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“Alexander the Great was only three years older than me when he entered Egypt.” The rising sun cast long shadows on Kakyoin’s angular face. He was tall and slim, his red hair was drying in soft waves around his face. He looked like a king in the Egyptian sun.
“Who the fuck is Alexander the Great?” Jotaro frowned, wiping his wet hair from his face. He was exhausted after the fight with Midler and swimming to the Egyptian shore. All he wanted to do was lay down in the hot sand and rest, but they were short on time to save his mother. Despite his aching muscles he needed to keep going, though it put him in a bad mood.
He walked over to where the other four men stood, Polnareff was clinging to Abdul’s arm like he had been since the island and Joseph was looking at the surviving equipment from the submarine. Kakyoin stood a bit apart from the group, looking east over the Red Sea. His mouth was pulled into a small frown, like he was deep in thought. Jotaro weighed his options and decided that Kakyoin was the safer choice to be around than the old man and the lovebirds.
“You don’t know who Alexander the Great is?” Kakyoin looked up at him curiously, only just seeming to clock the words he had spoken. His lavender eyes shone like he wanted to say more, maybe he wasn’t the safer choice. Kakyoin had a habit of knowing way too much, and talking everyone’s ear off about it.
Jotaro just shook his head, if Kakyoin wanted to talk about some dude called Alex, so be it. Honestly, he didn’t mind his rants. It was kind of calming.
“Alexander the Great was a king of a kingdom in Greece, Macedon. He became king at just eighteen years old, and pretty much immediately was one of the most ambitious rulers of his time.” He explained. “At just eighteen he crushed revolts against him, and united the kingdoms of Greece into the Hellenic League, following the wishes of his recently assassinated father.”
“There is a high probability that Alexander and his mother, Olympias, actually planned the assassination of his father, as his father didn’t see him or his mother as full Macedonian, and didn’t trust him as his heir. Alexander’s mother was from the rival kingdom of Epirus, and her marriage to Philip of Macedon was strategic. However, that made Alexander half enemy, making the Macedonian people distrust him. He very obviously didn’t look Macedonian, with a blue eye and ginger hair, which was very different from the typical Macedonian dark skin and hair.”
Jotaro scoffed a little, rolling his eyes. He fixed his hat back on his head, feeling a little put on the spot. He had always stuck out in crowds due to his terrifying height and bright blue eyes. He was always told he looked just like his mother, but probably because his father was never around to compare him to.
“Anyway Alexander was even more ambitious than the kings before him, and decided that being king of Greece wasn’t enough, and he wanted to be king of Asia too. There was a thing with the Persians and taking back their home, but that's unimportant.”
“Sounds like an asshole.” Jotaro mumbled. Apparently that was funny to Kakyoin, because that drew a laugh from him. His laugh was nice and clear, and Jotaro suddenly realized he would do anything to hear that laugh.
“Yeah he was. Anyway, his mother had told him when he was young that he was a descendant of the warrior Achilles from the epic called The Iliad. He really took that to heart and as he ventured east, he and his lover laid laurels on the graves of Achilles and Patroclus.”
There was a small smile on Kakyoin’s face as he said that last part. Jotaro was never one for romance, the shitty soap operas his mom watched always fell flat on him, and he was quick to reject the girls that flocked towards him. Though he never pegged Kakyoin as a romantic. Kakyoin shrugged and sat down in the sand, Jotaro following him.
“I admire Alexander.” Kakyoin’s voice was quieter than it had been. “He loved Hephaestion with all that he had, and wasn’t afraid to show it.”
“What? Was she poor or something?” Jotaro asked, tearing up some of the rouge plants that grew from the sand.
“Hephaestion was a man.”
Oh. A small silence fell between them. He always had his suspicions about Kakyoin, he always carried himself more elegantly than other men, and took more pride in his appearance, and had those little earrings. He never had an issue with it though, his mom had always told him to respect everyone else, no matter what. So he was fine if Kakyoin was gay, or something.
“He continued to travel through Asia Minor and Arabia, which now we would call Turkey and the Middle East. He always stuck close to the mediterranean sea though. Soon he crossed into Egypt, just like us.”
“And he did all of this before twenty?”
