jojo no kimyou na bloggin'

“Erika! This way!”

“Look here!”

“Hold that pose, and there!”

A well placed wink, a cheeky smile, a flipped over peace sign with a mischievous smirk. Big, warm-blonde curls flicked over her oversized pink jacket, as her long fake lashes batted at the cameras. Her contact-clad eyes didn’t seem to be bothered by the light, finding each lens with practiced ease.

Three more poses. Then two. Then the final, a simple peace sign over the eyes, a traditional staple of the kurapika-inspired shoot she found herself contracted to.

“Excellent work, Erika-chan!”

The woman kept the polite smile as she bowed, “An excellent photoshoot, thank you for your time.”

The promotional items were exchanged in favor of the woman’s black and gold tracksuit, adorned with a unique set of gold buttons. She buttoned it halfway, letting her tank top peek from underneath the jacket.

She was handed her black and gold bag, and her bottle of green tea she asked be provided every shoot. Like clockwork, the woman bowed once again and exited the Shibuya studio with a small smile, that didn’t fade as she took out her bedazzled phone. People strolled the street, a complete array from couples on dates to salarymen running back from their lunches, but no one paid much atention to the extravagantly dressed girl standing stock still on the sidewalk, staring at the device in her hand. 

It rang with a cutesy ringtone, one she had found within the presets when the phone was gifted to her. The name on the screen was familiar, a former upperclassman from high school, begrudgingly programmed in after her friend had returned to the scene they met in. She slid the green answer button over and brought the phone to her ear, fully prepared to hear something ridiculous.

“Ling Xi! Have I ever told you my students here are huge fans?”

The blonde girl began to walk down the street with a soft chuckle, certainly a ridiculous way to start a conversation, there was no doubt as to who had called her. Despite the time past, and the events of their youth, Gojo Satoru still took time to butter her up before making a request.

“What is it you need, Gojo? You forget I know you tend to flatter when you’re in need of a favor.” 

Zhao Ling Xi, known to Japan as the infinitely popular model Erika, had been one year behind Gojo Satoru and his group of friends at Jujutsu High, though circumstances, and personalities, had been much different then.

“What, I can’t call up an old friend-”

“Apologies, but the only person who calls to catch up is Kento. What exactly do you need, I’m not unwilling to help.” She clarified as she stepped into the black van awaiting her. A drawback of her fame, she found, was her inability to travel like a normal person. But that may have been a blessing in disguise as the door closed and the nature of Gojo Satoru's call changed. 

“Well… it involves the Zenin clan.” Gojo’s voice spoke casually.

Ling Xi’s face didn’t move. Her body didn’t react. She simply processed what had just been asked of her, only daring to question the intention after she realized why exactly Gojo had thought of her. 

“Him, I presume.”

On the other side of the line, Gojo Satoru sat surrounded by a small group of baffled teens. One girl and one boy stared at the smartphone on the table with comically-wide eyes.

“Is he really talking to the Erika?!” The boy with pink hair whispered, and the short-haired girl had to hold in a squeak of disbelief when she spoke again, her polite and soft voice coming through the phone’s speaker.

“Gojo, as part of my training I do not feel dislike for anything or anyone, simply see them as vessels that hold good and bad karmic energy. You remember this, correct?”

All eyes moved to Gojo, who simply shrugged, “Of course.”

Back with Ling Xi, her eyebrow twitched at the nonchalance.

“Why exactly are you asking a favor of me regarding the deepest concentration of negative karmic energy I have ever born witness to? I believe you remember he and I coming together a year ago, when I was asked to evaluate his cursed energy.

“Because you, my favorite Buddhist, are bound by different Jujutsu principles, and you’re a good bet to keep his attention off of us and on you.” He responded, and the teens all looked at the white-haired sorcerer in confusion. He noticed, of course, and quickly tapped the mute button on his cell-phone.

“Japanese icon Erika, her real name is Zhao Ling Xi, and she’s a pure Buddhist Jujutsu sorcerer.”

The teen girl with short brown hair seemed dazzled, and the teen boys all blinked in shock. Gojo unmuted the phone, “Have your driver come to the school after you finish your discussion with him, you have a fan club here.”

Ling Xi sighed, “Will you be accompanying me in this endeavor or will I be visiting negativity incarnate on my own?” Silence followed Ling Xi's question, and she tilted her head in confusion.

“Gojo. Gojo-" Three beeps, and Ling Xi frowned, "He hung up.” She muttered and her bedazzled phone sank from her ear into her lap. He left her no choice really, what a conniving man. Given the history between the two, and their obvious tension, of course she would be used to throw off scrutiny. Kento Nanami had disclosed much of what was happening over their standing weekly coffee meetup. The vessel of Sukuna enrolling in Jujutsu High as a first year, only adding to the problem of the Zenin power vacuum between Kyoto and Tokyo. 

“I sincerely doubt he called ahead. So I truly will be walking into an ambush.” Ling Xi sighed, staring out the tinted window at the gates to the Zenin Clan Compound.

“Alright, then that would be that. Please, take me to my home, and then to this address.” She spoke as she brought her phone back to her focus, typing in the address of a compound she had visited twice before.

_____

The Zenin Clan was wary of Zhao Ling Xi. She, in looks alone, deeply upset the traditions they held so dear. And even worse, her bloodline was tied to arguably one of the most powerful sorcerers that ever lived, the descendant of disciples of he who conquered all of Japan amidst a Civil War, 2 millennia ago. A long, long line of power and traditions that made the Zenin clan look like a kindergarten game of house. 

She stepped out from the car, her heeled knee-high boots clacking against the raw stone. She smoothed her brown skirt and turned to speak to the driver, “Please wait here for one hour, thank you.”

Surely an hour was more than enough time to convince Zenin Naoya to not focus on Jujutsu High for a moment.

The car door closed, leaving Ling Xi to simply hold onto her orange-fabric belt tied at her waist. A special belt. One she sincerely hoped she wouldn’t have to use inside the Zenin walls.

As a servant peeked out of the gate, eyes widening in fear, she knew that someone had, in fact, warned them of her coming. She didn’t say a word, letting the pathetic follower lead the way through the winding maze of traditional buildings. The minutes ticked by in silence, however the silence was charged. 

Ling Xi had visited twice before. Once as a child with her father, where she evaluated the energy of Zenin Naobito, and angered him with her warnings of bad omens. The second time she came alone as a naive Jujutsu High graduate, faced down the entire clan, and declared that Zenin Naoya's karmic energy was even more dire. Each visit she brought with her more and more disparaging news to the clan, news that never seemed to make it out of the walls, much less through the thick skulls of the leadership. 

Her white, knee-high sock-clad feet came to a stop in front of a door she knew well. The reception room. So he was waiting.

She slipped open the shoji screen, brown leather jacket squeaking slightly with the effort. Her shoulders stiffened slightly seeing the blonde man sitting at the head of the room, looking smug. Like he had lured her here to be beaten, instead of the lecture he was about to receive, for the second time. Her face remained stony, simply, meeting his gaze in confident defiance. 

“Zenin Naoya. I believe you were informed last time that a secondary visit from me is not in your best interest.”

Zhao Ling Xi’s annoyed expression met the confident eyes of the heir to the Zenin Clan, who gave a sarcastic laugh.

“What, here to lecture me on Buddhist thought, Karmic Retribution? It’s cute, your dedication to it.” He drawled, but Ling Xi didn’t react, "I don't care about your predictions, and you know that. Why are you even here?"

“I am here on behalf of Jujutsu High. The Zenin Clan’s heir, Zenin Naoya, is being ordered to refrain from any interference targeting the Zenin heirs currently enrolled.”

It was simple psychology, dealing with Naoya. Less to do with her own Buddhist school of thought and more to do with manipulation. He was negative, and could not be diluted with positive, as his negative energy was so disgustingly thick it felt as though she could choke if she got too close to it. However ignoring it, and him, served to make it worse.

The secret third option? Something she had found on an online forum, thanks to Shoko, ‘grey-rocking’. Acknowledging, responding, but not reacting. Ling Xi didn't even change her stance as a short, haughty laugh rang through the tatami room. 

That indignant laughing faded away as Ling Xi made no effort to rebut, instead standing and staring as if her words were final on the subject.

“Ordered?! By who, you?!” He exclaimed, rolling his eyes. The dialect he spoke in was grating to her ears, but she did not react at all, simply elaborated. 

“Yes, by the Zhao Family.”

He stood, and Ling Xi immediately grabbed her orange belt with a blank expression.

“Starting off, the Zhao Family holds no weight here, Xi Xi. Last I checked that only mattered over in China,” The nickname delivered in his puffed-up tone made her eyebrow twitch, but she had more pressing matters. Naoya was fast to begin with, and dangerous once his technique was applied. And now he was primed to strike.

“Secondly, and I have to ask this one, did Gojo Satoru put you up to this? He’s stupid to, but also lucky I don’t waste my time fighting pacifist trash who believe they’re anything but inferior.”

Ling Xi didn’t answer, simply stepped backward as Naoya took one step forward, causing a wicked, lopsided smile to split his face. His head tilted dramatically as he lazily leered, like a snake with a cornered mouse.

In rebuttal to this threat, her breathing evened, and the energy circulating around the room changed. If she had closed her eyes, she would have seen it. Her own, lighter energy high in the air, settling on the ceiling as to avoid Naoya’s heavy, darker energy on the ground. It felt rotted, like it soaked into her bones and made her drowsy. In it she felt something new, though, besides the usual spite and arrogance.

It was a risk she had to take. If all else failed, her domain would come in to save the day.

Her own energy sank to the middle of the space, leaving a lighter feeling in the room as she spoke softly, “Why do you hold resentment, Naoya? That is an emotion that can ruin people like us very quickly. I'm sure you remember.”

His expression shifted from bemused to irritated, “I forgot about your stupid little party trick.”

“A party trick that never ceases to expose you, you do remember when it brought your clan nothing but humiliation, right?”

The energy, in her mind, began to build like a wall slowly filling with water. Naoya’s negative energy sloughed behind it, the eerie dark purple darkening behind the lighter blue her energy began to take. She knew his technique well, 24 frames in the future. If she moved the energy in the right way, there was a chance she could slow him down, bring that number down, or even obscure her motion entirely.

Her belt was unclipped from her skirt, revealing a trailing orange rope and an obscenely heavy metal dart tied to the end. A cursed weapon, guarded by sorcerers responsible for the Shorinji Kempo discipline in Kanagawa, granted to Ling Xi at her acceptance to Jujutsu High.

“I did not come here to fight, simply to make you understand your position. I don’t know what your business is with the students of Jujutsu High, however your interference will make the Zenin power vacuum much worse. Leave them alone, and keep your place. I know how much you care for your power.”

A blink, a single solitary second, and Naoya had crossed the floor, intent on hitting Ling Xi with all the force he could muster, for what he perceived as insolence. However his adversary’s technique had worked quite well, allowing her more time to react. It was mere seconds, but with her experience, the seconds were more than enough.

The orange rope flew with frightening speed around her arm, wrapping around Naoya’s back, and then hand and pulling taught, preventing him from landing the hit. Zhao Ling Xi met his enraged gaze in challenge, wrapping the other end around her hand, turning to the side in order to tighten the pull.

“I do not deliver Karma, Zenin, but I do bear a warning. Your energy is disgusting, moreso than when we first met. Be very careful of the path you’re treading, or you may lose yourself entirely.” She warned, her tone flat, “The Zenin Clan is due for upheaval, and your vile energy tells me that you will not be in as beneficial a position as you imagine. Leave the Jujutsu High Students alone, and accrue a shred of good Karma to perhaps save yourself.”

“Just what are you going to do about it, you’re too much of a coward to even hit me.”

She gave a sharp tug to the rope, wrapping Naoya’s other fist in the same orange ribbon with a glare, “Pacifism is not cowardice Naoya. I'm choosing to leave you intact. Perhpas the Zenin Clan should practice that," Naoya tried to pull against the rope, but Ling Xi kept a firm hols as she stared him down, “The Zhao Family holds more weight than you could ever imagine. The pacifism in our history is the reason your clan is allowed to exist. Do not upset that balance. I give you a final warning.”

She released the rope’s hold on his hands, leaving him to stumble angrily, and moved back toward the door, turning her back to him. That act alone reignited the indignant rage within the man. 

“You are one wrong endeavor away from losing any desirable reincarnation, your energy is beyond recognition. Your death will be dishonorable, your transformation bitter, and your reincarnation disappointing unless you heed this warning.”

He grabbed the back of her jacket, but a burst of energy violently pushed him away, ripping the back of her outer layer. Naoya steadies himself on his feet, angrily staring at the retreating figure of Zhao Ling Xi, the single woman that he was forced to admit outranked him. And the worst of it:

“A long, long time ago there was a civil war that drove all of Japan apart. One sorcerer took the chance and with what we now believe to be a near infinite domain expansion, conquered all of Japan.”

She didn’t even fight him for that dominance. Though a wicked smile grew on his face when he noticed the slight stumble in her walk. 

_____

The group of students blinked in shock, as their teacher continued.

“His name was Dhruv Lakdawalla. His disciples, when he incarnated for a second time, brought his body to China to protect it from the other sorcerers running rampant. Our friend Ling Xi, or as you know her, Erika-chan, is a direct descendant of Xuan Zhang, one of those disciples.”

Zhao Ling Xi was a rare breed of jujutsu sorcerer. Though this line had no inherited techniques, the skill at which Ling Xi was able to control her own energy meant her uproot from Henan, to a Shorinji Kempo training group in Kanagawa, until the time came for her to join Jujutsu High. Her cursed technique, Pathway, allowed her to manipulate her own cursed energy however she saw fit, and her weapon Samsara’s Tether, a rope dart with a long, ancient history of users. Then came her domain, Conscious Retribution, a domain so unique, few were sure of its inner workings. She was truly the pride of the Zhao Family.

The students sat dumbfounded at this information. Because it meant that one of the most famous fashion influencers in all of Japan, a woman that girls and boys alike wanted to be and be with, was their senior. And more importantly, it meant that this pop culture icon was in possession of ancient, powerful technique that predated even the King of Curses himself. And above all, according to Gojo, she was a total pacifist. As two of the teens nearly tripped over themselves to grill their teacher about this development, Gojo Satoru could only think about the Zhao Family.

With Sukuna's finger being ingested by Itadori Yuji, it opened a possibility that he would need to be contained in case of emergency. Maybe, just maybe, something older than Sukuna could contain him. 

It would have to be worth a try. 

“Tamsy? You in there?” Mickey knocked on the door before her, to her friend's room. After yet another day of running around, she had gotten word of a ‘Welcome To The Ground’ party for their new Cleaner. 

The Ground, he was a Spheretie she heard. The concept baffled her. How could someone from the sphere get all the way down here. Of course, she had heard about the Sphere sending their undesirables this way, but she had never thought it would mean people, too. She had never really given it much thought.

Her foot tapped on the concrete floor of HQ. Tamsy wasn't answering. She didn't remember hearing about him on any jobs, so she figured he would be here. But then again maybe he had left to go do something. He was always leaving at strange instances. 

The most recent time they had been dispatched together, he had left in the middle of the fight. She didn't know how or where he had gone, only that he showed back up a few hours later to help her finish things up. But it was something he had done before, so she couldn't exactly be thrown off by it.

She put her hands in her jacket pockets and turned on her toes, walking down to the dining hall for the party. Tamsy would probably join up later. 

As she came upon the mess hall she heard the chatter loud and clear. Her smile lit up as a hand settled on the door, pushing it open. 

“Hey, everyone!”

Her presence was welcome of course, she was flagged down by a few Cleaner friends, and swept up in the conversation and food right away. But even among all the festivities her eyes settled on the newcomer. 

The Sphereite. 

What was it like up there? What did life have to offer if it wasn't full of trash? No trash beasts, no need for something like a Vital Instrument. So how did life go? More importantly, what did Rudo do to get thrown down? He seemed nice, a little odd, but otherwise not much different than anyone else here. What made him undesirable? 

When she finally made up her mind, she excused herself and stood, walking over to him. 

“Hi! I'm Mickey! You're our new addition?” 

The kid slowly looked up and stared at her, then her outstretched hand. Since she was off-duty, the normally tumbling glove-clad hand was bare, but black tapes wound themselves following the muscles of her arm. 

Of course, adding to that were the athletic clothes she wore. With a bright smile, she continued,

“You looked like you had a rough day. We all get those at the start. It's hard out there. But I'm sure it all worked out! And once you really get comfortable here you might find that life's kind of fun!” 

Her positive attitude was unmatched, infectious. She turned any situation around. It seemed the new guy noticed that too, as his gloved hand finally took hers, “Rudo.” 

