Chapter Text
Kira was gone. Jotaro and Joseph were back in the United States. The majority of Morioh had no idea of the tragedy they so narrowly avoided. It wasn’t like when the world gets saved in a comic book; it was just the panicked actions of a bunch of high schoolers, a marine biologist, some ghosts, and a shitty mangaka. Okuyasu often tried to wrap his head around the series of coincidences and choices that brought them to where they were, and often he cut those thoughts off before they could even take hold.
There were differences of course, from the way things were before. There were moments now that made the past seem tangible, and others where if Okuyasu thought that if he just closed and opened his eyes, it could have all been a bad dream. The missing bodies in both the Nijimura and Higashikata households were two pointed reminders that this was not the case. Another was the way that Josuke’s eyes would sometimes dull, the life seeming to leave him for a moment before Okuyasu’s hand on his shoulder could shake him back to reality. There were the new scars on Josuke now. The way he tried not to show that he favored his right side now. If you just looked hard enough, there were reminders. They say you don’t remember pain, and that might be true. But Okuyasu knew that you could remember fear. That fear froze him sometimes, his eyes focused on the ground until he remembered that Kira was gone, that he had watched him die. That was something else to deal with, huh.
Nevertheless, life went on. Before Jotaro left, he had worked it out with the Speedwagon foundation that he would get a small allowance every month to take care of the house, food, and essentials. He never could bring himself ask why. Okuyasu sobbed when Jotaro had told him that workers from the foundation would be stopping by to “fix things up.” That guy was always so sure, but he went stiff as a board when he hugged him. The old house was still drafty as all hell, but with Crazy Diamond’s help, there were some huge improvements. It wasn’t far from squalor, but it was a home for him and his Dad. If Okuyasu scrimped and saved, he had enough to get by on, and wouldn’t have to touch his rainy day lottery savings. He was getting so fucking good at couponing.
He would get up in the morning, feed Stray Cat and his father, then head over to Josuke’s house to pick at his friend’s breakfast. Tomoko was intense and kind. She seemed to understand after what she thought was just a terrible accident, a gas explosion that messed them both up and that Josuke and Okuyasu had some kind of solidarity thing going on. She welcomed Okuyasu into her home with the ferocity in which she did everything else. He wanted to be as brave as Tomoko Higashikata someday. The two boys would walk to school and would meet up with Koichi and Yukako. Okuyasu thought Koichi seemed happy. He never saw him go blank, the way he did. Just how well adjusted was the little guy? He figured that he’s got a smoking hot girlfriend who’s obsessed with him, so who wouldn’t be happy, right? Even if that girlfriend made him go to tutoring , among other things. Maybe that helped him focus on now, rather than the past. Everyone’s different and all that.
Sometimes they talked about it, what happened, but often they didn’t. Josuke would speak in code, Koichi and Yukako responding carefully. Okuyasu tended to feel lost, never knowing how to talk about it without actually doing so. He wasn’t good at careful. He’d really rather people just say what was on their minds. That’s what Keicho always did. “No lying. Except to the cops.” He liked that rule. Even if he could figure out the code, what was he going to say anyway?
“Hey guys! I feel like I’m going to shake apart if I think about my brother too hard! Because I don’t know how to feel about him! He always handled the hard questions like that but I can’t ask him because he’s dead! I’m about 100% sure he was not a good person, but he was also my brother, and his last action was to save my life. Also, we nearly died a whole bunch of times this year, and we saw a man die. He was an evil horrible man, but I still hated to see it. So sometimes I start crying for no reason and I can’t feel my hands. Josuke, you’re the only person I trust, I think. Is that weird? Thanks for saving my life by the way. Anyway, was there math homework?” How do you say that without saying that? Okuyasu wasn’t smart enough to make that happen.
