the arms into another, with his burst of strength, use his other sword to cut through both of them, sending the separated limbs flying into the air with black smoke. With a cry of rage, Daisuke united the two swords into another large blade, going for a decisive stab towards the mask, when another one of the creatures arms, moving faster than before, got in his way, Daisuke's own rushed, incomplete sword, crashed into a large number of shards, as the blow pushed back across the street, rolling on his back as he felt his whole body aching from the push, but especially his left arm, where the shards from his own sword had cut deep.

"Daisuke!" he heard Yukino scream in a panic, as she rushed near him, kneeling by his side.

"Santigold!"

Riko's harpy-like Stand appeared at the call of its mistress, as it sent forth a powerful gust of wind, that pushed the charging Shadow back, setting it up, for Riko to follow-up with sending sharper gusts of wind, like air blades, that the Shadow tried desperately to block with its swords, ending up having two more of its arms severed. Before Riko could send another volley, however, the Shadow broke through again, charging straight at her.

"Send it to hell, Arabella!"

Yukino had gotten up from near the know kneeling Daisuke, rushing to her other friend's aid. Her witch Stand calling upon her arcane fire, unleashed a deadly azure firestorm on the large Shadow, making it produced a sickening screech of pain, as it desperately tried to find a way past the fire, as more of its limbs started to be burned away by the blazing inferno. Only two limbs with swords remained, but the Shadow put both of them forth, spinning them in front of it, finding a way past the now slowly dwindling firestorm.

"Oh no you don't," Tatsuya said, spinning his knife, "Starsailor!"

His robotic Stand emerged from him, generating a gravity sphere that it threw forwards, generating power within itself, before finally unleashing a powerful pulse that repelled everyone around it, throwing Daisuke, Yukino and Riko backwards towards it, but also pushing the Shadow forwards along the street, making the creature lose the grip on its remaining swords, as it kept rolling and hitting the ground.

The creature was making an attempt to get back up, making its core shrink down, as more arms started to sprout from it. Soon, it would regenerate to its full strength again. Daisuke tried to get up, but he ended up tripping, as he fell back down, clutching his still bleeding arm. It was then that Ryoji, ran past him and the others, getting in front of the large Shadow:

"Delete him, Wanderer!"

Ryoji's own Stand emerged from him for the first time. The elegant man in the floral mask with the hair made of small tentacles, glided along the ground, moving its left arm gracefully, and pointing the red tipped brush forward, from which a stream of red paint thinner was shot, blasting against the large Shadow's mask, making the creature wither in pain and send out a large pained, distorted cry, as the mask began to corrode away. As the core of the creature was slowly being destroyed, so too was the rest of the body, as the newly sprouted limbs began to be smoked away, until finally, all that was left of the creature were ashes slowly floating away.

"Yeah, bitchtits! Choke on that shit!" Tatsuya cheered, raising his knife, slapping Ryoji's back with his free hand, "Good job, Ryo!"

Ryoji, almost thrown to the ground by Tatsuya's exceedingly strong congratulatory pat on the back, made a wide joy-filled smile, as the others congratulated him. For his first time using his Stand, he had been quite effective. Daisuke got up as well, feeling once again the pain from being thrown backwards by the Shadow's power. Worse than that soreness, however, was the injury on his arm, a deep cut that continued to bleed profusely. He had to find a way to stop the bleeding, or he would soon pass out.

Before he could move on, Yukino had grabbed his arm with both of her hands,. Daisuke looked at her, confused, but she had closed her eyes. Arabella's ghostly spectre appeared next to Yukino, and its hand touched Daisuke's wound, making him flinch. A faint blue glow overtook Daisuke's arm, as he felt the pain slowly fade away. Through Arabella's ethereal arm, he could see the blood disappear, as the wound began to close by itself. Daisuke looked incredulous at how his arm looked perfectly fine once Arabella disappeared, the deep cut didn't even seem to have left so much as a scar.

"How...?" He asked, perplexed, "Hey!"

Yukino had stumbled, almost falling forwards, were it not for Daisuke catching her, holding onto her:

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah... Sorry," she straighten her posture, still holding onto Daisuke's arm for a few more moments, "It was just a lot of energy being sapped."

"I didn't know you had healing powers, Yukino!" Riko said, with an expression as surprised as the others.

"Neither did I," she shrugged, before making a half-smile, "I just... Something within me knew I had to heal him, and I just did..."

