Kishibe Rohan didn't wait for the girl to finish speaking before directly using Heaven's Door on her. A small white boy appeared from his pen tip—
A week ago, when he used his Stand Ability, this small white boy hadn't appeared yet, but now it had already grown.
The girl collapsed powerlessly to the ground. Kishibe Rohan gallantly caught her and turned the pages on her face—
"To directly attack a young girl, Rohan-sensei, you're really too ungentle."
"This is called striking first," Kishibe Rohan said, looking up at him. "Did you see that just now? My Stand Ability has upgraded; I no longer need to see a manga to attack directly."
"I've seen the growth Mista gained from researching his own Stand Ability, but this woman and I have quite compatible wavelengths," he said, flipping through her details.
"Uh... this woman isn't a Stand User?!"
"I told you already, I'll teach you to figure things out before using your ability."
"Her name is Sugimoto Reimi, 16 years old, address Morioh Gotai-do 3-12, it's right nearby."
"No boyfriend, measurements 82/57/84..."
"She has a mole on her left nipple," Johnson Joffrey read aloud, "Oh oh, her first period was in September when she was eleven..."
"Her first kiss was a French kiss?!" Kishibe Rohan excitedly continued, then he and Johnson Joffrey enthusiastically read about the girl's adolescent privacy. Finally, they continued to flip through several pages, only to be surprised to find—
"...Blank," Kishibe Rohan said, eyes wide with disbelief.
Then he flipped back to the end of the second page, sixth page, where it read—
"Died in 1985..."
Kishibe Rohan, startled, pushed the girl aside... then, feeling a headache coming on, he looked at a dilapidated villa ahead. "Is this person... a ghost... a spirit?" Kishibe Rohan stammered, teeth chattering.
"Calm down, Rohan."
"We've seen a ghost?!"
"Stand Users can indeed see ghosts," Johnson Joffrey mused. "Don't be afraid, call her over."
Kishibe Rohan took a deep breath, cold sweat trickling from his forehead, his whole body trembling. Everything in the alley became eerie and unpredictable, as if a draft was blowing through, raising goosebumps.
"Let's get out of here quickly, Johnson! It's all your fault, why did you come to this alley?!"
"Hey, you're a manga artist, isn't this a fantastic experience?" Johnson Joffrey tilted his head and said, then helped the girl on the ground up.
Kishibe Rohan frowned, scrambled up from the ground, and swallowed.
"Speaking of which," Johnson Joffrey continued, "I just saw that the Coca-Cola packaging in the vending machine over there was very old-fashioned."
"The place we're in, it's a ghost alley..."
"Gho... ghost alley..." Kishibe Rohan stammered, trembling.
"Woof!!!"
A loud dog bark startled Kishibe Rohan, who then jumped up and hid behind Johnson Joffrey.
"You're such a coward, little Rohan," the girl who was still lying on the ground suddenly sat up.
"Ah ah uh..." Kishibe Rohan wasn't usually timid, but the scene before him truly terrified him.
Kishibe Rohan had retreated too far, beyond Heaven's Door's range, and the effects of the Heaven's Door Ability on the girl also disappeared.
"Drip, drip."
Blood flowed from the dog's neck. A dark gash on the dog's neck, like water from a faucet. The blood on the dog seemed to flow endlessly.
"You're right. My dog, Arnold, and I are both ghosts."
"Uh…" Kishibe Rohan took several steps back, staring at Sugimoto Reimi in disbelief.
A ghost, she was actually a ghost! "The place you walked into is where I died fifteen years ago." The girl smiled very sweetly.
"Well," she said playfully, "your wavelengths are quite compatible with mine."
"This place is the boundary between yin and yang."
Before Sugimoto Reimi finished speaking, Kishibe Rohan grabbed Johnson Joffrey and sprinted away. After turning several corners, he saw the same girl with a mischievous smile.
"Who exactly are you? I don't know how to start a fight, but Heaven's Door definitely worked just now."
Kishibe Rohan was about to use his ability again, but Sugimoto Reimi quickly waved her hands and said, "Don't use that ability on me again! I'm not a vengeful spirit!"
"Don't worry, I won't harm you," Sugimoto Reimi told them, stroking her beloved dog's head.
"Are you staying here because you have an unfulfilled wish?" Johnson Joffrey had achieved his goal; he had come to find Sugimoto Reimi, as long as she gave a reason to kill Kira Yoshikage.
"Yes, I'm a type of earth-bound spirit, which is why I'm stuck here. For fifteen years, I've had to tell certain things to anyone who comes into this alley."
"Hey, hey, what are you two doing?" Kishibe Rohan said, "I don't want to hear any of it. Let us go, quickly."
Sugimoto Reimi completely ignored Kishibe Rohan's words and continued, "About fifteen years ago, my house was right here."
She raised her hand and pointed to a dilapidated villa across the street—
"This is also where I died," Sugimoto Reimi said slowly and sadly. "At that time, I was only sixteen. One night, I was sleeping in bed and heard a dripping sound. Usually, my Arnold would be licking my fingers under the bed. That night, I was a little scared, so I reached out and found that my dog was still there."
"But the water kept dripping. After that, I called for my mom and dad, but no one was there. I couldn't help it; the dripping sound scared me, so I got up and went to the kitchen…"
"And then I found… my Arnold hanging on the kitchen wall, blood all over the floor, drip, drip, drip."
Sugimoto Reimi's face was expressionless as she spoke, as if telling someone else's story. She had been wandering this alley for many years. She was even tired of the past. She no longer wanted revenge. What she was thinking now was that someone could catch this murderer—
Because whenever this murderer killed someone, that person's soul would fly through the sky, letting out a tragic wail.
She didn't want to hear that sound anymore.
"Then, I heard someone crawl out from under my bed in my room and say, 'Little sister, your hands are so smooth, so beautiful, truly lovely. I've already killed your mom and dad. Come home with me.'"
"Before I could turn around to see who he was, he slashed my back with a knife."
"And then I died."