Diamonds Burn Gold

Chapter 19: The Great Rohan Kishibe, part 1

It was a slow day and Koichi let out a sigh as he was finally done with another gruelling day of school. Now, all he wants to do is to go home and relax. Normally, Koichi would have walked with Josuke and Saya, but he had gone to the hotel to discuss finding the invisible baby's mother with Saya offering to help out. One the way home, he stumbled across someone he didn't expect to see again so soon. No, that couldn't be..? A familiar pale-skinned boy turned around and nearly jumped when he spotted Koichi.

"Uh, Koichi...it's you." He said, nervously.

"Hey, there...Hazamada." Koichi greeted, just as awkward as Hazamada was feeling.

"Oh...yeah, hi. What's new? I'm sorry for all the trouble I have you the other day." Hazamada told him.

"So, uh, have you completely recovered from your injuries?" Koichi asked him, noticing the bandage on his nose. Hazamada gave an awkward laugh and said, "Sort of, I guess. The doc sent me home two days ago." He then started to frantically look around, expecting to see someone but found no sign of a certain someone.

"Where's that bastard-, I-I mean, where's Josuke?" Hazamada asked.

"He's with Saya. You won't believe it, but he found an invisible baby yesterday and now they're bending over backwards to find its mother." Koichi explained to him.

"So the baby is a Stand user?" Hazamada asked, actually surprised that someone so little could be a Stand user.

"Looks that way. Apparently, the baby has formed a bond with Josuke's dad, Mr. Joestar. In fact, if Mr. Joestar isn't nearby at all time, she turns everything around her invisible. Fortunately, Mrs. Kujo's helping him out with that." Koichi said as the two began to walk down the sidewalk together.

" Hmm. Does this mean this Mr. Joestar is gonna stick around Moroh for a while?" Hazamada asked.

"Probably." Koichi said.

"I see. Hey, Koichi, do you happen to like manga?" Hazamada suddenly asked Koichi with a smile on his face.

"Manga? Yeah, guess I like them as much as the next guy." Koichi said, smiling a bit as well.

"Have you ever heard of Rohan Kishibe? He draws Pink Dark Boy." Hazamada says with a huge smile.

"What kind of question is that?! I'm one of the biggest Pink Dark Boy fans in Japan!" Koichi happily exclaimed. "No way, you really like it?!" Hazamada shouted. Despite an awkward start as former enemies, Hazamada and Koichi quickly bond over their love of manga. "You're talking about the suspense horror series, aren't you?! I'd never get it mixed up with anything else! It can get pretty gross sometimes but it's worth it for the horror aesthetic and complex characters!" Koichi said.

"I completely agree! By the way, here's a little secret. Rohan Kishibe actually lives right here in Morioh." Hazamada whispered over to him before they began to freak out again over the news. "What? Did I hear you right? He lives here in Morioh?! It's almost too good to be true, are you sure?!" Koichi shouts.

"I know, I couldn't believe it either! I heard some realtors talking about it while I was at the comics store! It's mind-boggling news but it's absolutely true!" Hazamada gushed out while Koichi screamed in happiness. "Hey, I just had a great idea! Let's get some autographs!"

"You know it! Just lead the way!" Koichi exclaimed. After a little walk, the two stopping before a large European styled house. The house had a perfectly manicured lawn and a sign in the front with the family name "Kishibe" posted out on the lawn. "We really get each other, huh?" Hazamada said. 

"You think so?" Koichi asked when he looked up at the second-floor windows. He blinked when he saw lights coming out from the blinds. He smiled and pointed it out to Hazamada. "Hey, look up there. I think that might be his studio, the light's on."