Chapter 3: Introducing Koichi Hirose! 1/2

Chapter 3: Introducing Koichi Hirose!

(Part 3 of Trio arc)

It's been almost a week since Josuke encountered Okuyasu and Keicho and their Stands, The Hand and Bad Company. Ever since his fight with the Nijimura brothers, Jotaro has traveled back to America to settle the Joestar inheritance issue. Before he left, Jotaro informed him that he will return a year later to deal with the Stand Arrow and told his young uncle to try his best to get into UA. As for Koichi, the short student had gained a Stand but it lays dormant in an egg. Jotaro explained that Koichi's Stand presents a unique case that the experienced Stand-user never saw before. But since Jotaro can't stay in Japan any longer, he trusted Josuke to keep him informed on Koichi's Stand. As for Nijimura brothers, Keicho is in jail for working alongside a conspiring with villains. Keicho Nijimura created several Stand users in this town, some were recruited by the villains he worked with while others chose no to join the villains. Keicho didn't force anyone to join his group and kept any Stand users that didn't join them a secret. Okuyasu was the only Stand user that the villain organization knew that wasn't a part of their organization. He was seen as Keicho's underling. Speaking of Okuyasu, he was let go from custody from the Speedwagon the next day. While Josuke never saw Okuyasu after that, he felt like he's going to see him again soon.

As the days went by, the events of last went to the back of his head despite the heavy weight they hold. Josuke concluded that it's best to leave the memories aside so that they don't distract him from achieving his current goal of getting into UA. Josuke went through his normal morning routine of waking up, brush his teeth and dress up. He then spends the rest of free time fixing his hair until breakfast is ready. The teen is dedicated when it comes to keeping his hair fixed. It infuriates him whenever someone like Katsuki pokes fun at him for it since Josuke is known to keep his pompadour hair fixed. Josuke combed his hair one more time to make sure it stays straight.

"There, that should do it," Josuke said after letting out a big sigh. He remarked, "I swear, if there's one strand of hair that I miss I'm going to punch a hole on the wall..."

A person at the front of the house rang the doorbell once Josuke walked out of the hallway. Since Tomoko, Josuke's mother, is busy cooking dinner she bothers her son to answer it.

"Josuke! Can you answer the door?!" Tomoko yelled from the kitchen.

"Alright, I got it," Josuke said. Josuke approached the door and opened it to find a familiar face he did not expect.

"Hey, Josuke! Let's go to school!" Okuyasu shouted, wearing Josuke's school uniform.

"Huh!" Josuke said stepped back, having Crazy Diamond appear behind his back. Before throwing a punch, Okuyasu quickly raised up his arms.

"Woah, woah, woah! Josuke, calm down! I'm not here to fight!" Okuyasu exclaimed.

"Then why're you here then?"

"I was just asking if you wanted to go to school together. I got accepted in the same school you're going to thanks to Jotaro and the Speedwagon Foundation," Okuyasu said.

"O-oh," Josuke muttered, having Crazy Diamond return to his body. He sighed before saying, "You don't have to come get me like we're old friends. You tried to kill me last week!"

"But I don't know my way to our school, so I thought of asking you for help. Besides, my bro was the one who wanted you dead and I helped you saved your friend," Okuyasu said.

"Well, how'd you find me anyways?" Josuke asked. Okuyasu pointed at his two-floor home which sticks out from the rest of the one-floor homes surrounding it. "I never thought we lived so close. All I did was ask one of our neighbors where the Higashikata household is."

"What a small world," Josuke nervously chuckled.

"Josuke, who's that yelling at the front door?" Tomoko asked as she approached her son. She looked surprised to see Josuke with someone around his age. "Oh, is he a friend of yours?"

Josuke quickly glanced at Okuyasu, who wasn't sure if friends is something that could describe their relationship. After all, it was about a week ago that Okuyasu tried to kill him and now he's here like if he's an old friend. But in order to make this moment less awkward, Josuke decided to say, "Yes. This is Okuyasu Nijimura. He just moved in down the street just like week."

"Oh, that's wonderful. Why don't you come in have a cup of coffee while waiting for Josuke to get ready," Tomoko offered. Okuyasu smiled gleefully and gladly accepted her offer.

"Really! Thank you very much!" Okuyasu proclaimed. Tomoko chuckled as she walked back to the kitchen. Okuyasu walked past Josuke and muttered, "Your mom is kinda hot."

Josuke quickly grabbed Okuyasu and pulled him back before he walked any further. "Oi, Okuyasu, I have two warnings for you. One, don't try to hit on my mom. If you do, let's say I won't have Crazy Diamond fix you up. Second, don't mention anything about last weeks events to my mom. I don't her to think I'm a terrible kid who still picks fights."

