Work Text:
Heaving a sigh, Jotaro Kujo rubbed his slack face with large palms. His thesis was finally complete, but it felt far from a weight lifted off his shoulders. What was he going to do now? More research, he supposed, that’s all he ever did. Got himself involved with more things.
The universe had a cruel twist of irony. Studying the photo the Speedwagon Foundation provided, Jotaro could hardly spot the resemblance to the man they defeated in Egypt all those years ago. Over a decade ago. Regardless, he felt responsible for finding this Haruno Shiobana.
There must be no trace of DIO.
His eyes rolled over to the framed photograph on his desk instinctively. The frame matched the rest of his subtle ocean-themed decor; seafoam green clashing with the pastel sky and dirty dust. It had been so long ago. A decade. And yet, his heart still lurched forward.
Jotaro studied himself in the photo like the ugliest mirror of the past. He still habitually wore a hat to shield his emotions, once seen as a weakness, but then a necessity to survive. Thirty years old and he was still so immature. Arguably, he was worse, because at that point he was only full of regrets.
Had they ever known how much he had grown to appreciate them? Polnareff? Hardly. Avdol and Iggy? Unlikely.
Kakyoin?
Pain flared in his chest.
All that time they had spent traveling halfway across the globe, and there wasn’t one time where Jotaro had thought to speak his feelings to Kakyoin Noriaki. It was his biggest regret. If only he could tell him now; he swore he would as soon as he saw him again.
He almost had to laugh. So many planes and boats and cars and camels to get to their final destination. Their final travel stop had been Cairo, Egypt. Kakyoin’s, Avdol’s and Iggy’s final destination, however, had been death.
Shaking his head, Jotaro pulled himself out of the memories. There were good memories there. He would have never turned out to be the man he was today without their support. In their own ways, they had influenced Jotaro during his pivotal point of maturity, and he could never be more grateful for them all.
Including his senile grandfather.
Well, family’s all that he had anymore. And very little of it, at that. He had to treasure it. Who cared where they all fit on their fucked up family tree? What mattered was that they’re family.
Just like he had in Egypt, fighting for his grandfather’s life, Jotaro had instinctively fought for Josuke’s life. He was family just as much as the rest. The old man had never let Jotaro down, so he had to do the same for Josuke. He had invited the young teen to his father’s funeral when no one else would, knowing he deserved that right to mourn just as much as he had.
He was strong for Josuke, just as Joseph had been strong for him.
That day, so long ago, when they frantically fought for their lives. Kakyoin had given his life so selflessly to help solve the most impossible riddle. No one had told him how he figured it out. It wasn’t until after Joseph had been revived that he could begin to explain.
But back in that moment, nothing mattered.
He ran. He had torn his calf sprinting to the limp form on the ground, nearly floating in the pool of blood-tinted water. Scuffing his knees hadn’t even registered compared to the pain his heart felt. Jotaro had even briefly wondered whether one of DIO’s daggers had actually pierced his chest.
Hands that had shattered DIO to pieces turned weak and unresponsive, trying to reach out for the lifeless form. If he could have only just snatched his soul and shove it back in, he could’ve restarted Kakyoin’s heart, just like he had for his grandfather.
None of the Speedwagon Foundation would touch him. Partially because the gaping wound in Kakyoin’s stomach had been beyond repair, partially because despite his fruitless hope, Jotaro had bitterly shoved everyone away.
Including the old man.
And as he sobbed every tear he never shed through his whole life, the old man waited patiently. Jotaro supposes in hindsight that it must’ve been Joseph who held the crowds back from immediately taking Kakyoin’s body. He had needed the time to grieve, to say goodbye.
It had been a long day, finding DIO’s hideout, chasing DIO out, defeating him. And then, the day stretched on. Without Kakyoin. They had gotten so far. So far. And then he was just… gone? Part of him had wished to lie down beside him and let his life drain from him, wanting to see him just one more time.
