Expect lots of thought text here. After all, it's the Stray Cat chapter.

It was a rainy evening, and Kira frowned as he tried on Takashi's shoes. They could slip on, but were too big to fit him properly. 'Walking won't be a problem, but someone might notice if I keep using them for too long. I'll start replacing them a little at a time.' Just then, he heard Ayaka screaming and went to investigate. The basement looked like it was a mess. "What happened?," he asked, the concern in his voice coming from instinct, making it sound more genuine. "Oh, Takashi," Ayaka said, pointing over to the body of a black cat, a British blue from the look at it.

"I saw that cat sitting on the potatoes," Ayaka explained, "At first I tried getting the cat to come closer, but it wouldn't budge. I started to get mad because it was ignoring me and threw a brush at it, but it somehow swatted it away with its tail. When I tried to chase it with a broom, it just leapt to the ceiling. And that's when I saw it! A big hole in the cat's neck, big enough to stick a coin in!" Kira raised an eyebrow. 'The arrow my father had? Did it get out of the house somehow?'

He looked at the mess. "How did it get killed?" "Well, I was so freaked out I just waved the broom wherever and wound up causing all kinds of damage," Ayaka explained, "When I calmed down I looked for the cat... But it had been impaled by glass from some of the broken jars..." Ayaka trembled, and Kira hugged her. "It's fine, it was just an accident. I don't see a collar so its likely a stray. I'll make to sure bury it later." Ayaka nodded, sniffling.

The next day, something odd happened on the grave the cat was buried in. An unusual flower sprouted, which had eyeballs. 'Where am I?,' it thought. It was, in fact, the stray cat from yesterday. 'I can't remember how I got here... I was just sunning myself in a tree when something hit me right in the neck. An arrow, I think. Somehow I survived and took shelter from the sudden rain... Hmm... Nope I can't remember anything.' The flower gave a meow in the sun. 'This sun feels nice.'

It started to groom itself, only to get confused by its new appearance. It also found itself unable to jump after a fly it spotted. 'What the heck is going on here? I'm stuck somehow! How am I supposed to eat!?' Just then, it spotted Ayaka walking outside, looking rather sad. 'That lady looks familiar.' Ayaka sighed when she looked out over the garden. "I wasn't trying to hurt anything. I can't believe I wound up killing such a beautiful kitty." 'Wow, I feel sorry for whatever kitty got on her bad side. Though that scenario sounds familiar. And why do I feel like I don't like this woman?'

Just then, a paper flew nearby, which the flower cat swatted at, getting Ayaka's attention. "What was that!? I don't see anything..." The flower cat, Tama by name, recognized the broom Ayaka was holding. 'That's right! I remember now! This lady was attacking me with a broom, and I got caught on some glass and...' It growled, and some instinct caused it to lash out with an air bubble, striking off Ayaka's toenail. She cried out as she felt the pain and knelt over to check her toe.

Tama, meanwhile, we surprised. 'Did I do that? I somehow ripped that human's toenail off without even touching her.' It heard some birds flying overhead and realized it was still hungry. 'I wonder...' It focused, and launched an air bubble at one bird that flew close, killing it instantly and causing it land at Tama's roots. 'I seem to have picked up a new power somehow. I've seen other people around town exhibiting strange powers. They seem to call them Stands... I guess I have one too now. It must be why I'm still alive. Hmm... They seem to name these powers... Stray Cat seems like a good name for mine.'

It dragged the bird over and ate it as Kira approached. "So that cat was a Stand user after all. But just what is this thing?" The cat looked at Kira as it started to grow. "I'm not sure what kind of power it has that it could injure Ayaka and kill that sparrow," Kira admitted, "But what's more important is... Somehow there are new Stand users about. Is this one a new ally? Or perhaps... It's here to kill me?" Tama yawned before falling asleep. "Hmm," Kira said, "It seems to be equal parts animal and plant. I could kill this thing at any time. I may as well observe this thing first."

He whistled, getting Tama's attention. "It acts a lot like a cat." Further investigation revealed more cat-like behavior, as if the flower was a cat. "I get it," Kira said, "The cat from yesterday got reincarnated as a Stand unto itself." Ayaka, her foot bandaged, carefully approached. "T-Takashi? Is that the spot where you buried the cat? I... Don't like it. Somehow, just getting near it got my toenail got ripped off even though there was nothing for it to catch on... I think it might be cursed."

The whole time, Kira was trying to block Tama's view. 'This cat must hold a grudge for Ayaka. It'd be dangerous for her to approach.' Just then, Ayaka peeked her head over Kira's shoulder, causing Tama to hiss violently. 'This thing's too dangerous! I'll need to erase it with Killer Queen!' Killer Queen turned a small rock near Tama into a bomb. "Sweetie, is there something in your shadow?," Ayaka asked, "It looks like something's moving."