When the school year started, people would stare at their group. It made sense, they didn’t look like they belonged together at all. Maybe Josuke and him because they were both cool and badass-looking. Even so, Josuke was a lot more refined than Okuyasu. He was on a totally different level. Eventually though, people stopped staring, and life continued to go on. Outside of school hours, they were often joined by Morioh’s resident alien.
Even before the events of the last year, Okuyasu knew “weird.” He was weird compared to the other children at school because he only had the one parent. He was weird because his clothes tended to have holes. His classmates called him weird because he cried when they read poetry in class. It was really fucking weird when his father shrank in size and started resembling a booger. It was both really weird and exceptionally shitty when Keicho shot him with that arrow. The act itself was shitty; the pain, the confusion, the fear… but then it was weird after. Okuyasu felt like he had a pretty good handle on the stranger things in life. But Hazekura Mikitaka was a level of weird he had in no way been prepared for.
It was well known that Okuyasu was not the smartest guy, and that never bothered him much. “No use changing it, little bro. You’re kind of an idiot.” Keicho said when he brought up the fact he was not keeping up with his classmates. He tried, he really did, it just took him too long to figure out the answers. “Don’t waste time on that. All sorts of ways around that for a dumbass. You don’t gotta be smart to be successful, you got me.” Okuyasu appreciated his simplicity. The Nijimura brothers didn’t tend to play games. Even if his words had stung, they were Keicho’s honest thoughts. Okuyasu missed him. A lot. Probably.
Now that they weren’t in life-threatening danger on the daily, Okuyasu’s lack of wit didn’t bother him much, he could figure out most things fine enough. There was the glaring exception, however, of Mikitaka. What the actual fuck was up with Mikitaka. When he and Josuke happened upon him sleeping in that field they had laughed their asses off, but the more they interacted with the supposed alien, the more unsure he became. He didn’t have the time over the last few months to determine Mikitaka’s origins, as there were stand users everywhere and a serial killer on the loose, and those seemed more pressing at the time. There was just something in the way Mikitaka moved. It was different than his own stride, heavy steps and pelvis first, or the way Josuke walked with his chest out in a confident strut. Mikitaka walked as if he had no weight to him. He bounced on the balls of his feet. It kind of looked like each step had no impact on the rest of his body. Weird.
Often times Mikitaka would just appear, falling in step with their group as they started their journey home. That was the case today. As he and Josuke waved goodbye to Koichi and Yukako, Mikitaka had called to them from a tree before jumping -floating? It seemed more like floating. Seriously, how much did this guy weigh? Josuke immediately started yelling,
“OI MIKITAKA! ALIEN GUY. THAT IS NOT WHAT PEOPLE DO.” Josuke took a breath, flexing his fingers. “Stop trying to scare the shit out of us!”
“That was not my intention, I apologize, Josuke. I simply like to see you coming. I’ve been spending lots of time with Toyohiro. There are several advantages to being up high!” Mikitaka fell into step with them, smiling wide.
“You know if you’re trying to learn about humans, hanging out with only stand users probably isn’t your best bet, Mikitaka.” Josuke said, exasperated.
They were going to get their favorite ice cream before the shop closed for the fall. Okuyasu let his mind wander. It used to be Shigechi’s job, coming downtown with them. As much of a stingy bastard that kid was, he didn’t deserve what he got. Okuyasu was a stingy bastard himself, so who was he to judge! That kid was another soul Morioh would never get back. He wondered if Keicho met Shigechi in heaven. Or if Keicho went to heaven. Okuyasu could feel himself going into autopilot as that thought pass through his mind. He kept his eyes on the sidewalk in front of him. His hands were starting to feel cold. Josuke and Mikitaka’s playful argument faded to a distant mumbling. This always happened when he thought about Keicho. He just couldn’t get around to working out the questions he had, let alone the answers he needed. He didn’t notice that he had slowed down, falling behind his friends.