Thankfully, his grandfather had pulled him up and away from the scene. He had promised Jotaro that they would get a chance to talk again, one day.
There were so many things Jotaro had wanted to talk about. Their whole trip, their relationship drastically changed. Kakyoin had tried to kill him at first, but Jotaro never thought of him as a threat. To this day he can’t answer himself as to why he saved Kakyoin, but he knows he had to.
They were friends, having been the only teens traveling together. And yet, there had been something special when they talked at night, yearning for sleep but fear making it impossible. Little moments of calm where Kakyoin would fill it with trivia he knew. It was all random, but Jotaro had loved it.
He had loved Kakyoin, and didn’t even know it. There was some line between friendship and more. As a teen, he had foolishly assumed the line was romance, which was something Jotaro Kujo didn’t ever do. But it had been different.
There was a line between friendship and a deeper bond, founded in irrevocable trust. Jotaro could clearly tell only in hindsight that love isn’t just romance. It’s trust, and care, and wanting to protect what is most precious to you.
He realized it finally when he had Jolyne. Love was foriegn to him in his marriage, but Jolyne was a different story. She was of his own creation. While his wife wanted to make things work, he knew he never could. He loved Jolyne too much to put her into harm’s way.
So finding her in jail was both the last thing he expected and yet he was completely unsurprised. He had landed himself in jail frequently in his youth, many more times than when his mother had bailed him out. Afterall, Jolyne was his daughter, family: a Kujo by name and a Joestar by blood.
And it shows.
Vision fading, he lets those rare tears shed again for the second only person he loved. For his daughter. For all these memories as his life flashes before his eyes.
The ocean blurs his hearing. The commotion around him is too much to decipher. Somewhere he thinks he can identify Jolyne’s voice. But there’s a clearer voice, a voice he hasn’t heard in over thirty years.
Let the light guide your way,
it calls, and Jotaro’s heart sinks.
No, this can’t be the end. That couldn’t be his voice. Jolyne- she needs him, no matter how shaky their relationship is. He can show her how much she means to him, how much she always meant to him. He needs her. She’s the reason to keep living! From her first steps to her proud Stand, Jotaro wants to be there for all of it, until he’s as old as Jiji and can pass in peace.
Hold every memory as you go,
he reassures Jotaro, knowing that his voice from beyond the grave might be the only thing that keeps Jotaro from slipping into limbo. Teary ocean eyes turn up to the sun’s rays, the clouds where Kakyoin Noriaki nestles, waiting.
He knows, always knew, had always known, that Jotaro would find his way back to him, one way or another. Every road he took through life - attending the same school, to fighting DIO, to now dying protecting his love - would lead Jotaro back home to him.
It’s been a long day without you, my friend,
Kakyoin smiles softly.
It’s been a long many days for Jotaro without Kakyoin. Egypt was a long day. Kira was a long day. His thesis, his marriage, Jolyne, was a long day. Today is a long day.
Despite the peace of death, Jotaro still glances around the ocean confused. What’s next? If this is death, where does he go? Where has Kakyoin been? As if reading his thoughts, Kakyoin continues:
I’ll tell you all about when I see you again,
he chuckles, turning to guide Jotaro through the low clouds and rolling waves.
We’ve come a long way from where we began,
Jotaro sighs in acknowledgement.
Who knew, back when they first set off on the long journey to Egypt, that this is where they would end up? That this is where Jotaro would end up?
His life has been nothing but the world’s longest, saddest story. But he’s come so far, only to be stopped here. Maybe he needed to be. After all that he did, Jotaro could never imagine doing it alone.
But he wasn’t. He had the Crusaders, then Josuke’s affectionately deemed Duwang Gang,
and Passione in the back of his mind while he completed his thesis in Florida.
Kakyoin smiles brightly as Jotaro finally follows, Jotaro chuckling as he sighs, I’ll tell you all about it. It’s good to see you again.