A little over a year ago, Jotaro was sitting in one of the university laboratory tables, when the door in front of him opened and distracted him from looking through the microscope at a very interesting sample of water where he saw how the phytoplankton accelerated its oxygen production if you add…
A woman with long brown hair and almond-shaped eyes behind silver-rimmed glasses entered the place and when she saw him, she stopped.
-Good morning, I didn't know there was someone here.- She greeted in a soft voice as she placed the folders she was carrying on a piece of furniture.
-Professor Eisner left me the keys.- Jotaro said, blinking because half of his brain was very focused on the woman while the other half was alarmed by the same thing.
-Are you with Eisner?- she said, smiling as she intruded on some ledges near the entrance. -So we'll see each other more often this semester, Jotaro Kujo. Oh, sorry, really in Japan it's the other way around. Kujo Jotaro, or am I wrong?-
She walked over with a smile and held out her hand. This threw Jotaro off, because she didn't seem at all intimidated by his looks and she didn't flirt with him like most of the girls in his college did. She was just being nice.
-Never mind.- he said, taking her hand and releasing it immediately. -How do you know my name?-
-Who doesn't know you?- she said. -I'm also Professor Eisner's assistant and he told me that you were an advanced student and that you would be hanging around the lab.- Seeing Jotaro's face, she giggled. -Yes, Organic Chemistry 101. I study Chemistry and Physics, although I still haven't decided which of the two to specialize in. Maybe both?-
-What's your name, senpai?- Jotaro asked, realizing that she was his superior and that he couldn't treat her so casually.
-Bangles, Susanna.- she said, amused. -And it's okay, you can just call me Susanna, you don't need to address me by last name or call me senpai.-
-Did you know Japanese?- Jotaro raised an eyebrow. She seemed to sense his skepticism.
-I took a Japanese culture course last semester and learned a bit. Hmm, I think it was something like this: wa ta shi wa Banglesu Susanna desu. Did I say well?-
-Perfect.- Jotaro said, smiling slightly despite himself.
-Well, I'll let you work. I'll see you around.- she said, pulling a bottle of BTB off the shelf and walking away. -Leave everything clean when you leave.-
-Susanna-senpai.-
-Yes?-
-You left the folders here.-
-Oh heavens!- She retraced her steps with slightly flushed cheeks, she took the folders. -Eisner will kill me if I lose this. See you Kujo.-
Jotaro watched her go completely embarrassed and couldn't help but smile again, as he went back to working on his microscope.
oOo
-Let me see if I understood. You met Miss Susanna, who is your professor at the university, she started dating and now you are with her.-
-She's an assistant, not a teacher.- Jotaro corrected him with a growl.
-Whatever.- Muhammed Avdol said, scratching his chin. -Aren't you supposed to be in a relationship with Kakyoin?-
Jotaro choked a bit on the beer he was drinking and spat some into Avdol's hand, who glared at him as he reached for a napkin and wiped it off.
-At least that was the last thing Jean said to me.- he clarified.
-Yes.-
-Yes to what?-
-Yes… eh, I went out… I go out with Kakyoin.-
-Did you finish?-
-No.-
-Did you take "a time"?-
-No.-
-Then why the hell are you supposed to marry Miss Susanna?! What's on your mind, Kujo Jotaro?- the Egyptian exclaimed, hitting him on the back of the neck. -Does she know that she is going to marry an engaged man? Does Kakyoin know all this? If he knows how come he's not here castrating you?-
Jotaro didn't flinch from the blow, although it did hurt.
-Is that…-
-By Allah, with what surprise will you get out now?-
-Hum… I love Kakyoin.- He could see how Avdol looked at him with a frown. -But I also love Susanna.-
Muhammed Avdol was a very patient and tolerant man. When the SWF had called him to travel to the United States to investigate the said arrows, he had ended up in a confrontation between drug cartels in Los Angeles. But he didn't complain. Since it was the closest to San Francisco (which is where Jotaro lived), he had received a call from Caesar Zeppeli asking him to go see his grandson as soon as possible and discreetly ask him for an account on behalf of the family.
There Avdol left and the only question he had asked that time was:
-Ask him for explanations of what?-
And then Mr. Zeppeli had revealed to him the most revealing revelation he had ever heard.
Jotaro was going to marry and not Kakyoin.
So he left his research to someone else, took the train, and in a few hours was in the building where his lobotomized friend lived (because he had no other explanation for the behavior of the most serious and stable friend he had ever met). Once they greeted each other at the door of the apartment, Avdol took him by the arm and took him to the nearest bar that he found open at 10 in the morning so that he would tell him the truth.
But this was already too much, even for someone tolerant like him.
-Are you in love with both people at the same time?!- exclaimed the Egyptian, causing the few people who had lost control of their lives and who were in a bar at that time with them to observe them with curiosity.
-Can't I?- Jotaro asked seriously. -Look at my grandfather Joseph.-
-That's different.- said Avdol. -Mr. Joestar, Mr. Zeppeli, and Mrs. Suzie have a relationship based on trust and honesty, in which all parties involved agree to live that way. You, boy, are doing it all wrong. By Allah, what a family of yours!-
Jotaro didn't answer and just stared at his beer mug as if he wanted to drown in it.
