Author's Note: I don't own the song 'Cherry Bomb' by the Runaways. But gosh darn, it fits SO perfectly as Kakyoin's badass theme.

I realized that I don't give Kakyoin enough credit for being a pure badass. So I decided that, in this fic, Jotaro would get his ass handed to him by Kaki. Depending on how you look at it, this fic could technically exist in the same universe as my other fic titled, 'Everything.'

Thanks for reading,

*socially distanced kiss*'

X

Jotaro sat with his cheek resting against his palm. His eyes were closed but he wasn't sleeping, he was merely absorbed in his thoughts. The morning sun shining from the window illuminated him from behind. He looked as if he were glowing and this was a welcome deviance from his normally dark countenance. His hat sat on the desk before him, inches away from the pale fingers that tapped restlessly against the table. He was breathing slowly, his broad chest moving gently against the fabric of his shirt.

Kakyoin caught all of this with his paintbrush. He had finally been able to shake the anxiety that had plagued him when he first sat down with Jotaro. It was replaced with the intense concentration that overtook him while he worked. He eased the black-tipped paintbrush along the paper, drawing out the strong lines of Jotaro's cheekbones.

"There," he said, leaning back to observe his work. "Finished."

Jotaro opened his eyes. They were a magnificent blue of the kind that Kakyoin had never seen before. At first, he had assumed that Jotaro was wearing colored contact lenses. Such a blue didn't occur naturally in nature, or so he thought. But as the years passed and gossip about Jotaro became redundant, he came to understand that Jotaro wasn't the kind of boy to enhance his look in such a way. Sure, Jotaro had an aesthetic. He wore finely polished shoes and an expensive uniform, but that was as far as his attention to his appearance went.

Kakyoin often wondered where he got that kind of money.

"Hm? Already?" Jotaro drawled, his eyes never leaving Kakyoin's. Kakyoin felt himself wither beneath the iciness of his gaze. He touched the back of his head awkwardly and smiled.

"Yeah. I guess time flies when you're having fun."

Jotaro said nothing to this. He picked up his hat and adjusted it over his loosely curled black hair. At first, Kakyoin had been hesitant to ask Jotaro if he could paint his profile. He had intended to submit a collection of student portraits to the school for its Beautification Project. It was a task that suited him well, as he was more of an observer than a socializer. But he felt that the collection wouldn't be complete without Jotaro in it. Something about him had always caught Kakyoin's attention. It was the way that he walked and held himself, as well as his brooding mood and devil-may-care attitude. He'd be a challenge to paint, but a welcome one that would earn Kakyoin's submission a second-glance from the school's administrators.

Jotaro stood up, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and circled the desk towards Kakyoin. He stood behind him, tall and imposing, and Kakyoin crossed his arms self-consciously.

Jotaro leaned down, observing the portrait with interest. Kakyoin caught a whiff of his cologne and breathed in deep.

"Pardon me for asking, Jotaro, but are you wearing Tom Forde cologne?"

"Yeah, I am," Jotaro said in surprise. "It's Black Orchid. You have a good nose."

"Tom Forde is my favorite," Kakyoin said with a laugh. "When my family and I traveled to America, I almost bought the whole aisle in Sephora. I think I have a few bottles still lying around somewhere …"

"Really? I might have to buy them from you. I'm running sort of low."

"I'm sure we can work something out. Although I was kinda hoping to be the only boy in school who smelled like Frech jasmine and black currant."

Jotaro snickered. "Don't forget the patchouli and vanilla."

"Oh right. How can I forget? Maybe your nose is better than mine."

"I think so."

Kakyoin fell silent then, both delighted and embarrassed by this interaction with Jotaro. This was the most that he had spoken to the other man in all their years as students of the same school. He was surprised by how easy it was for him to talk to Jotaro, considering how dismissive they both tended to be towards other people. It was then that Kakyoin realized that they both had something in common: they kept to themselves, but for vastly different reasons.

Or were the reasons really different? Kakyoin wasn't so sure. But he did know that solitary figures tended to gravitate towards each other eventually. He wasn't sure why, but he liked the idea of getting to know a man who knew a thing or two about his favorite cologne.

Jotaro reached out from behind him and pressed a finger to the painted image. "Hey, Kakyoin. I noticed that the colors in my portrait are darker than everyone else's. Why is that?"

