#so that’s why Jotaro is calling him Tenmei | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

minawakitten · 2 years ago

Note

Polnareff's sleeping big brother instincts AWAKEN upon finding Kakyoin in such a messy and distressed state. Kakyoin is torn between not wanting to be seen, wanting comfort and trying to get Polnareff to fuck off because, Goddamn it, why, of all people to catch him crying and hyperventilating, it's him. It fails.

Polnareff has no idea what the hell is going on or what upset Kakyoin ( he assumes DIO, which is a reasonable assumption, Kakyoin was (( and still is )) a child when DIO forcefully took him under his wing, those months in Egypt before he was sent back to Japan were probably Hell ) but he's doing everything to comfort him, much like he did for his sister when she was still alive.

Kakyoin hates it. ( he genuinely appreciates it. )

Joseph, on the other hand, is quick to note his grandson is missing and starts searching without even waiting for the possibility of him returning to the hotel. As the search drags on, the question of what possibly could have happened really stands out to him, along with how Kakyoin repeatedly showed interest in the accident.

Kakyoin is usually fine giving people their space and not pry into secrets, much like how they haven't with his own background, but something about the incident has him curious. No. It's more than curious. There was an underlying desperation. But why? Why would Kakyoin be so desperate to know what exactly happened in the incident? And thinking back on it, Holly spoke very familiarly with Kakyoin, of course Holly is a very open and friendly person but it wasnt the same, it was like . . . like she met him before.

And with that train of thought, a dusty memory attaches to it.

Holly was excited, as always when it came to her precious son, but more so this year, when he called to confirm he received a copy of Jotaro's class photo himself. She happily gushed about a certain child in the picture. A little boy with red hair. Her son's first friend. A boy he heroically saved from some bullies and carried back to the Kujo family home, where she bandaged him up and served him some snacks.

A sweet but shy boy with such an imagination about his little green friend -- Tenmei-kun!

She never uttered a word about the boy's surname but, a boy with red hair in Japan is not common. It really isnt. God. If only he recalled that stray memory sooner, perhaps this could have been avoided.

With the help of his Stand, Joseph is able to locate his grandson soon enough, and Jotaro is fucking going to town on some local punks, hes clearly been shanked a few times [ hes too high on adrenaline and emotions to really feel that shit right now ], hes just been trying so hard to beat his emotions out and hes still at it after the guys are down. It's always worked before, so why isn't now?

Joseph forcefully removes Jotaro from this scene, and thankfully before cops arrive, but Joseph notices how Jotaro's knuckles are bruised and bloody and his gaze is unfocused as he inspects his grandson for any other injuries or anything serious. Jotaro cant think. He doesnt want to think.

[ If he thinks, he'll see Kakyoin's crying face, be reminded of how he abandoned him back in the hotel room or the very fact he had someone he cared for and someone that cared for him and the destruction of that childhood hurts him.

This is Also Jotaro refusing to look directly at the writing on the wall that tells him that DIO knew this shit too. Because of course he would. Of course he would make Kakyoin spill his life story for his entertainment and when he mentioned meeting Jotaro as a kid, of course he would take advantage of this information. He doesnt want to think about the thought he went to fuckign town and beat up his own childhood friend bloody without a second thought.

He just. Doesnt Want to Think At All. ]

hello, its me again, the self insert bastard

i have SO MANY thoughts about Jotaro and Kakyoin being childhood friends, it's only for a short time because Kakyoin's dad's job causes him to move around a lot; but they reunite in middle school only for Kakyoin to move away a month later AND THEN, Jotaro gets in an accident where he hits his head and forgets, along with him starting to show an aggressive nature [ due to said injury ] + combined with the harassment he faced because of Japan's xenophobia and then people suddenly wanting to be all over him one the Joestar Genes (tm) kick in

Which leads to DIO trying to take advantage of this bond between the two by sending Kakyoin after Jotaro in some sick mind game and Kakyoin expecting Jotaro to falter in their battle only for Jotaro to not have a single goddamn memory about Kakyoin and beating him stupid.