“Ah, I see you found him before I could.” A voice interrupted, and Mickey looked over at the man with the same bright smile. Gris was a good friend of hers, he'd taught her how to apply her muscle tapes after jobs to help her recovery, and often worked with her on jobs due to his ability to throw her.

“Hey Gris, seems Rudo had a bad day out on the job,” She offered, and Gris gave a small laugh, “He did. Do you mind letting us chat?” 

The girl nodded, and gave one more thumbs up to Rudo, before walking away to continue her mingling. 

Rudo was… off. She didn't know what, or how, or why, but something was off about Rudo. He seemed too sad. Like the sadness ran far deeper than she could imagine. He looked young, but also so old. Not like the kids down here. 

Just how hard was life up there? 

As she grabbed a drink and took a sip, she watched Rudo and Gris chat. She needed to cheer that kid up somehow. Needed to show him that whatever he had to fear was gone, and that he wasn't gonna face it alone.

_____

“I heard you met the new cleaner?” A voice rang through the training room. 

Mickey, who stood in a handstand, looked in the mirror, “Missed you at the party Tamsy! The food was awesome!” 

He was used to this sight. Mickey was hardcore about her training, every cleaner or support in the building knew it. Out of her sweats and hoodie and in her shorts and t-shirt, it became obvious how truly dedicated she was. 

Her arms, legs, neck, and shoulders were covered in muscle tape, bandaids from Eisha and Guita's stashes littered her palms. Both of her knees and elbows were also covered by compression sleeves, to further help. 

“It simply wasn't my scene. But you did meet him?” He pressed, coming to sit on one of the weightlifting benches scattered around the room. Mickey slowly rolled into a backbend and stood up, facing him. 

“I did. He seemed… really sad. Like he'd seen so much already. He's so young, too.” The girl's face fell a bit, she genuinely felt bad for him, “I wonder if there's a way to bring him out of his shell somehow. Maybe help him start doing better.” 

Tamsy shrugged, “It doesn't seem worth the effort, Enjin said he was looking to return to the Sphere,” the way Tamsy said ‘Sphere' had always bothered her. Growing up not even thinking about it, she hadn't really found reason to hate the Sphere. If people lived up there and just threw their trash to the abyss below, surely they didn't know that people lived down here? They wouldn't throw their things away if they thought anyone lived here.

But her friend seemed to despise the idea of it. 

“It's probably where his home is. Like our home is here, you know? Think about it, how excited do I get to come home? Maybe he has something to go back to,” She rolled her wrists and stretched them above her head, “He's just a kid. Kids should be happy. If he's not happy here then home is the best place for him.” 

She continued, “Maybe we don't get it because we've never been really ripped from our homes into a completely different place. Or because we've never been up there. He could need something we don't even know about.” 

Tamsy stared at her. Made no moves, but didn't look away, like he was testing her. The look on his face was a strange one, like she had said something wrong. After a few moments, though, it changed back to normal. A small smile graced his face, even.

“Ever the optimist, Mickey.” 

Mickey shrugged, and went into a handstand again, this time pushing herself up and down toward the ground. The two went quiet, one training and the other studying her with a neutral expression. 

“Yo, yo, Tamsy! How many members of Eager you got there?!” 

The voice came staticy through Tamsy's collar, interrupting the silence.

“I can have them all, what seems to be the issue?” Tamsy replied, and Mickey looked over at him with one brow raised, still in her handstand. 

“Zanka and Rudo got themselves into a pretty fun little mess, meet me down by the front desk in 5, we're gonna get them.” 

The two members of Team Eager made brief eye contact, before Tamsy stood from his seat and Mickey swung onto her feet, “Let's get moving, then. I'll contact Delmon, you meet us there.” 

Mickey gave a lopsided grin and a two-finger salute, before passing him and exiting the training room, pulling muscle tapes off her arms as she went. It made her laugh a bit, her need to get the tape off before her uniform went on.

August always got upset with her for the compression sleeves and tape, especially when she wore it with her uniform. He said it ‘ruined the vibe’ of the outfit. At first she fought with him about it endlessly, but in the end he won out, after getting dangerously close to completely crashing out.

She slipped into her room, tossed the used tapes on her table, and quickly put on her short-sleeved jacket. With a quick hop to grab her instrument off the shelf, and a stumble putting on her belt, she was out the door to the main lobby. 

And about 5 minutes later, their little joint-effort team was assembled, suited up and ready to play. 

“So it looks like they got ambushed by Raiders after Rudo,” Enjin explained as the Cleaners and Supporters piled into the vans. He opened the driver door and jumped in. 

“Raiders? After Rudo?” Mickey asked as she slid into her seat in the middle row.

“Yea, Mickey they sell Sphereite bodies outside of the towns, remember? Not surprised they're after him. A live Sphereite is probably pretty lucrative.” Riyo elaborated, and Mickey leaned back in her seat with a grimace, “Yea, forgot about that little fun fact… lets hurry and save him.” 

The pom poms on her hip were very little comfort, but a hand set itself on her shoulder from the back row, Delmon of course. Always the encouraging one, the loyalist. 

“We're gonna make ‘em pay!” 

____

Mickey pulled herself up onto the top floor of the ruined stone structure beside Riyo with a grunt, pom poms moved into one hand, “Here you think?” 

“Yea, I'm pretty sure. This is the only place where I can hear someone yelling that isn't Zanka or Rudo.” The red-haired cleaner explained, and her blonde companion simply nodded in response. 

The group had come to a huge mess of crumbling structures, each looking more dilapidated than the last. Inside, of course, had to be the Raiders that made this mess. Tomme had relayed great directions, and had explained the situation in detail to Enjin, who had briefed them on the way in. 

It had been a trap. There had been a false floor in the building, which dropped them down. That was her worst nightmare, it made her nervous to be on the building in the first place. 

“Enjin and the others are ready?” 

“Of course.” 

Riyo jumped up onto another ledge, and Mickey moved to the edge of the building on the other side of the hole. She had one job. While Enjin could hit the Raider and send him flying to grab Rudo, she had to make sure the Raider flew as far back as he could. 

And within minutes, just as they suspected, the Raider emerged, Rudo slapped over his shoulder. He stared her down, not angry, just mildly confused.

“Hey… I didn't see a third one of you guys at the start…” 

The man looked crazed. His eyes were blown wide, like he was on something. That was all she had time to observe before his attention moved to Riyo. 

The man, with long dreadlocks and a look in his eye like he'd just escaped a high-risk facility, didn't move a muscle upon seeing Riyo.

“Found you.”

There was a pause, before Mickey heard Umbreaker and began moving. 

Enjin slammed the tip of Umbreaker into the stomach of the raider. Rudo fell from his shoulder and Enjin moved out of the way as Mickey brought up the rear. With a simple cartwheel she bounced over the top of him and the hole. Her poms lit up and she grabbed the raider by his shoulders. 

When he looked up at the new assailant, she could only describe his expression as excited. She needed to get away from him, fast. She pulled him upwards and threw him into the wall on the other side of the hole, landing at the edge opposite the group of cleaners. 

Silence came next. 

Riyo began to walk along the edge of the standing wall to meet the Cleaners on the other side of the hole, while Mickey watched him, ready to flip forward and slam the raider back if he moved. 

“That basement looks pretty deep. That deep our chokers can't get signal. You set a trap where we couldn't reach each other. How cliche can you get?!” 

Everyone was mad. Even Mickey was upset. Rudo was clearly hurt, Zanka and Gris weren't even around. Just what had transpired down there?! 

“If Tomme hadn't found a phone in the next town we never would've known.” 

Mickey didn't lose sight of the raider, even as his crazed eyes shifted from Enjin to her. Her expression was relaxed, a small smile even on her face hiding her discomfort in being close to this Raider. 

“Gris and the others may still be down there… we don't know if they're…” 

“Don't worry. They're tough. We're all good here, go take some people down to get them.” 

Mickey felt bad, she couldn't help Tomme and Eisha get Gris, Zanka, and the others. But she had bigger problems. Rudo certainly looked like hell and this raider definitely did it. 

“Y'all look like you could mess me up!” 

Mickey blinked once. The raider seemed… happy. Excited about staring down a whole squad of angry Cleaners. 

She straightened her back a bit, “Wh-what?” 

Mickey could hear the rest of the support team leaving to go help Tomme, so it was just the few combatants left now. And she was the front line. Step 1, in her mind, damage control. 

“W-we probably could, so-” 

“Here I am, I can barely stand, and you guys are looking at me like something you flush down a toilet.” 

Now Mickey was even more unsettled. She straightened a little more and looked around. This guy was the one that had taken out Rudo, Gris, and Zanka? This was the problem? 

“Careful now, I can only get so erect!” 

Mickey blinked again, “Enjin… I don't think I want to be in front anymore…” She slowly lowered her arms and turned to look back at the group, who looked equally as disgusted. 

Enjin hesitated, before looking at Tamsy and muttering, “She gonna be okay?” 

A few beats of silence, before the response came.

“Maybe we should move this along.” He replied. 

“Rudo, this is what you've been dealing with? Man I see why you're just lying there…” 

“He's holding up better than I expected,” Riyo added. 

“The hell he is. The poor kid is barely breathing.”

“Unforgivable. He hurt one of us!” 

Mickey felt herself cringe a bit as Delmon increased in volume. He always got loud when he was upset. Not that she minded it, he was just passionate. The noise was just a bit distracting to her, was all. 

“Unforgivable…” he said quietly, and Mickey sighed. 

“It's unforgiveable!!” He yelled, followed by a succinct, “Will you please shut your mouth?!” From Tamsy. 

“Can we please wrap this up?!” Mickey turned around and yelled at the two, “This guy seems pretty strong but he's also freaking me out!” 

“What she said, we got a lotta questions. But more importantly…” Enjin raised Umbreaker, “You think you can mess with the Cleaners and go back to whatever hole you crawled out of?” 

Mickey faced the raider once again. 

“Thats sick, is this some kind of situation where you're gonna lock me up and I gotta cook up a jailbreak or something?!” The man began to stand, and Mickey readied herself once again to start moving. 

“Cool as that is I got orders of my own. Orders that say I gotta bring Rudo back with me.” 

“Listen, orders are orders but you gotta leave him alone. He's with us, alright? Just go before you get hurt worse.” Mickey spoke up. 

“Man I wonder how much it'll take to piss you off, Little Miss Spirit Fingers, I wanna hightail it and find out,” The laugh he let out was squeaky, like he was simultaneously bleeding out and loving it. 

Maybe he was. 

“But I can't do that. I can't go back till I do what I was told!” The voice got louder, the rings began to glow, Mickey's shoulders tensed, the entire roof was ready to jump forward into battle. 

But a set of arms stopped the entire thing. 

Mickey could only watch the interaction, culminating in ‘Boss was smiling when I left.’ 

“Boss…” She whispered, but was interrupted by the raider looking straight past her, at Enjin, as if she wasn't even there. 

Something in her shook a bit at that. 

“Would you look at that? It got super late all of a sudden…” he trailed off, and the two arms released his torso. 

When he stepped to the side, Mickey's entire being dropped in shock. It was a portal, something she had never even imagined before. She acknowledged it, too, with a simple, “Woah…” 

“Hate to cut and run, but you understand right?” 

She couldn't decide what to do. She was on the same side as them, she could run and grab him. She could tumble and throw him again. But something kept her rooted to where she stood. 

Or the lack of it. He still wasn't looking at her. 

As he turned, Mickey began to step forward. 

“This- this isn't over!” 

The entire group turned to look at Rudo, who had dragged himself up onto his elbows. Even the raider was surprised. 

“I'll make what you did to Gris look like a papercut! This isn't over!” He forced out, and the raider began to laugh. That same laugh that sounded like the most sadistic thing on the planet. But it became more unnerving when he began to step toward Mickey. 

She moved her foot back, hearing a few pebbles slide off the edge of the building. 

“I like that fight you got in you man! Next time we should…” he trailed off, staring at Rudo, and Mickey's fists tightened around her poms. 

“Hey! You got an object from that series too?! Who'd have thunk?! That's crazy!” 

That was the strangest thing he had said the whole time. Series? A series? The only thing close to a series she had ever heard about was what Gob had. 

“Man, boss is gonna be so happy when I tell him!” 

Boss, again, Mickey thought. Who was their boss? 

“Next time, next time I'll be way more prepared to take you with me. Take care of those things while I'm gone!” 

He slowly slid into the portal, and disappeared. The cover put itself back with a blank, and with a strange sound it was gone. As if it had never been there. 

The group stared in stunned silence, before Mickey turned around. 

“Can I… come back over there now?” 

With a blank nod from Enjin, Mickey slowly made her way back to the group, taking her spot next to Tamsy with wide, horrified eyes that mirrored his. 

“Are you… alright… after that?” He asked, and Mickey blinked, “I don't… know.”

____

“How did you get that tear?” Tamsy asked, gesturing to Mickey's sleeve as he leaned forward. 

Tamsy sat next to Rudo, behind Mickey, and while the two had sat in awkward silence Mickey spent the drive thinking about what exactly that raider guy, Jabber or whatever, had said. Series. 

Rudo's gloves looked weird, sure, but everyone's tools looked weird. She carried around pom poms, Zanka had a stick.

But knowing they were more than that made her even more curious about him. 

“What rip?” She asked, before looking down at her sleeve. 

“No! No no no!” She frantically took off her jacket and held up the sleeve. 

“Well well, looks like you'll be paying August a visit.” Tamsy's voice held a mocking tone, one that made Mickey groan and leaned her head back on the seat, “Tamsy can you do it for me? August annoys me…” 

“No, I can't. This one is all on you.” 

“Maybe she shouldn't, August is workin’ on Rudo's stuff right now so he might throw something if he finds out she ripped her stuff.” Enjin spoke from the driver's seat, and Mickey's groan only got louder. 

“I'm surprised, Mickey. Typically you're more coordinated.” Tamsy observed, and the girl shrugged, “I think I got it when Riyo and I were climbing the building. I didn't use Dekiruyo to get up there.” 

“Well, I wish you luck with August, whenever he spots you or you go to him.” 

Mickey leaned forward and buried her head in her jacket. 

When she had first arrived, August had in fact made her uniform, and her full face. But that was where her problem began. The man was louder and more obnoxious than she was, and for the first time in her life she found it hard to really make a friend. The dispute became worse when she had gone out for a job still wearing a knee brace and athletic tape. August had spotted her and claimed she was ‘ruining the vibe' with the tape. She fought back and said it was medical. 

And the two never got past that. 

So she avoided him at all costs. 

“Just visit him after your little PT ritual and not during, your KT Tape really pisses him off.” Zanka muttered, and Mickey only dropped her head further in annoyance. 

Chapter 3 ->

Chapter 1 - Shiny Blue Plastic

Chapter 2 - Common Ground

Chapter 3 - Sketchbook

Chapter 4 - Good Memory

Chapter 5 - The Vitals

Chapter 6 - Neutralize

Chapter 7 - I See You

Chapter 8 - 1 of 2

Chapter 9 - How Angels Get Wings

The next stop is Morioh -

A woman with short brown hair stood from her seat on the train with a small grunt, moving toward the train doors with her brown duffel bag. She’d never been to Japan in her travels, though there had been quite a lot of traveling done. 

This trip wasn’t for business, though. This trip was for family. 

The train slowed to a stop and the doors opened. 

2004, Japan. Christine Meyers had finally made the journey, amidst all her important work, to see her niece, Jade Sato-Stephens. Things had been rough the last few years. Mr. Joestar’s health was declining, Jotaro’s family life was falling apart rapidly. But the worst of it had happened 3 years before, when Christine abruptly lost contact with her long-time friend Jean-Pierre Polnareff. Though when she learned from Jotaro what had happened in Italy, she had a feeling he was long gone. 

Her sadness was quickly overshadowed, though, when she had found out that Jotaro had sent her niece, who had become a stand user like her, to track down Dio’s son back in 2001. Thank God Polnareff had met with her, to make sure she was okay, at least before he went missing. She remembered Jotaro’s surprise upon learning that she and Jade were family. It seemed stands were a family affair. 

Jotaro had kept his promise while in Morioh in 1999, relaying the multitude of stand users and eventually telling Christine about a certain clairvoyant jeep belonging to a new resident of Morioh. 

Christine couldn't believe what she had heard on that 4 AM phone call with Jotaro Kujo about her own niece. 

She stepped off the train and looked around. It was a cute little city, not like what the experienced archaeologist was used to. The station was clean, the platforms well kept. She exited the train platform and walked into the actual station, scanning the crowd for a head of green hair.  

“Aunt Chris!” She heard a yell, and her head turned. 

