Oshi No Ko; You are my World (SEASON 2 BAYBEH)

41: look away

"Consider yourselves fortunate," Dio uttered in an emotionless tone as he loomed over the small group of armed men stationed at the entrance of the familiar apartment building.

His steely gaze swept upwards, landing on the third floor where Ai's old apartment resided. He took mental note of its desolate appearance, a stark contrast to the surrounding rooms.

"Tsk, have none of you been taught proper manners?" Dio retorted, nimbly sidestepping to evade a sniper bullet aimed at his head. The audacity of Hikaru to acquire such a formidable weapon perplexed Dio, although he found it peculiar that a man of his standing could become so fixated on one woman, even if she was Ai Hoshino.

Dio huffed, brushing away the damp tendrils of hair obscuring half of his face, and launched a punch at the man sneaking up from behind. The blow was underwhelming, with minimal blood spraying from the impact.

"Disappointing," he muttered, activating his Stand to shatter the man's teeth into his skull, causing instantaneous death from bone shards penetrating his brain.

The grotesque demise of their comrade failed to deter the remaining foes; instead, it fueled their determination, prompting them to charge at Dio as a unified force.

"How pathetic," Dio sighed as he shed his vest, revealing a sleeveless bodysuit reminiscent of his past life.

"One, two, buckle my shoe~" Dio hummed the tune Ai had shared with him, kicking a man square in the jaw, sending his jawbone flying before executing a swift roundhouse kick, crushing another man's skull.

"Three, four, buckle some more~" The rain mingled with the blood, a macabre symphony as Dio's blows left behind only carnage. Mangled bodies, chests pierced through, and skulls fractured, lay scattered across the front yard and stairwell leading to the third floor.

In this gruesome moment, Dio felt alive, though he couldn't help but question whether it was truly life coursing through him or the adrenaline that surged with each hit, reminding him of the unparalleled power he once wielded.

"Behold my presence, you wretched scum!" Dio roared, delivering a merciless strike with both fists before employing his Stand to rip out a nearby man's heart.

"Spread my name to the far reaches of existence!" He bellowed, shoving the heart into the mouth of a guard blocking the final flight of stairs.

It was intoxicating—the raw strength surging through his veins, the power to bend others to his will, the might to crush those who dared to defy him.

He continued to obliterate any who dared stand before him, their lifeless forms forming a grisly pyramid. With relentless determination, he ascended to the next floor, ready to unleash further carnage.

"...Y/N?"

Dio's maniacal laughter ceased abruptly. His eyes, once brimming with insatiable hunger for power, now betrayed a flicker of uncertainty as he slowly returned to his senses. His humanity flowed back into him as he gazed down at the river of blood flowing beneath him, and the woman observing him from a distance.

"...Look away," Dio whispered, waving his hand dismissively, flinging the lifeless bodies aside as if they were inconsequential. He took a deep breath, his heart throbbing painfully with every beat. The terror etched on Ai's face, a look he had grown all too familiar with, pierced his soul like a blade.

"Don't look."

A maelstrom of emotions swirled within Ai's mind. Fear surged to the forefront as she struggled to fathom the atrocities committed by Y/N in his mission to rescue her. She began to question whether she truly knew the man behind the violence. Who was he, this individual capable of such destruction in such a fleeting moment?

"Is this him, Ai?" Hikaru's whisper caressed her cheeks, his hands cupping her face, adorned with a victorious smirk.

"Do you actually believe in this man?" Ai's eyes widened with disbelief and denial as she turned her gaze towards Hikaru, then back to Dio, who merely averted his eyes.

"How... Y/N, how?" Ai questioned, her focus solely on Dio, showing no concern for Hikaru or the captors surrounding her.

She desperately wished that everything she had seen was just an unreal nightmare, a dream she could wake up from and receive a gentle scolding from Y/N about playing too many horror games.

"It's a long story," Dio muttered, taking slow steps towards Ai, who instinctively took a step back.

Guilt washed over Ai as she caught a fleeting glimpse of pain in Y/N's eyes, quickly masked by his usual emotionless scowl.

"It doesn't matter," Dio continued, inhaling deeply before shifting his attention to Meimei, who visibly flinched under his intense gaze.

"You're... affiliated with them," Dio breathed out, taking a threatening step closer, but he halted as Ai rushed ahead and placed herself between him and Hikaru's group.

"Stop it!" She screamed, surprising everyone except Dio and Hikaru, who held expressions of anger and amusement, respectively.

"Ai Hoshino," Dio began, but before he could continue, she cut him off, stamping her foot down.

"No, Y/N! Enough is enough!" Ai's voice rang with determination. "Let's just forget this night; there's no need to kill people!"

"You should listen to her, Y/N," Hikaru chimed in from behind Ai, infuriating Dio to the point where he almost lunged at him, but once again, Ai intervened, positioning herself in front of him.

"Ai Hoshino, look away if you must, but don't stop me from delivering justice."

"This isn't justice!"

"Yes, it is! They took what's mine, and I'm taking what's theirs."

"But I'm already safe! Can't you see that you're the one who's a danger to me right now!?"

Ai's words struck Dio's heart like a dagger. If it weren't for the sword protruding from his back, causing crimson blood to trickle down, her words would have been the most painful sensation in the world.

"Tsk... careless, Ai," he cursed, summoning enough strength to move Ai out of harm's way, preventing her from getting skewered with him before collapsing to his knees.