Which ALSO adds a layer to the scene where Jotaro pulls the fleshbud from Kakyoin's head and Kakyoin being near in tears as he cant understand why Jotaro saved him after very clearly not recognizing him and Jotaro is just, idk bro [ deep down his soul is like I GOTTA ]

theres like so many MORE layer to this when the self insert universe lore comes into play but i dont want to barf it up all at once because i want this to slap people in the face when its revealed in full [ when i can finally write this, i gotta finish the current project im on before diving into more ]

my brain is full of thoughts

*crashes through the wall* HEY I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND BUT FOR SOME REASON THIS SMACKED ME UP THE HEAD WITH BRAINROT SO PREPARE YOURSELF FOR EVEN MORE ADDED IN WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT-

so what if I just. what if I

*bonks Jotaro with more amnesia*

what if in the accident you mentioned Jotaro couldn't remember anything. Like, brain blank, had to relearn a lot of basic skills and is having to essentially start living life again from scratch

Holly is of course a god send through it all. She never expects anything from him even though he's supposed to know who she is, and despite the undoubted amount of pain she's experiencing seeing him like this she lets him get closer and comfortable at his own pace, never making him to do anything he isn't comfortable with. She does what she can to help him remember things, but also does what she can to help him keep the new memories he makes (another symptom of amnesia is having difficulty making new memories too which will honestly just adding more frustration). Maybe she gives him a small notebook and maybe even a video camera to help him out

she doesn't try to mould him into how he used to be and just..... lets him be who he wants to be

and honestly...... when he does start school it's no wonder he retaliates. He probably pestered Holly for months to let him go back to school, but when he does...... the world is crueler than he thought. It's not at all like his home with Holly's warm hugs and phone calls with Joseph's bad jokes and crazy stories and Suzie's gentle encouragement and advice. Instead, it's cruel with harsh gazes waiting for him to mess up and whispers he can just barely hear and rules he can't understand

it frustrates him and scares him but most of all it confuses him. And because he doesn't know how to respond to it all, he retaliates with anger. Anger was easy. It made sense, it was clean cut and knew what it wanted him to do and gave him quick, easy explainations of how to do it

(Holly hates it, he knows. He can see it in how the spark in her eyes dims a fraction every time she gets a call from the school, how her eyes will linger on every bruise and scrape when he comes back home long after the sun set, how she always looks so sad whenever he hangs out by himself without any friends)

((But she never says anything. She still keeps the first aid kit under the sink stocked up, she still makes him his favorite foods (new and old) every few weeks, she still helps him go over all his video footage and journal entries, and in those soft moments behind the wood walls and shoji doors that keep the harsh world out, Jotaro can't help but wish he could remember what to feel instead of anger))

but of course, Dio and Kakyoin have no idea about any of this. As far as Kakyoin's aware, Jotaro simply..... forgot about him. There was no recognition in Jotaro's eyes, so hesitation in his punches, no acknowledgment of the past they shared, of how much they'd meant to each other

And BOY that's painful to learn, that the one and only friend he ever made, who stubbornly stuck to his side no matter what he did to try and scare him off, who accepted Hierophant's existence without hesitation even though he couldn't see the spirit, simply....... forgot about him completely. Whether it was because he didn't care or because in the grand scheme of things Kakyoin really wasn't that important, it burns in a way he hadn't predicted it would

this definitely changes his and Jotaro's dynamic, with Kakyoin trying VERY hard to pretend he doesn't care and is completely unaffected and Jotaro who really has no fucking clue what's up with this red haired kid

and who knows. Maybe Kakyoin was a pinch familiar to Jotaro but he brushed it off since there were a lot of things in his life that felt vaguely familiar. Maybe they knew each other before his accident, but they probably weren't that close since the guy hadn't tried bringing up the past yet. Or even worse, maybe it was a one sided type thing and Kakyoin had no idea who he was at all

