1-3-② Diamond is Unbreakable ②

Table of Contents 　Preface & Notes　　Previous Chapter (1-3-① Diamond is Unbreakable ①)

"You don't have to be so tense, Boingo. Just take your time and tell me what you remember."

Boingo was huddled up, sitting on the floor under a desk at the Budogaoka Police Box at the west exit of Morioh Station.

A white-haired man was crouching in front of him, lowering his body to the ground to match Boingo's level.
He wore a police cap and uniform, had a sturdy build, and a long face with a prominent chin, but his tone was gentle and he occasionally showed a friendly smile.
Boingo could tell he was being careful not to scare him.

"My name is Ryohei Higashikata."
he introduced himself, then asked, "Why were you at the station?"

The police officer listened patiently for a long time to Boingo's explanation—which was convoluted, stuttering, and mixed with subjective and objective details—saying "Uh-huh, uh-huh..." and occasionally interjecting with questions before summarizing:
"So, you came to Morioh Town with a man named Hol Horse to look for a parrot, and while you were searching for your lost comic book, you got separated and lost... is that right, Boingo?"

"You understood him as well as always, Ryohei-san. It's good to have you here," said another police officer in the same uniform, looking relieved.
"No, Tomizawa, Boingo's Japanese was actually very fluent and easy to understand. It was better than any foreigner I've met before. Thank you for your cooperation, Boingo."
The elderly police officer called Ryohei replied to the middle-aged officer named Tomizawa, then spoke to Boingo at the end.

Boingo had been near Morioh Station when he realized a uniformed police officer was in front of him and he was taken to the police box. It seemed someone had reported him, thinking a strange foreigner was acting suspiciously.
When asked by the police, Boingo wouldn't say anything but "uh" or "ah," leading them to think he didn't understand Japanese, but Ryohei, who had returned from patrol, patiently dealt with Boingo and proved that he was just a lost child with no criminal intent.

Boingo did not have Tohth with him.

He had received a prophecy that he had to let go of his Stand, Tohth, for a while.

《Thanks for always reading, Boingo!
You are this manga's number one fan!!》

《But you know, Boingo, fate cannot be changed.
You have to let go of this book for a while!
Have courage and toss it away!》

《Great!
Now your future is rosy!》

Shortly after he finished reading, the comic book vanished from his hands. Even though he had been holding it tightly.

According to the general laws of Stands, it is hard to imagine a Stand going missing against its user's will, but Boingo's Stand, Tohth, was not a general Stand.

“I... I never tossed it away... but the prophecy can never be changed...
Th... that book is surely mine, but it isn't mine...
I am just keeping the prophecy for now...”

Ryohei, who had been listening seriously to Boingo's mutterings, which were directed at no one in particular, said,
"Hmm, in that case, I'll check if there are any reports of found items.
For now, you should go to the hotel you've booked.
Your partner might have returned there, too."

Just then, the police box phone rang, and Tomizawa answered it.

Another police officer who was still in the police box, who looked quite young, called out to Ryohei,
“Ryohei-san, shall I take Boingo-kun to the hotel?”
and
“Ah, yes, that would be a help, Karaiyado,” Ryohei replied, and with a “Yes, sir,” Karaiyado gave a light salute.

Tomizawa, who had been on the phone for a while, hung up.
“What is it? A report?” Ryohei confirmed, and
“Well... it seems like a car driven by Inspector Hiraoka hit a crowd of people in front of the station and crashed into a store...”
he said, hesitating.
“Inspector Hiraoka did?”
“Anyway, the Inspector is on his way here now. Something about there being no injuries or something... I don't really understand the situation...”
Tomizawa continued, looking bewildered.
“Also... it seems there is eyewitness information about a student who looks like Josuke-kun at the scene.”

Hearing that, Ryohei said “Oi, oi, oi, oi,” adjusted his police cap, left the police box, got on his bicycle, and rode off.

Tomizawa muttered as he watched Ryohei's back.
“...Ryohei-san is so dedicated to his work. He's excellent at investigations, kind to the local residents, and looks after people well. Yet, at 55, he hasn't been promoted and is still working at a police box... It's a pity.”
Hearing that monologue, Karaiyado asked,
“I was wondering about that too. He even arrested that serial killer Anjuro Katagiri, right? Why wasn't he promoted? Even when I asked him, he just laughed and said, ‘I don't care about getting ahead.’”
Tomizawa replied with a sigh.
“It's probably because his daughter had an affair with some foreigner back when she was a student and had an illegitimate child.”
“Ah, so that's why Josuke-kun doesn't seem to know who his father is.”

The scope of disciplinary action by the National Police Agency includes “inappropriate relationships with the opposite sex,” and adultery can also be subject to disciplinary action in some cases.
In the case of family members, the individual themselves is not the target, but it likely means he was held responsible for a lack of supervision over his own child.

