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Akemi's Bizarre Adventure
Chapter 17: Death 13 Part II
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Polnareff, Kakyoin and Joseph sat around the fire, chomping down on their food. Jotaro stood a ways away from them, looking up at the stars. Akemi had seen this and went to go join him.
Akemi saw in his aura that he'd noticed her footsteps from behind him. Her jacket's collar was folded up, and her hands surrounded her mug to warm her up. She stood by Jotaro, her eyes on the stars.
"Saudi Arabia, approximately 8,800 kilometers from Japan." He began speaking, knowing she'd listen. "It's been about four weeks since we left... if we don't hurry, there'll be serious trouble." He muttered the last part. Akemi opened her mouth to comfort him, but he beat her. "So... you can see emotions?" Akemi froze. His voice sounded reserved, almost shy, yet confrontational. She knew this was coming since she let it slip that she could see Enya's aura a week ago. She sighed.
"Yes." She began forlornly. "I try to keep it under wraps since it would be hard to make someone understand that it's not something I can control and I didn't want it to seem like I was purposely invading their privacy, since emotions are a privacy everyone has a right to. I didn't want you to mistrust me." Akemi confessed. She looked back up at Jotaro, her eyes apologetic. She could tell that Jotaro wanted to be mad, but he just couldn't. He let out a sigh, but she continued, desperately wanting to turn the conversation away from what she thought it would turn to.
"You're stressed, aren't you?" She said suddenly, catching Jotaro off guard. "Listen... I know what it's like to lose a mom. Because of that, I'm gonna make sure you don't lose yours." Akemi turned and faced Jotaro, putting a hand on the side of his arm. He widened his eyes, but before he could respond, she removed herself and walked back toward the fire.
Akemi rejoined the group, sitting with her hands around her knees in between Kakyoin and Joseph. Jotaro joined soon after, a conflicted expression on his face.
"Hey, Jotaro." Polnareff leaned into Jotaro. "What do you think is up with Kakyoin and Akemi? He was flailing around in his sleep in the plane, she fainted on the plane, they went into the forest to talk, and now they look like this. Something's up with them. I think they're at their wit's end. It was a bad idea to bring a woman on this journey. I don't know if either of them can continue." That hit a nerve in Jotaro, but he pushed it down, merely narrowing his eyes.
"They're stronger than you give them credit for. They're just shaken up." Jotaro muttered, barely audible. Polnareff gave them an uncertain look.
"...Whatever you say." Polnareff said, getting up and moving to Joseph's side. "That smells great. What are you making?" He asked, his demeanor changed from before.
"Baby food." Joseph answered. "This is milk, egg yolks, bananas, and bread all stewed together. You can thank Akemi for growing half of the ingredients in this recipe. Here, want a taste?" He asked, lifting the wooden spoon toward Polnareff. He backed up, but reluctantly took the spoon in his mouth. As he chewed, his aura exploded with happiness.
"It's good!" He exclaimed. "I could totally go for this! Give me more! More!" He leaned down next to Joseph, taking the spoon from him and giving himself a heaping spoonful of the stuff. Akemi watched the scene unfold with a chuckle, letting the atmosphere calm her down.
"Hey, now. There won't be any left for the baby." Joseph scolded, pushing down a smile. His aura held pride, happy that Polnareff liked his cooking so much. She let her gaze trail to the baby, and her soft smile faded. The baby held an aura of anger and annoyance, glaring straight at Polnareff.
How does he understand what's going on? She thought, furrowing her brows. ...Maybe he doesn't. He might just be hungry... but that doesn't explain his annoyance, especially in retaliation to this situation... suspicious.
Her eyes widened when she saw a scorpion on the edge of the baby's basket. Quickly, she got up and rushed to the baby's seat. Kakyoin saw her sudden movement, and looked in the direction she went in. Seeing the situation, he followed.
However, when the scorpion jumped at the baby, he sat up and stabbed it with his safety pin with impeccable reaction time. Akemi let out a small gasp, and the baby's eyes widened with horror.
"K- Kakyoin, did you see that?" Akemi asked. "This confirms it... this has to confirm it."
"He killed the scorpion..." Kakyoin breathed. "Joestar-san, Polnareff, did you see that?!" He exclaimed, turning back around.
"Eh?" They chorused, stopping what they were doing.
"That baby wasn't normal after all!" Kakyoin shouted. He pointed at the baby. "He just killed a scorpion! In the blink of an eye! He stabbed it with a safety pin!" The baby's aura was growing with fear.
"He's guilty... I can see his aura." Akemi added, narrowing her eyes at the baby.
"Kakyoin, Akemi, hold on. What are you talking about?" Joseph asked warily.
"That is not a normal baby!" Akemi raised her voice.
"He's not even a year old, but knew what a scorpion was... and he killed it with those tiny hands!" Kakyoin exclaimed incredulously, throwing his hands up. Joseph stood up, his eyes wide.
"A scorpion?" Joseph echoed, bewildered. He jogged to the baby and picked it up, checking his body. "Where?"
"In here!" Akemi said, kneeling next to the basket. Kakyoin kneeled next to her, moving the blankets and pillow.
"The dead scorpion on the pin should be in here." Kakyoin stated. Akemi frowned when she saw that the scorpion was gone. "I- it's not here..." He muttered, defeated, his arms falling limp.
"Kemi, did you hit your head again?" Polnareff asked. Kakyoin read the rest of the silence and stood up abruptly, his gaze intense.
"B- but it's true!" Kakyoin insisted. Akemi stood up with him.
"We saw it with our own eyes!" Akemi said, her tone hard. If she hated one thing, it was not being believed when she told the truth. Kakyoin lunged toward Joseph, trying to wrestle the baby out of his arms.
