Been looking forward to showing how Pinkie deals with Yukako. And now the wait is over.

"So Hazamada doesn't know anything about Red Hot Chili Pepper?," Okuyasu asked. "If he did I'm sure we wouldn't be talking to him," Pinkie noted. "He only talked with the guy over the phone," Josuke explained, "This user seems extremely cautious, never giving out anything regarding his name or identity. The only clue we have is the one time he slipped up when trying to threaten Jotaro. That said, Hazamada did say something interesting. He seems to be under the impression that Stand users somehow got drawn to each other, even if they don't know each other."

"Like an invisible force that binds us all together," Okuyasu said, "I guess even I can understand that. I mean, Jotaro met all those Stand users during his trip to Egypt. Yeah, they were trying to kill him but he and his friends were traveling through some pretty big cities packed with people. The odds that those assassins would actually find him were slim." "And it's why, sooner or later, Red Hot Chili Pepper's user will wind up running into us," Josuke said, "And he knows it. That's why he wants Jotaro out of Morioh. And he convinced Hazamada to pull it off, thinking he was the only one who could."

"That pussy should come out and face us already!," Okuyasu demanded, "Especially if he knows its gonna happen sooner or later anyway!" "Given our powers I doubt he'd just rush in and attack," Pinkie said, "Push comes to shove our combined powers are ultimately stronger than Red Hot Chili Pepper. It may be physically powerful and able to harness electricity, but it's no lightning master and we have Stands that are just as strong and likely faster. No, he'll wait until he's sure he can beat us."

Okuyasu nodded, then turned his head to the cafe they were passing and saw Koichi. "Hey, isn't that Koichi over there?" "Huh, it is," Josuke said. "Why's he all by himself?," Pinkie asked, "He never said he was coming here." "He didn't tell you anything?," Josuke asked. Pinkie shrugged. "I assumed he was heading over to train with Kakyoin again. He said his Stand still has some room to grow. Something about not everyone being as easy to control with words as Tamami."

Okuyasu started to call out to Koichi, only to see a young woman their age sit down next to him, causing him to get shocked. "A date!?," Pinkie called out, "Dang Koichi got some confidence in him!" "Doki Doki!," Smile cried. "I know that girl!," Okuyasu realized, "She's Yukako Yamagishi from my class! She's said to be the most beautiful girl in the school! Uh... No offence Pinkie." Pinkie just shrugged. "Let's try getting closer. Follow me. Smile!" Using Smile's power, the trio rushed over hiding behind impossible objects until they reached a tree close enough to overhear the date.

"I hope I didn't bother you," Yukako said, "Calling you out here like this." "Oh, it's no trouble," Koichi said, "But I gotta admit, I can't really understand why you called me out here. I mean, I'm not exactly a good note-taker, and my handwriting's kinda messy. I don't have much money on me. Or... Did you want to switch cleaning duty?" "The guy can't be this dense, can he?," Okuyasu said indignantly, "Come on man, even I can tell there's only one reason she'd call Koichi out here."

"Koichi," Yukako said, "The truth is... I really like you." "Doki!," Smile declared. Koichi looked flabbergasted. "Knew it!," Okuyasu called out, "Man, why I am the only guy in this group who's not attracting hot chicks!?" "Quiet," Josuke said, clapping his hand over Okuyasu's mouth. "I think about you all the time," Yukako said, "But I wasn't sure if you already had someone. I mean... You're hanging around with Pinkie Pie..." "Oh that," Koichi said, "She's actually Josuke's girlfriend."

Yukako breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I wasn't sure how to get out my feelings for you. But holding it in made me feel like I was going to explode. So... I thought it best just to let me feelings out, even if you ended up hating me." Koichi was still trying to process this. 'This is a little unprecedented. I mean, even after Josuke and Pinkie started dating other girls didn't seem to take the hint. And even then, I thought for sure Okuyasu would be next on the list.' He couldn't help grinning. 'It's really awesome! A cute girl just came out and said she likes me!'

