Y/n's POV
I was playing with Jolyne when my phone went off. I answered the phone
"Hello?" I ask
"I'm about to ask Josuke to go hunting for a stand user with me. I want you there as well just in case anything happens" Jotaro says. I sigh
"Mommy, you're leaving already?" She asks with a frown. I run my fingers through her hair
"I'm sorry honey. Jotaro I'll be right there" I say. I hang up the phone
"I'll be back soon, I love you Jolyne" I say
"I love you too mommy" she says. I teleport to Jotaro who happened to be looking at Josuke
"Josuke, I'm about to go hunting" Jotaro says
"Huh?" Josuke asks
"Come with me" Jotaro says walking away. I follow him
"Huh? W-Wait a sec, Jotaro. Did you just say hunting? Does that mean. We're gonna be hunting down some chicks with nice bodies? I'm a guy who's more into pure love, so I've never done that. I wonder if I can do it" Josuke says. An irk mark appeared on my forehead
"Jotaro would never do such a thing" I say gritting my teeth at the thought. Jotaro sighs
"Akira Otoishi confessed yesterday" Jotaro says
"Otoishi did?" Josuke asks
"Before his identity was revealed, he was using the bow and arrow. He happened to shoot a rat with the arrow" Jotaro says
Ew
"A rat?!" Josuke asks
"The rat didn't die after it was shot. It writhed in pain and freed itself from the arrow, then ran away. So even though it's a rat, this means that it has definitely obtained stand abilities. I'm not sure what kind of stand it is, but we have to hunt it down before something happens" Jotaro says. We all walked to an area near a farm. Jotaro set up some cans and then pulled out metal marbles. He used his stand and shot the marbles at the cans
"Wow, kewl!" Josuke says
"Never say 'kewl' again" I say
"Sorry" He mutters
"Anyways, getting a small, quick rat into your stand's range will be difficult, but by using the bearings, your range will increase to about 20 meters. This should be obvious, but it won't work against a stand. You'll only be able to use it to defeat the user. Try it" Jotaro says holding out the marbles. Josuke takes the marbles
"What? I have to do it, too? I don't know. My mind tends to wander when ball-shaped things are involved" Josuke says. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I opened my eyes and exhaled
Teenage boys
Jotaro began fixing the cans. Once he was out of the way, Crazy Diamond appeared. It shot the balls, one hit and the other missed
"The second one was so close!" Josuke says
"Not bad. I'd give it 85 points. But before our pursuit, I'll give you a warning. When dealing with living creatures, you need to put composure ahead of speed. If the rat enters your range and you miss, it won't ever step into your range again. So don't fire until you're positive you'll hit it. I'm not trying to put pressure on you, but remember that" Jotaro says getting in Josuke's face
"I'm feeling plenty pressured now" Josuke says. We began walking once more
"Apparently, Akira Otoishi shot the rat near this irrigation channel. Given the area, it was probably a brown rat. Brown rats can swim, live anywhere, and eat anything. The big ones reach about 20 to 30 centimeters long, and some can weigh one kilogram. They can jump about 2 meters. Found it" Jotaro says putting his hand on the dirt
When did he learn all of that?
"Aren't those a bird's tracks?" Josuke asks
"Their front paws have four digits, and the back ones have five. It's dragging something, forming this S-shape. This line was made by its tail. It's a rat that's around 20 centimeters long. I'm not sure how many, but they're definitely here. There's a tick on this leaf. That means rats come through here often. Without a doubt, there's a nest deep in that drainage channel" Jotaro says pointing at the hole in the wall. He then pulls out a camera
"For now, we'll set a trap here and video tape it" Jotaro says
"That's one of those cameras that let you watch while you're taping, right? You're not using cheese for the trap?" Josuke asks
"It's a crumb of tempura. Cheese is too extravagant for rats" Jotaro says. Josuke moves over to the tall grass
"There sure are a lot of flies. Jotaro! Y/n! Th-This is.." Josuke trailed off as he covered his mouth. Me and Jotaro walked over. My eyes went wide as I covered my own mouth trying not vomit at what I just saw
"Rat corpses?" Jotaro asks
"It's exactly what it looks like!" Josuke says
"Why are they mashed together?" I ask
"I don't know but, it's like the jelly from stewed fish" Josuke says. Jotaro begins poking at it with a stick and blood pours out
"Why the heck are you poking at it?!" Josuke asks
"It's flesh. The flesh of these rats was melted once, then hardened again, and they died from having the flesh under their skin melted" Jotaro says
"What do you even do to leave behind a corpse like this?" Josuke asks
"I'm not sure, but we can probably assume it's the work of the rat that we're after" Jotaro says
"It used its stand?" Josuke asks
"Why would it do that?" I ask
