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The sun was hitting hard against Jotaro’s strong and angular jaw even if his black cap was protecting his head, he felt sweat rolling down his face in buckets.
“- Oh my GoD Jotaro! Drop your school gear! It’s nearly 100°F out there, don’t be stubborn son!” Grunted Jotaro’s grandfather. Joseph was fanning himself while laying down on a sun lounger in a wide and opened pink floral shirt.
“- Shut up, I already told you I’m fine.” The brunet took a gulp of his reddish fruits’ cocktail.
“- Let me warn you kid, if you faint, I’ll give you a mouth-to-mouth right there in front of everyone.” He raised his index in the teen’s direction to make his point.
“- If you touch me, I’ll break your damn arm, old man,” Jotaro spat and wiped his forehead with his uniform’s sleeve.
The conversation ended here and Jotaro went back to looking in front of him and sipping his sweet beverage. If Jotaro was enduring his infamous grandfather’s antics, it was because he was spending a week of holidays with him. His mom forced him to. Joseph rarely came to Japan and for once, one of his clients gifted him a free week in a hotel complex on an island in the south of Japan. He did not hesitate before asking his grandson to spend some time with him. The teenager, of course, was reluctant but he was accused by his mother of being seventeen and not curious enough about travelling and other things other people his age do. In Jotaro’s opinion, there was nothing wrong with being content by staying home. His mom was persistent and put the subject on the table everyday for seven days: Jotaro just gave in.
And now he was laying on a sun lounger, fully clothed, next to his grandfather, outside of the hotel not far from the swimming pool area. Everyone was wearing their swimming suits except him. Obviously, they all looked very confused when passing by but Jotaro could not care less, there was no way he would go half-naked in front of others. It is not a matter of being uncomfortable with his body but a matter of pudicity. People nowadays lacked some he thought.
He sighed when he noticed that his drink was finished. He was excessively hot now and about to die but he would not retire his expensive school uniform even if his life depended on it. The teenager was not listening to what his grandfather was rambling about but he stood up before putting his empty glass on a table.
“- Jotaro, wouldn’t you like to go and have fun with kids your age ? Jump into the water and have a good swim ?” He sounded desperate; usually his voice was bubbly and joyful. “- Look, I’m sure this guy is your age. Maybe you could try to be his friend ?” Even Joseph did not sound very convinced of Jotaro's ability to make friends. And he was right. Jotaro was awful at that. He hated social interactions and avoided them as much he could.
“- How many times did I tell you not to point at people you don’t know ?” Complained the brunet, hands in his pockets.
However, he was still curious at heart so he took a quick look in the direction that his grandfather was pointing at. It was to a young male, probably Jotaro’s age, his grandfather was right and surprisingly he was the only redhead at the swimming pool. Against the pool’s edge, he had his both forearms sitting on the flagstones and his body in the water : he was reading a book with sunglasses on, exactly like a posing model from the cover of a magazine. That was ridiculous. What a conceited prick.
“- Look, I’m gonna have to take a piss, I’ll be back. Don’t talk to women when I’m not around. No; don’t talk to anyone when I’m not around.” Jotaro warned his grandfather before leaving without really paying attention to him. Sometimes, he felt like he was the adult in charge.
Jotaro slowly dragged his feet to a small toilet building not far from the swimming pool and luckily, nobody was there, except for a foreigner with debatable hairstyle taste who grumbled in a language that the teenager did not know. He went in and did his business,feeling a little oppressed by the stifling structure. It was not easy to be 6’5 in public spaces in Japan. After zipping his pants back up, he washed his hands cautiously and used cold-water splashes to wash the heat away from his face. He put water through his hair to comb them back before putting his cap back on. He noticed in the broken mirror on the side that he was tanning already.
When the teen was back near the pool, his entire body tensed up after he noticed that Joseph was missing from his seat. Alarmed, he checked out everywhere trying to keep his composure. He was actually more irritated than worried. This old man can’t stay still for more than one minute goddamn it !
After searching for a few moments, Jotaro realized that he was near the bar and so was Joseph. Of course that’s where he would be , he cursed interiorly. Jotaro deeply hoped that his grandfather was not being annoying people around like it was the old man’s habit. His train of thoughts was stopped by hearing his grandfather bursting a loud laugh.
Jotaro approached him and thought that his eyes were about to drop to the ground when he saw that Joseph was patting the redhead he'd previously saw, with strength on the shoulder. The redhead was smirking at the adult.
“- Jotaro !” His grandfather noticed he was there. He ordered the same reddish fruits cocktail that Jotaro had before. “- Nice to see you there ! We were just talking about you ! Meet Noriaki Kakyoin.”
“- Hi.” Was the polite answer coming from ‘Kakyoin’, with a little wave from his hand. He had his sunglasses away from his face now sitting on his head. Jotaro nodded briefly to acknowledge him.
“- We ordered the exact same beverage at the exact same time. What a coincidence !” Joseph told them while laughing and opening up his bottle of Cola. “- He is also your age, second coincidence I guess son !”
“- I guess so.” Noriaki answered politely for a second time. Jotaro was all about manners but he did not know why he had a bad feeling about this guy. It was forced and too much. He stared at him in silence without joining the conversation. Which made the situation pretty awkward. This way, Jotaro hoped he could go back quickly to his seat. However and sadly for Jotaro, Joseph was a fervent advocate of the idea that his grandson needed to make friends one day, he insisted on pursuing the conversation.
“- Forgive him, he’s a bit shy.” Jotaro almost choked on his own saliva hearing this. “- Well, he likes dolphins.” Joseph simply declared and the teen immediately glared at him while clutching his fists and his jaw. “- I mean, marine biology and wildlife, that kind of thing. He’s a bookworm.” Joseph was not blind; he saw how uncomfortable Jotaro was with his words and how awkward and angry the teenager felt right in the moment. Jotaro was boiling.
