Chapter Text
At this particular time of day, if someone were to step into Dr. Jotaro Kujo's room at the Grand Morioh Hotel, they'd think it was vacant. The biologist residing there had little need for personal possessions. The thick crimson curtains of the luxurious rental (courtesy of the Speedwagon Foundation) typically hid the scientist's form as he gazed out at the city of Morioh, city life just beginning to spur into motion. The sun was barely beginning to peek over the edge of the tallest buildings, putting the night time lamps to shame with its golden shine.
Jotaro backed away from the window, his wake rustling the fabric of the curtains. Casting his gaze towards the worn desk at the center of the room, Jotaro examined his previous hat, fabric knotted and twisted from the encounter with his newfound uncle Josuke Higashikata.
A Stand Ability that fixes broken items and wounds near instantaneously...
Jotaro slipped a newer hat on, frowning. His eyes couldn't help but roam to the framed picture propped onto the desk, one of the only things he kept with him twenty-four seven.
"What a useful ability..."
He shook his head, tearing his eyes from the photo and back to the window.
"I have bigger problems."
<===>
A little farther away...
"Good morning!" A slim man with a neat, forest-green suit and a flowing white scarf slid into a waiting taxi, flashing the driver an apologetic smile. "I'm a little new around here, so forgive me if I'm a tad...er, lost."
The driver only chuckled, shrugging. "That's quite alright, friend." He tilted his head, letting out a small huff of laughter. "Funnily enough, you're the second one from out of town I've gotten this week!"
"Oh?" This peaked the man's interest, his sharp lavender eyes narrowing in question. The scars running down each of them moved with the furrowing of his brow, barely visible through the passing of time. "By any chance, do you know who they were?"
"Nah, some big dude who didn't talk much and just frowned out the window." The taxi driver waved a hand, shaking his head. "Anyways, where you headed?"
"Oh! Uh..." The man checked the small, crumpled piece of paper in his palm. "Mor--Morioh...?"
"Morioh Town? Hey, that's where the other guy was headed! Maybe you'll see each other." The taxi started down the road, gravel chunks crunching audibly beneath the tires.
The man smiled, leaning back into the plush car seat. He lay a sturdy cane, fashioned of polished oak with a golden orb atop it next to his lap. "Heh...Yeah. Maybe." As he looked out the window, a single strand of bright, cherry-red hair slipped into his face.
Hopefully.
<===>
"Heya, Jotaro." Josuke's voice traveled through the phone well enough, but something was off about the way it sounded.
"Josuke. What's that in the background? I can't hear you." Jotaro leaned back in his desk chair, swiveling around.
"Wha-? Oh, just my game. One sec." The muffled sounds of Josuke turning the console off reached Jotaro, making him raise an eyebrow impatiently.
"Ready?"
"Yup! So, anyways, I was thinking about that Stand yesterday, you know Angelo's, and-"
Josuke's voice turned into mindless chatter as he launched into a long and twisted explanation of what he'd deduced. Jotaro knew all of this already; He'd been up incredibly late last night researching water-based stands.
"Jotaro? You there?"
"Mm? Yes, Josuke?" Snapping back to attention, Jotaro scolded himself mentally. He didn't like catching himself being lax.
"I asked what you thought. Anything I missed?" Josuke sounded mildly amused, nowhere near annoyed.
Jotaro mused to himself, "He doesn't seem to take after his father..."
With the tiniest, affectionate smile, Jotaro recalled his rather brash grandfather. You had to love Joseph Joestar, but his impatient attitude often came into play, such as during their battle with D'Arby Younger. Jotaro's face gradually folded back into a frown. It was one of his last happy memories in Egypt, winning against the cunning game master in exchange for Kakyoin's soul to be returned.
Kakyoin...
Shaking his head, Jotaro sat down, exhaling softly as he opened his computer. He turned back to the phone, speaking. "Actually, yes. You see-"
"Oh, no!"
Jotaro paused, freezing up a little. "Josuke? Is the stand back? Hello?" He stood up as he was met with silence, expression tightening with intensity. "Josuke!?"
"Sorry, Jotaro! Tell me all about it later, I'm gonna be late for school! Bye!"
The flat-lined tone of a severed connection met Jotaro before he could utter another word, leaving the room in silence.
"Good grief..." Jotaro set the phone down, shaking his head. "Back to research, I suppose."
<===>
"Here we are! Morioh Town, bright and early!" The taxi driver skid up to a curve, setting the car in park. "Enjoy your stay here, it's a nice little town!"
