Chapter Text
Never before had the villagers seen such a poor crop. Even with the couple of rainstorms that had passed over the area, their rows of grain were still sparse and sickly in color. Everyone was worried about the minimal revenue they’d get from this year’s harvest.
“I had hoped that when we chased that cursed boy out our crops would have recovered”
“What if that boy cursed us when we kicked him out of the village? Maybe we should have let him stay and just left him alone”
“Impossible! Do you remember when all the children fell ill in the spring with the worst case of the measles? The moment he left they all miraculously recovered! They could have died if we hadn’t kicked him out”
“Do you suppose he’s still alive?”
“Who knows. The forest is teeming with vile creatures, one of them could have gotten to him”
“But what will we do about the crops? We won’t be able to make it through the winter if this keeps up”
“I think I might be able to be of service to your quaint little village”
The villagers gathered in the square turned in surprise to face the sudden arrival of a striking newcomer, a blonde man with an elegantly stylish cloak, a large umbrella held overhead, and a malicious look in his eyes. Most of the villagers took a step back as they stared at the man warily.
“Don’t be frightened, I’m here to help you,” the man said, “My name is Dio”
“What do you want with us?” A man said, taking a step forward as he pushed his wife behind him.
“I overheard about your little plant predicament and today must be your lucky day, for I am a warlock with the power to help you,” Dio said as he pulled his crystal ball from his cloak and tossed it into the air, allowing it to float and spin about midair as the villagers gasped at the spectacular feat.
“How?”
“What can you do?”
“What do you want from us?”
Dio smirked. “I know that your crops have been horrible because of a certain redhead named Kakyoin, whom you rightly chased out from your village. But, your string of bad luck won’t end as long as he lives,” He said as he brought the crystal ball back to him.
With a wave of his hand, he revealed the image of Kakyoin and Jotaro on the castle grounds. The villagers recoiled at the sight of the beast.
“What is that creature!”
“A monster! It could kill us all!”
Dio hushed the crowd with a wave of his hand and said, “No need to be alarmed, I can handle the beast. But, the two of them are holed up in a castle a ways away from here and must be defeated if you want your crops to thrive. We must invade the castle and destroy the evil inside of it once and for all!”
The villagers broke out into a joyous uproar. There were torches to gather, pitchforks to get ready, weapons to assemble. Everything was falling into place, exactly as Dio planned.
“We attack when night falls!” He bellowed. The villagers cheered.
…
Kakyoin ended up sleeping in for the first time ever since he’d come to the castle. When he drowsily opened his eyes, he realized that the sun was already high in the sky and groaned. He still had the whole kitchen and dining room to clean, tomatoes to pick from the garden, and more researching curses and spells in the library. Quickly, he got out of bed and changed out of last night’s clothes.
When he opened the door of his bedroom he let out a startled cry as a great black mass fell backward and toppled him to the ground.
“J-Jotaro?” Kakyoin gasped, trying to push the huge man off of him.
Jotaro had been fast asleep with his back leaned against Kakyoin’s door. When he suddenly fell to the ground, and on top of Kakyoin no less, he began to just barely wake from his slumber. Had he been waiting for Kakyoin to wake up? Kakyoin chuckled, giving up on moving the heavy mass on top of him as he laid back down against the floor and combed his fingers through the fur of Jotaro’s back.
Jotaro groaned as he rolled over to his side. When he realized that he had Kakyoin pinned under his arm he let out a strangled growl of sorts and bolted straight up.
“Good morning Jotaro,” Kakyoin said with a laugh, “Were you waiting for me?”
Kakyoin could practically see the blush radiating off of Jotaro’s cheeks and ears, even if he couldn’t see it. Jotaro shook his head violently, to which Kakyoin merely responded with a raise of his eyebrows.
“There wasn’t any breakfast,” Jotaro said firmly, “And I thought I should wake you up. But then I didn’t. But if you’re feeling unwell then that’s okay, I can make breakfast. I just wanted to see if you still wanted to make breakfast”
“Thank you Jotaro, I’m doing just fine. Would you like to have breakfast together?” Kakyoin said with a smile, and Jotaro nodded.
And then it happened again. The corners of Jotaro’s mouth turned upwards just a bit, and his eyes turned bright teal. His face seemed to flicker, and for a moment he looked almost human. Kakyoin gasped, and then it was gone again.
“Is something wrong?” Jotaro asked. Kakyoin shook his head, deciding that it was better not to bring it up just yet.
“Let’s go make breakfast!”
Kakyoin came downstairs to find that the kitchen and dining room had already been cleaned up for him; when he thanked Jotaro he saw it happen again, that strange and quick flicker back to being almost human, in Jotaro’s face. After they finished breakfast, he hurried to find Holly to ask her about everything that had been going on with the hope that she could help guide him at least a bit closer to the answer.
He found her outside watering the rose bushes, humming to herself the song that Polnareff had played last night on the piano. When she saw him crossing the grass her eyes instantly lit up.
“Good morning Kakyoin! Thank you again for such a lovely party yesterday, I had so much fun!” She said with a big bright smile, “Did you have fun as well?”
