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[Part One: Something Wrong]
You'd known Kakyoin Noriaki for as long as you could remember. Diapers, practically. He was your best friend of fourteen years-ish. That was a long time, so you definitely noticed whenever something was wrong with Kakyoin, especially since you had a Stand of your own. That was one of the many reasons you and Noriaki were so tight knit. So when he came back from Egypt and was acting like a weirdo, you were immediately suspicious. There were multiple times that you noticed his strange behavior.
"Hey Nori!" you greeted, lightly slugging him in the shoulder as you began to walk to school with him. He jumped ever so slightly and looked down at you disdainfully. He didn't say anything and turned away, leaving you with a frown on your face. Noriaki was usually very responsive when it came to these types of things. He would return with a sly comment about your punch or something. He would also greet you back. That's just how these types of things went. And Noriaki never looked down on you. He always saw you as an equal. You wondered if he was okay.
"Hey, Noriaki, you feeling okay?" you asked, tapping his shoulder a little softer. He could have had a rough night at home. You understood. Those things happened sometimes. Plus, Noriaki had complained to you about having a bad sleep schedule when he gamed all night... that may have been what happened last night. Or maybe he was jet lagged! That would make sense seeing as he just came back from Egypt. Egypt seemed so far away now that you thought about it!
"I'm fine. Am I supposed to like you in the mornings? I'm tired," he said shortly. Your brows furrowed. Something was definitely wrong with Noriaki. He was never this much of a... jackass. He was usually a lot calmer and always ready to talk about how he felt with you. Something was definitely wrong with Noriaki, and you could tell. Even if Noriaki was tired, he would usually explain why. And he was still a lot nicer than this. Sure, he had his hidden side... but that was aimed at anyone but you.
"Hey, Noriaki, if you didn't sleep well, I know the librarian will let you sleep in the back room," you said, trying to lighten the mood with a reference to the time the janitor caught you sleeping in the library's back room. Noriaki simply turned back to you with a frown.
"Why don't you talk to other people today? I have a lot on my mind and I don't need your incessant rambling. Thank you," he said shortly. He looked like he was annoyed with you, and you glared at him. Now you were starting to get mad yourself! Noriaki had no right to talk to you like this. You weren't really thinking properly when you opened your mouth.
"Okay fine, jeez, find someone else that actually likes you. Because as far as I'm concerned, I'm the only one. I'm the only best friend that you're ever going to get because you're so... you're so freakin' weird!" you found yourself saying hotly. You then turned around and stormed away. You were going a different route today. You weren't in the mood to deal with Noriaki right now. And you needed some time to reflect.
Maybe you were too much of an overbearing best friend...
[Part Two: Kujo Jotaro]
You felt like trash after what you said to Noriaki. You hadn't meant a word of it at all. You weren't even paying attention to what your teacher was droning on about. You didn't particularly care. You knew that it was going to take a shot at your grade, but you could always find some extra credit or something. You needed to apologize to Noriaki for what you had said. You really couldn't take it anymore. You felt like you needed to have one of those anime moments where you just jump up and run off, so you could go tell Noriaki that you were sorry (and confess your embarrassing crush) to him. Okay, the second thing was just wishful thinking.
Thankfully, the bell rang before you could get more antsy. That's when the building trembled. You grabbed a hold of the edge of your desk to stabilize yourself. You stood back up from your slightly crouched position when the shaking stopped. Was that an earthquake or something? You shook your head and turned to see your other classmates looking out the window with awestruck faces. You followed their gaze to see Kujo Jotaro with Noriaki thrown over his shoulder. You knew that you had to go as well.
You grabbed your book bag and bolted without listening to a single word anyone said. You needed to follow Kujo home. He was your upperclassman in year three, while you were just in year two. You hoped he wouldn't mind an underclassman chasing after him because he had her best friend over his shoulder. Her best friend who was also an upperclassman. You weren't really one to care about age, since you judged people really based off of how intelligent they were, since that was a good basis, but you assumed other people would care.
"There's (l/n), trying to chase after Kujo just like everyone else. She should just give up, there's no way that he would even look at her, let alone like her. She's in for a harsh awakening," you heard someone say. You didn't really care. You were only chasing Kujo because he was holding Noriaki.
"Kujo!" you gasped breathlessly. He didn't pause, and you assumed it was because he always had a flock of fangirls around him that squealed his name, but you were here for business, not him. You continued to try to keep up with Kujo, but damn, he was fast.
"Kujo! I'm... the redhead belongs to me! He's my friend," you panted, following the young man. He seemed to pause when you mentioned Noriaki. He turned around, a deep, unreadable gaze falling onto you. You paused. You had forgotten how intimidating your upperclassman was, especially with all of the rumors that floated around about him.
"This one belongs to you?" he asked, his voice dark and deep.
"Yeah, that's my Noriaki- Uh, I mean, that's Noriaki. He's not mine. We've just been best friends for fourteen years so sometimes I call him my Noriaki. We're not in a relationship or anything like that-" you said awkwardly.
"I didn't ask about that. But you should come with me. If he's your friend, there is something you need to see," Kujo said gruffly. You nodded and followed Kujo to his home.
[Part Three: DIO]
After extracting something called a Flesh Bud and meeting Jotaro's (you now called him by his first name) grandpa, Joseph as well as a magician named Avdol, you began to learn about some weird vampire guy named DIO, who evidently hated everyone in Jotaro's family. You didn't know why. His grandpa Joseph seemed perfectly nice. He offered to take you on as an intern as soon as he met you, which you politely declined. You weren't interested in real estate. You were more inclined towards other fields of study.