"Ah, you noticed," Kakyoin said, impressed. It occurred to him that Jotaro must have taken the time to study the other portraits lining the school walls, and this caused a warm feeling to spread within him.

Why do I suddenly feel this way , he thought to himself as a blush began to spread across his cheeks. He was conscious of Jotaro standing so close behind him, of the heat emanating from his body and the citrus, woody aroma that wafted from his clothes. Relax, Kakyoin, it's alright , he told himself as his hands began to tremble. He clasped his palms between his thighs. Only he knew that he was gay.

"It's acrylic. It lends more texture to the image. Here, put your finger here- " an awkward moment passed in which Kakyoin simply held his hand out to the side. Then, wordlessly, and much to his surprise, Jotaro put his hand in his and let him guide it towards the image. Jotaro leaned down further, his chest gracing the back of Kakyoin's shoulders. Kakyoin placed his fingers against the painted image and ran it along the grooves in the pigment. "I used watercolor for everybody else. It's good for transitioning colors but it gives the picture a...gentler look."

"Are you saying I'm not gentle?"

"Huh? Sorry, I mean…I'm sure you are..."

Jotaro suddenly pulled his hand away. Kakyoin jumped and looked up at him in surprise. He was worried that he might have offended Jotaro but the look on the other man's face was unreadable. Jotaro pulled his brim lower over his face, obscuring his eyes in shadows. He turned on his heel and began to walk towards the door.

"Trust me, Kakyoin," he said, moving slowly without looking back. "I'm the bad guy."

X

Kakyoin did not win a spot in the school's Beautification Project. The honor was awarded to the daughter of the headmaster, who had submitted a large portrait of herself flashing the peace sign.

"Isn't it wonderful? I look so cute! It's the perfect thing to beautify the school!" She had gushed to her friends upon its grand reveal. Kakyoin had said nothing at the time. He and Jotaro had stood before it, he clutching his portfolio of portraits and Jotaro shaking his head in disappointment.

"Tch. What a shame. Better luck next time. " Jotaro had said before walking away, leaving Kakyoin with a feeling of deep and jealous dismay.

But he vowed not to let his art go to waste. He spent the following week distributing his portraits amongst the according subjects until all that he was left with was Jotaro's image. He wasn't sure if it was a coincidence, leaving Jotaro's picture for last. But the idea of giving it to him made his heart beat faster for some reason.

The day finally came when he couldn't wait any longer. The sky was overcast and grey as he stepped out of the Kujo household. He walked briskly, one hand shielding his head from the sprinkling of rain and the other clutching a neatly wrapped package to his chest. It contained Jotaro's portrait as well as his last two bottles of Black Orchid Cologne. He had arrived a few hours earlier expecting to find Jotaro, but instead, he had encountered his mother. Holly had informed him that she hadn't seen her son all day. She had invited him to stay for tea ("Any friend of Jotaro's is a friend of mine!") and he had been unable to decline her good graces.

Now, full of tea and reeling from the exuberance of her personality, he stumbled onto the street, unsure of what to do next. He walked a few blocks in pensive silence. The rain grew heavier. It pelted his grim face and made his clothes stick to his skin but he wasn't quite ready to give up yet. His slow meandering brought him to the rougher part of the town and he was ready to give up when a sudden movement caught his eye. He turned around and watched in surprise as a girl from his school went scurrying around a corner.

"Huh? Hey - wait!"

He knew her. Or, sort of. She was a mousy haired girl who had garnered the unfortunate nickname 'no-boobs.' She and her crew made it their mission to flock around Jotaro at school. It was strange to see her alone yet it was possible that if she was there, Jotaro was bound to be nearby.

She cast him a look full of fright and pulled her uniform shirt tighter around her chest. He would have assumed that she was simply hiding her lack of breasts - for some reason, females seemed to become very flustered around him - but he had seen an irregular shape jutting from beneath the fabric. He crossed the street after her but she was too quick. She rounded another corner and was gone. He stood there panting and looking around. The alley from where she had appeared was dark and foreboding. He couldn't imagine why she had come from there. It would be dangerous for him to check but…

He shrugged and rounded the corner. He couldn't see much at first due to the onslaught of rain. He held his hand up to shield his eyes and gasped at what he saw.

There, at the end of an alley in a low car sat Jotaro. His one leg was extended out the open door, the rest of him just barely obscured by the shadows of the car. But Kakyoin recognized his crop of black hair and grim, set cheeks nonetheless. One of their schoolmates was leaning into the car, rain pelting her uniform suit and exposed hair.