"That's awesome, Yuuki-tan!" Tatsuya cheering, "That means if we ever get hurt, you can heal us."

"Don't be reckless!" Riko told him, "You saw how much energy that took. We can't rely on Yuuki's healing. It's dangerous for us and for her."

"Hey!"

The five of them looked towards the voice, finding Garm waiting for them at the alleyway's entrance, "We need to go now or more Shadow will attack us. Get a move on."

Trading glances among them, the team responded to Garm's request, beginning to follow him once again through the dark and ominous streets, now more hellish looking than ever before. Daisuke let himself stay in the rear guard, alternating his gaze between his newly healed arm and Yukino's back. She healed me... Can our Stands become stronger than they already are? He mused to himself, adjusting his glasses, Have we not reached their true potential yet?

 

 

Spoiler

Sunrise:

The Shadow World had never been safe, not by a long shot. That dark and ruinous alternate version of Morioh was already ominous looking before, but the strange veins that pumped an unknown glowing blood-like liquid through the cracked floors and walls gave it a whole new nightmarish look. Where before, simply putting on Garm's special glasses allowed the team to see past the fog completely, now it only diluted its effect, as even while wearing them, they could still see quite a bit of the suffocating red fog that sapped them of their energy, both mentally and physically.

Despite his initial uncertainty, Garm had not looked back ever since he had started following the trail. As he and his friends walked behind the dog, Daisuke couldn't help but wonder once more on how his unique brand of abilities worked and how did they differ from a Stand, besides him being able to use them outside of the Shadow World.

They had trekked for a few minutes, periodically picking different paths to avoid any unnecessary fights with Shadows. Even after taking some detours, they eventually always ended up returning to the previous direction, traveling upwards, towards the top of the largest hill in the town, where, in the real world, they would find Budoga-Oka High School.

When they arrived at the summit, however, the school was not there, in fact, the hilltop was completely barren. Daisuke looked around, confused: Where was the dungeon supposed to be? Was it not the school?

"Is that…" Tatsuya's voice caught Daisuke's attention. The blond was pointing straight up: "Is that what we're looking for?"

Daisuke looked up, following the direction of Tatsuya's pointing, his eyes widening at what he was seeing: Floating quite a few feet above them was a very large circular platform. Made of a strange, shiny black metal, it was wide enough that it could easily fit several large buildings on top of it. Neon-pink lights shone in circular patterns underneath it, with a large sphere in the centre of the platform that shone with an intense pink glow and seemed to be pulsating with energy.

"It's on the platform," Garm said, lowering his ears, as he realized how tough of a task even reaching the place was beginning to look, "There's a building on top of it. That's where the girl is. I'm sure of it. She's up there."

"Yeah…" Tatsuya said, looking up with an annoyed expression, "And we are down here."

"Gotta give it to Maki-chan, she really has quite the imagination," Riko said, with a nervous chuckle, "So… How do we get up there?"

"Oh, why don't we use Tatsuya-kun's Stand?" Yukino suggested, switching her axe from her right to her left hand, "Can't he throw us up there like he did on Ryoji-kun's Dungeon?"

"That's not a great idea," Daisuke said, crossing his arms, after storing his sword in his belt, "Starsailor can throw us up, sure, but maybe not far enough. Even if he can throw us that high, we might get pulled apart with the force, and if we get separated, there's no guarantee we will land safely. It's too dangerous."

"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right," Tatsuya nodded. Despite the Magician's usual overconfidence, this time he seemed to be well aware of how difficult of a task that jump was, no matter how much his control over his Stand had improved since he had acquired it. "Chances are, we all fall to our deaths. Not a fan of those odds."

"Hum… How about we look at it from the other side?" Yukino said after a while of consideration, making a gesture from the floating platform to the ground in front of them, "We pull it down?"

"That would be even more dangerous!" Riko said, flabbergasted, "Even if we managed to bring the whole thing down, we'd either be crushed, or we'd get hurt by the shockwave. Let alone the fact that we could probably injure or kill Maki-chan."

Riko was right, of course. Yukino's idea could work if they found a way to lower the platform slowly enough so that it wouldn't actually crash with full force. However, even crashing it at all seemed to be a very remote possibility, as neither Lazarus's spears nor Santigold's sharp winds could possibly reach the platform with enough speed and power to damage the support system underneath it, if that was what that shining, pulsing core really was.