"So we need to find DIO and kill him? That sounds like a plan," you said, looking around the room full of men. Suddenly, all eyes were on you and your cheeks felt very warm. You hadn't meant to be that loud. You let out an awkward chuckle and nodded. Psychologically, nodding got people to mimic you and nod with you, subconsciously tricking their brains into thinking that they agree... or something. As long as they didn't stare at you.
"You don't have to come," said Jotaro, looking over at you. You shook your head. You were already in it this far, and Noriaki already seemed pretty resolved to go with Jotaro and his grandfather. It was all to save Missus Holly, right? Jotaro's mother had fallen ill, so you understood how important it was to save her. You would freak out if someone you loved like that was on their deathbed. You knew that you would take anyone you could get if they had the means to save them. So, you offered up your help to Jotaro.
"Well, I mean, it's not like I want to go to school anyways. I'm failing chemistry pretty miserably," you chuckled. Noriaki laughed along with you. It was nice to have him back instead of that weird DIO-controlled version of him. This version was much better. This version with the sly jokes, witty sense of humor, and warm laugh. You were glad to have him back. And you were going to apologize to him for what you had said. You still felt horrible about it, and if you didn't say sorry, you would think about it at night. You would just have to wait for a moment alone to tell him.
"I suppose that's a good enough reason," Noriaki said, nudging you in the ribs. You rolled your eyes, but smiled at the others.
"Yeah, I'm coming whether you like it or not," you said with a stupid grin on your face. Kakyoin laughed and leaned his head on your shoulder. Your face heated up at the action. It was so small, and so normal between the two of you, and yet it set your body ablaze and your heart racing. You saw Jotaro look at you knowingly, and you looked away. You wanted to tell him to shut up, even though he hadn't said anything. But you didn't want anymore attention on you.
[Part Four: Normal]
"I'm sorry Noriaki," you said one night while you were in a hotel. You hadn't had time to apologize in between Stand fights and all, but now was the time.
"For what?" he hummed, his head leaning on your shoulder as you two sat together, looking at the view that the window of the hotel provided. He was warm. Almost dangerously warm in your opinion. Or maybe that was you.
"I'm sorry for saying that you would have a hard time finding someone that would like you and for calling you weird. I don't really think that. You're a really likable guy Noriaki. I'm... really sorry," you whispered, never diverting your gaze to the young man who was leaning on your shoulder. You felt like if you made eye contact, you would regret it. So you avoided it. Instead, you opted to stare at the starry night sky.
"I'm sorry for turning into that thing. You didn't deserve that... you deserve so much better than that kind of treatment. Honestly, I'm disappointed in myself for becoming that type of person towards you. You've stuck with me through it all, so I'm extremely grateful to you, and I want to show you so much more than rude feelings, you deserve all of the best things," Noriaki said. Your heart fluttered at his words. He thought of you highly. You knew that you both ragged on each other, and you thought he saw you at a normal level of respect, the respect he gave most of his peers, though you were simply closer. You had no idea that he held you so high in his mind. You weren't better though. He was on a pedestal in your mind, at least almost. You still acknowledged that he was a human and had flaws.
"It's not your fault Noriaki. You were afraid, and DIO took advantage of that. So don't be sorry for that, you didn't have any control over that," you murmured, once you found the ability to speak again. He let out a small sigh from beside you, and you finally mustered up the courage to look at your friend. Your eyes met with lavender ones and he smiled up at you. Your chest felt warm.
"You're too good to me (y/n)," he said softly, moving his body slightly closer. You felt his gentle warmth and you were drawn to it. You were drawn to him like a moth is drawn to flame. You were attracted to his heart. He was kind, yet he was also sly, oh so witty, and probably one of the most intelligent people you had ever met. And you had met a lot of people on this trip. Noriaki was the best thing to happen to you. At least that's what you thought.
You looked down at him once more, after he had fallen quiet. He looked to be asleep, his breathing was even and his eyes were shut. You smiled down at him, your heart feeling full. You didn't need him to reciprocate your feelings to be happy. Moments like these were what made you feel like you were flying. When you were with Noriaki, nothing bad could happen.
You wondered when you had begun to fall in love with your best friend.
[Part Five: Futures]
Another night, while the group was camping, you were placed next to Noriaki, who rested between you and Jotaro in what Joseph dubbed "the rebellious teen tent".
"You still awake?" came his soft voice. You stifled a laugh. It was just like when you would sneak over to his house during the early hours of the morning to go to the arcade with him or to play video games. Usually, it would start with video games, and then you would go to the arcade.
"Yeah, you?" you replied playfully. You heard rustling and saw that Noriaki had rolled over to face you with a smile.
"I think so," he said with a grin. You smiled back at your friend.
"What are you doing awake?" you asked, gazing at Noriaki. He shrugged and you scooted closer to him. So close that your noses were almost touching.
"We should talk about something. Here. Have you decided what you want to go to college for?" Noriaki whispered, gazing at you intently. You shrugged.
"I'm only in year two, I'm keeping my options open until year three. I'm going to join so many clubs in year three," you said with a grin. Noriaki grinned back at you. And then you tilted your head.
"What do you plan on doing Nori?" you asked. You were curious. Noriaki was a very talented young man. He was artistic, but also intelligent and practical. He would make a good doctor... or maybe an artist. You could imagine it now. Noriaki was a doctor and you were his wife who he came home to with a smile on his face. And then he would kiss you, and then you would talk about your days at work.
"I don't really know yet. Maybe I'll fight bad guys like DIO my whole life. Sounds much more fun than a mundane life in the city," said Noriaki with a small smile. You rolled your eyes.
