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The sun was pounding down mercilessly, and Kakyoin watched tensely from the backseat of the car as Joseph and Polnareff tried to fix the decrepit engine which had given out on them about half an hour earlier. From the sound of it, Kakyoin didn't really think that they would be going anywhere else in this car.
What was more worrying, however, was his companion sitting in the seat next to him. Jotaro slumped against the door, head tilted toward his chest, hat pulled down low. His shallow breathing hitched every time he shifted, telling just how much pain he was in. Jotaro may have won the fight against Wheel of Fortune but he'd taken twice the amount of hits as the rest of them, and had suffered burns on top of that.
Kakyoin's attention was returned to Joseph as the older man sighed and reluctantly lowered the hood. "It's no use. There's only so much tinkering I can do. This car is shot."
"So we're stranded out here?" Anne screeched.
"Of course not!" Joseph grinned at her. "You have legs, don't you?"
Kakyoin pressed his lips together, glancing toward Jotaro again, who didn't even seem to register what was happening. Normally this would only be an annoying set-back, but he wasn't sure Jotaro could even walk to the nearest civilization.
"Come on, boys!" Joseph called.
Jotaro startled and blinked, looking confused for a second before he clumsily reached for the door handle and opened it.
Kakyoin was already out of the car by the time his friend stumbled to his feet.
"Jotaro, are you okay?" Joseph asked him.
"Yeah," came the terse reply.
"Let's go then."
Joseph took the lead and Jotaro followed, but only managed a few steps before he swayed. Kakyoin hurriedly ducked in and grabbed his elbow, accidently gripping a burned patch of skin. Jotaro grunted, face paling slightly.
"Mr. Joestar!" Kakyoin called. "I don't think Jotaro's going to make it walking that far right now."
Jotaro grunted and tried to pull away from him. "I said I'm fine."
But another swaying step, proved differently and this time it was Joseph who caught and steadied him.
"No, I think Kakyoin is right," the older man said worriedly. "You got hit harder than I thought."
Jotaro was breathing heavily as he still attempted to push himself upright. "We don't…have time for this!" he panted.
Kakyoin felt his chest tighten as he saw something akin to panic in Jotaro's eyes. Not for his own sake, but for fear of his mother's condition.
"Well, what do we do then? We still need a car," Polnareff said.
"Not to mention some better medical supplies," Kakyoin stated blandly. They hadn't even had burn cream. He stepped forward. "I'll stay here with Jotaro. The rest of you go to the nearest town and see if you can find a car."
Jotaro shot him a look before turning back to his grandfather. "Jiji, come on…I'm—"
"No, Jotaro," Kakyoin cut in firmly. "They'll be quicker walking alone. We'd have to slow down for you anyway. It will probably be about the same length of time for them to get there and drive back. You know you're not going to get far in that condition."
Jotaro glowered at him for a long moment, but Kakyoin stood his ground firmly, lifting his chin, and finally Jotaro glanced away, pulling his hat down as his body shook from the obvious strain he was feeling just keeping himself upright.
"I do agree that it will be better this way, but are you sure you'll be okay here alone?" Joseph asked worriedly.
Kakyoin didn't like the idea of splitting up either, but considering they had just defeated a Stand user they might get at least a little reprieve. "Hierophant will be able to tell if someone is coming."
Joseph nodded, if not a little reluctantly. "Okay. Stay off the road, and keep safe."
Kakyoin nodded and took a firmer hold on Jotaro, leading him back to the car, propping him against the side as Joseph, Polnareff and Anne started off down the road. Jotaro grunted, raising a shaky hand to pull his hat down further over his eyes. Kakyoin squinted in the sun, feeling it beating down on him and knowing that it had to be even worse for Jotaro who had lost his coat—and with the burns…
Kakyoin looked around, but there was no shade anywhere nearby this time of day. The rocky cliff face to their right wouldn't offer a shadow until hours later. He was going to have to do something though, because Jotaro had lost a lot of blood, some of it still seeping from the bad patch job they'd done with little more than band-aids Polnareff had had in his bag, and he was looking worse and worse by the second, face pale, sweat dripping off his skin.
Then he swayed, knees shaking and Kakyoin caught him quickly around the waist, trying to steady the taller boy. Jotaro let out a sharp gasp, stiffening.
"Sorry," Kakyoin said, wincing as he realized he must have grabbed one of the burns. "Come on, you should sit down."