"We need to come up with something quickly," Ryoji said. As expected from someone thrust into one of their rescue missions for the first time, he was by far the most nervous. "I can already see more of those Shadows with lots of arms down there."

"Hydrarms," Yukino said to him, promptly.

"Senpai?" Ryoji replied, confused.

"That's their name," she said with a smile that contrasted with her teammates' apprehensions, "A hydra has lots of heads, and these Shadows have lots of arms, so they're the 'Hydrarms'."

"This isn't really the time, Yuuki..." Riko said, exasperated, "I knew leaving you in charge of naming the Shadows was a bad idea..."

"May I provide a solution?"

Daisuke felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. That wasn't the voice of one of his teammates, however, it was a voice he knew very well. As he turned around, he found someone he would never expect to find in the Shadow World: Shiro Kuronuma.

The kendo captain, wearing dark jeans and a white button t-shirt, held onto an ornate cavalry sabre, with a golden guard and a sharp and slick, pale blade. His enigmatic, yet still innocent looking, smile, such a trademark of his, looked eerily out of place.

"Kuronuma!?" Tatsuya shouted, manifesting his confusion quicker than the others had a chance to, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you lot, I wager," Shiro gave them another one of his friendly smiles, "Saving Maki Himekawa."

Immediately, the team traded looks that communicated a wide range of emotions even without words. How had he gotten there? How did he know they were there for Maki? What was his real motive for being there? Confusion and worry was so evident in their actions that made the newcomer chuckle to himself. Tatsuya, in response, immediately raised his knife in a protective stance:

"How the fuck did you get here?"

"With this," Shiro took his left hand to his pocket, taking out his smartphone and unlocking it. He held it in front of him, showing the others, clear as day, the strange app that acted as a gateway into that distorted dimension, "I have seen you use it. I do not understand how it works, but that's neither here nor there, for the moment."

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he stored his phone in his pocket once more. When he opened his eyes again, he sighed, and looked at them with a strange expression, one that seemed to be of disappointment:

"Do you realise how easy it is for someone to eavesdrop on your little rooftop chats?" Shiro touched his head, pulling his hair back, "At least, you could've had more care when choosing the spot for your secret meetings."

"Maybe you shouldn't spy on other people," Yukino said, with an unfriendly expression.

"Isn't looking into a Dead Phone Watch technically spying?" Shiro made a half-smile. "In any case, as you know, my sister is a detective, so I was well aware of Daisuke's past transgressions. There were certainly reasons for believing that he might have had a connection with the case, especially when all the victims started to flock to him.

"As such, I feel justified in my actions. Feel very glad I did take an interest and started to follow you around. It made me realise your innocence. It might have stopped you from rotting in a cell."

"Your sister said something like you had talked to her about me," Daisuke said, staring forward with a neutral look, intent on hiding his emotions, "Were you the one who convinced her about my innocence?"

"Well, nobody can really convince Asuka of anything. I'm certain she realised it by herself, even if I might have helped," he chuckled again, "We are hounds to the truth, we Kuronumas."

It was as he had initially thought. Shiro had managed to dissuade his sister from pursuing Daisuke as the prime suspect. Despite his oddly innocent looking smiles and seemingly carefree attitude, it was clear that Shiro had the same intellect and truth seeking instinct that his sister Asuka had. "Hounds" was quite the appropriate term to describe the Kuronuma siblings. However, it seemed that they could definitelty be instrumental in stopping the killer.

"You're loonies, that's what you are…" Tatsuya mumbled in an unpleasant way.

"Now, I'd like to properly get to talk with all of you and get some answers about this god-forsaken place," the younger Kuronuma said, "However, it seems like we don't have much time, if what I overheard about rain was true."

"We don't have much time?" Daisuke repeated, staring back at him.

"Yes," Shiro nodded, this time, not smiling, but with an expression that conveyed the weight behind his words, "I believe you are doing the right thing. The police can't really do much to catch the culprit at this point. Even if Asuka is an excellent detective, which she is, catching someone who kills by using an alternate reality... well, let's say, I don't think sis would believe us."

Shiro then made a small pause, smiling quietly, before he spoke again: "Let me join you."

The request was not completely unexpected, but it still left the team uneasy. Tatsuya pulled Daisuke's arm, to get him and the others to huddle next to him, a few steps away from the newly arrived.

"We can't let him join us," Tatsuya said.

