Summary: Where Dudes being Bros

He wasn't in the bathroom.

"I can't believe this is happening right now"

Their (mostly Polneraff's) panicked display had caused a scene in the train cart, odd stares and whispers in different languages gradually increased as the other passengers eyed the two strangely dressed men. Polneraff was more pissed than scared at this point. Something just had to happen, it always did. He couldn't help but curse Joseph for not listening to him. His initial flood of anger died down to panic. Again.

Of course, Avdol caught on quickly.

"He's fine, I'm sure he is" Avdol said reassuringly "let me ask the passengers if they've seen anyone enter the bathroom"

It shouldn't be shocking to Polnareff that Avdol knows multiple languages but it still catches him off guard, how seamlessly he could transition from one language to the next with a fluency is beyond his comprehension. His skill startled the very same passenger who had been eyeing them since they got here. Polnareff stood watching him speak bengali to the passenger with ease. As the conversation dragged he could see from the way he knit his brows that there was something wrong. Polnareff was almost reluctant to find out. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his massive chest, waiting for the bad news he knew was coming. Avdol nodded his head towards the passenger as they said their farewells and walked towards Polnareff, his face a mask of hopefulness.

"They said that no one besides a woman was occupying that bathroom. He might have gone to another one"

"Where else would he go there isn't any other bathroom on this cart."

An uneasy smile played at his lips "We're just going to have to look through the other carts"

Kakyoin is gone.

She blinked and she was gone.

Her heart hammered in her chest, blood roaring to life with every thump. Instinctively, she called out Star Platinum. The stand immediately manifested, a worried expression written on their face. Usually she would find their concern enduring, something she would never admit out loud, but she couldn't think past the loud alarm bells that were ringing in her head.

How the fuck did she loose Kakyoin.

Immediately she jumped off of the branch she was seated in moments ago and swong herself on to another, moving from tree to tree effortlessly. All those years in racing, vault jumping and mountain climbing had paid off. Star Platinum easily scanned the forest with their hawk-like vision. Together they worked in perfect synchrony, not needing to communicate with what needed to be done. But even with Star's sight they couldn't find Kakyoin. Her arms began to ache from the still blue bruises littered across them. The fight with yellow temperance wasn't an easy one and by no means was she referring to strength.

She held back because she didn't want to hurt Kakyoin

No matter how annoying and aggravating she got.

She remembered the flood of relief when it turned out to be an enemy stand, after that all she needed to do was punch him to oblivion. But even after the fight she couldn't stop thinking about it. If DIO's minions could easily replace one of them who knows what else they could do.

It unsettled her.

As much as she didn't want to think about it, that wasn't the only thing that kept nagging her.

Kakyoin's face kept popping up in her mind ever since and she didn't know why.

She kept it that way, she didn't want to think about it too much.

Instead she focused on keeping her group safe. She had been taking careful measures and closely observing everyone of the crusaders, ready to attack or defend at any given moment. She had to be flexible enough to never let that happen again, to be constantly on the lookout for anything.

But here she was trying to find Kakyoin even after being so careful.

"Fuck"

it was the only word that was running through her mind.

Polnareff's panicked face flashed in her memory and she grimaced at the realization that maybe his buddy system wasn't a bad idea.

A Print of blood was smeared on the trunk of a tree and Jotaro's train of thought stopped. The smear was barely noticeable to the naked eye from the distance she was at but Star's vision was able to see it as clear as day. She pushed herself towards the tree, arms aching, and landed perfectly on the branch. The smeared handprint blended in perfectly with the color of the tree, the amount of blood wasn't enough to leave an impression. Whatever she was following hadn't lost much blood yet. She didn't know if that was good or bad, at least the smear gave her a clue as to where she needed to go.

She could feel a tightness coil in her as she swung closer and closer to the target. Panic so quickly able to snap her at any moment, it didn't take much to break her at this point she was already spread thin. The forest grew wilder and wilder with every movement she made. She couldn't pinpoint the moment that the sun started to disappear behind the trees, she didn't know where she was going, all that moved her limbs was the rush of adrenaline that pumped through her veins. She didn't feel the roar of her muscles protest at all.