(Jotaro tries not to acknowledge the slight disappointment he feels at that thought. His knowledge who he is, who he was, was almost entirely limited to his mother and grandparents who lived across a whole ocean. No friends, no extended family, just the three of them left filling in the gaps. The idea of there being a fourth person who properly knew him, someone his age...... ah, but no matter, it probably wasn't anything)

also for some added angst....... just. when Jotaro starts getting more positive(?) attention at school, what if some people tried pretending they knew each other before his accident to try and get closer. Just to give this boi some ✨ trust issues ✨

and honestly, there are so many ways the reveal and reconnection can go and I don't know which one to pick. We could have the crack-y "Joseph makes a joke about it and Kakyoin's brain soft reboots" to the softer "in a moment of vulnerability Jotaro talks about the amnesia because he's starting to genuinely see the Crusaders as friends" to an angsty "Kakyoin reveals he knew Jotaro in a moment of stress/high emotion and Jotaro slightly flips his shit because This Guy Knew Him And Didn't Say Anything"

there's just. so much and it's so tasty

#jotaro just mcfucking breaking down and crying in his grandfathers arms #he cant even string together words and hes just ugly sobbing for the first time in years and since his mother grew ill #joseph wanted to see his grandson emote more but not like this #also tenmei IS kakyoins birth name but as he got older stopped correcting people hence why introducing himself as noriaki kakyoin #everyone kept reading the kanji of his name werong so he gave up #young jotaro casually beat up a bunch of bullies harassing tiny kakyoin #despite his mom telling him not to fight because his dad taught him true evil is people beating up the powerless and those who can't defend #themselves and Kakyoin was not fighting back because he was a bit too use to people making fun of his hair and questioning if he was really #Japanese or not but when they started to pull at his hair #lil jotaro SPRUNG into action to save the day #also Joseph may br old but he's still sharp as a tack so he quickly tied those two points together #manifesting visions of young jotaro huffing and simply saying they were mean when lil kakyoin asks why he helped him #it's not much different from when they reunited as teens

68 notes · View notes

flamegatorwrites · 5 years ago

Text

Lavender (jotaro x kakyoin)

Jotaro and Kakyoin haven't seen each other in over ten years, but Joseph and the Duwang Gang try to fix that.

[a/n: I just wanted some fluffy jotakak ok]

It had been 11 years since Dio's brutal defeat in Egypt. 11 years since he'd last seen Kakyoin outside of blurry Polaroids he got in the mail, sent from the name Tenmei Kakyoin. 11 years since he'd fallen in love.

The letters were the only thing keeping him going at first. He didn't know if it was really his best friend sending them, but who else would? Nobody else knew his stage name he would sign his art with. Nobody else could know the things they wrote each other about, the things they talked about on the hot Egyptian nights with the sheets tangled around them all those years ago.

That was how he found out that Noriaki Kakyoin was still alive.

Jotaro always took a letter with him anywhere he went. At first it was so he didn't forget the mailing address on his long business trips, so he could write to Kakyoin from whatever hotel he was staying in. But it had become a habit of his to have a letter with him at all times, probably because he felt a strange sense of comfort reaching into one of his pockets and feeling one of the envelopes tucked neatly inside. Almost like the feeling when Kakyoin would reach out and give his hand a squeeze when the other crusaders were distracted picking out hotel rooms and such.

He held one in his hand now, fidgeting with the slightly ripped corner of the envelope. He'd just opened this letter the morning before, right before he'd gotten a call from the old man to go to Morioh as soon as he possibly could. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with a valid reason for the old man to call him back to this town. Anything was possible, though, and for all he knew Joseph could've been doing all this in an elaborate scheme to fuck with him.

Jotaro watched from the taxi cab window as the rain beat down upon the Earth. The driver drove like a bat out of hell, managing to swerve and hit every large puddle he found. They were on the outskirts of Morioh now, the sparse buildings growing closer towards each other the longer they drove.

