—Huh?
"You! What are you suddenly saying..."
Inori's face went scarlet. She whipped her head away, eyes darting everywhere, earlobes burning so hot they might bleed.
Was that a confession? What was this girl even thinking? Had she forgotten their situation—two souls fused into one body? What was the point of saying something like that? Self-love?
And yet—what was wrong with her? Why was she embarrassed?! She was the sovereign who stood at the apex!
She was mortified and furious in equal measure. Hearing someone say they wanted to possess her crossed a line she guarded fiercely.
Inori couldn't explain the mechanism, but seeing Mana come at her like this was like being confessed to by a girl who looked exactly like her. Her body was reacting... strangely. Part of her even wanted to try saying yes, just to see what would happen.
—No, no, no! This body belongs to me, Inori! Mana's obviously trying to breach my psychological defenses and seize control! That's definitely what this is. I will not fall for it! Honeypot tactics? Pathetic, pathetic!
The pride of the strong hauled her back to her senses. No matter what Mana said today, Inori would not take the bait. She had to refuse. Decisively.
"Hehe, it's nothing. I just wanted to tell you."
Mana Ouma giggled.
She understood the principle of patience. Inori's reaction told her everything she needed to know about the girl's reservations.
Winning over a woman more headstrong than herself wasn't going to be easy. But that was precisely what would make the conquest so satisfying.
"Alright, Little Inori, go on back."
"The exchange in the soul space only takes an instant in the real world, but linger too long and you might let your guard down~ Stay sharp! The person you're about to face managed to pin down Jotaro Kujo!"
"I know."
Inori shook her head to clear the noise. Honestly, she should stop coming here in person. Communicating through their mental link was safer. Otherwise, who knew what Mana would try next.
...
...
While Inori was being teased by Mana, her three teammates were still suffering.
Jotaro Kujo had killed Tamaki Damo, but it had taken everything he had. He could only drag his battered body toward Josuke.
This brave, stubborn boy had single-handedly turned the tide. Without him, the outcome was something Jotaro didn't want to imagine. Fighting a Stand battle without proper intelligence really was suicidally reckless.
"Mr. Jotaro, go save Big Sis."
Josuke lay on the floor, murmuring weakly. His pupils were unfocused, his concentration gone. The three straws still embedded in his neck continued to siphon blood outward.
Jotaro pulled the straws out immediately and tore a strip of ruined fabric to bind the wounds, speaking calmly as he worked.
"Inori? You were attacked outside too?"
"Yeah... Big Sis got ambushed... go save her, Mr. Jotaro... please."
"Damn it, Crazy Diamond... I can't bring it out..."
He looked like an old man on a hospital bed, moments from his last breath. He was still conscious, but only because sheer willpower was propping him up—the promise he had made. Summoning a Stand required focus and concentration, and Josuke had neither. Even if he could force Crazy Diamond out, the healing would be nowhere near precise enough. There was a real chance he'd "restore" Jotaro into something unrecognizable.
Was there really nothing they could do? They were so close to the finish line. Josuke's consciousness was dissolving at the edges. Despair spread through his brain like a virus. He was furious with himself. He'd given everything, but it still wasn't enough.
"What on earth happened to you three?"
A girl's startled cry rang out as someone burst into the room.
Josuke heard Inori's voice and was certain he was hallucinating from blood loss. Still, the sound pulled back the breath he'd been about to let go.
"Inori?"
Jotaro looked up.
The girl came rushing in, windswept and dusty but completely unharmed. Jotaro was puzzled. If she could handle her opponents that easily, why had she sent Josuke back alone?
"Josuke... oh god, these injuries!"
She saw the volume of blood—enough to soak clean through the tatami—and clapped a hand over her mouth in horror. Josuke Higashikata was on the verge of death. There was no time to think about anything else. She went straight to him and knelt down, locking eyes with him.
"Big Sis... I... I did it."
"Don't talk. Save your strength. Don't you dare close your eyes."
He was trying to tell her something. Inori cut him off.
She knelt and cradled Josuke's heavy head in both hands, lifting him so his fading eyes met hers.
The almighty Crazy Diamond could save anything except its own user. But Everlasting Crown's ability to extract another person's Stand could fill that one fatal gap.
Everlasting Crown activated. Inori successfully summoned the upgraded King Crimson—the towering red-and-black warrior raised its right hand, and the holy sigils that once represented the power of the Void began pulsing with silver-white light. Simultaneously, a glowing hollow opened in Josuke's chest.
"That Stand... it's the one from back then..."
Jotaro stared from behind, dumbstruck.
It hit him now—the very first time he'd laid eyes on Inori, she had been using this exact method to extract a Stand from someone's body. And the Stand she was wielding wasn't King Crimson.
—How? How does she have two completely different Stands?
This Stand that could steal abilities looked even more imposing than her King Crimson. Jotaro couldn't make sense of it. Every female Stand user he'd encountered tended to have humanoid Stands with some degree of feminine quality. But this girl—both of her Stands were full-on macho brawler types.
—Strange. But a Stand is born from the user's psyche. Maybe it has something to do with her bloodline.
What happened next was even more bizarre. Inori's second Stand reached into the glowing void in Josuke's chest and pulled. Crazy Diamond was wrenched out bodily, and Josuke lost consciousness on the spot.
"Heal him! Crazy Diamond!"
Inori was frantic, but the successful extraction meant Josuke was still alive. As long as he was still breathing, Crazy Diamond could restore him to full health.
Crazy Diamond accepted Inori's command. It nodded, then activated its power on its own original user. Golden warmth enveloped Josuke's battered body. The blood vanished. The wounds sealed. His torn clothes mended. Even his battle-ruined pompadour snapped back to its original shape.
"Huh? I'm... healed?"
Josuke opened his eyes. He looked down at his restored body in a daze.
"Crazy Diamond? Wait—how did you end up over there with Big Sis?!"
"Hold on—my body—how did you heal me?"
He blurted it all out in rapid succession.
"I took your Stand and used it to heal you."
Inori gave a small smile.
"I don't—I don't understand how, but... ahhh, what is this feeling?! This is amazing!"
The whiplash from certain death to perfect health hit him like a freight train. The boy was laughing and crying at the same time, tears and snot streaming down his face. He'd already given up hope, wanting only to do everything he could to rescue Inori. And then—just like that—she came back safe, and he didn't have to die either. The emotional rollercoaster sent Josuke leaping to his feet like an idiot, bawling his eyes out.
—I'm alive! I'm not dead!
"It's so good to be alive!"
...