"It killed the others and made their territory its own. Which means, it's definitely making a nest at the end of this drainage channel. But the question is, if something is capable of doing this will just stay quiet" Jotaro says. We walked up the stairs and Jotaro began looking through binoculars
"Looks like the drainage channel leads to that farm. We might already be too late" Jotaro says
"R-Really?" Josuke asks
"They have a chicken coop, but there aren't any chickens. There are no signs of life at the house, either. It doesn't look like they just went out, and the front door isn't locked. The rat is there and just as I feared, it's likely the people living there have already been killed. Let's go check out that house" Jotaro says. We all walk to the house. Josuke leans up against the door and then opens it
"The rat will let us approach within a certain distance, because it's confident that no slow human is going to catch it. It's not expecting us to blast bearings at it. That's how we'll get close enough to nail it in one shot. Found something" Jotaro says as we all investigate the room
"Rat droppings. Not made up of grass or grain, either. It's meat. They're heading towards this room. Let's check it out" Jotaro says
"Right" Josuke says. We all head in the direction of the rat droppings when Josuke suddenly stopped. I turned and looked at him
"What's wrong?" I ask
"What is that?" He asks walking in a different direction
"What are you talking about?" I ask following him
"The sound of the refrigerator's compressor?" Josuke asks. We watched the fridge door open slightly
"Jo-" Josuke cut himself off. I watched the rat eat the meat. The fridge opened more and I saw an old couple still alive but melted together. I felt my stomach churn. I watched Josuke use the marbel and shoot the rat
"Yes!" Josuke says. The rat quickly recovered
"It wasn't a fatal blow!" Josuke says. The rat's stand appeared.
"There it is! That must be its stand! You're gonna try to attack me? Don't underestimate me! I'll get you with the next shot!" Josuke says. The rat began to run away. Crazy Diamon kicked the table
"Jotaro, what are you doing?! The rat's here!" Josuke says. The rat's stand suddenly shoots something at Josuke. I quickly put up a shield
"Your welcome" I say as the stand's bullet fell to the ground. We watched the rat come from behind the fallen table
"You scum!" Josuke yells as he begins digging in his pockets but the rat falls over and dies
"Yes! I nailed it! I didn't hit it in the forehead, but I beat it. That was close. Jotaro, over here! I got the rat! It's over!" Josuke says proudly. Jotaro walks in
"Jeez. What were you doing? You went missing at the most crucial time. I felt totally stranded. But wouldn't you know it, I just barely made the bearing shot. I wasn't trying to do a pun with 'barely' there. It had a stand that shot something like needles. I bet if they hit you, they melt your flesh" Josuke says
"You must be so thankful that I was here, I mean considering I did basically save you" I say with a cocky grin
"That's true but the people who live here got hit, but they're still alive. I can fix them with Crazy Diamond" Josuke says
"If we don't take care of this by sundown, we may have two problems" Jotaro says
"Huh?" Josuke asks
"There's one more. I was just attacked by it" Jotaro says holding out his hand. My eyes went wide as Josuke let out a yell. I pulled out my stand and quickly began healing him
"Jotaro! Y-Your hand.." Josuke trails off
"I was hit in the next room. I could have dodged it. Grabbing it to figure out the effects of those needles was a mistake. Just by touching the needle, some kind of 'stand poison' courses through you, melting even stands. Getting hit by five or six of those would be enough to turn a human into mush. That rat ran outside afterward. It must've figured out that you finished off the one in the kitchen" Jotaro says
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" I ask as I finish up healing his hand. Jotaro grabbed a nearby phone and dialed the Speedwagon Foundation
"Hello, this is Jotaro Kujo" Jotaro says
"I was in pursuit, so my ringer was off. Does it have to do with Otoishi?" He asks as he walks outside. Me and Josuke follow him
"Let me confirm. It was two, and not three or four?" He asks. He then hangs up
"Good grief, Akira Otoishi way to go. It kills everything in its territory, whether they are human or its own kind. It only cares about itself. It's not a creature that should be allowed to live on this Earth anymore" Jotaro says walking off. I, of course follow him
"Jotaro, wait! How are you planning to chase after a tiny little rat that's run out into this giant field?" Josuke asks
"The author of Seton Animal Chronicles, E.T. Seton, said, 'there is no animal that cannot be tracked' rats have a habit of not wanting to go down an unfamiliar path. Which means, without a doubt, it went back toward that irrigation channel, and if they don't eat constantly, they will die from starvation after about ten hours" Jotaro says bending down and moving the plants
"There, those bite marks are new" Jotaro says.