"O-oh, alright, gotcha," Okuyasu said. Once Josuke freed Okuyasu from his grasp, he walked to the kitchen.

Josuke lets out a big sigh and muttered,"This feels great... and heavy." Josuke began to slide down against the door, trying to process what's going in this particular morning.

Later that morning...

"Mornin' Koichi!" Okuyasu shouted. After having some coffee in the Higashikata household, Josuke and Okuyasu left for school. On their way to school, they ran into Koichi, who was shocked to see Okuyasu,

"O-Okuyasu!" Koichi yelled.

"Oi, Koichi, you don't have to scream. You're going to attract us unwanted attraction," Josuke sighed.

"How should I break it down? I'm not that smart when it comes with words..." Okuyasu paused for a second before saying, "Look, I'm sorry for what my brother and I apologize being involved with it."

Okuyasu got in his knees and pleaded, "So please look deep in your heart to forgive me!"

Koichi could feel a small drip of sweat going down his neck. Josuke squatted down and muttered, "He did help me save your ass last week from his brother. He isn't actually a bad guy like his bro."

Josuke stood back up before Okuyasu could look up. Koichi quietly gulped and said, "I-I forgive. I hope we can get along."

Okuyasu chuckled and got up. He wrapped his arm around Koichi and said, "So this is what it feels like to have friends. It feels amazing!"

Koichi and Josuke chuckled nervously. This morning was the strangest one in their middle school years.

That afternoon...

Josuke likes to spend his lunchtime in his classroom. There wasn't anywhere for him to go to during lunch except the restroom. Despite being one of the school's most popular students, he likes to spend his time alone in the classroom. The only person who kept him company was Izuku, and it's because the quirkless teen also likes to be alone. The two only have small chatter here and there but haven't held a long conversation. There were some other students like Katsuki, who sticks by the window with his two friends. Across the room were some of Josuke's admirers, but they just like to watch the Stand user rather interact with him. Other than those people, Josuke is alone during lunch. However, just like this morning, Josuke was going to find some unexpected company.

"Oi, Josuke, let's have lunch together!" Okuyasu shouted as he opened the door abruptly. This caught the attention of everyone in class, including Katsuki, who looks annoyed at his loud behavior.

"Who the hell is that guy? I never saw him before," Katsuki asked.

"Him? His name is Okuyasu Nijimura, he's the new student in my class," Katsuki's friend explained.

"A new student? It looks like he knows Josuke," Katsuki pointed out.

"Maybe they're neighbors," one of Katsuki's friends suggested.

"Tch, whatever," Katsuki muttered, looking back at his friends to continue their conversation. Izuku looked at Okuyasu and Koichi walking into the classroom. He wondered if these people were friends of Josuke. He knows Koichi but doesn't know Okuyasu at all.

"Are they friends of yours, Josuke?" Izuku said.

"Somewhat," the pompadour teen replied. He turned to Okuyasu and said, "You don't need to announce yourself when walking in, y'know? It annoys everyone."

"Oh, sorry, Josuke, my bad." Okuyasu said with a quieter voice.

"So what do you need, Okuyasu?" Josuke asked.

"Me? I just wanted all of us to have lunch together. I didn't want to spend lunch all alone on my first day," Okuyasu said.

"Ah, I see. Why don't you just pull up a chair and sit down," Josuke said. Okuyasu chuckled as he grabbed a seat and pulled it in front of Josuke's desk. Koichi pulled up a seat in the side of Josuke's desk.

"Oi, Josuke, who's your friend next to you?" Okuyasu asked, pointing out Izuku.

"Oh, well he can introduce himself," Josuke said.

"H-hi, my name's Izuku Midoriya!" Izuku greeted.

"Name's Okuyasu Nijimura. I'm a new student here, I hope you can treat me well!" Okuyasu chuckled.

"I hope we get along," Izuku chuckled nervously.

"Y'know, I actually like being here," Okuyasu chuckled.

"Eh, what do you mean?" Koichi asked.

"Like, I only had my brother keeping me company. But now that I'm out here... I don't know how to describe it!" Okuyasu proclaimed.

"You feel like you belong somewhere," Izuku said.

"Exactly. Man, you must be smart!"

"He might be one of the smartest students in my class, but it doesn't take a straight-A honor student to figure out how you feel," Josuke said.

"Really? I never knew because well, I kinda skipped a lot of grades," Okuyasu explained. "I mean, bro would teach me a thing or two about math or Japanese, but that's mostly errand-related things."

