Early April. Though the earth was thawing and the world waking back up, the coastal areas were still bitterly cold. Tourism was Morioh's primary source of income, but the off-season had left the Bathing Beach all but deserted. Three furtive figures lingered behind the rear wall of a nearby hotel, as if waiting for something.
Before long, a pink-haired girl phased straight through the courtyard wall and emerged on the other side.
"Got the Arrow."
Inori held it up for all to see.
Exactly where Rohan had said it would be—sitting on the desk in the room, not even hidden. Clearly, that man had been confident he'd deal with them quickly enough that concealment was unnecessary. A shame, then, that he was the one who'd been dealt with in the end.
"So this is the thing that creates Stand users?"
Josuke studied it with open curiosity.
"Inori, could you hand it to me? I need to secure it."
"Sure."
She didn't hesitate, passing the Arrow over without a second thought.
Still, a question nagged at her. Born This Way's user had told her that this Arrow once had a bone attached to it. But now it was just a plain Arrow—nothing more. It should be the one that belonged to Yoshikage Kira and his photo-bound father, the Arrow whose fate was left unknown at the end of the original story.
"This Arrow can automatically select people with the aptitude to become Stand users. Please keep it safe, Jotaro-san."
Jotaro simply nodded—but that nod carried more weight than any sworn oath.
All five Stand Arrows were more or less the same: pierce someone without aptitude and they'd die; pierce someone with it and they'd awaken a Stand. The only exception was the Beetle Arrow, which could evolve an existing Stand user to Requiem.
The Beetle Arrow should currently be in Polnareff's hands. Had he stumbled onto Passione's Boss yet?
—Once we've dealt with Yoshikage Kira, I'll make a trip to Italy to back up Polnareff. Take out Diavolo while I'm at it, then have Giorno figure out a way to build Reimi Sugimoto a functional body. After that, head to America, kill Father Pucci, and the entire JOJO saga gets its happy ending!
The plan was solid. Everyone could have a happy conclusion that way. But first things first—Yoshikage Kira had to be dealt with.
"Let's head back, everyone. Good haul today. We'll contact the police afterward and have them search for Yoshikage Kira's body."
"Wait."
Just as they were about to leave, a flash of inspiration struck Inori's mind. A brilliant idea.
—If we're looking for something, why not ask the amazing Paisley Park?
She could've kicked herself for not thinking of it sooner. They could just go get Yasuho to help—the whole thing would be settled on the spot. Why bother with the roundabout approach of letting the police make a show of being useful?
"I just thought of a Stand user! She can help us dig up Kira's body right now!"
"I'm not so sure about that." Rohan frowned. "We should avoid dragging uninvolved people into this."
It was rare for Rohan to show that kind of consideration. And he had a point—the four of them had teamed up to go after Yoshikage Kira and nearly gotten themselves wiped out. If someone else got dragged in and something happened to them, the blame would fall squarely on their shoulders.
"It's fine. That Stand is a remote-operation type. I just need to borrow it."
Paisley Park could inhabit physical objects and operate autonomously. Range wasn't an issue either. All Inori needed was a quick trip to the school to borrow it from Yasuho and return it afterward. No inconvenience to Yasuho whatsoever.
...
...
The group agreed unanimously and set off to pick up Yasuho Hirose. By the time Jotaro drove them to Budogaoka High School, it happened to be lunch break—no need to worry about absences or skipped classes.
Inori used her newly acquired cell phone to call Yasuho. Before long, the high school girl came dashing out through the school gates in a flurry, and Inori was waiting for her beneath a sycamore tree just to the side of the entrance.
"Inori-chan! Hehe, where'd you get a phone?"
She spotted Inori from a distance and ran over, waving excitedly. Inori braced herself, half-worried the girl might tackle-hug her on the spot.
Yasuho looked like she was in high spirits—whether because something fun had happened at school, or simply because she was happy to see the girl she'd been thinking about, it was hard to say.
"The onii-san in charge gave it to me." Inori brushed a strand of hair back and smiled faintly. "For coordinating the investigation. Don't go reading into it~"
"I'm not, I'm not." The girl waved her hands and laughed brightly. "Don't make it sound like I'm your boyfriend or something~ I was just asking."
"..."
—Lately, the girls I run into all seem to be getting... dangerous.
She'd only been a girl for two or three years herself, so she still wasn't entirely sure—was this kind of joking around normal between female friends?
Inori felt a slight twinge in her chest. She couldn't decide whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. At least Yasuho seemed to be in much better shape than yesterday. Though it was equally possible she was just putting on a brave face to keep Inori from worrying.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Inori-chan. I was really, really worried about you."
Yasuho had been on edge all day. Every time she thought about Inori out there confronting a violent, ruthless criminal, she couldn't focus on class at all. It wasn't until this phone call that she finally felt some relief.
"Did you catch the culprit?"
"It's a long story." Inori's expression turned serious. "I need to borrow Paisley Park. I'll return it soon."
"No problem."
Yasuho agreed without hesitation.
She'd been planning to offer anyway—it was just that last night, she hadn't been able to out-stubborn Inori.
"My Stand is an intelligence-gathering type. It's just sitting there doing nothing with me—go ahead and take it." The first half came out cheerfully enough, but then her tone shifted, and Yasuho suddenly took on the air of a crafty merchant sniffing out a deal. She leaned in close to the pink-haired girl with a mischievous grin and lowered her voice. "But you'll owe me something in return~"
"What kind of payment? You want to buy something?"
Inori's first assumption was that Yasuho needed pocket money. High school did come with rapidly escalating expenses, after all.
"I want you..."
—Huh? Is this Mana Ouma in disguise?
"...to come out with me somewhere."
"Phew..."
The sudden swerve nearly gave Inori a heart attack. She let out a long breath. Honestly, if you're going to pause mid-sentence, at least do it at the right place. She'd nearly had a cardiac episode.
"Where?"
"Anywhere's fine." Yasuho clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head slightly. Her six pink braids—each a different length—swayed like green willow branches. "As long as it's the two of us together."
"Ahem."
Inori had barely calmed down before Yasuho made her heart seize up all over again. That answer exceeded every expectation, and she choked on empty air.
"I just want to unwind a little, that's all. Lately everything feels so stressful—life's been exhausting." Yasuho hadn't meant anything deeper by it. As far as she was concerned, this was perfectly normal friend-to-friend conversation.
"In that case, let's go to Italy together sometime."
Inori realized she'd been overthinking things and cleared her throat, reassembling her prim and proper composure.
"Huh?" Yasuho blinked, her green eyes brimming with curiosity. "Why Italy?"
"Because I have a little sister there. I want to go see her."
"A little sister?"
"That's right." Inori nodded, not so much as blinking as the lie rolled off her tongue. "That onii-san—the one who gave me money before—he told me that my father was a terrible man. After my mother gave birth to me, he abandoned us and ran off to Italy. Apparently he's become some kind of mafia executive now... and I have a sister over there in the same situation. Abandoned, just like me."
"Her name is Trish Una."