Jotaro grunted, but didn't protest when Kakyoin dragged him around the car and settled him down. This was the only place that there was any sort of shade, just a couple feet of it, but it was better than nothing.
There really was something deadly about the desert sun though. It wasn't like the muggy heat of summers back in Japan; it was merciless, pounding into your head.
Jotaro landed heavily, legs sprawled out in front of him, still bared to the sun. Kakyoin winced as he saw a patch above Jotaro's knee where his trousers had been burned through, revealing a pink patch of skin. There were more on his arms and neck, and a couple that had gone through his shirt. Jotaro leaned his head back against the side of the car, eyes closed.
"Hey," Kakyoin said suddenly, really starting to get worried by Jotaro's unresponsiveness. "How about some water?"
Jotaro grunted, giving a small nod. Kakyoin hurriedly rummaged through their supplies and found a couple canteens. He took one and handed it to Jotaro but the other teen's hands were shaking too much to open the cap. Kakyoin swiftly retrieved it and untwisted the cap, then held it for Jotaro to drink from.
"M'fine," Jotaro muttered, reaching up to grab the bottle, only to spill it down his chin.
Kakyoin sighed and took it back, helping Jotaro drink. He took several large gulps before he settled back, closing his eyes, shifting uncomfortably on the rocky ground. His skin was starting to tint red and not just from the injuries and the burns.
Kakyoin worried at his lip, he really needed to get Jotaro out of the sun before he burned up.
Suddenly, he had an idea. He took his uniform coat off and tucked the tail into the car's door before stretching it across Jotaro and anchoring it to a large rock that sat a couple feet away, making a sort of tiny sunshade. Jotaro glanced up at it briefly, and seemed to relax a little now that the sun wasn't beating onto him directly.
"Thanks," he murmured. "But you…"
"I'm fine," Kakyoin assured him. He still had his long-sleeved shirt to protect him, and there was enough shade to cover him a little bit at least. "I only have a couple shallow injuries. Two of those gasoline bullets went right through you, and I know the burns must be bad, especially in this heat."
Jotaro grunted non-committedly, slumping further against the car, tucking his long legs up fully into the shade, bracing his feet against the rock.
Kakyoin sat in silence for a couple more minutes, noticing Jotaro's clenching fists, before he said. "They'll be quick. You know we all have the same goals, Jotaro."
Jotaro refused to look at him, but his hands seemed to loosen just slightly. Kakyoin set his jaw, knowing how he would feel if it was his mother in danger. That was part of the reason why he came along to begin with.
Jotaro shifted as if seeking a more comfortable position and his back slid against the side of the car, causing him to hiss in pain. Kakyoin glanced over and saw a smear of blood, more drops falling into the sand before.
"Jotaro, you're still bleeding!"
Jotaro glanced down, blinking at the drops of blood. "Said I'm fine."
"Not if we don't stop that bleeding," Kakyoin put his foot down in exasperation and reached into the car again, pulling out a scrap that had been left over from earlier bandaging. He pushed Jotaro forward and pressed hard against the still-bleeding hole through Jotaro's shoulder.
"Dammit, Kakyoin," he growled, the first real reaction Kakyoin had gotten out of him.
"Sorry, but I have to put pressure on this. I'm not going to let you bleed out."
Jotaro gritted his teeth, and Kakyoin caught a flash of something in his eyes before he looked away. Was it…fear? Kakyoin wasn't entirely sure what he'd seen, but it was definitely not something he would expect from Jotaro Kujo.
Jotaro shifted again and Kakyoin checked the wound before pressing harder. Jotaro bowed slightly, another choked off sound escaping his throat. Kakyoin felt him trembling too, more sweat beading on his skin, dripping down to join the drops of blood.
The amount of blood that had soaked into the back of Jotaro's undershirt was not something that gave Kakyoin a good feeling. The other boy really needed stitches for these wounds.
He was able to get the bleeding down to a trickle again, and grabbed more of the scraps and the last of the gauze.
"I'm going to try to plug this," he said. "It will hurt, but it will stop the bleeding."
Jotaro grunted non-committedly and Kakyoin removed the wad of bloody cloth, pulled Jotaro's shirt away from his shoulder and shoved the gauze into the wound.
Jotaro stiffened, a sharp gasp escaping him as his hands clenched in his lap. Kakyoin hurriedly pressed the cloth back over the wound and began tying it off tight against Jotaro's shoulder, hoping that would keep him from bleeding too much more.