“I did but I worry I may have embarrassed myself while I was a bit tipsy,” Kakyoin said with a chuckle.
“Nonsense! You accomplished something amazing, you managed to convince Jotaro to dance! And you looked wonderful in that lilac shirt, please feel free to keep it if you’d like!” Holly said.
“Thank you so much Holly-san, you’re too kind,” Kakyoin said.
“It’s the least I can do for the man who managed to help change my stubborn Jotaro so much!” Holly said cheerfully. Kakyoin flushed pink at her praise but tried not to get too distracted.
“Speaking of Jotaro, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about him,” Kakyoin said.
“Feel free to ask me anything Kakyoin!” Holly replied, eyes glowing with excitement.
“Jotaro’s eyes, they used to be teal-colored right? And his eyes were almond-shaped, almost like yours but smaller,” Kakyoin said.
Holly’s eyes widened as her mouth opened in surprise. “How do you know that Kakyoin?” She whispered.
“It’s hard to explain, but there are times when I see Jotaro’s face change. His eyes change from black to teal and his face looks almost human for a moment. I’m still trying to figure out what might be causing that little shift but I feel like it’s important. Is there anything more you can tell me Holly?” Kakyoin said.
Holly’s mouth began to tremble before it broke out into a soft smile. Kakyoin was worried for a moment that she might start crying, but she spoke up again in a very happy, relieved tone. “I’m so happy to hear that Kakyoin, it means that there’s definitely hope,” She said, smiling.
“Hope? For what? I don’t understand Holly,” He said.
“I’m sorry Kakyoin but there’s not much that I can tell you, I’m sure you’ve done some reading and you should know why I can’t speak on the matter,” Holly said, “But, I can tell you that Jotaro has never had an easy time opening to others or even relying on others. He has always tried to maintain his independence and his composed, stoic appearance. But, you’ve been able to change that in him.”
Holly hopped closer to Kakyoin and leaned her spout against his leg. “I’m sorry but I can only rely on you Kakyoin, please help Jotaro,” she mumbled.
Kakyoin opened his mouth, wanting to ask more, but closed his mouth instead and gave Holly as best a hug as he could.
…
“Why if it isn’t Jotaro! What are you doing up here in the library?” Joseph asked. He’d just come barging into the library, which was odd for someone who didn’t particularly enjoy reading.
“I’m almost always in the library,” Jotaro growled, turning back to the book in his lap.
“Not hanging out with Kakyoin? I saw him wiping the windows on the fifth floor,” Joseph said suggestively. Jotaro glowered at him.
“If you’re also here to give me romantic advice then I’ll pass, I’ve heard enough from Polnareff,” Jotaro snarled.
“No need to bare your fangs, I’m just here to help my clueless grandson,” Joseph said, “But you seem to be doing just fine on your own. You were great out there on the dance floor!”
He was standing at Jotaro’s side now and patting his metal hand against Jotaro’s back. Jotaro couldn’t tell if his grandfather was mocking him or genuinely praising him, so he said nothing. Joseph took it as a cue to push his luck a bit more and sat down next to him on the sofa.
“Do you have a plan yet for how you plan on telling him about how you feel? All of us could definitely help you plan and brainstorm, and there are tons of things around the castle that could help,” Joseph said cheerfully, “We could do something with roses if you want something extra romantic, there are tons of roses in the garden. We also have tons of candles around the castle too if you ever wante-”
“I don’t know if I should tell him how I feel,” Jotaro said abruptly.
Joseph blinked twice in surprise without any response.
“I don’t think it's fair to force our hopes of being human again onto him,” Jotaro said, “If I tell him how I feel and he doesn’t feel the same way then everything would be ruined. He might feel guilty, and then he might feel forced to pretend like he has feelings for me just for the sake of breaking the curse. He might feel stuck, trapped, and I don’t want that.”
He continued, “I know that it’s my fault that we’re all stuck in these bodies, but I can’t just expect him to fix the problems that I caused. I’m going to break the curse myself if I can, and I’m gonna beat Dio to do it”
Suddenly, Jotaro realized that he might have said too much. He quickly sat straight up in his seat and shut his mouth before he said anything more.
Joseph took a pause before he said anything, but before he spoke he put a hand on Jotaro’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“No one blames you for the situation we’re in. You didn’t ask for Dio to curse us, and what would we do to stop a nasty vampire warlock like him? We just all appreciate that we’re alive and well, even if we’re stuck in these strange bodies,” he said, “And I think that you’re right to want to break the curse on your own. But, I think you’re wrong about assuming that Kakyoin won’t return your feelings”
He continued. “I might not be sure if Kakyoin feels the same way about you, but there’s no doubt that he cares about you. And you won’t know how he feels unless you tell him. I want you to tell him how you feel not so we can all be human again, but it’s because I want you to be happy Jotaro. Keeping your feelings bottled up will only make you unhappy, so you shouldn’t feel afraid of rejection”
“I’m not afraid of anything,” Jotaro growled. Joseph let out a rolling laugh.