“Yep, just a few years older than us.”
“Good grief, I feel like I haven’t accomplished shit compared to him.” Jotaro laughed quietly.
“Jotaro, we’re on an expedition to kill an evil vampire possessing your great-great grandfather’s body.” Kakyoin smiled softly. “I think you stack up in comparison to Alexander.”
“Thanks.” He looked over to him, then quickly averted his eyes. “Keep going.”
“Alexander seemed to respect Egyptian tradition. After he chased out the Persians, he spent time and money on restoring neglected Egyptian temples. The Egyptian people regarded him as a liberator, even if he was a foreigner. He was crowned Pharaoh and moved north on the Nile, founding the city of Alexandria. Many people think he’s buried there.”
“How did he die?” Jotaro rested his head on his arms, looking anywhere but at Kakyoin.
“Well Alexander’s ambition led him to separate from the coastline, moving farther into the Persian empire.” Kakyoin nodded. “As Pharaoh and self-proclaimed son of Zeus and Amon, his pride was too great. He burned down cities as he went, caring for nobody but Hephaestion. The army settled in Ecbatana, which is now in what we would call Iran, for the summer. There, Hephaestion got into an argument with other generals and Alexander thought the best choice of action was to split the troops into two. Hephaestion would stay in Ecbatana with half of the troops, and the other general and Alexander would go ahead farther into the Persian empire.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know, maybe he wanted to keep Hephaestion out of danger.”
Jotaro nodded, he didn’t understand it. If he loved someone, why would he leave him behind?
“Anyway, while they were stationed Hephaestion fell ill. He had denied treatment and soon died.” Kakyoin’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “When Alexander heard, he came right back and executed the doctor. He cut all his hair off, extinguished the sacred flame, and held a two day long funeral. He begged all of the gods, Greek and Egyptian, to bring his Hephaestion back to him. To make him a god, so he would live forever.”
“And it didn’t work?”
“No, Hephaestion was dead, and Alexander died eight months later. He couldn’t live without him.” Kakyoin shook his head. “Alexander was sent into a rage of grief, and needed to conquer more. He was on the brink of another invasion, into India this time, when he suddenly fell ill. He was bedridden and died twelve days later. His last wish was to be buried beside Hephaestion, but his body was used as a political pawn, leading to nobody knowing where his final resting place is.”
Jotaro frowned, he felt sympathy for this long dead hero. “I hope he’s buried with Hephaestion.”
“Me too.” Kakyoin stood up, brushing off the sand from his coat. “Come on, looks like they’re ready to go.” Jotaro stood and followed him to the rest of the group.
Days later, in a hospital in Aswan, Jotaro remembered the story of Alexander. As Kakyoin laid there with his eyes bandaged, he begged them to go ahead without him. To fight DIO without him if it was necessary. He promised that once his sight was regained he would meet back up with them.
‘What about Hephaestion?’ Jotaro thought. Alexander had to leave Hephaestion behind and never saw him alive again. Jotaro didn’t want to leave him, in that hospital he was defenseless. An enemy stand could easily find him and finish him off, and he wouldn’t be able to see him again.
Since when was he thinking of Kakyoin as his Hephaestion?
“Come back soon.” Were the words he managed to find. His hands hovered awkwardly, Kakyoin couldn’t see him and he couldn’t offer one of his half-smiles for comfort. He settled on just patting his shoulder, watching Kakyoin’s face morph into one of surprise, then a soft smile.
“I promise.”
When Kakyoin rejoined them before entering DIO’s manor, Jotaro forgot the story of Alexander. They weren’t some tragic Greek heroes, they were teenagers. Teenagers who would win, and stand side by side as it was all over.
Looking out onto the Egyptian desert with just his grandfather by his side, Jotaro remembered the story of Alexander once more. With the body of DIO turned to dust in the wind, he recalled Alexander’s grief. If he were someone else, he would scream, he would cut off his hair, he would extinguish the sacred flame, he would host a two day funeral. He was not Alexander, however, he was Jotaro Kujo. Jotaro Kujo who allowed one tear for Kakyoin, and never spoke of him again.
Somewhere under the sands of the Egyptian desert, two skeletons laid in a lost tomb.