Morning Shopping Trip

The morning after Hiyame met with Joji to discuss their newly found partnership, the boy had accompanied his mother, Jolyne, to the supermarket to pick up some groceries. And since Joji was on vacation for the next two weeks, he got to wear his regular clothes for a change. He sported a forest green sweater with sleeves that barely went past his knuckles, tucked into a pair of regular blue denim jeans, a belt with a golden buckle branded with the name "JoJo". He wore various pins on his sweater, and his jeans were stylized with long chains and belts. On his feet were green, gray and white Nike sneakers with black soles, useful for running and other athletic activity.

He watched his phone blindly as he followed his mother around as she shopped, earning a rant or two from her. "Pay attention, Joji! You could bump into someone."

The teen looked up briefly, scanning his eyes across the store before looking back down at his screen, going into his text messages to find a new text from Javen. His heart jumped and a smile crept onto his face. "He's alive!"

Jolyne looked back, "Say what now?"

"Javen's alive! He texted me just now!" Joji exclaimed. "He said, 'Just woke up. My head is fucking-"

"Language." Jolyne interrupted.

"Uh, I mean, 'effing, killing me. I had a dream where that weird kid we met had came back and shot up the school.'" He read off, making a face at Javen's recollection of Dylan Bobby's attack on the school.

Joji chuckled nervously and texted back.

"You're probably wondering why we don't have school, either. Don't worry, I'll explain when I get back from shopping with my mom." he texted. After a few minutes, Javen sent another one back.

"Cool. Aye, tell your mom I said hey!" Javen sent, with a heart at the end of the message. Joji frowned and sent the last text.

"Nigga, no."

Looking back up, Jolyne laughed. "I take it you're gonna go and hang out with Javen once we get back, huh?"

Joji put his phone away and folded his arms. "Well, that's if I have time. You see, that detective guy from last night? He offered to let me help him investigate where that guy came from. We're supposed to be heading over to the gun shop at around noon." He explained.

"Oooh, so that's why you why you're so eager to get home, Mr. McGruff The Crime Dog." Jolyne joked, with Joji blushing in embarrassment. "This Ocsar Hiyame? Does he have a Stand, too?"

"Yup. It's not necessarily battle-oriented, but it looks cool. It can tell whether you're lying or not." Joji said, describing Private Eyes's ability. Jolyne gave the boy a deadpan look, "So it's a lie-detector?"

"N-Not so much! Hiyame's probably seen hella cases, some worse than others. Maybe his Stand has some super cool, top secret ability I have yet to find out about." Joji said, thinking about the Stand. He wondered if Private Eyes has more than what Hiyame was leading on about. After all, his Stand would be useful in his field of work, but what about in battle with the enemy? While Joji was lost in thought, another voice shouted at them, breaking his train of thought.

"Oh my god, Jolyne Cujoh is that you?!" A voice squealed, Joji looked up to see a woman and her teenage daughter walking over to them. Jolyne stammered, shuffling around nervously as the woman approached her. "Uh...wha-"

"You don't remember me?" The woman asked. "Gwess? From Green Dolphin Street?"

Although Jolyne wanted to forget, she was forced to nod her head, faking a smile. "Ohhh, right right! Gwess!" She said, shaking Gwess's hand involuntarily. Gwess turned to Joji, winking at the boy. "And is this your son? Handsome little thing, isn't he? I didn't know Ms. Cujoh had jungle fever!" Gwess whooped, making her daughter cover her face in second-hand embarrassment.

Jolyne blushed heavily, shaking her head. "No! No! This is my adopted son, Joji! I took him shortly after I got out." She explained, Gwess's expression changing quickly. "Awwww. That's so sweet of you JoJo."

"P-Please, don't." Jolyne chuckled.

"You know, I never took you for someone who'd adopt. I mean sure you looked after that Emporio boy, but to have a son?" Gwess laughed. "Man, the more you know, y'know?"

"Haha, yeah, yeah." Jolyne laughed falsely. "Say, uh, is that your daughter?" She asked, gesturing to the girl standing behind Gwess. The girl had short black hair that reached her neck, with similar facial markings to Gwess. She wore a beanie that was stylized like her mother's headwear, with a striped shirt underneath her olive green military jacket, decorated with several pins. She wore a black denim skirt with three chains hanging from her hip, with long beige tube socks and a pair of black converse.

"Oh yes, my baby girl, Iris." Gwess smiled, hugging her daughter. "She's a l'il teenage rebel, but regardless she'll always be a blessing to me."

"Mom, you're embarrassing me..." Iris muttered, her face coloring up as Joji glanced at her. He looked away with his own cheeks reddened.

