21:39 PM.
"Josuke, Yuuya... let's call it a night."
"Is it finally over?"
"Well, I'm just glad I could be of some help."
With the scent of DIO completely vanishing from the wind, Jotaro Kujo was forced to concede the search for the night.
If a creature of that caliber was determined to stay hidden, brute force and sharp noses could only do so much.
"Still... it's been so quiet since the reset. It's almost creepy."
Josuke let out a long breath, stretching his tired limbs. Since the morning's temporal shift, he and Jotaro hadn't had a moment's rest.
Jotaro had been relentless in his pursuit of the vampire. If Joseph Joestar weren't so aged and his spiritual vitality so diminished, Jotaro would have likely asked the old man to use his Hermit Purple for a "Spirit Projection" to track the monster.
"Recoil? What are you guys talking about?"
Yuuya Fungami looked between the two of them, his expression one of pure, unadulterated confusion.
"Ah... right, you weren't there for that. It's a long story."
Josuke waved a hand dismissively. He knew that the secret of the temporal reset was something limited to a very small circle of people.
The conflict currently tearing through Morioh was dangerous enough; there was no need to drag innocent bystanders like Yuuya deeper into the mire of temporal paradoxes.
Exposing someone to the truth of the war was essentially painting a target on their back.
"Anyway, you should be extra careful on your way home, Yuuya."
"Huh? I don't know what you guys are up to, but it definitely feels like something's gone wrong."
"Don't worry about me. My nose is as sharp as they come. The moment I smell anything 'Off,' I'm going to be ten miles in the opposite direction."
After a quick farewell and accepting his payment from Jotaro, Yuuya Fungami turned and disappeared into the shadows of the street.
"..."
"Jotaro-san? Are you doing okay?"
As they began their own trek back, Josuke noticed the oppressive silence radiating from the man beside him.
"No... I'm just feeling a bit of urgency."
"At this very moment, there are people out there who are likely suffering at DIO's hands."
Jotaro stopped at a major intersection, his voice a low, gravelly rumble.
"But we can't find him if he doesn't want to be found."
"Look, if Rohan and I win this thing in the end, we can make it all right, can't we?"
"It might sound a bit cold, but we have the Dragon Balls. We can bring everyone back."
Josuke scratched the back of his head, his voice uncertain as he voiced what he knew to be a pragmatic, if emotionally difficult, truth.
"..."
Jotaro didn't deny the logic, but for a man dedicated to protecting others, the immediate casualties were a weight he couldn't easily discard.
The Dragon Balls could restore life.
But they couldn't erase the terror and agony of the moments before death.
"Besides, DIO is clearly hiding from you. That means he knows he's outclassed."
"He's not going to show his face as long as he thinks you're on the prowl."
"He's become significantly more cautious than he was in Cairo."
"Well, I'm heading off this way. See you tomorrow!"
The two of them split at the crossroad, heading toward their respective destinations as the night deepened around them.
'Is it really a good idea to let him walk home alone?'
Sakuya's spirit manifestation flickered beside Josuke as she communicated her concern.
"Jotaro-san will be fine. You've seen what [Star Platinum] can do."
"His ability to stop time might be shorter than yours, but in a straight fight, he's as tough as they come."
"Unless he runs into that Son Goku... but even then, the kid can't move in a frozen world."
In Josuke's mind, worrying about Jotaro Kujo was a redundant exercise.
"Things have been so quiet today... I just want to get home and get some sleep while the getting is good."
"If I'm not rested when the real trouble starts, I'm going to be in for it."
As Josuke walked his usual route home, he was unaware of a pair of eyes watching him from the darkened window of a nearby residence.
'Are they tracking someone...?'
Itachi Uchiha watched Josuke disappear into the distance, his mind cataloging the encounter with professional detachment.
He had been coordinate a series of "Lurking Points" across Morioh with Yoshikage Kira.
When he had seen the two men passing through the district, he had been fully prepared to engage.
But once he realized they were simply transiting the area, he decided to remain concealed.
After all...
Temporal manipulation was a variable he couldn't yet effectively counter.
Without a reliable defense against [Time Stop], he would be forced to expend [Izanagi] just to survive the first second of a confrontation.
And he found the prospect of his Genjutsu being neutralized by the artist's Stand to be an equally frustrating obstacle.
It was because of these limitations that Kira had instructed him to target other participants.
If they could seize control of a few "Lesser" Masters or Servants through illusion, they would have the tactical meat shields necessary to challenge Jotaro and Josuke.
CRASH!
A violent, discordant noise erupted from the lower floor of the house he was occupying. It sounded like furniture being systematically dismantled.
A burglar?
'...'
'Grrr...'
The sounds that followed were far from human.
TEAR!
The wet, rhythmic sound of something being shredded...
Itachi frowned as he processed the sensory information.
He had already used Genjutsu to put the residents of this house into a deep, dreamless sleep. This noise wasn't coming from them.
He moved silently toward the source of the disturbance and pushed open the door to the living room.
The sight that met his eyes was a tableau of visceral horror.
Like a scavenger tearing at a carcass, a figure with pale, purplish skin and jagged, elongated teeth was hunched over the unconscious body of the homeowner.
"!"
"Who are you?!"
Itachi stepped into the room, his voice a sharp, commanding coldness that immediately shattered the creature's focus.
The creature turned, its eyes glowing with a primitive, predatory hunger.
'...'
In the briefest moment of eye contact, the [Sharingan] was already in motion.
"What are you...?"
"Vampire Spawn..."
"Where did you come from...?"
"Lord DIO created me... as the sun began to set..."
"Who is DIO...?"
"A magnificent lord... a god among men..."
"What is your purpose in attacking civilians...?"
"Avoid Jotaro and Josuke... move in silence... create more of our kind... report any notable individuals or Stand users back to the master..."
Having extracted the information he required, Itachi cast a glance at the mangled body on the sofa.
THUD.
The Spawn's body collapsed to the floor as his nervous system was overwhelmed by the mental suggestion.
Even the body on the sofa, which had begun to twitch with the first signs of unholy transformation, was rendered motionless by Itachi's control.
It seemed that while he and Kira were planning their next move, another predator was already weaving a web through the city.
'!'
But as he turned to leave, a sudden, sharp pain flared in his shoulder.
Drip... drip...
A clean, circular puncture had appeared near his neck. Blood began to trail down his collar, soaking into the dark fabric of his cloak.
He had been struck.
And yet... he hadn't detected any movement, any intent, or any trajectory.
[Time Stop].
It was the only power capable of delivering a blow that his senses couldn't perceive.
Without a second thought, he manifested a skeletal fragment of [Susanoo] to anchor his position and shield his vital organs.
"Hoho... I was planning to hunt you down eventually, but I suppose having you deliver yourself to my doorstep saves me a great deal of effort."
A voice thick with a freezing, arrogant chill drifted down from the staircase. The moonlight filtering through the window illuminated the figure standing there.
DIO.
'He was looking for me...?'
Itachi remained silent, choosing instead to focus his senses on the predatory figure above him.
His crimson eyes met the burning, golden gaze of the vampire.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]