"Thank you. I'm planning to be here a while..." The man with the cherry hair stepped out, inhaling the smell of the bustling town as his cane tapped against the cement. "Here goes." The car pulled out behind him as the man began to walk around, rhythmic tapping of his cane drowned out by the chatter surrounding him . He stretched a hand into his pocket, returning it to his ear with a phone in hand. "Kakyoin Noriaki here. Oh, Speedwagon Foundation?" He paused. "Yes, I'm here. Morioh Town, correct?"
He watched as a teenager accompanied by another companion race past him, yelping for his friend to run faster. "Koichi, we're gonna be late! Again!"
The man smiled, momentarily lost in a feeling of euphoria.
"Kakyoin? Are you there?"
"Oh, yes!" He answered the phone, smiling apologetically. "Where is Jotaro staying, again?"
"Morioh Grand Hotel. It's up the hill near the west end of the town.
"Uh-huh..." Kakyoin shifted his gaze to the fleeing scholars, who had halted very suddenly a short while down. The taller one turned towards Kakyoin, much to his surprise, with a gaze filled of suspicion. "Uh...I'll call you back if I have questions." Kakyoin hung up, slipping his phone into his pocket as he watched the student approach.
"You there! In the green suit!" He pointed a finger at Kakyoin, scowling. The shorter one next to him checked his watch nervously, looking fidgety.
Kakyoin looked down at his clothing in dismay; He fit the rather crude description well.
"What was that name you said, just a bit ago?" The strange teen frowned at Kakyoin, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Dr. Jotaro Kujo, do you know him?" Kakyoin responded, attempting to sound polite despite the rather aggressive look he was getting.
"Yeah, I know him. Why do you want to know where he's staying?" The scholar looked far more suspicious than aggressive, Kakyoin realized, and mentally relaxed.
"I'm an old friend. I've come to...visit." He smiled, resorting to telling the simplest version of his journey as possible.
"Visiting, eh?" The young man peered at Kakyoin, looking curious. He took a small look at Kakyoin's helper cane, narrowing his eyes.
"Aren't you...uh, a little young for that? Jotaro's barely thirty." He asked, more curious than rude.
Kakyoin chuckled softly. "Don't I know it. It helps me walk, my legs aren't the same from...an old injury." Kakyoin tapped his cane for emphasis, getting a far-away look in his eyes.
"Oh! Sorry..." The stranger paused, looking at it further. "It's broken." He pointed out, crouching down and rubbing his thumb along a crack at the base.
"Ah! I guess so...I must've hit it against somet-" Before Kakyoin could finish, he was distracted by a quick flash of blue and pink. A towering stand of muscle and chiseled adornments lunged at the cane, smacking it with its fist.
Kakyoin reacted instinctively, and Hierophant Green's long tendril of a tail wrapped tightly around the Stand's arm, squeezing it tight. With a look of shock, which then shifted to an apologetic smile of realization, the student back away.
Kakyoin noticed that his cane had attained an odd glow, and looked down to see the crack mend itself. He made a small noise of interest, rubbing his thumb against the fix. It was perfectly smooth, like it had never happened. "Thank...Thank you."
The student rubbed his arm, blinking in mild surprise. "You're a stand user, too?"
Kakyoin nodded, giving a little bow. "Kakyoin Noriaki. I used to travel with Jotaro and his grandfather, Mr. Joestar." They (Kakyoin's newest acquaintance and his smaller friend) both looked surprised, looking interested at this new piece of information.
"You..." The student shifted, looking a little abashed.
It's like his entire personality changed...
"You knew my father?"
Kakyoin smiled a little; That was right. He'd found out Mr. Joestar had fathered another child just a month ago. "So you must be Josuke Higashikata. It's a pleasure." Kakyoin extended a hand, smiling warmly.
Josuke looked pleased, shaking it gently. "That's right. And this here's Koichi Hirose, he's my friend."
The shorter student gave a shy little wave, laughing through a forced smile.
"You two must be running late. I'll see you around." Kakyoin waved them off as Josuke once again realized his tardiness, and raced off with Koichi in tow.
He smiled. Kakyoin himself had never really gotten to live out the young and free parts of his young adulthood. Whenever he thought of the six years he spent deep in a coma, death haunting him every step of the way, he got a headache that tended to stick around for hours on end. Now he was twenty eight, an adult.
