Diamonds Burn Gold

Chapter 35: Sheer Heart Attack, Part 3

"Hey, Josuke, what the hell happened at that shoe shop? I'm still kinda confused." Okuyasu said as he, Josuke and Saya ran down the streets as they try and hurry toward Centipede Shoes to help Koichi fight Heart Attack.

"Koichi couldn't really explain it over the phone, but it didn't sound good." Josuke said. "Let's hurry! It'll take about five minutes to get there."

"In that case, let's hurry it up!" Saya shouted as they rounded a corner.

Meanwhile, at the shoe store, Heart Attack was still under the effects of ACT3's ability and was struggling to keep moving. This results in it cracking and spewing out blood.

"You manage to crack it. And if the bomb Stand took damage, then its user just got a nasty surprise, too." Koichi said, surveying ACT3's power.

"Please do not venture too far from my side, and so you're aware, my range is five meters." ACT3 tells Koichi. This new piece of information made Koichi look at his Stand in surprise. "I can see this comes as a shock to you. Make no mistake. We've indeed matured. Our power is much greater than before. My inferior range in comparison with ACT2 is an unavoidable shortcoming." ACT3 said as he begins to explain his new ability to Koichi to gain a better understanding.

"Moving outside my five-meter range removes the weight applied to the target object. If it does so, the target will be excited to such a degree that it will rush toward us like an animal in heat. Conversely, if your aim is to pin the target down, moving closer will exponentially increase the amount of force applied to it." ACT3 explained. "So what's it going to be?"

"N-neither. For now, I want him right there." Koichi said. He then looks over to the still unconscious couple sitting nearby. He was getting worried. They've yet to make a simple move or let out a sound of life to indicate that they were still alive. "I just hope Josuke gets here before trouble shows up." Koichi then blinked in confusion when his eyes spotted something unusual on Hikari's body. Patches of white? What the...? Koichi took a small step forward and upon closer inspection, he found it to be... Ice?

Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard ACT3 let out a surprised sound and looked over to see what was the problem was...that's when his eyes widened when he saw the man himself, Kira, approaching him. Weakened and nearly exhausted from coming all this way with a heavy, bleeding hand. Kira slowly approaches Koichi, stopping just a few steps away as he looks at the damage of the building.

"You know, I hear a new gym is getting ready to open near Budogaoka High School. And given today's events, I'm now considering joining." Kira says. "I should probably build up my strength. Then again, I haven't had the best luck lately. I could end up sharing weights with or swimming in the same pool as the dregs who'd rather play with their dicks than bathe."

Kira groaned in agony as he tried to hold his injured hand. "It took a total of three minutes to get here." Kira said as he started to chuckle. "I realised the full extent of my weakness as I try to traverse the crosswalk." With each word he spoke, Koichi's eyes grew wide. His heart heated rapidly as he stared at the blond-haired man. "Question for you. How many guests should I be expecting to join this party?"

Koichi lets out a gasp as he took a small step back as he looks Kira in horror. "What? You phoned someone asking for help, right? Josuke Higashikata, Saya Yukimori, and Okuyasu Nijimura are the closest and being about five minutes away I'd wager they two minutes to go. You're one of their best friends, are you not?" Kira questioned.

"Wait..."

"Yukako Yamagishi and that haughty woman who runs Beauty Institute Cinderella are Stand users as well, right? Though I severely doubt you'd turn to them for help in your hour of need." Kira said.