"We actually moved to El Dino just recently, and I didn't even get to enroll her in school before that awful shooting happened." Gwess explained. "Isn't that crazy? Just goes to show you where the world's come to, huh?"

Jolyne shrugged. "You can say that again. At least she gets a free two week vacation though."

"Right, right. They said the shooter must've bombed the top floor or something or the other, and they've got to fix it." Gwess nodded. "Guess that gives us time to have a nice little Mother-Daughter bonding time, eh, Iris?"

Iris shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, "Sure, whatever. Can we go now?" she asked bluntly.

"Oh, okay, Eager McBeaver. It was good catching up with you, Jolyne. I'm glad to see how much you've changed since prison." Gwess said.

Jolyne waved awkwardly, "Same to you, Gwess. I'll be seeing you."

"Bye, bye, now!" Gwess winked, with her and her daughter walking away in the other direction. Jolyne sighed with relief and shook her head.

"Prison friend?" Joji asked.

"I wouldn't call her a friend." Jolyne started. "When I first got to prison, she shrunk me and made me wear a custom made rat suit, and say cute 'wittle' things for her and whatnot." She explained, recalling her early days in Green Dolphin Street Prison. Joji snickered. "And you pummeled her?"

"Oh, I pummeled the shit outta her." Jolyne nodded. "Now, c'mon. We gotta finish up."

As they continued through the store, Joji smiled at the thought of Iris. "Her daughter was pretty cute though."

"You mean the poster girl for Hot Topic?" Jolyne snickered. "Didn't think you'd be into those types."

"Hey, hey! I like all types of girls, okay?" Joji retorted, putting his hands on his hips.

"And yet, you bring none home." His mother laughed, much to Joji's dismay.

"Oh, piss off!" Joji shouted, folding his arms stubbornly. His mother ruffled his dreadlocks, continuing to tease.

"Awww, don't be so pouty, JoJo!" Jolyne cooed. "At least you still have your Japanese gravure idol calendar to flip through all year."

Joji snapped, "Yeah! After you and Ermes found it and took it away from me! I paid good money to have that imported, y'know!" he ranted. "Besides, you didn't even let me finish Ai Shinozaki's month all the way..."

"Ugh, quit your bitching, Joji!" Jolyne said, grinding her fist into Joji's head. "You made me forget milk!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of El Dino, was Outfield Junkyard, a popular hangout spot for D-12 and their leader, Guccio Armania. There, he had gathered all of his men together for one big meeting, going over the events that took place the day before. All of D-12 were lined up side by side, with one member on the end who seems more or less disgruntled at the fact that they had to meet so early. Guccio sat high on a pile of rusted, beat down cars, looking down at his men.

"Yesterday, as you all know, a kid named Dylan Bobby shot up the school." He announced. "Not only did he shoot it up, but he blew up the second floor of the building." he went on. "And because of your actions, he hurt a lot of innocents, and came after me specifically."

He jumped down, landing on the ground with a loud thud. Guccio stood up and put his hands in his pockets, "All of this, because you all missed out on an important meeting that was suppose to take place that morning. Where I was suppose to tell you to cease all hostility against those who don't pose a threat to you." He scolded, looking at each one of his underlings. "Instead, you all pushed him to the edge, beat him up, and destroy our supposed 'territory'." Guccio snickered.

"I can't even bare to look at any one of you. I'm disappointed." Guccio said.

"Oh, yeah? Well, the little fuck had it comin'." One burly member said, causing Guccio to turn to his direction. He briskly walked towards him, "The fuck did you say, Rizza?"

Rizza growled, "I said the little pussy ass, weak motherfucker had it coming! BOSS!" the boy said, yelling in his superior's face. "We all were gonna give himself a chance to do himself, that's why we didn't pounce on his ass when we did. But when he-"

"It doesn't matter what the FUCK you did, Rizza!" Guccio exploded. "Had it not been for me and Cujoh, none of us would even be here discussing this. And if you non-listening bastards would've come to the cafeteria, WHEN I ASKED, then Dylan Bobby wouldn't be locked up, huh?"

Rizza remained silent, staring down his leader with an unphased expression.

"And besides, I never gave you the floor." Guccio whispered before walking away. "So now, in two weeks, the school reopens after the second floor gets fixed. With that being said, open season on innocents is officially OVER. And if catch you beating someone when I didn't give the word, I'll beat your ass myself and make an example outta you. Capiche?"

"Yes, Boss!" the gang shouted, while Rizza remained silent.

"Now, get the fuck outta my sight." Guccio ordered, pointing in the direction of the Junkyard's entrance. As D-12 left, Rizza turned around, staring Guccio down again before leaving after his comrades. Guccio took a deep breath and sighed, resting on the hood of a car.