Killer Queen triggered the bomb, but Kira got a shock when it didn't go off. Tama had recognized what Killer Queen was doing, and quickly sealed off the air around the rock in an effort to suppress the explosion. "Ayaka, get back inside," Kira warned. But just then, a sudden burst of air impacted against Ayaka, knocking her to the ground, a paw print on her chest and blood coming from her mouth. "Ayaka!," Kira called out. Tama knocked the bomb rock away to where it exploded like normal.

Kira turned his attention to Tama. 'I think I just caught a clue to this creature's Stand. It may be counterproductive to my usual routine, but I can't let Ayaka die. For more than one reason...' On the one hand, it could draw unwanted attention if she suddenly dropped dead for unexplained reasons. On the other, Kira was starting to get attached to Ayaka. He quickly picked her up and moved back. 'One of DIO's servants Father heard of could manipulate wind currents. This cat can do more... Controlling every facet of the air. It's the only explanation for why Killer Queen's bomb failed... There was no air to set off the explosion.'

Tama fired off an air bullet from Stray Cat, causing Kira to summon Killer Queen to block it. "Crush it, Killer Queen!" Killer Queen moved to step on the flower cat, only to get stopped by a bubble of air Tama used to protect itself. 'This human is standing between me and the woman. He's an enemy I'll have to kill.' Killer Queen slipped off the air bubble and hit the ground as Tama ejected another air bubble. Kira looked around, then acted when it heard an explosion that hit the nearby cactus, moving his body to shield Ayaka. He checked her, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her eyes were uninjured.

Tama fired off an air volley, but Kira put Ayaka down and readied Killer Queen. "The same trick won't work against me twice," Kira said. He then noticed the flower cat seemed to be laughing, and felt something gurgle up his arm. He pulled up his sleeve and gasped when he saw an air embolism was traveling up his veins were one of the needles from the cactus had hit him. 'Clever cat. If this thing reaches my heart it's sure to kill me.' "Killer Queen!" Killer Queen stuck the part of Kira's arm where the air bubble was traveling, causing it to pop out in a blood spray.

Kira breathed a sigh of relief, but knew he wasn't done. "It seems I always wind up underestimating my opponent. This cat's Stand is quite potent." He saw Tama move to attack again, but saw a golf ball out of the corner of his eye. 'That's it...' He took the golf ball and tossed it at Tama, who immediately started playing with it. Kira collapsed in relief. "When in doubt, find a way to target the Stand user. And in this case, that involves taking advantage of instinct. Looks like the cat's forgotten its grudge. I'll let this go for now..."

From his attic window, Hayato was able to observe the entire situation. 'That was Killer Queen, the Stand that Dad told me to watch out for. But for now it looks like he was using it to help Missus Yamashita. It should be safe to hold onto the information for now, just in case divulging it makes me a target. But I also can't wait too long.' 'Come in Party Boy, this is Seeking Field, over,' came a voice over his equipment. It was Riku Yamashita, the boy who first brought the household to Hayato's attention.

"Party Boy here, I read you Seeking Field, over," Hayato replied. Recently Riku had become Hayato's first real friend, a fact that pleased his mom very much. While Riku was no Stand user, he was observant, and that made him perfect for helping Hayato search the house. Party in the CIA had one limitation, it could only see what modern surveillance equipment could feasibly see. Luckily it had another feature. Party in the CIA could be seen by ordinary people, even held by them, and they could take it with them to act as Hayato's eyes through his equipment.

'Additional information,' Riku said, 'Dad seems to be using shoes too small for himself. And he was able to eat all of Mom's cooking without complaint, even though it had bell peppers in it. Dad hates bell peppers.' "My dad hates mushrooms," Hayato noted, "But that's neither here nor there. Where are you right now?" 'Inside the front hall,' Riku replied, 'Dad's gone and Mom is occupied. They think I'm at school. He also brought in a pot full of soil... And some cat food.'

Hayato had already seen this much, and figured it had something to do with the strange cat and flower hybrid Kira fought earlier. 'I can't find the pot in the closet,' Riku said, 'Maybe in the attic...' Hayato remembered that all the boys in his school had to wear hats to school. He didn't have to worry because Kosaku had made up a sick excuse so Hayato could keep on his monitor duty. He told Riku to leave his hat behind on purpose to test a theory. 'If Takashi is actually this Kira guy using Takashi's face, then he comes from a different district. I saw him view the coat rack and thought nothing of it. Now let's see if he comes back...'

'Hey Party Boy...,' Riku whispered, 'Can you see this? There's something weird in the pot...' "Don't touch it," Hayato warned, "Primary target is in range, Action One necessary. Keep pot out of sunlight. Will relay information to Big Daddy, copy." 'Copy that, Party Boy,' Riku said, 'Over and out.' Hayato watched as his friend slipped out a nearby window down a ladder they planted, making sure the sun didn't hit Stray Cat to activate his Stand power. The idea was to grab the hat while Kira was investigating the attic. Hayato grinned when it was pulled off perfectly. 'It'll be some time before this guy learns his supposed son was late to class. Until then, it looks like he doesn't suspect a thing.'