"Yes! This is awesome! We'll be able to corner it!" Josuke says
"Don't underestimate it though" I say. We walk to the irrigation channel
"Take a look at this. It didn't even glance at the bait in the trap" Josuke says
"It's on the video" Jotaro says. We all watch the video. The rat was walking towards the traps
"Its ear looks like a leaf that's been eaten on by a bug. Let's call it 'Bug-Eaten' from now on. Look at how cautious it is. Unlike earlier, we can probably bet that Bug-Eaten won't let us withing 20 meters of him" Jotaro says. He then pulls out riffle rounds
"These are rifle rounds" Jotaro says
"Where did you get those?! We don't even own a rifle" I say
"I bought them, just in case" Jotaro says
"A-Actual rounds?!" Josuke asks
"Because of air resistance, when round bearings fly over twenty meters, the point of impact goes off-course. With the head of this round, we'll be okay up to 70 meters" Jotaro says
"Am I going to shoot that with my stand's hand, too? I'm not confident about this at all" Josuke says
"Of course not. I guess I'll just have to do it" Jotaro says. I give him a glare
"Don't be like that" I say. He stands up
"Hold on. Why'd you say it like that? That kind of upset me" Josuke says
"Look what you did Jotaro" I say
"Shut up, woman" He says
"Josuke you better hold me back, cuz you're about to lose a nephew and Jolyne is going to be fatherless" I say cracking my knuckles. Josuke grabs my arms
"Woah woah woah, you two. Listen, I'm the one who took care of the other one! Sure, it wasn't a perfect shot, but.." Josuke trails off
"Right. So carry two rounds" Jotaro says holding out two rifle rounds for him to grab
He didn't respond to my threats
"Huh?" Josuke asks as he lets go of me and takes them. Jotaro begins walking away while Josuke stares at the rifle rounds. We followed the rat's tracks. It led to a giant puddle and Jotaro casually walked in. Josuke stared in shock. I got in as well and Josuke took off his shoes and socks and put them in his mouth while pulling his pants up. He got into the water
"Be careful. There are leeches in this puddle" Jotaro says
"Huh?" Josuke asks dropping the socks and shoes. He stared at the socks and shoes in the water. We got through the water and continued walking
"Impossible" Jotaro says
"What's wrong?" Josuke asks
"Be careful, Josuke, Y/n. The footprints suddenly disappear here" Jotaro says.
"What?" I ask looking closer to see the footprints did in fact disappear
"What is this?! Why'd the footprints disappear? I know! It's under the dirt. It must've dug a hole, then covered itself" Josuke says
"No! This is backtracking. I didn't think that rats did it, too" Jotaro says with sweat dripping down his face
"Backtracking?" Josuke asks
"Backtracking is a special instinct that wild animals have in which they go back the way they came from an enemy. In Japan, it's said that brown bears, weasels, and rabbits do this. But there's no record of rats backtracking, too" I say
"Where did you learn all of that?" Josuke asks
"I don't know" I say shocked. We all put our back together
"Does that mean, basically, that the rat put one over us?" Josuke asks
"Things aren't looking good. With this terrain. We might actually be the ones who are being hunted" Jotaro says
"I feel like something's staring at us. We need to hide behind a rock" Josuke says
"Move calmly and stick near us, if we don't make it Y/n can make a shield" Jotaro says. We all move to the rock
"Bug-Eaten's stand's attack isn't too fast for us to see. Don't miss where it's coming from. If we can find where it's hiding, we'll shoot it instead" Jotaro says. Josuke leans over and grabs something only to yell in pain
"What is this?!" Josuke asks. He gets up and begins trying to pull a rat trap off of his hand. Suddenly Josuke had been shot. I went to begin healing him but Jotaro had different plans
"Star Platinum, The World!" Jotaro yelled. Next thing I knew Josuke was falling backwards as blood came out of the now empty wound. I began healing him
"Don't panic. I took out the needle before the poison spread, along with the flesh that it pierced, and even if I hadn't Y/n is here, and I figured out where the rat's hiding. Halfway up the hill, near those rocks" Jotaro says
He always looks so cool when he does this
"You're amazing! Both the rat and you guys! Am I the only loser this time around?" Josuke asks
"You should've seen Jotaro in his prime. Now that was the definition of cool, I'll have to tell you stories sometime" I say. The sun was getting closer to the horizon