“That’s right! We Joestars are never afraid!” Joseph said as he clapped Jotaro on the back.
The corner of Jotaro’s mouth turned upwards slightly. But, their short moment of bonding was forced to an end when Kakyoin suddenly slammed the door of the library open with a fearful look in his eyes.
“Joestar-san, Jotaro, you need to see this,” He said breathlessly.
Kakyoin took them to the north-facing windows of the sixth floor and pointed out in the distance. Between the trees on the nearby mountain, Jotaro could see glimpses of flickering torchlight, moving slowly down the mountain on the path that led directly to the castle’s gates.
“What’s going on here? Are those villagers from the nearby town? What on earth are they doing?”Joseph asked, an expression of horror on his face.
“The village that I came from is just beyond that mountain a bit, it’s the nearest town to the castle,” Kakyoin said, his voice growing quieter by the second. He was looking down at the floor, and Jotaro could see the clouds of fear and doubt moving across his face.
“The castle’s protective spell won’t be enough to keep them out, it’s only designed to stop one or two people from coming through,” Joseph said, “And if they burn through the vines we’ll be defenseless”
“We aren’t defenseless,” Jotaro argued with a growl, “I’ll fight them all off if I have to”
“Jotaro you can’t! There’s too many of them,” Kakyoin said with a frightened lilt in his tone. He grabbed onto Jotaro’s arm to keep him from making any rash decisions and said, “We should run and once they leave we can come back to the castle, it’s too dangerous to face them all on your own”
Jotaro turned to look at Kakyoin, but Kakyoin wasn’t really looking at him. He was thinking back to what the villagers had done to him, their ruthlessness, their lack of compassion, their cold stares. He stood frozen in place and trembling until Jotaro stepped towards him and put his hands on Kakyoin’s shoulders as gently as he could.
“Kakyoin, look at me,” he said quietly. When Kakyoin finally broke out his daze, Jotaro said, “They’re not going to hurt you anymore. I won’t let them, and we’re not going to run. If you say that this place is where you belong, I’m going to protect it”
Kakyoin glanced up to see that Jotaro’s eyes were flickering back to teal again, and he smiled a tiny bit. There was something so very comforting in the solid grip of Jotaro’s hands, in the unwavering look in his eyes, that Kakyoin felt his fears slowly start to slide down to his feet and melt away into the floor. He wanted to laugh at how silly he’d been acting, but instead, he gave Jotaro’s arm a squeeze as he buried his head into Jotaro’s hand.
“How can you say such smooth lines so easily,” he mumbled. Jotaro said nothing, too busy debating between pulling his hands away or keeping them where they were. Kakyoin chuckled.
Joseph had to remind them that he was still indeed there with an exaggerated cough. He asked Kakyoin, “Do you have any idea why they might be suddenly coming to the castle?”
“I’m not sure, before I came here I hadn’t even known that there was a castle on the other side of the mountain,” Kakyoin said.
“They must have found out from someone,” Joseph said as he scratched at the metal of his chin.
“Who gives a fuck about their intentions, we just need to keep them out no matter what,” Jotaro said with a growl.
“But what should we do? We can’t possibly fight them all,” Joseph said as he looked down at his flimsy metal arms.
“I have an idea,” Kakyoin said. The other two turned to look at him and saw Hierophant peek out from behind Kakyoin.
…
When the villagers made it to the castle wall, the sun was showing the last of its weak rays before dipping below the horizon. Their torches cast long and dark shadows against the trees and below their feet, and the occasional breeze sent a shiver up everyone’s spine. Only the men of the village and a handful of women had come to join the attack and in total, they numbered around 30. Surely enough to outnumber a couple of household toys, a beast, and a mere human, Dio thought. Not to mention that he’d be more than enough on his own to take a measly little boy.
It had been years since he’d last paid a visit to the Joestar family castle. He laughed to himself when he saw the protective spell that had been put up against it; the number of villagers and their fires would be more than enough to quickly eliminate this pitiful safeguard. He was the slightest bit annoyed by the fact that the sun had not completely set yet. The stupid villagers had been too eager to start out for the castle and in their haste had arrived at the castle too soon for Dio to freely move about underneath the protection of the night. He’d have to wait until the sun had completely set before he could join in on the attack. The likelihood of the Joestars having known ahead that they were coming was high. Dio doubted that they would ever run, but the castle would certainly beset with all kinds of traps.
“Start burning the vines and push through the front gate!” He barked.
It was a quick matter of time before the men had burned through the thorny vines enough to reach the gate. With a hard shove, the old gate was forced open and the villagers broke out into energetic cheers as they charged through with their pitchforks and clubs at the ready. The windows of the castle were all dark and the huge structure loomed over them like an angry god, but the villagers pressed on nonetheless.
Once they’d pushed open the castle’s main doors with a great hurrah, they stopped. The only source of light came from the villager’s torches inside the dark and empty entrance hall, and there weren't any sounds beyond the villager’s footsteps and hard breathing. Dio hid in the corner by the doorway to wait for the right moment for him to strike, for he could feel that something was amiss. The villagers looked around in confusion.