Jade had grown a lot. She wore a red sweater with gold buttons and a pair of dark jeans, different to the cute little dresses her mom had put her in back when they had last seen each other. It had been so many years. 

“There’s my gemstone!” Christine said, her mood immediately turning as the younger woman ran to hug her aunt. The two embraced with massive smiles, ignoring the third party that had walked up behind Jade. 

“How have you been, darling?” Christine asked, and Jade pulled away, holding her aunt’s shoulders, “It’s been a bit crazy, but I think I’m finally settling into life here in Japan.” 

There was a laugh from behind the two women, and Christine looked at the man who had made the noise, while Jade felt herself roll her eyes. Not that she was annoyed, though. She just knew her partner would do something like that. 

“Aunt Chris, I’d like you to meet someone…” She turned and gestured for the man to come over. 

“This is Rohan Kishibe, and we’re… uhm…” Jade hesitated. She didn’t quite know how to explain what they were. She looked at Rohan for help, and then remembered. Her aunt didn’t know any Japanese.

“Uh… we’ve been dating for almost 5 years now…” She said, and looked at Rohan, switching to her second language, “I may need your help here.”

Rohan looked at her, “You want me to use Heaven’s Door on your aunt?” He asked, and Jade nodded, “She doesn’t know Japanese. C’mon, you did it for me in Italy!” 

“That was for a greater good and your own safety, you two can communicate just fine.” Rohan said, and Jade sighed, “You don’t want to talk to her at all? She’s a big name in the Egyptian history and mythology fields, you know.”

“And why should I care about that?” Rohan muttered, and Jade knew she had a lead, “Remember when you said you wanted to visit Egypt for a one shot you were planning? Well, she’s literally the best person in the business for it!” 

Christine hadn’t said a word the whole time the couple argued, instead taking this time to examine her niece’s partner. He was an odd one. His clothes and hair were interesting, and his mannerisms seemed strangely aloof. However as she watched him interact with Jade she noticed that he seemed engaged in what she was saying, even if his body language didn’t say it. 

“Is your aunt even a stand user?” Rohan questioned Jade, and Jade nodded, causing Rohan to stop and stare at the woman in front of them, “She…?”

Christine took the hint, and a little blue and yellow asp perched on her shoulder, looking at Rohan and flicking its tongue inquisitively. 

“Rohan and I are users, too, Aunt Chris. A lot of people in Morioh are actually…” She said quietly, and Christine nodded, “Oh, I know. I had figured your boyfriend was one, too. He looks like one,” 

Christine left out the part about her knowing exactly who Rohan Kishibe was from the Stand Book. Though Jotaro had left out the part about him liking Jade way back then. 

Jade laughed, and Rohan finally got fully fed up with not knowing what was going on. 

“Jade, give me your pen,” He held his hand out to the woman next to him and Jade's laughter only increased as a little white figure in a hat and coat appeared behind him. Rohan rolled up his sleeve to write on his arm. 

Christine watched with a brow raised, and looked over at Jade for an explanation. 

“Heaven's Door. Rohan can turn people into books, read them, and alter them at will, himself included, right now he wrote that he speaks fluent English,” Jade explained as she leaned over to examine Rohan's handwriting, and Christine watched the stand intently. 

“What about yours, Jade?” She asked further, and to Christine's excitement that little green jeep appeared from behind her niece. Jotaro had done a thorough job describing it, she thought. 

“Clint Eastwood, I can see what his headlights see from up to 2 kilometers away, and he can possess and control vehicles at short ranges.” 

Christine looked at the two and their stands. Things really had changed in years past. These stands looked nothing like the ones she had encountered in Egypt so many years ago. They looked more like what Jotaro had relayed to her from his contact in Italy.

“Here, I'll go get a cab, Rohan can you entertain her for a bit while I get it?” Jade said, and Rohan began to protest, but the young girl was already gone from his side.

Rohan and Christine looked at each other for a few moments. 

“How did you two meet?” 

Rohan hesitated, explaining to Jade's aunt that the two had been sworn enemies for the first 2 weeks of their knowing each other was not a good look. 

“We met when Jade first developed her stand. It's a rather complicated story.” 

A diplomatic answer. A smart answer. Christine didn't question it, instead nodding once, “I'll leave it at this, Rohan. Jade is as good as my own daughter, and I know of 8 major digs ongoing in Egypt alone. No one can hear you scream in a tomb.” 

Rohan blinked in shock, before looking back at where Jade had run. The two really were family. 

“You truly are related, that sounds like something she would say,” He spoke his observation, and Christine smiled proudly in response. 

“Do you two have plans for the future at all?” Christine pressed, and Rohan shook his head, “We're both busy people, so we've decided to let things play as they will.” 

Christine smiled knowingly and shook her head, “She’s a loyal girl. Once she’s attached she doesn’t let go easily. I see from the ring that you’re the same?” She waggled her eyebrows, and Rohan sputtered, looking back at Jade hoping she had gotten a taxi. 

Jade was chatting with the driver, a small smile on her face. The two most important people in her life are finally meeting. She couldn’t be happier. Rohan’s face relaxed a bit and he turned back to Christine, “I’m sure Jade mentioned to you that I’m a manga artist. If you don’t mind, I have questions about Egyptian mythology.” 

Christine’s own smile grew, “She did mention it, yes. In fact, she asked me to bring you these,” She reached into her brown satchel and produced two slightly thick books. Her photo was on the back of both. 

“My editor friend had them translated for you, but if you have more questions I’m happy to answer them.”

Rohan examined the books with a slightly surprised expression, before putting them into his own bag. It was quite the gesture, he had to admit. 

Jade finally secured the cab and walked up behind Rohan with a sly grin, “Told you she was an expert.” 

Before Rohan could make a snide comment back Jade looked at her aunt, “Oh, Aunt Chris, I did have something I wanted you to look at. I know you were with Jotaro and Mr. Joestar in Egypt. I have something you should see.” 

Christine raised a brow and nodded once, gesturing for her niece to lead the way. 

“I have a meeting I need to get to, so I'll be leaving now,” Rohan said while looking at his watch, and Christine nodded once, “It was nice to finally meet you, Rohan. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other in the future.”  

The man nodded once and then turned to his partner, who gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before he left. 

“You two make quite the odd couple.” Christine commented, and Jade nodded once, “He probably didn't mention this, but when we first met we didn't like each other. I broke his nose.” 

Christine looked at her niece in surprise, but Jade was watching Rohan walk away with a smile, “He’s a jerk, and he’s not great around people. But once you understand him, he’s probably the most intricate and thoughtful person you’ll ever meet,” The young woman said quietly, but Christine heard her loud and clear. She was happy, that was all Christine could ask for. 

Jade had someone for the long haul, she could see it in both of their faces. 

“Alright, now what is it you wanted to show me?” 

“It’s back at my place. That’s why I got the cab. Normally I walk but you’ve got a pretty big bag there…” Jade reached to grab the door for Christine, and the two got in the cab, driving off to the northeast section of Morioh. 

___

“How the hell did you get that?!” Christine said loudly, staring at the bronze arrow that was displayed on top of her niece’s bookshelf. 

“Oh, it was sent to me from Italy. A friend of mine wanted me of all people to have it, no idea why,” She shrugged, leaning against her bedroom door. The bedroom had changed a lot since she had moved to the town five years ago, the walls littered with pictures of her escapades over the years, with awards and certificates scattered among the mess. Piles of papers and books completely obscured the desk save for the large computer, and the bookshelf seemed to creak under the weight of all her materials. 

Like aunt, like niece, Christine thought. The older woman couldn’t believe just how far Jade had gotten along in her research. It seemed she was even further than her. 

Times really had changed, she thought. 

Christine turned and set her bag on Jade’s bed, unbuckling it and rifling through it. 

“I believe my good friend Jean-Pierre Polnareff told you. I was with Jotaro and Mr. Joestar in Egypt. I had been an archeologist, and got mixed up in their ordeal…” She pulled a leather book from the bag, “That arrow, the one you have, is one of many. A different one pierced me, and gave me this little snake, Apep. Like how you have Clint Eastwood.” 

Christine weighed the book in her hands. It had been 15 years. 15 years of searching, of combing the globe day and night for answers. She had lost contact with everyone else at this point. There wasn’t much left for her to do. 

But looking around the room, clearly there was one last thing she could do, that would be of the most help to anyone. 

Christine held out the book to Jade. 

“This is all of my own research. 15 years worth of stand encounters and stands. You’ll see some familiar faces, and you’ll see things you never thought possible. The entire legacy of stand users since 1988, until now. I’m entrusting it to you.”

Jade looked at it, before carefully taking the book from her aunt, “Why are you giving this to me?” 

Christine scanned the room one more time, before sighing, “I've lost everyone I cared about, except for you and Melanie. The last thing I can do for you is give you two the chance to protect yourselves, and continue our legacy. You’ve built a life. So has Melanie.”

Jade didn’t like that statement, “Aunt Chris that sounds like a goodbye,” She laughed nervously, and Christine reached over to hug her niece. She didn’t say anything else, simply hugging the young woman to her. 

Christine had lost her entire youth to this cause, letting it consume her, and one day, she knew it would end up doing more harm than good. She’d lost everyone once again. She was utterly alone. 

“It’s time for you and Melanie to take on the family business. You’re more than capable, I believe you can do it,” Christine finally said, and Jade felt her throat close up with emotion. So this wasn’t a goodbye, it was a retirement. 

“You can count on me, Aunt Chris,” Jade said, before stepping back from the hug and holding her aunt’s shoulders. 

“Alright, I don’t want our first reunion in years to be sad. C’mon. You wanna meet the users from your diary?” Jade asked excitedly, and Christine nodded once with a tearful smile of her own. 

“I think you’ll like them. They’re all a bit strange, but I think you’ve met stranger.”

___

Christine Meyers stayed in Morioh for a week, seeing Jade, her mother, and meeting the colorful cast of characters that made up Jade's story about the Summer of 1999, and how she had gained her powers and built her life up in Morioh. Seeing the stands she had only heard about come to life was something she never could have dreamed of, and making sense of their powers was all the more fulfilling.

However it still hurt. She had spent years compiling and researching these abilities, their origins. She had a book to show for it, and a name for herself in the Egyptology field unlike any other. 

But when she looked at Jade and Rohan discussing a book they had both decided to read, flipping through marked pages of their favorite passages with small smiles and light-hearted jabs at their selections, she realized. She was alone. Morioh was Jade's domain, and her youngest sister Melanie had long since disappeared into the ether. 

She had nowhere to call home anymore.

Home for her had been by the side of her best friend. Now that he was gone, she had nothing to return to except an empty home. She didn't want that. Where was her home, her family? She never truly found a home. She had abandoned her home to save the world 15 years ago, and made a family for herself in France. Christine felt her stomach pool with dread at the idea, before her head cleared and she realized just where her home truly was.

When Christine left for Tokyo, after hugging Jade tightly and posing for a photo with all of Jade's young friends, she purchased a singular, one way plane ticket. To the Egyptian city of Cairo. Her home was now within the very desert she had awoken in all those years ago, under Dio's control. Except this time, as she boarded the plane, she knew Cairo, while a place ridden with grief for her, was better than going back to a life of wondering where it all went wrong.

She'd make a new home, where she could make sure it all finally went right.

Lit The Fuse ->

“I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known…” Jade Stephens sang along softly to her new CD, playing from her stereo. 

2006, Jade Stephens was 27 years old, living a quiet yet rather interesting adult life. 7 years ago she had moved to the town of Morioh, and gained a powerful ability. She had also ended up dispatching the town's most notorious serial killer, not that most people would ever know. 

She had gone to college soon after, And been brought on with the Speedwagon Foundation, researching the stand arrow that had given her her power in the first place. 

The woman stretched, having finished reorganizing her massive library. It had been a slow day, with her getting up and throwing on a sleeveless top and straight leg jeans, and then setting to work on bringing her most recent research closer to her desk. 

In the past few years since Jade came to Morioh, her mother had moved in with an old flame in S-City, leaving Jade with the house. She now lived alone, but things weren't all that bad. 

By all accounts, Jade was happy with her life now. But all silver-lined clouds had their dark underbelly. 

She felt wrong. Like this wasn't her life. Sure she had worked very hard for it all, but had she truly earned everything given to her? Was it really the fruits of her labor, or had someone else planted the seed?

And what about after it all was said and done? After Italy, Jade had lost contact with Jean-Pierre Polnareff, and the leads he had given her dried up. Jotaro was living his own life, he had even started a family. Though that hadn't ended well.

Jade couldn’t help but think about her own pace, wondering if she'd made the right choices. 

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts, and she turned the volume down on Green Day, bounding over to the door. 

“Coming!” She yelled, sliding on her slip-on sneakers and tugging the door open. 

Her long-term boyfriend, Rohan Kishibe, stood at the door. 

“Hey, didn't know you were stopping by!” She grinned, excitedly, before the suitcases next to him grabbed her attention. Rohan usually didn't come to her house, she went to his. And he had asked she not go today due to his workload. So things were very strange to start. 

“Didn't know you were staying over, either. What happened? Your house didn't burn down again, did it?” She stepped out onto the porch fully, closing the door behind her. 

“No, no. Unfortunately I have a confession to make.” Rohan said flatly, and Jade's brow raised in interest. Rohan didn't confess anything, he just didn’t lie. Rohan knew better than to lie to her in the first place. 

“I've gone bankrupt.” 

Jade stood completely still as Rohan explained his situation, simply listening to what he had to say with an unreadable expression. When he finished, all she could do was stare at him. 

“Aren't you going to say anything?” He asked, and Jade bit the inside of her cheek, looking away. Many thoughts flew through Jade's head, a lot of them insults, some of them breakups, but most of them following one through line. She settled on being concise. No reason to spare his feelings, after all they had been together for almost 7 years now. 

“You idiot.” She spoke, and Rohan's face morphed into irritation. 

“Don't you have the least bit of sympathy?!” He questioned, and Jade groaned, running a hand through her hair. 

“Rohan, I love you with all my heart, I’ll always try and understand why you do things, but what the hell made you even consider this a good idea? And then coming to my place, asking me to stay over because of it? Oh my god…” she hung her head in her hands. 

“It's only temporary. I expect a few advances on oneshots I've completed.” Rohan said and Jade could only groan again.

“Did you ask Koichi already? Rohan I don't exactly have a guest room right now, you were here when I turned it into an office,” Jade was right, she had converted her old room into an office, moving herself into her mom’s old bedroom when she left. It had been a nightmare of a process, with her originally asking Rohan to help, but ending up calling Josuke and Okuyasu to help her move the furniture. 

“It doesn't matter. Sharing a room isn't an issue,” Rohan’s words caused Jade’s face to heat up, and she put a hand over it to hide the blush, “You can't just say shit like that-” 

“You never gave an answer to my question.” He said, and Jade sputtered in disbelief, dropping the hand that covered her face, “I can't really say no to my boyfriend, can I?! Ugh, just hurry up and come inside, Mrs. Watanabe is gonna see you and call my mom.” She relented, walking back into her house and kicking her shoes off, followed by Rohan with his bags. 

After a few hours, Rohan would be fully situated in Jade's room, and he would enter the kitchen to see his girlfriend cooking dinner for the both of them.

“Thank you, for agreeing to let me stay-” He began to speak, but Jade would turn around and glare at him in a manner he had never seen before in their 7 years of dating. 

“You better explain why you did it, right now.”  She spoke. 

In years past, the two had gotten into plenty of arguments. Their entire relationship was built upon them. However Rohan wasn't quite sure he had seen Jade this upset. It was his money, why did she care so much about it? 

“It was for research. A story I had heard about, and wanted to write. A girl in college who accidentally killed her boyfriend. She hid him away for years as he mysteriously continued to bleed and bleed, discarding blood each day to hide her transgression…” He trailed off as he looked at Jade. 

She was standing in her apron, staring at him instead of cooking the food, with a horrified look on her face. On closer inspection however, he saw an excited and curious twinkle in her eyes. 

“That's… hang on, don't finish yet let me serve the food.” She spoke rapidly, turning back to the nearly finished meal. Rohan laughed softly as she did so. 

Once she had gotten the meal set and sat down across from her boyfriend, she nodded once, “Go on. She was discarding the blood every day?! How?!” 

“A small bottle and special coffin, drained it in the sink daily.” 

Jade shuddered and took a bite of her rice, nodding at Rohan to keep talking. 

He told the story of Naoko Osoto, and Gunpei’s body to the woman across from him, wearing a nonchalant smile the whole time. Jade leaned forward to hear it, absolutely enraptured, dinner long forgotten. 