If Keicho were here he would just tell him to move on about it already. But would his big brother want him to move on? He visited his grave often enough. His friends went with him sometimes, most often he went alone. It was more comforting that way. He would kneel there and just try to work things out, speaking aloud to someone who could never answer him again. Would have answers have been helpful? If Keicho was still alive would he even be feeling like this? It wasn’t like they were ever considered close. They weren’t kind to each other, they were family. He was family. He hoped he was with Shigechi. Maybe they were together, making fun of him in heaven. God, he hoped so. Maybe Shigechi reminded him of Okuyasu when he was young. Things weren’t better then, but they were different, when they were young. Shigechi was so young… too young. Fuck. Oh fuck. Okuyasu stopped, shutting his eyes; as if closing off one of his senses would dull the shaking he started to feel in his core. He couldn’t breathe. He felt the presence of The Hand behind him. Did he call him? He didn’t mean to. His breath started to come in shallow pants. He must have made a sound, or maybe The Hand had reached out to his friends without him noticing. He heard the footsteps in front of him stop, Mikitaka and Josuke turning around. He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, applying pressure. His whole body shaking now. He missed Keicho.
“Hey, Okuyasu, what’s goin’ on?” That was Josuke’s voice. He was coming closer now.
“Are your eyes in pain?” That was Mikitaka.
“Shut up, dude.” Josuke shot at him, approaching Okuyasu. His voice was gentle. “Hey… bro, what’s up?”
Okuyasu couldn’t answer, the world was still closing in around him. A strangled sound made its way out of him in lieu of a response. He could feel hot tears start to pour down his cheeks. He was well past being embarrassed about crying in public.
“Okay. Alright. Why don’t you sit down dude? I’m gonna touch your arm and lead you to the bench, okay?” Okuyasu nodded but kept his eyes closed. “Alright, thanks Oku. It’s gonna be fine. It’s alright.” His voice was so gentle, Josuke had gotten good at this. Practice makes perfect, right? They all had learned how to handle these kinds of episodes. Jotaro called them panic attacks. Okuyasu nodded and let himself be led to the bench, sitting down when he felt the wood press against the backs of his knees. “Okay, good. Can you open your eyes bro? Why don’t you put The Hand away?” Each question was posed slowly, giving Okuyasu time to process what he was saying. He nodded, calling his stand back. “Thanks, Oku.”
“I can’t- I’m gonna keep my eyes closed,” Okuyasu mumbled, his naturally raspy voice was almost a whisper. He felt a warm presence on his right side. It wasn’t Josuke, because his voice was in front of him so it must have been Mikitaka.
“Okay. That’s alright. Keep ‘em closed for now. Seeing is for the birds. Never met a man who needed eyes less than you. Gotta make sure you open them someday though. I think you’d miss my handsome face way too much. So when you’re ready it’ll be here.” Josuke was talking too much. He was hoping if he cracked a joke that Okuyasu would snap out of it.
“M’sorry,” Okuyasu said. He wished he could laugh, to make Josuke feel better, but he couldn’t. His palms were still pressed to his eyes, his breathing still coming too quickly.
“It’s okay Oku. It happens. You don’t need to apologize.” Josuke was squatting in front of him, his hands resting on Okuyasu’s knees. “Why don’t you breathe bro. We’re just sitting. Me and you and Mikitaka. We’re just gonna hang here for a bit. You don’t gotta worry about anything.”
“What happened, Okuyasu?” Mikitaka asked, his voice even.
“Dude don’t fuckin’ ask that right now. He obvi-” Josuke started before Okuyasu rested his hands on top of his, cutting him off.
“I was thinking about Keicho.” The words shot out of him in one breath. “I was wondering if he and Shigechi were talkin’ about me in heaven and... I get all messed up thinking about my bro like that… I just really hope that he…” He gestured vaguely, “Ya know. He wasn’t a good person I know that and I knew… but he did- he was my family. He died saving me .” He tightened his grip on Josuke’s hands.
“Oh, you are unsure if he is in this Heaven place? Where you think Shigechi and the other deceased child have gone to?”