“Is no one here?”
“Have we been tricked?”
“What should we do?”
A ferocious, gut-wrenching roar rang out throughout the castle, making the floors rumble, and the villagers tremble in their places. Everyone turned their hands up to look at the stairs and floors above to see where the horrible sound had come from. Before anyone could say another word, everything in the room suddenly began to shake and move. The tables and chairs in sight all began to move about the floor, sliding back and forth, the candlestick on the cabinet flew off and at the screaming villager's feet, the clock was ticking out of sync and loudly as it flew through the air, and the suit of armor by the foot of the stairs had come alive and began to charge at them. The villagers tried to fight through all the confusion but the wildly waving torches and chaos of yells and cries and screams in the dark made it utterly impossible.
And then the chaos stilled for a moment.
Suddenly, the redhead who had been haunting the village came down the stairs. His expression was cold, and he glowered down at the villagers with such a malicious look in his eyes that everyone in the entrance hall shivered.
“It's you! The haunted boy!”
“The cause of our bad luck!”
“Is this your doing! You’ve cursed us all!”
“We won’t rest until the evil has been defeated”
“Silence!”
His voice boomed over all the squawking villagers, who instantly shut their mouths. He waved his hands and suddenly everything in the room began to move about wildly again, and the villagers screamed at the horrible sight before them.
“Leave this castle and never return! Or I’ll have to kill you,” He seethed.
Suddenly, that carnal roar rang out again, much closer than it had before. With a great crash, that horrible beast that the villagers had seen in the glass ball leaped down from the floor above and landed just behind the redhead. It was even more terrifying to see in person; sharp horns atop a head that resembled a ferocious wolf with its huge mouth open to reveal rows of sharp, pointed teeth. Its eyes were black and full of the intent to hunt, and its claws were poised to lunge. One more roar was all it took for the villagers to bolt for the door of the castle, screaming bloody murder as they went. Jotaro chased after them and let out the occasional snarl and they’d start screaming once again.
Inside the entrance hall, Kakyoin had fallen to his knees in relief; his plan had worked. Once the coast was clear, Polnareff, Avdol, and Joseph got up from where they had been lying on the ground and came running to Kakyoin cheering. Hierophant peeked out from behind the cabinet where it had been manipulating the furniture with its tentacles and Kakyoin shot it a grateful thumbs up.
“Your plan worked brilliantly Kakyoin! We scared them so badly I’m certain that more than half of them are pissing their pants as we speak!” Polnareff said with a jubilant laugh.
“Everyone did most of the work, I just did a small part in all of it,” Kakyoin said with a chuckle, “I’m just glad that they’re still just as scared of spirits as I remembered”
“Oh, they were certainly scared. I haven’t had that much fun in a long time,” Joseph said as his chest armor pieces clanked from his laughter.
“I’m just relieved that it’s over now,” Kakyoin said. Hierophant, having returned to Kakyon’s side, nodded its head in agreement.
“Not so fast darling, I wouldn’t celebrate victory just yet”
Kakyoin gasped, for he knew that voice. The others did as well and jumped around to face the owner, who had shed his cloak and umbrella. The sun had completely disappeared from the sky and the room was plunged into darkness.
“Was this your plan all along Dio!” Polnareff yelled as he flicked his candles alight.
“This is even better than what I had planned all along! Now that that pesky Jotaro is out of the way, all I need to do is get rid of that little redhead,” Dio said with a sickeningly sweet snarl. Kakyoin shuddered at his words.
“We won’t let you do no such thing!” Joseph yelled. He and Avdol and Polnareff all jumped in front of Kakyoin protectively as they glared Dio down.
But Kakyion stepped past them to face Dio. “If I go with you, do you promise to leave them alone?” He asked.
Dio's eyes widened in surprise, and then he nodded.
“No Kakyoin you mustn't!” Avdol yelled.
“I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me,” Kakyoin said firmly. He took another step forward, and Dio did the same.
Dio extended his hand out for Kakyoin to take. Before Kakyoin could move his hand forward to take it, the castle’s doors were slammed open.
“Don’t touch him”
Kakyoin instantly snapped his head up to see Jotaro standing in the doorway with his fangs bared and a look of pure rage in his eyes. And then everything started to move all at once. Jotaro bound across the entrance hall and lunged at Dio with his claws outstretched and ready to strike; Joseph and Avdol ran forward to pull Kakyoin in; Kakyoin was yelling for Jotaro to stop; and Dio was already grabbing at Kakyoin’s wrist and throwing him backward, hard.
His head hit the wall with a sickening thud, making his vision go hazy for a second. When he looked up, Polnareff, Avdol, Joseph, and Hierophant were all standing around him and saying words that he couldn’t make out clearly. But, he was looking at the fighting in the distance more so than he was looking at them.