"He does know stuff that we don't," Riko countered, even if her expression made it clear she also wasn't fully trusting of him, "Besides, it would be another Stand in our team."

"Does he even have a Stand?" Tatsuya frowned.

"Yes, definitely," Garm said at their feet, in the middle of the wheel, "I can sense it in his presence. His Arcana is The Sun. Number nineteen."

His presence. Daisuke repeated mentally, as he remembered a conversation he and Garm had just as he had arrived in that world, and awakened to his Stand, months before: "Garm, you felt the killer's presence when Yumeno-senpai died, right?"

"Hum? Oh yes!" Garm exclaimed, as he seemed to get the meaning behind the question, "You want to know if his presence and the killer's match, right?" Upon Daisuke's nod, Garm shook his head: "They don't. This boy's presence is different from the killer. I couldn't quite determine what his Arcana was at the time, from the distance, but I'm sure it wasn't him."

"So..." Yukino said, after another moment where they each remained silent, pondering, "We let him join?"

"Yeah," Daisuke said with a nod, "He has access to Kuronuma-san's files. We're no closer to knowing the killer's identity than we were back in April. We can't waste an opportunity like this."

"Well, I don't like this," Tatsuya complained, arms crossed, "I still think he's plotting something. But fine, we have no choice."

Shiro was waiting patiently for them when they separated and turned to face him once more. Daisuke gave Garm a signal, and the dog, understanding his intent, walked towards Shiro, stretching his paw forward, where there now were a pair of glasses with an off-white frame.

"Those glasses let you see past the fog," Daisuke said, as he saw Shiro put them on, "Giving them to you means you're on the team."

"I'm glad to be of service," he said, with an overly elaborate bow, placing his free hand on his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, we're charmed," Tatsuya said, rudely, "You said you had an idea on how to enter this place. How?"

"Ah, yes," he nodded, "Well, from what I gathered from observing this place and from eavesdropping on you, this world is formed of cognitions, correct? That place is shaped by Himekawa-san's emotions and thoughts, is it not?"

"You could at least apologize about spying…" Riko said, scratching her head, "But yeah. That's basically it."

"If so… Wouldn't Mochizuki be able to enter it?" Shiro looked straight at Ryoji.

"Huh? Me?" Ryoji looked even more nervous, as all the second-years turned to look at him, "How?"

"Well, if I'd wager a guess, that thing," Shiro pointed to the platform, "Represents how Himekawa-san views her school life. She feels detached from other people, like she doesn't belong."

"Like an alien," Yukino completed.

"Precisely," Shiro nodded, "However, Mochizuki… Excuse me, Ryoji, is different. He is her friend, and as such, he can reach out to her."

"Reach out…?" Ryoji seemed to grow more confused by the minute, "How do I do that…?"

"I… do not know," Shiro said, after a while of consideration.

"Wow, great job, pretty boy," Tatsuya complained, "What would we do without you?"

Shiro gave Tatsuya a tired look, but ignored his comment. Ryoji, even if still very much nervous and confused, seemed to be deep in thought for a second, before, finally he began to walk forward, to get below the platform. As the rest of the group traded looks, they began to follow him, as he continued to walk until he was just below what seemed to be the glowing power source of the saucer.

"Maki!" Ryoji shouted, with his hands next to his mouth, to allow his voice to travel farther, "Maki, it's me! It's Ryo! Let me help you!"

His voiced echoed far, but there was no answer from the floating device. Ryoji looked down at his feet for a moment, before he looked back up, his eyes flaring with a determination he had yet to show:

"Hey! Maybe you can't hear me! But you can see me!" Ryoji stuck his spear tip on the ground, "Wanderer!"

Overtaken by the blue flaming aura, Wanderer appeared from Ryoji. Unlike before, where the elegant-looking artist Stand held onto two brushes, this time he held only a single, very large brush, almost as big as the Stand was tall. The Stand then started to move in front of Ryoji, tracing large bright green lines that popped in the night.

And as the Stand drew, the sounds of bone-chilling screeching came from behind the group, followed by the sounds of weird shambling, irregular steps that characterized Shadows. As Daisuke walked away from the hilltop, he could see a mob of Shadows run at high speeds towards them. A few of them were the regular old Husks, but there were also new species among them: Some were hunched over, whitish Shadows that seemed to be constituted of nothing but spikes and edges. Others were flying ones that looked like some sort of demonic deep-purple ablaze crows with four wings, which held onto human-esque clear skulls on their talons.

