"This year he moved back to Morioh and bought a high-end villa, then began gathering material for his art. He's been seriously lacking inspiration lately, but Inori's appearance has provided excellent relief. Her name is perfect material for a manga, her mysterious abilities have given him a burst of creative energy, and even her awful personality has certain merits..."
"..."
Hearing her fluently read out such a long passage at rapid speed, Rohan felt more and more embarrassed... but this was only the beginning.
"Her appearance really leaves a deep impression. Her pink gradient hair is like carefully mixed paint that I can't look away from. Even a top-tier doll couldn't match such exquisite features—she's truly a treasure like a work of art. Her perfectly shaped little lips, if drawn perfectly on paper, would make readers unable to resist wanting to kiss them. Her perfect figure combines a girl's delicacy with hints of mature allure..."
Inori read out someone else's inner evaluation of her own appearance like this. Rohan felt like his head was about to explode from embarrassment, even getting goosebumps, but this girl who looked only in her teens didn't blush or miss a beat. Didn't she feel embarrassed?
"What a pervert, Rohan-sensei, you sexually harassing manga artist!"
Inori smiled benevolently with narrowed eyes as she slowly closed his "face-book."
"No! That's not that kind of perverted thinking... I just wanted material!" Feeling his character had been misunderstood, Rohan protested loudly with clever excuses. "And about sexual harassment—you're the one who insisted on reading it out! Aren't you the one doing the sexual harassing?"
"Stop talking, Rohan-sensei. I actually respected you quite a bit before, but now your image has completely crumbled in my heart~"
Inori touched her forehead with her finger, sighing helplessly again and again.
What a shame. Heaven's Door couldn't read memories that the person themselves had lost. Otherwise, she should have been able to find information about the Reimi Sugimoto family murder from 15 years ago in Rohan's face-book. Apart from that, there were no other discrepancies from the original story.
—I was hoping to use this ability to find the cause of our world-jumping, Mana.
—...So that was your plan.
Mana Ouma suddenly understood.
—Yeah, I suspected we were affected by someone using that Stand called Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Unfortunately, Heaven's Door can't read memories you don't possess. Let's give up for now.
"I'm giving back your little Stand."
Inori's hand gently stroked Heaven's Door's hat once more. The compact Stand immediately dissolved into silver-white light particles, and a glowing hollow appeared in Rohan's chest again as Heaven's Door returned to its original owner.
—Why are you returning the Stand to him? Aren't you worried he'll harm other people?
Mana asked, puzzled.
—Rohan... isn't that kind of person. He can become a very reliable ally.
—Eh? Is this your judgment of people? Or is it for that other reason~
—Which one?
Inori had a bad feeling. She knew Mana was about to tease her.
—This guy called Rohan really is quite a looker~ Sure enough, pretty people and ugly people get different treatment. Even little Inori got her heart racing.
—Haha.
Inori laughed very dryly.
—Very funny. Right, ugly people don't deserve forgiveness—are you satisfied with that answer? Hmph. Wrong time for jokes.
—Hehe, don't be mad.
Inori stopped paying attention to her.
"...Why?"
Rohan could feel that what he'd lost had been returned, but this brought even greater confusion.
"Hmm? Didn't I say so? I'd give it back in a moment."
Inori swept the hair hanging by her face aside. Fighting another unnecessary battle had made her hunger even stronger than before. She couldn't wait to find a restaurant and have a proper meal.
"You should understand too—Heaven's Door is a very powerful Stand! It can not only read other people's memories but directly change a person's behavioral habits and even their thoughts!"
Rohan seemed very excited. Inori couldn't quite understand.
—Is he forcing me to take it back? I've never seen such a strange request.
"I know. I knew that from the start."
"Then what's with this attitude of 'I don't care about this crappy Stand'? Do you think I, Rohan Kishibe, would accept this kind of pity and charity!"
Tsk... she'd forgotten this guy was also someone with extremely strong pride, constantly referring to himself as "this Rohan Kishibe." Indeed, being soundly defeated by a girl and then having the spoils of war returned with apparent disdain—given his personality, he definitely wouldn't accept it easily.
"Rohan-sensei, actually... what I said about you being a sexual harasser—that was all a joke."
Inori looked at him seriously with an earnest expression.
"Someone who purely pursues artistic creation and works hard like you—I really do admire and respect that. But I recently had an accident... I lost my past memories, so even if you looked, it would be blank and meaningless."
"Amnesia..."
Rohan frowned with a half-believing expression, but this woman had already left that insurance policy in his brain. No matter how suspicious he was, he couldn't verify it. And she didn't seem to have any need to lie to him...
"Returning your Stand is even simpler—because I'm not the type to take other people's things. It's not directed at you specifically, and it's not pity." Inori put away King Crimson, and a gentle smile appeared on her serious face.
"Our battle was built on an unfair foundation from the start—I knew your Stand intel while you knew nothing about me...
Keep creating more excellent works, Rohan-sensei."
"Strange woman."
Rohan could only silently accept this explanation, and his gaze toward Inori carried a bit more respect. Her generous praise just now had also made him feel much better.
"Hmph, I'll tentatively believe what you said."
"I want to find a place for lunch next. Want to come along?" Inori smiled and invited him.
"No, no need."
Rohan hesitated for a moment before refusing.
"I still have unfinished work... we'll part ways here, Inori."
Rohan didn't like calling people by their names or surnames. He usually addressed them directly. Unless it was someone like Jotaro who could truly earn his respect as an elder brother figure, someone like Inori—this young brat who had just beaten him up and was still technically his enemy—he definitely couldn't bring himself to be polite.
"Eh? Is it necessary to be so nervous over just a meal?"
"Eating out takes more than half an hour, and that half hour would be enough for me to draw many sketches!"
—Pah! Deserves to be single!
"Alright then, it's a pity. We can only part ways here, Rohan-sensei. Looking forward to our next meeting~"
"..." Rohan was speechless, his mouth twitching slightly. "I don't want to see you again, Inori. You're a strange person, and I'm not good at dealing with people like you."
He picked up his drawing board and turned to leave, looking very impatient.
"Is that so? I was hoping to share some very interesting stories with Rohan-sensei in the future."
Rohan visibly paused, but he continued walking forward without saying a word until he disappeared around the corner.
Hmph, what a tsundere. He obviously wanted to hear them so badly he was like a cat being scratched by claws, but he still had to save face and act tough.
Inori's lips curved up slightly.
—Let's go, Mana. Time to eat, then pick up Yasuho from school!