"So what brings you back to Morioh? Business or pleasure?"

He glanced up at the rearview mirror, meeting the crazed taxi driver's eyes. It was the same man who drove him last time, he'd noticed. Or was it? He couldn't tell, a but he wasn't too keen on fighting yet another stand user in this town.

"Hopefully pleasure," he sighed, "but I shouldn't count on that too much."

The man chuckled and pulled into the parking lot of the Morioh Grand Hotel. Joseph, Josuke, Okuyasu, and Koichi stood outside. They looked... suspicious.

Jotaro glared out the window. They were obviously trying way too hard to act naturally. Koichi sat on a bench with an upside down opened book in his hands. Okuyasu and Josuke, well... they were taking turns flexing at each other, barely holding a straight face. Joseph just looked disappointed, a hand covering his face as he seemingly tried to hide his embarrassment.

As he stepped out of the car, they all made eye contact with him and smiled.

"You're hiding something," he deadpanned. "Tell me what it is."

"Well," Josuke glanced over at Joseph, "We already got you a hotel room!"

"Yeah, you can just go straight up there," Okuyasu giggled. "You don't have to check in!"

"Old man, tell me what's going on."

Joseph sighed loudly, giving a warning glance to the two boys. Okuyasu tossed Jotaro the plastic card key and pulled Josuke and Koichi behind a large, decorative bush.

"There's another stand user here, and..."

Jotaro was getting annoyed. He knew they were hiding something, he just couldn't figure out what it was. For all he knew, they could have captured a live crocodile and left it in there for him to stumble upon. They all seemed to share one brain cell, and that brain cell was not good at lying.

"And what?"

"He's in the hotel room. We think that he may have some important information that you could use."

To be honest, Jotaro didn't know what to expect. The chances they actually did capture another stand user were high, but this was Joseph Joestar, his spawn, and said spawn's friends. There's no way they would be this giddy about another damned stand user.

He hesitantly trudged towards the main entrance of the hotel room, the other four men following behind him. As soon as he stepped into the hotel, he knew something was off. He felt a strange sense of calm, the warmth inside of the hotel luring him further inside. The only thing he was worried about was the quiet giggling coming from two of the four idiots behind him.

He pressed the button to the elevator and it opened almost immediately. He stepped inside and held onto the railing on the wall, making room for the absolute children shuffling in behind him. He knew there probably wasn't any real threat. Hell, knowing Joseph, he probably had a very drunk Polnareff dressed up like Marilyn Monroe again.

Before he knew it, the elevator doors were opened and he was leading a herd of clowns behind him. At this point, he knew it would be something that would probably backfire and hurt him (as it always did). He didn't bother to try interrogating them anymore, it wouldn't do any good. They may have been terrible at being serious, but god were they hard to read, especially for a bunch of... well, idiots.

He found the room that was printed on the small plastic card. Room 418. Before sliding the card into the slot, he gave the four a warning glance. Star was practically begging to come out, to beat the living shit out of whatever was waiting for him, but he held back.

They all watched intently as he unlocked the door, his hands shaking slightly. As soon as he opened the door, he felt something constrict around his throat. He closed his eyes and summoned Star.

He opened his eyes, expecting a fairly large snake to be wrapped around him. Instead, he found a large, green, tentacle-esque thing that he almost didn't recognize. The grip loosened and he was released onto the floor. He fell to his knees, watching as the stand recoiled around a pair of long, slender legs.

"JoJo?"

He cautiously looked up, his eyes meeting the one and only Noriaki Kakyoin's. His wavy red hair was tied up in a ponytail, his signature red bangs hung in front of one of his eyes. A set of thin framed glasses sat crooked on his nose, and the scars- which were almost concealed by shimmery, green eyeshadow- around his lavender eyes had faded to a milky white color. He looked exactly the same, yet so different. But Jotaro was still as amazed by his beauty as he was all those years ago.

