The cemetery was maintained by a nearby temple, which regularly sent monks to clean.
As the two entered, the monks responsible for cleaning occasionally cast strange looks their way, making Jolyne feel uneasy.
"Relax, they're just curious," Mari said, walking ahead and examining the names on the tombstones one by one. "After all, who comes to visit graves this early in the morning?"
Jolyne followed closely behind, searching as well. Japanese tombstones were unique—long boards made of fir wood, inscribed with the deceased's life story, parents, family, and so on, much like Western epitaphs.
An inconspicuous grave in the corner caught Jolyne's attention.
It was small, shielded by a tall fir tree behind it, like an infant shrinking into its mother's embrace.
Jolyne walked over. The entire grave was covered in moss, and the wooden tombstone was eroded by years of wind and rain. The characters carved into it had long since faded, leaving only blurred outlines.
There were no offerings in front of the tombstone either, as if it had been completely forgotten.
Jolyne carefully wiped the moss off the tombstone. From the remaining traces of the characters, she could vaguely make out the two characters "[Noriko]"—the name of the deceased.
Jolyne leaned in closer, trying to find more information about the deceased's life from the faint remnants of writing.
Suddenly, there was a movement in the shadows. She looked up and vaguely saw a white figure behind the tree. "Who's there?"
Another Stand user? Jolyne immediately went on alert. The white figure quickly disappeared into the shadows. She waited for a while longer, but nothing happened.
She slowly approached, walking to the base of the tree to look. There was nothing there. Unwilling to give up, she circled the tree several times but found nothing.
"What's wrong, Ellen?" Mari, who was further away, noticed the commotion and called out.
"Nothing."
"Then come over here quickly."
Jolyne walked out from the shadows, took one last look at Noriko's grave, and went to find Mari.
This grave was new, clearly visited often. A large bouquet of blooming gypsophila in front of the tombstone proved someone had been there not long ago.
Jolyne glanced at the name carved on the tombstone. It was one of the victims from the missing persons case.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" A man scowled at them, his face displeased.
The man was quite young, around thirty, wearing a black suit without a single wrinkle. His hair was gelled and impeccably styled—clearly a successful professional with a very respectable job.
He held a beautifully wrapped bouquet of gypsophila, obviously here to pay respects to a loved one. And she was currently blocking his way. Jolyne pulled Mari to stand beside the grave.
Unexpectedly, the man didn't stop there. He walked deeper into the cemetery, finally stopping at the dilapidated grave of Noriko she had just been at.
So this man was Noriko's relative?
Jolyne poked Mari beside her. "Was there a victim named Noriko?"
"Let me see..." Mari pulled a stack of documents from her shoulder bag and began flipping through them. "There was a victim named Eguchi Noriko. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1990, her severely disfigured body was found on the beach. Both her hands had been cut off and were missing."
"The victim was 18 years old. Her parents died early, and she relied on her older brother. At the time of the incident, her brother was 20, studying at a university in Tokyo. A year after the incident, her brother moved away from Morioh. There's been no news since."
"It seems this man is Noriko's brother," Mari said thoughtfully. "But why did he suddenly return?"
Was there some unknown secret behind it? The more Mari thought about it, the more excited she became. She quickly took out a pen and notebook to record her inspiration.
Jolyne felt a wave of inexplicable exasperation. Mari was great in many ways, but when it came to writing, she became utterly obsessed. Still, Jolyne was starting to get used to it.
After waiting a while, Jolyne looked at the man preparing to leave, then at Mari, still lost in her own world. Fine, she'd go after him herself.
Jolyne strode over and blocked the man's path. Before he could react, she spoke first. "I know this is presumptuous, but I'd like to ask Mr. Eguchi about some specific details regarding your sister's case."
Mr. Eguchi did not look pleased. "I told the police everything clearly ten years ago. I have no more hope for you tax-wasting incompetents."
The case had been open for so many years. The Morioh police had done nothing but come to his door over and over again, making him relive the details of his sister's death. Eguchi had long since grown disgusted.
Recently, he'd heard from a friend about a detective agency in Tokyo. Heard that detective was a former homicide investigator with impeccable skills. Because he always entered a "sleeping mode" during deductions, the industry had nick him the "Sleeping Kogoro."
Eguchi had sought him out a few days ago and entrusted him with his sister Noriko's case. The detective had readily agreed. With this famous detective on the case, he believed the killer would soon be caught, and his sister's spirit could finally rest in peace.
Watching Eguchi's retreating back, Jolyne and Mari exchanged a glance and sighed helplessly. After a busy morning, they had gained nothing.
