Chapter Text
Jotaro likes to take long walks along the jetty in Morioh, even if the purpose is for work.
After his initial stay in the summer of 1999, following the solving of the Kira Yoshikage case, he had come to truly appreciate the serenity of the waves that crashed along the pristine white sand of the shore. The air here was full of salty brine, the breezes cool and refreshing, and he had come to consider many of the residents friends, or at least acquaintances. For a small coastal town, the beach was incredibly well cared for, sand free of litter and water crystal clear, and besides being effortlessly beautiful, Morioh was home to a wealth of aquatic life. Having suitable conditions for a wider variety of creatures than anything else he had been able to find in Japan, coupled with being close by to his new friends and family members, it was an excellent place to settle temporarily while completing his thesis.
His studies were what brought him to his present stroll along one of the jettys built along the beaches of Morioh. His eyes followed the quickly disappearing light of the setting sun that was smearing the sky into shades of pink and orange before letting them fall back to the water at his feet. The cool of the ocean breeze ruffles his coat as his eyes focus on the water lapping up against the rocks. He had seen a beautiful purple and white starfish earlier— asterias amurensis he believed— and even with as many pictures as he had taken of it, he decided it would be easier to write his observations down when studying it directly and in person. He had found it not very long ago, with any luck it would still be around the same spot it was before, so Jotaro continues forward in search of it when he spots a strange glimmer from a few yards ahead of him.
At first, he thinks it may just be a reflection of the light playing off of the cool blue-green of the ocean. But it shines again soon after, glowing brilliantly in the late afternoon sun and prompting Jotaro to investigate its cause further.
A few steps closer, it becomes obvious that the shimmer is coming from jewelry hanging off the ears of someone perched on the rocks, arms resting on the rugged stone of the jetty, calm and serene in the warm reflection of the sunset off the water. Their hair is a stunning shade of crimson, flat with the weight of salt water slicking them close to the person’s head. They don’t seem to be in distress, but that just makes Jotaro all the more curious.
It’s strange for someone to be swimming at this time of the evening, and even weirder still to be so close to the rocks. He just wants to make sure they’re okay— the jetty is rather dangerous, after all— but Jotaro seems to catch the swimmer’s attention and that brilliant red hair flips around and strikingly purple eyes meet sea blue.
Jotaro stares for a long moment, speechless despite his best efforts, before pulling his hat down to shadow his eyes. He clears his throat before speaking.
“Are you okay?”
The boy in the water doesn’t answer, which isn’t surprising for some reason, despite how strange it is. Jotaro is about to say something else, but his eyes catch on the waves lapping up along the boy’s waist. Around him, the water is coloring pink where the boy is still half submerged.
“You’re hurt,” Jotaro says. He gets down on his knees to offer him a hand, to help pull him from the water, but stops short when he looks closer at the quickly reddening water. He blinks once, twice, before realizing that what he's seeing isn't an illusion.
It's a tail.
The person has a tail.
Jotaro pulls his hand back, startled, but not nearly as much as the boy in front of him.
At first, he assumes it’s one of those tails people buy to look like a mermaid— after all, there’s no way such a thing actually exists— but the scales shine too brilliantly, and at this angle it’s easy to see where some have been scraped off, where the blood is coming from. It seems this tail is very clearly real, and very clearly actually injured.
“You’re a mermaid?” Jotaro asked dumbly, mentally berating himself before he even finished the sentence. “A merman?” He adds, even stupider than the first statement.
The mermaid- merman?- looked down at his tail, and back up to Jotaro with a panicked expression, his eyes flickering from Jotaro to his tail and back again. Jotaro almost doesn’t think he will respond again, but as he prepares to say something else stupid, the boy takes a breath.
“It sure seems like it,” he responds, too quickly to be mistaken as anything but straight fear. “Does that bother you?”
Jotaro blinks in surprise, both at the fact that the mermaid spoke and that he spoke Japanese, specifically. He takes in the edge of rising anxiety in his voice, and tries to make himself look less intimidating by softening his expression, though he isn't sure it works. “No,” he answers quickly, shaking his head ever so slightly, inching nearer subconsciously to get a better look. The stone of the jetty is rough against his hands as he braces himself over the edge, knees curled up under his chest as he leans close to the fascinating creature he has found. “I think it’s interesting, to say the least.”
Interesting is the understatement of the century. Nobody in their right mind would ever think mermaids actually existed, let alone off the coast of Morioh, yet here one was, speaking to him. Confirming it’s existence like that wasn’t momentarily turning his world on it’s head. The existence of vampires was more believable to Jotaro than what was in front of him, and he felt tempted to pinch himself, but there was no way he was dreaming this up. Even with all of the batshit things Jotaro had seen since he turned 17, this is the one thing that seemed truly unreal. It could be due in part to his love of the sea and all the creatures in it, but the situation seemed unbelievable at best and like an illusion at worst. It didn’t seem like a stand attack, though, not with the anxiety of the boy in front of him radiating so strongly. He was truly in pain.
“I’ve never seen anything like you before,” Jotaro says in quiet disbelief, “are there others?”