"I hope you weren't insinuating anything Kakyoin, or I might just have to murder you myself," you said with a small smirk. He reached over and pinched you in the side, making you jump. You didn't want to yelp in surprise, or you would wake up Jotaro, and if he woke up, there would be hell to pay. You were sure of it.
"I wasn't. Anyways, do you ever want to get married? Like, after university or anything?" Noriaki asked, watching you intently.
"I do actually," you said, thankful to the darkness. It made you braver for some reason.
"Oh, me too I suppose. It would be nice to have a lifelong companion," Noriaki said thoughtfully. You snickered at his response.
"You sound like a penguin. You know, 'cause they mate for life," you said. Noriaki sighed and rolled his eyes at you.
"Poor little (y/n), having to use the most basic of penguin facts to make fun of me. At least the penguin will mate for life. Unlike you. You're giving me gold digger vibes," Noriaki said, poking you in the ribs roughly. You poked him back and he pretended to be oh so wounded.
"Anyways, do you want kids when you're married?" you asked your friend. This time, it was your turn to stare into Noriaki's soul.
"I do. I want two actually. I don't really care about the genders of the children. I'm going to love my kids no matter what," said Noriaki firmly. It was a nice thought. And you thought that Noriaki would be a great father anyways. Too bad he wasn't going to get married to you and have those two kids with you. That was a nice thought. A family with Noriaki. You being the future Missus Kakyoin. It made you smile stupidly.
"I think I want two," you agreed. Two was a good amount. That way your kid could have a friend. You never wanted your kid to be lonely. You were lucky that you had Noriaki with you for most of your life. You didn't think that you would have made it without him.
"I can see you with two gremlins. Whenever I come to see them, they'll probably attack me," said Noriaki, giving you a playful look. You looked at him in mock offense.
"Says the one who's going to have devil spawn," you replied quickly. He snickered at your response. You grinned at him.
"My kids are going to be perfect and you know it," said Noriaki, who looked like he was having the time of his life teasing you right now. You were fine with that. If he was happy, then you would be happy too. If Noriaki was happy, then you were happy. That's how being the greatest best friend in the world worked. You were happy for each other. Even if Noriaki wanted to marry someone that wasn't you. You could get over this... right?
You were probably wrong about that. You may not be experienced with love, but you knew enough to know that you were probably in love with Noriaki. And that you probably wouldn't be able to get over this in awhile. Yeah. You knew enough to know that when people fell in love with the childhood friend that they'd known for fourteen years, they really didn't get over it quick. Still, you were here to support Noriaki. He was always there to support you when you needed it most. That's what you loved about him. He was supportive, intelligent, and he was witty, and loving. Just what you wanted in a man.
"Yeah? You'll have to prove that to me," you smirked. Noriaki rolled his eyes, but continued rambling about how his kids would be superior to the rest. You would shoot back sarcastic quips and he would return with something just as smart. It was nights like these that made you feel in love.
You spent the rest of the night chattering about what you were going to name your kids, what genes you thought you were going to give your kids, how excited you were that one day you would find the love of your life and become a mother, and one million other things. It made you feel overjoyed. This was the happiest you had been in awhile.
You were so stupidly in love with Kakyoin Noriaki, and there was definitely no turning back now.
[Part Six: Believing]
You laid sprawled out on your back. You wondered why your team had agreed to take on some baby. Not that you didn't like kids but... they weren't your favorite thing. Especially babies. You knew that you wanted to be a mother one day. Oh definitely. And you had recently voiced these thoughts to Noriaki, who had been supportive of your ideas, and even agreed with most of them, which made you feel light and happy. But you weren't interested in being a mother while you were a teenager. Plus, the whole team had decided that you had to be the one to come to when they had questions because you were the sole woman of the group. You knew that you should be flattered that they saw you as motherly, but honestly, it was kind of grating. You weren't a motherly type in your own eyes.
You heard movement and looked over to see Noriaki sprawling out beside you, his face just as tired as yours. You had begun to notice something off about Noriaki. It wasn't like when he was brainwashed by DIO. No, this was something different. He looked tired and weary. He looked like he hadn't been getting enough sleep. You were admittedly worried about Noriaki. You wondered if you should confront him about it. You looked over at him. He didn't seem to be in the mood to talk about it though. You wondered if he was still feeling the effects of travel. No. The last time you thought that, he had been implanted with a Flesh Bud. There was definitely something wrong with Noriaki. You knew you wouldn't do any harm with simply asking him how he felt.
"Hey Noriaki, you doing alright?" you asked, scooting closer to him. He hummed as if he was just now hearing you say his name before taking a moment to contemplate what you just said.
"Oh, yeah, just tired..." he murmured, punctuating his sentence with a yawn. You looked over at him and shuffled even closer to him, a frown becoming evident on your face. There was definitely something wrong with the young man that he wasn't sharing with you.
"Noriiiii," you whined, poking his cheek. You knew that he wasn't being truthful, so you needed to extract the truth from him somehow. He looked over at you with tired lavender eyes. You pouted at him and he gave you a deadpan look.
"I'm not playing these games," he said, though you could see the traces of a smile etched upon his face. You loved it when Noriaki smiled. It made you feel assured that everything was going to be alright. If he was smiling, that meant you could smile too.
"Well, I am," you said, pushing yourself up onto your hands and knees and crawling on top of Noriaki.
"Don't you dare. I'll be forced to retaliate," Noriaki said with a calm, violet gaze. You smiled before flopping down on him. He let out a small 'oomph' as you did. You laughed as you laid across him. He didn't do anything for awhile, which lead you to believe that he was bluffing. That is, until you felt slender fingers sliding up to your ribs. You let out a cry of surprise as he began to tickle you in your ribs.
Soon enough you were laughing until you couldn't breathe.