“- Me too actually, the worst of a kind. I study classics. I am pretty boring for sure.” His tone was calm with self-deprecation. “- Nobody cares really.” Noriaki laughed softly.
“- That’s amazing.” Joseph's lie was so obvious –he just read comics in his free time and did not know that Latin was a dead language– that Jotaro felt ashamed for the entire Joestar family. Noriaki however saw that, but still laughed genuinely.
“- I’ll let you in smart set then.” Jotaro turned on his heels without saying much more. He was sweating excessively and just wished for a good shower.
After turning the key to his hotel room, the teenager let out a brief sigh. He did not know why his grandfather was this stubborn. He then entered and closed the door.
After spending only three days in his company, the brunet was exhausted mentally and drained from his energy. He knew that the old man did not mean any harm but he could not let go of an idea when he had one.
He laid on his bed and fell asleep before he could realise it.
Jotaro felt something touching his shoulder and automatically jumped out from his sleep. As a reflex, Jotaro just punched somewhere without thinking first, half-asleep. His right hand met his grandfather’s strong shoulder.
“- Ouch ! Jotaro, calm down, it’s just me !!” Joseph screamed in pain, massaging his body.
The teenager stood and rested his back on the wall, catching back his breath.
“- Who do you think it could have been ?!! Goddamn it !” The grey haired man scolded. “- You nearly broke my collar bone !
“- Sorry.” Apologized quietly Jotaro. “- I’m a bit… Uptight…”
“- Really ? Didn’t notice that, thank you for the notification.” Joseph said ironically. Jotaro just avoided making more eye contact, which made his grandfather concerned.
“- Is everything ok son ?” He asked calmly, he did not want to put pressure on the younger.
“- Yes.” Was the only answer Jotaro gave before standing up and stretching.
“- You can always tell me anything.” He crossed his arms over his muscular chest.
“- There is nothing to tell. Why did you wake me up ?” He asked with his usual low tone, he did not want to seem thrown by the situation.
“- You slept a few hours, it’s time for dinner. Let’s go to the hotel’s restaurant.” Informed Joseph while checking on his watch.
Jotaro was following his grandfather in the corridors of the hotel. It was luxurious and he did not feel comfortable at all. The teen liked sobriety, yet, everything screamed garish around him ; the colours were too much, an imitation of shiny gold ornament everywhere ; heavy furniture and red carpets. Hands in pockets, he dragged his feet after the old man who was walking with way too much energy for his age. The latter was just excited about eating exactly like a child would, Jotaro thought. Joseph did not notice himself distancing his grandson and left Jotaro behind.
The brunet did not really care about it; he was used to it and did not like to rush anyway. Plus, after three days, he knew where the restaurant was and where his grandfather would like to take a seat at : near the window, to have the best view of the outside.
Jotaro was heading to the restaurant’s reception when he heard a high-pitched voice call out from nowhere. He supposed it was calling for him.
“- Star Platinum !! Stop !!”
Jotaro stopped and turned around as asked. He saw, to his surprise and confusion, a young girl running in his direction. Hurried, she nearly slipped on the floor : she seemed angry about something. Jotaro stared at her with more confusion. The young lady looked about five or six, or less, Jotaro could not really tell, he was not used to being around children. She was catching her breath and looked at him with determination.
“- You- You..” She clutched her tiny fists in front of her with excitement and what Jotaro took for anger was actually admiration ?
“- You just look like Star Platinum !!!” She exclaimed.
Jotaro did not answer, still confused and looked at her. He tilted his head, trying to figure out what was currently happening. Her smile was huge and her eyes were forming crescents. However, she did not look Japanese at all and had blonde hair. She pulled her t-shirt down and showed the design to Jotaro.
“- Look !! You look just like him !!” She sounded very proud of her discovery.
At these words, Jotaro squinted and looked at the character displayed on her outfit. It was a purple man flying in the space with his fist in front of him. He looked angry, screaming “ORA” which was written in black capital letters ; his outfit looked weird, he was half naked with a little wrapper to hide his private parts. The purple man was very muscular and also had beautiful and shiny hair. The more Jotaro looked at it, the more he thought that he actually looked like him. That was very weird.
“- He’s an Aztec superhero ! He fights for justice and kills mean vampires !” She explained very seriously with her index pointing to the direction of the ridiculously tall teenager. “- He’s the strongest and never loses a fight !” Jotaro did not want to admit that she was cute in a way. “- Can I call you Star Platinum ?? Would you fistfight with me ??” She took a fighting pose in front of Jotaro.
The teen did not react; he did not know what to do. He was lost. It would not be appropriate to fight a little girl he did not even know the name in front of everyone.
“- Come on !” She insisted furiously and punched him weakly on the knee. “- Fight back.”
Jotaro crouched in front of her and stared at her right in the eyes. She gulped, intimidated but she did not step back. He flicked his finger softly on her forehead; she put her hands on it defensively and pouted.
“- You don’t take me seriously!!” The little girl accused.
“- You are very strong.” Jotaro declared calmly, tone inflexible.
“- Really ? You really mean it ?” She hesitated now a bit shy.
“- Yes.” He assured. “- Keep on the good work and you’ll be better than Star Platinum.” Jotaro could not help but smile a bit as an encouragement and the blonde haired girl also smiled as an answer.
“- Amanda ??” A panicked voice asked from the back of the corridor.
The voice approached and Jotaro saw a man trotting to them. He was in his early thirties and looked exactly like the young girl. He was not angry but worried. Jotaro assumed it was her dad. He put his hand on her shoulder.
“- What did I tell you about running away ?” It seemed that it was usual to her to do so. It was not a surprise to Jotaro ; she seemed full of energy. “- Please don’t do it again…” The man sighed.
“- But Dad ! Look ! He just looks like Star Platinum !” She defended pointing at Jotaro.
