Chapter Text
Kakyoin opened his eyes to see Jotaro above him with his stand reaching out to his forehead. “What-”
“Don’t move Kakyoin. If I mess up, you’re dead,” Jotaro shut him up soon enough. He looked up at Jotaro’s face. His brow was furrowed, and he could see a bit of green in his eyes. Kakyoin could feel the flesh bud entering Jotaro’s arm, crawling its way up his neck. He heard a man yelling in English for Jotaro to stop - that the flesh bud could kill him too. But Jotaro’s eyes held the same firm gaze that told him, ‘ I’m not giving up on you .’
When the flesh bud left his brain, Kakyoin felt like he was resurfacing after hours underwater without air. He gasped as Jotaro’s stand exposed the entirety of the flesh bud and another man turned it to ash beside him. “What… why did you save me? You could’ve been killed,” Kakyoin stuttered, his heart pumping furiously from the adrenaline as he sat up.
“ Well, I don’t know why myself,” Jotaro said, walking away from him. Kakyoin looked at his back in the light of the doorway. His eyes watered as emotions flooded through him after months of being subjected to Dio’s mind control. Did he deserve to be saved after the evils he’d committed? He supposed if Jotaro saved him, there must be something worth hanging on for. And he was grateful to sit there, feeling the tatami beneath him like it really was him there instead of somebody else in his body. He could feel tears spilling onto his cheeks as his heart grew full. He had never felt so alive.
Jotaro’s mother came into the room shortly after with a first aid kit to patch up Kakyoin. She didn’t look Japanese at all and her older American father only spoke English. He was surprised when she spoke fluent Japanese, which made him feel relieved as he had instinctually spoken Japanese when stressed out. Even now, it was hard for him to devote mental energy to understanding English after almost dying, but Jotaro’s mother brought an easygoing atmosphere while chatting away. “Your name is Kakyoin, right? I’m so glad Jojo brought you here. He never has friends over, so I’m so excited to meet you!” she bowed, “Please take good care of him for me. You can call me Seiko-san. And that is my father Mr. Joestar, and his friend Mr. Avdol.” He closed his eyes as she patted iodine on his forehead with a cotton ball, smeared on some ointment, and wrapped a bandage around his head.
She made a satisfied sound, then jumped up and exclaimed, “All done!” while making a peace sign with her hand. Kakyoin couldn’t help but smile. She treated him so gently, just like a perfect mother in his mind. Her mannerisms were honestly very endearing as well. He could tell she was doing her absolute best.
Seiko-san walked over to Mr. Joestar and started bickering with him in English. Kakyoin got good grades in English class, so he could tell most of what they were saying. It seemed Mr. Joestar didn’t like Japanese culture much. Oh, well. His head was a little fuzzy after the events of the day, so the conversation quickly devolved into background noise. Kakyoin looked over at Jotaro, who seemed very used to his mother and grandfather’s little arguments. Later, when Mr. Joestar begrudgingly brought a futon to the room, Kakyoin fell asleep right away.