Chapter Text
During one of their stops in India, a book catches Kakyoin's eye. It has a bright blue shiny holographic cover that Kakyoin thinks is half goofy and half actually really cool. It has little sea turtles and manta rays on it. What makes him snort, though, is the presence of a swordfish that somehow looks startlingly like Dark Blue Moon, the aquatic stand that Jotaro defeated only a couple days ago. The title is in English: 101 Amazing Sea Creatures! There's a blurb underneath advertising "Realistic full-color illustrations that inspire a love of the ocean in any child!"
Kakyoin bites his lip. It's pretty cheap for a full-color children's book. Should he? Does he dare?
He does.
He's not even really sure if Jotaro will think it's funny (does Jotaro think anything is funny?), but the others definitely will, so he's willing to weather whatever reaction Jotaro has. He pays for the book and slips it into his bag, biting back a smirk, and heads back to where the group had agreed to meet.
--
Jotaro is waiting for the others at an outside table at a cafe. He had wandered around town a little, peeking into stalls in the market and dodging salespeople, but he had gotten bored pretty quickly and decided to just hang out at the cafe they'd left from that morning. He remembers hearing some quote about war-- or maybe flying?-- that went like: It's hours of interminable boredom punctuated by brief moments of stark terror . That's kind of how he feels about this whole trip-- the battles are scary and exhilarating and far too frequent, but at the same time all the waiting in between is almost worse. They've only been out for a week or so, so while he trusts the other members of the group entirely, he still isn't hugely friendly with them. He likes them all fine, it's just that he has no idea how to chat or, like, be friendly . What do you even say? So, guys, how about this weather we're having? Sure is hot and dry! Sure hope we kill this Dio guy before my mom dies forever!
For some reason he can't picture that going over well.
He's pulled out of that particular train of thought by Polnareff's giant, hot hand clapping down on his shoulder.
"Eh, Jotaro! Holding down the fort, I see. Did you save a spot for me?" Polnareff bats his eyes.
Jotaro kicks the chair opposite himself out for Polnareff to sit in. Polnareff continues to bat his lashes as he sits down. "Stop that," Jotaro says, "You look like you're having a stroke."
Score one for friendliness, he thinks to himself as Polnareff pouts dramatically. Thankfully, Polnareff perks up almost immediately, waving cheerfully at something behind Jotaro.
"Kakyoin! Over here! Oh, and there's Joseph. Joseph!"
Joseph and Kakyoin make their way to the table Polnareff and Jotaro are at. After all the customary greetings ("Abdul's going to be back soon, he got distracted talking to a bookseller. Ah! Jotaro! My favorite grandson!" "Joseph! My least favorite grandfather.") have been exchanged, Kakyoin turns to Jotaro. He's lifted his bag up so that he's peeking over the top in a way that could be shy, or maybe mischievous.
"Jotaro."
"Kakyoin."
"I got you a souvenir."
Oh, no. That's definitely mischief. He cuts a glance at Joseph, who looks surprised and interested at the proceedings. "Uh, let's have it then," he says. Kakyoin lowers the bag and pulls a large, bright blue book out, presenting it to Jotaro with a flourish. Jotaro takes it cautiously.
"I thought it would bring back sweet memories of punching bad guys into watery oblivion," Kakyoin explains, the shithead. On examining the cover, Jotaro understands what he's talking about: there's a big swordfish that looks like Dark Blue Moon, surrounded by other sea creatures. Obviously Kakyoin bought it as a joke.
" 101 Amazing Sea Creatures! " Jotaro reads out loud.
"Awww, little Jojo, he got you a book for little kids! How thoughtful," laughs Joseph. "He took your emotional maturity level into account and everything."
"Joke's on you, Gramps, marine biology is the shit," Jotaro says mildly. He flips the book open to a random page. "For example, did you know that scallops swim by clapping their shells together to push water out like jet propulsion? Also they have lots of eyes."
Polnareff makes a horrified face. "What, really? You're lying. No way that's real, does it really say that? Lemme see that book's credentials."
Jotaro yanks the book out of Polnareff's reach. "Ah-ah. This is a children's book. Only children get to read it." He turns to Kakyoin and holds the book out, smirking. "Kakyoin, would you like to confirm what the book says?"
"You just said the book's-- Oooh. Oooh , burn," Polnareff crows.
Kakyoin takes the book, laughing, and Jotaro's stomach does something funny when their fingers brush. "Alright, I deserved that. Let's see… Yeah, it says here that 'scallops escape predators by clapping their shells together repeatedly, a form of jet propulsion. Unlike most other animals with two shells, they have many eyes around the edge of their shells.' That's pretty horrifying, man."
Jotaro shrugs and tugs on his cap. "No more horrifying than, say, human hands. Have you ever thought about hands? I feel like having a bunch of eyes is pretty forgivable when you really think about what hands are. These weird collections of bone and gristle, in little tubes. You know?" He should stop talking now.
Polnareff and Joseph are staring at him in alarm and distress. Kakyoin just kind of looks delighted. "You are much, much cooler than I thought you were," he says confidently.
"That's. That's one word for it," Polnareff says.
--
Later, when they're walking back to the hotel they're staying at for the night, Kakyoin catches up to Jotaro from his more leisurely pace at the back of the group.
"Hey, I just wanted to make sure you weren't… offended, or anything. About the book," he says, watching Jotaro's face. He doesn't know why he's bothering to watch, since Jotaro barely emotes, but he does anyway. He's rewarded by Jotaro's eyebrows lifting maybe a millimeter as he glances towards Kakyoin.
"What? No, the book is great. I wasn't being facetious when I said marine biology is the shit," Jotaro says.
"Oh," Kakyoin says. "Okay. That's a relief. You're... kind of hard to read sometimes, you know." Understatement of the century. "I was convinced that you hated me until, like, two days ago."
"Ahh, I don't hate you. My face just looks like that, or so I'm told. I like you fine."
That makes one of us, Kakyoin thinks, but he doesn't say that, because most people don't really talk casually about their self-hatred with people they've only known for a week and a half. "Hm. Well. I like you fine too," he says instead. They make eye contact, both smiling just a little. Kakyoin wonders if this is what everyone feels like when they make a new friend.