When he came to talk about the little girl, Jade would feel her own heart clench a bit, not quite understanding why. But it all made sense as Rohan would explain the monster's purpose.

“It's a creature that preys on love, and the human heart. Its greatest moment in life: when it dies in front of someone.” 

Jade leaned back in her chair, thinking for a few minutes, before sighing, “Poetic. The one thing we can't control, and it feeds off it. It needs it.”

Rohan nodded in agreement. 

“Do you think… Do you think there are more?” Jade asked, and Rohan would tilt his head, leaning one elbow on the dining room table, “What do you mean?”

“You said Naoko did anything for Gunpei’s body. She became obsessed with it. To the point where she lost herself to it. Do you think there are more people out there like him? Or her? People that lose themselves to their obsessions?” 

“If you're asking if there are more of these monsters, I believe so. If you're asking if people are like that, I believe that to be true as well. People often have things they cherish so much they forget reality, forget the world around them. That's why I try not to cherish very much.” 

Jade would let his answer hang for a few minutes, before she got up and took his plate without another word. She was quiet, Rohan noticed. Uncharacteristically quiet. 

“Jade, are you alright?” 

Jade would nod once, putting the used dishes in the sink and starting the tap, “Is it really all that bad?” She asked, watching the sink fill up. 

Rohan didn't ask her to elaborate, instead waited for her to continue with a confused look. 

“It doesn't sound all that bad, having something hold so much weight in your heart. Not in a ‘drain the blood of my lover's corpse every day’ devotion but… maybe ‘I treasure this person so I'll make sure they live well’ devotion. Like a prized collection or good. Is that really all that bad?” She asked, and Rohan would nod once, muttering a quiet agreement. 

“I think I understand what you're trying to say.” Rohan said, and Jade would shut the tap off, leaving an empty space in the noise once again. 

“I'd be okay cherishing something that much for the rest of my life, I think...” She put on her rubber gloves and began scrubbing dishes, looking outside at the landscape. 

He wouldn't respond, And the rest of the night would be a quiet one. The two went through their nightly routines without a word to each other, eventually culminating in the two of them laying next to one another in Jade's bed. 

They laid on their sides, facing away from each other, again avoiding the elephant in the room. 

Jade had effectively proposed in her kitchen.

Said woman stared at the wall, regretting everything she had said to him today. Her eyes zoned in on her nightstand, where a few books, her lamp, and picture from a few years before sat. It was at her college graduation. Jade stood with a massive grin, diploma in one hand and a massive bouquet of roses in the other. Rohan had taken that photo of her, gifting it to her as a graduation present. 

He really had ingrained himself into her life in a way no one else had. She remembered the Summer of 1999, when she had risked her hide for him more times than she could count. Even now, his own stupid decisions led him to bankruptcy, and she had taken him in. 

‘What if he was one of the Mutsukabe-Hill Monsters?’ 

Her thoughts made her back straighten, and her heart began to race. He couldn't be. Surely he wasn't trying to die in front of her. Though when her brain flashed back to the Futatsu-Mori tunnel incident, when her feelings for him had first changed, she couldn't help but be wary. 

Jade slowly turned over in the bed, to get a glimpse of Rohan, who had been so quiet, she assumed he was asleep. 

However, when she met his green eyes, she let out a startled shriek and fell out of the bed, slamming onto the hardwood floor with a loud thud. 

“Jesus Rohan, you scared me,” Jade mumbled as she looked at the man, who had sat up in bed and was now leaning on his elbow to look down at her. 

“What were you thinking about, and don't lie to me.” He insisted, and Jade sighed, “Whether or not this was a smart decision.” 

Rohan didn't say anything to that, simply watching as Jade got up and grabbed a pillow, and a blue jacket from the back of her closet door. 

“I think it'd be better if I crashed on the couch for now. You mentioned something about meetings with editors over the next few days, so you'll need all the rest you can get.” She said, quickly leaving the room. 

Rohan watched her leave, before directing his attention to the same picture she had looked at moments before. He would lay back down after a few moments, without another sound, delegating himself to a long night.

___

The next morning was a bit strange. Jade had woken up at her usual time, sitting up on the couch and rubbing her eyes. She had kicked off the extra blanket in the middle of the night, so it laid in a heap on the floor. 

There wasn't much she had planned for today, save for a trip to the post office to mail a few documents to Jotaro Kujo over in the U.S. He had gone to Florida a while back, and she couldn't have laughed harder when he told her. 

When she finally stood up and stretched, she noticed that Rohan's shoes were gone from the entry. He was already out working. What a surprise, given their interaction last night. She had expected him to be gone quickly. 

Jade got dressed for the day, in a simple button down and jeans, grabbing her satchel from where it hung from the chair at the desk in her office and a large envelope off the shelf. 

She examined the documents inside to make sure they were right. It was a report on all of the stand arrows that had been recovered thus far, and their locations. 

She had one, displayed proudly in her office. 

It wasn't the one that had awakened Clint Eastwood. The Speedwagon Foundation had that one, as well as the one used by Keicho Nijimura, Okuyasu’s older brother. She had been given the one from Italy, the one that she had encountered with Koichi and Giorno Giovanna. 

Giorno Giovanna had one as well. The one that had turned his stand Requiem. She had been to Italy several more times in the last few years to speak with Giorno about his stand, and the power it had when he usurped power in Passione. 

Hilariously, they had become good friends over the years, in part due to her mafia-tied cousin, Melanie, who facilitated most of their contact. She was able to learn so much about not only the Requiem stand, but the arrows as well. She’d become something of an expert on them, alongside her Aunt. 

Jade, after letting her mind wander for a bit, tucked the envelope in her bag and left the house a few short minutes later, en route to the postal office. 

It wasn't a very long walk, so she got there in decent time without encountering many people. Mornings normally were slow in Morioh anyway. It was always nice. 

“Morning, Ms. Sato-Stephens! More to mail?” The postman at the desk asked, and she smiled, nodding once. 

“As usual. Just this for today, the address is already on it. If it’s possible, could you put a tamper seal on it?” She handed him the folder and the man took it with a nod, shuffling in the back to find the tamper seals he had begun carrying due to Jade and Rohan.

“Say, how's that boyfriend of yours? Kishibe was it?” He asked, and while the question was innocent, Jade couldn't help but bristle. She really didn't want to talk about it right now, their situation was definitely a little messy. 

“O-oh. He’s doing alright. Busy as always,” She offered a non-committal answer to hopefully end the conversation, but he continued, “Yea, I heard he sold his house. Did you two move in together?” 

Jade nodded once, not making eye contact with the postman, “Just until he gets his own place again. He’s in a tight spot currently,” Another relatively non-committal answer. 

The postman raised an eyebrow and gave a smirk, one that looked so familiar it almost made her cry. If Joseph Joestar could see her now. Maybe she should write him a letter, she wasn't sure if he was even around anymore, but it was worth a try. 

“If he’s smart, he wouldn't be looking for a new place,” The postman said, and that would be it for Jade. 

“Can I mail one more thing, and trouble you for a few pieces of paper?” She asked, and the postman laughed with a nod, “Coming right up!”

After Jade wrote the letter and sent it to Jotaro, in the hopes he could get the message through, Jade would leave to run one more errand. 

She was headed to the Morioh Bookstore to pick up a copy of a book she had special ordered. A book on Egyptian artifacts her Aunt had written, as well as recounting her time spent there. She was curious to know what exactly happened in Egypt with her Aunt, Mr. Polnareff, and Jotaro Kujo, among others. She’d never gotten the full story. 

“Hey, hey! Did you hear about the book in the bookstore that tells you when you’re going to die?” A passing teenage girl said, causing Jade to stop in her tracks. While it sounded like mindless teenage fun, she knew better than to take that as a harmless little story. 

“Yea yea! That book about the old serial killer that used to live here? I heard that Hana read it, and then an hour later she was almost run over by a city bus! Spooky…” The other girl replied, and Jade turned around to look at the two, before beginning to walk toward the bookstore again, pulling her phone from her back pocket. 

She dialed a number quickly, putting the phone to her ear. 

“Hey, Rohan. Meet me at the bookstore in 10 minutes. I think I have a story for you.” 

___

“A book that tells you when you’re going to die?” Rohan asked. The two stood just outside of the bookstore, staring at the new arrivals displayed in the window.

“I guess. That's what the girl said. I know you don't like stories without foundations but I figured since you need stories right now this would work.” She scanned the books in the window, trying to find the one the girl had mentioned. Sure enough, she spotted it. 

“There. The Life and Times of Yoshikage Kira.” She pointed to a book on the far end. 

“That’s the book?!” Rohan exclaimed, looking at his girlfriend, but she was already on the move, walking into the bookstore and towards the book in question. 

Rohan quickly followed her, grabbing the book before she could. 

“This seems convenient. Are you pulling my leg?” He asked, holding the book away from her, and she glared, snatching it from his hand. 

“Rohan after the summer when we met you honestly think I would joke about this? I don't know if you remember but I killed this guy. I wouldn't read this for fun.” She whispered so the bookstore owner wouldn't overhear her little confession. Rohan reached for the book again, and Jade stepped back. 

“Here’s the plan in case this is a real thing. If it works, and something does show up, you can use Heaven’s Door to fix it. And then bam, you have a story,” Jade said, and Rohan scowled, “Fine.” 

“Gee, evading death with Heaven’s Door in the Morioh Bookstore. Takes me back.” She laughed, remembering their first fight both with each other and against a stand user a few years before. 

“You were much more annoying then,” Rohan said, and Jade laughed a bit. 

After the sweet moment, she took a deep breath and cracked open the book. Her stomach sank seeing the picture of the face she knew all too well. It felt like he was staring daggers at her. 

Part of her didn't want to turn the page, for some reason, but she did. 

Jade Sato-Stephens, born February 21, 1979-

Jade slammed the book closed with wide eyes, and looked at Rohan.

“The book works.” 

“What?” 

“The book works!” She said with a simultaneously horrified and excited tone

She opened the book again, flipping to the following page. 

On July 12, 2006, Jade went to the Morioh Bookstore, where she was killed by a falling bookshelf at 1:37 PM. 

Rohan watched her face fall and he moved to look over her shoulder. However all he saw was an author's foreword about life in the town of Morioh. He didn't see what Jade had read at all. 

“Rohan. You're gonna need to use Heaven's Door.” She said, looking up at the clock above the counter in the store. It was 1:36. 

“What do you mean? Did it predict it?” He asked, and Jade nodded, pointing to the line she had just read. Rohan leaned over her shoulder once again to read, but only saw the foreword once again. Nothing about Jade.

“Jade, all I see is information about Morioh. If this is a practical joke, I'm not amused.” He said, and Jade turned around to face him. 

“Remember what happened last time you didn't trust me? Rohan I know what I read. It said I'm gonna be killed by a falling bookshelf in one minute. Will you please just-” 

There was a loud groan from the floor, followed by a crack. And the bookshelf next to them, sure enough, began to fall. Rohan grabbed Jade by the arm and pulled her back, hitting the bookshelf built into the wall behind them, letting the falling shelf crash on the windowsill. Books flew everywhere, and the shelf cracked in two, producing massive splinters that stabbed into the now cracked hardwood floor of the store. 

The two looked at where they had just been standing with terrified expressions. Rohan was still holding Jade's arms. Jade was shaking, holding onto the book. 

“What happened- Oh god!” The bookstore owner came out from the back of the store to see what had happened, only to be confronted with the destroyed shelf and two shaken-up patrons. 

The three people stared at the shelf, before Jade quickly opened the book again. 

On July 15, 2006, Jade Sato-Stephens died in her home-

“It changed. There's a new date.” She whispered to Rohan, before closing the book and looking at the clerk, “I'd like to buy this, if you don't mind.” 

The clerk shook his head, still shocked at the bookshelf's sudden murder attempt, and went to call a repairman, telling the two to just take the book for free as an apology.

“What's the new date?” Rohan asked, and Jade pointed to the words, before remembering that, strangely, Rohan couldn't see them. 

“July 15,” she said, and Rohan turned her around to face him. 

“Hold still, I'll use Heaven’s Door to negate it,” he said. He summoned his stand and opened Jade's pages up. Sure enough, written there was her death warrant: 

Death: July 15, 2006, Cardiac Arrest

He didn't like that statement. Not at all. It put a sensation in his stomach that he couldn't explain, but he knew he hated the feeling. He stared at it, mulled over it. Then he finally placed the feeling. 

Dread. It was dreadful. He was going to take that book and burn it. He had lost everything already and now the universe wanted to take even more. Absolutely not.

Without a word, Rohan erased the date and recalled the ability, taking the book from her hand. 

“This is dangerous. Maybe a great story in the making but not something I can, in good conscience let you touch, Jade.” He said, firmly placing the book in his bag. 

Jade sighed, “Sorry for the trouble. Hope I didn't interrupt you. I'll get us lunch, at least, since we’re out?” She offered, and Rohan agreed, taking her hand in his.

_____

The next few days were rough, with Rohan and Jade throwing themselves into their work. The two hardly saw each other, opting to ignore and avoid what had happened in the bookstore.

Rohan had been meeting with editors again, she had heard, getting money together and putting out new stories. He had taken to drawing at the dining room table, while Jade holed up in her office with her stereo and her materials. 

One day, when Rohan had informed her that he would be home late due to a meeting and excursion with another editor, Jade decided to ask for help. There weren’t many people in Morioh she could really trust with this, and who better to turn to than the only other girl she was close to: Yukako Yamagishi. 

Jade invited the young woman over for coffee, and the two ended up in her living room with their snacks and drinks. 

“So, when you brought it up, he…?” Yukako trailed off, expectantly, and Jade would set her coffee cup down with a loud sigh. 

“Went silent. Yukako I don’t know what to do.” Jade was exasperated, she couldn’t really figure out how to fix her mistake. She was usually so sure of herself, but with her recent impostor syndrome and fear of the future, she found herself slipping. 

“Well, Rohan-sensei is a strange guy. A lot of time none of us can tell where his mind is. You’re the best at it, no doubt, but even you have your oversights,” Yukako offered, and Jade didn’t like that answer, letting her head fall back to stare at the ceiling. 

“How did you figure Koichi out?” Jade asked, and Yukako laughed softly, “It was a process. He did a lot of things I didn’t expect. But once I paid attention to him and not what I thought I knew about him, it got easier.” 

Jade sighed and thought about it. She knew a lot about Rohan at this point. The most important thing in the world to him was his art, to the point where he found anything worthy of sacrifice for it. It was unsettling, but somehow she was enraptured by it. 

He would always show he cared. The man wasn't a physical person, nor was he straightforward with affection. He much preferred actions. His words were more often than not, from the outside, somewhat cold. But if you knew him, you knew exactly what he meant. Phrases like, ‘Are you safe?’ and ‘I bought too much, you have it.’ were staples in their time together.

“You’re right. He isn't upset by the idea. He would've made that clear. Going quiet isn't a bad sign with him, I guess.” She finally came to a conclusion, before sitting up straight again. 

“That sounds right for him. Just move things as normal, everything will be fine. Not to mention if something goes wrong, I’m a simple phone call away.” 

The way Yukako said that was cheery on the outside, but there was an edge to her voice. Jade laughed a bit at it. 

“Thank you, for the help. You really were the only person I could ask about this. The other boys are a little useless when it comes to this.” 

She thought about her mentor, Jotaro Kujo, and her friends Josuke, Koichi, and Okuyasu. Those 4 definitely couldn't help her with this. 

“What do you think about it, Jade?” Yukako asked, and Jade looked at her, “About what? Getting married? I mean it’s not the end of the world, but it’d be nice I guess. Not a lot would change.” She shrugged. And she was right. Neither she nor Rohan would ever give up their work, so they really would only be a married couple on paper. But one thing stuck out to her about the entire order. 

Jade Sato-Stephens. 

Her diplomas were hung on the wall behind Yukako, as well as pictures of her successful endeavors within the Speedwagon Foundation. The wall was filled with her achievements. She had done so much in 7 years. Was she willing to share that success with someone else? As a married couple? 

She had though about keeping their names, but was that what she really wanted. Did Rohan even want that? She didn't know. 

The two would continue to chat, but Jade began to feel strange. As if her whole left arm was warming up. She tried to keep calm, but as the pain began to move to her chest and back, she became slightly alarmed. 

“Jade, are you alright? You look…” Yukako trailed off, and Jade pressed a hand to her forehead. She was sweating? It was the middle of summer, why was she sweating? 

Jade shook her head a few times, what was going on. There hadn’t been an enemy in Morioh in years, so this wasn’t a stand. The warm, tingly pain continued to spread further, and she would grab her side. Yukako stood and rushed over to the woman on the other side of the room, “Jade! What’s going on?!”