-If you want to end up in a happily ever after…-
-If only you could.- Jotaro sighed, defeated.
-The problem is not that it can't be done, that is, your grandparents are living proof that it can be done. Here the problem is you, you are doing everything wrong! What's this about hurrying to marry Miss Susanna, however much you love her, before talking to Kakyoin? They have to know about the existence of the other, about what you feel for them and find out if they are compatible enough to live like this, stupid...!-
He added several words in Arabic that Jotaro didn't need to ask him to translate because he already had an idea that they were insults of the worst kind.
He deserved it in any case. He knew he was doing everything wrong, but he didn't see a way to fix it or make it better because...
-It's because Susanna is pregnant.- he blurted out, interrupting Avdol's furious Arabic.
His friend spat a huge amount of drink on the table and in Jotaro's face.
-WHAT?!-
oOo
A few days later, in a seedy joint in some Italian city, Kakyoin Noriaki patiently watched Hol Horse display what he called the "Hol-seduction effect" (but which Kakyoin found frankly unpleasant, but anyway, things of cis-het that he would not understand) in the girl who attended them to get information about the "boss".
As soon as they had arrived in the country they had dedicated themselves to investigating the clues they had about the arrows. They had come to that city because the mob boss was rumored to have risen too fast in both power and resources, which was quite strange. Besides that, they had heard that some people had developed some strange powers and that they used to hang out in that bar. And that was why Kakyoin and Hol Horse were there.
-The boss hasn't been in for several days, but he doesn't talk to strangers anyway.- the young woman said, blinking coquettishly at the blond.
Kakyoin did not need to know Italian (which he knew the basics of) to understand that they would not be allowed to see the boss. Hol Horse didn't stop smiling as he placed a hand on the young woman's hip.
-Okay, honey, we'll risk waiting. Can you get us some drinks while? Whiskey will be fine.-
Hierophant Green slid up the girl's leg as she withdrew with a flirtatious smile.
-I haven't done this in a long time.- said the redhead, repressing a shiver as he saw Hierophant climb up the girl's back.
-You literally haven't for a day.- Hol Horse said, eyeing his surroundings suspiciously. -Yesterday you overdid it with that policeman.-
-It was to avoid getting a fine for driving like a madman in a commercial area.-
-Just hurry up.-
Kakyoin sighed
-You are aware that a stand user attracts other stand users, right?-
-Of course I know, but we have no other choice, do we?-
Once he had the girl's body possessed, Kakyoin forced her to walk to the kitchen, where he knew there were two or three guys judging by their voices.
-Who were those, Julieta? What are they doing here?- asked one of them.
Kakyoin made Julieta shrug. He wasn't very good at making the people he possessed talk, probably because he rarely used this ability. But he was a good listener, especially if the "puppet" spoke Italian and he didn't.
-They are suspicious. I was told from Milan that a red-haired Chinese man and a blond cowboy were asking questions about the boss.-
"Chinese. Ok." Kakyoin thought.
-They are not from another family, because they are foreigners, why would they look for the boss?-
-Interpol?-
-They suspect we're from Interpol.- Kakyoin whispered to his partner.
-Should we call Johngalli to take care of it and get rid of them without witnesses?-
-You should get them out of here, take them to the alley. I call Johngalli.-
"Who the hell is Johngalli?" Kakyoin thought. He decided to inform Hol Horse, but before he could open his mouth a young man came up to their table.
-Are you the one who was flirting with my girlfriend?- he said harshly in English as his large hand rested on Hol Horse's shoulder.
-Me? Flirting with an engaged woman? Never.- the Australian said, smiling good-naturedly at the tall, dark-haired man behind him. -It's not from…-
The man's hand slammed Hol Horse's face into the table with a horrible crash that caught everyone's attention.
Kakyoin grabbed the assailant by the feet with Hierophant and threw him over the bar, grabbing Hol Horse by the armpits and pulling him out, ignoring the angry shouts in Italian. The Australian, barely running down the street, was covering his bleeding nose while muttering something that the youngest did not understand and did not have time to do so when he felt bullets graze his ears.
-FUCKING HOL HORSE, SHOOT NOW!-
-With Emperor? But they are not stand users! You told me not to use my stand with civilians…-
A bullet blew off Hol Horse's hat and grazed his scalp, making him cry out in rage or pain, it wasn't quite clear.
-Do you think they care?! And since when do you pay attention to me?!- Kakyoin roared, finding an alley that ended in another. -You on the left, me on the right! See you at the meeting point in a few hours!-
Hol Horse nodded and obeyed, summoning Emperor with which he began shooting left and right. Kakyoin turned right and ran as fast as his prosthetic backs would allow, which wasn't much, so he used Hierophant to make him faster. He could hear people chasing him quite close and wished he hadn't put in more hours in the gym...
He felt a burning pain in his left shoulder, preceded by the sound of a gun. Had he been shot? Did they keep shooting at him?
For the shit.
-Emerald Splash!- he exclaimed, sending brilliant emeralds towards his pursuers.