Behind the tree, Okuyasu was bawling his eyes out. "Why don't girls talk like that to me!?" "Don't get too excited," Pinkie said, "Yukako's a flawless beauty, no mistake. But she embodies the saying 'every rose has its thorns'." The boys looked at her, wondering what she meant. Meanwhile, Yukako was still talking. "You just look mature lately, with such courage and a purpose. I always find men who are already perfect boring, but when I look at you, I see someone who has great potential for the future. There's just something inside you that I can just see shining! And I... I like everything about you!"

Koichi was getting flustered. "Ah, come on... I'm not really that special..." Yukako looked sad. "Do you... Dislike ugly girls like me?" "What do you mean?," Koichi said, "You're not ugly at all." Yukako looked hopeful. "Then... Do you like me?" Koichi was at a loos for words. "Well... I don't... I mean, we just met so..." Then, to the boys shock, Yukako started to get impatient and growled. "Well, which is it! Koichi, hurry and choose! I'm pouring out my heart here!"

Pinkie sighed. "Yep, there's Yukako's temper at work again. She dislikes it when people are indecisive and her patience is lacking. Luckily, she's quick to regain her composure." Sure enough, Yukako calmed down when she saw her rant had caused her coffee to spill. "Sorry... Yes, you're right, this isn't a decision you should be making so quickly." She got up to leave. "You'll come see me again, right?" Koichi still looked a little freaked out by the outburst so he couldn't speak as Yukako left.

"Don't drink the cola," Pinkie said as she came over, "I saw her hair flaring all over the place and I think some of it might've gotten in the drinks." Koichi looked and saw she was right, which got him disgusted. "Pretty extreme reaction," Josuke noted. "Yeah, more extreme than normal," Pinkie said, "I've never seen her hair do that before. And did you see that glowing energy?" "Stand users are drawn to each other...," Okuyasu muttered, "You don't think...?" "I'm not sure," Josuke said, "None of us really saw a Stand. But that energy is unmistakable. We'd better keep an eye on her."

The next day, Koichi was busy cleaning the classroom, when something touched his shoulder, freaking him out. "It's just me Koichi," Yukako said. "Jeez, Yukako," Koichi said, "You nearly gave me a heart attack." He knew he couldn't let his guard down around her since she was likely a Stand user and it wasn't clear whether she'd be trouble to anyone else, but for now she seemed neutral so he'd at least be polite. "I'm sorry about that," Yukako said, "What are you doing here?"

"Just what it looks like," Koichi said, "Cleaning the chem room. We had lab during fourth period." Yukako nodded. "Anyway, I want to apologize for yesterday. I mean, I can't take back my feelings, but I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. Can we start over again as friends to start?" Koichi nodded. "Yeah, sure. That'd be great." Yukako breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I wasn't sure if you'd actually hate me for what happened." She dug into her purse. "Um... I made something for you, if you'd like. I spent all night on it."

Koichi was surprised when it turned out to be a blue pullover which she tried to size against Koichi. "Ah, it's fits perfectly. I already knew your height and chest size, but I was a little worried about your shoulder span. I also added a little charm, so you can find true love soon." Koichi was now back to getting nervous around Yukako, and not in a good way. She then got out a bento box. "I also made us lunch. You haven't eaten yet, right?" The bento honestly did look appetizing, but Koichi was a little unnerved at the way Yukako described how she prepared it.

Luckily, just as he was getting in a quandary about whether or not to eat it, the class president, who happened to be a girl, entered the lab. "Hey Koichi," she said, "Don't forget to take the trash out before class starts." "On it!," Koichi said immediately, going right for the trash. "Hey, you're spilling it all over," the class rep said, "Let me take half." Koichi got nervous, as he could already feel Yukako's eyes on them both. "Uh... You don't have to do that..." "Nonsense," the class rep said, "This is part of my job, after all." Yukako glared.