Dio and Jotaro were clashing against one another, throwing punches and hard jabs left and right. Dio’s loud jeers and Jotaro’s growls rebounded around the walls of the entrance hall so loudly that Kakyoin’s hearing returned and hit him hard; his ears felt like they were on the verge of exploding. Jotaro managed to land a hard blow into Dio’s stomach, who hissed and raked his nails along the arm that had elbowed him. Jotaro roared in pain as he leaped backward, but without even a moment to pause he was already leaping at Dio with his fangs bared and snarling.
“W-We have to stop them,” Kakyoin groaned.
“Don’t move Kakyoin, you hit your head pretty bad,” Joseph said worriedly. But Kakyoin forced himself up anyways with a groan.
Kakyoin wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but Jotaro looked more and more monstrous as the battle between him and Dio prolonged itself. He seemed to grow larger and his movements more aggressive and less strategic, moving with pure instinct through the air to attack any available openings that Dio had. Dio was starting to tire and was taking more hits than he was returning, but Jotaro remained unfazed and continued to relentlessly attack. Kakyoin could hardly see his eyes in all the chaos and rapidity, but a part of him was scared to look and see nothing of the Jotaro he knew.
Suddenly the sound of a resounding hard thud rang out through the room. Dio was lying crumpled on the floor by the doorway and Jotaro was taking in heaving breaths as he glared at the man while he stood on all fours, back hunched and hind legs ready to spring him forward. Kakyoin rushed forward and screamed for Jotaro to stop as Hierophant grabbed Jotaro’s arms and held him back. For a moment, Jotaro hesitated at the sound of Kakyoin’s desperate voice and turned in his direction.
That moment was all that Dio could ask for; he got up to his feet and hurriedly snapped his fingers as his cape morphed into the wings of a bat. Though he was weak he managed to rush out of the castle doors with a terrified expression on his face, howling something weakly about getting his revenge later before taking to the skies. Jotaro snapped his head back to Dio and ran to chase after him but Kakyoin leaped in between him and the open doorway with his arms outstretched to stop him.
“Please stop Jotaro, you’ve done enough,” Kakyoin cried. But Jotaro jumped clear over Kakyoin’s head and ran out to chase after Dio.
But Dio was long gone by the time he got outside.
…
Kakyoin said that he needed to tend to Jotaro’s wounds alone. He’d asked that the others try their best to put the castle back together until he was finished. Everyone had given him worried looks, but they didn’t say a word as he closed the door to Jotaro’s bedroom. There was blood all over the floor leading up to Jotaro’s bed, where he sat with his back to the door; his outline was dark against the moonlight coming in from the windows.
“Jotaro? Can I come in?” Kakyoin asked tentatively. Jotaro said nothing, so he started to walk closer with a bowl of warm water and a number of clean washcloths in his arms. When he was finally facing Jotaro, he realized that the wounds were a lot worse than he’d feared. The gashes on Jotaro’s arms and chest look deep and Kakyoin’s worried that some wiping and bandages won’t be enough.
When he glances up at Jotaro’s face, there’s no look of welcome waiting for him. Jotaro’s face is cold and his eyes are looking away, an expression that reminded Kakyoin of how Jotaro used to look at him when he first came to the castle. So angry, so distant. It made Kakyoin feel sick to his stomach.
“You’re hurt worse than me. I don’t need you to take care of me,” Jotaro growled. Kakyoin flinched at the harshness of his tone.
“Stop being unreasonable Jotaro, you’re bleeding everywhere,” Kakyoin said maybe a little too hard. He tried to make his voice as soft as possible and send, “Let me help you”
The room fell painfully silent again as Kakyoin started to gently wipe away at the blood and open, red, angry wounds on Jotaro’s arm. He hissed through his teeth occasionally, but remained still.
Kakyoin didn’t know what he should say so he stupidly just started opening his mouth before he could think through all of his words. “Are you okay? When I saw you get so angry back there, fighting Dio, I didn’t know what to think. I’ve never seen you like that before, it was s-”
“You’re scared of me?”
Jotaro’s question felt like a sucker punch to Kakyoin’s gut. He jumped and quickly turned to face Jotaro and take back his stupid words, but before he could say a thing Jotaro was already talking again.
“I don’t think you should be here anymore,” Jotaro said, “Here, at the castle”
Jotaro’s words shattered over Kakyoin’s ears like fragile china plates, sharp, hard, painful. That familiar, aching feeling of loneliness crept back into his veins and he gripped the washcloths in his hand so hard that his knuckles had turned white.
“You don’t want me around anymore?” He asked quietly.
Jotaro was quiet, too tempted to refute Kakyoin’s words and just throw his arms around him and ask him to never leave. But, he knew that he couldn’t do that, that he shouldn’t do that. What if Kakyoin got hurt again, because he was here at the castle because Jotaro had failed to defeat Dio, because he was near Jotaro? It would be all Jotaro’s fault. Seeing him lying slumped against the castle wall, eyes half open as his blood trickled down from his head to his neck. The image had been seared into Jotaro’s mind, so much so that he could hardly see the Kakyoin standing before him, only the Kakyoin whom he had failed.
Jotaro swallowed hard and tried to let his shoulders tremble. “I don’t need you here, you should go,” He said.
“But what if I want to stay?” Kakyoin said loudly.
