"What's with the evil eye?"
Jotaro felt an unexpected sting of annoyance when he saw the front door to Kakyoin's home slam shut. He was familiar with the dirty look his classmate's mother had shot him, he had seen it before in half of his teachers and probably all of his classmates but this time it was different. For starters, it did not contain that tinge of fear he was used to. Fear was better than pure and simple rejection.
Next to him, Kakyoin squinted as the morning sun seeped into his scarred eyes. He rubbed at his face absentmindedly and looked back at the closed door. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. My parents just think you're a bad influence."
Jotaro nodded briefly and picked up the pace, pulling his school bag over his shoulder. He was also familiar with those words, they were the usual phrases parents muttered around him by the time he had moved into his third year of high school. So far, the scenario was not at all new except for the weird, hollow feeling that washed over him when he met that cold, stony stare. This time, rejection had been expected but unwelcome.
He walked in silence for a while before asking. "Do you care?"
Kakyoin's eyebrows rose at the question. "You mean, do I care what they think or do I care if you are?"
Jotaro did not reply. Something must have changed in his expression though since Kakyoin let out a long sigh and gave him a brief meaningful glance. "They are a product of their generation, I guess. My dad still thinks good grades make you a better person."
Jotaro rolled his eyes as a sneer spread over his face. "What must they think of you then? Yours are average at best."
He had expected a counterattack but instead, Kakyoin shrugged and ran his fingers over the scarred tissue across his eyes. "They have been slipping after Egypt. That probably didn't help things either." He paused as he snatched his scarf from the grasp of the strong September wind and went on. "Never mind, they might be biased but they are not blind. They'll see you're not a demon eventually."
Jotaro suppressed another eye roll. The word demon had never been used around him as far as he knew but he had heard every version of thug and delinquent that the Japanese language could hold so he felt that it more than made up for that. His mind flashed back to all the unsavory things he had done and for a second he wondered if he could ever come to regret them. So far, the chances were looking pretty slim.
He cracked his neck loudly and watched Kakyoin wince a little at the sound. "You're pretty quick to assume that they're wrong."
His classmate just shrugged again and brushed a strand of reddish hair away from his face. "Real demons don't lock themselves up in jail out of fear of hurting people. I haven't seen Star Platinum attack anyone who didn't deserve it yet."
Jotaro's reply quickly devolved into an unintelligible grunt and he refused to make a second attempt. The memory of his stand choking the life out of Hierophant Green bubbled up in his mind and for a second, he felt bile rise in his throat. It quickly faded away as he took notice of something more important.
"How do you know about the jail thing?" he asked guessing the answer already.
"Mrs. Holly told me."
Jotaro let out a barely audible groan. Of course she had, there was no way of stopping her from blabbering about his life to anyone willing to listen and unfortunately, Kakyoin always was. Those two got along way too well for his liking but in a way, he found their unusual friendship strangely comforting. His mother had usually bugged him about his friends at school and he had always blown her off, mostly to avoid the matter altogether. He still had no intention of talking about it but at least now he didn't need to. She saw his extremely small circle of friends around him every other day and that was probably enough to alleviate her worries. The burden had been effectively lifted off him but now, there were other annoying factors to take into account.
Like the fact that even if he really wanted to, he'd never be able to replicate the same situation with those cold, stern eyes that pierced through him before slamming the door shut. Or the fact that he was even, however slightly, bothered by it.
His rubbed his creasing forehead, trying in vain to keep his internal turmoil at bay. "She should keep her mouth shut."
"And you should be nicer to her. She loves you, you know?" Kakyoin yawned, pulled out a stick of coffee gum and popped it in his mouth, handing the rest of the pack to him. "You want some? It's really bitter but it wakes you up."
Jotaro stared at his sleepy expression in the grey morning light. Behind his eyes, Star Platinum shifted nervously. It did that a lot when Kakyoin was around and Jotaro had always attributed it to Hierophant Green's presence and stand users attracting each other. There was probably another explanation somewhere but he refused to dwell on it any longer. Whatever it was, it would undoubtedly disturb their current dynamic and he would rather face Dio a thousand times over than having to deal with that.
He shook his head and turned away, pulling his hat over his eyes. "I'm awake enough."