Crazy Diamond's silhouette, along with every trajectory of his punches, had already played out across the strands of hair over Inori's forehead. The instant Josuke crossed the road, Epitaph had already activated.
Right now, Josuke Higashikata wanted nothing more than to beat the living daylights out of that little shrimp. As for the girl... he hadn't heard a woman's voice just now, so he'd leave her out of it for the time being.
"DORARARARARARA!!"
A humanoid Stand in gray-silver and pale pink burst out from behind Josuke, then swung both fists toward Koichi.
Inori had been ready. She summoned King Crimson in time, and before Crazy Diamond's punches could reach her, she struck first, interrupting his barrage.
Crack!
One clean straight punch. Crazy Diamond took the hit square on the side of its face and was forced to halt its assault. Josuke stumbled on the spot, nearly losing his footing.
"...What? That red thing is—?"
Damage dealt to a Stand transfers directly back to its user. Josuke felt the full destructive force of King Crimson's fist, and he clutched his aching cheek in shock, staring at the figure standing before the pink-haired girl—a red monster with a vicious face.
That girl, with her stick-thin arms and legs, had the same kind of power he did?
"Calm down for a second. Koichi and I really haven't said a single bad thing about your hair."
Trading blows with Crazy Diamond was a rare and valuable experience, but Inori still didn't want this to escalate or leave Josuke with a bad impression. Unless she absolutely had to, she wanted to befriend him. After all, who would turn down having a healer who could restore you to full health in an instant?
"So you're saying there's something wrong with my ears? I clearly heard it coming from your direction!"
Josuke had taken a punch, but his anger hadn't cooled one bit. He swaggered across the road and planted himself in front of Inori and Koichi, his sharp eyes as fierce as a wild dog's.
"This has nothing to do with you! Move! The one I'm going to pound is that little shrimp behind you!"
Koichi, hearing that he'd been singled out by name, shuddered all over again. In his mind, he'd already fully categorized Josuke as the type of delinquent who'd find any excuse to throw hands.
...Why? What did I even do to him? Was it because I was eating ice cream with Inori? I guess being seen walking with a girl this pretty would make anyone jealous, but is that really enough to get beaten up over?
"I already told you. Koichi and I haven't said a single thing about your hair."
Inori's voice shifted abruptly, as if a switch had been flipped. The sweet girl's tone vanished, replaced by a cold, emotionless tone. Real killing intent radiated from those deep crimson eyes.
Koichi panicked even harder. Why had Inori suddenly become so terrifying?
"If you still want to fight, then I'll have no choice but to treat you like some punk looking for trouble."
"..." Josuke was visibly shaken by the sudden shift in her presence. But he was a JoJo, after all. Even knowing she was dangerous, he wasn't about to back down.
"Anyone who disrespects my hair is going to regret it! I don't even know why I get so angry! Getting angry doesn't need a reason—it's just instinct!"
"DORARARARARARA!!!"
Crazy Diamond mustered its courage and threw its punches again, its battle cry ringing out in that signature chain of "DORA"s. Inori had no intention of looking down on him either. You want a slugfest? Then let's go.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!"
King Crimson answered with its own high-speed barrage, surging forward to meet the challenge.
It understood Inori's intentions perfectly: go all out, but don't use Time Erasure. That would just be bullying.
Your nephew Jotaro Kujo held back out of family ties—he only stayed on the defensive. But I won't!
King Crimson and Crazy Diamond clashed fist against fist, but the deadlock lasted barely two seconds before the balance shattered. King Crimson's superior precision and far greater combat experience gave it the edge. Its fist found a gap in Crazy Diamond's guard and drove straight into its abdomen.
Josuke took the feedback hit at the same time, grunting in pain as he flew backward and collapsed on the ground, clutching his stomach like he couldn't get back up.
Koichi watched, dumbfounded. He wasn't a Stand user yet, so he couldn't see the dazzling exchange of blows between King Crimson and Crazy Diamond. All he saw was the air in front of him suddenly turning ominous... and then the delinquent went flying, coughing up blood.
"Too slow! Way too slow!"
Inori grinned with the confidence of a victor.
"Even without using my Stand's ability, King Crimson far surpasses your Crazy Diamond in raw strength and speed alone."
...Wait... seriously? That red thing on this girl is actually stronger than mine? That's... unbelievable. And she called it a Stand? So there are other people in the world with special powers like ours.
Still, Josuke Higashikata wasn't about to lose that easily. Especially not to a girl.
The urge to beat up that shrimp Koichi gradually faded to the back of his mind. Instead, excitement began to build. He wanted to defeat this beautiful pink-haired girl. No particular reason—just the raw desire to fight and win.
He wasn't the type to rely on brute force alone. As one of JoJo's protagonists, battle smarts were indispensable. Josuke calmed down, scanning his surroundings for something he could use with his repair ability to mount an attack...
His gaze landed on a trash can not far behind him. It had been emptied that very morning. Destroying public property wasn't exactly ethical, but at a time like this, who cared?
"DORA!"
Josuke got to his feet. Crazy Diamond sprang into action alongside him, tearing the bolts clean off and hoisting the metal trash can high overhead before hurling it at King Crimson with a roar.
"Useless!"
Inori smirked. King Crimson unleashed a rapid flurry of punches, smashing the trash can to pieces. Sharp shards of metal clattered to the ground while a few stray aluminum cans and takeout containers that flew out were batted away.
"Stop resisting and let's just talk this out, okay?"
"We can talk after I beat you!"
Josuke suddenly flashed a mischievous grin—the look of a scheme coming together. Because in that moment, he had already activated Crazy Diamond's repair ability. The scattered trash can fragments near Inori began to reassemble, and the reconstituting metal flew past King Crimson, hurtling straight at her body.
Yes! Got her!
Poor Josuke didn't know his trick had been seen through from the start. Inori hadn't even used Epitaph, because she was intimately familiar with Josuke's abilities and fighting style. Using an object's restoration momentum as a Stand-powered attack was his most common technique.
Inori stood her ground, motionless. She waited until the fully restored trash can was about to slam into her face, and then the world rippled with an eerie flash of crimson.
"Huh? Wh-where did she go?"
"Did you really think a little trick like that would be enough to beat me?"
The pink-haired girl's voice came from behind him. A chill ran through Josuke's entire body. He spun around.
"How... when did you—"
"Throwing a filthy trash can at a delicate girl like me... you really are a terrible man~"
Inori held her chin and drawled the words out, King Crimson hovering at her side, its posture so leisurely it looked like it was deciding how to punish Josuke.
Koichi broke into a cold sweat. He couldn't understand what had just happened, but Inori had won! The delinquent was the one on the ground!
"...I-I'm sorry."
To his surprise, Josuke suddenly straightened up from where he sat and bowed his head to Inori.
"Huh?"
Koichi froze. He'd expected the guy to lash out in desperation or throw around some tough-guy threats—that's what delinquents always did in the movies. He never imagined Josuke would apologize this sincerely.
"I shouldn't have... thrown that dirty thing at you. I was wrong. I'm sorry! Big Sis, can you forgive me?"