“Mikitaka shut up you can’t just say shit like that!” Josuke stood up, tearing his hands from Okuyasu’s, subconsciously raising a fist.
“No, bro, it’s alright.” Okuyasu opened his eyes, looking up at his friend. He could feel himself shaking without Josuke’s hands as an anchor. “It hurts to think about. I think my body tries to shut itself down cuz I don’t even know where to start with all this. It’s like instead of thinkin’ my brain just sets itself on fire. I’ve never been too good at all that reasoning shit you know? I just start shaking and it’s like all my thoughts start sprinting and I can’t catch them”
“The death of your brother has made you confused as well as mournful. I see. It is very interesting how humans cope with grief. It seems to be a very physical reaction. That must be quite hard. I apologize, Okuyasu. I hope you soon find relief.” Mikitaka mimicked Josuke’s earlier action of placing his hand on Okuyasu’s knee. “I am touching your knee now.” He nodded.
Okuyasu looked up at Mikitaka through the veil of still-there tears and felt like he could finally catch his breath.
“Ya don’t have to apologize. Thanks, dude.” He said, cracking a smile.
“Now that’s what I like to see!” Josuke beamed, glad to see his best friend getting back to normal. Hearing Okuyasu talk so much about his brother like that made his gut twist uncomfortably. If Keicho had just been a good brother to him, didn’t treat him like shit, Okuyasu wouldn’t be so conflicted. He could just mourn him the way he did his Grandfather. But Keicho… Josuke had to cut his train of thought off before he worked himself up too much. Okuyasu finally looked like he was back to reality, he didn’t need to fuck that up with his temper. However, the idea of staying here also made him feel like he was being put through the pasta extruder at Tonio’s. “Why don’t you two stay here and I’ll run ahead and get that ice cream we wanted.” He quickly did some mental math with the funds in his bank account, “My treat!”
“You don’t gotta-” Okuyasu drew out the first syllable of his name.
“Nope. Don’t move from here I’ll be back in fifteen” He said, already turning in the direction of the shop. “Choco-strawberry, right? And Mikitaka you want…?”
“I will have the fluorescent pink flavor. I believe it is bubble gum? Although there are no bubbles nor gum, which was confusing. But upon explanation, I happen to enjoy it.” Mikitaka said thoughtfully.
“Oookay.” He blinked, shaking his head at him. I’ll be right back, alright?” His concerned eyes turned to Okuyasu. “You gonna be alright here? I can stay, I just thought some ice cream might make it better.”
“Nah bro I'll be okay here.” His voice was a lot stronger than before, but he still felt like every muscle his body was tight. As Josuke started jogging in the direction of downtown, Mikitaka spoke again,
“Why is Josuke not affected by the death of your brother?” Okuyasu knew by now that Mikitaka was not messing with him. He didn’t lie at all, really. Unless he wasn’t really an alien, in which half the shit that came tumbling out of his mouth were lies Either way, it made Mikitaka a comforting guy to be around.
“Well,” he swallowed thickly. “Keicho is my bro, you know? We were family. The first time Josuke ever met him was the day he uh, died.” Okuyasu could feel tears spring to his eyes again. He wiped them away, trying to focus on breathing.
“He did not meet his brother until then? Is there something about him that keeps his family members from contacting him until later in life?”
“Me and Josuke... aren’t related? Keicho was my brother.” Okuyasu felt the tension inside him snap. He barked out a laugh before covering his mouth with his hand. Mikitaka tilted his head to the side like a dog not understanding its command.
“But you call the both of them ‘bro…’ I’ve been led to believe that this is a familial relation, is it not? A brother is the child of your parent.” At this, Okuyasu felt his muscles finally release. He laughed from his belly, clutching Mikitaka’s arm as he fell back against the bench. The alien stiffened, staring at the laughing boy.
“No, dude.” He said between giggles, “Bro is like, a nickname for the people you like. It’s saying they’re like your family.”