“He's a good man, though. Ryohei-san... and Josuke-kun, despite that look, is polite and a good kid at heart... I hope he gets rewarded for his efforts someday, that man.”
“I agree,” Karaiyado said, then turned back to Boingo and smiled brightly,
“Well then, let's go to the hotel, Boingo-kun.”
and held out his hand.

Boingo looked up at Karaiyado's face.
He was slender, with a smooth, fair-skinned face, slightly slanted narrow eyes, and a bob-like hairstyle that covered his ears. It was a hairstyle that suited a man who gave a gentle, androgynous impression when he smiled.
(I wonder if that hairstyle wouldn't be considered a lack of supervision?) Boingo thought, but he didn't say it out loud, took his hand, and shuffled out from under the desk.

＊

Ryoko Kakyoin sat on a bench near the cemetery and took out the manga book she had picked up earlier.

Ryoko, who had come to visit the grave of her cousin Noriaki Kakyoin, who had passed away 10 years ago, had gone out to the road following a white bird that had flown over the graveyard. That was when she noticed the manga book lying there.

On the open page of the manga book,

《DIO》

Seeing that word, she picked up the manga, put it in her bag, and came to this bench.

The book she took out of her bag was much larger and thicker than a typical manga book. It gave the impression of a dictionary or an encyclopedia.
On the cover,
“OINGO BOINGO BROTHERS ADVENTURE”
was written as the English title, and two figures were drawn below it. On the right was a tall figure, presumably a man wearing a hat, and on the left was a figure about half his height with voluminous hair. An illustration of a sun with a face was also added to the upper left, and all of them were depicted in a surreal style with mouths that looked like they were about to jump off the outlines and eyes that didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular.

“It said DIO, so I just picked it up and brought it with me, but it has a fine binding, so it might be something important. I should properly turn it in to the police box.”
she muttered to herself while looking at it.
However, despite the surreal illustrations, the book had a strange intensity and presence, and she couldn't let it go.

She placed the book on her lap and flipped through the pages. The first half was a manga, but the second half was blank.
Wondering if it was a defective book, she read a little before the last printed part, and for some reason, the words were written in Japanese. It was a story about a small man with voluminous hair named Boingo who was in Egypt and came to this Morioh Town with a man named Hol Horse to look for a parrot.
Wondering if it was an autobiography, she turned the page, and the book was encouraging Boingo to “toss” himself, and it depicted Boingo letting go of the book.
Next, the scene changed, and Hol Horse, who had been separated from Boingo, heard the voice of a man named DIO, was then attacked by a runaway car, and fired his gun. Then, a high school boy with a strange hairstyle and a modified uniform, Josuke Higashikata, appeared, blew the car away, and healed the injuries and repaired the damaged buildings. Josuke Higashikata agreed to cooperate with Hol Horse and help him look for Boingo and the parrot.
That was where the manga ended, and the rest was blank.

(A gun? In front of Morioh Station? And healing injuries? Is it fiction or a metaphor after all?)

There was no further detailed description of the man named DIO, so she gave up, thinking it must be a different person with the same name, and was about to close the page.

“Eh...”

Before her eyes, on the next page that had been blank, new panels appeared as if they were being printed.

《The discarded book has been picked up! It was picked up by Ryoko Kakyoin!》

Below the text is a drawing of an eerie girl whose eyes are set unnaturally far apart, almost showing only the whites. She has the same hairstyle as Ryoko and wears the same cherry earring on one ear.

“Th... this... is me...? What... is this book...”

《Hi! I'm Ryoko Kakyoin! You can call me Ryon-Ryon!》

《Everyone says Ryon-Ryon is calm and collected, right? But I know. Your inner self hasn't changed since you were seven.》

An illustration is included showing the head of a girl who looks like Ryoko splitting open, with an even more similar-looking child emerging from it.

《Ever since then, your head has been filled with nothing but your crush, Noriaki-oniichan!》

An illustration appears of a man resembling Noriaki Kakyoin coming out of Ryoko's head.

《The reason Noriaki-oniichan died. Why he went to Egypt. You've been thinking about nothing but that for these past ten years!》

An illustration of Noriaki Kakyoin bleeding and dying is included.

“Th... this... this manga...”

The manga panels, surreal illustrations, and text appearing one after another were undeniably chronicling Ryoko's life.

“This isn't normal! This book, this book...”

(It's real!)

《Ryon-Ryon, you really want to know the "truth" about Noriaki-oniichan, don't you?》

(I want to know... Why did Noriaki-oniichan go to Egypt? Why did he die? I've been thinking about it forever. I couldn't tell anyone, but... The PSW Foundation said he died in a runaway car accident, but I've always wondered if that wasn't actually the truth. If that man named DIO wasn't the one related to Noriaki-oniichan going to Egypt.)

As she turned the page with trembling hands, the next panel appeared,

《To know the "truth" about Noriaki-oniichan. The first "key" to that is—》

Next to the text was a profile of a boy who looked like he had five black buns lined up on top of his head.

Next story (1-3-③ Unbreakable Diamond ③)
Table of Contents Previous story (1-3-① Unbreakable Diamond ①)