Chapter Two

Jotaro stared at his friend for a long time after the doctors left, a pit of worry forming in his gut. He'd never seen Kakyoin like that before. The redhead was usually so calm and collected, actually more so than Jotaro in a lot of ways since he wasn't as hotheaded. The only other time Jotaro had seen Kakyoin act like that had been when he'd had a nightmare on that plane when they'd gone up against Death 13.

But this seemed different. It had seemed like a nightmare that had turned into a full, waking panic attack. When Jotaro had staggered to the other bed to try and wake his friend, he'd seen Kakyoin was, in fact, already awake, his eyes just weren't seeing anything around him. Or, rather weren't seeing what he had been searching for.

The broken cry for his Stand had driven right through Jotaro's heart. The old man couldn't really be right about Dio completely destroying Hierophant, could he? Maybe it was still too early to tell.

Jotaro hoped so, anyway.

The door to their room opened and Jotaro looked up quickly, manifesting Star Platinum instinctively, on edge for some reason. But it was just the old man, coming in with a bundle tucked under his arm.

"How are you feeling today, Jotaro?" he asked with a smile and an obviously poor attempt at being upbeat.

Jotaro refrained from shrugging, knowing it would jar his injuries. "All right, I guess."

His grandfather pulled a black object from under his arm and laid it out across Jotaro's knees. "I had this mended for you."

Jotaro glanced down with genuine gratitude at his coat. He reached out and curled his fingers into the collar, already feeling a little better.

"And I brought you some magazines to read," Joseph added, setting a stack of them on the bedside table.

"Thanks, old man," Jotaro said quietly, but his gaze had already shifted back to Kakyoin who'd made a small noise in his sleep. He frowned as he saw his friend's face creased in pain even while unconscious.

Joseph glanced in the same direction and his face tightened. "The doctor told me what happened. Said he had a panic attack or something?"

Jotaro swallowed hard. "I think you might be right," he said quietly. "About Hierophant."

Genuine sorrow crossed Joseph's face. "I really hope I'm not. His stand might just need some time to recover. Who knows what happens to a Stand when their user takes an injury like that?"

Jotaro didn't feel very convinced. "Yeah, maybe."

Joseph turned to Kakyoin who had let out another soft moan, shifting on the bed with a shiver. The old man pulled up another blanket, tucking it around the redhead's shoulders before he turned back to Jotaro, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever happens, he's going to need us here. His recovery's not going to be easy."

Jotaro nodded, hand clenching tighter in his coat.

Joseph sighed. "I'll leave you to get some rest. Let me know if you need anything."

Jotaro glanced at him before he could leave. "Hey, old man. Keep an eye on Polnareff. I don't think he's doing too good either."

Joseph nodded. "I can do that. You keep an eye on Kakyoin, huh?"

"Hm," Jotaro said in confirmation and his grandfather left the room.

Jotaro sat there for a long moment before he picked up one of his magazines and flipped through it. Trying to keep his mind on anything else.

Kakyoin swam back to consciousness slowly, almost reluctantly. He could feel the pain waiting for him on the other side and didn't really want to face it. Didn't have the strength. Maybe he should just stay in the darkness forever and forget about everything else.

But, no, that was cowardly, and he was not a coward. Not anymore. He'd faced Dio head on, and even if he hadn't personally won, he hadn't run away either. He wouldn't now.

He blinked, and opened his eyes.

The room was dimly lit by nothing but the moonlight shining into the window. It was beautiful, he thought vaguely, especially since they didn't have to fear Dio lurking in the night anymore.

But there was something nagging at the back of his mind, dulled by the numbness from whatever was keeping him from feeling the full impact of the pain from his injuries. He felt like something was missing. What was it? He could clearly see so it wasn't that he was blind again.

With a sick feeling, he twitched his toes—they wiggled under the blankets. It seemed he hadn't been paralyzed from his injuries either, that was a small miracle. Then why did he feel so empty inside?

He shifted, making a quickly aborted attempt to sit up as agony ripped through his abdomen despite the drugs in his system and he let out a strangled yelp.

There was a shifting to his left, and then a familiar, deep voice called to him. "Kakyoin?"

He blinked again and turned his head to see Jotaro in a bed across the room from him, face lit by the moonlight.

"Jo-Jotaro," Kakyoin managed, frowning as he glanced around. "Where're we?"

Jotaro sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed to face him. "A hospital. Everyone's pretty banged up. You doing okay?"

His eyes were filled with unveiled concern, a lot more emotion than Jotaro usually showed, so Kakyoin knew his condition must be bad. Maybe it was worse than he realized. What if the thing he couldn't remember was that he was dying?

He raised a hand and pressed it to his chest which was aching and hollow for reasons he was still trying to grasp. His breath started to come in shorter and shorter pants and his fingers clenched in the fabric of the pajamas he was wearing.