"Star must have attracted them!" Garm said, as he looked bellow.

"Can this day get any worse…" Tatsuya sighed, as he prepared for battle.

Daisuke took a step forward, holding onto his sword with both hands, preparing to fight, before he was stopped by Shiro's arm. The kendo captain took steps in front of him, lifting his cavalry sabre in front of his face in a dueller's stance:

"Let me show you my worth, Leader," he said, taking a quick glance back with a smile, before he looked forward once again: "Heed my call, Prince!"

A sudden azure fire sprouted from within Shiro, overtaking him, as his Stand emerged from the sea of his soul: It was a tall human figure with pitch-black skin and long white hair. It wore a long blood-red coat with white cuffs and collar, with golden, vine motifs decorating it and gold epaulettes on the shoulders, over white trousers, black boots and gloves. A golden sun mask covered the top half of its face, in its right hand it held onto a sabre with a longer-than-normal pure white blade.

Shiro struck the air in front of him with a fast cut of his sabre, and his Stand followed suit, slicing through the air, and from it, a wave of shining white energy went towards the charging creatures, managing to cut past the Husks in a single strike, while forcing the others to dodge out of the way.

Is he stronger than Lazarus? Daisuke and the others looked in awe at the speed and power of the attack, as Shiro moved his blade again, and his Stand followed his movements with stunning precision, as the solid, sharp light cut the charging creatures with ease.

"Watch out!" Garm cried out.

The spiky Shadows exploded upon contact with the light blades, every single spike shooting off towards Shiro. Daisuke moved quickly, getting in front of him, summoning Lazarus, creating a wall of glass in front of himself and Shiro. The sharp remains of the creatures getting stuck deep into the wall of glass, a few of them almost managing to pass through it.

"Thanks," Shiro said, not hiding some embarrassment.

"Pay attention, rookie," Daisuke said with a hint of irony, as he turned around himself to make a gesture towards his wall of glass, "Retaliate, Lazarus!"

His Stand broke the wall of glass, sending the shards towards the remaining Shadows, the flying, purple crow-like creatures. Only one of the shards connected with a bird-demon, smashing the strange skull it carried, making the Shadow explode in a puff of smoke. Three remained, and began then to fly in a circular pattern around each other, as the skulls they carried began to shine brighter, red flames appearing from the empty eye sockets and being shot towards the group, spinning around each other in a spiral pattern.

"Arabella!"

Yukino's Stand fought fire with fire, as dark blue fireballs were shot from the witches' hands, connecting with the Shadows' will-o-wisps, a loud sound was heard, as both sources of fire converged and exploded with a blinding light.

"Throwdown!" Tatsuya shouted, as Starsailor was summoned, pulling the three Shadows into each other, making them unable to escape. Scratching his nose, Tatsuya walked back, high-fiving Riko as he walked past: "Your turn, Strength."

Riko nodded with a pumped up expression. Santigold flew towards the trapped Shadows, beating her winds to generate cutting wind blades that slashed at the fabric of the Shadows' existence, annihilating them.

"Thank you for flying Air Kida," Riko said, joining both hands and making a martial arts bow.

"That was so lame, Rikocchi," Yukino said as she burst out laughing.

"Yeah, you seriously need to think about your one liners," Tatsuya added with a teasing smile.

"Oh bite me!" Riko replied with a playful expression, "Like you two are any better with them."

"Daicchi has the best ones," Yukino said, holding a finger up, before making an exaggerated furrowed brow expression and adopting a deeper tone of voice as she put her axe on her shoulder: "Time for your punishment!"

As the others, including Shiro, laughed, Daisuke couldn't help but feel a strange mixture of flattery and embarrassment when he saw the imitation. Especially with how accurate it was.

"Hum... guys?"

Ryoji's call to them brought them back to their mission that, for a minute there, they had actually forgotten. With the chaos of the fight and the small celebration afterwards, they hadn't even noticed that Ryoji's Stand had completed its message: "MAKI, I WILL SAVE YOU. I PROMISE."

Not only had the message been completed, but its purpose had been fulfilled, as, connecting the hilltop and the platform, was now a wide, translucent, neon bridge.

"Wow, since when is that there?" A bamboozled Tatsuya asked.

"It appeared a bit after I finished my message," Ryoji nodded, looking up towards the floating dungeon, "Kuronuma-senpai was right. She heard me."

 

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