"Holy, you're really sure you're not feeling unwell?"
"Not at all, Papa! And while we're here, you have to call me 'Seiko,' or I'll ignore you."
The two names sounded similar enough in Japanese to cause confusion.
"Nonsense. Holy is the proper name I gave you. What kind of name is 'Seiko'?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Joseph felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. But when he turned around, all he saw was Yimi fiddling with the kendama.
"Anyway, go lie down for a bit. It's all because that Jotaro brat keeps making you worry." Joseph steered Holy toward the inner rooms.
Jotaro let out a quiet huff through his nose but said nothing.
After settling his daughter in, Joseph walked back out, plopped down on the cushion that never stopped annoying him, and reached over to scratch Yimi's head.
"The plant on her back is still there. It hasn't spread any further, but at the very least she doesn't seem to be in any pain."
What Love Train had transferred was "misfortune"—the spiritual toll that Holy's body was meant to bear—flung off to parts unknown. But the Stand awakening itself was evolution, not misfortune.
In practice, leaving things as they were wouldn't cause any further deterioration. Holy's spiritual strength simply wasn't sufficient to fully awaken a Stand, and at forty-five, she had no room left to grow into it.
The only lasting effect would be carrying an invisible, weightless, intangible garden on her back for the rest of her life—visible only to Stand users.
Joseph and the others didn't see it that way, though. If the thing was still there, how could it possibly be harmless? Yimi claimed she'd used her Stand to transfer the "misfortune," but this was a child who didn't even know what Heaven was. You couldn't take her at face value.
"Come to think of it, Jotaro, I haven't shown you my ability yet. Watch closely!" Joseph produced a Japanese-made camera and split it open with one strike of his palm.
A photograph slowly printed itself out, just as before.
"This is my ability—Spirit Photography. For some reason, using it without a specific target always produces images of DIO."
The photo showed DIO in some theatrical pose, shirtless, with a Star Birthmark clearly visible on the back of his neck—proof that he occupied Joseph's grandfather's body.
Beyond that, faint markings were visible on his back. Not prominent, but the contours looked eerily similar to the vegetation growing on Holy.
"?"
"I don't really get this whole Joestar grudge thing, but if we just take this guy out, everything gets solved, right?" Jotaro narrowed his eyes. His Stand materialized—purple-skinned, dressed like a gladiator. Star Platinum snatched the pencil Yimi had found god-knows-where and began sketching on a notepad.
Star Platinum. Ability: Precision Drawing (not really).
In a corner no camera could possibly capture with any clarity, there sat an insect native to Egypt. That was what Jotaro was reproducing.
While he worked to pinpoint DIO's location, DIO himself sensed something and turned his gaze toward the distance.
"Joseph Joestar... one of Jonathan's descendants, no doubt. That was him just now, watching me."
He plucked up a nearby "bread roll" and brought it to his lips, letting the taste of blood soothe his body's discomfort.
"DIO-sama—these are the signs of a failed Stand awakening! This shouldn't be possible. You already possess an invincible Stand. Even without full awakening, something like this should never happen to you!"
At the bottom of the stairs, an old woman with deformed hands had diagnosed the source of his distress.
"It's the Joestar blood cursing me, is it? Still giving me trouble from beyond, Jonathan." DIO walked slowly to the window and gazed out.
The time difference meant this side of the world sat in utter darkness.
"Very well. I'd intended to visit a friend first, but that can wait."
This so-called curse existed only because the Joestar bloodline still drew breath. To stop this persistent interference, he would sever the current generation of Joestars at the root.
Airport.
"What do you mean, all flights are grounded?"
"I'm afraid so, Joestar-san. A recent flight was flagged during a post-departure security review—someone apparently brought an unauthorized animal on board. Possibly a cat, though it could be some other feline invasive species. And right when they were about to investigate, an equipment malfunction caused a small fire that destroyed the evidence..."
All consequences of EX Luck.
With DIO closing in, the group had rallied to take the fight to him. Kakyoin joined without hesitation. His reasoning was simple: the terror DIO had carved into his psyche refused to fade, and he couldn't live with the fact that he'd nearly harmed a child.
"Ah, well—that really must be tough on you all." Joseph's eyes drifted sideways. He reached over to tug Yimi's cotton hat down a little further, just in case anything fishy—or rather, catty—slipped out.
As for why Yimi was coming along: DIO had specifically targeted her for capture. Dangerous as the journey would be, Kakyoin's testimony that DIO had issued a priority order on her made the threat impossible to ignore. Keeping her close was, paradoxically, the safer option.
"So what do we do now, Joestar-san?"
Joseph was already on the phone with the Speedwagon Foundation. "We could pull strings and charter a private plane, but that'd be like painting a bullseye on ourselves for DIO."
"I can call Hungry Bun." Yimi raised her small hand and waved it, trying to get the adults' attention. Someone had sent people to attack the cat, so the cat was going to take the fight to them.
Avdol folded his arms, thinking. "If we switch to another mode of transport from here, the only real option is a ship, isn't it?"
"Normally a border lockdown would block sea travel too, but the Speedwagon Foundation can arrange a private vessel in this port. Let's wait here for their people to pick us up..."
Joseph led them over to a nearby bus stop sign.
"So—do you have any ideas?"
Nobody had solicited the opinion of a girl who wasn't even ten. Only Kakyoin crouched down with a gentle smile to ask.
"Well, there's Hungry Bun. It can teleport. It opens its mouth and swallows us, then opens its mouth again and we're there." Yimi used her hands to mime, trying to explain as clearly as she could.
But Hungry Bun had been ignoring her lately.
System: "The Demon of Greed will seek out what its users need, but it can also be lured by treasure. The host may use a valuable item to attract it. Recommended: spend energy on a gacha draw."
Kakyoin tapped his chin, then took the kendama from Yimi's hands. "How about I teach you how to actually play this? I'm quite confident in my skills, you know."
He'd treated her words as a child's flight of fancy.
Yimi leaned against the nearby signpost, sulking. She didn't want to spend that energy. She'd already told these adults that everything was fine, but nobody believed what a kid had to say.
"Take this!"
"Who's there?" Kakyoin snatched her up in one arm.
CLANG—
The signpost Yimi had been leaning on was sliced clean through.
"Oh my, you actually dodged that." A silver-haired man with a hairstyle shaped like a pillar sauntered toward them.
Originally positioned on the other side of the ocean to ambush Joseph's group, he'd been re-routed by DIO's orders to come all this way and capture Yimi alive.
"You literally announced yourself first. It'd be stranger if we didn't dodge." Kakyoin stared at the newcomer, unimpressed.
"Yare yare... going after a little kid right off the bat?" Jotaro tugged the brim of his cap in a slow circle, one hand settling on Yimi's head to gently push her behind him.
"Mm..." Yimi looked down at the severed signpost. It was basically a straight pole—decent collector's item. She picked it up.
Congratulations, host! Achievement unlocked: [Use This to Chop Off Jotaro's Head]. Reward: +1 gacha pull.
"Use This to Chop Off Jotaro's Head?" Yimi repeated the bizarre achievement name, puzzled.
Jotaro glanced back at her.
"Ah... that's not—that's not how you say it in Japanese!" Joseph shot out a tendril of Hermit Purple and yanked her to his side.