“- You promised, also don’t point at people. It is very rude.” He frowned then looked at Jotaro and tried awkwardly to apologize in japanese with a strong accent. “- I am so sorry, did she bother you ?’
“- No.” Jotaro stood up and his joints cracked. “- I was going anyway.”
“- Will we meet again, Star Platinum ?” Amanda asked, hopeful.
“- Maybe.” Jotaro did not want to give her false hope. However, she seemed heartbroken and there was nothing that Jotaro could do about it.
She waved at him, eyes full of sadness while his father was whispering to her that she was not supposed to talk to strangers.
Jotaro took his seat in front of his grandfather who was staring intensely at the menu.
“- I saw you with that little girl.” Joseph commented without raising his face from the wine list. Since Jotaro stayed silent, he continued. “- Do you plan on having kids ?”
“- I don’t think I’ll be good at the job honestly. I can barely look after myself.” Pointed out the teen while shrugging.
“- Who knows.”
The brunet disliked crowded places. Correction : the brunet disliked crowded and especially noisy places. Joseph let him go all by himself to the bar at night pretexting to go to the toilets, when he just never came back. Jotaro sat on a bar chair and observed around him. It was late, probably 10:00 p.m. and the swimming pool area was closed. However, it was a disco themed night and the music was bursting through the sound flares way too loudly for Jotaro’s liking.
The latter finished his second reddish cocktail and felt bored. He wanted to go back to his room but his grandfather insisted on him having fun. Jotaro did not know why it was so hard for the old man to understand that he was perfectly fine by himself, all alone in his hotel room reading a book or watching wildlife documentaries.
He noticed, not far from him, a pinball machine. He shrugged and decided to give it a try since everybody seemed more interested in dancing than playing. Jotaro put a coin in the slit of the machine and started a game. He was not the best at playing but it would kill time at least, he thought. Yet, his competitive self could not help but to keep on playing until he reach 100.000 points. This number was appealing to Jotaro. Unfortunately, he found himself falling at 89.662 points without having any coins left. He groaned and punched the machine on the side and nearly broke it, irritated. It was not usual for him to show publicly signs of anger; his self-control was pretty good most of the time.
When Jotaro turned around on his way to go back to his hotel room, he bumped in Noriaki who was standing just behind him. He glared when he saw that the latter spelt his dark green cocktail on his cream-coloured t-shirt.
“- Oh !! I am sorry !” Jotaro could not deny that the redhead did really sound sorry. The latter was very confused by the situation. “- Can I repay you in any-“
“- No.” Was Jotaro’s short and irritated answer.
“- Maybe I can… Eh, give you some coins so you could continue on playing ? What about that ?” Noriaki really wanted to do something about the situation. However, Jotaro did not answer : he despised the young man with forced manners. He just said no to him, there was no need to insist.
The lack of answers coming from the brunet really did make Noriaki uncomfortable. Nonetheless, he put coins in the machine and invited Jotaro to take place before it. “- Please, I didn't mean to…”
Jotaro grumbled but gave in ; he truly wanted to reach the 100.000 points. Noriaki smiled politely and Jotaro started the game. The brunet frowned, tightened his entire body and focused on the ball. Time stopped for him as his eyes squinted in focus. He lost at 85.663 points and he thought he had broken the machine this time after slapping again his irritation on it.
The redhead silently put coins in after coins. 78.345 ; 75.119 ; 69.564. Jotaro could not believe he was even getting worse at each try.
“- May I-“
“- Whatever.” Jotaro turned his heels and sat on a bar chair. He took a cigarette from the package inside his vest’s pocket and lighted the edge while sighing. The underage smoker exhaled slowly, taking as much product as he could to calm his nerves.
What made Jotaro on edge was irrational situations. He definitely should not get worse at doing something after training : this did not make any sense. Should he calculate angles or speed ? Should he make strategies about what part made more points or should he simply think about not losing his ball in the gutter ? He looked at the pitch black sky pensively. Jotaro strongly hated this place. He knew he should not be dramatic over a game but his ego was too big.
A few minutes later, Jotaro threw the butt of his cigarette in an ashtray before stretching his back and shoulders. With no more doubts, he decided that he would reach 100.000 points tonight no matter what. When he looked back at the machine, he was surprised with the sight of Noriaki silently playing. The brunet teen swiftly slid next to him, put his eyes on the scores’ screen and thought that his eyes would jump out from their orbits : Noriaki was reaching 500.000 points effortlessly, he even seemed bored while playing.
“- How did you do that ?” Jotaro sounded more confused than angry.
“- It’s just practice. I mean, I prefer video games and I’m not that good at pinball games but since it’s the only available game around here, I guess I just got used to it.” The redhead shrugged while his eyes were not leaving the silver ball even for a second.
Jotaro tried to convince himself to get annoyed but he was not the type to be jealous : he was truly impressed by the other’s skills. Noriaki was playing effortlessly when it was such a pain in the ass for Jotaro.
The silence that took place was stopped by Noriaki's soft question.
“- Do you want to try again ? It’s not even that interesting to me.” He was pensive. “- Or we could play together as a team ?”
The brunet really did want to succeed and reach the 100.000 points for a reason that was still mysterious to him.
“- Teach me.” Was his demand that sounded harsher than he meant. It sounded more of an order than anything. However, Noriaki did not pay attention to the rudeness.
“- Alright, take place then.” He said while losing his own game on purpose so the machine could start from zero.
Jotaro rolled up his sleeves and stood at Noriaki’s place. He frowned and put his hands on both sides of the machine, on the buttons. His feet apart, strongly planted on the ground : No one would be able to move the mass of muscles from his spot. The brunet held on his breath when Noriaki started the game and the silver ball was thrown.
Jotaro focused and tried to stick to watch the ball with no interruption but it was hard because of the speed of the object.