She just needed to get there, get wherever it was as quick as possible, then she would worry about herself later. The tightness in her chest closed around her as her head ran through all the scenarios. None were good. The darkness of the forest engulfed her, shielding the last bit of light from her sight. She was glad she had Star in situations like this.

A figure caught her eye. In the darkness, it swung back and forth suspended in air. She felt the tightness collapse her lungs, her breath held in. She slowed down and carefully approached the body, putting a good distance between them. If it was a trap she could escape easily. But if it wasn't, well, she would have to prepare for the worst. She inched closer, slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness to see the face of the figure. She kept an eye out in each direction just in case.

Kakyoin's blooded red hair was the first thing she saw. The blood streaked down the side of her head soaking her braid and spreading down her olive school jacket. Her body dangling from a tree branch, suspended.

Jotaro stopped.

She could hear the thump of her heart beating against her ears. Her lungs caved in. The world was silent for a moment.

Then everything snapped.

God damn this

She held her bleeding earlobe.

She had been attacked. That piece of shit ripped her earlobe open. She had just gotten her piercings recently. She hoped that one of the crusaders would know how to stitch an earlobe back.

She thought she was done with monkeys but apparently not.

Her blood fumed at the thought of it.

That goddamn monkey ripped her favorite cherry earring right out her ear. The impact of the pull made her tumble down the tree quicker than the scream she tried to muster. Thank god that Hierophant was there to pull her up before she could fall head first into the solid ground.

The worst part was the monkey wasn't even a stand user. Humiliation burned her skin, the more she thought about it the more she knew she couldn't face Jotaro after this, the raven haired girl would think she was weak. Of course her first reaction was to chase it. It was only after minutes of swinging through the forest did the monkey finally stop. Slowly, she lowered herself down to the monkey's eye level and let herself be suspended in the air. The monkey looked at her curiously, his hands tight on her cherry earring. Her hand reached out to the monkey slowly, hoping that she could convince them of handing it back to her.

Unsurprisingly, they didn't give in.

Shit. That was her favorite earring. They were the first pair she made herself, she even found the right shade of red for it.

Maybe if she tried bribing it? But with what? she didn't have food, what other things did monkeys like? Hierophant slowly blinked at her as if waiting for her to catch up.

Hierophant.

"Hey little monkey, would you like something shiny?" Hierophant's hands emerged, one hovering on top of the other holding a small emerald.

The monkey's eyes lit up at the shine object, immediately they dropped the earring and jumped at Hierophant, clearly ready to attack. Hierophant quickly wrapped their tendrils around the monkey and grabbed the earring before it hit the ground. Kakyoin let out a sigh of relief.

The monkey struggled in Hierophant's grasp, screaming a thrashing to be let go. She tilted her head in thought, she almost felt bad.

Thunder clapped loud enough for her to jump out of her skin. The monkey stopped trying to free itself and fell silent. The world stood still. With the distraction gone, she could feel someone's presence nearby. Quickly she turned around, her tendrils multiplying and sharpening as she did.

Panic struck eyes locked with hers.

This was the first time she had seen an expression like this on her face.

"Jotaro?"

And rain began to pour.

She's fine. She's fine. She's fine.

She kept repeating it to herself. She shut her eyelids and took a deep breath, she needed a moment. Suddenly she felt very tired. She slid her cap off to readjust it and got wet in the process. She didn't know when it started raining. At this point she couldn't feel much.

Kakyoin stared at her, her brows furrowed in confusion. The monkey she was holding on to slipped out of her grasp, scurrying away to shield itself from the rain. She let herself down to the soft ground.

