Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Cured! Hitomi Isaji
"Hitomi! Over here!" a father's voice echoed. "Smile at the camera!"
A tiny five-year-old girl with chin-length black hair giggle and playfully ran behind the slides at the public family playground.
Years later, the same girl is now ten-years-old, participating in several activities at her school's cultural festival.
"Go have fun at the festival, Hitomi!" her father said.
"I will!" she replied.
Years passed again. A young teenager around fifteen-years-old is beaming with pride in front of her school gate.
"Congratulations, Hitomi! You passed your exams!" her unseen father was thrilled. "This calls for a celebration!"
"Can we have a quiet party instead?" Hitomi asked.
"Hitomi! ... Hitomi... HITOMI...!"
"Papa, I'm up now! You're so loud...!" Hitomi Isaji mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
She sat up in the hospital bed which she had been sleeping all night. She pouted at her father, an Italian man with dark brown hair and a trimmed mustache. His eyes and faces are filled with worry; he had just arrived when he heard his daughter has been hospitalized with a deadly fever.
"You... you're awake..." Mr. Isaji said quietly. Then he broke down into loud sobs much to Hitomi's embarrassment. "Thank god! I thought you would never open your eyes!!"
"Papa, I'm alright!" Hitomi tried to calm him down. "Please, stop crying!"
November 1988. In another month, the year would be over. The animated film Akira was released in theaters, and NASA resumed the Space Shuttle program after more than two years after the Challenger disaster. Hitomi Isaji spends her days attending high school and checking into hospitals for serious health problems. It was a normal year for her... until she met a strange boy.
At a hospital where Hitomi was currently staying, her father and a doctor are having a private conversation in a hallway.
"Hitomi Isaji, born on March 18 and is seventeen-years-old," the doctor reads out from a patient's file. "Born prematurely exactly ten months and ten days after the birth of her older sister. Height is one hundred and forty-five centimeters, and weight is thirty-three kilograms. Her mother is Japanese and she's married to an Italian man... According to her medical records, she has health issues since she was a child and had been admitted to clinics multiple times for the last five years."
"Yeah, that's about right," Mr. Isaji nodded. He looked exhausted like he hadn't slept for hours. "Hitomi has a weak constitution so she gets tired and sick very easily. It gets worse in the winter. I just arrived home from my trip an hour ago... My wife had called me that Hitomi was in the hospital."
"I see," the doctor said. "It says here your daughter's other last name is..."
"Zeppeli," Mr. Isaji said. "My actual name is Sonny Zeppeli, but I took my wife's last name so I can work here in Japan."
"Ah, I see."
"Tell me, doctor... Exactly how much time does my daughter has left to live?!" Mr. Isaji suddenly asked in a panic. Then he grabbed the front of the doctor's coat. "No, I don't want to hear it! If you tell me she has another month to live, I'll sue the hospital!"
"H-Hold on! There's nothing wrong with her now!" the doctor protested. "According to your wife, your daughter had caught the flu and she was bedridden for ten days. Yesterday, your daughter decided she was well enough to go back to school, but the infection had developed into pneumonia which caused her collapse in the middle of the streets. When she was brought it, it took a turn for the worse... She was in an unstable state and I've tried my best to help her. I told your wife to prepare for the worst. But what happened after that... Well, something strange happened..."
Mr. Isaji didn't know what the doctor was talking about but when he was led to Hitomi's room, he found his daughter sitting up and eating breakfast with a hearty appetite. Pink color returned to her pale cheeks. Her hair remained the same length from childhood, with an addition of her favorite ribbon patterned with a row of tessellated triangles. She appears like an average, though rather short, Japanese girl but there are subtle facial features from her Italian heritage.
"Guess what, Hitomi? You’ll be going home soon," the doctor announced.
"How are you feeling, Patatina?" Mr. Isaji asked gently. 'Patatina' is his favorite affectionate nickname for his daughter.
"I'm fine, Papa. I'm sorry for worrying you..." Hitomi apologized, lowering her head. "I should have stayed home and waited for the flu to end. I was so stubborn."
"It's okay, sweetie," Mr. Isaji smiled and held her hand. He then planted a big kiss on her forehead.
"What matters is that you made a recovery," the doctor told her. "Not only that, but your health has been improved too."
Hitomi became oddly silent and shifted her eyes.
"I... I wouldn't say I was the one who did all this," she said. "Someone healed me, Papa. There was a nurse with purple hair who came into my room last night. I didn't see what she looked like, but all I know is that when she touched my head, my fever disappeared."