Mikitaka’s eyes lit up as he nodded emphatically. Okuyasu had noticed that he had a very specific expression for when he seemingly learned something about humans. It was one of the things that convinced him that he was actually an alien and not just some weird kid with a delusion. Mikitaka tucked a lock of his hair behind his strangely pointed ears. How were someone’s eyes that big? When he thought about it, there really was something strangely inhuman about Mikitaka. He held himself differently than anyone else he knew. Even the simple movements of his fingers were deliberate and graceful. Something about the way he moved was reminiscent of those nature documentaries Okuyasu had watched in science class. He moved like a timelapse of a flower growing.
He blinked a few times, shaking himself from that train of thought. He freaks out about Keicho so hard he can’t breathe and now he’s comparing this weirdo to a flower? God, he needed a nap. Mikitaka was looking at him expectantly. Oh shit, he probably said something while Okuyasu was just staring at him.
“Sorry, what did you say?” He gave no explanation as to why he needed a repetition.
“I asked for clarification. I was wondering if it was not unlike Miss Yukako calls Koichi her ‘baby,’ or ‘babe,’ as I’ve observed. As far as I know, they are not mother and child, and romantic relationships between familial relations are very taboo. Which is also something I would love to study. So!” Mikitaka scooted closer to Okuyasu, speaking excitedly, “I’ve come to assume that comparing the object of your affections to a young human is a way of showing love! Am I right in thinking that it is as if you were saying ‘I will take care of you, you are precious like an infant?!’”
What the fuck was this guy on and why was this so... endearing? Something tightened in Okuyasu’s chest in the same way it did when Stray Cat would occasionally make its purring sound.
“I- I guess man, yeah. I never really thought about it like that.” Okuyasu said, trying to will himself to break eye contact. Mikitaka made some kind of chirp in the back of his throat, smiling widely.
“I thought so!” He was nearly vibrating with excitement. “It is always so fulfilling to find out your inferences are correct!” Okuyasu’s face must have showcased his distress because Mikitaka finally broke eye contact. He wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or disappointed to be free. His own pointed face fell into a more somber expression. “I apologize, I got too excited, I believe.” There was a hint of pink brushing his cheekbones, adding color to his pale face. Okuyasu wished it wouldn’t. The contrast of that pink between his long white hair and his usually cool-toned skin was almost infuriating. What possibly would he be blushing about? His gut twisted again, uncomfortably. “Are you feeling unwell still?”
The sincerity in Mikitaka’s voice made Okuyasu’s skin crawl. He was suddently hyper-aware of how close they were to each other. Scooting away slightly, Okuyasu stared pointedly at the ground.
“I’m fine, just… don’t touch me like that. Dudes don’t touch each other like that, weirdo.” He felt his own cheeks become warm. He turned his face away, looking down the empty street.
“Oh? But I see people of similar genders expressing physical affection quite often. Like Josuke and yourself. Am I wrong?” Okuyasu felt his muscles constrict, his shoulders uncomfortably tight. What was up with this guy? Why did he ask so many questions and why did it piss him off so bad?
"Hey guys! Sorry that took so long, you won’t believe what happened on the way to the shop.” Josuke’s voice could be heard from down the street. He was jogging toward them with three ice creams in his hands. He handed the cones off, squeezing into Okuyasu on his side of the bench. “You alright bro? Again, sorry I took so long.”
“I’m fine, I’m alright.” He was fine. He was alright. He would be at least. Okuyasu could handle whatever the hell was going on in his brain at some other time. “Thanks, Josuke. What the hell took you so long?”
Okuyasu zoned out as Josuke gestured widely, telling some kind of story. He lost himself, laughing along when he was supposed to and nodding emphatically at the right moments. He took a deep breath and had some of his ice cream. Despite his lack of intelligence, Okuyasu thought he had enough brains to know that he was a lucky guy to have a friend like Josuke. That much was enough. He would think about Mikitaka tomorrow.