"I should have brought Lucky with me," Mari said, wilted like a frostbitten eggplant, all her earlier excitement gone.
Jolyne nodded silently beside her. Mari's Stand was named "[Hereditary Misfortune]". True to its name, its ability was to bring misfortune upon people, leading them to suffer until death. Lucky was the exact opposite; its Stand ability was to bring good luck.
This pair complemented each other perfectly. You probably couldn't find two more compatible Stand users in the entire world.
"Mari, you can take back what you just said," Jolyne said, looking at someone talking with a monk in the distance, a smirk unconsciously forming on her lips.
"Huh?" Mari looked confused, then followed Jolyne's gaze and saw an acquaintance who shouldn't be here—Rohan Kishibe.
Jolyne remembered him. He was one of the five who had rescued her, a companion of her father's, and a Stand user. She didn't know what his ability was yet.
However, Jolyne didn't have a good impression of him. She always felt like she had no privacy in front of this person.
On this point, she and Mari were surprisingly in agreement, judging by the look on Mari's face, which was as if she'd swallowed a fly.
Was Rohan Kishibe's Stand ability to generate feelings of disgust? Jolyne wondered. What a strange ability...
Just as she was debating whether to join the conversation now or intercept Rohan afterward, he noticed her first.
Now she had no choice but to go with the former.
Rohan was also surprised to see Jolyne here. Her father, Jotaro, and that idiot Josuke were both alive and well. She had no reason to be in a cemetery.
"Ellen? What are you doing here?" Rohan looked puzzled, simultaneously scrutinizing Mari Nishikimi, wondering when these two had become so close.
"To be honest, Mr. Kishibe," Jolyne explained, "Mari's neighbor went missing a couple of days ago." She told Rohan the whole story.
However, Rohan's attitude was extremely cold and indifferent. He seemed completely unconcerned about this vicious series of disappearances.
"Would Mr. Kishibe like to join us?" Mari invited enthusiastically. "If you joined, many problems could be easily solved. And you might even gather some good material for your manga, sensei."
"Is that so? It does sound good..." Rohan rested his chin on his hand, thinking very seriously.
"But, I refuse."
Jolyne: "..."
Mari Nishikimi: "..."
Her intuition was right. Rohan Kishibe was truly awful!
"Who is Sugimoto Reimi?" Mari read the name on the tombstone. "Is she someone you know, Mr. Kishibe?"
"Hmph, who knows someone like that!" Rohan acted as if his tail had been stepped on, denying it with clear discomfort. "Someone who died so young was forgotten long ago. Her soul has already gone to where it belongs, preparing for her next life."
Having said that, Rohan strode away, leaving Jolyne and Mari looking at each other, full of questions.
What was his problem? Why say such vicious things about someone who died young and tragically? Jolyne's opinion of Rohan dropped another notch.
"The two benefactors may not know," the head monk, who had remained silent until now, spoke. "Benefactor Reimi was a victim of a home invasion murder many years ago."
"A home invasion murder?" Jolyne's brow furrowed tightly. Another victim? Had the crime rate in Morioh been unusually high these past few years?
The old monk explained slowly, "Seventeen years ago, the perpetrator silently broke into Benefactor Reimi's home and killed all three members of her family. But before she died, Benefactor Reimi overcame her fear and opened a window, allowing the three-year-old son of a neighbor who was staying with them to escape. After that, the neighbor's family moved away from Morioh..."
Seventeen years ago... a three-year-old son... moved away... Jolyne extracted and combined these elements, forming a bold hypothesis in her heart.
"Could Mr. Kishibe be the child Reimi saved back then?" Jolyne's frown deepened. "If that's the case, why would he say such terrible things?"
The old monk closed his eyes, recited a sutra, and then said to her, "Because the incident was too traumatic for the young Kishibe. It's said the brain automatically blocks out bad memories for self-protection."
"However," he continued, "if the two benefactors wish to investigate further, this humble monk believes Benefactor Kishibe will help."
---
After leaving the cemetery, Jolyne parted ways with Mari. They agreed to visit Rohan Kishibe's house tomorrow.
As soon as she returned to the hotel, Jolyne's phone rang. She opened it to find a text from Mari Nishikimi containing the information they had organized today.
A smile touched Jolyne's lips. Typical Mari, always so efficient.
Jolyne politely typed out [Thanks] and was about to send it when she thought about Mari's attitude toward Rohan earlier. Almost without thinking, she added another line:
[Do you know what Mr. Kishibe's Stand ability is?]
She finished typing, hit send, turned off her phone, and waited for Mari's reply.
Soon, the phone rang. Jolyne immediately opened the message to check the content. After reading it, she felt completely unsettled.