"A nurse healed you?" Mr. Isaji asked.
"I asked the staff, but no one has seen a nurse of that description before," the doctor said. "Sir, your daughter might have suffered from a wild dream while she was sick. I've seen it happen before."
"But, it wasn't a dream...!" Hitomi protested.
However, her father patted her head.
"It's okay, you're just feeling a bit tired," he said. "I'll go get your stuff ready so we can go home."
Hitomi gave up convincing him and finished her meal in silence. She knows she's seen the mysterious nurse standing by her bed last night. However, the nurse had not left at all...
From the corner of her eye, Hitomi could see the shape of the nurse behind her. The nurse isn't doing anything but continues to follow and watch over Hitomi like some guardian; yet, her appearance remains unsettling.
Papa could not see her. Neither could the doctor, Hitomi thought. I don't know why I'm the only one who can... Is she some kind of spirit and I'm being haunted?
*&*&*
When Hitomi was discharged from the hospital, she saw that it was too late to attend classes. Her father dropped her at their home before he went to his job as a shoe salesman. She still couldn't shake the feeling of being haunted so Hitomi decided to research ghosts. The family library has a few books that talk about supernatural phenomena but there was nothing she could find that describes the nature of the ghost nurse.
Hitomi, frustrated by lack of answers, gave up. She checked to see if the ghost nurse is still around, but she was gone.
"Finally... she left me alone," Hitomi exhaled. She's so creepy.
As she puts away the books, her eyes caught a glimpse of another book containing the Zeppeli Family tree and history. When she was younger, she wanted to read the book and her father indulged her a little. Hitomi was excited to learn that her ancestors were scholars and explorers. When she started asking questions about her grandparents and other relatives, Mr. Isaji put an end to that and asked her not to read the book again. Hitomi eventually lost interest and forgot about the book's existence for years...
Hitomi returned to her room and she plopped down on her bed. She lazily glanced around her bedroom, which contained cream-colored walls, a childhood collection of Hello Kitty, and the latest albums of Seiko Matsuda and Cyndi Lauper. She's relieved to be home at last. For two weeks, she could not even move or get out of bed because of the flu. When she had that high fever and severe chest pain, she seriously thought she was going to die...
Her hand reached for the radio sitting on top of a small table near the bed; it was given to her by her mother as a get-well gift. It was an old model from the 1950s, but it stills plays music perfectly. An interesting thing about this radio is that her mother recently bought it the day before the radio store it came from exploded from mysterious causes. Hitomi turned on the radio and the news came on.
"... when the mysterious explosion destroyed the Steel Radio & Electronics building two nights ago. The police still found no survivors... In addition to today's grim news, six young teenagers have gone missing," a reporter announced."The families begged the public for help in finding their children. Here are the names of the missing youths: Hiro Kageyama... Kana Arihara... Maon Kinoshita... Nana Mizuno... Masami Otomine... and Eizo Tabasaki... They are between sixteen and seventeen years of age. If you have any information on these teenagers, please call the authorities..."
There have been so many strange incidents in this town lately, Hitomi thought, listening to the news. Gruesome accidents and people disappearing... Not even the police could explain what was happening... I hope this year ends soon, it's full of so much misfortune...
She then tuned in to her favorite station on the radio. The song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" filled the room. After two weeks of being bedridden with illness, Hitomi could finally relax.
The door to her bedroom opened without warning. An older girl poked her head into the doorway. It was her older sister Shoko, a pretty and happy-go-lucky girl.
"Hiii~tomiiii~, there you are!" Shoko announced.
"Shoko, you're home already?" Hitomi asked. "Wow, I didn't realize time flew fast... Isn't it today your turn to clean up your classroom?"
"Nah, that's tomorrow," Shoko replied. She walked over and turned off Hitomi's radio without asking her sister's permission. "Guess what? I have friends over and I want you to hang out with us."
"Oh..." Hitomi froze, feeling extremely shy. "They're all seniors, right? I don't know them so well..."
"Come oooo~n," Shoko playfully pinched her cheek. "I want everyone to meet my cute baby sister. ... And I need someone to bring refreshments."
"I knew it," Hitomi sighed. "Mamma mia, I'll bring some juice and snacks..."
"Thaaa~anks, you're the best sister!"
"I'm your only sister."
Maybe I'll stay for a while, but after that, I have to go back and study.
