Lithium: A Stardust Crusaders Story

3

"I don't know who you are, or what your problem with Jotaro Kujo is, but you're clearly evil. I'm not going to sit in the corner and watch you beat down on people like that, especially the nurse!" I cried, River Queen erupting from my shoulders with a roar. "River Queen, let's give this guy's leg a cut to match Jotaro's!"

My Stand lunged, claws outstetched. Kakyoin fell backwards with a shout, but to no avail. River Queen's sharp talons cut through his leg like paper. Pebbles shifted behind me, and I turned to look. Before I could see the source of the noise, Lynn dragged me out of the way of a second Emerald Splash. "Thanks..." My breathing had grown erratic, which I didn't really like. I looked back to the supply closet to see Jotaro standing shakily in the doorway.

"You're trying to stand up?" Kakyoin taunted, although he wasn't looking much better. The gash in his leg from River Queen was bleeding heavily. "But how sad... If I were to compare you to something, it'd be a sandbag in front of a boxer. You stood back up only to be beat again." I bristled at his rude jab, ready to beat him senseless, but Jotaro held out a hand to stop me.

"I, Jotaro Kujo, am labeled a punk. I tend to overdo it with my opponents in fights, so much that some are still in the hospital. There was one idiot teacher that was all talk, so I taught him a lesson, and he hasn't come back to school. At restaurants that served me lousy food, I leave without paying the bill all the time. But... Even I know nauseating evil when I see it. Evil is when you use the weak for your own gain, and crush them under your foot. Especially a woman! That is exactly what you've done!" Man, this guy was really intimidating...

"Your Stand isnt visible to the victim or the law." Jotaro continued."Therefore... I shall judge you!"

"Evil? There you are wrong. Evil refers to the loser." What was with this Kakyoin and his backwards logic? "Justice refers to the victor. The last man standing! The method doesn't matter!" What was this guy snorting?

Heirophant Green's tentacles tried to capture Jotaro, but he ran out of the way, almost knocking me over in the process. I doubt he would notice if he did run into me because he was so much taller. He sprung on to the nurse's desk and off the wall, keeping his hands in his pockets all the while. He landed on the grungy tile and used his stand to kick over a small table at Kakyoin. Heirophant's tentacles quickly caught it though, tearing it apart. The appendages grabbed Jotaro, and River Queen appeared behind me again, ready to retaliate.

"The loser is the evil one. And now, the final blow!" Kakyoin gloated.

"What? The loser is evil?" Jotaro was planning something... I wondered whether it would be wiser not to intervene...

"Emerald Splash!" A torrent of gemstones flew from his Stand's fingers.

"Well, in that case..." Jotaro's stand appeared, arms crossed. It braced itself as green stones dug into its arms before flinging them away with an enthusiastic "Ora!"

"What? Impossible! He shrugged off the Emerald Splash?"

"...You're the evil one after all!" Jotaro accused, pointing at Kakyoin while his Stand flew forward to grab Heirophant Green around the neck. The purple humanoid violently shook the green apparation back and forth, drawing blood from its user. Jotaro's stand drove its fist into Heirophant's face repeatedly with a chorus of "Ora"s.

"The one who'll be the judge is..." Heirophant Green received a brutal uppercut. "My Stand!"

The force of the punch sent the slippery Stand through several floors of the school. Blood spurted from almost every surface of Kakyoin's body before he collapsed, muttering "What a powerful stand..."

"You just caught it by surprise and hurt its chest a little. Lucky for me its not a weak stand, but I have a feeling it'll become more violent. That was close."

I slowly made my way over to the nurse, who was lying in a puddle of her own blood. I gently took her wrist, searching for a pulse. I found it, although it was pretty faint. I glanced up at Lynn before saying, "She should be fine once her wounds are treated." She smiled down at me and held out a hand to help me up.

"What was that noise? A gas explosion?" A voice came from the hallway.

"It came from the nurse's office!" Oh no.

"None of you leave the classroom!" Double oh no.

"I'll leave the rest to them." Jotaro grumbled, picking up a now unconcious Kakyoin. "I'm ditching school today, and so are you two." He shot Lynn and I an odd look. "I've got to have him explain some things about DIO." He climbed out of the window, Kakyoin slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. We quickly followed suit.

He took us back to his house, which was huge! How could he even find anything here? A soft-looking blonde woman stood outside folding laundry. All of a sudden, she dropped her clothing and hurried back inside. Jotaro approached the house with us in tow. We soon drew close enough to hear the blonde woman's voice.

"Jotaro's totally thinking about me at school right now! I felt like I had a connection with my son just now." She sang. This must be Jotaro's mother. What a sweet woman!

"I'm not thinking about you," Jotaro appeared in the doorway. His mother dropped the portrait she was holding.

"Hello, Ms. Kujo!" I waved from behind Jotaro.

"Jotaro! Wh-What about school? And who is that? H-he's covered in blood! D-Don't tell me... you did that? Did you kidnap those nice young women, too?"

"It's got nothing to do with you. I'm looking for the Old Man." Jotaro snapped. How could he take such a sweet mother for granted? "Sucks having to find him in such a huge house." 'Oh, noooo. Let me play you a sad song on the world's smallest violin.' I thought sarcastically. He began walking down the wooden pathway, Lynn and I following closely.

"I think your grandfather's in the tea room, with Mister Avdol." Jotaro's mom called from the doorway.

"Thanks, Ms. Kujo!" Lynn waved.

"Hey," Jotaro turned to his mom.

"Yes?"

"You look a little pale this morning. Are you all right?" Aww, he did care!

"Yay! Fine, thank you!" She responded in english, trowing up a peace sign.

We arrived in the tea room where an older gentleman and an egyptian man who must be Avdol sat. Jotaro laid Kakyoin down on the tatami and Lynn and I took a seat on the other side of the room. After a quick inspection, the older gentleman sighed.

"Well, this is no good. It's too late for him. He's not going to make it. He'll die in the next few days." What? Jotaro didn't hit him that hard! "Jotaro, it's not your fault. Look. The reason that this man swore loyalty to DIO and came to kill you..." He pulled Kakyoin's hair back from his forehead, revealing a gross bud of flesh embedded in his forehead. "is right here!"