"That's actually... kinda sad," Koichi said.

"Don't worry Koichi, that don't matter. I'm my own man now, and by next year, I'm going to high school and become my own man to make my bro proud!" Okuyasu shouted.

"With that motivation, you can really go places!" Izuku said.

"Hehe, I think I already know what school to aim for," Okuyasu chuckled.

"Really? What is it?" Koichi asked.

"UA Academy, and I plan to enroll in the Hero course!" Okuyasu announced. Josuke and Izuku could feel a heartbeat skip as they know that a certain somebody isn't go to be too happy that another student is trying to get into UA. "Since my bro was associated with villains, I decided to do the opposite and walk down the road of being heroic!"

"What did that guy say?" Katsuki asked rhetorically.

"Uh, I think he said he's going to go to UA," one of Katsuki's friends said.

"I know!" Katsuki shouted. "That just ruins my ambitions! First Josuke, then Izuku, and now this guy! How can I be a badass Hero if everyone from this mediocre middle school gets accepted"

Josuke and Izuku glanced at Katsuki, who was glaring furiously in their direction. They could visibly see him breathing in and out roughly, as if he's going to blow a fuse. He might as well be the fuse.

"Hm, what're you looking at?" Okuyasu asked. He turned the direction of his towards Bakugo, who was glaring right into his soul. He quickly looked back at Josuke and everyone else and muttered "Oi, what's with this guy?"

"Let's say he just has a really short fuse..." Izuku muttered.

"Okuyasu was it!" Katsuki shouted. Okuyasu turned back to Katsuki. The spiky-haired teen approached Okuyasu, who was curious about why he's so angry at him.

"Y-yes, do you need anything?" Okuyasu asked. Small drops of sweat began to fall down his forehead.

"Why yes I do. Why don't you kill your ambitions of going to UA Academy? That school doesn't accept any below-average students like you!" Katsuki shouted.

"Oi, Bakugou, calm down will you. You're causing a scene!" Josuke yelled.

"Why don't you die, Josuke!" Katsuki turned his attention back at Okuyasu. "What makes you think UA could accept you anyways? I bet you don't have anything special about you or your Quirk?"

"What did you say about my Stand!" Okuyasu shouted. Josuke quickly stepped on Okuyasu's foot which notified the teen about his mistake. "I mean, Quirk! What did you say about my Quirk?"

"Today's Hero society requires Heroes with outstanding Quirks like mine," Katsuki said while displaying his Quirk by causing a small explosion in his hand. "I know that most people in this school are either Quirkless nobodies or below-average side characters."

"So you're underestimating my Sta- I mean Quirk!" Okuyasu said, "You should actually see what it is before you actually judge. Why don't you throw this straw and find out what my abilities are."

Okuyasu tossed a straw from his apple juice box towards Katsuki. He caught and clicked his tongue. "You're wasting my time, but why not? Let's see what mediocre Quirk you have."

Josuke and Koichi could see The Hand's projection over Okuyasu's right arm. Once Katsuki tossed the straw at Okuyasu, he quickly swiped the air with his right arm and erased the straw from existence. Katsuki and Izuku was shocked at Okuyasu's quirk. They both could see a blue light emit from his hand. The two students quickly realized what's Okuyasu's Stand's ability, or Quirk.

"It erases objects!" Izuku pointed out. Katsuki was silent as he thought that this was potentially one of the most dangerous Quirks he's seen. While it's not as dangerous as Katsuki's explosions, it's still very lethal.

"Do you find it mediocre now?" Okuyasu said. Katsuki quickly snapped out of his state of shock and glared at Okuyasu.

"I'll admit it, it's a dangerous Quirk, but that doesn't mean you're going to get into UA easily. A no-name like you can't get into UA," Katsuki said before walking away.

"Eh, what does he mean by that?" Okuyasu asked.

"It means it takes a lot of training and studying to do so. You can't just enroll and hope you're a lucky student," Josuke said.

"Oh, I see. But I can totally get accepted if I try hard right?" Okuyasu asked.

"Of course," Koichi said.

"I know you're going to try to enroll in UA, Josuke," Okuyasu said, "Let's try out best so all three of us to get into UA's Hero course?"

"Three of us?" Josuke asked.

"Yeah, you, me and Koichi," Okuyasu said. He glanced at Izuku and added, "Oh, and Izuku too if he's planning to."

"W-well, I hate to break it to you, Okuyasu," Izuku said, "But I don't I can get into UA Academy through its Hero course. After all, I'm Quirkless. I'm far suited for its General Education or Support course."

