JJBA: The Chain

01 - Allison's Pantera

'Just look at them down there.'

Her petty gaze would land on a group of fellow classmates around a bench. They were all talking, laughing, and overall just enjoying themselves. Her eye twitched at the sight of it. Her grasp on her black curtains would tighten as her arms began to shake. Inside, she felt a strengthening urge to eliminate the innocent crowd.

'Useless, pathetic excuses for sentient beasts...'

Her lip raised, expressing a harsh snarl. She would quickly and powerfully throw the curtains shut. She grabbed onto the sides of her head and let out a loud moan. Soon, she would lightly sigh. "...I shouldn't do anything to them." She spoke softly to herself after shaking her head. "They're... they aren't hurting anyone..."

"...but god, I really wish I had an excuse to turn them into dirt and w-walk on them..." She angrily hissed.

Her name was Allison Chain. She was a young student at a small artistic college in New York. She mostly studied in realistic sculptures, though she had an intense affinity for abstract paintings.

Her eyes were naturally orange, and her hair was naturally blonde, though every day she would go out of her way to dye her hair a new color, as well as to use colored contacts. Today, both her eyes and hair were a deep maroon.

She tensed up as her stomach would rumble. She grabbed onto it and groaned. 'Damn, I'm starving.' She looked around her dorm room slowly. 'I think I'm gonna need better clothes before I head out, though...'

Without further thought, she had put on her favorite outfit - a black sweater and red leggings. She didn't bother to wear any of her usual jewelry or makeup as she had no plans to interact much with anyone.

Her room's door creaked open and caused an echo down the hall. It was eerily quiet with the only light coming in from the windows. Before she stepped out, she listened closely for any signs of any other presence. After a few moments of more pure silence, she snuck out and gently closed the door.

She took a deep breath. She felt relief, though she was still anxious. A few months ago, she had aquired something everyone seems to call a Stand, with each having their own ability, though after learning what her ability could do, she had been reluctant to use it on a living thing, even in a life threatening situation. While she disliked mostly everyone she met, she still did her best to avoid ending another's life.

Her footsteps would loudly click down the hall. As she reached the staircase, she felt regret choosing such loud shoes, let alone uncomfortable heels. She complained violently in her head as she carefully made her way down the carpeted steps.

Her eyes widened as she began hearing someone else following her down the stairs. Her shoulders tensed up before she reached the bottom of the staircase. Though despite the presence of the other person causing her anxiety, she continued to walk.

The extra set of footsteps didn't stop, even after she almost reached the dorm's kitchen. She stopped walking and quickly turned around to finally face the stranger and unintentionally summoned her stand in the process. Her stand's single arm had already aimed towards the other person, who had froze at the sight of it.

"What are you doing?..." Allison weakly questioned the other. As they silently stared at one another, she started judging the other's appearance. She had fluffy black hair with a bow tied in the back - a bow that was actually just pieces of her own hair tied to look like a bow. Her shirt was inside-out with two vertical stripes on the chest. She wore a colorful skirt and boots, and was holding a pink and magenta crossbow that looked like a kids toy, aiming it directly at Allison.

"Answer me, damn it!" Allison's shout caused her to step back, though her purple eyes were not filled with fear. "I'm going to the kitchen, jackass." She answered blandly. "I haven't eaten since yesterday. I'm starving... put that Picasso wannabe of a stand away, already."

Allison lowered her shoulders and retracted her stand. She scoffed and crossed her arms. "You and me both..." She mumbled grumpily. The other woman would quickly lower her crossbow, though continued holding it close to her chest with both hands.

They both entered the kitchen, which was eerily empty and dark, just like the rest of the dorm. "...There's usually someone here." Allison commented as she swung open the gray fridge. The stranger would rest her arms on the counter and watch her search.

"Nothing? Nothing's in here." She closed the fridge gently and turned to the other person. "There's just a nearly empty bottle of old ranch." She huffed and shook her head. "Oh, really?" The other walked around the counter and looked inside for herself.

As she was looking, Allison came to a realization. "...Hey, wait a minute." She grabbed the bottle and slammed it onto the counter. The other would watch carefully. "Pantera!" Allison shouted, summoning her stand again.

Pantera would aim at the bottle and shoot it with a blinding blue light. The stranger would cover her eyes from this, though once she looked at the scene again, she would rush over to the counter.

On the counter, there was an odd object that looked as if it were a combination of a dead mouse and a floppy disk. She glared at Allison, her crossbow in hand once again. "What the hell happened?" She asked.

Allison sighed, her face bearing pure disappointment. "Well, that didn't work." She rested her hand on her hip as Pantera retracted. "My stand's ability - it can turn something into a combination of two other things, but it's random. I was hoping it would make something edible..."

The stranger looked down at her own crossbow. "That's much more interesting than my Plastic Love." She mumbled as she retracted the bow and fixed her posture. "My stand can only change someone else's opinion of me... or make someone forget I exist." She sighed. "Your stand changes opinions?" Allison stepped closer and stared her in the eye. She became nervous. "Ah-- I mean, w-whatever they think their relationship is with me!" She shook her head.

Allison raised an eyebrow. 'I don't think her Plastic Love has any offensive capabilities... this poor woman.' She cleared her throat and looked away from her. "I'm, uh... I'm Allison Chain."

The other's eyes widened curiously. "Oh, that's a cool name." She said. "My name is Ellas Tikhardt." She smiled at her, seeming a lot more comfortable in her presence now that she revealed her name.

Allison sighed. "...I don't like going in public for food, but I feel like I ruined your day almost turning you into a dead rat or something earlier." She rubbed her own neck and didn't make eye contact. "Do you wanna go to that donut shop? I'll pay for it."