He was just finishing up when Jotaro started to sag, and then slumped completely to the side.
Kakyoin's eyes widened and he reached out and grabbed him, hurriedly propping him back up. "Jotaro! Hey!" he shook him. "Hey, this is no time to fall asleep! You hear me? You need to stay awake!"
Jotaro's eyes slit open with a moan, blinking. "Too loud," he grunted.
"Sorry, but you need to stay awake. You're going into shock from blood loss and that's not a good thing," Kakyoin said, trying to keep from panicking. "Just don't pass out on me!"
Jotaro let out a long breath and slumped back against the car, looking like he was fighting to keep his head up, squinting. "'S really hot," he murmured, more sweat dripping down his face as his body shook.
Kakyoin pressed his lips together and reached for the canteen again, offering it to Jotaro to take a few more swallows before he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wet it. He reached out to press it against Jotaro's face.
Jotaro jerked back. "What're ya' doin'?" he slurred.
"Keeping you cool," Kakyoin said firmly. "You might want to take off your hat."
Jotaro ducked away again, turning his head away. "No way."
Kakyoin sighed, but worked around it, dabbing the sweat and blood from Jotaro's face and neck before refreshing the cloth again, settling it against the back of his neck.
Jotaro sighed and started to slump again. Kakyoin nudged him. "Come on, don't sleep."
"Trying," Jotaro murmured and he sounded so tired and worn down that Kakyoin felt something twist in his stomach. He hadn't once seen Jotaro lose his cool though he knew that he had nightmares and would bury his head under the pillows at night, sometimes shaking with pent-up emotion. The fact he was slipping now when he knew someone was watching told Kakyoin just how badly he was hurt.
"Talk to me," Jotaro suddenly said, startling Kakyoin.
The red-head resumed his ministrations, feeling suddenly at a loss for words. "About what?"
"Anything," Jotaro said. "Just…keep me awake. You've always got a lot to talk about."
"Well, okay," Kakyoin said and thought about it, looking around for inspiration. "You know, I read this really interesting article once about the desert ecosystem…"
Enough time passed to give them more shade, and though Kakyoin could tell that Jotaro was still only barely hanging on, he was hanging on and that's what mattered. He talked about whatever came into his head and Jotaro listened, nodding or sometimes giving a small sound of acknowledgement. Sometimes even a mumbled question or comment. It was kind of nice actually. Kakyoin had never had anyone to talk to like this besides his parents and though they were always patient and showed interest in what he was interested in, there was something different about talking to a friend who genuinely seemed to enjoy listening to what he had to say. He would never have suspected that Jotaro was so interested in nature and biology and such, but he didn't think that his friend's attention was faked either. It wasn't like he really had the capacity at the moment.
Still, Jotaro was hurting, sure enough, and Kakyoin felt a huge relief when he heard the sound of an engine and saw a jeep pull up next to their car.
He stood up from under their tiny lean-to as Joseph and Polnareff jumped out of the car.
"Kakyoin!" Joseph called, hurrying over.
"Mr. Joestar," Kakyoin sighed in relief.
"How is he?" the old man asked.
"I was able to keep him conscious, but I had to stop the bleeding in his shoulder again. He really needs more attention," Kakyoin said worriedly.
Joseph nodded and knelt to see to his grandson as Kakyoin pulled his coat down, folding it over his arm.
"Jiji," Jotaro murmured as Joseph put a kindly palm to his cheek. The fact Jotaro didn't even pull away was telling.
"We're back, Jojo. Kakyoin, help me get him to the car. It's only a half-hour's drive back to the town."
Kakyoin and Joseph pulled Jotaro to his feet and mostly carried him to the car. They got him into the back and Kakyoin folded his coat around Jotaro's shoulders. It was small but would do a little bit of good at least.
Polnareff and Joseph grabbed the rest of their stuff from the other car and then they were on their way.
Kakyoin glanced over at Jotaro who was slumped against the door, but his eyes were open, meeting the other boy's gaze.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
Kakyoin nodded, a small smile on his lips. "No problem." He paused then said. "But you still can't sleep until we get you proper medical attention."
Jotaro huffed something like a frustrated laugh.
"I know what will keep you up!" Polnareff announced. "Singing!" And he launched into some raucous French song.
"Good grief," Jotaro groaned, ducking down as Kakyoin stuck his fingers in his ears. "You should have left me to bleed out."
They all laughed as Polnareff got offended but they were safe for now, and that was all that mattered.