"S-something's wr-wrong," he whispered.

Jotaro straightened. "Kakyoin?"

Instinctively, in his terror and insecurity, Kakyoin called for Hierophant Green, going back to his childhood days when his Stand had been there for him when he was scared of the dark, watching over him through the night.

But Hierophant didn't show. Maybe Kakyoin was too weak to manifest him now. He tried again, tried mustering all the power he had left.

"Hierophant Green!" he croaked hoarsely, but there was nothing but a tearing feeling in his chest.

The pain brought back vivid memories of being smashed into the water tower, experiencing unimaginable agony as he felt his blood gushing out, while he was forced to watch his Stand being torn apart.

"Oh god," he gasped, clutching his chest. "Oh god!"

"Hey. Kakyoin!"

Jotaro was out of bed and heading toward him, but Kakyoin hardly noticed. He was hyperventilating, fingers digging into his skin as he felt Jotaro grab his wrists.

"He's gone, he's gone!" he gasped as the realization slammed into him like Dio's fist all over again. He curled in on himself.

"Hey, Kakyoin, calm down," Jotaro tried, still trying to pull his hands away from clawing open his chest. "You need to breathe."

For some reason, his calm made Kakyoin furious. He lashed out, hitting the other boy in the jaw and knocking him back.

"Leave me alone!" he snarled. "You have no idea! He's gone! Hierophant's gone!"

As he jerked away from Jotaro, seeking escape, he started to tumble off the other side of the bed, only to be caught by Star Platinum who gently deposited him back on the bed as Jotaro watched helplessly from the other side.

The movement had aggravated Kakyoin's wound so much he felt blood rising in the back of his throat, and he doubled over, gagging. Jotaro grabbed his shoulders, keeping him upright as Kakyoin sagged, arms wrapped around his stomach, panting as all his strength left him.

As he got his breath back a wretched cry was ripped from his throat, and he curled over, grabbing Jotaro's sleeve just to have something to anchor himself with. He started sobbing without being able to control himself.

Jotaro carefully sat on the side of Kakyoin's bed and Kakyoin slumped against him, shuddering from grief and the unbearable feeling of loss. He felt Jotaro's hand clench against his back, but he didn't try to say anything. Kakyoin was glad of his silent support. He didn't want words right now. There was nothing anyone could say that would make him feel better.

What was worse was that it seemed as if Dio had succeeded in breaking him after all.

Kakyoin was certain in that moment that it would have been better that he died in the fight.

Anything must be better than feeling like this.

Jotaro stared at Kakyoin's shuddering figure, his heart sinking further and further in his chest the longer he watched his friend's distress. This had confirmed all their fears. It looked like Hierophant really was gone.

Jotaro wasn't exactly very good with words where it counted, and really, what could you say about this? Losing a Stand was like losing a part of yourself. It added physical and emotional trauma to the feeling of losing a friend. So instead, Jotaro just let Kakyoin sob against his shoulder, and held him until he worked everything out. Or, more likely, passed out.

Kakyoin's sobs subsided to whimpers then he slumped heavily against Jotaro. Jotaro held onto him for a couple more minutes before he laid him as carefully as possible back onto the bed and tucked the blankets around him, grabbing a tissue to wipe some blood from the corner of Kakyoin's mouth.

He sighed heavily. There wasn't anything else he could do and he was exhausted, still recovering himself, so he got up as quietly as possible and returned to his bed.

"Star Platinum," he called softly into the darkness and his Stand appeared, cocking his head expectantly. Jotaro jerked his chin toward his unconscious friend. "Watch over him."

He knew with Star watching he would wake instantly if Kakyoin moved, and he really didn't want the other young man to suffer another of those episodes alone.

Then he settled down and succumbed to sleep almost before he realized it, wondering what the hell they were going to do?

Polnareff sat on a bench outside the hospital. He'd been discharged, but didn't know where to go. He had no idea what he was going to do now that their mission was over. Mr. Joestar had told him to go to the hotel he was staying at across the street from the hospital, but Polnareff hadn't even made it that far.

He'd been to see Jotaro and Kakyoin that morning and Jotaro had quietly told him what had happened. Polnareff clenched his hands into fists now at the thought, unable to believe it. It was all so terrible. So much about this whole mission was terrible. He hadn't had time to think about it during their hunt for Dio and the final battle, but now that he'd done nothing but sit around in a hospital room all day, he'd had time to fully process everything that had happened.

It weighed him down like a stone around his neck and perhaps that was the reason he had sat down on that bench and now had no intention of getting up.

"Hey, Polnareff! What are you doing just sitting there, I thought you were coming to the hotel?" Mr. Joestar walked up to him, hands held out in question. "I was coming to see what had happened to you."