"That was quite the performance, Mr. Armania." A voice said, coming from behind a pile of rubble. "Who knew someone at such an age, would project a strong sense of leadership. Not bad for a street gang."

Guccio rolled out from his position, summoning his Camo Assassin to his side. "Who the fuck is that? Who's here?"

"Relax, Guccio." Hiyame said, revealing himself with his hands up. "Detective Oscar Hiyame, I'm a P.I."

Guccio didn't let his guard down, "A fuckin' cop? Gimme a break, man."

"Listen kid, you're not in trouble. Now put the Stand away and let's talk." Hiyame said calmly, causing Guccio to flinch.

"Hold up, you can see my Stand?" Guccio asked. "You a Stand user too, yo?"

Hiyame nodded, briefly revealing his Private Eyes to Guccio for full proof. "Yes. Now please, calm down."

Guccio exhaled and dismissed his Stand, sitting back down on the car. "So, what do you want with me?"

"Yesterday, I found out that you and Joji Cujoh fought with Dylan Bobby and successfully defeated him." Hiyame explained. "The gun he used to injure and kill some, looked all too familiar to the material used to forge a Stand Arrow. Something that was the center of a case back in a small Japanese town in 1999." He went on. "If my hypothesis is correct, those hit by the bullets will more than likely to become Stand users themselves. The wound created my the bullet would heal within 30 minutes of impact, and the victim would be out cold for around 24 hours or less."

Guccio gasped. "Yo, that's what happened to Javen." He revealed. Hiyame looked up, tilting his head. "Come again?"

"Javen Zepelli, he's Joji Cujoh's best friend. He was shot in the head by Dylan, but when Joji saw him again, his head was whole again." Guccio said, explained what had happened with Javen. "He was out for a while, and Joji took him home. So, you think Javen might have a Stand now?"

Hiyame shrugged. "It's a 99% possibility, yes. Although Cujoh neglected to tell me his friend was shot by the gun, or did I just simply forget to ask." The detective carried on to himself. "Careless, Hiyame."

"Earth to cop!" Guccio shouted. "So what does this have to do with me?"

Hiyame pointed to the boy dramatically. "I need you to help me track down the origin of the gun, Joji Cujoh is already on board. This is a case only Stand users can take, Dylan Bobby most likely won't be the only defective Stand user in El Dino." he explained. "Joji and I will be heading to the local gun shop to find out who originally bought the gun, and I may have this Javen Zepelli tag along as well, to prove my hypothesis."

Guccio looked up at the sky, his mind racing with thoughts, while Hiyame looked at him waiting for an answer. "Well, are you in?"

Guccio laughed, walking towards Hiyame. "Sound's like a plan to me. With us being outta school for the next two weeks, this case would be one helluva time killer." The two shook hands, Hiyame chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry to say, but it most likely won't take two weeks to solve this case. If we're lucky, it could take months, or maybe a year."

Guccio slumped over, "Fuuuuuck. Well, it don't matter to me. Sign me up, Hiyame."

The detective chuckled, "Welcome to the team, Guccio. Now come, it's nearly noon, we should head over to Joji's neighborhood." Hiyame said, turning away from him. "My car is this way."

The Case Begins

It was around noon when Joji and Jolyne returned home with groceries, and the two quickly brought them in with the help of Ermes. Once they were put away, Joji said his goodbyes and had begin to head down the street to meet with Javen. As he strolled, he saw Hiyame's car pulling up to him and heard the blare of his horn.

"Joji Cujoh, I take it you're heading to Zepelli's house, correct?" Hiyame said as he rolled down his window. Joji turned and saw Guccio in the passenger seat, he rolled down his own window and hung out from it, waving at Joji. "Yo, wassup, Jo!"

Joji laughed, waving back at his friend. "Yeah, I was heading over to check on him."

"Get in, he'll be coming with us, too." Hiyame said, pointing a thumb to his backseat. "And you didn't tell me he was shot by that gun."

Joji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Haha, sorry. I just noticed he was healed and didn't think much of it. Anyways, it's the blue house right down the street." He said as he jogged up to the car and got in the back. "And besides, he thought the whole thing was a dream."

Hiyame drove down the street, smirking. "Well he's going to be in for a real treat once we tell him the real news, had he not already found out by now."

It wasn't long before they parked in front of Javen's house, and Joji shot Javen a text saying that they were there waiting for him. Soon, Javen came out of his house in casual clothing, a black and white windbreaker with black jeans and white and grey Nikes, along with this signature black Nike bucket hat. He waved as he approached the car and got in the back with Joji.

"Yo, wassup guys." He greeted. "Whose the Inspector Gadget lookin' ass nigga?" He joked, causing Guccio and Joji to burst out in laughter while Hiyame looked back at them with a deadpan expression before cracking an embarrassed smile. "I'm Dectective Oscar Hiyame, private investigator."