Jotaro hadn’t expected that. He looked up to make eye contact with Kakyoin for the first time since he’d come into the room and was met with his angry, determined gaze. He was glaring, hard, at Jotaro with clearly more that he wanted to stay.
“This is the first place in my life where I’ve ever felt like I belonged, and I don’t want to part with it. I won’t part with it, unless you can tell me right now that you want to leave because you don’t want me here,” Kakyoin said quietly, despite his anger. He grabbed Jotaro by his torn shirt collar and lifted his face up. “Look at me Jotaro and tell you don’t want me here, that you don’t care about me and I’ll leave,” He seethed.
Jotaro opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. His eyes had turned teal once again, and his face was flickering back to looking humanlike again.
“Jotaro, the attack today on the castle is just as my fault as it is yours. Those villagers came here because of me, and they put you and the others and the castle in danger. It’s my fault, and I’m sorry,” Kakyoin said, his voice cracking as his hands balled into fists.
Kakyoin went on, “When I said earlier that I’d never seen you so angry before, I said it because I was worried about you, not because I’m afraid of you.” His bottom lip began to tremble but he ignored it and pressed on, “I want to stay here by your side, but if I’m hurting you, if I’m a burden to you, just say the word and I’ll listen to yo-”
“I’m happy”
Kakyoin flinched and scrunched his face in confusion; he hadn’t expected Jotaro to say that at all. But Jotaro’s teal eyes were shining as they looked into his. His face wasn’t angry anymore, just open and ready to burst with the words that he wanted to say.
“I don’t want you to leave, I don’t want you to be sad, I don’t want you to get hurt,” Jotaro said as one statement flooded over and into the next without as much as a breath in between, “I want you to protect you, I want you to stay here with me, I want you to be happy, I want to make you happy”
And then he realized all the words that had just come out of his math and his face broke out into a look of bewildered alarm as he tried to back away, little by little, the teal in his eyes beginning to slip away. But Kakyoin wasn’t going to let this chance slip away from him, not when he was so close. So he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Jotaro tight, taking in as much of him as he could in his grasp; he ignored the blood and the squeak of surprise that came out of Jotaro’s mouth.
“You can rely on me Jotaro. You can tell me everything. You don’t have to be afraid, because, I love you”
Kakyoin couldn’t tell if the pounding sound that he hears is Jotaro’s heartbeat or his own. His chest felt tighter than it has ever had in his entire life and he felt like he had enough nerves jolting through him that he could run away at the speed of light at any second, but he willed himself to stay put with all the courage he could muster.
When he felt Jotaro’s arms wrap themselves around him, a wave of relief crashed over him. Jotaro doesn’t say a word for a while, and Kakyion felt him hesitate. He gave him an encouraging squeeze and listened to Jotaro’s heartbeat through his shirt and his fur.
“You’re unfair,” Jotaro grumbled. Kakyoin chuckled.
And then Jotaro added, “I love you too Kakyoin”
Kakyoin gasped. When he pulled away from Jotaro’s chest to look up at him, he saw the fur receding from Jotaro’s arms, neck, face, everywhere. His body had begun to shrink, his paws gave way to reveal hands, long fingers, and short fingernails. When Kakyoin looked up at Jotaro’s face, all the fur and horns and fangs had completely disappeared. What was left was long, wavy dark hair, thick eyebrows, a strong jaw, a long thin nose, pink lips, and bright teal eyes. Kakyoin couldn’t believe it.
“Jotaro! Y-you’re -”
“Human again,” He said breathlessly as he stared down at his hands in disbelief. He smiled as he looked over his arms, his legs, his everything. And then he looked up at Kakyoin.
Kakyoin flushed, feelings strangely awkward and shy in front of this strange Jotaro who he both knew yet didn’t know at all. There were too many feelings all mixed up inside of him, he felt happy and excited and relieved and nervous and afraid all at the same time. He averted his gaze and tried to pull out of Jotaro’s arms, but Jotaro’s grip was firm. He pulled Kakyoin back, close to his chest, and squeezed him tight. Kakyoin felt all the butterflies in his stomach fly away as he relaxed into the hug, reaching his arms around to hold Jotaro close as well.
“Did you mean it? What you said just now?” Jotaro mumbled.
Kakyoin chuckled. “Of course I did,” He said, rubbing his hand in comforting circles around Jotaro’s broad back. He said, “I don’t think this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t meant it.”
Kakyoin pulled his head back to get a good look at Jotaro’s face. Despite all the stern lines in it, his cheeks were colored just the slightest bit pink. Kakyoin couldn’t help but also notice that his ears were beginning to turn red as he glared down at Kakyoin’s smug expression.
“I can tell you again if you didn’t hear me the first time,” Kakyoin said teasingly, “I’ll tell you as many times as you want”
“If you want to,” Jotaro said quietly as he looked away pointedly.
Kakyoing propped up on his tippy toes and whispered in Jotaro’s ear, “I love you Jotaro.” He pressed a quick, chaste kiss to the space where Jotaro’s ear met his cheek before pulling away. When he saw Jotaro’s ears turn even redder Kakyoin laughed. “Who knew that such a handsome man could get so easily flustered,” He teased.