“- You shouldn’t put too much strength on the machine.” Was Noriaki’s advice. “- It’s useless and will just make it harder for you to focus.” Jotaro hated how calm and gentle the redhead’s voice sounded but he listened. “- Also, don’t be that tense. Relax your shoulders.” Jotaro just grumbled. What kind of stupid advice was this dumbass giving him ?
But the very moment that this thought came to his mind, for a mere few seconds, Jotaro lost his focus and the ball went straight to the gutter. Well, the ball was supposed to go straight to the gutter if Noriaki would not have quickly reacted and pushed the button himself.
“- You didn’t have to do that.” Groaned Jotaro strongly bothered. His pride was hurt and his right hand was burning from the contact of Noriaki’s skin against his own. The brunet was also mad that he could not push the other’s hand away. He could lose the game if he did not focused one more time or if he made one useless gesture.
Noriaki did not answer the accusation. He stayed silent and focused while Jotaro did the same giving up on the unsolicited action. Nonetheless, Noriaki’s hand was still on his own and Jotaro was boiling internally.
“- Focus on the game.” Noriaki commented as if he could read his mind.
“- I am focusing on the game.” Retorted Jotaro, grunting, low voice bitten by Noriaki perceptiveness.
“- No you’re not.”
Jotaro stopped from emitting another grunt, caught red handed. He sighed and put his attention back on the game. The teen was sweating buckets since he was wearing his huge coat with dense fabric in summer.
“- Just take it off.”
Jotaro did not have the time to talk back that the redhead swiftly pushed away the brunet’s fingers off the buttons to put his own on the top of it. He caged Jotaro’s body with his own so Jotaro could quickly take away his clothes.
The edgy teen obliged even if he hated following instructions when he could not give his thought on it first. From behind, it looked a bit odd to see both of them so close to each other. Also, Jotaro struggled to take his coat off, caged by Noriaki. The latter did not pay attention to the weird situation and was being serious about the game no matter what.
Finally, Jotaro could put the cloth on his shoulder and came back to his position. Without thinking more about it, he just positioned his hands on Noriaki’s, trying to push them away and focused on the score that was now 96.305 points. He had never been this close to 100.000 points.
The brunet frowned as the score’s numbers were increasing ; he was pushing the buttons harshly through Noriaki’s intertwined fingers. A bit of sweat was rolling down his jaw and he was probably reeking like a dog but he could not care less as he reached 100.000 points. The brunet automatically rose his hands in victory with a frank movement, too excited, and punched Noriaki right in the face.
He turned around as quickly as he could to reach out for the other teenager that was holding his nose in pain.
“- Are you alright ??” He asked, a bit worried.
“- It’s okay, I’m not bleeding. Oh. I’m bleeding.” The redhead whined, hurt.
Jotaro harshly moved Noriaki’s hands away from the face of the latter to see the damage. It was not bleeding a lot but the brunet felt awkward at the situation and let his hands go down as Noriaki pressed a tissue under his nostrils.
“- Don’t worry, I’m fine.” He reassured. Softly again , Jotaro noticed.
Jotaro went to the bar and asked for two cocktails. When the bartender gave him the glasses, he picked two big ice cubes and gave them to Noriaki so he could put them on his nose against his tissue.
“- Thanks.” He closed his eyes and furrowed his brows in pain.
The next day, Jotaro was still feeling dumb over Noriaki’s incident. Most of the time, he did not care about what people thought of him but usually he did not act like that. First, he did not hang out with anyone which means he could not punch them right in the face by accident.
The brunet sighed when he entered the swimming area with his clothes on ; following his grandfather who was talking to him about god knows what. They arrived next to the sun loungers and Joseph suggested that Jotaro put sunscreen on his face at least if he did not want to take off his heavy uniform but the brunet ignored him and ordered his now usual red cocktail.
He looked in front of him and saw Noriaki at the same spot he saw him everyday, reading a big red book and looking unbothered.
Jotaro sighed and tried to think about something else by focusing on watching everywhere else around him rather than in front of him. The young man did not know exactly why he had to act this way, but he just trusted his guts at the moment.
On his far left, probably 100 feet from him, there was another swimming pool. The pool water went deep and the area was not child friendly. However, when the brunet looked up, by accident, to the diving platform, which was probably 30 feet tall, a paralysed little girl was there. She was stuck on spot with fear displayed all over her face.
Jotaro jumped to his feet and trotted to the other swimming pool to go get her but was stopped by a member of the swimming pool staff. The thirty year old man bowed to the younger and felt awkward to ask Jotaro something : there was hesitation in his voice.
“- I am very sorry sir but you cannot enter this area with your clothes on. It is a swimming suit restricted area…” He apologized with exaggerated gestures.
“- This little girl I-“ Jotaro grunted and pointed at Amanda who was frozen on the verge of crying while her legs were shaking.
“- Of course but you cannot wear your casual clothes here because of the hygiene-“
The brunet rolled his eyes and took all of his power not to punch the employee that didn’t care at all about the situation right in the throat. Jotaro decided to undress on the spot and pushed his coat against the scared employee's chest.
“- Don’t drop it.” Jotaro warned him, very pissed.
Only wearing his black boxers and his cap on, Jotaro climbed up the ladder of the diving platform the fastest he could to reach the little girl. He tried to be reassuring and spoke as softly as he could, which was really not that soft. He feared that if he surprised or scared Amanda she would fall from the platform and that was the total opposite purpose of the idea of getting up there.
“- Amanda…” He tried to whisper but it wasn’t effective as the girl wasn’t moving at all, still petrified while looking at the water far under her feet. “- Look behind you… It’s me, come at me.” Jotaro failed again and sighed, trying to find something smart to do.
He looked at the back of the little girl and felt stupid after having a weird idea but nothing was too stupid if it worked, at least that’s what his grandfather had told him so far.