"Whoa, so like a cop?" Javen asked.

"Yeah, we're all going to the gun shop to investigate where Dylan Bobby's gun came from." Joji said, causing Javen to make a face.

"Uh, wasn't that a dream, though? I remember being shot and..."

"It wasn't a dream, Javen Zepelli." Hiyame said. "You were actually shot, but you survived. Joji carried you home yesterday."

Javen jumped in shock, "Whoa! So I DIED?" he exclaimed. "What happened to that shooter kid."

Guccio gestured to Joji, "Me an' Jo beat the shit outta him. Respectfully in your honor."

"Yeah, and Hiyame said by the design of that gun he was toting, we may have a uh...supernatural case on our hands." Joji explained, not letting on too much. Hiyame nodded, "That's right, now, to the gun store we go. Fasten your seat belts, boys."

The four made it to "Fifty Cents A Bullet", one of more popular gun stores in El Dino. Hiyame parked in front of the store and they all got out. Hiyame turned to the boys, "Now, when we get in here, I want you to let me do the talking. Watch and learn, fellas."

Javen nudged Joji, "Yo, I guess we're really on our CSI shit today, huh?"

"Ohhh, yeah, bro." Joji nodded, following Hiyame and Guccio into the store. As they walked in, the three gawked at all of the guns that were mounted on the walls surrounding them. Handguns, assault rifles, snipers, shotguns, hunting rifles, even guns considered illegal, like sawed-off shotguns, it was a gun owner's paradise. Sitting at the counter was an older gentleman reading the newspaper, and as he heard the bell on the door ring when they stepped in, he said.

"Welcome to Fifty Cents A Bullet, and no, we don't sell none a' these guns you see for fifty cents." He sat down the paper and looked over at the four. "Sir, I hope you know I don't sell to teenagers."

"And that's perfectly fine." Hiyame said, flashing his badge. "Detective Oscar Hiyame, I'd like you to answer a few questions regarding a firearm used in yesterday's El Dino shooting. The old man made a sorrowful expression. "Well, sure I can do that. Terrible thing that happened, may God be with those that were hurt."

Hiyame reached into his coat and pulled out the golden Revolver with beetle and arrow decorations, concealed in a plastic bag along with one of the fired bullets. As Hiyame set it down on the counter, the old man looked at it for a while, taking in it's unique appearance. "My, my..."

"Does it look familiar to you at all, sir?" Hiyame asked.

"Funny thing about this gun, is that we haven't seen this sucker in around 30 years or so." He said, looking up at Hiyame and the gang. "One of the richer families here in El Dino, owns a gun manufacturing company all the way in Egypt. There, they made exotic guns made from all types of material. But this gun, was made from the material of a meteorite."

Hiyame nodded. "Hmm, okay. So how did it find it's way here?"

"It wasn't supposed to come to the states if I remember correctly." The old man said, shaking his head. "It was shipped here to my store by mistake, and one of the members of the family came here to buy it off of me. They gave me a pretty penny for that beautiful firearm there. Such a shame it was used for a violent act."

"Would you happen to know the name of the family who came to buy the gun?" Hiyame asked, pulling out a notepad. "Anything at all."

The old man stopped to think. "Well, I believe their name was..." He grunted in pain, as if he caught a stomach virus. Soon he had a coughing fit, alarming Joji and the others around Hiyame.

"Is he okay?" Joji asked, Hiyame quickly stopping him from going up to the counter. The old man coughed up blood, as it oozed from his nostrils and his eyes, he held his head in immense pain.

"Yo, what the fuck is happening to him?!" Guccio shouted in worry, with Javen looking on in shock.

"Heeelp meee ahhhhhhhh!" The old man shouted before his head exploded, with brain matter, fragments of skull and blood spewing everywhere. As his body fell over behind the counter, Joji saw someone fleeing from the back of the store. He quickly tapped Hiyame, pointing to the back room. "Yo, YO! Someone was back there! I think they're heading towards out the back door!"

Hiyame collected the gun and put it in his coat, "Damn it!" he cursed under his breath. "Hurry, we have to catch them before they get away!"

As the four ran to the back of the store, Joji shouted, "You think it might be a Stand user?!"

"Has to be, they must've not wanted us to know the name of the person who came to buy the gun back." Guccio answered. Javen shook his shake, "What the fuck's a Stand?!"

As the four burst out from the backdoor and into the alleyway, Hiyame huffed, "You'll find out sooner or later!"

Footsteps were heard around the corner leading into the streets, and Hiyame took out his handgun and nodded in that direction. "That way! Stay alert, boys! We may have a fight on our hands!"