After Shoko left, Hitomi heads over to the kitchen and fills five glass cups full of fresh orange juice. She grabbed a few sweets her mother had baked. Placing them all on a tray, she carried the refreshments to her sister's room. The room is full of four teenage schoolgirls who are discussing boys and romance. None of them noticed Hitomi's presence yet.
"JoJo didn't come to school yesterday and he didn't come today either!" one of the girls whined. "Where did he gooo~?"
"It's been half a day, but it feels like he's been gone for fifty years!" another girl agreed.
"Ooh, I hope JoJo comes back to school soon. He's sooo... handsome," Shoko sighed dreamily. "My dream us to marry JoJo and do dirty things to him. I want him to spit at me."
Hitomi made a huge gagging noise which got everyone to turn their eyes toward her.
"... I brought juice and snacks," she shyly announced as she set the tray on her sister's table. "Shoko, if Papa ever hears you talking like that, he'll hit the roof."
"Hey, I'm just a girl with simple needs," Shoko shrugged.
She went back talking to her friends while Hitomi sat closer to the door so she would make a quick getaway. She avoided eye contact with anyone and slowly sipped her juice.
"Of course," Shoko continues, "there are some cuter guys in school, but they're nowhere as cool as JoJo. If I was JoJo's girlfriend, all those stuck-up girls from his fan club will be writhing in jealousy."
"No, I wanna be JoJo's girlfriend!" The first girl protested. "I have bigger breasts!"
"Ha! Looks aren't everything! I can speak three different languages!"
"Can you imagine what would it be like to hold JoJo's hand?" a second girl giggled.
The senior girls all squealed so loud and high-pitched, Hitomi thought they were cats on heat.
"That reminds me! I have to show you my ultimate treasure!" Shoko said.
She goes to her closet and pulls out a shoebox covered in heart and kitten doodles. She opens the box and shows everyone a few various items that were inside: a face towel, an old chewed up gum and a cigarette stub.
"I'm starting a shrine devoted to JoJo," Shoko told them. "He threw away a lot of this stuff, but I swiped them when he wasn't looking. He used this towel to wipe his face during P.E... the cigarette stub when he was done smoking... and he was chewing on this gum during his lunch break. I even chew on it several times so I can taste his saliva."
"Eeeeh, Shoko, you're so bad!!" her friends shrieked and laughed.
Hitomi wanted to crawl into a hole and die; all these creepy and shallow conversations over a boy is driving her nuts. And who the hell is JoJo?
One of the girls then changed the subject.
"I hear this one girl from our school visited this one lady fortune-teller who gave her a love fortune. And then the following day, she got together with a boy she had a crush on," she told them.
"Is that really true?" Shoko asked. She leaned in with curiosity.
"No, it's true!" Another girl spoke up. "I even met the fortune-teller she mentioned! She's been hanging around in that game center where the delinquents go to. She's a foreigner but her Japanese is pretty good. Her name is Rainbow, I believe..."
"We should visit this Rainbow and get our love fortunes told!"
Hitomi listened to all this quietly, keeping her eyes on her juice.
"The other day, I got, like, confessed to again!" the first girl began talking. "But he, like wasn't my type... So I, like, totally turned him down~!"
She giggled before continuing.
"And he, like kept on begging. So like, then I told him 'Stay away from me, you gross stalker!' And he totally cried! I'm, like, so bad~"
While the other girls cracked jokes at what a terrible person she is, Hitomi is the only one staring coldly at her.
I really hate this person, she fumed.
"Your sister doesn't talk a lot, does she?" A girl whispered to Shoko.
"She's always like this, ever since she was a little kid," Shoko whispered back. "She's nervous around people, so she doesn't have many friends. That's why I invited her to hang out with us. I thought it could help her socialize."
"Gotcha." The girl who spoke to Shoko turned to Hitomi. "Say, Hitomi. Got anything interesting to share with us?"
This took Hitomi off-guard. "I d-don't know... what?" she stammered.
"Like, what type of boy do you like--"
"Excuse me, we heard that you were sick for ten days and you almost died," another girl interrupted. "And Shoko told us that you miraculously recovered this morning. How did that happen?"
"If I told you that it was a ghost who cured me, would you believe me?" Hitomi asked.
Everyone fell silent, staring at her in confusion. Hitomi felt ridiculous speaking about her secret now. However, Shoko became concerned.
"A ghost? Did you see what it looks like?" she asked.
"It looked like a nurse," Hitomi explained slowly. "Last night, she touched my head and I was completely healed by morning."
