In Green Hill, Morioh, Kishibe Rohan's mansion stood like a giant, silent work of art in a quiet neighborhood, a beautiful small villa.
It was not yet ten o'clock, but a dozen or so people, drawn by the high prize money or the cartoonist's fame, had already gathered outside the door. The air was filled with curious and expectant whispers, with individuals timidly unwilling to be the first to knock.
This was because they had all, to varying degrees, heard that this famous cartoonist had some eccentricities and was not a normal person.
Koichi Hirose stood at the edge of the crowd, his emotions complex.
He greatly admired Kishibe Rohan's talent and was a devoted manga fan, but the radio broadcast's mention of "investigating a murderer hidden for 15 years" unsettled him. On his way to Kishibe Rohan's house, the more he thought about it, the more nervous he became.
He kept feeling it was related to the Stand User behind the bombing case that Jotaro and the others were investigating. But after a moment, he couldn't help but smile and sigh, 'How is that possible? That Stand User only recently became active, so how could it be the murderer hidden for 15 years? This is just a manga.
I'm actually taking a manga as reality; it seems I've been too stressed lately and really need some rest.'
Today, he had lied to his mother, saying he was going to a "corporate event" with Jotaro. In reality, he wanted to visit Kishibe Rohan's house. It seemed like a good idea after all, one that could help his tense mind relax.
He took a deep breath and walked past the nervous crowd loitering at the gate, just as he was about to approach the main door, a hurried and slightly shaky voice suddenly came from beside him.
The voice was somewhat familiar, carrying a deliberately crafted, weak sincerity.
"Oh? Isn't this Koichi? Are you also interested in Rohan-sensei's recruitment drive?"
Koichi sharply turned his head, his brow immediately furrowing. Standing next to him was Hazamada Toshiwazu!
He was the guy who had once used his Stand, Surface, to blind one of his classmates in one eye, then helped Otoishi Akira try to harm them, only to be beaten by Higashikata Josuke and sent to the Hospital.
This was a lewd and malicious fellow, cowardly and weak at the same time, a complete scumbag, the kind that would make people disgusted even if he were just a minor character in a manga.
Hazamada Toshiwazu looked somewhat disheveled at the moment, with gauze on his forehead and one hand hanging unnaturally, as if injured. He also carried a large black cloth bag on his back that almost seemed to weigh him down.
His face was plastered with a fawning, attempting-to-convey-goodwill smile, which looked particularly comical on his face, distorted by injury.
"Hazamada...?" Koichi's tone was full of wariness and undisguised disgust. "What are you doing here?"
Hazamada Toshiwazu seemed to have anticipated Koichi's reaction. He quickly waved his hand, adopting a posture of surrender and repentance, and lowered his voice, making it sound especially "sincere."
"No, no, not like that, Koichi. I know... I know I've done a lot of wrong things in the past, very outrageous things. I don't even dare to ask for your and Josuke's forgiveness."
He sighed, his eyes dimming. "But... but after that incident, I've really been reflecting. I was misled by my Stand ability and had thoughts I shouldn't have... I truly know I was wrong.
Today, I just heard about Kishibe Rohan-sensei at the Hospital and wanted to come visit Kishibe Rohan-sensei. Look, see?"
He raised his less flexible hand, which was clutching a newspaper with an advertisement for Kishibe Rohan's call for strange stories.
Upon hearing this, Koichi Hirose's expression relaxed slightly. "If you're not here to do bad things, then that's good. But I'll be watching you. If you ever use your Surface to harm others again, then..."
Koichi's gaze swept over Hazamada Toshiwazu, his hair seeming to float up into a majestic style, his threat undisguised, along with a good deal of lingering vigilance.
As Stand Users, the crimes they committed using their Stands were difficult to prove with evidence, and normal laws simply couldn't prosecute them, even though this guy had blinded his classmate in one eye.
They could only give the other party a severe beating, making them truly feel their mistake through pain. He promised that if he found any trouble this time, he would beat the other party until they cried for their parents.
Looking at Koichi's eyes, Hazamada Toshiwazu gave a bitter smile. "Don't worry, Koichi, I already know my mistakes. I just want to be a normal person now, really.
I swear, I really have no bad intentions! Why don't we go see Kishibe Rohan-sensei together? That way, you can watch me, and it can also prove I have no bad intentions!"
He unhesitatingly raised his hand to swear, then paused, trying to bridge the gap between them, and added, "Speaking of which, we're seniors and juniors from the same high school, aren't we? Although my reputation isn't good... please trust me this one time, Koichi. People always change."
Koichi stared intently at Hazamada Toshiwazu. His suspicion lessened somewhat, but because Kira Yoshikage's recent random killings had already shown him a certain degree of human evil, he didn't easily believe the other party as he did in the original plot.
However, seeing his miserable state and hearing his seemingly logical reasons, he didn't seem to be completely lying either.
Koichi struggled internally. Logic told him he should immediately distance himself from this troublesome guy, but what if... what if Hazamada Toshiwazu truly repented?
Or, what if the so-called "strange stories" he mentioned were actually related to the recent cases?
Just as Koichi hesitated, the aesthetically designed main door of Kishibe Rohan's mansion opened.
The cartoonist himself appeared at the doorway. His sharp gaze swept over the crowd like a searchlight, instantly locking onto Koichi and Hazamada Toshiwazu, who were conversing.
Especially Hazamada Toshiwazu's injured and eager-to-perform appearance, which, in his eyes, was practically screaming "I have a story!" making his eyes instantly brighten even more.
"Hmph," Kishibe Rohan hummed softly, a smile of interest playing on his lips. "It seems there's already impatient 'material' being delivered to my doorstep.
You two, yes, you two, come in first. Let me hear what stories you have that are worthy of being written by me."
His tone carried an undeniable sense of command.
Koichi was startled and hadn't yet reacted when Hazamada Toshiwazu eagerly nodded and bowed, hooking an arm around Koichi and pulling him inside, even looking back to urge Koichi with his eyes.
Upon seeing the famous cartoonist, Koichi's expression became somewhat nervous, but more so, it was filled with admiration. He also wanted to see what tricks Hazamada Toshiwazu was up to and how Rohan-sensei would react.
He gritted his teeth, and in the end, he followed them in.