“- Amanda, turn around please. It is…” Damn it’s fucking stupid , he ranted to himself but he braced himself and cleared his throat. “- It’s Star Platinum.”
As if the little girl was bewitched, she turned around immediately but as Jotaro feared, she lost balance due to excitement and would have fallen from the platform if Jotaro would have not been quick enough to catch her. Luckily for the little American girl, he grabbed her arm and secured her against his chest. The young man then let out a breath he did not know he was holding and patted her back. This gesture made her break into tears.
Yare yare daze…
After hitting the ground with his feet, Jotaro took her gently by the waist and tried to put her down but she resisted and buried her face harder against his chest sobbing uncontrollably. The teenage boy did not know what to do anymore. So, he let her cry and hoped she would stop at some point.
Jotaro felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Noriaki smiling at him.
“- I saw what you did.” The redhead commented.
“- ‘T was nothing.” The brunet did not appreciate that the situation somehow made him shy and he attempted to hide the feeling deeply into his heart so the other teenager would not see any display of discomfort on his face or through his voice.
The two boys were standing up awkwardly in front of each other until Noriaki decided to sit down on a bench near them. Without a word, Jotaro followed him and took place beside the redhead.
“- As strong as I am sure that you are, I think you were a bit too big for your boots sweetheart.” Noriaki jokingly addressed the girl that was still sniffling.
Keeping her face against Jotaro’s skin for comfort, she looked on her side to gauge the stranger that was now talking to her. She met Noriaki’s pretty face who was still smiling reassuringly with his head tilted to the side. He looked like a fox. Jotaro wondered if this guy was able not to smile for a minute or if he would die from not doing it.
Noriaki’s smile seemed forced the first time Jotaro met him but now that he was used to seeing it, it looked like the actual opposite. His smile was discreet and natural on his face : gentle as a parent who would look after their child, delicate and reassuring. Thin lips in perfect contrast with his strong and angular jaw. This way, everything was put harmoniously on his face.
Jotaro stopped daydreaming when he felt giggles against his torso : Amanda was chuckling at Noriaki making silly faces to her.
“- Dad said that if I squint too much, my eyes will stay stuck…”
“- Really ?” Noriaki squinted again. “- Oh… I think he’s right… I’m stuck now !!”
It took about five minutes for Jotaro to stop Amanda from crying again. After he succeeded and after he slapped Noriaki on the arm hard enough to leave a red mark on his smooth skin, Jotaro asked how the American girl learned Japanese.
“- My auntie, she speaks Japanese. I come to see her here for holidays.” She explained with pride. Indeed, she was surprisingly good with the foreign language even if she wasn’t a native speaker. Jotaro was impressed.
“- AMANDA !” A voice that Jotaro recognized rose in the air.
In the exact same way Jotaro had met him the first time, Amanda’s dad was running desperately and almost fell on the ground. The little girl gulped and quickly hid her face in Jotaro's torso again, this time to seek protection.
“- You slipped out of my guard ! You waited from me to take a quick nap and you disobeyed by running away ! Little girl I am truly disappointed with your behaviour.” The man in his early thirties stated while catching his breath. She didn’t answer, she knew she did not have any excuses.
“- Oh ! I am deeply sorry for all the trouble she caused again .” Her father insisted strongly on the last word. He was bowing and glared at her.
“- Do not worry sir. She is a lovely little girl.” Noriaki was the first to react as the most diplomatic of the two teenagers; he seemed made to pacify every situation. “- I think the three of us get along nicely together.”
Amanda was silent the whole time the adults were talking to each other.
“- Thank you again for taking care of Amanda and looking after her. I must really look like a horrible parent...”
“- We are not judging you sir, we are sure you are doing your very best with her. She just has a hard time staying at the same spot. She is adventurous and you are only human, also you need to rest too.” Noriaki was damn good with his words, Jotaro thought. The redhead was encouraging to the father.
“- If you want to take a small nap, sir, we would love to look after her and stay in your area. You have our word.”
“- Oh I-… I don’t want it to be a burden for you guys…” Amanda’s father sounded awkward and shy.
“- Don’t worry. It would be a pleasure for Jotaro and I to help you.”
“- Please dad ! They are great friends ! Look, he really looks like Star Platinum” She explains in English and Jotaro only caught a few words. She was pointing to Jotaro with her finger.
“- Little girl, after all the trouble you made, I do not think this decision is up to you.” Her father warned and she stayed quiet. “- Come on we’re going back to the hotel. You are punished for the end of the afternoon. No tears, you didn’t act good today, did you.”
After the teenagers, mostly Noriaki, exchanged a few words with her father and got teary goodbyes from Amanda, Jotaro and Noriaki went out of the area. Jotaro did not forget to get his clothes back from the employee that was keeping it loyally in his arms for probably thirty minutes.
Jotaro was not really looking at the menu he was holding just in front of his eyes at the hotel’s restaurant. His grandfather’s voice was getting lost with the room chitchat and the teen’s mind was wandering around the events of this afternoon. It was not usual for Jotaro to act spontaneously, playing heroes and saving little girls.
He reminded himself of the weird atmosphere that was taking place around the three of them earlier. By weird, Jotaro did not mean annoying but something that he was not used to. Insouciance ? The very into-his-head Jotaro was new to that. The thought of Amanda and Noriaki being genuine with each other soothed his heart in a way he could not explain. He hated himself for sounding that soft. The brunet was taken back to reality when he heard his name three times. The presence of Noriaki beside his grandfather then startled him.
“- I never see you that pensive Jotaro. Are you alright son ?” Joseph's voice sounded truly worried.
Noriaki was looking at him with concern and Jotaro tried to be reassuring but his unnatural half-smile deflated quickly and he focused on the menu again : “Hungry,” was the only statement he was able to make.