As he watched, she leaned down and kissed Jotaro on the lips. Jotaro allowed her a moment of pure bliss before leaning away and crossing his arms.

"Do you know where you're going?" Jotaro asked and she nodded happily.

"I memorized the directions just like you told me to."

"Good. And you remember the plan?"

"Yes!"

Kakyoin strained to hear her over the sound of the rain.

"Knock on his door. When he opens it, give him the envelope and say, "excuse me, someone sent this letter to my home but it has your address on it. I've just come to drop it off." He'll switch it out for a similar-looking envelope and say, "you have the wrong address" and hand me the new envelope, except this one has the money in it. I'll apologize and then leave."

"And what's the number one rule?"

"Uh…"

Jotaro sighed and closed his eyes in frustration. "Don't even think about opening the package, got it?"

"Yes, Jotaro. Just like last time?"

"Just like last time."

Jotaro withdrew a small white envelope from the pocket of his coat. He held it between two fingers and passed it to her. She accepted it with reverence and slid it in her sleeve.

It suddenly all made sense. Kakyoin gasped and ran into the alleyway. The girl stopped and glanced at him curiously before scurrying away.

"Jotaro!"

"Kakyoin, what are you doing here?"

Kakyoin came to a stop before the car. He couldn't believe what he had seen and yet the evidence was there.

"You're a…"

Jotaro closed his eyes and shook his head. "Stay in your lane, asshole."

"No...no! You're a drug dealer!"

"Hey, keep your voice down, will you?" Jotaro hopped out of the car and strolled towards him. The rain clung to his face and his clothes as he surveyed Kakyoin with growing dislike. Kakyoin took a step back, his eyebrows creased in disbelief.

"No, Jotaro, how could you? Selling drugs to the people in this town, to your very own neighbors and schoolmates? Do you not have any shame? What if your mother found out, how could you do that to her?"

" YAKAMASHI !"

Kakyoin heard the slap before he felt it. He turned to face Jotaro in disbelief, his ears ringing beneath the hissing of the rain. Jotaro still held his hand out and upright between him, rage glinting in his blue eyes. Kakyoin was correct in assuming that he had hit a nerve when he brought up Jotaro's mother.

He giggled, slightly delirious from the suddenness of being hit. "So that's how you can afford such expensive clothes. I've always wondered…"

Jotaro's eyebrows came together and he hit Kakyoin again, twice this time. Kakyoin stumbled back, dropping the bundle of gifts into a puddle. The glass casing of the colognes shattered and the air was filled with a woody, aromatic scent.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm doing these kids a favor," he said as he shoved a dazed Kakyoin around like a lanky ragdoll. "It's better that they come to me instead of any other dealer. At least I can assure that my product is pure."

Kakyoin caught Jotaro by the wrist and struck his chin with a sudden uppercut. The force of the blow made Jotaro stumble back. His head snapped back down and he clenched his jaw, blood rolling from his nose and across his grit teeth. He hadn't expected Kakyoin to be so strong.

"But you're selling drugs!" Kakyoin said, rolling his sleeve higher up on his wrist. "I'm sorry, Jotaro, but I can't let you do that in my neighborhood. "

Jotaro looked at Kakyoin in disbelief. Then slowly, a malicious smile cracked across his face and he began to laugh.

"Huh? What's so funny?" Kakyoin asked, annoyed by Jotaro's sudden jubilation.

"You! You're annoying, pathetic, and sheltered. You have no idea how the real world works. Drugs have existed since the beginning of time, Kakyoin, and they will continue to exist until there's a strong enough global intervention. And as long as drugs exist, people will continue to use them. If you stop me now, another dealer might come around. And his product may not be as clean as mine. So do the world a favor and get out of my way before I have to ruin my expensive shoes by shoving them down your throat."

"But you don't know that! If you stop dealing now then there might not be another dealer who will take your place. God, can't you just think this one through?"

Jotaro sighed and touched the brim of his hat. " Yare yare daze . Guess you didn't believe me when I told you that I'm the bad guy. I'll just have to show you, then."

Jotaro swung his fist back and Kakyoin ducked just in time. Jotaro hit the cement wall behind him and Kakyoin popped back up from beneath his arm. The two men were face-to-face now, so close that they could feel each other's breath. Kakyoin wound his arm back and Jotaro assumed that he would be hit.

