-one hour later-
honestly, what did i expect to come out of my little investigation? was i just hoping that the train was, in fact, full of normal old people?
somewhat, but that clearly wasnt the case.
after piecing together the puzzle and finding that mista had aged some, the only logical assumption i still had was for the cause of all of this is at the fault of a stand user. of course, the user wasnt going to make themselves obvious, and if they are able to age other people quicker, they most likely can age themselves as well..
i passed up and down the train cars, ignoring the prying eyes from the few of the people still conscious. its most likely they knew who i was despite my change in outfit, which im thankful for since it tells them to leave me be.
on my third passing from inspecting the train cars, i had noticed that one of the passengers was sitting rather stiff. by stiff, i dont mean he looked uptight, but it more so seemed like he was anxious or nervous, like he was awaiting the results for a job interview. even stranger, the man was wearing the same slutty suit as the one that stood outside my shop earlier, and even held the same hairstyle.
however, this person was old- no! i just came up with the probability of them being a stand user, so why would i just try to dismiss this! dammit, im such an idiot!
i dont want to make it look like i suspect him, because i need him to act before i can draw conclusions. moving on, i left the man sitting there, feeling his disgusting shriveled eyes poking at the back of my neck.
as i reentered the train car with bucciarati and his team, i noted that mista and bucciarati both held ice to themselves, mostly to their foreheads. "man, am i that hot that you need ice to cool yourselves down?" i joked.
"shut the hell up, you monster." bucciarati snarled, glaring knives into my non-existent soul. "there's a stand user somewhere-"
"oh yeah, i already knew that, but why do you have ice on your heads?" i interrupted, taking out three knives to juggle in order to entertain myself.
mista tilted his head. "how are you not old yet? this train car is super hot, and youre wearing cold-weather clothes!"
"can someone elaborate? i have no idea what this crackhead is talking about."
"the stand user, as we found out, is somehow managing to make people in this train age at a significantly quick rate, and the heat around us and them seems to only enhance that. and, with you wearing a turtleneck, cargo pants, and supposedly heavy gear, its just surprising that you arent burning up right now." the edna-mode, dora the explorer, can i speak to your manager lookin' ass explained.
i shifted the knives back into their slots on my hips, peeling back a bit of my sleeve to reveal a thin sheet of [Mr. Fear] wrapped around my arm. "i had already noticed how hot it was here, so i had my stand, whos already cold by the touch, wrap around me to keep me cool! in fact, im a little chilly right now!"
i turned around to face the train car i was once in, my mind wandering back to the peculiar person i had saw earlier today. "now, if i may excuse myself, i need to go check on something-"
"wait." mista spoke, voice quiet and desperate. "you'll most likely disappear for a while again after this, so i want to ask you a question."
i turned around. "ok, shoot."
"when you killed (y/n), did you make it painful?"
"why would this be a question? werent you the one who beat the shit out of them?" i laughed. "you'd think you'd want it to be painful!"
"no, i didnt... they were just broken so badly it hurt to walk away from them. i couldnt even wish them a goodbye or anything!"
"you had the opportunity to see them off, to grant them the final thought of knowing that a friend gave them their demise, rather than a killer who wont remember them among the many others they killed. did they die in pain physically? no, i made it painless. did they die in pain emotionally? absolutely, and there was nothing i could do to change that."
mista looked to the side, avoiding eye contact as he swallowed the obvious lump in his throat. "oh.. thanks, then."
i scoffed, rather surprised. what the hell was he thanking me for?! "pardon?"
"im thankful you let them go easy. ive heard of how awful some of your victims look when youre done with them, and to know that you, a monster among people, let my (y/n) pass on easy, gives me some peace of mind. im sure they're probably cursing at us from the afterlife, and we well deserve it, but just know that you're a kind of good person in my book. so, thanks, morte."
ive killed over two hundred people how am i a good person- "im glad you think of me like that, my friend, but i must go! ta-ta~!"
skipping into the train car i was in previously, i found that the man from earlier was no longer in his spot, everyone else seated like limp turkeys during November. it was strange, he was super old so he couldnt have gone far..
without warning, a large blow landed on the back of my head, knocking me forward a bit in shock and most likely leaving a pulsating bruise. luckily, [Mr. Fear] managed to sense the attacker coming and blocked the area they hit, allowing me to keep standing instead of falling to the floor unconscious like a drunk at 3am.