Later, Pinkie spotted Yukako and the class rep arguing. It was clear Yukako was under the impression that the class rep was trying to take Koichi away, which the class rep brushed off as just Yukako's delusion. 'So then...,' Pinkie thought, 'Knowing your personality, Yukako, what's your next action?' Yukako seemed to walk off, but Pinkie noted that some of her hair seemed to invisibly tangle itself in the other girl's hair. "Smile." Smile appeared and cast out its cartoon world. Good thing too, because the transparent hairs were attached to a nearby furnace, which had been lit.

On the one hand, this made the fires traveling up the hairs become much stronger and start smoking. On the other hand, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as it alerted the class rep to the fire much earlier than it would have otherwise. Pinkie made to grab a water bucket since the hairs also seemed to wrap around the girl's eyes and mouth, but Okuyasu already showed up, using The Hand to erase the burning hairs before they reached the class rep. "Looks like we were right," Josuke noted, "Yukako is a Stand user." "And her Stand lets her control her hair," Pinkie said, "Down to the last follicle, at that."

After enough observation using her Stand, Pinkie was able to get some information regarding Yukako and her Stand, which was called Love Deluxe. She wasn't yet sure if Yukako was a natural Stand user or if she got hit by the arrow, and Okuyasu had no clue on the matter. Love Deluxe was already known to be able to manipulate Yukako's hair, though its full strength was not yet know. Pinkie was able to estimate its effective range to be around ten meters, so given the normal Stand rules it was likely pretty strong.

Like just about everyone in Morioh, Pinkie knew a lot about Yukako's personality. Her having an attraction to Koichi was out of left field, but it was in keeping with Yukako's normal character. Pinkie had already discussed Yukako's temper, but there was also her delusional way of thinking, like she spent all her time in her own little fantasy, never accepting reality. And she was prone to false assumptions, as the incident with the class rep proved. This combined with the fact that her Stand seemed to have fine control over every last strand of her hair made her very dangerous.

As Koichi took all this in, he groaned. "Oh man... What am I gonna do? I mean, when Yukako first confessed to me I was psyched. I couldn't believe a cute girl was actually interested in me. But I didn't make myself clear enough..." He sighed. "Maybe I should go and tell her not to hang around me anymore." "Not a good idea," Josuke said, "I mean, this chick just spent a whole night knitting you a sweater. You tell her to back off and it'll just add fuel to the fire."

"So what would you suggest?," Pinkie asked. "Well, the first thing we need to do," Josuke noted, "Is find a way to stop her without incurring her wrath. We may know what her Stand does, but Jotaro once told me that simpler Stands are harder to beat, since they tend to be more versatile. We need to do this in such a way that Yukako doesn't bear a grudge against Koichi. And the best way to do that... Is to make her think that Koichi is undesirable." Pinkie stared at him, then started laughing. "Good one, Josuke! But seriously, what's your plan?"

"Uh... That is my plan," Josuke clarified. "Okay, joke's over babe," Pinkie said, "There's no way Yukako is gonna see Koichi as anything but a paragon, no matter how bad you make him out to be. And even if she does buy it, you heard what she said the other day. Perfect men bore her. If she thinks Koichi is less than desirable, then she'll just try to improve him by any means necessary." Josuke shrugged. "Well, we don't have any better ideas." "Just give me a few hours," Pinkie said, "I'm sure I can come up with something."

"YOU DID WHAT!?," Pinkie called out the next day. "We... Kinda wanted to try my idea...," Josuke said, "And it looks like Yukako kidnapped Koichi..." "Please don't throw pies in our faces," Okuyasu pleaded, "Or if you must, can it be blackberry? Cuz that's kinda my favorite." Pinkie literally flared up using Smile, causing her to make a good impression of a burned out match. She shook off the soot and returned to normal as she called out, "DAMN YOU PLOT!"