She was covered in red, it contrasted against her porcelain skin. The blood slowly washed away as she stood under the grey sky, clothes clinging to the curve of her body. Her braids barely held together came undone in big red waves, pushing against the shores of her face. Her eyes were bruised, one of the many indications of sleepless nights, nights where both of them sat awake in silence, tired, scared. Her lips parted trying to form a question that didn't quite make it out.

Her heart skipped a beat. She didn't know why, she didn't want to.

Jotaro's arms began to shake, the adrenaline finally fading. She was exhausted. She shook her head pushing away the trail of thoughts. She didn't know what it meant, she blamed it on her weak body.

Clearing her mind, she walked towards Kakyoin keeping an eye out for danger.

"Are you ok?" She asked, she towered over the shorter girl.

"Um, uh…yeah" she said

Jotaro eyed her swollen ear, kakyoin had seen where her eyes landed and flushed.

"I-um got attacked by a monkey.." she said almost soundlessly.

Jotaro's eyes went wide.

She had been going insane this whole time, expecting to fight, to risk, to fail.

But this

An unexpected laugh escaped her, loud enough to hear over the pouring rain. She didn't mean to laugh but it felt that something had broken and dissolved in her. The tightness in her chest had disappeared for a moment and she could breath. It felt... so refreshing.

Kakyoin grew a darker shade of red.

"it- it happened so fast" she said, not really looking at Jotaro. " I should pay more attention but that damn monkey was something else" she was rambling now, it almost made jotaro smile. almost.

"It's good that you're alright"

She stepped closer to look at her ear, her lips almost brushing her cheek. She could smell the sage shampoo they had used in the hotel, she pushed that thought away as well. The wound would get infected if left like this, they needed to go back.

Kakyoin shivered.

Jotaro eyed the red head. She was soaked from the rain, her school uniform almost indistinguishable from skin. "Here take my jacket" carefully, she peeled her jacket off so as to not bump into her already aching bruises.

Kakyoin took it without saying a word. The jacket engulfed her smaller frame, wrapping her in Jotaro's warmth. Jotaro didn't think about how nice it looked on her.

She pulled the cigarette pack from her pocket and found it empty. Annoyed, she stuffed the pack back aggressively and adjusted her hat cold wind blew hard enough to numb the aching on her arms. She had overexerted herself today when she needed to rest. She let out a sigh.

"We're gonna have to walk back, I used all my energy to get to your ass"

Abdul always prided himself in being able to handle any situation life threw at him. The day his sister was born he and his mother were alone in the house when her water broke. He had hailed a cab and taken her to the hospital (along with multiple neighbors that insisted on coming) at the age of eight. He did not panic, he did not cry. He had to deal with the backlash of telling his parents that his job was fortune telling, he didn't want them to know that that was only part of it. He had joined the speed wagon organization in hopes of using his ability to help others. He knew what their reactions would be, he knew what to expect. And for most of his life Mohammed Abdul had always somehow found a way to make things work.

But this was the first time he was lost, he didn't know what direction to take, what the next step would be, how he would approach it. He thought again where Joseph could have gone, could it have really been an enemy stand attack? But he had read the cards today, so far it didn't indicate misfortune.

For the first time in years he doubted himself. Could the cards have been wrong? His interpretation skewed? He did daily readings in order to insure their safety. He had taken all the precautions, even if the cards never show much, he had tried. Being the only person having the ability to predict a possible future, as well as being able to speak multiple languages, he had felt responsible for their safety. Yet no matter how hard he tried they would always end up in danger one way or another. This trip had rocked his ability to remain calm, something he was proud of up until now.

But he couldn't show how unsure he was to the other crusaders, they needed someone who would be able to hold them together when they started to fall apart.

Even if he was falling apart himself.

He took his own advice and took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. Joseph had to be here, he just had to. He wasn't going to let his self-doubt bubble up now. He looked at Polnareff with an easy smile hoping that it would relax his nerves. Polnareff had always been so easy to read, even his anxiety had written itself over his face. He weakly smiled back, his freckles moving upwards as he did.