"Noriaki! Noriaki I give! You win!" you shouted breathlessly. Noriaki stopped tickling you for a moment and he leaned back to smirk at you.
"I knew I could get you to admit it. Now, I think we have some sleep to get," he said, laying down on the ground beside you. You laid back in your sleeping bag and closed your eyes. You felt happy. Way too happy right now. Deep inside, you knew that something was terribly wrong.
When you woke up, you felt tired. It felt like you had just ran a marathon too. Your muscles and joints ached. You sat up and your body popped as you did. You let out a small groan and looked over to see Kakyoin, who looked just as bad as you did, if not worse. You shuffled closer to him.
"You look terrible," you muttered.
"Yeah? You look like you just came up from the grave," he replied. You elbowed him softly in the ribs, and he leaned his entire body weight onto you. You sighed and leaned your head on top of his.
"This is worse than the time I snuck over and we gamed all night and we had to go to school the next day," you whined. He hummed in agreement.
"We need to get around though," sighed Kakyoin. You nodded and stood up, beginning to go about your daily tasks around camp.
Later, Noriaki ran up you you, his lavender eyes wide.
"Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I doubt you will, well, you might. The baby has a stand! I found this carved into my hand," said Kakyoin, showing you the back of his hand. And there it was, the words 'baby stand' were carved into his hand. Your eyes widened in shock. You had been with him for most of the day, and he hadn't even been remotely close to something that could carve that into his hand.
"Noriaki... what... how... nevermind, we need to get to the bottom of this!" you exclaimed, clasping his hand in yours. His eyes were still wide.
"I think it has something to do with the dream world. Use your Stand when you go to bed tonight, alright?" Noriaki said. You nodded. You knew that this was a leap of faith, but you trusted Noriaki with your life. And you had known him long enough to tell when he was lying. You knew that there was no way he was lying about this. So, you followed your orders.
[Part Seven: I'm Here]
The next thing you saw was Noriaki falling to the ground. You stifled a cry of utmost fear and absolute horror. You wanted to sprint over to him, but you knew that if you did, the enemy Stand user would catch you. You could use your Stand to get you to him though, or at least get him to you. That might be safer, especially with Jotaro going to fight the enemy Stand user. You had some sort of leeway with what you could do. And right now, you needed to get to Noriaki. You looked around for help, but felt a hand on your shoulder. Avdol.
"Go to him," the man said quietly. You nodded and used your Stand to bring you to Noriaki. You knelt above him, frantically looking for something in the bag you were carrying that could help him. You weren't a medic by any means, but you had excelled in your first aid class, so you knew a little bit. Too bad they didn't cover this type of eye injury. You were able to find a cloth. Now all you needed was some water... but water was dangerous right now, seeing as that was how the enemy had been attacking.
"Don't you dare die on me Noriaki!" you whispered in his ear.
"I'll... try my best," he grunted, clenching his teeth as you held him close to you. You wanted to hide your fear, but you were trembling. You could lose your best friend right here. You could lose him forever. And you would never see him again. You wouldn't have those moments with him anymore, where you two made comments about other people that only the other could hear. You couldn't lose your other half. Noriaki was so much more than a friend to you. Noriaki was your world. You couldn't lose him. You absolutely refused to lose him. You gritted your teeth to still yourself. You then reached for the water that you carried on you. It was a slow, deliberate movement, so that the enemy couldn't sense it along with the other things that he had to deal with.
You then emptied it onto the cloth, and began to tend to Noriaki's eyes. You weren't going to be useless. You were going to help him. If he died, you knew you wouldn't know what to do. He had been the most important part of your life for fourteen years, almost fifteen. You weren't going to let him die before your fifteenth friend-iversary. And you definitely weren't going to let him die before you mustered up the courage to have him acknowledge your feelings for him. It was about time that you stopped being a coward and let him know how you felt. A good friend wouldn't stop being your friend, even if you had feelings for him.
"When you get healed, I'm going to tell you I love you so much that you're not going to know what to do with me," you muttered to yourself as you began to take care of Noriaki's eyes.
"I might kiss you," Noriaki rasped, much to your surprise. You had no idea that he was still awake! You thought he had passed out due to shock and pain... but nope, he was responsive. You smiled weakly. That was a good thing, that he was still responsive. And that he reciprocated those feelings.
"You better. I might get a little offended if you don't. Because I've been wanting to do that for awhile," you murmured, looking down at Noriaki with a smile. He smiled weakly back up at you.
"You have no idea how much I've wanted to kiss you during this damn trip. You had no right to make me fall in love with you like that," Noriaki muttered.
"Yeah, I think I know actually. I think I've had a thing for you since your last year of middle school," you said. He chuckled weakly.
"Well, upperclassman Noriaki would have taught you how to be in a relationship. You should have asked him then," he said. You rolled your eyes.
"Be quiet and save your strength, nerd. We can talk this out at the hospital," you said, placing a soft kiss on his forehead. He went quiet, but not in a bad way. You smiled down at him as he rested his head on your thighs. You felt like you had achieved something that you had been looking for your entire life. Maybe that was Noriaki. Maybe Noriaki was the one thing you had desired for your entire life. He was the one person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. You loved Kakyoin Noriaki, and you knew that you would do anything to keep him safe.
When the rescuers came, you were relieved and you even offered to go with him, but he urged you to stay with the team, insisting that they needed you. You tried to argue, but it was futile. Everyone was happy to have you around still, but they could tell that you were saddened and missing Noriaki.