"... Wow, I don't mean to be rude," the first girl states, "but if that was your best attempt to tell a scary story, you could do better."
Hitomi blushed with anger. She didn't realize she was gripping the glass cup too hard when it shattered in her hand, cutting into her skin. Orange juice spilled to the floor and everyone saw blood dripping from Hitomi's hand.
"EEEEEEK, HITOMI!!" Shoko screamed in horror. The other girls are screaming too.
"Oh my god! She's bleeding!"
"Get the bandages! Where are the bandages?!"
Shoko pulled open a drawer and grabbed the first-aid kit.
"N-no!" Hitomi cried, sweating from the pain. "My hand... Look at my hand!"
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the wounds in her hand closing until the skin became smooth again.
"M-my wounds... they've healed completely..." Hitomi gasped in awe. She examined her hand carefully. There were no traces of cuts from the broken glass shards. What is happening to me?!
Stand: ???
Stand User: Hitomi Isaji
The following day, Hitomi returned to school. Her classmates barely acknowledged her return from her ten-day absence. She knows they all got used to her skipping classes due to health issues.
Hitomi tried to listen to the lessons, but she was preoccupied with the incident that happened yesterday. Her sister has forgotten about her wounds magically healing and she assumed Hitomi was lucky not to get cut from the broken glass.
There's only one conclusion, Hitomi pondered. That ghost nurse not only cured me, but she also gave me some sort of special ability. I tested it a few times by pricking my finger with a sewing needle... Then I cut a bit of my skin with a razor... I even forced myself to become sick by eating rat poison while my mom wasn't looking... No matter what I did, I'm always healed in seconds.
She clasped her hands together and scrunched her eyebrows together.
I need to find out why I have this... power, she continued thinking. And where did that nurse come from? The books from the school library don't have any answers too... I guess there's only one place to go...
School finally ended for the day, but Hitomi waited longer for her sister to finish her cleaning duty.
"You don't have to wait for me," Shoko commented as she and Hitomi left the school together. "You can walk home by yourself, and you're not in any clubs."
"I know, but I want to go visit the fortune-teller you were talking about yesterday with your friends," Hitomi said.
Shoko raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "I never thought you'd be actually interested in those kinds of stuff."
"Well... I was thinking of getting a love fortune," Hitomi lied. "But I don't know where the game center is, so can you show me the way?"
"... Am I hearing things? YOU want a love fortune?" Shoko raised an eyebrow but she was grinning. "I have a normal sister after all!"
"Hmph, if your definition of 'normal' means making a creepy shrine for a boy you like," Hitomi joked.
*&*&*
The Isaji sisters did find the game center where the fortune-teller is staying. It was small and packed with scary-looking male delinquents from different schools. The delinquents talked loudly over the arcade games. Hitomi broke out in cold sweat and she grabbed her sister's hand.
"I changed my mind. This is a bad time to come here..." Hitomi whispered to her nervously. "Let's come back later."
"Hang on, let's not leave yet," Shoko said. She walked up to the manager, who was busy sorting out prizes in his cabinet. "Excuse me, I heard we can get our fortunes here."
The manager motioned his head towards the corner of the room. Hitomi saw a woman sitting at a small table; she is dressed in purple robes with a hood over her head. She has a crystal ball and a small deck of cards placed in front of her.
"See that woman?" the manager said. "She's a fortune-teller from out of the country. I don't allow stuff like that here but she said she'd pay me. So I'm letting her do it here." He leaned closer to Hitomi and Shoko so he could speak in a low voice. "She may look cute, but watch out! I saw her knock the daylights out of a couple of delinquents a while ago."
"Yikes, she sounds tough," Hitomi gulped.
"We'll be on our best behavior," Shoko said.
She dragged Hitomi over to the fortune-teller's table. The woman looked up when she saw she has customers.
"My name is Rainbow. I'm a traveling fortune-teller," she announced herself in a soft, but bored tone. "I've come from far away places like India and Egypt. I can read your past, present, and future in your palms. Would you like me to tell your fortune? I'm still in training, so I'll do your first reading free of charge... How about it?"
"This is great, Hitomi!" Shoko said. "We can get our fortunes and we don't have to pay for it! I'll go first!"
Before Hitomi could tell her to slow down, her sister immediately sat down on the chair across from Rainbow.
"Oh, my... You're cursed," Rainbow said. "You've been having a terrible stream of bad luck. Next..."
"W-wait! That's it?! How is that a fortune?" retorted Shoko. "But you haven't read my palms yet!"