“I- I don’t know.” She panted and laid herself down on her couch with a groan, “Call an ambulance.” Jade wheezed. It felt like her whole chest was being squeezed by a hydraulic hand, and she couldn’t feel her fingertips. Her brain moved a mile a minute, yet it felt like she waded through sludge. What was going on? How had this even happened? She thought Rohan had fixed the date. Was she really about to die? 

Yukako quickly ran to the phone in the hall, and Jade rolled onto her back, trying to keep herself awake. It was so difficult, the pain was somehow worsening and yet her arm felt numb. Her brain was foggy, but her breathing was panicked. Clearly, something was wrong. She faded in and out, not really being able to hear what Yukako was saying, and only faintly hearing sirens after what felt like seconds, but was almost 5 minutes later. She would close her eyes finally, not being able to hold on any longer.

She would slowly blink into awareness again after some time, looking into the face of a paramedic. 

“Ms. Stephens? Ms. Stephens, can you hear me?” He said. She nodded a bit and groaned. 

“Is she alright?” Jade heard Yukako ask, and the paramedic nodded once, turning his attention from jade to Yukako. 

“It sounded like a heart attack from what you described, Ms. Yamagishi, but it seems that it was an acute onset panic attack.”

A panic attack? Jade shifted her attention from the paramedics to Yukako, who had Jade’s cell phone in her hand. She looked back at the paramedics, who hand held out their hands to help her sit up. Once Jade was upright, she noticed that she was on the floor, instead of the couch where she originally had been. 

“H-how long was I out for?” Jade asked, and the paramedics smiled a bit, “Only a few minutes. You were responsive when we arrived, your heart is fine. Do you have any idea as to what could have caused it?” 

“Yea, I think so. Uhm… I think I’ll be okay from here, thank you guys. Sorry for the trouble.” 

The paramedics left a few minutes later, and Jade finally decided to ask the question she really didn’t want to ask, “You texted Rohan, didn’t you?”

Yukako nodded and held Jade’s phone out to her. She took it and sighed, staring at the message Yukako had sent: ‘Jade’s really sick, you need to come to the house- Yukako Yamagishi’

She closed the phone and hung her head. What a way to break their awkward streak, over a panic attack. 

Yukako would insist on staying for a few hours, to make sure Jade was alright. Once she left, however, Jade would lay on the couch again, trying not to absolutely dread the incoming conversation. She manifested her stand, the little army Jeep, Clint Eastwood, and set it out into the street to watch for Rohan Kishibe. She wanted to be prepared for whatever he was going to say to her. As the red sunglasses appeared on Jade’s face, she put an arm behind her head, and her mind went back to a few days prior, to when the book had predicted her death. 

It had almost come true.

___

It was just after 7 when Rohan Kishibe burst through the door. After what could only be considered a standoff in the millionaire village, and his long hike down the mountain with his incapacitated editor, he had initially been glad to see a text from Jade. The day had been bad enough, it wasn’t supposed to get worse. 

However the content of the message would dunk the mangaka in a metaphorical ice bath. 

This is the punishment of the hill. One will gain, or one will lose.

He found himself racing to Jade’s home. The bird had been fine, his editor was fine. Jade, of all things, had to be fine. She had to be. He knew it in the back of his mind, she couldn’t be anything but fine. However the book from days ago dominated his mind. 

He was sure he had erased the date. He was positive. There was no way this was the day. None. He remembered removing that date from the page entirely, never even adding a new one. Jade wasn't dying today. 

But even Rohan was subject to anxiety at times like these. Did the hill try to take her? Or was it that book, the book that caused him to read the worst sentence of his life?

When he finally made it to her street, he saw it. And the ice in his veins was gone. Her stand, that little green Jeep. He had never been so happy to see it before. 

With newfound relief, he moved past it, running up to the steps and throwing her front door open. 

“I've decided. Tomorrow morning. We'll sign the papers at town hall.” Rohan said as he removed his shoes and stepped into Jade's living room, and Jade slowly sat up on the couch, eyes wide behind her glasses.  

“Papers? What papers?” She asked, not believing what she had just heard.

“Marriage papers. Tomorrow.” 

Jade's face burned, practically set ablaze. She couldn't even begin to think about where this change of pace had come from. They hadn't even discussed it. The two had avoided the entire topic since Jade had brought it up. She hadn't even said the word marriage at all directly to him. 

However when she looked at Rohan, he looked dead set. She knew that look in his eyes, she had seen it plenty of times before. He was fully committed to this idea, and knowing him, he was going to make it happen.

“Hang on, hang on, wh-what–” She stuttered, standing up and walking over to him, “What made you decide? What happened up on the mountain today?” The sunglasses vanished and she inspected Rohan, looking for signs of him being hurt at all. He looked fine, he seemed fine, if a little disheveled. 

“I learned that when you cherish something, it can be taken away from you before you even realize it if you take the wrong action.” He said, and Jade wouldn't even be able to question it as he took her hand with the ring on it and held it up between the two. 

“You've had your ring for 5 years. But this is easily able to be taken off and hidden away. It’s easy for you to just get up and walk away, you could do it at any point. I don't want it to be that easy.” Rohan punctuated his statement with a shake of her hand. 

If Jade wasn't so used to him, that statement would have been creepy. But she understood what he meant. It was his own, obsessive, eccentric way of saying he was ready to commit. That he valued her. She couldn’t help but blink once, before nodding a few times.

“Alright, we can go in the morning, I guess. I think I have a white dress in my closet somewhere, uh… Did you want to invite anyone?” She asked, still reeling from how fast this had decided to move. 

The evening would be spent in the living room planning the next day, with Rohan being Rohan and looking at every detail and Jade still in pure shock about the entire ordeal. At one point she had even excused herself to find the dress she had mentioned before, trying to collect her thoughts. That had ended with Jade sitting in front of her closet for a long time, processing what it meant for her. 

It was a big change, one she thought she was ready for, but now she wasn't sure. He suggested keeping their names so her research wasn’t affected, and she had agreed, but was that what she wanted? Her name was on everything. Her diplomas, her career works. Her resource within the foundation. It was all hers. 

Jade Sato-Stephens’. 

Her dad. The person who got her here in the first place. It was his last name. It wasn't hers. It was his legacy. His name. Jade stared at the white dress. Her mom had given it to her. It was a simple white sundress, with a tie at the back and pretty, long sleeves, reaching her knees. Not something she wore normally, hell she wasn't even sure how long it had been in her closet. 

Maybe this was the sign. The sign to finally start fresh. Her mom had. Why shouldn't she? Maybe the life she built now would feel more like her own.

Jade nodded once, standing up and picking the dress off its hanger to show Rohan. After all, he was definitely calling the shots. However, she still had one surprise in store for him. 

That night, the two laid in the same bed once again, this time laying on their backs next to each other, staring up at the ceiling. 

“This isn't some ploy to keep living with me, is it?” Jade asked, looking over at Rohan, who sighed and put a hand behind his head. 

“Do I really seem like a gold digger to you?” He asked, and Jade frantically denied him, causing him to let out a chuckle. 

“When you first arrived here, there was not much to you. An immature, foreign girl that had stumbled her way into a situation she couldn't get out of. However, by the end of it, you were a force. It was unlike something I could have written. Something I never could have captured. And I want to continue to watch.” He said, and Jade only stared at him as he stared at the ceiling. 

She hesitated for a moment, but rolled onto her side and laid her head on his shoulder, sighing. 

“You’ve grown up a lot too, Rohan. I remember wondering how you even existed in a place like Morioh with your personality. But as the years have gone by, I watched you finally start looking at others, and seeing them as more than pawns. It was beautiful,” She mumbled with a blush spreading across her cheeks. 

Rohan hummed and moved the arm Jade had laid on to rest on her shoulder, pulling her closer to his side. 

“So, what happened up there?” Jade asked, looking up at him, “And don’t try to lie to me. You looked like a deer in headlights when you saw Clint, and I haven’t seen you that on edge since Cheap Trick.”

Rohan hesitated, before sighing, “We visited a set of estates, closed off from the outside world, posing as potential buyers of one of the mansions. There was a test for prospecting buyers, one of etiquette. That we both failed. And a stipulation, I learned, of failing, is that the mountain would take away something you cherish for each time you failed.”

Rohan intentionally left the book out. He had fixed thaymt, he assured himself. 

“And you failed…” Jade pieced together, “So that’s what it was. That’s why you were so worried, for once. You thought I…” Jade trailed off, before sitting up and staring at Rohan, who mirrored her actions. 

“Marriage or not, I’m making you a promise. Right now. The only way I’m going out of this world is old and gray. I’m not going anywhere Rohan, I swear.” Jade held out her pinkie with a cheesy grin. 

“Pinkie promises,  are we in grade school?” Rohan questioned as he stared at the girl’s outstretched digit, and she rolled her eyes in return, picking up her pillow and hitting him with it, gently. He dramatically recoiled, before linking his pinkie with hers. 

Jade smiled, and leaned forward to press a quick kiss to his lips, before letting go of his finger and laying back down, “Now rest up. We have a big day tomorrow.” 

Rohan would scoff, laying back down on his side of the bed and pulling the blanket up over he and Jade. After a few moments, he would reach over and lay his arm across her shoulders, and pull her so his chest was against her back. 

“Love you too, Rohan.” She whispered, fighting back a giggle.

__ 

“Hey Rohan-sensei! Oh, sorry. Didn't realize you guys were on a date!” 

Okuyasu Nijimura had come to the cafe with his group of friends for lunch, and stumbled across Rohan in his usual seat, accompanied by Jade. It wasn't surprising. The two came once a week every week for years on their dates. Something was off about it today though.

“Josuke, Koichi, Yukako, and I were grabbing lunch here today. Mind if we join?” He gestured to the three teens behind him.

“I suppose so, if that's what you want.” Rohan sipped his drink calmly. Jade would laugh, “Actually it'd be great if you could join. We have something to tell you all.”

Immediately Yukako noticed something. She inspected Jade for a moment, before finally pinning down what was so different. 

“You're wearing a dress today, you don't wear those very often!” She said, and Jade grinned, “Yea, It was kind of a last minute choice, but I think it's pretty. And today was special.” 

Koichi looked at Rohan and noticed something different, as well. 

“You're dressed nicer than usual today, Rohan-sensei. Was there a special occasion?” He asked, and Rohan looked over at Jade for a split second, before smirking and nodding once, “You could say that.” 

As Josuke Higashikata sat down next to Okuyasu, the group got more suspicious about what was going on. The nice outfits, the cryptic ‘special occasion’.

“So, the tourist season looks like it’s been pretty good this year. I wonder if there's any reason why.” Koichi struck up some small talk, and the group began to chat aimlessly. 

“It’s gotta be the weather. It's been so hot this year, I thought Dad and I were gonna roast.” Okuyasu leaned back in his chair dramatically. 

“Morioh is pretty. It’s also probably a lot of events. Birthdays, weddings…” Josuke said, and a light bulb went off in Yukako’s head. 

Jade and Yukako looked at each other for a moment, and when Jade's smile grew, Yukako immediately figured it out. 

The white sundress and button down shirt, Jade sitting next to Rohan instead of across from him. Rohan’s camera hanging off his seat and the manila folder sticking out of Jade’s bag. The special occasion.

“You got married?!” She exclaimed, standing up and pointing at the duo. Koichi, Josuke, and Okuyasu all turned to look at Rohan, who put his drink down and nodded. 

“We decided it was time. We’re keeping our names to avoid confusion, but on paper we're officially married.” He explained, and the group all gave excited cheers.

“Guys, calm down. It's not like much is gonna change, we're just legally married now,” Jade laughed, though she couldn't help but admire their excitement. She turned her attention to Rohan, who looked slightly annoyed by the whole thing, “I told you we shouldn't have said anything.” 

But even she could see it, he looked a little proud. She nudged his shoulder with a laugh, “Admit it. Being married is kind of nice.” 

“True, I'll admit it's nice to not worry about you running off with some bonehead,” he teased back, and Jade scoffed, “Married an hour and already you're getting jealous.” 

“I just don't like sharing,” Rohan said as he grabbed her hand that rested it on the table, turning his attention back to the group in front of him.

Their group of unlikely friends chattered away about the exciting new development. Koichi wanted to call Jotaro and tell him the news, Yukako practically bombarded Jade with question after question, and Okuyasu and Josuke had taken it upon themselves to congratulate and poke fun at Rohan.

This was the life Jade could get used to. Sure it didn't look like the typical, white picket fence life she had envisioned, but it was better in a way. 

Take that, Yoshikage Kira. 

It was a crazy, noisy, bizarre life that she had ended up with. But as she went quiet and looked over at the one she was now sharing it with, she couldn't help but be thankful for it. And she couldn't help but be excited for when Rohan finally inspected the marriage certificate.  

July 16, 2006

Rohan Kishibe and Jade Sato-Kishibe

Cell Block A Coming Soon

He Spoke, She Wrote Coming Soon

“Italy?!” Jade exclaimed, holding her cell phone to her ear as she took her apron off and hung it on the hook in her kitchen, moving to the living room.

“That's right. Mr. Jotaro asked me to ask you if you would be willing to go with me to Italy to help find someone. He said it was official Speedwagon Foundation stuff.” Koichi explained. 

It had been 2 years since Jade Stephens had moved to Morioh. 2 years since she killed Yoshikage Kira. She had grown up a lot in that time, successfully graduating from college at the top of her class and a job as an analyst for the Speedwagon Foundation with the help of Jotaro Kujo. By all accounts her life was as normal as could be. 

“I mean if the Speedwagon Foundation would like to send me to Italy for free I'll happily take the trip, but who exactly would we be looking for? Why you and me?” Jade questioned, laying herself down on her couch in her living room, paying no mind to the green-haired man who had been reading a manga magazine in the room, but had since put it down in favor of listening to this conversation. 

“I'm not sure about who we're looking for either, but I know Jotaro wanted you because he has a photo and a name,” Koichi explained and Jade sighed, she couldn't argue with that.

“Alright fine, I'll go.” She agreed and Koichi excitedly gave her the details of where and when they would meet to receive the tickets and information. After a few more moments of conversation, Jade hung up the phone. 

“The Speedwagon Foundation is sending you to Italy?” Rohan questioned the girl across the Room from him, and she nodded. 

“Guess so. They need someone found, and their best bet would be me for that.” 

Rohan hummed, and Jade sat up on the couch to face him. The two had been together for a while now, with Rohan gifting her a ring a few short months ago to serve as a physical commitment. The two never discussed much further than that, however neither really seemed to be the type for marriage anyway. 

“I remember Koichi mentioning he would be going soon as well,” Rohan said and Jade nodded, “Yea, looks like we’re going together. I guess that’s nice, I haven’t traveled alone much in recent years.”

Jade hadn't really left Japan since she moved all those years ago. She didn't take many vacations, save for the one time she went with Rohan to Tokyo for a Sailor Moon event, she hadn't even returned home to the states. 

“And what are you going to tell your mother?” Rohan asked and Jade's smile faltered. Her mom didn't know what had gone down in the summer of 1999, much less that her daughter had supernatural abilities and a gig analyzing historical texts for the Speedwagon Foundation, looking for information on stands and stand arrows. 

She leaned back against the couch, tilting her head over the edge of It with a groan. Rohan had a point, this was gonna be a weird thing to tell her mom. It was already strange enough having to get a story straight about how she had met Rohan. Getting shot with a magical arrow that let her control a small, nonexistent vehicle in front of him, and then the two having disagreement after disagreement until Jade actually killed a man wasn't exactly the meet-cute her mom had in mind. 

So grabbing the same book at the Morioh bookstore it was.

“You're a writer, why can't you help me make an excuse?” She pulled her head up once again to look at her partner across the Room, who held his chin contemplatively. 

“Well, you could say you're looking at graduate schools in the area. That way your mother can have Jotaro's contact information instead of someone who won't know the situation.” He spoke, and Jade's smile slowly returned the more and more he talked. She got up and walked over, standing behind  the chair he sat in, and pulled him into a hug from behind. 

“See this is why I like you Rohan.” She kissed his cheek and he turned his head to look at her, “No Jade, you like me because I'm an attractive manga artist who happens to like you back.” He responded with the all too familiar arrogant lilt to his voice, prompting Jade to roll her eyes and laugh. 

“Alright, Rohan. Looks like it’s my turn to go to Italy.” 

___

“Ugh, that plane ride was killer. I swear the seatbelt sign was on the whole time!” The young woman groaned and stretched her arms upward, trying to find some relief for her muscles.