[Part Eight: Time Between]
You walked with Polnareff as you scouted out a place to stay. Evidently, the man couldn't be trusted on his own, or else he would attract an enemy Stand user. You had drawn the short straw and ended up going with him to find a hotel. Knowing your luck, you would end up in a hotel full of enemies. Especially since Polnareff was your bad luck item. It's not that you didn't like Polnareff, quite the opposite actually, you were just tired of the constant fighting.
"Mademoiselle (y/n), I propose that we take a break!" Polnareff sighed, wiping his brow. It was a good idea. It was sweltering hot outside and you could feel your skin practically melting off.
"I agree. Maybe we could go around some markets and get something cold to eat?" you offered. Polnareff perked up at your offer and agreed to your idea immediately.
"But are you sure you wouldn't rather be doing this with Kakyoin?" Polnareff asked, following you as you held the map that guided you to your destination. You looked up from the map and turned back to Polnareff, confused as to what he was implying. You knew he wouldn't be implying a date, because Polnareff was much older than you, and had openly admitted that you weren't his type.
"What do you mean?" you asked calmly. It was no use getting flustered anymore, since everyone knew about your thing for Noriaki (and his thing for you back).
"I mean, wouldn't you rather be experiencing the Egyptian markets and eating Egyptian cuisine for the first time with him? I'm flattered that you chose me and all but..." Polnareff trailed off and you gave him a deadpan expression before shaking your head and laughing.
"That's nothing to be concerned about Polnareff. I've done practically everything else with him. I've known him for almost fifteen years. It's okay for us to experience things on our own or with friends sometimes. We haven't even established relationship rules yet. We're not even in a real one yet," you said, looking back down at the map.
"Well, either way, I'm super excited! Egyptian food sounds so good!" Polnareff was almost as excited as a little kid. You turned and grinned at him.
"It does, doesn't it?" you asked with a smile. He nodded vigorously.
"I'm pretty excited myself Mademoiselle (y/n)," said Polnareff with a grin.
"Now we just have to get there," you said, strutting forward.
After the marketplace, you and Polnareff got lightly scolded by Joseph for going off task, but he couldn't be too mad. You and Polnareff had filled up on the food, and now, with full bellies, you could go back to searching. Though, you didn't really have to search because Joseph admitted that he had found one anyways.
"(y/n), you can room with Jotaro for tonight, if that's alright by you," Joseph said. You nodded. Jotaro was relaxed, and he wouldn't pester you too much about anything. If anything, you were glad to have Jotaro as your roommate. Someone quiet, but someone who could also watch your back if anything went awry. And he wasn't as unsuccessful with luck as Polnareff was. Poor Polnareff though. He always had that stigma with him. You shook your head and turned your attention back to Joseph, who was laying down ground rules for everyone.
After that, you checked into your hotel rooms.
You gazed at your hotel room with a look of awe. It was so nice! You let out a small gasp and flopped onto one of the soft beds. It felt as if you were laying in the clouds.
"Jotaro, you have to feel these beds. They feel amazing!" you gasped. You heard him let out an amused breath. It was nice that you and Jotaro were relaxed enough around each other to actually be yourselves. You had found yourself getting to know Jotaro as you guys hung out more.
"Mm, I feel like I'm a baby angel on the clouds... yeah, I'm pretty sure that this is what heaven feels like," you murmured, burying your face into the blankets. It was soft and calming, like a gentle caress.
"You should probably bathe before you get too much dirt on the bed," Jotaro said, gesturing to the bathroom in the hotel. You nodded and thanked him before going to the bathroom.
You paused when you saw yourself in the mirror. You looked so different than the girl who came on the journey simply because she felt the desire to help someone and her best friend was there too. You looked, different. You looked more sturdy, as if the hardships that this journey had produced made you stronger. You assumed that they did. You hadn't broken down yet. You smiled at your reflection. And soon, Noriaki would be back with you... though you had this lingering thought that he would be safer at the hospital.
Honestly... he probably would be. You shook your head. You knew that Noriaki wouldn't just lay idly by and let the others take his share of the work. Your Noriaki would come back to you safe. You assured yourself that you and Noriaki would return home after Egypt.
You had fantasized, that with your feelings reciprocated, that you would date for awhile, but get married soon. It would be a ceremony for only family and friends. You had an inkling that Jotaro would be the best man. The thought made you smile to yourself. Yes. You and Noriaki would get married. You would wear the prettiest outfit to your wedding. Something that would make Noriaki's jaw drop. Your face warmed at the thought of seeing Noriaki in a fitted suit for the wedding. Yeah, that was a sight you were looking forward too. But you were also looking forward to that kiss you would share as bride and groom. You thought about what kind of cake you wanted too.
You shook your head to rid yourself of these thoughts. You needed to take your shower so Jotaro could get in. You didn't want to be a bathroom hog. But you still felt those butterflies in your belly when you thought of Noriaki. This had to be love. True, burning love.
You exited the bathroom and Jotaro slipped in quietly, thanking you. You smiled and nodded in return. You then flopped onto the plush bed you had been so excited about before. As you began to relax on the bed, your hotel room received a call. You picked up the phone and put your ear to the receiver.
"Hello, this is (y/n)," you greeted into the phone.
"Ah, I've been waiting for them to let me have the phone. Hello. I hope you're well," it was Noriaki's gentle voice. A smile spread across your face.
"I'm good enough. I would be much better if you were here to kiss my worries away," you snickered over the phone. You heard Noriaki chuckle.
"I will be soon enough, the Speedwagon Foundation has been good to me," Noriaki said, his voice mellow and gentle. You laid back on the bed.
"It's really good to hear your voice Noriaki, I miss you, like, a lot," you said into the phone. You stared at the ceiling while you spoke with him.