Before he could poke fun at Jotaro anymore, Jotaro leaned his head in and pressed their lips together. Kakyoin let out a surprised, muffled noise but he was quickly kissing Jotaro back. His lips were surprisingly soft, and warm against Kakyoin’s own. He could tell that Jotaro was hesitant so he took upon himself to angle his head and press more of their lips together. Little happy bursts of confetti were popping inside his head.
When their lips parted, both let out nervous chuckles.
“I needed to shut you up,” Jotaro said as casually as he could.
“You have a pretty effective method for shutting people up,” Kakyoin replied.
“Better expect it more often if you keep making fun of me,” Jotaro said.
“Does this mean I get to stay?” Kakyoin asked softly.
Jotaro nodded his head, smiling. Kakyoin’s heart soared.
Suddenly the door to Jotaro’s room flew open and four strange faces appeared as they came tumbling through the door with ecstatic grins. They stopped in the doorway though, when they saw that they had caught the two in the midst of an intimate moment, but when they caught sight of Jotaro in his human form they rushed forward with happy cheers and yells. Jotaro and Kakyoin were quickly engulfed in huge, warm hugs as Polnareff and Holly started to bawl. Avdol was grinning from ear to ear and Joseph was laughing.
“It’s good to see you guys again,” Jotaro said.
“Right back atcha buddy,” Polnareff said with a very wet grin on his face.
…
Many things changed after the spell on the Joestars, Polnareff, and Avdol had been lifted.
Both Polnareff and Avdol left the castle to check on their families and their home and were happy to report that everything was in good shape despite the couple of years that had gone by since they’d last returned. They resumed work as art dealers and traders for expensive foreign imports under Joseph’s expansive merchant organization. Though it was a bit sad to not have them around the castle all the time, the two of them made sure to come by and visit as often as they could to have dinner together and bring the Joestars something interesting they’d found and acquired from their work and travels: Jotaro was quick to nab the anthology that cataloged marine species discovered by two biologists from Spain, Kakyoin had taken the art history textbook and spent a good couple of days holed up in his room poring over it.
Joseph spent his time split between staying in the capital to run his business working with the royal family and other aristocrats and coming back to the castle to spend his days relaxing. He’d often bring Kakyoin and Jotaro along with him to the city to spend the day looking around while he worked. It was Kakyoin’s first time in the capitol and he was amazed by what he’d seen. There were so many people and buildings cram-packed into such a small, dynamic space that if he blinked he’d miss something happening. Jotaro usually didn’t like going to the capital city, for it was far too crowded for his liking, but he thought that Kakyoin’s fascination with the city was rather comical so he put up with being stuck in the middle of so many crowds just for him. They ended up spending their whole time in the city exploring the shops and street markets and they came home with bags full of things that Kakyoin had failed to resist buying.
At home, Holly was her usual perky self. She had insisted that Kakyoin stop doing the cooking and cleaning around the castle, so the Joestars hired new staff to take care of everything. Kakyoin was a little sad at first, but he was pleased to find that Jotaro still asked for his desserts sometimes; apparently the new cook’s tiramisu wasn’t as good as his.
Now that Kakyoin’s days were freed up, he decided to finally get to restoring the damaged paintings in the castle. Many of the paintings featured Jotaro throughout the years, frowning in every single one, and Kakyoin took every opportunity to tease him about it while he worked on bringing fresh color back into them. Jotaro would just ignore him from the sofa in Kakyoin’s studio where he sat reading, peering over the top of the book to watch Kakyoin work. He liked how Kakyoin delicately moved the paints across the canvas with his brush and palette knife.
Kakyoin continued to work on his art even after all the paintings in the castle had been restored and proved to be incredibly talented. He loved painting a variety of things, birds, flowers, portraits, scenes from random daily life, and his studio was soon full of pieces after a few months.
Holly said that an art exhibit at the castle would be a great way for Kakyion to get some recognition for his work (it was really Jotaro who had mentioned the idea quietly to her one day and she was beyond excited). Initially, Kakyoin had been nervous since he didn’t have much confidence in his paintings, but Jotaro had encouraged him to give the exhibit a shot. For the first time in years, the castle was full of guests and noise and the delicious scents of good food and fragrant wine. Joseph, Polnareff, and Avdol had brought many of their colleagues and clients from work to come and see the paintings and there was much praise given to Kakyoin’s work and many bids for the paintings. Kakyoin didn’t really care to try and sell them for the highest price so he left the auctioning to Joseph to handle.
Both he and Jotaro grew quickly disinterested in the redundant, boring conversations and the noise and bustle. Jotaro put a hand on the small of Kakyoin’s back and Kakyion shot him a knowing look and a smile. Once they thought that no one was looking their way, the two of them quietly left the ballroom and took the stairs up to somewhere far away from the crowds. Jotaro slipped his hand into Kakyoin’s as they climbed the stairs.
“What if someone sees us,” Kakyoin said, not that he was genuinely worried, he was just curious what Jotaro might say.