Koichi nodded in agreement, holding onto his suitcase. The two had landed in Italy mere hours prior, and currently they were trying to find a good spot to get Jade's stand moving. It didn't help that the two stuck out like sore thumbs, Koichi being Japanese and Jade being dressed like something out of a magazine having just stepped off a plane. 

Her long green hair was pulled back by a white bandana, with a matching white handkerchief top and flare jeans, with a pair of sandals to match. She fit right in in Italy, though the fashionable face she put on also made them an easy target, for sure. This was the last time she would let Rohan pick her travel outfit.

The two made their way outside with their luggage, looking around.

“Okay, look. We can find a taxi and get moving to the hotel. Once we get there we can set Clint Eastwood on his trail.” Koichi explained and Jade nodded, her eyes immediately scanning the line of cars, none of which looked like taxis to her. 

And given the interactions that began moments later, she had a feeling they weren't. 

“Hey pretty lady, I'll give you a discounted rate if you ride with me.” 

“ Bella Ragazza can I take you anywhere?” 

Jade blinked at them before brushing them off in Italian, flashing her ring as well. When the guys would respond with a crude remark or gesture, she'd respond in perfect Italian once again.

She'd definitely thank Rohan for that later. He had given She and Koichi fluency in Italian with Heaven's Door. And he then proceeded to mock Jade for thinking about him in her off time, to which Jade would give him the silent treatment for nearly an hour and irritate him into oblivion. 

Jade wasn't even paying attention to the spectacle beside her, though her attention was drawn by Koichi's refusal. She turned her head to her left to see what was going on with Koichi, and didn't quite believe what she saw either. 

It was a teenager, an actual kid, offering them a taxi. Now this for sure wasn't legal. Jade began walking away, prompting Koichi to do the same, however the boy followed them and continued talking. 

“Are you sure? I can get you to the center of town for 180,000 Lire. That's a pretty sweet deal.” The boy pressed, and Koichi quickly made the conversion to Yen. 

Jade was impressed. She wasn't great with math, but Koichi managed to find the scam in the price immediately. Koichi refused once again after relaying the price to Jade. 

“Wow, you speak excellent Italian. Have you two lived here before?” The teen asked, and Jade shook her head. 

“Oh no, my friend Rohan-sensei made it so-” 

“We would be able to learn! Rohan is my boyfriend and he's meeting us here soon.” Jade covered for Koichi. Talking about stands was a definite no-go here. Hell she would almost rather walk than get in a car with this kid. Something wasn't right. 

“So, would you really be willing to get us to the center of town? You look like a high-schooler at most. And what did you hand to the guard, I thought I saw cash. Did you pay them off?” Koichi questioned and Jade's eyes grew in size the more he spoke. She looked from Koichi to the kid, waiting for his answer. 

“No no, nothing like that! Don't worry! 10,000 Lire to get you guys where you need to go.” The boy offered and Jade looked back at Koichi for the conversion. 

“That's 500 yen!” Koichi said excitedly before the insanely cheap price tipped him off and his elated expression fell. Jade looked at the boy with an apologetic smile, “I think we'll wait,” she said, before turning around to be confronted with a massive line. 

Koichi and Jade shared a glance. 

“Still wanna wait?” The boy chimed in. 

___

“Bags go up front, please.” The kid said, opening the door to his light blue car. Jade and Koichi were both still hesitant to be riding with this at-most high-schooler, but there wasn't much choice in the matter. They had to get where they were going, they both had an important job to do. 

“Just so you know, we're not some naive Japanese tourists. I expect this car to go straight to our hotel.” Koichi asserted as he lifted his and Jade's bags into the passenger seat, while Jade crossed behind the car to get in on the driver's side. 

Jade opened the car door as Koichi closed the door he stood in front of, and within a split second, the blue car sped off. 

The two stand users looked at each other with wide eyes, before Jade yelled, “I knew it!” 

She could see the kid's smug look in the rearview mirror. That was it. 

“Fallacy!”

“Act 3!” 

The car screeched to a halt and was pulled into the ground, causing the metal to groan and shake. 

The two approached the light blue car, looking practically deadly. The boy tried to get the car moving again but the gearshift wouldn't even move. The car vibrated under this new weight, and every mechanism within the car had locked up and now refused to move. 

Koichi got to the car first, explaining that he would let the kid run and that they just wanted their bags back. 

But the face the kid made as he stepped out of the car said it all. He knew what just happened. Jade stopped in her tracks as she made eye contact with this guy before he ran off. 

“Looks like Giorno botched the job. But what did he expect, going after Japanese tourists when he's half Japanese himself.” 

Man, sometimes cops were annoying but these cops had to be Jade's favorites right now. She kept listening, hoping she could get a last name. If she got a last name, they'd be in business to track this kid down. 

How did he know what just happened?

“With that hair color and a name like Giorno Giovanna-” 

Bingo. The girl grinned. “Clint Eastwood. Recall Fallacy.” 

The jeep melted out of the car and Jade stood next to Koichi, “I got his name, just in case. But all's well that ends well I guess- Koichi what's that on the seat?” The girl leaned forward to see what Koichi was freaking out about, but she didn't quite know what she was looking at either. 

It looked like a frog, but their suitcases had just been there. Was this a stand?! Was this kid a user? They found a stand user right as they hit Italian soil?! No, there was no way. It was a frog. A real one, given Koichi's panicked reaction to the little guy jumping on his hand. 

She straightened up and looked around, meeting the eyes of the cops as Koichi searched for their bags. Jade got an idea immediately. Slipping Rohan's ring off her finger and into her pocket, she made her move. 

“Hey! What can you tell me about that cab driver?” She asked, walking over to them. 

Of course, she knew it would work. These cops were sleazy, they took a cash bribe from a no more than 15-year-old and knew what he was doing. A pretty girl would get all the info they needed. 

After about 15 minutes of chatting and some rather raunchy remarks, Jade had an age, school, and more. 

“We can split up. You follow the address to Haruno Shiobana, I'll get our bags back.” Jade suggested once the two had regrouped within the airport. It was going to be a nightmare of a trip, but Jade was sure she could get their stuff back. Not to mention it was physically impossible for her to get lost.

Koichi nodded, liking the plan. It would be way easier to split their time between these two problems, especially if Koichi had an address. And if Jade had Haruno Shiobana's name and face, she definitely could find him. And Koichi. 

The two split up, and the girl brought out the green jeep stand, commanding it to track down Giorno Giovanna. It began rolling, and Jade followed it, without looking back at Koichi. It was certainly going to be a long first day in Italy. 

It took her about an hour to get anywhere. The streets all blended, coupled with the catcalling and the tourists she realized she was not one for travel. Jade wanted to go home. 

“I'll pay for you! Honest!” Her attention was pulled to shrill voices at a cafe just ahead.

Teenage girls, she thought. She remembered those days, fawning over guys and offering to buy them things or do favors for them like their homework. Girls were kind of stupid sometimes. She laughed at her thoughts until Kicking something metal with her shin. She hissed and looked down. It was her stand. It had stopped. Jade slowly looked forward, where the jeep faced, to see a familiar pink suit and blonde hair. A little to the left of him and down the street was her Japanese companion. 

The two stand users made eye contact and couldn't hide their surprise. Koichi pointed to the cafe they stood in front of, and Jade nodded. The girls began to leave, and the two leaped into action, rapidly approaching the table. 

“Giorno Giovanna!” Jade yelled, and the blonde looked over at her, and then at Koichi

“Y-you! How did you find me here?!” He questioned, but Koichi had more pressing things to do than answer his inquiry, demanding their bags and passports back. 

“Pains me to say, but I sold it. It's gone.” The kid said coldly, and Jade didn't like that answer at all, biting the inside of her cheek and resting a hand on the table. 

“Now you know, so stop following me.” The boy spoke once again and made a break for it, only to be stopped by gravity pinning his hand to the table with jade stepping away to avoid any of Echoes’. 

Jade’s stand drove up beside her, as Echoes floated next to Koichi. To Jade's surprise, the kid looked straight at Echoes.He definitely looked at the little stand, her brows furrowed a bit, but she didn’t have time to question it. 

The table cracked and broke at the sheer force of 3 Freeze, and Jade temporarily lost sight of the kid, but not before seeing a flash of gold. 

“No, Koichi get over here!” She yelled as she and the Jeep looked around to find the kid once the dust Settled. There was nothing around but a tree. 

“Clint Eastwood! Find Giorno Giovanna!” She commanded, but the engine only revved, the jeep didn't move. He hadn't left.

“Koichi, he's still here!” Jade exclaimed, only to be followed by another exclamation from Koichi himself. 

The tree was growing. The two Japanese stand users looked up to see Giorno Giovanna, riding the growing tree up to the top. 

Jade could only watch with a slack jaw. There was no doubt. It was a stand. The kid had a stand of his own. She wasn't gonna let him get away with their money at the very least, though, sending Clint Eastwood barrelling toward the tree. It seems Koichi had the same idea. But both users were sent back by an unseen force, Koichi embedding himself into the ground and Jade slamming into a wall, cracking it. 

“You two are something. Based on the fact that you followed me, and didn't intend on hurting me, you have good hearts.” Giorno spoke, and Jade could only groan in pain.

As Giorno Giovanna disappeared onto the roof, the two users stayed in their spots, processing What had just happened. 

That kid was a stand user. 

It took them a few minutes to get up, but the two eventually did, with Koichi opting to go to a pay phone and relay the discovery to Jotaro while Jade tried to explain away the table incident. 

“We don't know what happened! My friend and I are tourists, and this guy mugged us. When we confronted him, he smashed the table and ran away. I'm so very sorry.”

Jade lied as smoothly as she could, praying she had picked up enough from Rohan about fabricating stories to make it sound believable. 

He could give her a language, but not the ability to lie as well as he did, she thought irritatedly. It seemed the shopkeeper believed it though, as he apologized as well to the distraught young woman. 

She turned her attention to Koichi, who waved her over. Jade excused herself and ran across the street. Koichi handed her the phone, and she took it, placing it against her ear and leaning on the stand.

“Hey, Jotaro!” She spoke into the phone, greeting the man on the other line. 

“Nice to hear from you Jade, sorry about all The trouble. The Speedwagon Foundation can send you some money soon, both yours and Koichi's stipends will go to you to make it more efficient. As for Giorno Giovanna, be careful. His father is the one who wielded the stand arrow the first time, the one I ended up killing.” 

Jade went deathly silent. She knew this story. It was the story Jotaro had told Jade when she killed Yoshikage Kira. 

“It seems a powerful stand user has entered Napoli. You and Koichi need to be on guard.” Jotaro said, and Jade agreed. The conversation pretty much ended there, with Jotaro bidding the two users goodbye and Jade hanging up the phone. 

“Let's get moving, Koichi. We need to get our passports back. And my CD player was in that suitcase so I really want it back now.” The young woman said angrily, and Koichi immediately tried to diffuse the situation. 

“Jade, that's Dio’s son. We can't just waltz in there and take our passports back!” He grabbed her arm to try and stop her from storming off, but Jade was a bit stronger than she looked, pulling Koichi along the street a ways. 

“Koichi, you can regroup all you want but I'm getting my stuff back. Dio’s son or not I don't think it’ll be too fun to deal with a stand user who can throw cars.” Jade had a point. Over the years, Clint Eastwood and his special ability Fallacy had grown incredibly powerful. Unlike the short stints she could control smaller vehicles, she had found herself able to infiltrate larger engines as time had gone on and she had used it more. It was convenient. She never got scammed by taxi routes, and was never late to her classes, but now it seemed that this stand was going to be less about workarounds, and more about head-on combat. 

“While that is true, we need to be smart about it. He can throw attacks back at us, and he’s lived here his whole life. We’re at a disadvantage!” Koichi also had a point. The two were not in their element. They had never been to Italy before, nor did they know anyone who had. 

Jade rubbed her eyes and sighed. They didn't have many options currently, so she let the assertion weigh on her mind before shaking her head, “No. No no no Koichi I'm getting my stuff back. Clint Eastwood, find Giorno Giovanna!” 

The jeep sped off, with Jade running behind. Koichi sputtered in disbelief before chasing after her, yelling her name and a few other panicked phrases about being left alone on the streets of Napoli. 

—-

The two would find themselves at a school, with Jade standing outside, letting Clint Eastwood guide Koichi into Giorno's dorm. It took quite a while for Koichi to follow Clint and keep a low profile, but once he was it, it seemed like smooth sailing. 

Koichi pushed the door open and Clint Eastwood peeked in. 

Jade gasped and looked around. The kid wasn't in there? But Clint Eastwood had led them there. This didn't bode well. She couldn't exactly step into the school without drawing attention to her, so she couldn't exactly go in and help Koichi. However, she could attempt to figure out where he even was. 

Clint Eastwood wheeled around the room, trying to see any sign of the teen. Meanwhile, Jade's arms crossed over her chest and she tapped her foot. 

“Excuse me miss, are you waiting for someone?” An older man asked, and Jade jumped, looking over. 

“O-oh! Yes! Just my cousin… uhm, I can move if need be!” Jade immediately stood up from where she leaned on the wall. The man looked to be a janitor of sorts, very much the grandfatherly type. The old man laughed and shook his head a bit. 

“Oh, you're fine. You'd just been out here a while so I was wondering. Have a good day and be safe. The streets of Napoli aren’t safe for a pretty girl all by herself.” He tipped his hat and walked further into the school, leaving Jade alone once again. She sighed, looking up at the sky before focusing back on her task at hand: locating Giorno Giovanna. 

It was easy, seeing as the minute she refocused her attention to the room cast through her glasses, she spotted the familiar purple Suit. 

“Got you!” She muttered, before being interrupted by Koichi exclaiming excitedly, “I found the passports,” as he held up the two familiar blue booklets. Clint Eastwood quickly reversed as she watched Giorno Giovanna grab something small and shiny, and run out of the dorm. 

“Odd… he didn't go for Koichi. What the hell…” Jade whispered, before setting Clint Eastwood to follow Giorno. She also walked onto school grounds, following the path Clint Eastwood had taken to find Giorno's dorm. There was something strange about this kid that Jade didn't like, and she wanted to find out what exactly was going on with him in the first place. 

She followed him to the outside steps, with Clint Eastwood positioned behind him on the landing and Jade positioned a few yards away around the corner of another building. She couldn't hear very well, however, she was able to see the sudden splash of water on behalf of the janitor, and Giorno’s stance change. Because of the stairs, Jade couldn't exactly get closer, so the poor girl was left totally in the dark as to what was happening until there was a burst of flame. 

It was a lighter, Jade realized. Giorno Giovanna had grabbed and run off with a lighter. It looked like the old man she had encountered turned the lighter on. The flame was huge, reaching a few yards up in the air. Even Clint Eastwood reversed a bit in shock. But nothing could have prepared Jade for what she saw walking between her and Giorno Giovanna. 

It looked like a priest from a Renaissance painting, but it also reminded her of a foe from long ago. A little robot that had adhered to Rohan's back. She leaned forward to try and get a better look at the thing. 

It stalked forward, almost like a hungry shark or a zombie. A stand, Jade would realize. The stand would turn in her direction, and Jade would slip behind the wall, holding her breath. Did it belong to the janitor? Another student, perhaps? She carefully peeked out again to see the stand had lost interest in her, focusing its attention on the janitor.

“You’re the one who reignited the flame!!” The stand spoke and grabbed the old man’s soul straight from his body. Jade’s stand would surge forward at the danger, revealing itself.

Giorno turned to see the green jeep on the landing, behind the stand, and his new prey. 

Jade swore and stepped out from her hiding spot, revealing herself to Giorno as well, yelling, “Why are you just standing there?!”

Jade lurched forward into a full sprint to try and stop the stand from doing whatever it was about to do, however, it was too late, as Jade and Giorno watched the man's forehead be pierced by an arrow. 

Jade felt her stomach lurch and subconsciously grabbed at her right side. The summer of 1999. That was a stand arrow. That stand just launched a stand arrow at that man. Oh, she was definitely going to call Jotaro. 

The stand said something about this not being a chosen soul and threw the man's soul down the stairs. It reconnected with his body, and the old man fell dead into Giorno's arms. 

“Holy shit…” Jade whispered, watching with a horrified expression. Giorno took a step back, and suddenly the stand looked straight at him. 

“Prepare for salvation, as before you lie two paths!!” The stand itself yelled and Jade could only watch as Giorno barely managed to dodge the onslaught, leaving the man's body behind. 

“Clint Eastwood!” Jade yelled, recalling the stand to her, to try and stay out of sight of the stand that was targeting Giorno. Giorno dodged it as well, but to both users’ horror, the stand instead reached for the boy’s shadow, pulling his stand out from the darkness. The arrow protruded from the stand’s mouth, as Giorno’s stand was held firmly in place. Was this the user that had awakened Giorno’s power? Was this the stand Jotaro warned her and Koichi about? Who was the user, even?!