Jotaro faked being focused on the chef’s suggestion on the menu and tried not to eavesdrop but he could not help himself as he heard his grandfather making jokes to Noriaki to ease up the atmosphere. It reminded him of how much his introverted ass needed some time alone to reflect and feel overwhelmed under his heavy coat without anyone knowing. He greatly disliked the idea of people being aware of his weaknesses or that he was able to feel at all.
Since his childhood, it had only been about how strong and serious he was apart from being a lovely child and he got stuck to this image. It was not that unpleasant most of the time because he truly could not care less about what people thought of him and that it was his true nature to rarely get affected by situations or people. However, when it happened, when he was affected, as any human being would be, Jotaro needed some time alone to think about it ; to manage his feelings properly so he could react in an effective way without sounding inhumane : a robot or a monster without feelings.
The brunet squeezed his eyes as he was reading with difficulty : it stung for no reason. He quickly rubbed it with his fingers but it did nothing.
“- What do you think Jotaro ?”
The latter was confused and did not have the slightest idea of what the other two were talking about. There was no other solution to Jotaro as he just stood up and went back to his room after briefly excusing himself without any comments.
Jotaro woke up and felt like he slept three hours even if the clock was indicating that he slept ten. Sitting on his bed and after zoning out for a few moments, he went to take a cold shower in silence. That was surprisingly rare these days because he was sharing his room and all of his days with his noisy grandfather so the teenager just enjoyed his alone time without thinking too much about it.
When he put his clothes on it was 9:30 a.m., he went downstairs to seek lunch and stayed alone for thirty more minutes. He knew that he could not avoid socialising forever, he, in fact, did not even know why this sudden change of heart, so he went to the swimming pool area. He would just have to keep his ears open to find his grandfather.
As expected, the aforementioned man was laughing loudly with some random people. Jotaro was impressed by his grandfather’s ability to be so sociable. Jotaro just could not. Also, he was very surprised that his grandfather did not make a scene when he saw him. Joseph just acknowledged his grandson discreetly, well, as much as Joseph Joestar could : by a firm slap on the back without any other comment. He apparently understood that Jotaro did not want to talk about his situation at all and kept on entertaining whomever he was talking to.
As the youngest Joestar was not part of the conversation, his eyes and mind started to wander around him by themselves. His dark orbs landed onto Noriaki being splashed with water by Amanda.
Jotaro froze, feet glued on the ground, mind struck and arms dangling at his sides. He suddenly shook his head after a few seconds : Amanda was calling him.
“- Star Platinum ! Come and join us !! Come and play !!” She was making big signs with her arms so Jotaro could notice her.
Unfortunately for her, Jotaro did not react. He looked elsewhere as if he did not see them but her strong temperament did not want to let it go yet. The American girl went out of the water and trotted to Jotaro, poking his thighs with energy and asking him again with enthusiasm.
“- Hey Star Platinum !” She cheered. “- Come and join Noriaki and me in the swimming pool !”
Jotaro looked at her in silence, helpless. She tilted her head on the side totally lost at the situation.
“- Sweetheart.” Called Noriaki softly taking her by the hand, he was dripping wet. The redhead pushed his sunglasses on top of his head “- Jotaro will join us when he feels like it.”
“- But…”
“- Don’t worry. He just wants to rest a bit.” He smiled crouching in front of her. “- He was a bit tired yesterday.”
“- Okay…” She was still confused but obviously, she decided to believe whatever Noriaki told her. Amanda took his hand obediently and followed the teenager back to the water.
Jotaro sat on a lounge chair and looked at his feet with his mind blank. He heard his grandfather putting his new favorite cocktail on the table next to him. Jotaro blinked and grabbed it, mumbling a thank you. He needed to cool down his burning brain.
The brunet did not know how much time he stayed this way, although, suddenly he stood up and took his clothes off the same way he did the previous day. It could not be the victim of a sunstroke because he was still wearing his cap. He was in boxers and with uncertain steps; he made it to the edge of the swimming pool. He discreetly sat and put his legs in the cold water.
“- Star Platinum !” Amanda screamed in the left ear of the poor Noriaki who was holding her in his arms, she pushed her water wings right in his face which caused a smile on Jotaro’s face as he was remembering how he punched the redhead’s nose in the same way two days before.
“- Come ! Come ! Swim ! Look at me ! I swim without Noriaki holding me !” She was splashing everywhere to go to Jotaro but her technique was not perfect at all and she was spending too much energy on unnecessary gestures.
Jotaro let himself slide in the cold water, the level of water was coming to his chest. He naturally went to reach her without thinking.
“- Good job.” He told her quietly.
“- See ?!!” Jotaro had a weird feel in his chest seeing her so happy by the simple fact that he joined them.
“- I told her everything on how to be the perfect mermaid.” Snorted Noriaki, arms crossed, very proud of himself.
“- Guys ! Come over !” Joseph called the three of them still playing in the pool.
They swam to reach Jotaro’s grandfather while Amanda was on Jotaro's shoulders. The latter was surprised to see Amanda’s father next to his grandfather. When she saw him, she directly went to hug him and babble about how well she did in the swimming pool thanks to Noriaki and Jotaro and she was making big gestures to illustrate her account.
“- We were talking with Jotaro’s grandfather and we thought that it would be a good idea if this afternoon we went the beach. How about that blossom ? Would you like that ? Going to the beach with your two new friends ?”
Amanda screamed so high that all the people who were passing by their area turned to her direction, intrigued.
Joseph was driving the car leading the five of them to the beach. Noriaki’s parents were surprisingly not hard to convince about him spending the afternoon at the beach with complete strangers. That was what Jotaro thought.
When they arrived, Jotaro was relieved to see that his grandfather chose a beach with a small amount of people. They put their towels and parasols on the sand, far away from the other people at the beach. Amanda was getting too excited as her father was applying sunscreen and putting her armbands with her favorite hero, Star Platinum, on . Jotaro smiled because she was probably the only over-energised human that he was not sick of. Yet . The moment he stopped looking at her, he noticed that Noriaki was looking at him and the latter quickly looked at the opposite side when he saw that he was caught mid-staring at the brunet.