“I don’t care,” Jotaro replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Kakyoin grinned.
“Let’s go to the balcony in your room, I need some fresh air,” Kakyoin said as he tugged Jotaro along.
The night air is cool against Kakyoin’s warm cheek, a nice contrast to the stuffy air from the full ballrooms downstairs. He leaned against the railing of the balcony and looked out over the surrounding gardens; he had to admit that the new gardeners were doing a much better job than he ever could. But, he did appreciate the diminishing number of cuts and bruises on his hands.
The feeling of Jotaro’s large coat being placed on his shoulders surprised him. He looked over to where Jostaro stood next to him, facing away from him as the tips of his ears had turned a bit red.
“I’m not going to take care of you if you get sick,” He muttered.
“Liar, you would,” Kakyoin said, intertwining their fingers again to pull Jotaro closer.
“Did you like the exhibit?” Jotaro asked.
Kakyoin nodded. “The compliments are nice and all but I know I still have a lot to learn,” Kakyoin said, smiling, “It’s exciting though, looking forward to the future”
Kakyoin gave Jotaro’s hand a squeeze and went on to ramble about something along the lines of learning about other art mediums and wanting to travel some time to see more things he could make into art and Jotaro wondered if Kakyoin could feel his heartbeat pounding through their touching fingertips.
“What are you thinking about?”
Jotaro was startled by the surprise question and he realized that Kakyoin was looking up at him, staring into his eyes with a look of interest. Jotaro wasn’t sure if saying the truth here would be the best option, he’s already embarrassed enough about suddenly holding Kakyoin’s hand and too lost looking at how Kakyoin’s wearing yet another lavender colored shirt but this time with a matching satin collar and even a pair of earrings that resembles those cherries he loves so much and he doesn’t know what to say so he just blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.
“You’re amazing,” he said.
Kakyoin’s face turns almost as red as his hair, clearly caught off guard by the sudden compliment; he had only meant to poke a little fun at Jotaro’s stoic expression. Jotaro was never big on compliments, his actions usually spoke larger than his words, so Kakyoin felt rather shy. He would have asked Jotaro to elaborate but Jotaro was already speaking again, and said, “What I meant was, you’re really good at a lot of things and you have all these ideas and plans, it’s really nice”
Kakyoin chuckled, “I’m not that good, maybe you’re just worse than me at a lot of things”
Jotaro laughed. “Untrue,” He said, “My record lately in chess says otherwise”
“You still owe me another rematch,” Kakyoin said pointedly.
“Sure sure,” Jotaro replied. He noted that Kakyoin hadn’t let go of his hand yet and smiled. “I’m glad that you didn’t leave the castle too, even though I told you to like a dumbass”
Kakyoin smiled and said, “Of course I wouldn’t just get up and leave, I like you you know that. I also figured that you’d had some silly reason why you wanted me to leave, but with the best of intentions of course.” He stared at Jotaro and raised an eyebrow, and asked, “Why did you want me to leave all of a sudden?”
Jotaro’s face turned bright red. He turned away before he mumbled so low that it was barely audible, “I was worried that Dio might come back and hurt you in the future if you stayed near me. And” he trailed off.
“And?” Kakyoin said slowly, now very curious.
“You mentioned that you wanted to travel the world right? That one time,” Jotaro muttered, “When you had that nightmare. You can’t do that if you stay at the castle”
Kakyoin’s eyes widened, and then they sparkled with adoring amusement. He hadn't even remembered telling Jotaro that he’d once dreamed of traveling the world until the big, shy oaf had mentioned it again; he couldn’t believe that Jotaro had been thinking about such a flyaway comment that he’d made. Should he squeeze Jotaro to death or coo over just how adorable Jotaro was?
Jotaro groaned as his face increased in temperature. Kakyoin’s face was on the verge of laughing and he wanted to take all the words he’d just said right back. He resigned instead to just lean his head against Kakyoin’s to avoid looking directly at him. His jacket was hilariously too large for Kakyoin to fit well, but Jotaro liked the way it looked on him. He smiled
Kakyoin looked at Jotaro and grinned. “I guess you’ll have to put up with me for a little while longer,” He said.
“I have no intention of running away,” Jotaro said with a grin.
Kakyoin wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tight. He smirked and said, “Good, because I have no intention of letting you go”
Jotaro laughed before he leaned down to kiss Kakyoin’s lips, soft yet energetic. He could feel Kakyoin smile into the kiss and it makes him want to kiss him harder so he tilts his head and presses his lips harder against Kakyoin’s. His hands find themselves at Kakyoin’s hips so he weaves his arms around to hold Kakyoin by the waist and marvels at how nice it is to not worry about accidentally scratching Kakyoin with his claws anymore. Kakyoin just seemed to have a magical way of making his worries disappear, one by one. He promised that he’d try hard to do the same for Kakyoin as well. Maybe he’d take him to travel the world sometime.
“I love you,” He mumbled as he pulled his lips away for just a moment.
Kakyoin grinned as he went in for another kiss.