"To be honest, it soothes me to hear your voice. I'm still regaining my vision, so I've been reliant on sound. Just kidding. I have people that tell me things while my vision is gone. But still, hearing things is important, and a lot of sounds aren't so pleasant. But your voice is like a siren's song. I can't bring myself to stop listening, so please, keep talking (y/n), because I can't help but to listen," Noriaki said. Your face was warm. He was such a dork sometimes, but he knew what to do to make your heart race at the speed of light.
"Well, um, what do you want me to say?" you asked. He hummed thoughtfully over the phone before answering.
"Tell me about what our wedding would be like," he finally answered. You wondered if you had some sort of telepathy with the young man after knowing him for so long, since that was the very thing that you had been thinking about pre-shower.
"Well first of, damn Noriaki, you're going to look fine in that suit. I'm not going to be able to say my vows because I'm gonna be staring at you the entire time. I'll be like: 'wow, that's the man I'm marrying, that's the love of my life' and it'll make you be the blushing one," you murmured over the phone. Noriaki chuckled.
"What do you think about a red, black, and gold wedding? Red roses on every table... ah, I can envision it now. My beautiful bride coming down the aisle. I think... I think you might cry for me. Maybe, maybe not. But I can't wait to say my vows," Noriaki said over the phone. You grinned.
"Yeah? How long have you been practicing?" you teased.
"Well, I thought we were going to get married when we were kids, so I've been practicing since grade school," Noriaki responded. You giggled at his response, covering your mouth to stifle more laughter.
"You should have just asked me out in middle school. I would have said yes," you said over the phone.
"Well, I always thought you weren't into me. You were my best friend after all, and normally, when the guy best friend catches feelings for the girl best friend, he gets brutally rejected or has to watch her date all of these other guys when he thinks that they would be much better together. I guess I should thank my lucky stars that you never had much dating luck," Noriaki teased. You let out a gasp of mock offense, but it melted into a laugh.
"That's because I was always hanging around you, you weirdo," you laughed into the phone.
"Touche," Noriaki responded. The phone went quiet for a moment, and you could hear voices in the background. You heard Noriaki's voice among them. It was nice to hear him again...
Then, Noriaki was back, his calm voice and gentle tone making you feel at ease.
"The nurse just told me I've used up all my time. Sleep well. I'm probably going to dream about you like I have every other night," Noriaki admitted. Your face heated up. Noriaki dreamed about you?! You smiled though.
"Alright, go to bed you nasty perv," you teased.
"It was meant to be nice, but yeah, good night. I'll see you soon, I promise," Noriaki said. You smiled, though you knew he couldn't see you.
"Yeah, good night Noriaki," you said. The line went dead after that and you put the phone down.
"I've never seen you act like that before," commented Jotaro, a towel draped over his neck. Your face exploded with heat.
"It's not nice to eavesdrop!" you said, tossing a pillow at Jotaro. He caught it, and threw it back at you. You caught the pillow in your arms and looked up at Jotaro.
"It's fine. That's what people who are dating do normally," Jotaro said, going out to the balcony of your hotel room and lighting a cigarette. You frowned. Your friend seemed really stressed. You followed him out there and closed the door behind you.
"Hey, Jojo... you doing alright?" you asked in a soft voice.
"I'm fine, (y/n)," he said sternly. He looked as if he was acting normal, but his eyes were a completely different story.
"Aw, come on. You may be able to fool the others, but I'm not that dense," you chuckled, nudging Jotaro's arm. Jotaro let out a small sigh, but didn't reply. Your smile melted away as you noticed how he looked.
"Hey, Jojo, you don't have to hold anything back. I won't tell anybody, but it's good to have someone to have your back and to talk to... you can't do everything alone," you offered. Jotaro puffed out a cloud of smoke before looking down at you from where he was standing.
"How would you feel if someone you cared about very deeply was on the brink of death, and the only way to change that is by possibly sacrificing others?" Jotaro asked, gazing at you with his calm cerulean gaze. You hummed thoughtfully. So that's what had been bothering your friend. He had been worried about this too. He was having a moral dilemma. Should he sacrifice the few for the many, or the many for the few. You knew what you would do if it was Noriaki in Holly's situation. You would even kill if it was Noriaki in that situation.
"That's a hard question indeed. It would be tough for someone our age to have to be the one to have the answer for that..." you murmured, wanting to gauge Jotaro's reaction. He grunted his agreement.
"Well, I personally think that if people are willing to risk their lives for this person that I cared for deeply, I wouldn't let that risk be in vain. Let's say... Noriaki was on the brink of death, and I had to go on a crazy journey that I needed the aide of others to go on and ensure that Noriaki survives. I would fight tooth and nail myself for him, but if others were willing to do that too... I wouldn't let their risk be in vain. I would make sure that Noriaki survived. That's my personal answer to your question, but I think this all boils down to... how people feel about that subject," you said. Jotaro looked at you for a moment, before turning his gaze back to the horizon.
"Hey, can I ask you a question Jojo?" you asked. He hummed in response, to let you know that you were free to be open with your question.
"If it was Noriaki and I in that hypothetical situation... would you... would you have followed me to go kill whoever put him in it?" you asked suddenly. You had come to realize, that you really had no idea why you were there. You had come for Noriaki, because you would gladly give your life for his, but now that he wasn't here, it still felt right that you were with the group.
"Even if I didn't know Kakyoin, it's obvious how much he matters to you," Jotaro began. He pulled his hat down over his face, as if he wanted to hide it. He wasn't doing a good job.
"I would follow you. You'd be much more charismatic if it was Kakyoin in that situation. You'd be someone you weren't if it meant saving him," Jotaro said. You smiled at Jotaro. And he turned away, as if he was embarrassed by his response. You chuckled to yourself, and it fell into a comfortable silence.