But instead, Kakyoin grabbed his nose.

"Boop," he said, as Jotaro's blood spread across his hands. "Got your nose!"

The two men simply stared at each other for a long time, Jotaro in disbelief, and Kakyoin with a very satisfied smile on his face.

"What the -" Jotaro said, all nasal-like. Suddenly Kakyoin ducked down and threw himself beneath Jotaro's legs. Jotaro twisted himself around as Kakyoin swiped a single bloody finger across the portrait of Jotaro that lay discarded on the ground. Immediately, blood gushed from the back of Jotaro's hands in the same spot where Kakyoin had drawn a single line in blood across his painted image.

Jotaro stumbled back, his mouth slack in surprise as he stared at his hands. Kakyoin sprung back up and pointed dramatically at Jotaro.

"HIEROPHANT GREEN!"

Kakyoin's stand materialized in an instant. Silvery-green tentacles unwound themselves from its form and snuck around Jotaro's body. The young man struggled unsuccessfully against his restraints, his furious eyes never leaving Kakyoin's face.

Kakyoin reached down and picked up Jotaro's hat. He shook the wetness from it and placed it on his head in a very self-satisfied way.

"You're a stand user," Jotaro said, simply enough.

"Surprised? That was your downfall. You thought I was weak and you wouldn't need to use your Stand against me. Maybe if you had used it instead of pushing me around, you would have had the upper hand."

"How did you know about my stand?" Jotaro growled. He wriggled and the tentacles squeezed tighter. He coughed, spitting out specks of blood. Kakyoin ignored him for a moment and simply wiped Jotaro's blood off of his hand with a dainty handkerchief.

"There are benefits to being a wallflower, you know. I see things that other people don't." Kakyoin folded the handkerchief neatly and slid it into his pocket. "So what do you think? Should I strangle you here and now? I'd be doing a favor to the city."

Jotaro said nothing. He simply glared at Kakyoin.

"I could," Kakyoin continued. "But it'd be a shame to waste such a pretty face. How about this. You will never sell drugs in my city again. I'll have my eye on you at all times, Jotaro, and if I even begin to suspect that you're causing trouble, I will find you and do terrible things to you. Got it?" He walked up to Jotaro and grabbed his collar. "I want to hear you say it."

"Yeah, I got it."

"That's not good enough," Kakyoin said, squeezing the collar tighter around Jotaro's neck. A golden-green light emanated from Hierophant's hovering body.

"I won't ever sell drugs in this city again."

"Good. And one more thing - my Stand uses long-distance to its advantage. I could ruin you without even seeing your pretty face. Just you try to use your Stand against me, I have the upper hand. Trust me. I can be the bad guy, too."

Kakyoin let him go and turned on his heel. Jotaro watched as he walked away slowly, his brown shoes making soft splashing sounds against the pavement. "Oh, and one more thing," Kakyoin said, looking over his shoulder. He spun a pair of car keys -Jotaro's keys - around his pointer finger. "I'm taking your car for a spin. But don't worry. I'll bring it back tomorrow. Later, Jo!"

Kakyoin slid into the leather seats, closed the door, and started the engine. He pressed a few buttons on the radio and the song 'Cherry Bomb' by the Runaways began to play.

' Can't stay at home, can't stay at school.

Old folks say 'You poor little fool'.

Down the streets I'm the girl next door.

I'm the fox you've been waiting for!

Hello, daddy! Hello, mom!

I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!

Hello, world, I'm your wild girl!

I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb! "

Kakyoin reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a pair of Aviator glasses. He put them on and mouthed ' nice! ' to Jotaro through the window before speeding away, the tires roaring viciously against the pavement as the music from the stereo blared. The resulting wind from the car bashed Jotaro's hair and clothes this way and that. After a few minutes, Kakyoin's stand evaporated and Jotaro fell to the ground with a grunt. He stood there rubbing his neck, rain streaking down his face as he stared at the broken bottle of cologne and water-logged portrait on the ground.

Crazy bastard , he thought to himself as he began the long walk home. '

X

Ending Notes:

Of COURSE, Kakyoin would shop at Sephora (for the uninitiated, Sephora is a high-end makeup/perfume shop roundabouts where I live.) And yes, I have a thing for Tom Forde cologne.