Polnareff looked down, really not wanting to be around any of his companions at the moment. "I—I'll be there in a little bit."

Joseph seemed to see something was wrong and simply sat down next to him on the bench. Polnareff hunched his shoulders and bent over his knees.

"Hey, what's up with you?" the older man asked.

Polnareff's lip trembled and he caught it between his teeth. It seemed to get only harder for him to keep his emotions in check.

"Polnareff?" Joseph's voice was full of concern, and he reached out to grip the Frenchman's shoulder.

That seemed to be the last straw for Polnareff. He jerked away, snapping, "Would you all stop being so nice to me? Pretending you care? I can't take it anymore!"

Joseph looked at him in shock, hand still outstretched. "Polnareff? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Like you don't know," Polnareff snapped, feeling his throat clench and his eyes fill, as he angrily blinked away the threatening tears. "You can't tell me you don't blame me for what happened to Avdol and Iggy. We all know it was my fault they were killed. Avdol even died protecting me twice! Or, at least I thought he did. I didn't deserve his sacrifice even the once."

Joseph's face softened in understanding and studied the Frenchman closer. The look only made Polnareff more furious, he slammed his fist onto his knee, jarring his injured leg.

"Stop pitying me! I know I'm a screw-up. I wasn't there to protect my sister, I got my friends killed, and Kakyoin…I may as well have gotten him killed too."

"Don't say that," Joseph snapped. "You had nothing to do with what happened to Kakyoin, in fact, if you hadn't gotten to him when you did, he probably would be dead."

"And Avdol? Iggy?"

Joseph sighed, leaning over to rest his elbows on his knees. "Avdol would have died for any of us, Polnareff. He was prepared to do so. That's the kind of man he was. And Iggy may have just been a dog, but he was a brave little fella'."

Polnareff was still attempting to hold his grief back. "Avdol made me promise not to save him if it came to that. To keep going and defeat Dio. But he broke that promise himself. It should have been me! I was dead to rights, but Avdol broke his damned promise and let that Stand take him instead. And then I was going to die again, but I had to rely on a dog to save my life. I didn't even get to the point of facing Dio, not really. I'm always having to be saved. I don't know why you all ever kept me around."

Polnareff gritted his teeth, but he could no longer hold his grief at bay, hunching over as a sob broke from his throat. "I thought everything would be better once Dio was defeated, but it all feels so much worse."

He buried his face in his hands, and Joseph was silent for a long time before he inhaled slightly.

"You know, Polnareff, I do know how you feel," he said quietly. "I had a good friend who died for me too. It took me a long time to accept his sacrifice for what it was. But I felt guilty for a long, long time. After all, he'd died fighting the man I was supposed to have gone up against, and worst, I'd had the opportunity to go with him, and I didn't. I left him to die alone and he still somehow managed to save my life, the idiot." Joseph shook his head, eyes glassy from the old memories. But there was fondness there too. He reached out and patted Polnareff's shoulder and this time the Frenchman didn't pull away from him. "It doesn't make it hurt less, but I think it would honor them more if we accepted their sacrifices instead of being sad, don't you?"

Polnareff sniffed and wiped his nose on his forearm. He wasn't sure he could do that yet, but he did see Mr. Joestar's point.

"It doesn't mean we can't grieve," Joseph added, squeezing his shoulder firmly. "But when we're done with that, we need to move on and live for them, in their memory. Not put their sacrifice to waste."

Polnareff nodded, blinking back more tears and clearing his throat. "I think I see what you mean."

Joseph smiled and Polnareff felt a little better, if not completely. He knew there would be a lot of healing for all of them.

"You know, you're more than welcome to come back to Japan with us," he offered.

Polnareff actually smiled a little at him. "Someday, I would love to come visit you, but I think I need to go back to France first. After everything, I…well, I think it would be best."

Maybe being back home would help ease his mind. Though he knew he would miss his friends dearly.

But it certainly didn't have to be the last time he saw them either. Of that, he was certain.

Kakyoin slept poorly. Every time he closed his eyes, he dreamed of Dio, ripping him apart, or worse, forcing another fleshbud into him and making him useless to help his friends. Kakyoin was useless now. He had no Stand, and therefor no powers. He was just a friendless outsider again, the kid no one wanted to be around. Except now, he didn't even have Hierophant to keep him company like he had through his lonely childhood.

Tears slid from beneath his freshly scarred eyelids and a low keen escaped his throat before he could stop it. His fingers twitched as he again tried to call for his Stand, but all there was to be found was empty pain coming from the hole in his chest and reality struck him again.

Nausea rose in his throat, as he gagged on bile. He was too weak to even roll over to vomit, so he started choking on the acid forcing its way up his throat.