Jade didn’t dare breathe as she watched, hoping this kid had a way out of this situation. Luckily, her faith was well placed, as Giorno Giovanna’s stand delivered a swift uppercut to the enemy stand, beating it back and away from him. As it moved to deliver the final blow, though, the stand vanished into thin air. As if it never existed. 

The courtyard went silent. 

“How did he just disappear?!” Giorno sounded like he was in disbelief, and Jade wasn’t too far off. She whipped her head around frantically, looking for any sign of the disturbing entity or the person wielding it, before directing her attention to Giorno Giovanna.

“Hey, listen I know we’re not exactly on the greatest of terms, but you gotta get me up to speed on what that thing is.” She spoke in a warning tone, to let the teen know she meant business.

“If I could tell you, I would. It doesn’t concern you. He’s around here somewhere, he’s gotta be.”

Jade moved closer, to have a better chance at defending herself and helping in the fight, with Giorno’s stand looking over his left shoulder, and Jade’s stand once again present at her right side. The two scanned the courtyard with their backs toward one another, Jade on the lower ground and Giorno on the stairs. She mentally cursed, there was no way to track it if she didn’t know its name. Could she even track stands? Jade didn’t know. She could only watch the open space before her, looking for a hint of movement.

Jade didn’t even realize what was happening until she heard Giorno swear. She turned around and there it was, once again firmly holding down Giorno’s stand, pointing the arrow at its throat. It connected in Jade’s brain, and she recalled Clint Eastwood almost instantly. She and Giorno came to the same realization, though, as it pressed the arrow further into Giorno’s stand’s neck. This stand hid in the shadows. 

There was movement in the sky as the sun set, and the stand was once again exposed to the light, causing its grip to lessen on the stand. Giorno and the stand were sent tumbling to the ground, in front of Jade. 

“Shit, are you okay?!” She asked, reaching for the young boy to help him up, however as Giorno put his hand on a shadow to pull himself up, Jade’s foot slipped into the shadow as well. She felt a hand close around her foot and yelled, and Giorno Giovanna would grab her hand, pulling her back into the sunlight, causing the hand to recoil and the entity to appear in the shadow of the building before them. The two users would tumble to the ground from the sheer force of their own evasive action, staring at their attacker. For a moment, the stand waited, and then it began to follow the shadow’s line as if stalking them. 

Jade quickly stood, and helped to pull Giorno up, examining the stand. 

“Oh, you need to explain right now kid.” Her voice meant business. Jade wasn’t exactly prepared to do any fighting during her time in Italy, and her terrible luck only seemed to get her into even more trouble in the long run. 

She didn’t notice Giorno reach into another shadow, only hearing the enemy stand launch itself towards him. She jumped and stepped away from it. 

“Don’t go near the shadows! That’s how it's traveling. I saw it when it grabbed you the second time.” She explained, and the two could only watch as it paced, thinking about what to do. 

“The sun is going to disappear behind the school in minutes. We’re screwed once that happens.” Giorno met the stand’s eyes, and Jade only listened, watching the stand as well. 

“But if I can drag it into the sun, we have a chance. It’s worth a shot. The question is, how do I draw him out?” He spoke aloud, and Jade hummed. She didn't want to risk Clint Eastwood. If the enemy stand moved fast enough it could easily grab The little jeep, and that would be a poor end for everyone. No, this wasn't a situation with an easy exit. 

“Giorno! Jade! What happened?!” 

The two's attention was pulled from the shadow entity before them to the stand user at the top of the stairs. 

“Koichi?!” They both said at the same time, both in disbelief that Koichi had found them. 

“What the heck are you doing? Why is there a dead body at the bottom of the stairs?! What happened?” Koichi questioned, and Giorno spoke first. 

“It wasn't me, I’m innocent I swear! It was that stand over-” Giorno stopped, and Jade's breath hitched. It was gone. It had moved. 

“You expect me to believe-” Koichi began, but was interrupted by Jade, “Shit he's gone! Where'd he go!” She whipped around, looking for all of the shadows on the ground. 

“I saw you talking to the old man Giorno, I was watching from the window!” Jade and Giorno both paled.

“Wait, did you see the lighter reignite?!” Giorno asked, and Jade panicked, throwing Clint Eastwood out towards Koichi to get him out of the handrail’s shadow. 

However, the enemy stand beat her to it, grabbing Echoes and priming the arrow to fire from its jaws.

“Intercept it Golden Wind!” Jade heard Giorno yell, and the golden stand grabbed the arrow in its hand. Clint Eastwood finally barrelled up the stairs and slammed into the enemy stand, shoving It away from Koichi and Echoes. 

The handrail that cast its shadow suddenly morphed into vine-like structures, unraveling itself and revealing a tangle of vines. Morning glories. Jade breathed a sigh of relief as the dark, shadowy stand writhed in pain, eventually fading into another shadow. 

Giorno cursed, “If only I could pull him into the sunlight, I could off him for good.” 

Koichi jumped down to join the other two users, and kept looking around, “What kind of stand was that?!” 

“Didn't you see? The murdering kind.” Giorno spoke, and if Jade wasn't so distraught she would have laughed. The kid had a sense of humor, she'd give him that. 

“He killed that old man after he saw the lighter reignite. It seems Jade saw it, as well as you and I. It's made targets out of the three of us.” Giorno observed, and Jade finally turned to join the conversation. 

“No, not that. Did that stand have...” Koichi wasn't the only one confused. 

“Yeah, Koichi. It's an arrow. It's here.” Jade explained. If anyone would know that arrow it was these two.

“But why would an arrow be here?! I thought Jotaro had it!” Koichi asked Jade, who shook her head, explaining briefly just how many arrows existed, before turning to Giorno, “Just what the hell have you been getting into? What did you do to send that arrow-wielding stand after you?” 

A stand that wields a stand arrow, choosing its target based on a flame, and looking for chosen souls. The dots connected and Jade could only speak one word as her mind cleared and she focused Back in on the conversation, 

“Fuck.”

“Two years ago, I was wounded with a similar arrow. It's what awakened My stand. The same with Jade.” When Koichi said her name Giorno turned, and Jade gave a sad smile paired with a small shrug. It was true. Both she and Koichi had seen this power before. To think one had been in Italy all this time. She didn't know how it would have even gotten here. Jade couldn't even begin to theorize as to how it arrived in Europe. They had only been seen in Cairo and Japan thus far. Did that mean Dio or one of his allies had been in Europe?

“If the power doesn't awaken, the victim is killed instead.” Koichi finished, and Jade spoke up, walking closer to the two. 

“This stand creates stand users with the arrow.” She finally spoke her idea, though it seemed Giorno had already come to a similar conclusion. 

“I'm not sure where the arrow is from, but this stand is self-piloting, long-range, and will not stop until it destroys its target. It's deadly.” Koichi and Jade shared a look after her description of the stand, remembering Highway Star and the similar stands they faced before. 

“Speaking from experience. The stand is limited in its attacks because it is long-ranged. However, what it lacks in power it makes up for in determination.” Jade explained, Turning her attention from Koichi to the deadly entity in front of the trio. This stand was nightmare fuel. 

“Our best bet is to find the user and eliminate him,” Koichi relayed The best plan he had, but that plan did not go well with Giorno. 

“Its user is safely behind bars, so that's not an option. Either way, he's stuck in the shadows. We need to get to the side of the school in the sun while we can. Once we do that, we can lure him into a shadow of an object we can move, and rip it away from him. He’ll get totally whammied, and won't even know what hit him,” As Giorno offered his plan, the two boys looked at Jade. 

“That's certainly possible. I think that's the strategy then. Alright boys, let's get moving.” 

The three began running, to get to the other side of the school in time. However as the sun slowly fell, luck was not on their side. Jade kept pace with Giorno, and the two rounded the gate, not noticing Koichi until he spoke up, announcing that the enemy stand had once again vanished, as Jade and Giorno crossed the shadow of a tree. 

The stand reached for Giorno first, giving Jade enough time to react and leap out of the trunk’s shadow. Giorno tried to fight but the arrow once again prepared to fire, holding Giorno by his stand’s legs. 

“3 Freeze!” Koichi yelled, and the stand’s arms slammed into the ground with immense force, pinning it down. However, it only pinned Giorno, too. This stand was overcoming the immense gravity, and keeping a tight grip on Giorno’s stand’s ankles. The arrow aimed for Giorno. 

“Koichi! Release 3 Freeze!” Jade yelled. 

“Actually, Koichi, I would prefer it if you didn’t.” Giorno said, and the two users looked to the third, “Don’t even think about it, it’s just what I needed.” 

Jade didn’t have time to process what Giorno was doing until he had already done it. From behind them, a branch off the tree fell to the ground, and the tree began to double, even triple in size. It was growing, like the tree in the alley from that afternoon. 

“My ability is to inject life force into any organism. I accelerated the growth of this tree, until its death,” Giorno explained as the two watched the leaves of the tree disappear, leaving no room to hide for the shadowy stand. The tree burst, and Jade stepped back as the stand began to flail around, searching desperately for a shadow it could crawl into. 

It screamed in agony, finally finding the cracks in the ground from 3 Freeze, reaching for it as its escape, only to be stopped by a sandal-clad foot stomping on its hand, and another loafer-clad one filling in the crack with rubble. 

It screamed again as its only method of escape was dashed, leaving it to perish in the sun. 

“You rattled on about me having two paths. But there’s only one path lying in wait for you.” The teen spoke, and Jade stepped away from the withering stand to let Giorno do what he was planning. 

“Sorry to bother, Koichi, but could you move to the right a bit?” Giorno asked, and Koichi did as asked. And then all hell broke loose. 

In a flurry of fists, the stand was reduced to a floating blob, sailing into the Italian sunset. It faded out like a fire, a mere wisp. The sun finally fell behind the school, casting the three in a dark shadow, not a moment too soon. Giorno picked up the lighter he had been protecting, and Koichi handed Jade her passport that he had pocketed. 

Things certainly had complicated themselves, Jade sighed, shoving her passport in her pants pocket. They needed to alert Jotaro and the Speedwagon Foundation, fast. Koichi had the same idea, as he quickly made his way to the payphone across the street. Giorno calmly followed him, prompting Jade to walk over as well.

Jade watched as Giorno ended the call before Koichi could even dial. 

“Hey!” Jade stepped next to Giorno, but he was firmly talking to Koichi, not even acknowledging her. 

“You, you said there were more. I destroyed Polpo’s stand, you saw it.” Giorno said, and Koichi shook his head, “You really think that? You couldn’t be more wrong. It’s good that you took care of it, but the sun only stopped its attacks.” 

Giorno seemed to sweat at that, “He’s alive? Really?!” 

Jade chimed in with a nod, crossing her arms and leaning against the telephone booth, crossing one leg over the other as well, “Yeah, sad but true. Stands like that have little to no effect on their user. At most, he felt a strange weight in his hands or a slight pain in his head. I don't feel what Clint Eastwood does, so it's likely your man felt nothing, probably doesn’t even know that this fight happened.”  

“Say what? So he’s oblivious? Does he even know I’m a stand user?” Giorno continued to question the two, and Koichi would answer once again, “Jade’s right, he probably didn’t feel anything. There’s no way he could learn that we were stand users from that fight.” 

Koichi turned to redial the call, however Giorno kept his hand on the receiver, blocking the call from being made. Jade looked at him with an inquisitive expression, confused as to why this kid who didn’t seem to know what was happening didn’t want experienced users calling for help. 

“I’d appreciate it if you’d move your hand,” Koichi asked, earning a refusal from Giorno. 

“That’s a call I can’t allow you to make. It’s not one guy. It's an organization, a large one too. If you call in backup, the enemy is going to be alerted. This has to stay between us.” Giorno explained, and Jade and Koichi looked at one another in surprise.

The next day was her last day in Italy. Koichi offered to watch Giorno, leaving Jade at the hotel to gather herself, and her things. The hotel was nice enough, and while she enjoyed the little time she had to explore, she was more than glad it was over. Jade lounged on the bed in a new set of clothes she had picked up, a blue plaid tank top and flared pant set. She had pulled her hair into two braids, to keep it out of the way. At least she had been able to do a little bit of shopping that night they had defeated that creepy stand. 

But she was still pissed off about her CD player. The Italian radio station left little to be desired in their room, but it was all she had. Jade let herself listen to the classical station she had found, trying to fully understand how a stand arrow had ended up within an Italian stand. There were more, many more users in Napoli. 

Jade finally understood why Jotaro wanted to send her as well. While they had no idea there was a stand user with an arrow, she knew Dio commanded the original bow and arrow, almost 20 years ago. There was a huge chance an arrow would find its way to Dio's son, regardless as to whether or not Dio’s lackeys were present in Europe. Sure enough, it had.

Her attention shifted to the ring on her hand, and how it glittered in the light. Rohan loved Italy, he had traveled here before and never really stopped gushing about it. It was physically beautiful, rich with history and intrigue too. Maybe she would bring him along the next time the Speedwagon Foundation decided to send her on an international errand. If she decided to go. Jade looked out the window at the beautiful landscape, things had certainly complicated themselves. 

The hotel phone interrupted her thoughts. She leaned over on the bed and grabbed the receiver.

“Yes, hello?” 

“So I have to find out from Jotaro Kujo that you arrived in Italy safely?” A voice rang in her ears and Jade cursed, sitting up. Speak of the devil. 

“Shit, Rohan I’m so sorry! All hell broke loose the second we landed.” The girl sighed. Of course, she hadn’t been able to call him, she had been so busy trying to navigate her first day in Italy that some things just fell by the wayside, “I know what you’re going to say and no, I didn’t even have 5 minutes. But I did get you a present to make up for it.” 

The other line was quiet for a little bit, before Rohan began to laugh, causing Jade to scoff, “If you just called to bully me Rohan I’m going to hang up.” 

Said man calmed his laughter, “Fine fine. Happy to know that you and Koichi are doing alright galavanting across Italy.” 

If Rohan could see the glare she delivered the phone, he would have realized his mistake immediately, however a few seconds of angry silence seemed to do the trick. 

“Are you safe?” 

The question quelled Jade’s anger immediately, and the tension in her shoulders melted a bit, before turning to stress. She couldn't tell Rohan about it. He would more than likely be furious that she had put herself in so much danger. She sighed deeply before replying, “Yes. Koichi and I are safe. We’re all done here, and we return back home tomorrow.” 

“That wasn’t what I asked Jade.” Rohan asserted, and a smile made its way onto her face, “Yes, Rohan. I’m safe. No crazy people, no murderers following me around,” A white lie, but not exactly untruthful.

“Good, I need your help with reference poses once you get back, so I need you to return to Morioh in one piece,” The way he spoke sounded disinterested, but Jade grinned. She knew what he meant, stupid bastard never really being straightforward where it counted. 

“I miss you too, Rohan. Now, it’s late over there, please go to bed. Or… at least get some rest.” She changed her mind at the last minute, knowing Rohan and Sleep were seeing other people indefinitely. The mangaka agreed, bidding Jade goodbye as she hung up the phone with a small but sad sigh. She definitely wanted to return home. 

Jade looked over at the Gucci wallet she had seen in a shop window, Rohan’s gift. She’d seen enough of Italy for now. Maybe one day she’d be able to come back and truly enjoy herself, but it seemed getting into trouble was her strong suit. 

The phone rang again, and Jade picked it up, “Hello?”

“Hello, yes, may I speak to Jade Stephens?” English, but with a strange accent. She blinked a few more times before confirming her identity. 

“I’m an associate of Jotaro Kujo. I’d like to have a word with you about your line of work, if you don’t mind?”

Jade’s eyes widened. How did this person get her name? 

“Who- who the hell are you?” She asked, suddenly on edge. He didn't sound malicious, but this wasn't exactly a good time to be mysterious with her, not that this person knew that. 

“Oh forgive me, my name is Jean-Pierre Polnareff. My source has it that you have first-hand experience with the stand arrow. I'd like to ask you a few questions.” The man on the other side of the line offered, and Jade thought for a minute. 

“You were in Egypt weren't you. With Jotaro?” She asked. 

When the man confirmed it, she knew exactly who she was talking to. She made up her mind, and with a deep breath, so began a new leg of her bizarre journey. 

“What do you want to know?”

___

Jade would find herself sat at the cafe a few blocks from her hotel, a cute little spot called Libeccio, waiting for someone. Who? She didn't know. All she did know was that he wanted her collection of information, and that he knew Jotaro. 

Polnareff. Odd name, no doubt French. She remembered Jotaro speaking of the survivors of Dio’s attacks, so of course she remembered that name. 

