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24. like we are gonna die young
“What if tonight was the last night we spent together?”
Kakyoin’s words resounded through the room, followed by a guffaw on his part. Jotaro stayed quiet for longer than the other expected, conscious that his words had bothered him. He smiled uncomfortably and went back to facing the street. He sat on the window sill while a soft breeze played with his bangs. He murmured, “I’m sorry,” an apology Jotaro accepted delicately.
He knew that the way the night was going, how they canceled out each other’s words with heavy, uncomfortable silence suffocating them, screaming for them to speak their minds to no avail. The next day was the last of their journey, the day they would finally face DIO after so much searching. Jotaro knew this very well.
It was the fourth time they acted like this, as if they were acting off the same old script. It was like they were trapped in this spiral once and again due to Kakyoin; as if God threw them countless opportunities for salvation, missing with every try. It did not matter what they did, in the end it was all the same: Kakyoin would die while he would live.
The night reached its end and their last day together would start again. It was the same as every other time, nothing had changed. I must do something… I should find some way to break the cycle and save Kakyoin. I must…
He knew the fight against DIO was near, he had lived through it many times. But this time would be different, Kakyoin must survive at all costs. That was why he let DIO’s fist break through his chest, depriving him of air for about a fraction of a second. He noted how his body fell at a dizzying velocity until he made until impact against the ground.
He trusted Kakyoin and the others, they would achieve this. This time would be different, this time it was he who would sacrifice himself… He had taunted destiny, and this time he would win. His eyelids weighed down and blood accumulated in his throat. He coughed and noted how his life slipped away little by little. He heard the others scream, but with his final breath, he urged them to defeat DIO, they could not let his death be in vain. He closed his eyes tiredly.
If he were to be reincarnated, it would be nice to find himself with Kakyoin again – but this time without battles, nor Stands, nor anything else between them. Just love. It was all he wanted: to see Kakyoin again and to have the life they would never got to have.
“What if tonight was the last night we spent together?”
Kakyoin’s words resounded through the room, followed by a guffaw on his part. Jotaro opened his eyes, Why am I here again? Why hasn’t the loop broken? I changed every damn thing, I saved Kakyoin! He asked Kakyoin to take off his shirt almost frantically, spitting out his words. While nervous and confused, he obeyed. Jotaro sighed, defeated.
There it was, the scar in Kakyoin’s stomach; the reminder of how DIO had ended his life. The redhead looked at his torso, scared, not finding anything out of the norm. Jotaro laughed, broken. So, there’s no way to save him, huh? No matter what I do, there’s no way to save him. That’s all that had to change to escape this loop.
To assume Kakyoin could not live was to admit they were soul mates condemned to failure.