"I-I see," Okuyasu said. He felt bad for including Izuku without knowing his conditions. He thought if he had the Stand Arrow, he could give him a Stand. but there's also a risk that it might kill him.

"I also hate to break it to you," Koichi said, "But I'm not going to be enrolling into UA as a Hero."

"What! But you got shot by an arrow, your Stand should've-" before Okuyasu finished his sentence, Josuke stepped on his foot. "Ouch!"

Josuke tugged on Okuyasu's arm, pulling him closer. He muttered in his ear, "Cut it off with that Stand shit. They're suppose to be a secret."

"R-right, my bad," Okuyasu muttered. Izuku was curious when Okuyasu said Stand.

"Hm, what's a Stand?" Izuku asked.

"It's just a weird way he says Quirks from where he's from," Koichi explained.

"Oh, so I guess Stand is a slang term from somewhere else I guess," Izuku said.

"Y-yeah, it's a slang term from Osaka!" Okuyasu shouted.

"Interesting, that's a weird way to say it. I heard weirder before," Izuku laughed.

"Yeah," Josuke chuckled nervously. He sighed quietly in relief. He muttered, "That was close."

"Aw damn, I shouldn't have erased my straw," Okuyasu said as he looked at his apple juice box. He regretted using the apple box's straw to show off his Stand.

Two weeks later...

Josuke's school life has changed ever since meeting Okuyasu and Koichi. Everyday, it consists of Okuyasu meeting up with Josuke before they head out to school and encounter Koichi on the way. His lunch consists of Okuyasu and Koichi meeting up with him and Izuku in their class, and all four of them walking home after school. This new routine in Josuke's life brought him a new experience he never had before. Before meeting Koichi and Okuyasu, Josuke saw himself as a loner. Even though he's one of the most popular students in this school, he always preferred to stay alone.

Morning

After having weeks of saving up money, Koichi finally had enough money to buy a bike so that he wouldn't have to bus all the time. He merrily rode his bike across town without a care in the world. He can finally say goodbye to the horrors of public transport. He chuckled as he pedaled as fast as he could. The only downside is that it means that he won't meet up with Josuke or Okuyasu anymore to go to school or go home. He at least told them that he's going to bike from now on so that the two won't have to wait for him.

"Oh well, at least we can still hang out during lunch or the weekend," Koichi thought. Koichi felt like he struck a large rock on the road and was suddenly launched into the air. Koichi scrapped his knee when he fell face flat on the ground.

"O-ow, it felt like I hit a rock on the side of the road," Koichi muttered as he got up. He turned his face towards his bike, which looked damaged. He could probably have Josuke fix it with Crazy Diamond. Though he doesn't want him to bother him about it. Koichi had a glimpse at the object he hit on the road and it was a bag. "Huh, a bag? What's a bag doing on the side of the road?"

A cat's paw trying to poke out of the bag and Koichi heard a weak meow coming inside. "Wait, don't tell me I hit that cat!" Koichi exclaimed, "Who in the world left that cat in the middle of the road?"

The cat suddenly dropped its paw and blood began to bleed through the white bag. Koichi began to panic. "I-I killed that cat by running it over. What am I going to do? I couldn't help it!"

"Exactly!" an older man said. Koichi turned around to see a short man sitting on a bench beneath a tree. He had a pompadour just that was larger than Josuke's. He wore a light purple shirt with a yellow tie. The UK flag patch on the left-side of his chest.

"It was an unfortunate accident. The person who left that cat on the side of the road is the one at fault," the short man said.

"W-we have to help it," Koichi said.

"It's too late, that cat has died. Haven't you heard it cry out one last time before its soul left the body? It died" the man pointed out, "What's your name? My name is Tamami Kobayashi. A recent high school graduate who probably has a lot of free time on his hand."

"O-oh, my name is Koichi Hirose..."

"Hm, you're a middle schooler?"

"Y-yes," Koichi stuttered.

"Hm, those were the good days. Why don't you sit down, I have a proposition for you," Tamami said. When Koichi sat down, Tamami wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pointed at the dead cat on the road.

"Why don't you pay me to bury that cat over there?"

"Eh?" Koichi wondered, "I mean, I don't really see the point in paying you to bury that cat..."

"Hey, try to avoid the question here kid? You think you can get away with killing my cat for free?"

"Y-your cat!" Koichi shouted with sweat pouring from his head.

"Yeah, that's right! That was my cat who was killed by your bike!" Tamami yelled.

"But why did you leave your cat there!"

"Who cares? You killed my cat. My innocent cat!" Tamami proclaimed, pressing his finger against Koichi's chest.

