Work Text:
2000.1.7, 09:29 GMT
スコットランドのネス湖 (SUKOTTORANDO NO NESU-KO)
"Hey, Jōtarō-san?" Jōsuke asked.
The marine biologist glanced up at him. "Hm?"
"Do you think we're looking for the Loch Ness Monster?"
Jōtarō sighed. "I honestly don't know at this point," he responded. "The international scientific community doubts its existence, but that's pretty much everyone except the Speedwagon Foundation."
"So, we're going monster hunting."
"I didn't say that."
"But, still, it would be pretty cool if we did find Nessie-san, wouldn't it be, Jōtarō-san?"
"I guess it would be. But that's not what we're here for."
What they were actually at Loch Ness for was to explore some unexplained readings recorded by local SPW researchers. Jōtarō had stopped by Morioh earlier that week and asked Jōsuke to come to Scotland with him, saying that it would be good to a) get some hands-on experience for his biology class, and b) to get a look at part of what the Speedwagon Foundation does on a day-to-day basis. Jōsuke had been very excited, though it had taken a few tries to convince his mother to let him go.
"Since it's winter break from school, I'll allow it," Higashikata Tomoko eventually acquiesced. "Just make sure you get something educational out of the trip."
Jōsuke and Jōtarō had arrived in Scotland the previous night, staying at a hotel in Inverness. They'd driven the half-hour distance to the loch earlier that morning, arriving at the body of water around 09:25 local time. Currently, the two were walking over to a marina, where they would then head out on Loch Ness to research the strange readings.
At least, Jōsuke had thought that was the plan.
"You know how to drive a motorboat, right?" Jōtarō asked.
"Hai," Jōsuke confirmed, having learned from various trips on the Pacific Ocean with his mother and late grandfather.
"Great," Jōtarō said approvingly, handing him a sheet of paper with some coordinates on it. "I'm going to need you to head out onto the loch and use the sonar equipment to ping for anything that might seem suspicious. My guess is that we're probably just dealing with some large marine life, but we can't afford to be complacent."
"That's fair," Jōsuke acknowledged, accepting it. "What about you?"
Jōtarō gestured to the boat house. "I'm gonna stay in here and keep an eye on your sonar signals," he explained. "If anything seems off at all, and I mean anything, get your ass back to land as quickly as possible."
"Understood."
The two parted ways. Jōsuke sighed, making his way to the boat. "At least he's not having me handle any reptiles." He was slowly getting better with being around turtles, but he still wasn't too keen about coming into contact with any of them.
And Loch Ness is full of eels…
He was just glad that he would be staying above water.
Jōsuke drove the boat out into the loch, parking at the coordinates Jōtarō had given to him in advance.
"All right," he said, turning on the sonar equipment. "This is where Jōtarō-san said those readings would be."
One minute passed. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Two minutes. Same thing.
Three--
A large wake suddenly rocked the boat, causing the watercraft to tilt steeply to starboard before righting itself after a couple of seconds.
"NANI?!" Jōsuke shrieked, alarmed.
I'm pretty sure I'm the only person out here...
Jōsuke blinked. A large aquatic animal with a long neck had parked itself next to the boat--
No. Not an animal.
A Stand.
One that looked suspiciously like the stuff of legend.
Nessie-san.
The Loch Ness Monster is a Stand.
The entity's neck stretched upwards several metres, and her body was large and long, with green-and-brown scales. Nessie looked down at Jōsuke with an expression that seemed both playful and hungry, sending a wave of dread down the teenager's spine.
He gulped. I have a bad feeling about this.
Jōsuke summoned Crazy Diamond, sending a barrage of fists Nessie's way as the Stand's tail made its way towards the boat. This proved largely ineffective, as the creature was several times his size.
Fortunately for him, the tail missed.
"Kuso," the pompadoured teenager hissed, realising that this was a no-win situation. "I have to get out of here."
Jōsuke started the boat, flooring the vehicle as fast as he could go. So what if he produced a wake behind him that the locals might find annoying? His own survival was more important at the moment.
A low, whale-like noise sounded from directly behind him, and Jōsuke realised with a jolt that Nessie was chasing him.
And he couldn't go any faster.
Nessie, on the other hand, was gaining more and more speed.
"Can't you just leave me alone?!" Jōsuke snapped. "I'm trying to get out of your hair!"
If Nessie understood him, she definitely seemed to be ignoring him, based on how something made impact with the watercraft a few seconds later. Jōsuke yelped in shock, looking over his shoulder to find that the Stand had headbutted the boat.
The shore was only about 100 metres away now.
"Come on," he told himself. "I have to keep going."
Crazy Diamond let out another barrage of fists as the boat sped towards the marina, but Jōsuke was too focused on what was in front of him to focus on the monster pursuing him.
75 metres…
50 metres…
25 metres…
10 met--
Jōsuke screamed as Nessie picked up the boat in her jaws, shaking it like a chew toy. Whiplash kicked in, and he was pretty sure he was going to be sick if this kept up for much longer.
Nessie gave the boat one particularly strong fling, and Jōsuke went flying into the rocky marina. He collided with the rocks after a couple of seconds, Crazy Diamond flickering out of existence as the impact dazed him.