"So, the cool guy facade, huh?" you joked slightly, after you had sat in silence with the tall young man for a few moments.
"Good grief," was his only response. You grinned at him and he simply put a hand on your head, as if it would quiet you down.
"Just go to bed already," he muttered. You chuckled at him, but nudged his shoulder.
"Once you finish smoking, you go to bed too. Or I'll tell your grandpa," you chided. Jotaro rolled his eyes and shooed you away. You grinned back at him before going into the room, and heading to bed.
You let out a sigh as you pulled the soft blanket over you. It was warm and reminded you of home. What was home to you anyways, you wondered.
You hadn't been homesick for this entire journey. In fact, you had felt perfectly at home whenever you were with the group. Especially when you were with Noriaki. You smiled to yourself. Maybe home isn't a place, but people. Your friends were your home, and you weren't mad at all.
Your eyes slid shut, but you couldn't really turn your brain off yet. The struggle of being intelligent, you supposed. You wished you could call Noriaki back and talk with him just a bit longer, but you knew that the nurses had given him a set amount of time. And he would probably be asleep by now. You huffed in slight annoyance. You needed someone to talk to, and you felt like you had already reached Jotaro's talking meter. He was probably done speaking to you for the night.
You wished that you could manually turn your brain off so it wouldn't be so obnoxious.
You were thinking about too many things at once, really.
You were thinking about Noriaki. You were thinking about how much you wanted him to be here. Holding you close, kissing you. Your face heated up at the thought of kissing him. He would be your first kiss. You pulled the covers up over your head. You wondered if Noriaki would be a good kisser... You hadn't thought about kissing your best friend for a hot minute. But then again, you had both admitted to having feelings for each other.
You wondered what that made you. Partners? No, you hadn't established anything yet... but you were so much more than just friends! You let out a sigh. That shouldn't keep you from sleeping. Stupid teenage feelings. You squeezed your eyes shut even harder. You would think about this tomorrow!
With that, you forced yourself to count in your head to get you to sleep. But you got off track at about sixty something. You sighed and sat up on your bed, standing up. You needed a glass of water, and maybe some sleep supplements. You didn't think that it was possible to get those right now, but you might as well check if you had anything. Even a benadryl would work, if it could knock you out cold for the night.
You sighed as you filled up a cup of water. You wondered if anyone was still awake at this time...
Jotaro was good to talk to earlier... but you needed someone who was more adept socially than Jotaro was to solve your problem. You knew that Noriaki liked you back. But you had no idea where you stood with him. He had asked you to describe your wedding, and had been all excited about it... but you still hadn't established anything. And what if Noriaki was just desperate? What if he was playing nice guy because he didn't want to make your friendship awkward?
All of these intrusive thoughts were pissing you off. You didn't think it was the best idea to wander around the hotel alone, but you needed to do something about these thoughts. You bit your lip and stared at the ceiling whilst holding the cup of water in your hand. It was about time you left.
You took some sips of your water and left it on the counter. You turned to make sure that Jotaro was asleep, which he looked to be, and you slipped out of the room. You let out a breath of relief when the door didn't make a loud sound as it closed. You then turned to the hallway. You began to pace, looking around for something to distract you.
You must have been so distracted by finding a distraction that you didn't notice that anyone was behind you until you felt a hand on your shoulder. You whipped around, but felt a finger come to your lips, telling you to hush. It was only Avdol. You relaxed.
"What are you doing awake at this hour? It's late," Avdol said. You looked away. You didn't really want to explain your predicament, but Avdol was a really good listener.
"Uh... boy problems?" you answered. It was more of a question than a statement. Avdol's worried expression became one of amusement, which made your face heat up.
"Mister Joestar sleeps like a rock, and there's a couch in our room if you want to talk about them," Avdol offered. You brightened up. This might be your opportunity to get everything off your chest. You nodded and Avdol smiled.
He lead the way to the room and you followed, as if you were Avdol's duckling. You practically were at this point. Avdol had a very parental demeanor, but he also had a sense of humor. In your head, all adults should be like Avdol. He wasn't stiff. But he also knew how to be mature.
And you felt like you could talk to Avdol.
When you got there, Avdol sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him. You sat down next to him and tucked your legs under yourself, watching him intently.
"Go ahead and tell me whatever you want," Avdol said. You smiled and twisted your thumbs before smiling.
"Okay well, I just... I don't know where I stand with Noriaki... and I don't know if he actually likes me, like, he could just be trying to preserve our friendship by catering to my feelings for him. I've known people that have done that, and they end up blowing up at each other and that ends both the friendship and the relationship," you said, beginning with those two, since those were the only ones that would probably keep you up at night. Avdol nodded along.
"Those are some boy problems indeed... but do you think Kakyoin is the type to think having feelings would ruin the friendship if you didn't initiate a romantic relationship?" Avdol asked. You supposed he wasn't the type to do that...
"I guess. I mean, he wouldn't be a good friend if it got awkward between us just because I liked him. And he's the best friend I've ever had. I've been friends with him for almost fifteen years now... and I really do love him. Like, I know most people just have crushes, but I think I've been in love with him for a long time now," you said, plucking on some stray fuzz on the couch. Avdol chuckled.
"Young love. It's a beautiful thing. You know, Kakyoin is in love with you too. As a fortune teller, it's crucial for me to be good at reading people. When it comes to you, Kakyoin is an open book. He loves you very much. So, don't worry. You can establish boundaries when you see him again and you can talk about commitment, but he has already committed his soul to you. Have you not seen how Hierophant protects you above the others?" Avdol asked, tilting his head. No, you really hadn't noticed. Your face felt warm and you ducked your head.