"Sorry...," Josuke said, "I mean... You were kinda taking some time with your plan." "I was trying to work on how to make Koichi seem like the perfect guy!," Pinkie clarified, "I told you guys, making him seem undesirable is just gonna make her think he needs a fixer-upper and that she's the only one who can make it happen. But if she thinks there's nothing to work with, she'll lose interest. Don't you guys get it? She's a dominant sort of personality, so if she thinks she can take control, she'll go for it. You have to make her think she can't be in control of a situation. I can understand you not getting it, Okuyasu. But, Josuke...?" Cartoon tears started coming out of her eyes. "You're supposed to be the smart one...!"

Josuke sighed and hugged her. "I'm sorry. I should have trusted you had it under control. Listen, do you know where Yukako lives?" "Well yeah," Pinkie said, calming down instantly, "But there's no way she took Koichi there. It has too many familiar landmarks around it. No, she'll take him someplace secluded, though I'm not sure where. But there's something to note. Yukako doesn't seem to realize that she's a Stand user, or that we're Stand users. Heck, I don't even think she knows what a Stand is." "Meaning she doesn't know Koichi has a Stand," Okuyasu realized, "If he plays his cards right, he can catch her off-guard and escape!"

"Don't get too excited," Josuke said, "Yukako may not know the nature of her powers, but that doesn't mean she doesn't know their limitations or strengths. Let's get in touch with Kakyoin and see if his contacts can find anything." "I hope Koichi can handle himself until then," Pinkie said, "Push comes to shove our powers are ultimately stronger. But Koichi has to rely on his wits, and all this stress has been getting him frazzled to the point where his test scores are dropping."

Koichi was having a rough time of it, thanks to Yukako's obsessiveness over "improving" him, never realizing that it might be her causing his grades to slip or that Josuke and Okuyasu may have been lying. In addition, her Stand seemed to have wormed its way into his hair. She also didn't seem to be bothered by how gross he tried to make himself out to be, saying there was something in his eyes. Of course, she didn't know he was a Stand user. Hell, she didn't know she was a Stand user, even though it turned out she had been hit by the arrow during February, but she passed it off as a dream.

In addition, the place was bought by some Tokyo company president, and would be empty until summer. When she finally left to order olive oil, Koichi got a brainstorm, realizing that there had to be a phone booth nearby, since all the other phone lines were cut. Koichi quickly called Echoes out to search. 'It's range is only fifty meters. Let's hope there's something within that range.' Luckily, it turned out there was something, a phone booth just within Echoes' range.

'Now only one last problem... I don't have any change! I was kidnapped in my pajamas!' Even calling the police wouldn't help, since they couldn't do a thing against a Stand user. "You were wondering if there's phone booth out here, weren't you?," came Yukako's voice, freaking Koichi out. Echoes was able to hide, but Yukako seemed to know exactly what Koichi was planning, and went to break the emergency button on the pay phone. But Koichi grinned after Yukako left. 'Time to play my trump card.'

Yukako went to place the order, but got surprised when she saw something suddenly printed on her arm. "What is this?" The sound of a dial tone started playing over and over off of the sound effects, confusing Yukako. She gasped when Josuke's voice came over the phone, saying, 'Hello, Higashikata residence.' "What on earth is this?," Yukako said, making sure to keep the receiver away from her mouth, "I never even dialed a number." She didn't realize Echoes had used the dial tones to reach through the phone lines.

Josuke was at home while waiting for news from Kakyoin, hence the reason why he was able to answer. 'Koichi, is that you?', Josuke asked, 'I can hear waves in the background. Where are you? Look, wherever you are, stay put for now. We're having the Speedwagon Foundation look for you.' "Speedwagon Foundation?," Yukako asked confused, "I've heard of them, but why would they bother looking for Koichi? People say I'm delusional, but even if I am I'm not delusional enough to think the whole world is trying to get between us."

