Eyes widen in awe and disbelief as TehChron reaches into his bag, withdrawing the newly purchased copy of Pink Dark Boy Volume 1
"Kishibe Rohan...san?" He asks hesitantly, pointing at the authors portrait near his comments at the end of the volume.
He swallows, nervously.
"What? A fan? If you're visiting Japan, speak Japanese!"
Rohan's curiosity was piqued. If the strange foreigner in front of him was a fan, he supposed he should be a little more welcoming. Also, he was drawing the next issue of Pink Dark Boy and it would be useful to have another side character ready.
"Sensei, may I be excused? I need to use the bathroom," Norio says, while simultaneously making Ink Spot create several person-sized ink blots on the walls of the hallway.
The teacher nods, giving Norio a pass.
As he reached his seat at the front of the class, the Strippy Stand [Slipping Away] reappeared once more. The Phantom being slowly made it's way towards the teacher. It's intent? To shadow the teacher's steps and every time he called him out again, his Stand would make sure that he'll end up in humiliating situations, like falling on his face or slipping on his ass.
For the next few minutes, the teacher has every offense against Gen repaid in full...
"The Cold War was a time when the United States and the Soviet Union were at each others throats...the threat of nuclear war, however, prevented both sides from openly fighting or escalating the conflict..."
As the teacher drones on, Slipping Away stalks behind it, contemplating how it will ruin its target's day. First, it starts with something basic, firing a shot of
purple energy at the ground in front of the teacher. As the teacher slips, the Strippy Stand quickly fires a barrage of
orange energy at him, causing his arms, legs, and face to stick to the ground and nearby desks in strange ways.
"W-What is this!? I'm...I'm stuck! Someone help me!"
Before it continues tormenting the teacher, the Stand seems to have a brief moment of realization, absentmindedly sending a bolt of orange energy at the Class Rep. He promptly ducks, hiding behind his books and drawing confused looks from those nearby.
"Of course, one moment." With that, Pactum Serva returned the gem to the smithy, placing a key to the side-door in a locked mailbox for the daughter to find. Retracting again, Balrog stepped forward and dispersed his usual form, the butterfly now wrapped I the spiritual trappings of the serpentine Stand as it returned.
Fluttering to OOW's shoulder, the serpent spoke for the collective. "May. Slightly. Hurt." And with that, the butterfly beneath allowed its thin limbs to phase into the Stand's shoulder, pinpricks from the insect's legs.
"Will. Lead. Follow. Tail. Focus. On. Resonance." As Pactum Serva's tail pointed from the coils, a
⌈Rippling⌋ sensation of power echoed from the butterfly inside through to the Stand it rested upon.
OOW winced slightly at the butterfly's connection, but it was no worse than the average flu shot. He nodded at the serpent's words and set forth in the direction pointed out by his tail, hopefully toward Jotaro's place of residence.
But damn did that resonance thing feel weird...
As they approach the
Grand Hotel, Balrog and OOW draw strange looks. Well, mostly OOW, whose metallic appearance and monstrous features seem to be regarded as a very creepy costume.
A tall, muscular man in a white gakuran with gold accessories, and a hat that appears to be partially fused to his head, exits the hotel, studying a map intently. He glances towards the street, and spies OOW and Balrog approaching.
Folding his map into his pocket, he addresses OOW directly.
"Who are you?"
"Even if the negotiable one is a corrupt bag of shit..." He muttered before starting the detective right in the eye. "Well, can I see the clues now?"
"Certainly, certainly! The folder is in my office. Just come along..."
Kuwabara leads Bluford to his office, where two seats and a desk with a manila folder await. Kuwabara takes a seat, flipping the manila folder open and separating the pictures within, letting Bluford study them. The markings are the same as the pictures in the news, but Bluford can now make them out more clearly, noticing small details that add up to form a bigger picture. 'Jigsaw Puzzle' is definitely appropriate...
"You'll probably have to head down to the scene of the crime yourself to get the whole picture. Feel free to ask your questions before then, though."