"Kakyoin!"

Hands grabbed him and hauled him upright. Kakyoin cried out at the pain from the movement, and doubled over, vomiting over the side of the bed.

Agony tore through his shredded stomach muscles at the convulsions and he weakly grabbed hold of the arm wrapped supportively around his chest.

"Easy," a voice rumbled against his back and the figure wiped his mouth.

Kakyoin gasped for breath, and was mortified, once reality seeped back in, to find that Jotaro was the one helping him. His couldn't imagine why his stoic friend was still even here. Maybe Jotaro just pitied him or felt like he owed Kakyoin something.

That thought caused Kakyoin to shove away from Jotaro, or try to, but he didn't get very far. Even though Jotaro was also injured, he still had more strength than Kakyoin did right now.

"Hey," the other young man said sternly. "Good grief. Stop it, would you? You're gonna hurt yourself even more."

Kakyoin sighed tiredly and slumped against his friend, admitting defeat. Jotaro carefully laid him back on the bed.

"I'm gonna call the nurse."

Kakyoin couldn't find it in himself to care. He was already returning to unconsciousness again anyway, wrapping his arms around his aching stomach. He was barely aware of the nurse coming to check on him before he allowed himself to slip off into the constant repeated torment again.

Jotaro was getting really tired of sitting in the hospital bed, but they still wouldn't let him go. He supposed they had a point, since he couldn't go much farther than the bathroom without his broken ribs aching badly, not to mention his other injuries. That didn't keep him from feeling like he was going mad, though.

Especially since he couldn't seem to do anything for Kakyoin. His friend suffered from continuous nightmares, but lacked the strength to stay awake for long, especially considering the drugs that were keeping him under. Physically, he was recovering, but Jotaro knew that was only half the battle. It went on like that for a week, most of the time, Kakyoin would wake, inconsolable from some nightmare that would then turn to his new reality, which almost seemed worse. Jotaro hated seeing him like this and he'd never felt so helpless.

Even after Kakyoin was able to stay awake for longer and had stopped having so many panicked episodes, he mostly just sat in bed and stared at the wall, or stared at one of the books the old man had brought him, as if he weren't really seeing the words. Jotaro had no idea what was going on inside his friend's head, but he knew it wasn't healthy.

He was currently studying the redhead worriedly over the top of the comic book he was reading when his grandfather and Polnareff came into the room.

Polnareff was still on crutches, but he at least looked better than he had before. Jotaro wasn't sure what had been said between the old man and the Frenchman but it seemed to have helped Polnareff get his head out of his ass.

"Jotaro! You're looking better!" Polnareff exclaimed with a grin, and glanced over at Kakyoin, who had barely acknowledged his presence. "Kakyoin! You're awake!"

The redhead nodded slightly. "It's good to see you up, Polnareff."

"You're doing better?" the Frenchman asked cautiously.

Kakyoin jerked his shoulders in a brief shrug, looking away out the window.

Jotaro shared a look with his grandfather.

Polnareff's face pinched slightly, but he turned back to Jotaro. "So, uh, I actually came to see you so I could…say goodbye," he said, voice wavering slightly. "I'm going back to France."

Jotaro was a little surprised at how much this news hit him. He had known the end of the mission would likely end with the breaking of their group, and yet, now that it was time, he realized he was really going to miss the haphazard French Stand user.

"Don't worry, your grandfather invited me to come visit you in Japan. I will soon!" Polnareff said firmly. "You too, Kakyoin."

The other young man didn't say anything, but sorrow flashed across his face.

Polnareff sniffed and without warning, stepped forward, dropping his crutches and wrapping his arms around Jotaro.

The young Japanese man grunted as Polnareff crushed his injured body, but didn't have the heart to complain when he felt the teardrop land on his shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss you, mon ami," he said before pulling back and turning to Kakyoin.

"You too, Kakyoin."

He leaned down to embrace the redhead, but Kakyoin's arms stayed at his sides, barely acknowledging the gesture. Polnareff impulsively tugged his long forelock before he pulled away.

"I have to get going," he said, dashing a hand across his eyes. "My plane leaves in an hour."

He nearly tripped as he turned around, but Joseph was there to steady him and hand him his crutches.

"I'm going to drive Polnareff to the airport. Will you boys be okay here?" Joseph asked, eyes meeting Jotaro's.

Jotaro nodded. "Goodbye, Polnareff," he said. "You better make good on your promise and come visit."

Polnareff gave him a watery smile and hurried out of the room.

Jotaro watched him go, clenching one hand in the blanket beneath him. He turned to glance at Kakyoin again, but the other boy had laid down, his back to Jotaro.

Jotaro sighed and ran a hand over his face. Why did all of this in some ways seem harder than their mission to stop Dio?