"hey- what the hell!" i screamed, whipping around and quickly equipping myself with a bell. "what the supreme shit do you think youre doing-!"
to my not-so-surprise, the blonde man from earlier was standing at the ready right behind me, his hands fixing his suit. "im attempting to take about the greatest nuisance i have to face on this train, morte."
"oh! you know my name! aww, i feel special~!"
"shut up, you disgusting creature! im here to end your damn life!"
i yawned, stretching a bit to flash a some more disrespect. "cool, have fun with that! but, since you know my name, could i possibly know yours? its only common courtesy!"
the man adjusted himself, giving me a scowl that would surely put me six feet under if i wasnt already mentally deranged. "prosciutto." he answered. "my name is prosciutto, and you better remember it so you can tell the people in hell who killed the infamous morte nascosta!"
"ooh~! youre confident, i like that! everybody else that challenged me had already accepted death, so i hope you have too!"
with that, a fight had begun.
my stand was always quick to defend, but attacking was a whole different subject. yes, im a killer, preying on unsuspecting people, but my stand didnt seem to be too educated in attacking others. like, c'mon! how do you only know how to use your bell!
many, many times i had tried to use a bell of mine to grasp prosciuttos attention, though it became clear to me he wasnt just blantantly unaware of them, he was actively ignoring them! how the hell did he know to not look at the bells, damn it! there's no way any research could reveal my ability, as i had done everything to keep it hidden! unless someone spotted me testing my stand on a random passerby at the bar that day i got [Mr. Fear], there's no way anyone could know!
on top of the fact that prosciutto was ignoring all basic attacks, the room had revealed itself to be rather cramp with the other passengers, and since i work best under my own conditions, i guess its time to change the scenery.
with haste and caution to avoid prosciutto, i dived for the bar by the cab door that led outside, opening the sliding door and quickly flipping myself so that i was once again on top of the train. as much as i would like to run further down the cab line to an empty car, i had no such option as all of them were filled! even the caboose had a few people!
of course, it was not long until prosciutto found a way to get to the top of the train with me, clearly determined to end the life that would almost definitely take his. "oh, prosciutto! youre absolutely glowing in this light! what's your skincare routine?"
the blonde shakily stood up in the trains roof, mindful of his step as he scoffed at my taunt. "quit joking around, and come fight me! dont be so smug when your last hour strikes!"
"ah, i was just kidding with you..."
once again to confirm my grounding, [Mr. Fear] had applied some of its matter to the soles of my shoes after carefully writhing out of my skin, which made me want to scream at an octave even opera singers couldnt reach. after checking to make sure that my feet would stick to the train car roof, i abruptly bolted toward prosciutto, throwing a punch to his chest and knocking him downward.
upon first impression, youd think i would try some fancy method to attack my enemies, maybe even bring out some complicated weapon, but no. the trick is to always take your enemies by surprise, and if that means going as simple as ever, then so be it.
he hadn't noticed the fact that the leeches once stored in my bells had wrapped around my knuckles, and when they made contact with him, they quickly shot into his chest and infected him with my stand. now, while this wont have an immediate effect like it would if it gained entrance through the eye, my leeches will slowly take away his energy and give it to my own. at least, that's what i assume will happen.
oh- turns out they're taking effect rather quickly! i only say this so suddenly because prosciutto has just crashed to the floor, clutching his stomach with a pained expression. "what.. did you do to me-?"
i crouched down to his height, gripping him by both shoulders to keep him upright. i might as well give him a sliver of knowledge before sending him off... "let me tell you a story, mister prosciutto. once, there was a loyal, hardworking, kind individual that helped whenever they could. one day, due to something happening in their family, they had to join a group of bad, bad people. the bad people they were assigned to work with were thankfully kind to them, but when they were involved in an accident, everyone turned on them even though it wasnt their fault. what should they do?"
prosciutto began to breathe heavily, huffing in thick masses of air in attempt to regain some energy. "why are you telling me this? whats the point?"