'Is that Yukako speaking?,' came Pinkie's voice, shocking Yukako, 'Listen, lady, you let that Koichi alone, or here's what coming to ya!' Yukako blinked in confusion as Pinkie's arm somehow came out of the receiver and slapped a pie right in her face. 'We'll be right over!,' Pinkie said as she hung up. Yukako was gobsmacked. "What just happened...?" She wiped some of the pie filling off her face with her finger and tasted it. "And how did Pinkie know my favorite pie flavor is chocolate mousse?" She then heard some snickering and turned to see Echoes, which quickly flew off.

"I see...," Yukako realized, "So Koichi, you and your friends have special powers too!" If Pinkie's words were accurate, they'd likely be there within twenty minutes. She hurried back to the door, but found it barred. "Koichi, open the door." "You can break it down, can't you?," came Koichi's retort. Yukako clenched her fist. It was clear Koichi was trying to create signs of a struggle. Even if Josuke and Pinkie only knew Koichi was near the ocean, if they found a nearby house that looked like something had broken in, they'd clearly investigate. And from what Pinkie showed of her power, Yukako was pretty sure she wouldn't stand a chance against either her or Josuke.

"I'm a little irritated that you didn't show me this power you have," Yukako said, "But at the same time, I'm happy. It means that we share something no one else has. That means we're meant for each other." "That's like saying Josuke and Pinkie are meant for each other just they also have Stands," Koichi argued. Yukako took a step back. 'I don't know what he means by "Stand" but... He clearly knows more about this power than I do... So much for that card...'

She went to grab the door, but immediately pulled her hand back when she felt an electric shock coming from it. She started growling. "Koichi! Open this door!" She then spotted Echoes hold a large series of characters that got slapped on her head. Through her head she heard the words echoing. "I HATE YOU!" Yukako, however, remained calm. "Is this supposed to do something? Because I can't hear anything." Inside, Koichi groaned. 'Just my luck. She's the sort of person Kakyoin warned me about.' He looked to Echoes. "If words alone won't convince her... I need to make her understand, through action!"

Echoes started to curl up and turn brown as Koichi braced himself against the barricades he made inside the front door, holding on for dear life as Love Deluxe tried to pull him off, no doubt trying to make him crash into his own barricade. Yukako finally managed to get Koichi to crash into some of the barricade and peeked inside, only to see the husk of Echoes start to peel open. Quickly she moved her hair to remove the rest of the barricade, then noticed Koichi's face. "Koichi... What's with that look? I don't like that look."

"It doesn't matter if you do," Koichi said, "I'm done adhering to what you want. Echoes!" Echoes emerged from its husk, now looking slightly smaller but more buff, with an actual humanoid form. Immediately it swiped its tail against the door. "What's more noise going to do?," Yukako demanded as she finally got the door open. But then she got a surprise as a sudden gust of wind blew through the house, knocking her away from the doorway and off the steps. In fact, it very nearly blew her off the nearby cliff. She was only able to save herself thanks to a branch poking out of the rocks.

Koichi closed the door and looked at the sound effect, which read "whoosh", as Echoes gathered it up and returned it to its tail. "So... This is my new power. No longer merely creating sounds, now my sound effects can create actions." He grinned. "Unreal! Echoes just evolved! Now it's more like... Echoes Act 2! Eat your heart out, Pokemon!" Yukako got up and turned her head as she saw a taxi pull up, with Josuke, Okuyasu, Pinkie, and Kakyoin getting out of it. 'Damn it, they've shown up. It'll still take them a while to find this place. I won't let anyone take Koichi away from me. I have to calm him down right away.'

She hurried to the door of the mansion, but gasped. Koichi had gotten a pair of scissors and was cutting his hair, removing Love Deluxe from it and created a new flat-top hairdo. "It's over Yukako," Koichi said, "You can't beat my Stand anymore. And it's no longer possible for you to trap me." Yukako felt her left eye twitch. "Koichi... Don't think you can get cocky just because you got a new ability. Now you're forcing me to do something drastic!" She reached for the railing, but pulled her hand back in pain. The railing was marked with a "sizzle" sound effect, turning it blazing hot. "You little shit!"