“Excuse me, Ms. Stephens?” A voice spoke from behind her. Jade turned around in her seat to speak to the man, furrowing her brows when she met his eyes. Well… his eye. 

He was in a wheelchair. Clearly things had gone awry in the 13 years since Egypt. Jade nodded once to confirm her identity, but the man didn't seem convinced. 

“That's me, you must be Mr. Polnareff.” She waited for him to wheel next to her at the table. The silence was tense. This was dangerous, especially given that the arrow was still at large from what she knew. And there were more. Many more. 

“So, you're a researcher. And we research a similar item. How did you come across this field?” Mr. Polnareff asked her, and Jade simply laughed sheepishly, “Got a Jeep that appears whenever I want, lets me see things from far away, and possess cars.” 

“They get more interesting the more time passes. But it suits you well.” He offered with a smile, and Jade felt a small smile make its way onto her face as well. He was a stark contrast to Jotaro. While weathered and clearly somewhat traumatized, he had an aura about him that radiated assurance. Jade felt at ease, as opposed to at-the-ready, as she often felt around Jotaro. 

“You wanted my research, right? I don't have it with me, as I wasn't expecting to encounter… you know. But I can have the Speedwagon Foundation rush it to you. Right now it isn't much, as I have not had nearly as much time for discovery as you or Jotaro, but I can assure you there is usable material.” The young woman spoke with a new aura of confidence, picking her teacup up and taking a sip once she finished speaking, and the man next to her nodded. 

“There is one stipulation for giving me this information, Ms. Stephens.” Mr. Polnareff did not look at her face, but instead his focus was on her hand, where her ring sat on her finger. 

“Yes, what is it?” She asked, and he looked back up at her face. 

“Your name cannot be on any of it. Redact it. Your name must not be included. You and I never spoke. You cannot even tell  Jotaro that we met. This is for your own safety.” 

Jade’s face went white as a ghost. What in the hell was she dealing with here? She thought for a minute before nodding. 

“S-sure. Of course.” 

“Good. Before we part I have a final message from someone, addressed to you. They told me to apologize for your father's behavior, and to send warm regards to your mother.” Polnareff handed her a slip of paper with an address on it.

“Christine Meyers? The archaeologist? That's her, isn't it?” The young woman asked, and Polnareff laughed, “We are very close, your aunt and I. Jotaro, Joseph, and I were not the only ones in Egypt.” 

She looked at the ring once again, and felt her stomach turn. Her Aunt Christine knew about this stuff, too. She had been in Egypt with Jotaro. Did she have a stand herself? Did Jotaro know they were related? 

Jade tapped her teacup, losing herself in her thoughts for a few moments. There had to be more users here in Naples. There was no way whoever controlled that stand had just been after Giorno Giovanna. 

“There are more. Here in Italy.” She said, and Polnareff tilted his head a bit, prompting her to explain.

“Yesterday evening. I came across a young man being chased down by a stand. It was long-range, self-piloting. Like my own almost. And it had an arrow. It ripped the soul from its target and fired the arrow. Some organization is creating stand users here in Italy. In the Naples Prison, there's someone with an arrow.” She explained quietly, and Polnareff nodded a few times, losing himself to his own thoughts for a moment. 

“I can send someone to retrieve that arrow. Do you happen to know the identity of the user?” 

“No idea. But from what the kid said, it sounds like Mafia dealings. So we'll need to be careful.” Jade's eyes scanned the room, eventually landing on the door when it opened. 

The first man to enter wore a white suit with black and gold embellishments, and his hair in a tight black bob. He was handsome, and practically radiated confidence. But the next person to walk through the door would cause Jade to choke on her tea. 

Giorno Giovanna. 

“Are you alright?” Polnareff asked, putting a hand on Jade's back as she coughed, making eye contact with Giorno, who gave her a cold glare. She knew exactly what he wanted to say with that look, ‘Tell no one of our dealings yesterday’. 

Sorry Giorno, but she was going to have to. 

“Him. The blonde kid. Keep an eye on him.” She finally whispered, and Polnareff would glance in his direction before looking back to the young woman in front of him, who was catching her breath from almost being murdered by a cup of tea. 

There wasn’t much more to discuss after that, but Jade had other plans. 

“What is my Aunt like?” She asked after a bit of silence. 

Polnareff hummed, setting his own cup down in thought, before seeming to finally decide on a way to describe her. 

“Christine is a force. She’s an intrepid explorer. And one of the smartest women I’ve had the honor of working with,” Jade hummed in acknowledgement, “You remind me of her, in some ways. She was your age when we first met, you know.” 

She laughed, and shook her head, “I guess. I’ve already had quite the life. I’d be happy to see things calm down.”

“You know for people like us, Ms. Stephens, that things never truly calm down.” 

Jade’s smile faded and she let out a heavy sigh, nodding in agreement. It was true, things hadn’t calmed down since she became a user, since she started working on finding out how and why she became a user in the first place. Her eyes wandered over to the group of strangely dressed young men across the room. Life never really was calm for anyone. 

“Good thing I’m used to things not being peaceful.”

Chapter 15 ->

Good Morning Morioh! It's a lovely fall morning here in our lovely little city! 

Things had gone quiet as of late. Not that it was bad. Not at all. After the summer the town had just endured, quiet was always good. 

September of 1999. Fall was around the corner. School had begun after its summer holiday, and Rohan Kishibe was once again hard at work, photographing scenes for his latest chapter. He was nothing if not dedicated, happy to be back to work after his forced hiatus, though the mangaka was slightly distracted. 

Two months ago, he had entered a relationship with the newest resident of Morioh, Jade Sato-Stephens. The two had a rocky start, with Jade thinking of Rohan as an egotistical jerk and Rohan seeing Jade as an immature foreigner. The two, after being put in many a life-or-death situation, found themselves developing feelings toward each other. They had begun a relationship, and in the middle of it, Jade had gone to S-City University, to continue her studies of classic literature at the recommendation of Jotaro Kujo, and paid for by the Speedwagon Foundation on the stipulation that she work for them once she obtained her degree. 

Rohan was supportive. Jade was nothing but supportive of his manga work, so of course he would return the favor. However a little thought, somewhat like a worm, had plagued his mind the past few days. 

He missed her. 

As he brought the camera up to his face, he began to think. He missed her quips in lock step with his own, her rock music leaking from her headphones. By all accounts the two were a mismatched pair, but Rohan was never one for things to match. They only had to go together. 

The relationship was still new, and there were growing pains. Rohan couldn't help but be irritated at Jade’s lack of calls through the week. Surely if you cared for your boyfriend you’d cough up the Yen for a payphone, he figured. But it didn't matter. He knew that Jade couldn't really find anyone better than him. 

Especially given their powers in common. Jade, in the few weeks before she left, would occasionally prank Rohan with Clint Eastwood’s new vehicle possession ability, taking over his bike or car and taking him to funny places such as in front of Josuke’s house. This usually came after days where Rohan decided to pick on Jade more than usual. Rohan shook his head a bit, remembering Jade on the sidewalk clutching her stomach and laughing as Rohan ranted to her about her jokes. He didn't mind them though, they never caused any harm. Simply annoyed him. And if he loved anything about her, he loved her annoyances, and annoying her back. 

“I can't get any work done like this.” Rohan stood from the bench he sat on and made his way back to his home. He needed to reorient. 

—

This stop is Morioh. Morioh. The doors are to my right… 

Jade hoisted a duffel bag over her shoulder and exited the train. Her first week in college and already the poor girl was exhausted. She hadn't spent much time at her dorm, instead electing to join clubs and attend fairs, even make a few friends. 

Her roommate seemed nice though. She was an animation student, with posters all over her side of the dorm and an affinity for figurines. Much like someone else Jade knew. It made it all the more funny to see their massive collection of Shounen Jump, with a specific serialized entry bookmarked. 

Jade wasn't in her normal, ultra fashionable attire, instead sporting a gray university crew neck and straight leg jeans with her bold sneakers. Her hair was in a low bun, out of the way for travel. 

It had been just under 3 months since she moved to Japan, living in the city of Morioh. In that time, she had gained a mysterious power, a close circle of small-city friends, and a boyfriend.

That was bizarre for her to say. 

“Jade?! You're back?!” A familiar voice yelled. Said girl turned and waved, “Josuke! How are you?!” 

“Pretty good. School is kicking my ass but what can you do?” Jade laughed a bit and shifted the weight of her bag further up onto her shoulder. Josuke Higashikata, the son of Joseph Joestar, and something of the little brother she never had. 

“Your English grades better be on the rise though. I expect nothing but the best outta you with that.” She playfully scolded, turning to see the other three teens Josuke was close to walking up behind him. 

Okuyasu Nijimura, Josuke's close friend and arguably his long lost twin. The two were inseparable. She wasn't surprised to see him, as he excitedly waved to the college student. 

“Yo! What are you doing back?! You didn't get kicked out, did ya?” Okuyasu asked, his expression turning concerned. Jade shook her head with a bright grin. 

“No, it's the first week. Most we have are syllabi and textbooks. I just missed everyone.” Jade shrugged, the smile not dropping once. Josuke and Okuyasu shared a mischievous look, before looking at the girl at the same time, 

“Does Rohan-sensei know you're back?” They spoke, and Jade's smile instantly fell, her cheeks slowly turning red. 

“No, he doesn't. And don't say anything either. I planned it to be a surprise. I didn't really call him much, I was too busy. So…” She scratched the back of her neck nervously, trying to cover up her embarrassment with a laugh.

“He'll probably understand If you talk to him.” Another person spoke up, and honestly If anyone was to be trusted about interacting with Rohan, it's Koichi Hirose.

Koichi stood with his girlfriend, Yukako Yamagishi, a little ways behind Josuke and Okuyasu. The two had been dating for a while at this point, so Jade trusted their ideas for sure. Not to mention Koichi being friends with Rohan as well. 

“You really think so? I know he's gonna be pretty annoyed.”

“Probably, but he likes you so he'll listen to what you have to say.” Koichi reassured, and Jade couldn't help but agree. Rohan did listen when it came down to it, especially after he didn't listen and ended up with two massive holes in his back a few months prior. 

Jade thought back to the corkboard on her desk, with his illustration of her in the middle. He would listen to her. After all, who else could get away with intentionally wearing his color scheme to annoy him, only for him to demand she wear it more. She was the annoyance he looked forward to. 

She just hoped he wouldn't be too annoyed. 

After a little longer catching up, Jade caught a taxi to her first stop before seeing Rohan, home. When she knocked on the door, her mom had flung it open, practically tackling her daughter off the porch. While her mom knew the trip was specifically to see Rohan, as she had somewhat neglected him, she was still so happy that her daughter wanted to see her as well. 

Jade was bombarded by question after question, how were her classes? What was her roommate like? Did she have enough money for her books? Was her cellphone working properly? 

Jade answered every question with a laugh and a long-winded answer. Her mom wanted the details. After all, Jade was her only child. She wanted her safe and sound, in a new place all alone. Hours went by, and when Jade looked at the clock, she grinned.

Rohan would be done with any errands by now, at home working on new panels. She stood up and hugged her mom, bidding her goodbye before picking up the gift bag she had brought. 

While in S-City, Jade had splurged a bit. She knew Rohan liked photography, even outside of his manga work, and while she had been wandering around the campus store she found an amazing film camera. She picked it up without a second thought. While initially she wanted to save it for Christmas, she figured it would work better as an apology. 

Her mom had offered up the gift bag and paper, as well as a bag of food for her to take. 

“Jade, a good girlfriend will always make sure her partner is fed.” She said while shoving the containers into her hands. Jade grabbed a canvas bag from off the side of the fridge and nodded along to her mom’s well-intentioned lecturing. Clearly her mom liked Rohan as well, and wanted this to go well. 

After another few minutes, Jade was off. It took her a little over 10 minutes to make the trek to the familiar Victorian-looking home. The side of his house that had been set ablaze a few months prior has been fixed to the fullest, it looked just as it used to. 

She laughed at the memory of Josuke and Mikitaka's dice cheat, and her secrecy to their plan. Something she would take with her to her grave, no doubt. 

First things first, she needed to make sure her plan wasn't already blown. There's a chance Rohan was being Rohan and just sitting on his porch with his afternoon tea. 

“Clint Eastwood, locate Rohan Kishibe and observe him.” She ordered, and the familiar green jeep appeared and quietly maneuvered off to see where the mangaka was. Jade watched through the red sunglasses, smiling when she did not see him on the porch. 

She quietly moved up to the back door of the house, trying to see if said door was locked. To her glee, it wasn't. She carefully pushed it open and sent her stand in to check the first floor. 

After a few minutes, she hadn't seen him. Perfect. He was in his office for sure at this time of day. 

She carefully, quietly made her way inside, dropping the bag of food wordlessly in Rohan’s kitchen. She remembered this place well. It was where the two had first formally met, after Jade was hit by the arrow. She looked over at her vehicular stand, and then at the table where she and Rohan had sat with Jotaro, discussing Morioh's newest user. 

She stifled a laugh at the memory of her having Clint hit his chair, sending him flying after he had let one of his quips loose. Jade had thought they would never get along. How things had truly changed. 

Now, Jade had to get upstairs without issue. She recalled her stand and began the slow and steady trek up, making the least amount of noise she could. While easier said than done, Jade had been up these stairs quite a lot in the few months the two users had dated. She knew every spot that made a sound on these stairs, and skillfully avoided them. 

Next came his office door, which did squeak. She'd have to be incredibly careful. Slowly tip-toeing over, she looked at the hinges of the door. Not exactly incredibly old, she could work with this. 

So, maybe the door didn't squeak, but the latch was also an issue. Jade knew how to move around this, though. Over the past week, she had made it her mission to open and close doors without a sound. Her roommate was a very light sleeper, and Jade felt terrible arriving back from her classes so late at night when her roommate’s classes were early in the morning.

Twist until it stops, one hand on the jamb with your fingers over the door, small pull. She thought, and the door opened without a single sound. She carefully rotated the knob back to its original position and pulled the door open. 

The smile that lit across Jade's face as she peeked in was unmatched. Rohan stood at his desk facing the window, away From the door. He was stretching, readying himself for another busy drawing session. Looks like she made it in pretty good time. 

She carefully made her way into the room, praying Rohan was distracted enough to not hear her. It seems he was, As he began counting down on his fingers held straight out in front of him as she inched closer

“One, two, three-” Jade finally crossed the room, a few meters behind him.

“Four, five, six, seven-” God this could either go so well or so poorly. 

“Eight, nine, ten!” 

“Surprise.” 

The room went dead silent. Rohan froze in his spot before whirling around with wide eyes and his jaw slack. 

The two stood there for a moment, and Jade laughed nervously, “Did you miss me?” She held up the gift bag and met his eyes. Definitely awkward. The silence would continue for a few moments, Jade growing more dejected each second. 

However,  the silence was broken by Rohan stepping around his chair and striding over to Jade with an absolutely unreadable expression. Jade genuinely couldn’t tell whether or not he was excited or happy. 

“You broke into my house just to give me a gift? Are you insane?” He said, but there wasn't an ounce of malice in it. Jade laughed aloud and hugged him tightly, which he returned in full. 

“Sorry I didn't call, I was too busy to. I figured an apology in person would be more suitable for the Great Rohan. I also brought a gift. And my mom sent food.” Jade explained, and Rohan couldn't help but laugh a little. 

“What the hell am I going to do with you?” He asked rhetorically as Jade stepped back, however Rohan kept his grip on her waist firm, keeping her within arms reach. 

“Well, you can come downstairs to your kitchen and we could eat, or you could open the present I got you. Or you could ask me about classes…” Jade trailed off, cheekily listing things he definitely could do. Rohan rolled his eyes and pulled her closer once again. 

“There's something else we could do, too.” He hinted and Jade decided that she wanted the torment to continue. After all, she was his favorite annoyance. 

Not to mention Rohan would definitely be just as annoying in the next few days. 

“Coffee. We could make coffee.” Jade said with the most serious expression she could muster, eliciting a groan from the man in front of her. 

“You've spent too much time with that Higashikata brat. I meant kiss me you idiot.” Rohan spoke and Jade's laughter only served to tell him that she was being intentionally dense. Said woman quickly pressed her lips to his between laughs, and Rohan pulled her in the rest of the way.

What had begun as a long-distance move and a summer of nothing but trouble, would end with the most unexpected of outcomes for anyone involved. Jade Stephens could barely believe her own luck. She would remember this crazy, noisy, bizarre summer as the summer that would start the rest of her life. The summer that lit the fuse. 

The Summer of 1999.

Chapter 14 ->