"I-I didn't mean to run your cat over!" Koichi shouted while closing your eyes.

"Hm, feeling a little guilty now? Y'know, I can relieve you of your guilt if you just cough up a little cash," Tamami chuckled mischievously.

"H-huh," Koichi muttered. Tamami pushed Koichi with his finger, causing him to lose his balance for a bit but he quickly regained it. Red energy began to emit around Koichi's chest and a huge lock began to shoot out of it.

"Eh, why is there a lock on my chest..." Koichi groaned. The heavy weight of the object is pulling the short student down. "I-It's pulling me down."

"Oh," Tamami said, looking at Koichi intriguingly, "That's the first time someone saw The Lock."

"Is this a Stand?" Koichi asked.

Tamami chuckled and said, "It is. The Lock attaches itself to anyone that feels guilty. The weight you're feeling right now is your own guilt."

"How do I get rid of it!?" Koichi demanded. He got on his knees and began to pull on The Lock.

"You can't just pull off The Lock," Tamami chuckled.

"Then how do I get rid of it?" Koichi asked.

It's simple, pay me and I can release my Stand and free you from the guilt," Tamami began to count his finger, "Let's see, maybe 7,000 yen should suffice."

Koichi glanced away from Tamami and said, "I-I don't have that much money unfortunately."

Tamami quickly figured out that Koichi was lying as the short teen didn't look at him in the eye when he said it. "Hm, why did you look away from me when you said that?"

"W-well," Koichi continued to look away from Tamami. The Lock began to grow heavier by the second, causing Koichi to fall on the ground.

"The beauty of my Stand is that it can detect a liar and make it even heavier," Tamami chuckled, "It's even heavier because you felt guilty for lying!"

In the distance, Okuyasu and Josuke were walking to school. Okuyasu was the one who noticed Koichi's small stature in the distance. He was slightly confused since he thought Koichi would've made it to school way before they did.

"Oi, Josuke, isn't that Koichi over there?" Okuyasu asked.

"Hm?" Josuke turned around and saw Koichi with Tamami. "Yeah, that's him alright. Although I don't recognize that man standing next to him. He's always looking for the shady-looking types to hang out with."

"It looks like he's having fun," Okuyasu lightly chuckled. He suddenly got a sense of deja vu out of nowhere. "Wait, Josuke, I think I recognize that man next to Koichi."

"You do?"

"He must've been one of the people my bro shot the Stand Arrow with!" Okuyasu suddenly remembered.

"That can't be good. I think we should help out our friend here before he gets himself into deep trouble," Josuke said.

Tamami pulled out Koichi's wallet from his right pocket and opened. He grinned as he found 7,000 yen inside of Koichi's wallet. "What is this?" Tamami laughed. "You should've just given me the money. You even got exactly 7,000 yen."

"I-I needed that money to buy sneakers for gym..." Koichi muttered.

"Sneakers?" Tamami grabbed by the collar and pulled him closer to his face. With a heathenish tone he said, "Then go barefoot in gym class for all I care."

Koichi heard a recognizable face from behind Tamami. "Hey, what's going on here?"

Koichi looked over Tamami's shoulder as the short man turned around. They both saw Josuke and Okuyasu approaching them.

"J-Josuke and Okuyasu!" Koichi yelled. He widened his eyes at the sight of his two friends.

"A grown man threatening a middle schooler for money? That's pretty pathetic," Josuke commented.

"Why don't you guys mind your business. I'm sure you both have classes to attend to," Tamami groaned.

"That's not happening," Josuke proclaimed, "If a trashy Stand user is going around using their Stand's power to abuse people, then they need to be taken out with the rest of the garbage."

Okuyasu walked towards Koichi and and began to tug The Lock from his chest. He tried all of his strength to try to pull out the Stand out of Koichi's chest, but it's like someone welded it to his chest. Tamami looked surprised to see that there are two more people who can see his Stand.

"Whoa, hold on, you guys can see my Stand..." Tamami muttered .

"This thing don't budge. It's really stuck in there," Okuyasu said, trying to pull The Lock with all of his strength.

"Just how many people can see Stands?" Tamami asked.

"That's what I'd like to know to, but that's not important right now," Josuke said. "Can you remove that lock off my friend please?"

"Hey, you goddamn brats! Don't take me lightly!" Tamami barked. "I'm not messing around here! Sinners have to pay for their sins. It's a rule in society!"

"This guy is crazy..." Koichi commented.

"How about this... Why don't you two pay me instead of Koichi? If you do that, I'll let him off the hook."