Koichi scoffed. "Cursing at me? That's your way of getting drastic?" Yukako was now furious. Her anger reaching its peak, she instinctively called out, "Love Deluxe!" Koichi gasped as her hair started reaching around the entire house, starting to implode and crush it. "Your power can't effect what it can't touch," Yukako said, "It's nothing special. Now I'll ask again... You like me, right? I'll kill you if you won't be mine forever." Koichi seemed dismissive. "By now the others will have heard you crushing the house and will come right over. Even if you kill me, guaranteed you can't beat them. You're calling this my fault, but this is all because you can't listen when someone's telling you things you don't want to hear. There's no way I could like someone like that."

Yukako's eye really started twitching. "Koichi! I'll kill you!" Her hair started wrapping around Koichi, but got a shock as his body turned around to reveal a "boom" sound effect on his back. "I told you," Koichi said, "You can't trap me. My sound effects activate when touched. Now what was that about it not being special?" Yukako screamed in frustration as she got blown clear from the house from the sudden explosion, much of her hair getting shredded in the process.

Koichi hurried over to check on her as she landed on the edge of the cliff, and gasped. Her hair had turned pure white. 'Oh wow... That must have happened because I attacked her hair directly. I hope she's still alive after all that.' He sent Echoes to check her pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief when he could hear it. But that's when Yukako's eyes snapped open, the anger clear in them. Her hair grabbed Echoes, causing Koichi to choke. "I wasn't able to finish you...," Yukako muttered, "But if I kill your Stand, then you die as well..."

Echoes made a move with its tail, but Love Deluxe swatted off the tip, sending it off the cliff. "You dare... To ruin my precious hair, Koichi! I loved you, and wanted everything for you! But... I can no longer forgive you!" Just then, she heard a cracking sound. "Yukako...," Koichi said, "You need to let go and grab onto something. Your pulse wasn't the only thing Echoes heard. It also picked up the sound of the ground giving way." "Don't bullshit me!," Yukako demanded, "That was just your Stand creating another sound wasn't it!?"

But she was quickly proved wrong when the cliff did indeed give way, sending her tumbling into the ocean. To her horror, she right in the path of a spiked rock jutting out from the ocean. "Crap... I need to grab something... But there's not enough time..." She gasped as she hit the rock, but instead of getting impaled, the rock somehow became springy like rubber, launching her back up with a "boing" sound. And in fact, she spotted a "boing" sound effect right on the rock she had just hit.

Landing on the remains of the cliff, Yukako wound up releasing Echoes, which went to retrieve its tail tip. "I was trying to warn you," Koichi said, "But you never listen to what I say, do you?" "Wow, that's a bad habit," Pinkie said as she popped out from behind Yukako's back. Yukako didn't register the bizarre action. "Oh wow, she really is out of it," Pinkie said as Koichi walked off to where the others were arriving. "I... Can't believe it," Yukako said, "He knew the cliff would crumble, so he set up that sound. Even as I was trying to kill him... He was trying to save me..."

She smiled gently. "I guess I lost completely... From the very beginning, I never had a chance." Pinkie shrugged as she grinned. "You know, I bet if you learned to curb that attitude of yours, you might get Koichi to like you. I mean, he seemed happy when you first confessed to him. It was when you lost your temper that he started to reject you." Yukako look at Pinkie, her eyes hopeful. "Pinkie... Could you help me? I... I don't know how to change for myself." Pinkie placed a hand on her shoulder. "I can give you some pointers, but you need to develop a more positive attitude. Keep smiling!"

Meanwhile, a fishing boat passing along the coast happened to see Yukako fall. They mistook it for a suicide attempt, and were amazed when she seemed to spring back up to the cliff, thinking it an act of Heaven. That spot would become sacred to sailors from that point on, with local fishermen praying to the rock in question for good luck while out at sea. Because of the odd sound that was heard when Yukako was sprung back onto the cliff, people started calling the place, "Boing-Boing Cape". To this day, when tourists ask fishermen where the cape is, they gladly point it out.