We got into the bus with our backpacks, one of them was the arrow with bandages wrapped around it.

A bus is the last vehicle I would expect riding in an adventure.

But neither of us has a car.

So beggars can't be choosers.

Thinking about this adventure, I looked back into the last few days.

There was a lot of tropes running around.

For example, the hero's journey:

- The ordinary world (Me and the store)

- Call to adventure (The robber and Kurtis)

- Refusal of the call (We don't want to fucking leave the house)

No "Meeting the mentor" yet.

But we already crossed the threshold to the "Unknown world" I think.

God, are we...

In a story?

Some type of fanfiction?

No way, right?

If so, I hope it's not a tragic gory one.

I thought about all the normal folk amongst us in the bus.

People going to work, going to school, going to meet someone, going back home.

They're just ordinary civilians living their lives.

Ignorant of lies beneath and between society.

Monsters and criminals, victims and unsung heroes.

Maybe that was the same in my past life.

But here I know a little about what is happening.

A "realistic" approach of comic books.

So real that I'm living in it.

Is there a way to go back?

I looked at Kurtis.

Do I want to go back?

If we didn't meet this way, maybe we could have been good friends.

One talking about their hobby to the other.

Mixing their nerd knowledge.

And just having fun ignoring what lies ahead.

Despite everything that happened, the days I spent with Kurtis where one of the best of my life.

He's rude and yadda yadda.

But he listened to me.

Even when I talked about my stupid favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes.

The only thing I have knowledge about it's TV.

They comforted me in my worst.

So talking about my heroes comforts me as well.

He turned his head to me.

I gave him a smile.

He looked at me for a second and turned his head back to the window.

I hope we can at least have one of those time skips where nothing big happens.

I can't wait to see where we can end up.

Maybe it's going to be worth it.

Only time will tell.

...

After a while, I noticed something weird.

I saw that Kurtis noticed it as well.

He looked at the front of the bus.

"The bus hasn't moved for a while, right?"

"Yeah"

He stood up and stared forward with a frown.

"Stand behind me and wear your backpack in front of you"

Good idea.

It could be useful, I think.

I did as he said and stood behind him.

I wish I had a more active role in this duo.

Will I always need to be protected?

If I had a cool Stand maybe I would be the one in front of him.

No use thinking about this now.

I look outside and the first thing I noticed was:

We're in a bridge.

Great.

Perfect place for an action scene.

The second thing I noticed were the people running away.

"Kurtis, I think we should run too"

"Not now"

"Why?"

"I have to know where they are first"

"But standing still here wouldn't give them more time to know where we are?"

"..."

He frowned and kept staring ahead.

He's probably thinking about what I said.

I was going to continue my argument but I couldn't finish it.

"[Shark Attack]!"

Out of nowhere, a huge shark crashed through a window ahead of us, decapitated two people and crashed through the window to the other side.

"Holy shit"

"Run to the back!"

I ran in front of him, trying to forget the scene I just saw, and trying my best not to piss myself.

"[Doll Parts]!"

The wooden boy came out of him and broke the window with the scissors he was holding.

"Go! Jump on the car"

I looked outside the window and saw a taxi waiting for my fall.

Fuck it.

I jumped on top of the hood, thinking that I would break my leg or something.

It wasn't that bad actually.

Kurtis landed by my right side.

"We have to run and keep jumping between cars, I'm not sure what the Stand does but staying on the ground might not be a good idea"

I nodded and got the head start.

"Hyaah-ahahaha! So you two are the ones who killed Rose?"

I heard Kurtis stopping and looking back.

Why did he stop?

Isn't better if we ignore whoever it is and keep running?

I stopped and turned around as well.

"Why did you stop?"

"We have to know more about them"

Is that really a good idea?

I don't know.

I looked at our new enemy.

It was a tall bald muscular man with a big white beard on top of the bus we were.

He wore those classic biker clothes.

The ones in a movie where the characters accidentally drop all of their bikes, you know?

"Are you here to get your revenge?"

"Revenge? Hyaah-ahahaha! No, no. I'm actually glad that you killed her. That bitch had it coming"

"Then why are you here?"

"Boss told me to get you two, isn't it obvious?"

The man sat on the edge of the bus and kept talking.

I saw Kurtis looking around the bridge.

Is he trying to find a way to escape?

There's only forward, where the maniac is.