"No need to, I can already see it on your face. Next..."
"Oh no, you don't! I want my fortune now!" Shoko insisted.
"Next!"
"Fine!" Shoko lost her patience and she stands up. "Let's get out of here, Hitomi!"
"Hold it!" Rainbow suddenly shouted. She closed her eyes. She touches her head and her eyebrows clenched together as though she was in deep concentration. A low, rattling sound escaped her throat. "Ohhh... the spirits... I feel spirits arriving..."
"Did you say... spirits?" Shoko asked, now spooked.
"They're here... to give you some words of guidance..." Rainbow moaned in a dramatic tone. "No! I can feel their presence fading...!"
"Wait! I have two thousand yen here!" Shoko cried and hurried back to her seat. She pulled out her purse.
Hitomi realized what is happening. Before she could stop her sister, the money was already placed in Rainbow's eager outstretched hand.
The deep groaning and rattling noises continued as Rainbow began moving her hands all over her crystal ball. She chanted in a strange language Hitomi couldn't understand.
"Ichfindeeinepersonmitubernaturlichemact... Herausundermordeihn... I see... a boy in your future," Rainbow muttered, keeping her eyes closed.
"A boy?" Shoko grinned, leaning forward. "What does he look like? Is he tall, does he wear a cap, and has chains on his uniform?"
Th-that's rather specific for details, Hitomi thought, her sweat dropping.
"Oh, he's handsome, I can tell you that," Rainbow told Shoko. "He'll get closer to you... But he has darkness in him... Beware of the color green."
Shoko's eyes blinked.
"But what about JoJo?!" she lost her patience again. "I want to know if I can win his heart?!"
"Oh, you want a love fortune? Well, why didn't you say so..." Rainbow said, holding out her again. "Another thousand, please."
Shoko gave her cash again. Rainbow moaned and concentrated.
"You're in luck, you'll get your first kiss from him..." she speaks again.
"Yesss!" Shoko squealed happily.
"... But his heart is destined for another."
"Yes--wait, what?"
Rainbow opened her eyes and she stared at Shoko. She looked almost sympathetic.
"The spirits advise you to drop the guy... and watch your temper," she added. "You should try to calm down and take it easy."
Shoko stared blankly at her. She got up from the seat and walked away to check out the games instead. Hitomi could hear her muttering angry words. Rainbow noticed Hitomi's reluctant expression.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I was hoping you could help me with a problem I have," Hitomi answered. "But now that I met you, I think this is a scam to rip people off... I suppose you might have real psychic powers. I guess I'm just skeptical..."
Rainbow's eyes glared at Hitomi from under the hood.
"Are you saying that I'm lying about my power?" she demanded.
"... Yes, I am," Hitomi replied.
All of a sudden, Rainbow grabbed Hitomi's hand and pulled her. Hitomi tried to scream but Rainbow was already examining her palm.
"An unexpected force in the form of a spirit has bounded to you recently... One that has saved you from a near-death experience," Rainbow revealed in a sinister voice. "You came from a powerful bloodline from your father's side... I can see your destiny, which is part of your family legacy!"
"Hold on, you can see all that?" Hitomi asked, now terrified. "And what about my family legacy?"
Rainbow released Hitomi's hand and stood up.
"Fortune reading is over, it's happy hour time at the sushi bar down the street," she said casually. "Come again tomorrow."
"Wait! Come back!" Hitomi yelled. "You haven't explained everything yet!"
But Rainbow already left through the back door.
Damn it, what the heck is wrong with her? Hitomi fumed mentally. She acts like a fraud, but what she said about my spirit seems legit... And what does she mean I come from a powerful bloodline? My dad is a normal man...
She heard a loud crash and someone yelling. She spun her head around and saw Shoko picking a fight with a random delinquent.
"You spilled soda on my skirt, you fucking asshole!!" Shoko shouted."Do you treat ladies the same way you treat your mother?!"
She kicked the delinquent in the face with such amazing strength that he fell to the floor. Hitomi was horrified; she knows her sister never behaves like this. She looked closer and saw Shoko's eyes are full of red. Something is seriously wrong.
"She's gone berserk..." Hitomi gasped.
Shoko began kicking the delinquent's sides despite him being down and helpless. The other delinquents backed away from her. They were too frightened to intervene.
"ASSHOLE! ASSHOLE! ASSHOLE!" she screamed all over.
The poor delinquent began spitting out blood and the sounds of broken bones cracking are heard.
"Shoko! Stop it!"
