Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion Chapter 388

[madimpossibledreamer]

Chapter contains text from a fictional biography of real world Jack London’s life written by Beta-senpai.

Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: The bookstore owner gives them a taste of the future.
Word Count: 1277
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS

        “So, uh. Just reading from a book. Where does the memorization part come in?” Johan wonders out loud. From the irritated glance, it’s going to be a tight line to walk, trying to flatter him enough to make sure that he doesn’t just outright try to kill them or just refuse to share the information with them without being overly effusive or fake. Well, if he’s being completely honest, attacking them is much less likely. If he’s anything like D’arby he doesn’t have the power to take them all on at once, but he knows they can’t just walk away, either. Not when he’s dangling the possibility that he can live up to his promise and give them this key they need to find and understand and maybe even stop Rush’s plan.
        “You are unconvinced, I see. Very well.” Back to the downright predatory smile. Maybe the irritation is a clue, though—like, things have to go exactly the way he’s steering them, or it’ll all go wrong. Something to explore, maybe. “I shall provide a demonstration in two parts. The first shall have little practical use to you, but shall demonstrate the value of what I know. One of the books sought was a description of the process of Ascension to the ancient race known as Pillar Man, written by a woman who had achieved the result without failure. I believe another copy could be found in the private library of the organization we have both encountered, though that is more rumor than actual confirmation. It described several conditions necessary for a successful Ascension: the location, the bloodletting ritual, both from the one wishing to Ascend and many unwilling sacrifices, including the heart freshly cut out of a great enemy, the incense, a blood moon, a perfect Red Stone of Aja...need I go on?”
        Johan rubs at his chest, wincing. He hadn’t actually been the one on the altar—as far as anyone could tell, that was the Stand doppelganger that had been sacrificed—but he’d still felt an echo when he’d been drowning elsewhere. In fact, that explains why Rush had felt the need to travel there himself. Rush is very much the type to send someone else where he feels he can, but he very well hadn’t been able to find anyone else to sabotage Wesley’s Ascension, and perhaps he’d wanted a Perfect Red Stone for his own purposes which is...very much not of the good, but also a problem for later. And...now that he’s thinking about it, had probably also been perfectly able to carve Xander’s eye right out. That makes a lot more sense than him somehow magic-trick whisking them away out from under the noses of, say, Jotaro and Josie, of all people—and...that might actually explain the paramedic outfit and such, too. With his eye stuff, he’d probably grabbed more than a few eyeballs on the way out, and as long as no one looked too closely, gross medical stuff fits in perfectly amidst the rest of the normal medical stuff. Which means, in a twist of irony, he’d been the one asked to try to treat the injuries some of which he himself had caused, all the while just a touch too slow in his getaway attempt to be gone before anyone could notice him. That has to grate, after the second time. He probably hadn’t been too happy about the first time, either, but had a better grasp of his own patience at the time.
        The question had been rhetorical, because he’d known exactly what he’d needed to say. “The second is a demonstration of my own memorization skills, and a preview of the task you will be asked to accomplish.”
        The owner waits, actually somewhat patiently now that he thinks they’re stuck in his web. Xander’s confused, though, and eventually ventures, “Aren’t you going to begin?”
        “Pick a book, and from there, a page.” He gestures at the entire shop. Johan wanders off, ignoring anything ‘Buhan’ might have been hinting at and instead following one of Hierophant’s tendrils that’s vibrating a little. Probably to try to catch his attention. He’s not entirely sure what plan Kakyoin and Jotaro have cooked up yet, but it’s very clear that they’re plotting something, and he’s cool with following someone else’s lead, as long as they can figure out how to accurately communicate their intentions with each other. But he knows how they think, so...that gives him an advantage even if he’s not actively using Pretender.
        From there, he picks up the book—not one of the heaviest or most difficult biography in here, but they’d obviously chosen it for a reason and he dutifully carries it to one of the back tables. He picks the one furthest away, just in case of really good demon eyesight or something, but apparently a glance at the cover was all the man needed, because he smiles. The smile of someone seeing an old friend for the first time in a while.
        Johan flips to a page, 181, and glances down at the page. “183, second paragraph.” Might as well keep testing him, here.
        Buhan chuckles, his blue eyes narrowing as he closes them. “From the initial settlement, the Yukon wilderness proved an inhospitable and dangerous place. Settlers frequently struggled with the cool winds and freezing temperatures, but the worst affair were the bears—many bears were located in the nearby forests. Their markings filled the wilderness, and London was careful to avoid approaching too near to the forests in his gold-prospecting adventures.” He strokes along his chin. “Is that sufficient?”
        Josephine covers her mouth. Jotaro frowns, his eyes shaded by the cap. That pretty much confirms Johan’s hunch, combined with the sinking feeling. His first instinct is to run away (and how ironic, that that was his usual instinct and all this time he hadn’t known it was a time-honored family tradition), but that’s just postponing the inevitable. Sooner rather than later, they’ll probably become more loose ends to dispose of, and that’s assuming that Rush’s plot doesn’t affect the whole world, too.
        His mum’s bad feeling is almost certainly from losing her own match before Darling or Buluc Chabtan arrived and a feeling of déjà vu she can’t explain (which, can he just say, people need to stop messing with her memories; they’re probably all a tangle as it is), and Jotaro’s smart enough to have noticed the same problem he has. It makes sense. Faced with this challenge, this would be the first instinct of any seeking to cheat, so it’s the first thing to try to counter. A mere flip of a page confirms that Buhan had been correct, but the question they need to ask is: why. If it’s some sort of weird demon power, they’re probably out of luck. If it’s by sight alone, like the professional card counter at the casino, they have a chance. 
        “I don’t view this as a game, to be honest with you. It’s more of a hobby, because I win every match,” Buhan chuckles.
        “You’ve never had a match.” Johan glances down at the page again, his expression serious as he closes it.
        Buhan’s brow furrows, his expression darkening as he looks at Johan. “What do you mean by that?”
        “You’ll see what I mean. Aren’t you going to pick out a book for me to read?” Johan asks with a slight smile, his hand resting against the side of the book after a pause. After a slight hesitation, Buhan walks to the shelf, picking up one of the brown-bound volumes. He hands it to Johan, a slight scowl on his face.