"answer the question. what should they do?"
"...explain themselves?"
"oh, and they did!" i chirped. "they cried, and pleaded, and explained it wasnt their fault, but no! their team didnt believe them! the people, once so kind and forgiving, beat up the person until they were nothing but crushed bones and broken dreams! and, when they were knocked to the ground, they hit their head in such a way that it woke something devilishly delightful inside of them! something that woke a heavy hunger for killing and revenge! something so blood thirsty that the person couldnt do anything but follow its desire! and do you know who that person is?"
"no, i wouldnt have the slightest clue. i thought this was just a random-"
i leaned closer to his face, my eyes digging into his with a hunger of a hundred starving wolves. "would you like to know who they are?"
he didnt reply.
"its me!" i hysterically laughed. "i was at fault for something that i had nothing to do with! oh-ho! a tragedy! a tale of times! the people that wronged me are none other then those you are targeting right now! and so, prosciutto, im thankful for your ear, and im glad you listened to my story, but im afraid you know too much! you know more than i should ever allow someone to understand! and for that, i bid you farewell!"
clearly all strength in his body had already been sucked out, yet his fighting spirit was unsurprisingly still there. he struggled in my grip as i dragged him by the hair to the edge of the train car we were on, screaming in pain and i jumped from one cab to another while dragging him. once i made it to the fifth car, i quickly noted that i still had seven more cabs to go before im at the caboose. "ah, this should do."
ignoring prosciuttos insistent struggling and pleas for mercy, i dragged him down to the space between the cars where the cabs are only connected by a clasp, leaving anyone susceptible to falling in-between the gap and getting runover.
"prosciutto, since you know my story, ill answer one question you have about it. its only fair, right?"
he had tears in his eyes from the pain, and his chest was heaving air into his lungs as he tried to numb the pain. "you! let me go!"
"hm, so no questions?" i giggled. "alright, class dismissed!"
i let go of his hair and kicked him so that he would fall beneath the train, but unfortunately that little bit of fighting spirit i mentioned earlier had kicked in. prosciutto gripped the side of the train, limbs flailing in the wind as he held on for the little life he had left. "oh, how i hate people like you! always trying to live when its clear its over! it only makes things more painful!"
maybe i should give this poor soul a little tease before i send him off, something to keep him turning in his grave long after he is buried. with the pace of a turtle, i unclipped my mask from behind my head and revealed my face, being mindful as to make sure that no one else saw. it was in this moment i saw all color drain from prosciuttos already pale face, fingers digging into the metal he was clinging to with fury. "its you, the damn person from the cafe!"
"hi there! what can i get for you today?" i hummed in my usual greeting voice. "one eliminated prosciutto? coming right up!"
with the same soft smile i give any citizen that enters my bakery, i slammed my foot onto his fingers, leaving my shoe to be the only thing keeping him in place as the pain caused him to let go of the cab. "lali-ho! thank you for your purchase, come again soon!"
and with that, i lifted my foot and let the poor soul go flying, watching intently as his body got shredded and crushed underneath the train. ah, that whole fight was somewhat tiring, so i think i might just take a nap!
with haste, i reattached my mask to my face and made sure my stand wrapped its tendrils around it to secure it in place. after adjusting my wide-brimmed hat, i waltzed back into the train cars and continued with my day as i would any other.
oh, i wonder how doppio is doing... maybe he already found out i left! did cioccolata cover for me? if he's gone too, will he come up with a believable excuse to save me for when doppio finds him back without me?
it doesnt matter right now, because even if he doesnt, ill find away to get away with it like i always do. for now, i think i might just lay down for a bit...
"morte!" someone screamed, their tone eager and fruity. "i have a question for you!"