There's the opposite side, where we wouldn't see his attacks.

And the water.

---

"But you see, I wasn't really interested in you, that is, until I smelled what you have in there"

He pointed at my bag.

I frowned and said:

"What do you mean?"

The man smiled and pointed at this nose.

"My nose is better than a dog's.

And I can smell interesting things, like strong Stands and those meteorites.

What you have in your bag smells almost the same as the meteorite, but I can feel the same smell of a strong Stand mixed in"

"I'm not going to give it to you"

"I know. That's why we're going to have some fun before I get it"

He gave us a big smile.

This is not going to be easy.

He knows about the arrow.

I don't think he knows everything about it.

But if he, just with his nose, can see the value of it, I can't imagine how other specific Stands or people with strange abilities can learn what it does.

We have to give this to Tony Stark as soon as possible.

And get out of this bridge.

I don't know what he did up ahead.

But with everyone running away from here, it's obvious that we're going to attract a lot of attention.

The attention of people I don't want to deal with.

"C'mon, let's have some fun! [Shark Attack]!"

I saw a shark coming out of his back and diving into the ground.

It's somehow swimming inside the asphalt.

The shark circled around the car.

"Ryah!"

The shark jumped at me but I moved to the side, barely managing to get out of the way.

Taking advantage of the attack, Doll Parts got his craft knife and stabbed the shark mid-air multiple times.

It didn't make a scratch.

"Oh? I felt something tickling me, Hyaah-ahahaha!"

"If I can't hurt the Stand, I just have to hurt the user, idiot!"

Doll Parts broke a window near me, got  all shards, and threw them at the man.

"GYAAH! FUCK!"

I managed to hit all of the shards on him, minus his face that he protected with his arm.

"You little shit, I'm getting you this time!"

His Stand jumped, swallowed him entirely, and got back inside the asphalt.

I look around but couldn't find its fin.

I took the backpack out of my back and hold it with my hand.

If he gets me, at least I can throw the backpack to Roxanne.

I looked back at her.

She's trembling and looking around the street, horrified.

I have to find a way to make her more confident.

Her Stand had a lot of potential.

But she's not used to battles.

Or this type of conflict.

No one is prepared for this kind of fight.

I might be one of the small amount of people who can adapt fast enough.

Maybe watching a lot of anime wasn't a bad choice.

Thanks, anime.

You're saving my life.

"Ryah!"

This time I couldn't manage to get out of the way.

But I managed to throw the bag to Roxanne.

---

Time slowed down.

She saw the shark coming with its mouth open.

She saw the boy looking back at her.

She saw him throwing his bag to her.

She saw his sad expression.

She felt her heart sinking.

She felt her legs trembling.

She felt useless.

Time sped up.

The shark swallowed the boy and got back into the asphalt once again.

Only the wind could be heard.

The shark jumped on top of the bus and spitted out both the man and the boy.

The man has holding the boy with a pocket knife on his neck.

"ROXANNE! RUN!"

"C'mon, give me the bag and I'll let the boy live"

She looked at the bag and looked back at the boy.

"Don't listen to him! Just run away!"

"And let you die?!"

"It doesn't matter! What's there is more important!"

She though "Is he right?"

The arrow could create more Stand users.

More crazy people like that robber.

More dangerous people like that blonde woman.

More evil people like this biker.

If the arrow falls on the wrong hands, innocent people could get hurt.

Then she thought "and it would be my fault"

She looked at the bag and started crying.

Her face was covered by her bangs.

The only thing it could be seen was her nose and mouth.

With tears coming out of her eyes.

"C'mon, don't be stupid. Just give me the bag and everyone leaves with a happy ending"

The tears stopped.

"Happy ending?"

"Yeah, isn't it great? You both get unscathed and I get what I want"

"Happy endings aren't that easy"

"It will be if you give me the damn bag, c'mon just stop talking"

"I don't need to give you this bag to get a happy ending, a happily ever after, a fairy tale ending"

"What are you talking about..."

"You're not the smartest, aren't you?"

"Tch, you're going to see who's the smartest when I slash his neck"

"Idiot"

She looked back at him, with a smile.

"He's not the only one with a Stand"

"What?!"

"[Dead End Job]!"

"ROAR!"

A purple panther jumped from behind of the man and bit his neck off.

"I'll be getting my happy ending myself"