"We need to hurry, I can't keep Y/n too long" Jotaro says
"Why not?" Josuke asks
"Well the thing is, Jolyne has never been not around us for so long which is causing some behavioral issues. She's four which is also apart of the problem but man can that girl put up a fight. My parents are older and they can't exactly how do I say this, discipline her" I say
"Being a parent must be hard" Josuke says
"You two, the rat is 60 meters away. It doesn't look like it's going to shoot more needles yet. It know that if it shoots too much, we'll be able to pinpoint its location and attack. Stubborn little rat" Jotaro says
"Why are you complimenting the rat?" Josuke asks
"That was a compliment to you?" I ask
"Anyways, we need to do something" Josuke says
Just changing the subject, I guess
"Well said, Josuke. We need to give it everything we've got, or Bug-Eaten's gonna get us. I'll give you all four rounds. At this distance, it'll go up like a slider, so aim one centimeter lower than the target" Jotaro says handing Josuke the binoculars as he got up
"Jotaro? What are you going to do?" Josuke asks
"I'm going to get closer so it'll shoot the needles. You're going to find out where it is, Josuke, and then you're going to attack. Y/n I'm expecting you to heal me when this over. Stay with Josuke just in case" Jotaro says
"Yes sir" I say saluting
"Wh-What?!" Josuke asks
"You're the only one who can do this" Jotaro says sternly as he continues walking
His way of trying to boost Josuke's confidence is cute
"Even if I get hit with one or two if its needles, I can have Y/n heal me. But Josuke, you're not my height or weight so it'll take less needles to kill you" Jotaro says
"How is he so calm?" Josuke asks
"It's because, he's already faced death. The thing he is most scared of, is already dead" I say. Josuke looked shocked
"What actually happen to you guys back then?" He asks
"That's a story for a different day" I say. Josuke suddenly started panicking as he looked through the binoculars
"I-I need time to mentally prepare!" Josuke says. The stand shot at Jotaro
"Star Platinum, The World!" Jotaro said. Next thing I knew he had moved over and dodged the needles
"Did you find it?" Jotaro asks
"N-No. It moved right after it fired!" Josuke says
"I'll try to get closer while going up the side of the hill. Look for the moment it fires" Jotaro says
"The moment it fires" Josuke says. I put my hand on his shoulder
"You've got this" I say with a smile. Jotaro continued walking up
"There! I see it!" Josuke says. The stand fired again but Jotaro had moved to the side before I could even process it. Somehow he was shot twice
"What?! That rat calculated that I'd dodge and then fired the needles at the rocks? It ricocheted?" Jotaro asks. His arm and leg began to melt as he fell
"Jotaro!" Josuke yelled
"Remain calm, Josuke" I told him as I began to nervously sweat
I should take that advice as well. I'm sweating bullets
"Don't look at me, Josuke! Aim for the rat! Get it right when it's about to attack!" Jotaro says. Josuke was panicking while holding the rounds
"Here we go, Josuke" Jotaro says as he got up. The stand shot once more and one hit Jotaro
Please don't die, please don't die
"I'm suddenly feeling stronger. I'm going to get you, you little rat" Josuke says as Crazy Diamond shot a round. The round missed and hit the rock
Oh no
"So you did look. I thought you'd look if I missed, and face your body this way. Now I can target you for sure" Josuke says as Crazy Diamond fired another round. He successfully hit the rat. I rushed to Jotaro's side and began healing him
"In the end, I wasn't a loser at all. Call me Josuke Higashikata, the man who deflects pressure!" Josuke says proudly
Definitely a Joseph trait
"The stand rats that Akira Otoishi created, considering the destruction of nature that humanity brought on, I'm not sure how to feel, but thankfully, Josuke's pretty reliable. Good grief. We can finally relax a little" Jotaro says. I finished healing him. My phone suddenly went off. I answered it
"Hel-" I began but was cut off by my father as I heard screaming in the background
"Help us, that child has turned into a demon again" My father cries
"I'll be right there" I say
"Thank you, Y/n" He says
"Of course dad" I say hanging up
"Is it Jolyne?" Jotaro asks
"She's throwing another fit. I'll see you later tonight at the hotel" I say. I then teleport to my dad. I heard Jolyne screaming
I don't know where she inherited this from but its definitely not me
(3586 words)
8/9/21