Frowning, Kakyoin looked at the small piece of paper in his hand, with the Morioh Hotel address jotted down hurriedly. He regretted not telling Jotaro sooner. That he was alive. He had his reasons, of course...
Kakyoin nodded, reassuring himself. "And I'll explain all of those once I find him..."
Kakyoin set off, occasionally checking a map the taxi driver was kind enough to supply him with. He enjoyed walking along the scenic routes of Morioh, a spring quickly molding into his step. As he walked, the quiet tapping of his cane melted once more into a rhythm, and Kakyoin felt entirely at peace.
It wasn't long before he stopped in front of a towering building, gold and maroon decor visible from the outside.
He took a deep breath, nodding sharply. "Here we go."
Kakyoin entered the building, folding the small piece of paper into his suit pocket while looking around the lobby. Plush couches of fine, fuzzy fabric lazed about as flames flickered in the artificial fireplaces. Lush golden carpeting softened the ground beneath him as he approached the front desk, smiling thinly at the woman up front.
"I'm here to visit a Dr. Jotaro Kujo?" He slid his identification card out of his pants pocket and onto the counter, a feeling of bubbling excitement rising in his chest. The accountant barely took a second glance at it before pressing one of the many buttons on a speaker system, talking into it.
"Dr. Kujo? A Noriaki Kakyoin is here to see you."
Kakyoin winced. "Oh, no, that shouldn't be neces-"
The woman held up a heavily manicured finger, still listening.
The heavy silence was broken by a gruff voice, one that nearly made Kakyoin melt with nostalgia. "Is this some sort of joke?"
Kakyoin briefly interpreted the response, before breaking into nervous laughter. "Can I just-- Go see him? Please?"
The woman gave him a lazy side-glance, scowling. "Dr. Kujo? He wants to see you."
"I'm not taking fans today. Tell him to go away."
The intercom bleeped out, leaving them both in awkward silence. She glared at him, swiveling back into her original position. "You heard him. Shoo."
Kakyoin tried persisting, taking his ID back. "But I-"
"Go." She waved him away like a naughty dog, no longer looking his way. Kakyoin slipped further out of earshot, sighing bitterly.
"We'll have to do this the hard way. Hierophant." The familiar, slick green of Kakyoin's stand responded by flying over to a vase far from the entrance to the hallway leading to the many rooms of the hotel, lashing its tail. It rammed the glass creation, sending it shattering against the wooden floor. Kakyoin tsked, apologizing mentally.
"Oh, my god!" The woman abandoned her seat, running over to it. "Look at this mess!"
Kakyoin slipped away from the lobby and into the hall. He felt guilty, but not enough to abandon his mission.
He saw her press the room number Jotaro came in through, and headed that way almost immediately. Eventually, he stopped in front of an elegant mahogany door, nerves jittering.
"You've faced DIO, you can face Jotaro." He told himself, determined.
He paused, making a face as he fidgeted with the head of his cane.
Then again...who says I'll survive this time?
He sighed, shaking out his nerves. It was Jotaro. Jotaro was his best friend. His eyes hardened with resolve, and he took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." He raised his fist to the door, and knocked.
"Who is it?" Jotaro's voice barked through the door, and Kakyoin stiffened, heart racing.
"I'm, uh-"
"I said I didn't want visitors today. I have research to do."
Kakyoin heard Jotaro's footsteps retreat from the door, further into his room.
"Wait!-" Kakyoin trailed off as the door came swirling open, sending a gust of wind whipping at his hair. Jotaro stepped into the opening, his eyes closed as his hand pinched the bridge of his nose tightly.
"Listen-"
Kakyoin gaped at him. Yes, Jotaro was surely a sight to see way back when, but confronted with him now...Kakyoin was very sure that if he didn't know Jotaro he'd be terrified. His newer white coat and golden decorations were surely different than the dark aura he gave off while in Egypt, but both were equally as intimidating as ever. He was definitely older looking, but Kakyoin admitted with a flush of affection that Jotaro aged like a fine wine; He was certainly still attractive.
"I said I wasn't seeing fans. If you-" Jotaro opened his eyes, his sentence leaving him at its midpoint as he finally got a look at Kakyoin.
Kakyoin broke into a smile, straightening a bit. He had recited what he was going to say to Jotaro for a week straight, but now those words had left him, dying in his chest. In their place, a giddy excitement flooded his senses.
Jotaro expression was mostly unreadable, but from what Kakyoin could decipher, he was shaken.
"...Kakyoin?"