"Nori..."

Kakyoin dropped down to his knees and wrapped his arms around Jotaro in a bone-crushing hug. Jotaro hugged back, burying his face into his old flame's white trench coat. He still smelled the same, he still felt the same, after all these years. He was still the same old Kakyoin. He typically hated physical contact. He felt like it was invading and weird, and he just didn't understand why people would want to be so close to each other. Hell, he didn't even like being intimate with his ex wife. But it was like he understood everything in that moment, as the man he fell in love with practically squeezed the life out of him. He felt secure, he felt home. He didn't want to leave Kakyoin's embrace.

"Is anybody crying?" Okuyasu interrupted. "I have a bet to win."

Kakyoin pulled back, much to Jotaro's dismay, and placed his hands on Jotaro's cheeks. Tears slowly began to fall, but Kakyoin wiped them away with his thumbs.

"I thought you were in Florida," Kakyoin whispered. "Did they tell you I was here?"

"Actually, he didn't," Joseph announced. "You two haven't seen each other in, what was it, ten years? If you didn't meet up soon, we knew you'd never find the time to. So we all planned this."

"Yeah!" Josuke cheered. "We wanted you guys to see each other, because Okuyasu and I see each other every day and we're, like, best bros! We couldn't imagine what it would be like for you guys to not see each other for ten whole years!"

Jotaro looked behind him, all four of them beaming as if they had done the impossible. They probably had, honestly. Kakyoin's art career kept him travelling all over the world, and Jotaro's seminars had always conveniently taken place in areas Kakyoin had either just left or hadn't been yet. Neither of their hectic schedules allowed them to see each other, so they had just come to accept that.

"Alright guys, we should give them some privacy," Koichi piped up. They all nodded in agreement and went back to the elevator. Joseph sent a not-so-subtle wink in Kakyoins direction, getting a soft chuckle in response.

Kakyoin stood up and held his hand out to Jotaro. He took it and used the wall to hoist himself off the rough carpet. His hand was lightly calloused, more than likely from all the art he'd made in the past ten years. He was working on a manga, if he remembered correctly, and he'd finally found a company that would publish it a few weeks ago.

Jotaro's eyes met Kakyoin's once again. Kakyoin smiled and fixed his crooked glasses.

"They told me they needed my help discussing the possibility of a stand user while I was here," he said. "They said to wait here and make sure nobody came in while they went for drinks. Somehow none of them realized I wasn't falling for Joseph's stupid idea.

"Have you forgotten that the old man is full of stupid ideas?"

"Yeah... I'm sorry I choked you."

"I'm sorry I scared you."

Jotaro lightly touched his neck; he knew it would be sore within an hour or so. Kakyoin was strong way back then, so his strength probably matched Star Platinum's by now.

"So," Kakyoin sighed. He sat down on a nearby sofa, patting the spot next to him. "What did they tell you?"

Jotaro shrugged his white coat off and tossed it onto the table, where Kakyoin put his. He sat down next to the redhead and rolled his eyes.

"They said there was an enemy stand user in this room and I needed to get information out of him. I didn't believe a second of it, but..."

He couldn't think of what to say, really. The fact that Joseph could get him to drop everything and come to Morioh really was incredible; but they'd been trying to see each other for ten years, and Kakyoin simply wasn't able to stay in one place long enough.

"But what?"

"But I just wanna know how those idiots managed to get you here."

"Actually, they didn't. I had an art show here, and I happened to bump into Joseph and his son. God, they look just alike."

Jotaro smiled. They'd both seen old photos of Joseph from his teenage years. He pulled them out of his wallet while he was drunk at some bar on their way to Egypt. He was babbling about how he 'roped in' Jotaro's grandmother, and how he 'still had it' after 50 years. Josuke was almost the spitting image of his father back then.

"So you'll be gone again soon?"

"Yeah," Kakyoin sighed. "I have three days until my next show in Milan. It's crazy how these people make me jump around from place to place. I have the money to quit, I just... I don't know..."