"I must seem really oblivious, huh?" you chuckled to hide your embarrassment.
"Not at all. Because you were focused on protecting him. Really, I don't know how you both didn't notice sooner. Your Stands are obviously bonded. They show your deepest feelings, and that includes feelings for other people. I was sure you both would notice, with how perceptive you are, but I suppose you both could have assumed that it was because you had a deeper connection with the other that it began. Still, you both aren't good at hiding it," Avdol said with a knowing smile.
You chuckled in embarrassment. You felt much better though. It felt good relieving your stress and talking with Avdol. And now the tiredness was beginning to hit.
"Well, I think that was all. Sorry for keeping you awake Avdol. I'll be going to bed," you said, standing up and going to the door.
"Good night," Avdol said.
"Yeah... thanks Avdol," you said, turning and smiling at him. He smiled back and waved.
"It's no problem. Now, go get some rest," the man said. You nodded and headed to bed. As gently as you had left, you entered the room and crashed onto the bed. It was finally time to get some well needed sleep.
[Part Nine: Guess Who's Back]
When you saw him again, you couldn't help but run to him. His arms were open for you in an instant.
You flung yourself into his arms, squeezing him tightly and saying his name repeatedly. Your Noriaki was back with you. He was in your arms again. This was all you ever needed in life.
"Don't squeeze me to death, I still have to make good on my promise," Noriaki said. You leaned back and grinned up at him, knowing exactly what promise he had in mind. He was going to kiss your worries away.
Gently, he leaned down and closed the gap between your lips and brought you in for a chaste kiss. It felt like everything you had ever dreamed of. His lips tasted like cherry chapstick. That made sense. He had been using it since he was little. He wrapped his arms around your waist and held you close, like if he let you go, he was letting go of his life source. And you were completely okay with it! You liked being in Noriaki's arms, you loved it, actually.
He finally pulled away to catch his breath, and he smiled down at you.
"It's good to be back, my love," he said, planting a gentle kiss to the top of your head.
"My love? That's new," you said, a grin spreading across your face. Noriaki smiled down at you.
"You want me to call you some of the names I did before? I can do that," Noriaki said. You smacked his shoulder lightly.
"Those names were names you should never say to a lady!" you said indignantly. Noriaki gave you a smug grin.
"Well, ladies are classy. You had the mouth of a sailor back in middle school," Noriaki said.
"(y/n)'s hidden past," joked Joseph, coming over and ruffling your hair. You batted at the older man's hands and he simply laughed at your attempt to get him to stop. You weren't really mad at Joseph. In fact, this was one of the best moments of your life. Being held by Noriaki, and being with the people you were proud to call your found family.
"I had no idea it was such a dark one," added Polnareff. You twisted your body so you could see him, and you stuck out your tongue. Being as mature as he was, he stuck his tongue out as well, making more faces after that as well. You rolled your eyes at Polnareff and then turned back to Noriaki, who had been stifling his laughter.
"I still cuss!" you said, "So there's no dark past for you dumbasses to get all excited about!" That made the men laugh even more. Finally, you began to laugh along with them. It was nice. And it was beautiful.
[Part Ten: To Love and To Lose]
You could only pray that Noriaki's plan would work. You waited for him, hiding, ready to back him up. You were ready. You had faith in his plan. Your Noriaki was a genius among geniuses. You knew that he was the brightest in the room when it came to academics.
You peeked over the ledge you were hiding behind, to watch the fight... you prayed that DIO would fall into Noriaki's trap. You could only pray though. There was no way for you to even get close now. You wished that Noriaki would have let you come closer to him, so you could truly be there if anything was to happen. But he had promised that he would come back to you safely. He promised you that you would get married.
You held your breath. But DIO wasn't where he was before. He was right in front of Noriaki.
"NORIAKI!" you shrieked as The World's fist plunged through him. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening. You and Noriaki were going to get married. You and Noriaki were going to come home safe. This shouldn't be happening. You darted out from your hiding spot and made your way to the water tower he was slumped against.
"You... should have stayed hidden," he mumbled, his voice rasping.
"Shut it, shut it, shut it! Save your strength!" you said on the verge of tears. You stripped your jacket off and began to wrap it around his torso. Deep down inside, you knew that this was in vain. An injury like that couldn't be healed. But you had hope. If Joseph could lose a hand...
You couldn't lose Noriaki like you lost Avdol.
You began to apply pressure to the wound as you moved Noriaki into a position where he was laying flat.
"You have it in you to push through this, just, just wake it up," you murmured.
"No... I never really had it in me, did I? You always had to take the brunt of everything... you stood up for me... you... you were my only friend, and you knew how to handle it better than I did..." Noriaki said. Tears began to present themselves on your waterline.
"Don't say that. Don't. You're going to make it out of this alive," you said, your tears speckling his face.
"I only have one regret though, (y/n)," Noriaki said. You tightened your jacket around his waist and sniffled.
"You don't have to regret anything Noriaki. You're going to stay with me, okay?" you said. If he died, you wouldn't just be losing your lover... but your best friend, your most trusted confidante, your soulmate, and the one person that you couldn't live without.
"The one thing I'm going to regret is never having a future with you."
He stilled, and your eyes widened in realization. Your face paled, but you had to try something to keep him with you. You began CPR, but after multiple tries, he never regained breath. You let out a sob as morning broke.
Why? Why did it have to be him?
When you were done crying, you leaned down and touched your lips to his one last time. He was cold.
"Noriaki..." you whispered.
The sounds of the helicopter were deafening as they came to pick you up.
And you knew... that you would never love another like him again. There would never be another like him in your life. Your Noriaki.
Your love and your loss.