Abdul and Polnareff had entered the third cart, panic already weighing tons on their hearts. Abdul walked towards the bathroom and saw that it was occupied. Quickly he glanced at the nearest passenger and walked up to him. He heard him speak in Mali to the person next to him, notifying him of Abduls presence. He smiled politely and greeted them in Mali, hoping that it would put them at ease.

"Would you happen to see who had entered the bathroom?"

They both looked at each other "yeah..Um" one of them answered "I think it was a huge older looking man but I'm not so sure. But he's been in there for a while now"

"How long would you say?"

The guy shrugs " I don't know maybe 45 minutes? maybe more?"

Was that him? The time period did seem right "Thank you, have a nice day"

He turned to Polnareff brooding in the corner, crossing his arms in a defensive manner.

"They said that they saw an big older man go in, I'm not too sure but that could be him"

"How would we know?" He said.

"We could split up, one of us could check the other carts and the other stay here and-"

"SHITTTT"

The scream came from the bathroom. They didn't have to look anymore, it was definitely Joseph's voice. They glanced at each other before hurrying to the bathroom.

Abdul banged on the door "Joseph are you ok?"

Silence

The color quickly drained from their faces.

Polnareff banged harder "JOSEPH THIS ISN'T FUNNY OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT NOW"

Silence again

"Avdol.." he was paler than he had ever seen him.

"We're gonna have to break the door down." he answered. He couldn't think straight, his mind shut all logical options. He needed to get to Joseph through any means necessary and right now this was the best he could think of so far.

"Ok on the count of three then" Polnareff was barely masking the fear that had clawed its way to his face.

"One"

"Two"

"Three"

Both stands manifested simultaneously. Magician red's claws dug into the wood of the door, breaking the latches as Silver chariot split it in two.

Joseph was sitting on the toilet, newspaper in hand and headphones connected to his Walkman.

They stared at each other in silence.

"OH MY GOD"

Joseph's ear splitting screech rang in the cart. He hurried to cover whatever was left of his dignity.

Polnareff visibly relaxed "oh thank god he's ok"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"

"You had us worried there Joseph, what's taking you so long?" Polnareff asked curiously

"GET OUT"

They turned around to find that they couldn't leave, they had broken the door leaving Joseph exposed. The rest of the passengers that gathered to see the commotion. Joseph was flushed with embarrassment.

"Hey, hey nothing to see here folks. Get back to your seats" said Polnareff as he tried to diffuse the situation only to make it worse.

Abdul would have laughed if he wasn't high on stress, instead he was relieved that Joseph was alive and well. Now all they had to do was stand in front of the door to act as a shield as Joseph puts on his pants.

The French man and the Egyptian stood shoulder to shoulder, backs turned as to allow Joseph to reclaim some privacy.

Abdul huffed at the bizarreness of it all "I'm just glad he's ok"

Polnareff turned to him, a smile splitting across his face like the rising of the Egyptian sun. It burned away any self doubt that had lingered in him as he quietly said "Me too"

Walking back to their seats with a grumpy Joseph was not a fun trip. But Polnareff would take that over anything else. He was just glad that everything was fine for now, at least they could have now to rest.

He took his seat and looked out the window, the rain had soaked the dry dirt turning the brown a darker shade. It was then he realized that the girls hadn't come back. Before he could even voice his concerns both teens appeared in front of them. The puddle of water that formed under them was enough to create a small pond. Kakyoin was clutching Jotaro's school jacket for dear life as she stood shaking from head to toe. Her ear was so big and swollen that it took him a minute to realize that was an ear. Jotaro stood next to her, her face unreadable as ever. The only indication of injury was the melon sized bruises on her arms from her fight with Yellow temperance. If he hadn't known Jotaro for a while he would have thought she was unaffected by the rain. But he knew under that stoic expression she was tired.

Suddenly Polnareff felt the days events had finally caught up to him and he was very very exhausted "What the fuck happen"

Kakyoin crunched up her nose as Jotaro looked away. "Well long story short does anyone know how to stitch an earlobe back?"