"You know you could just take a break. I've got an apartment in Florida- you could come stay there, you could meet Jolyne. She's a huge fan of your art, by the way. She loves when I show her the pictures you send me."

"Tell me about her," he hummed.

"She's just... she's incredible. She's almost eight, now. She's beautiful, just like her mother. She's got my attitude though, and I honestly feel sorry for my mom now. She loves butterflies, she wants to be one when she grows up."

"I'd love to meet her," he said. "I'd love to come and visit, it's just- well, my art shows have kept me so fucking busy, JoJo."

Jotaro felt Kakyoin's hand on his own. He glanced downwards to see Kakyoin's slender fingers fidgeting with his wedding ring. He and his wife had divorced about a year ago. He only wore the ring for Jolyne, even if he did only see her about twice a month. It was the only thing keeping her from hating him, he thought.

"Are you happy?"

"I have to be," he whispered. "I've got money, fans who look up to me... Hell, I've met David Bowie! I can't be unhappy."

Kakyoin laced their fingers together, he was staring at the ring now. Jotaro felt one of heirophant's tendrils wrap around his wrist.

"Tell me, Jotaro," he croaked. "Do you still feel the same as you did back then?"

Of course he did. He didn't know how, or why, but he'd never gotten over Kakyoin. He was

"Do you?" Jotaro replied. He didn't want Kakyoin to leave because of his feelings. He didn't want to lose whatever they had. He felt heirophant's grip tighten. It didn't hurt- it was quite pleasant, honestly.

"Answer the question."

He finally understood why Kakyoin was asking him this. He'd gotten married and had a child with a woman he barely even knew. He probably thought Jotaro didn't love him in the first place. He probably thought he was just a burden, and as soon as he almost died Jotaro could escape and finally be with someone he really loved.

He was pressured into it, but Kakyoin didn't know that. Kakyoin didn't know about all the one night stands before his ex wife, just to get that red hair and those violet eyes out of his head. Kakyoin didn't know about all the nights he'd spent contemplating whether he should tell his wife about his sexuality or not, about how he was in love with the famous Tenmei Kakyoin- no, not Tenmei Kakyoin. Tenmei Kakyoin was an eccentric man with a mysterious past, who hid his feelings behind designer coats and expensive paints. He wasn't in love with that man. He was in love with Noriaki Kakyoin.

"Yes."

Before he knew it, Kakyoin's lips were pressed against his. Jotaro's hands found their way to Kakyoin's hips. He tasted like mint and cherry, something so familiar yet so new, it was almost the same as it was when they were young and dumb and all over each other back in their teenage years.

Kakyoin bit Jotaro's lip playfully, earning a surprised yelp from the larger man. His hands trailed up Kakyoin's sides, accidentally pushing something out of the pocket on his black pants.

"Ora!"

Jotaro sighed, glaring at Star Platinum. He held back this whole time, but the minute he and Kakyoin actually get somewhere he shows up.

Jotaro looked at what Star had picked up off the ground and gasped, playfully. It was a package of cigarettes, the same brand he used to smoke when he was younger.

"Nori!" Jotaro chuckled. "I thought you hated my bad habits!"

"I never said that," Kakyoin blushed.

"Oh, JoJo, that cigarette smells sooo bad! JoJo, could you please put that cigarette out!"

Jotaro continued to mimic the smaller man in a high pitched voice, poking him in the sides and causing him to laugh ferociously.

"Okay, so I may have picked it up," he sighed, laying his head down on Jotaro's chest. He ran his fingers through the now messy bright red locks; they were almost a hot pink now, he'd noted. "I missed you so much after my recovery, so I just started, and I didn't stop."

They sat in silence for a while. Jotaro kept playing with Kakyoin's hair- it was something he enjoyed when they were younger, Jotaro would do it when Kakyoin couldn't sleep in that damned hospital.