A lot of things hurt.
Quite a few things burned and stung.
Jōsuke looked up from where he had landed on the rocks, seeing Nessie playing with his now-destroyed motorboat. The Stand seemed to be enjoying herself, tossing the watercraft in the air with her jaws and flipping over onto her back to paw at it with her flippers like a cat playing with a ball of string.
"That's...cute, I guess," Jōsuke conceded, groaning as pain made itself known when he stood. "I hope Jōtarō-san won't be too mad at me about the boat."
The sonar equipment is probably another story.
But I can worry about that later.
The student checked himself over, noticing that his clothes were ripped in various places, and that he was bleeding from at least one large cut on his arm. He brought a hand up to his face, hand coming away bloody from a scrape on his right cheek as well. Judging from how much pain he was in, Jōsuke figured he had quite a few bruises in various places, but nothing felt as though it was sprained or broken.
I guess I got lucky this time around.
This was one of those times where he found it really annoying that he couldn't use Crazy Diamond to heal himself.
There was also one major annoyance that was present in addition to his injuries: his pompadour was ruined. Long hair made itself at home in front of Jōsuke's face, crumpled from the aftereffects of being forcibly ripped out of its signature style.
"Chikushou," the teenager hissed, momentarily forgetting about his physical wounds. "YOU RUINED MY HAIR, YOU OVERGROWN SEA MONSTER!!!"
Nessie paid him no heed, too engrossed in playing with the motorboat to care.
"Jōsuke-kun!"
Jōsuke glanced up, seeing Jōtarō running towards him with a first-aid kit in his hands. The marine biologist skidded to a halt, eyes going wide upon seeing the teenager's injuries. "What the--?"
Jōsuke gritted his teeth. "Nessie's a Stand. I don't think there's a user."
"Well, I guess that explains the strange readings that the local SPW researchers were picking up," Jōtarō responded. His brow furrowed. "How badly hurt are you?"
Jōsuke shrugged. "I got a bit banged up when I was flung against the rocks, but I think I'll be okay." He pulled a face. "My hair's ruined, though."
"If you want sympathy for your hair, look it up in the dictionary."
Jōsuke glared at him. You really just went there, didn't you? "What did you say about my hair?!" he snarled.
Dissing me is fine, but I draw the line at the hair.
Respect the hair.
The hair is sacred.
Okay, not really, but to me it kinda is.
Jōtarō had said something, but Jōsuke couldn't hear him. All he could see was red, and all he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears. He summoned Crazy Diamond, fists clenching.
You're gonna pay for that, Jōtarō-san.
"DORARARARARARARARARARA!"
All Crazy Diamond hit was thin air.
Jōsuke turned, seeing Jōtarō standing behind him, Star Platinum at his side. The Stand's arms were folded, and he did not look amused.
He must've stopped time again, Josuke realised. Figures.
"Are you done?" Jōtarō asked, tone level.
Jōsuke groaned, withdrawing his Stand. "You know I don't like people doing that."
Jōtarō sighed. "Yare yare. Are you going to let me patch you up or not?"
"I suppose. "
Jōsuke allowed his nephew to get to work, wincing as the rubbing alcohol stung upon making contact with his skin. Most of the scrapes were relatively small, but there were about three or four that were large enough to require the use of gauze bandages. Star Platinum was still out, assisting his user with treating some of the less obvious injuries.
"You're lucky you don't need stitches," Jōtarō remarked after a few minutes. "Do you know what happened to Nessie-san?"
Jōsuke gestured to the loch. "She's alright. I didn't hurt her, in case you were wondering. I think she just wanted me out of her territory."
The marine biologist relaxed. "That's good to hear." He looked towards the loch, a thoughtful expression on his face. "The legend of the Loch Ness Monster dates back about 1500 years, to around 565 CE. My guess is that Nessie-san is an ancient Stand, bound to this particular body of water. The spirit of Loch Ness."
1500 years? Jōsuke blinked. "I didn't think there were such ancient Stands in existence."
"You'd be surprised." Jōtarō glanced back over at his uncle. "It makes a lot of sense, actually. People haven't been able to photograph her true form, and most who come looking for this cryptid can't see her."
"That does seem like the most logical option," Jōsuke agreed, grimacing as another gauze bandage with antibiotics was wrapped around his arm.
"All right. That was the last one." Jōtarō patted him on the shoulder, dismissing Star Platinum. "Come on. Let's get back to the hotel and get some food."
Jōsuke's stomach growled. He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I really could use some food right about now."
Just so long as it's not haggis.
I don't think my stomach's ready for that yet.
The Stand users packed up the first-aid kit and made their way back to the rental car, arriving at the vehicle after a couple of minutes. Jōtarō took the driver's seat, and, after starting the engines, the two were on their way. Jōsuke chanced a look through the window as they drove along the road near the loch, finding Nessie in the middle of the water, still using the motorboat as a cat toy. He smiled, amused.
I am going to have one interesting story to tell Kōichi and Okuyasu when I get back to Morioh-cho.
LOCHNESS
- User: Loch Ness Monster
- Namesake: Lochness by Judas Priest