Jotaro was confused but did not make any comments. Yet again, he had to brave his discomfort with being half-naked in front of unknown people and took his clothes off while Amanda was pulling him by the finger to go into the water.
“- Slow down, you’re going to fall.”
“- No !” Was her only answer as she jumped into the water happily.
As expected from the adventurous little girl that she was, Amanda was not afraid to swim as hard as she could, well, tried to because she was still struggling to do it correctly. Jotaro needed to be quick to react and he followed her, scared that she could be taken away by a wave. He took her by the wrist.
“- Don’t go too far, I won’t be in my depth anymore.” He warned, furrowing his black and intimidating thick brows and she quietly listened.
Even if she was a full of energy type of little girl, she was only five years old so she ended up being tired very quickly. She used Jotaro as a living buoy by hugging him and holding his arm firmly, letting go of any efforts to swim on her own.
Jotaro heard a strange noise, something that sounded like plastic squeaking : it was Noriaki with an inflatable mattress that was approaching them. The redhead did not have the time to say anything that Amanda was stretching her arms, demanding, as a sign to be put on it.
The brunet obliged and took her by the waist to pick her up and put her on the bright yellow mattress. Amanda was sitting on the edge and was shaking her legs in the water to splash the boys.
“- Don’t do that or Jotaro will drown you.” Joked Noriaki and, of course, Amanda became livid because she believed every word the fox eyed redhead told her.
Once again, after spending two whole minutes convincing the little girl that it was a lie, Jotaro happened to calm her and slapped Noriaki on the arm once again.
“- Will you stop scaring her for nothing ?!” Jotaro was his most serious self but it just made Noriaki burst into laughter. The brunet did not like to be made fun of and his dark glare did convince Noriaki to stop immediately.
When he turned his head, someone spat salty water right on the side of his face. The tallest of the three glared at them again but Noriaki pointed Amanda and the little girl pointed at the teenager denouncing each other.
“- It was him !”
“- It was her !”
He rolled his eyes because the two of them were now giggling at him, Amanda and Noriaki were staring at Jotaro with a big smile across both of their faces. The brunet thought for a moment that they surely planned this but he would not let them play him. He had to try to be faster and smarter. He faked turning around and caught off-guard the one who was about to spit on him. As expected, he tackled Noriaki and drowned him by pushing all of his weight onto the other teen.
The two teenagers were now under water and Jotaro used his strength to keep Noriaki down. The latter was struggling to take back the advantage, after a few seconds, he did and was able to stand up and breathe again.
“- I won’t forgive you !!” He said while jumping on Jotaro before trying to drown him. It was hard for the redhead because Jotaro was taller and stronger than him. The brunet’s body frame was very impressive for his seventeen years of age but after considering his weaknesses, he smartly kicked him under the calves so Noriaki happened to get Jotaro out of balance.
Underwater, the messy fight was not ending. It was a serious struggle for the both of them : Jotaro’s raw strength opposing Noriaki’s sharp mind and agile body. Oxygen was getting rare. At the exact moment that Jotaro thought he had won, the other weaved in and out around him and pushed him, palms right over his chest, against the underwater sand. Jotaro felt that the remainder of his breath was knocked out of his lungs. He must have looked alarmed and helpless because immediately after that, he felt that air was coming back to him as Noriaki was pushing some through his lips.
Jotaro opened his lips and the whole situation and sensation was new and unusual to him. However, the naïve exchange of air soon changed into what Jotaro thought to be a kiss. An angry kiss. The redhead grabbed his dark hair while he was still pushing Jotaro’s chest against the sand. The strongest quickly switched their positions so he was the one pushing Noriaki against the ground. He did not know why he kept his lips against Noriaki’s but he firmly caught the other’s hands to avoid more struggle.
After a few seconds, Noriaki gave up on moving, signing Jotaro’s victory : the latter released him straight away.
The two teenagers surfaced and gasped for air together. They were flushed from exhaustion.
“- I helped you… with air.” Was the only thing that Noriaki managed to say while taking a deep breath.
Jotaro was about to answer when he noticed that Amanda was not in his sight. He turned around quickly and glimpsed her sailing away. Alarmed again, he jumped into the water and rushed toward her as fast as he could. He swam with the few remains of his strength and grabbed the mattress.
“- Why did you do that ?!!” He shouted, losing his composure for the first time in a long time.
Horrified, Amanda waved Jotaro’s cap that she had just caught because it had been taken away by the waves.
Jotaro could not understand his own sudden outburst, his mind was racing as much as his heart; he rationally put this on the fact that he was scared of losing her and swimming rapidly.
On their way home, silence had taken the entire car. Joseph was happily driving and listening to the radio, Amanda’s dad was too, eyeing his daughter who had fallen asleep in between Jotaro and Noriaki in the back. Jotaro was focusing on the landscape and the scenery. He tried to empty his mind, he was not really too sure of what to think about this afternoon incident. If it was an incident.
Was it ?
The next day, after spending the night in his thoughts, Jotaro was sure of one thing : he liked spending time with the redhead. He appreciated his calm and patience, his diplomacy and his ways of handling every situation. He was not as annoying as Jotaro first thought he was. He was just a smart guy. Jotaro was even getting used to the teasing. He enjoyed the silent moments between them and he felt connected to him. He acknowledged that he did not need to voice his thoughts : Noriaki would understand and know what to do and how to act with him. Well, he was sure of several things. Especially that he could not wait to see him at the swimming pool, probably already playing with Amanda or just reading his book.