He thought about what would've happened if Kakyoin would've actually died. He probably wouldn't be here right now. He'd probably be stuck in a dead end marriage, he'd probably hate all the other crusaders, he probably wouldn't be alive.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you, Noriaki."

"Y'know," Kakyoin yawned, "a break doesn't sound too bad."

"So does that mean you'll come?"

"I dunno," he said. "This is pretty tempting, though."

Jotaro smiled, for what seemed like the first time in years. He felt truly happy like this. He didn't believe in God, but he silently prayed that it would stay like this forever.

#jotaro x kakyoin #jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #noriaki kakyoin #jotaro kujo #fluff #jotaro/kakyoin #this definitely isnt just to distract people from the fact that i haven't updated my whole ass fic in over 3 weeks

23 notes · View notes

nomettesbizzareadventure · 6 years ago

Text

accumulated wars and flights, (4/?)

After breakfast, Rohan retreats back to his workshop without so much as a thank you, leaving Kakyoin to finish the dishes by himself. He’s a strange one, if not so cruel as Kakyoin imagined. His house swings wildly between rooms of perfectly constructed order and beautiful showpieces to rooms stacked high with canvas and scrap, so overcrowded and haphazard as to be nearly impassable. Kakyoin woke early, his neck stiff from the night before, and wandered through the silent post-dawn house, contemplating the scope and width of his jail cell.

He’s cleaned the pantry and chased away the cobwebs, which is as much work as he cares to do in one day, so he leaves Rohan to his silent toil over his notebooks and heads out, Rohan’s money jingling in his bag. Rohan didn’t react when Kakyoin said he was going to take some money for supplies, which Kakyoin is taking as permission. It annoys him to have to be so blunt, as he would prefer politeness, but he’s not going to skulk and beg.

His bad mood lasts him through the walk into town and the first of his little errands before dissipating in the face of Morioh’s charm. Even in these circumstances, Kakyoin likes human towns. He likes the purposeful cut of human architecture, so different from nature’s haphazard beauty. He likes the little houses and the little market and all the fruits and vegetables sitting in their boxes, careful and neat, the product of a hundred little transactions. He likes the shops selling beautiful dresses and the shops selling simple cloths and hand-woven goods and the housewives bustling about with their bags. People greet him, people talk to him, and still he’s invisible, no one aware of who he is or what he’s done or all he’s lost.

It’s evening before he can make himself go back, his arms laden with cleaning supplies and groceries and a pack of books he couldn’t help but buy at the small bookstore in town. He’s only a block from the house when he catches a familiar scent on the wind, something that sets the alarms in the back of his head jangling. He freezes on the spot, looking around. There’s a young man coming up the sidewalk, his dark hair peculiarly arranged. He lifts his head, his pale eyes fixing on Kakyoin, and his nostrils flare. That’s when Kakyoin knows. Wolf.

“Fox,” the young man says. There’s a sword at his hip. For just a moment, Kakyoin sways under the assault of memory, the present day overtaken by the image of the past. Ten years ago, Jotaro looked almost exactly like the young man now approaching Kakyoin. He approached Kakyoin like this, with the same bold fearlessness, his hand ready at the hilt of his sword.

“What are you doing here?” the stranger demands. His eyes drop down to the money pouch at Kakyoin’s waist. “Did you steal that from Rohan?” The question jolts him back to the present, reminds him that he needs to run.

“I didn’t steal it,” he says, playing for time, trying to think of the fastest route to run out of town. He could fight and probably win against this pup, but he doesn’t want to damage the town. “Rohan gave it to me.”

“Why?”

“I’m his new assistant,” Kakyoin says.

“Oh!” To Kakyoin’s utter surprise, his opponent steps back and drops into a bow.

“I’m so sorry for the mistake!” he declares loudly, his face red, voice flustered. “I didn’t realize you’d been invited!”

“It’s… fine.” Kakyoin says carefully, still not sure if this is a ruse. “No harm done.”

