Ability Bestowal

"If you had enough combat strength, I wouldn't mind taking you out on field assignments."

Josen tapped his fingertips lightly against the table, spelling out a harsh reality.

Kyoko wasn't discouraged. As a mature police officer, she knew exactly what she was capable of.

Meeting Josen's gaze, the young policewoman slumped against her chair in resignation and pursed her lips. "Heh, don't you already know how much fighting ability I have? Let's just forget it."

"Then what if you had a chance to become stronger right in front of you? Would you take it?"

"..." Kyoko's small hands tightened. Seeing that Josen didn't seem to be joking, she asked, "Are you serious? Is it some kind of psychic power?"

"Yes, you could think of it that way."

When Josen nodded, Kyoko's eyes lit up. "Then I'm willing."

"Let me make this clear first. This power can only be used for the right purposes. I can bestow it, and I can take it back. Understood?"

"Understood!"

Satisfied with her firm answer, Josen nodded and activated his Stand ability. The Fantasy Card "Black Widow" appeared in his hand, and with a flick of his finger, it flew toward Kyoko across the table.

In an instant, it sank into the smooth, fair skin of the young policewoman's chest and vanished.

Meanwhile, Kyoko, who had been waiting nervously, saw Josen flick his finger and then do nothing else. Puzzled, she asked, "That's... it?"

"What did you expect? That I'd gather materials and perform some special ritual?"

"But I was actually looking forward to it..."

Josen stood up and lightly patted Kyoko's shoulder as he passed her. "Make good use of this power. When I'm not around, I'm leaving the Special Affairs Section in your hands."

"Hey, hey, hey, what's with that weird tone? Uh..." Before she could finish, her heart gave an unprecedentedly heavy thump, interrupting her attempt to reach out and grab Josen.

The next moment, her blood seemed to burn, and a transformation began from the inside out.

The young policewoman's eyes went slightly blank as she passively underwent the alterations wrought by extraordinary power and endured an overwhelming flood of expert-level knowledge across multiple fields. She looked utterly broken.

Meanwhile, Josen paid the bill in advance and instructed the server not to disturb Kyoko, but to let her wake up on her own.

Then he left alone.

Watching his carefree departure, the young woman at the reception desk couldn't stop cursing him as a scumbag.

Early the next morning.

The first rays of sunlight from the horizon spilled through the window, their bright warmth coaxing Kyoko out of a deep sleep.

The young policewoman opened her eyes, her bird's nest of messy hair falling across her face and obscuring her sleepy eyes.

She got up to wash, but as her bare feet stepped onto the tiles in the cramped bathroom, still wet from last night's shower, she suddenly lost her balance.

Oh no!

The instant she fell backward, Kyoko jolted alert and instinctively reached out. Her fingertips pressed lightly against the floor, and her arms, shoulders, and core exerted force in one fluid sequence. What should have been an awkward tumble became a graceful, effortless standing backflip. Below her shorts, her dazzlingly fair legs nimbly avoided the clothes scattered across the floor, the stacked bowls and containers, and the assorted cosmetics on the wall shelves before she landed smoothly in a beautifully executed motion.

Back on her feet, Kyoko was still bewildered.

What had happened at the restaurant last night remained vivid. Josen had casually flicked his finger, and her whole body had burned as though she'd fallen into a fire.

After that, she couldn't remember how she'd returned to the Apartment. All she knew was that her mind had inexplicably gained a mountain of unfamiliar knowledge that didn't belong to her.

Hand-to-hand combat, shooting, etiquette, gymnastics, how to fly a fighter jet, how to hack into a computer system in the shortest possible time, how to pick off multiple enemies one by one, how to use her body to conquer men...

Acquiring that last piece of knowledge had left her flushed and dry-mouthed, but overall, these unfamiliar skills and insights had greatly broadened her experience and understanding. They had even changed the way she'd viewed the world all her life.

Just now, she'd effortlessly performed a gymnast's backflip that would previously have been utterly impossible for her. She recalled the almost boneless flexibility of her limbs and the tremendous strength that had burst from every muscle in an instant.

Everything pointed to the same fact.

"The power the section chief bestowed on me... it's actually real..."

Kyoko murmured, her beautiful eyes brighter than ever before.

Z City Police Station.

An entire morning had passed without Josen seeing Kyoko, so he called over a passing officer. "Oda, did Kyoko take the day off? I haven't seen her all morning."

The policewoman he'd stopped held a stack of files and replied quietly, "Chief, Kyoko went to the Training Ground first thing this morning, before you arrived."

"Got it."

Josen waved the outspoken young woman off to get back to work, then poured himself a cup of coffee and headed outside.

Once in the corridor, he recalled where the Training Ground was located.

The next moment, azure psychic power surged out and enveloped Josen's body. He activated the blink a Joestar could use only N times in a lifetime, and vanished in an instant.

Bang, bang! Bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!

Inside the spacious tactical firing range, a petite, agile figure darted swiftly through the course. A crisp tactical roll brought her behind cover, and without pausing to adjust, she drew her gun in one fluid motion. The bullet struck the bull's-eye on the humanoid target's chest with pinpoint accuracy!

Before the sharp gunshot had faded, the slender figure behind cover had already slid low across the ground to the next firing position and fired again.

The officer timing her outside the course stared blankly, his mouth slightly open, his gaze following her back and forth through the Training Ground. His expression alone made it clear how profoundly shocked he was.

"Time to stop the clock."

A voice behind the timekeeper offered a friendly reminder.

He instinctively pressed the timer button just as the figure on the course shot the final "criminal" and crossed the finish line at the far end.

Kyoko placed the training gun in the rack and walked out of the Training Ground, stripping off her thick tactical gloves as she casually asked, "How did I do?"

"58.3 seconds. You've already broken the station's best time of two and a half minutes. As for your shooting score, we'll have to wait for the computer to finish tallying it."

"Huh?" Realizing the speaker wasn't the officer who had been overseeing the Training Ground, Kyoko looked up and finally spotted Josen holding a cup of coffee. Delighted, she exclaimed, "Chief! What brings you here?"

"Here, this is for you." Josen handed her the still-piping-hot coffee and smiled meaningfully. "I came to see the results of your 'training.'"

"Hehe..." Kyoko took the coffee from Josen, fully aware of what he meant. Her face, flushed from exercise, broke into a radiant smile. "I'm just getting thirsty after that workout. Thanks, Chief!"