The redhead’s eyes cloud over with the same emotion Jotaro saw in his expression before, just for a split second, before his focus fall from Jotaro’s face to the water. His head ducks as if to shield himself from Jotaro's attentive gaze.
“That’s because we don’t like the surface very much,” the mermaid explains, dodging the second question.
“Then why are you here?”
The boy pauses at that.
"I'm sure you can guess that yourself," he says, fingers flexing at his hold on the rocks. Jotaro suddenly remembers the steadily reddening water below, the injuries the breathtaking creature in front of him has taken, and the gears in his brain finally begin turning once again. From this angle, he can see that the mermaid is stuck to the rock by a particularly nasty groove sticking from it, embedded painfully in the green shimmer of the creature's tail.
"You're hurt," he repeats, this time reaching out to the pale ivory of the other's hand, intending to inspect his injuries, but the mermaid pulls his hands away faster than Jotaro can move. Their eyes meet again, but this time fear and pain are apparent in his expression, and he hisses a breath at the sudden movement, breath labored. His arms have moved, but he hasn't gotten any farther away from the jetty.
"I'm fine," the redhead grits out, hands laying back on the rocks, "you should leave."
Jotaro considers this for a moment. But if he leaves, this creature will surely die, and he can't let that happen. Not when he's still processing it's existence, and not when it is this beautiful.
Instead, Jotaro stands up, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets and pulling out his phone. He spends just a few moments tapping through his contacts list before finding who he was looking for and pressing dial. It only rings a couple times before it's owner picks up, and Jotaro doesn't wait for them to even say as much as 'hello' before he's speaking.
"Oi, Josuke. I need you to come to the beach."
--
"Wow. I mean, are you sure this isn't a stand ability?" Josuke asks, crouching down to stare at the creature he's meant to heal.
In the time it took for Josuke to get there, Jotaro was able to learn the mermaid's name was Kakyoin, and that he had been slammed into the jetty by a wave and got himself hooked onto a groove unable to move about an hour earlier. He was okay with one more person seeing him, but no more than that. It took a considerable amount of prompting to get even that much out of him, and not without Kakyoin telling Jotaro to leave at least ten times. Convincing Josuke to make Okuyasu stay behind was almost as much of a struggle as getting any information at all out of Kakyoin, and by the time he arrived the mermaid was staying persistently silent, eyes cast towards the sun nearly set on the horizon line no matter what questions Jotaro asked.
"I'm sure," Jotaro says, "it's real."
"No way," Josuke continues to stare, and Kakyoin continues to not pay any attention to him, eyes set far-off as if he barely registered his presence. The only indication that he's listening at all is a heavy sigh, which effectively stops any further conversation.
Jotaro turns to Josuke, narrowing his eyes at his skepticism. If this were not a time sensitive task, he would give him a few pointers on how to spot true marine life when he sees it, however that could wait for later. Instead, his eyes flicker to Kakyoin, gesturing towards him with his head instead of the hands tucked firmly into his pockets. "Use your ability," he commands, leaving no room for refusal.
Josuke rolls his eyes as if he is being served with a major inconvenience, but summons Crazy Diamond nonetheless to take care of the damage Kakyoin has sustained. It hovers it's hand just barely above Kakyoin's shoulder, it's familiar yellow aura surrounding him and making quick work of his injuries. It works immediately, the relief of the lack of pain showing on Kakyoin's face well before the healing process is complete. It only takes a few moments, but Jotaro's chest lightens up from an ache he didn't even know was there from seeing his wounds repaired and the darkness in the mermaid's eyes lightening up, if only a bit. Crazy Diamond withdraws it's hand, Kakyoin flexes his now healed and unstuck tail, and before either Josuke or Jotaro can even say anything Kakyoin dives under the water, his tail kicking up and splashing Josuke liberally with salty ocean water.
"Fuck," Josuke yells, his hands quickly checking to make sure his hair wasn't damaged. Luckily, it stays standing, and Kakyoin stays swimming away at breakneck speed, not even bothering to say a word to either of them as he rushes towards the horizon line he had his sights fixed on. Jotaro follows him with his eyes until he can't see the darkness of his form under the clear of the ocean water anymore, now shrouded in dark as the sun had finally fully set. He wonders, briefly, if he will ever seen anything like that again in his life, no matter how long he spends as a marine biologist. His mouth flickers into the ghost of a smile, excited for just the opportunity to have seen something so breathtaking it was almost impossible to believe, impossible to process.
Motion next to him finally breaks Jotaro out of his reverie as Josuke stands, smoothing the wrinkles his position has folded into his pants as he recalls Crazy Diamond. "Bastard," he grunts, "a thanks would have been nice, at least."
Jotaro's eyes stay fixed on the water. He kind of wishes Kakyoin had stuck around, yet he can't blame a fantasy creature for not wanting to be around a bunch of humans any longer than he had to. Disappointing as it is, just the abilty to have witnessed a creature so incredible that it shouldn't even exist is reward enough for Jotaro. "Let's not dwell on it."
He pulls his hat over his eyes, nods at Josuke in farewell, and makes his way back home.
It's not until Jotaro arrives at his rented apartment that he realizes he never found the starfish he was looking for.