“I apologize for the misunderstanding, and welcome you to our town. My name is Josuke Higashikata, and I’m the town watchman.” His face is red and flustered, erasing any previous resemblance to Jotaro.

“I’m Kakyoin Tenmei,” Kakyoin says, giving a fake first name. “I’ll be staying in town for a while, if it’s fine with you.” It would give him a convenient out to be discovered and have to flee, but he doesn’t really want to go. Not yet. There’s still a little tug at his magic, something calling him back to Rohan, and he knows he’s not done. Not yet.

Josuke is studying him.

“I don’t know anything about foxes,” he confesses. “You’re not planning to steal Rohan’s soul or anything, are you? If he has a soul.”

“I’m not that kind of fox,” Kakyoin assures him, thinking of the shattered lives and charred buildings left in Dio’s wake. “Actually, I owe him a favor, so I’m stuck working for him until I pay it off.” Josuke groans sympathetically.

“Rohan’s the worst,” he says. “He’s not making you do anything terrible, is he?” Josuke seems genuinely concerned. Kakyoin has to wonder how often Rohan brings some kind of wildly inappropriate new assistant into town.

“I only came in recently, but he seems more interested in his paintings than in me.”

“That sounds like Rohan, alright,” Josuke says. “He’s a jerk. When he found out I could turn into a wolf, it was all ‘Josuke, eat this weird meat’ and ‘Josuke, fight this random animal I released into the town’ and stuff like that. He even camped out outside my house for a few days.”

“He thinks I’m human,” Kakyoin says dryly. “Are there a lot of people like you in this town?”

“People like me? Oh, you mean…” Josuke winks ostentatiously, and Kakyoin can’t help but be grateful that there’s no one else on the street. “No, it’s only me. I inherited it from my old man, but he doesn’t live here. Don’t go picking a fight, though! Rohan’s not the only one in town with serious magic.”

“I’m just here for the groceries,” Kakyoin assures him. He doesn’t mind the human town, but he plans to approach it with caution. There are so many people, so close together, and everywhere the hum of magic, of the unexpected, and Kakyoin unable to defend himself with full range of his powers.

“Well, I’ll-” Josuke says, and then stops short. Rohan is coming down the sidewalk.

“Leave my assistant alone, you miscreant,” he says to Josuke.

“I’m not bothering him,” Josuke protests, but Rohan ignores him. He slips past Josuke, grabbing Kakyoin’s sleeve, and takes a step towards the house. Kakyoin balks at being steered like this, pulling back, but Rohan isn’t even looking at him.

“Your hair is so terrible it should be outlawed,” he tells Josuke, and breaks into a run, dragging Kakyoin behind him.

“What- Rohan-” Kakyoin protests, and then he looks behind him. Josuke’s form has begun to twist and blur at the edges as the transition from human to wolf begins. There’s a black haze twisting around him, and Kakyoin can smell the sharp taste of rage on the wind. He runs.

He and Rohan reach the house only moments before Josuke. Rohan scrambles for his notebook, tears a piece of paper out and slams it on the door. There’s a boom that shakes the whole house as something crashes into the front door, and then a deranged howl, but the front door holds. NO ENTRY, reads the paper Rohan stuck to the door. Kakyoin starts to laugh. He laughs so hard his shoulders start to shake and his wounds from the day before begin to ache, and he has to steady himself on a table to keep from falling over. Rohan is laughing too, a manic grin on his face as Josuke throws himself against the front of Rohan’s shop, his hulking form shaking the foundations of the house. He turns towards Kakyoin, his face full of delighted conspiracy.

“Welcome to Morioh,” he says.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

#rohan kishibe #kakyoin noriaki #kakhan #Josuke Higashikata #kitsune au #josuke cameo time!!! canon kakyoin has that alienated feel from people but he's still polite which i think is... noble?#he could choose to hurt people very easily but he doesn't #the fox spirit and the artisan

9 notes · View notes