The brunet was heading to the pool area, hands in pockets, scanning around him : where Noriaki used to take his place and where his grandfather used to sit and sunbathe. Surprisingly, no one was in sight. Jotaro stopped and tried to remember if the previous day one of them told him anything about a particular event. Nothing came to Jotaro’s mind. Should I wait then ?
He looked at his watch that was showing 10:00 am already. Maybe he had missed information while his grandfather was babbling in the car or on the way back. He shrugged and decided that they were maybe at the restaurant, on their way to have a snack.
Jotaro went back to the hotel and caught the sight of Noriaki’s back in the main hall. It was the first time that Jotaro saw him wearing a straw-hat. It suited him in a way. The tallest of the two, tried to play it cool by approaching slowly while hiding his excitement to see his new friend deep into his heart as nothing was appearing on his face.
“- Why the rush ?” Commented Jotaro as a greeting and he tried to smile. Indeed, Noriaki seemed busy looking for something.
His deep voice startled Noriaki who was taken back to reality, wordless. He kept his mouth agape a moment.
“- Well ?” Jotaro did not want to sound insisting but he could not help his curiosity.
“- I am going.” The redhead simply stated.
“- Where ?”
“- Home.”
Jotaro did not make any comment, his tongue knotted and his mind blank. He did not have any reaction and the situation turned awkward as Noriaki’s mother was chiming in asking her son to hurry because their plane departure was earlier than it was supposed to be.
The brunet eyes’ tried to find the other’s orbs but it seemed that Noriaki was avoiding his stare for some reason and Jotaro was not the kind to force eye contact with someone. After what seemed to be too quick and too slow at the same time for Jotaro, Noriaki quickly shook his hand before flying away without a word.
Jotaro stayed stuck on the spot, his hand still in front of him, not registering what just happened. Actually, Jotaro stayed in the main hall until lunchtime, sitting on a chair near the reception while zoning out. He stayed that way until a big hand came gently on his shoulder. Without a word, Joseph sat next to him and his grandson did not acknowledge him. Jotaro was too focused on understanding why he could not feel his heart anymore as if it had fallen into his stomach and it made him feel nauseous.
He blinked when he noticed that his grandfather was showing him an old id picture. Landing back on earth from a fuzzy mind, he took a look at the small black and white photo. Jotaro did not recognize the young boy in front of him. He could not possibly be his grandfather : young Joseph has been a brunet just like him not a blond boy. He looked to his grandfather confused, silently asking for some explanations.
“- I met your grandma when I was nineteen.” Started Joseph, answering the unsaid question. “- It was in Italy, as you know, back then it was also for holidays just like you today. And in the very same way, I met this boy. He was my hotel room neighbour and I hated him to his guts.” The story was taking a strange turn, thought Jotaro. “- I hated him because every night he was bringing a new girl to his room, preventing me from sleep.” He lightly laughed. “- This obnoxious Italian boy was as pretentious as he was trying to provoke me each time we met into the corridor.”
Joseph seemed very nostalgic of this time apparently and Jotaro could not really understand why nor could he understand the sudden story time.
“- I even remember that one time we actually got into a fistfight and I don’t even remember why !” Joseph's deep laugh was soothing Jotaro’s heart because his grandfather sounded like home and Jotaro needed home right now.
“- After breaking my nose and after I punched him in the jaw a bit too hard, we went to the closest grocery store. We bought the fanciest wine and we sat in front of the sea. There, we just talked all night about everything. About how we despised each other. We ended up quite drunk.” Joseph's voice grew suddenly dark and hesitant. “- We separated after a fight on what road would have been the shortest our hotel.”
Jotaro noticed the way his grandfather was holding tightly onto his own pants, to grip himself to reality.
“- That was the last time I saw him.” The old man was now trying to repress some anger. “- The son of a bitch managed to die on the road, hit by a car, reckless because of the alcohol.” Joseph sighed. “- I hate him so much for that. This dumbass could not have missed an opportunity to stand out and make everything about himself.”
The seventeen years old, had never heard of this story before and never saw his ever unashamed grandfather be so open and vulnerable. The latter was staring at the picture before putting it back to his wallet.
“- Handsome right ?”
“- Yes.”
“- He got all the ladies back then.”
Joseph tried to change the mood by laughing at the situation.
“- I am telling you that because after all this time, I am regretting that Inever had the chance to say goodbye and punch him in the guts one last time.” He did sound heartbroken and Jotaro was sad especially because he was not used to seeing his grandfather feel sadness even if he was a human being just like him. Joseph Joestar was known to always be the optimistic man of the situation, he was not supposed to feel sorrow. That was what Jotaro always thought until this moment.
“- What if I am never able to see him again ? What if something happens ? What if today or tomorrow something happens to him ?” Jotaro said matter-of-factly. “- What if today was the last time ?”
“- We can never tell son.” Joseph patted him.
However, the action was not good enough to comfort him, on the contrary, it made the teenager very lonely again. Despite all of his strength, Jotaro could not prevent his lower lip from quivering. He took his cap and hid his face as well.
“- That’s why I am here for you Jotaro.” Jotaro could hear him smile through his words so he raised his face to a way too happy Joseph. This expression scared Jotaro more than it reassured him. “- I am not making the same mistake again.”
“- What did you do ??’ The brunet straightened his back and glared at the older, threatening.
“- Here.” His grandfather gave him a paper then proceeded to half cover his mouth the same way a kid would do to tell a secret. “- It’s Noriaki’s home address.” He whispered. “- I asked him yesterday so you guys can write each other love letters.” Joseph did not have the time to wiggle his eyebrows that Jotaro quickly took the paper, put it into his pocket before hardly pushing Joseph on the side, making him fall into the ground. Jotaro fled away from the main hall, hiding any red color on his face with his cap.
Yare yare daze…
To the question “Did you guys kiss ?”, Joseph never answered. Jotaro knew that Caesar Zeppeli would take the information with him buried, forever in his grave.