Hitomi ran over and grabbed her sister. She reached back her hand and slapped her sister across the face. Shoko blinked and she slowly realized what happened.
"KYAAAAAH! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" she shrieked. She bowed in front of the hurt delinquent on the floor. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
While her sister is busy apologizing, Hitomi noticed purplish smoke leaving her body. The smoke then took on the form of a humanoid being with its head resembling a ram. Hitomi saw nobody else noticed this spirit. The spirit then flew off in the direction where Rainbow had left.
That thing... what is that? Hitomi thought. She couldn't be what she just saw. It's almost the same as mine...!
Stand: Bent Out of Shape
Stand User: Rainbow
Shoko could not remember her attacking the delinquent. It was as though she was put into trance-like hypnosis. She soon forgot all about it since she was excited about her fortune. She was giddy all afternoon after the sisters left the game center.
"I'm going to have my first kiss with JoJo~!" Shoko giggled. "The other girls will be so jealous~!"
It is now evening, close to bedtime. Shoko and Hitomi are brushing their teeth in the bathroom of their home. A telephone is heard ringing on the telephone and Mr. Isaji went to answer it.
"I hope my breath is fresh when that day happens," she sighed. "Anyway, isn't there supposed to be an upcoming school trip for your class?"
"Yeah, to Okinawa," Hitomi replied.
"Are you even healthy enough to attend the trip?" Shoko asked, now looking concerned. "You just left the hospital. Dad is still worried that you might drop and get sick again."
"I don't know... In the last couple of days, I didn't feel that weak and tired like I was last month."
"When I told my classmates before that it was a miracle that you recovered from pneumonia so easily, it really IS a miracle..."
"It's too bizarre to be a miracle." Hitomi rinsed her face with cold water.
After she was done, Hitomi was on her way to her room when she heard her father speaking fast and angrily in his native Italian on the phone. Even his hands are moving wildly.
"Mia figlia non è più malata, quindi non ho bisogno dei tuoi soldi!!" he yelled. He paused to listen for a moment, before yelling again. "Non portare nostra mamma in questo!"
Papa's probably talking to one of our uncles, Hitomi sighed, awkwardly. When he's not crying and being sensitive, he gets really passionate if he gets angry or protective... I guess that's why Shoko hasn't found a boyfriend yet.
Several minutes later, Hitomi is reading the Zeppeli Family tree book from the family library when her father entered her room. He swept her off her feet and kissed her face.
"Papa, don't!" Hitomi giggled. "I'm seventeen now!"
"You're a lady now, but you'll always be my patatina," Mr. Isaji smiled happily. He became a little concerned. "How do you feel? Are you tired and weak?"
Hitomi touched her forehead. "Nope."
"That's good to hear!" Mr. Isaji said. As he set his daughter down, he noticed the book she was reading and he took it from her. "Hitomi, why are you reading this?"
"I just wanted to know more about my Italian relatives," Hitomi explained. "We haven't visited Italy since I was a little girl."
"And you already know the reason, so there's no need to get know about my family. And you already know about the stories of my... father."
Hitomi nodded slowly.
"Good. Now... I'll just find somewhere else to put this book."
"But didn't Grandfather died a long time ago? Isn't it okay to go back home now that he's gone?"
"… I do miss my old home, but..." Mr. Isaji sighed and rubbed his neck. "There's just too much bad blood... in the Zeppeli family right now..."
*&*&*
Hitomi could not sleep that night. She was plagued with dreams of Rainbow's strange fortune-telling, the ghost nurse, and six shadowy figures whose faces she cannot see... She heard a voice calling out to her from the darkness.
"It seems that a new destiny is beginning... That would be your destiny... You nameless one, Apostle of Fate... You are about to walk a path full of pain and suffering.
"... However, it is necessary that you continue to fight. Please accept this small offering... Your very own Stand. I hope you use it well..."
A powerful pain struck her throat which caused Hitomi to wake up.
It was now morning, but it was still too early. Hitomi grabbed her throat but there was nothing there. She felt like someone had stabbed her neck with a sharp object. For some unknown reason, she thought she heard that voice somewhere.
"Was I just dreaming?" she panted. "Even for a dream, that was strange..."
Then out of nowhere, the voice from her dream spoke up. It came from somewhere inside her room.
"I'm sorry to say, but that was no dream."
"Who said that?!" Hitomi looked around for the source of the voice. "Where are you?"
"I'm right over here."
To Hitomi's shock, it was the radio speaking to her!
<-- To be continued.