He heard gasps and gasps, but he kept running through those shadowy alleys. Maybe he could make a web with Hierophant so he could know where to escape?
"To do that I need to climb a building," he thought, looking around for a ladder or something, but already resigned to using his stand to do it. Yes, like Spiderman.
Boom!
Turning down another alley, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Stunned, he looked at the right side of that area and noticed a dark red stain staining his shirt. He blinked, confused to see no one nearby who had shot him. What the fuck?
Adrenaline high, he used Hierophant to sense if anyone was nearby. If the shooter wasn't in the alley, it was obviously someone high up. A sniper, perhaps?
"Damn, I should have climbed the buildings when I had the chance."
He spread Hierophant out as far as he could within a radius of 20 meters, spreading a luminous green net, waiting for any movement that would alert him. A very good sniper would be the other, but could not be very far. He held his breath and tried to focus on his stand. One of the "strings" vibrated, betraying someone about 10 meters above the roof of a building.
-Emerald Splash!- Kakyoin exclaimed, sending the attack to the northeast.
Boom!
He felt a stab of pain in his abdomen that unsettled him, forcing him to lean against the wall. Within seconds he knew the sniper was out of action judging by Hierophant's perception, so he undid the web to avoid consuming any more life energy. He heard footsteps and shouts in Italian that alerted him, were they still chasing him? why?. Trying to run, he went further into the alley and when he reached another where several vehicles were parked, he leaned more on the wall and hid behind them.
His adrenaline-doped brain began to work rapidly. Surely the sniper hadn't killed him because he wanted to capture him. It made sense, considering the "boss" would want to know why there were suspicious foreigners looking for him, if his criminal activity wasn't quite international yet.
He felt suddenly weak. Was he losing a lot of blood, was that why? "When I fought Jotaro it was worse", he thought, bending to the right again and hugging his abdomen.
"Wait, why was I thinking about that jerk again?"
He had come to Italy to take his mind off him and focus his mind on more productive activities, like catching a maniac who had arrows that could give people stands. A seemingly mobster maniac who was getting too much power and contacts.
"But no, here I am, bleeding to death and thinking about Jotaro."
"Isn't my life supposed to flash before my eyes as I die, not that asshole's stupidly beautiful face?"
"Oh right, I've been through this before, haven't I? It's not the first time I'm on the verge of dying, although I suspect this time it will be slower because no one put their arm through my body and then crashed me into a water tower."
"That time I did see my life pass by. I also saw Jotaro's face. I thought of my parents. And then I broke the clock on that tower."
"I'm too dramatic even to die, what horror! Good thing no one is looking at me now as I monologue with my head. Wait, why am I thinking about dying? I'm young, I'm in my twenties…"
"It's true, no one is watching me. Not even that idiot Hol Horse. Damn, I'm too exhausted to look it up with Hierophant. I don't think it's close either. He won't make it here and I'll end up bleeding to death in a smelly alley in a seedy Italian town."
Now that the adrenaline was running low, his body began to ache. Much. Not like to scream, but to gasp every time he tried to get up from where he was to go hide better. At what point had he gone to lie down, anyway?
-I can not get up. I don't know where Hol Horse is. I'm going to bleed to death.-
-Well, isn't this what you wanted, Kakyoin Noriaki, coming on this mission?- a voice inside his head told him.
-Of course not! I didn't want to die.-
-Cher-sama said you weren't ready, Mitsubara-san too. Your boss too. But of course, let a jilted young man convince you that coming on a mission to forget your ex-boyfriend's betrayal is an excellent idea to get over it. What were you thinking? Haven't you had enough adventures and lifelong hurts? What is your problem? Are you addicted to pain or what?-
-Why am I fighting with my inner self at this point? Leave me alone, little Noriaki with common sense that lives inside my head.-
-We could be comfortable in our SWF office playing with our robotic prosthetic prototypes, but nooo, you decided to put yourself in danger again. If you survive, Josuke is going to kill you, you know that, right?-
-Of course, that dwarf is going to be furious when he finds out that my body has several bullet holes. Alive or dead. Well, if I die, aside from being angry, he's going to cry. He is a sensitive child.-
He could hear footsteps approaching and feared the worst. Hierophant, somewhat blurred, stood at his side. But Kakyoin was unable to direct him to the entrance of that alley because a little boy with short dark hair looked at him deeply.
What the hell was a little boy doing in that place?
"Go away," Kakyoin wanted to shout at him, but he didn't have enough strength to do so.
The boy wanted to get closer, but then he heard shouts in Italian, which made him jump. Three men approached the boy and asked him something. Kakyoin only understood man, red and blood. Shit, they were still looking for him. He held his breath, as if that would do any good, and his face suddenly tickled. The undergrowth grass under his body was growing rapidly and blocking his vision, but he caught a glimpse of the boy reaching out his arm in the opposite direction from which he was facing and saying something to them, almost as if indicating... that he had run... towards them. the other side…
-Do not faint.-
-Too late, Nori-chan.-
But the last thing Kakyoin saw was the boy staring at him intently again as the undergrowth plunged him into darkness.