"Where'd you hide it?!" Kakyoin cried. "Is it in your clothes?" Joseph yanked himself away, protectively angling the baby away from him.
"We got it, Kakyoin! That's enough! Stop!" Joseph snapped, a tiny bit of fear leaking into his aura. Akemi widened her eyes.
They don't believe us... we are alone.
"Joestar-san!" Kakyoin protested again, his voice breaking with panic, adamant to get his point across.
"I said this earlier, but you're tired. Both of you. Let's talk again tomorrow morning, after you've calmed down." Joseph said firmly. With that, he turned and walked away.
She couldn't help but notice a mischievous, prideful aura coming from the child. Anger shot up her stomach, and suddenly she wanted to cry out of frustration. She avoided eye contact with the rest of them and looked down at the ground, hugging herself.
She looked up at Kakyoin, who was observing Joseph. He was feeding the baby. But for some reason, he wouldn't eat. Odd, he was still hungry, but he was extremely on edge. Suddenly it came to her. Kakyoin looked down at her, mentally asking if she felt the same way. Her wide eyes and slightly gaped mouth gave him all the answer he needed, and he started walking toward Joseph.
"W- wait, Kakyoin!" Akemi cried.
Oh, no... he's going to lose even more of their trust. Akemi thought with uncertainty. She watched as he slapped the spoon away from Joseph.
"Joestar-san! I'm sure of it now!" He cried. Joseph gave him a bewildered look, his mouth hanging open. "I don't know where he hid the scorpion, but he's a Stand user!" Akemi gritted her teeth. She might as well back him up on this.
"He's right. I've been able to see his aura this whole time, he's projecting the opposite of what he's feeling. He's not innocent, Joseph. I know what a baby's aura looks like, and it's not that." Akemi stated grimly. She watched as Polnareff stood up, Jotaro behind him.
"I have the very thing to prove it." Kakyoin said. Akemi widened her eyes.
"Kakyoin, you're not going to..." Akemi trailed off, desperately hoping he wasn't going to do what she thought he would.
"I have to..." He replied, his hand on his sleeve. He rolled it up for everyone to see. "Look at the wound on my arm! At what it says! This is a warning. This must be a wound I got in my sleep. I wouldn't let Akemi heal it because I needed it to remember."
"Oh my god!" Joseph shouted. Akemi felt everyone's stares on them. Concerned, pitiful, scared. It was almost too much for her to bear. Akemi yanked Kakyoin's shoulder around.
"Kakyoin, I told you not to show them! They're going to think we're insane, now!" Akemi almost shouted at him. Kakyoin only answered with a panicked expression.
"Kakyoin, did you do that to yourself? And you hid it from us, both of you?" Jotaro asked. Akemi and Kakyoin looked up to see Jotaro looking at them, disturbed. The look in his eyes made Akemi want to crumple herself up into a ball and disappear.
"K- Kakyoin, Akemi, you've finally..." Polnareff breathed, sad emotions flooding off him. Akemi deflected them all with anger, letting out a frustrated growl.
"We're not losing it! I swear, this baby isn't fucking innocent!" She exclaimed desperately.
"Oh my god... Akemi..." Joseph murmured, his gaze sad. Akemi really did feel as if she were about to lose it.
"W- we have no other choice..." Kakyoin muttered. "We'll have to use force! Hierophant Green! Come on, Akemi!" He shouted, lunging toward Joseph. Akemi watched, her hand by her lip, her heartbeat fluctuating. Before she could join him, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her. One around her middle, and another around her neck, cutting off her breathing.
"J- Jotaro..?" Akemi managed through her blocked throat, fighting feebly against his clutch. He didn't respond, only squeezed tighter. The last thing she saw before her vision blackened was Silver Chariot knocking Kakyoin out from behind.
C'mon, Polnareff.
We can't fall asleep, Joseph.
Jotaro, you have to believe us. You have to believe me. Please... please believe us. Everyone... if we fall asleep, we'll be killed. Please, believe us... believe in us…
"Empress... Gaea..." Akemi croaked, the last thing she was able to get out, her arm weakly clawing at Jotaro's, a ghostly glow surrounding her, her Stand struggling to escape her, before she went limp in his clutch. Jotaro lowered himself as Akemi lost consciousness, his gaze forlorn.
"It's no use. They've totally lost their minds." Polnareff said, haunted. Jotaro brushed Akemi's white hair out of her face, seeing her contorted expression. His chest clenched when he noticed that tears were in her eyes.
With an angry shout, he slammed his fist into the sand.
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Akemi found herself in the amusement park again. But this time, she was sitting on a horse on a carousel. The first thing she felt was anger.
"Dammit, Death 13! Show yourself, you coward!" She shouted angrily. "Figlio di puttana! Joseph, Polnareff, even Jotaro… Useless!" She punched the pole in front of her out of anger, highlighted by Empress's fist, and bent the pole with her force. However, it hurt like hell. "Ow… Weird that I can feel pain here. At least I know for sure that Gaea is with me. Good thing I had enough time to summon her before…" Akemi looked down at her hand, seeing Empress's ghostly visage, trailing off as she remembered what had happened moments before. Her solemnity dissipated quickly and made way for burning anger, clenching her fist. "I'll be sure to give those boys a beating when I get back. If not with my hands, then with words." She vowed angrily.
The carousel started spinning, her horse moving up and down, distracting her from her intense emotions. She noticed with a disturbed feeling that the horse had the same hair color, skin color, scar and birthmarks as her. She looked around, seeing a horse that looked like Kakyoin, one that looked like Joseph, Polnareff, Jotaro, and even Mo. A giggle resounded around her.
"Lali-ho! Welcome back to my world of nightmares, Akemi Zeppeli." Death 13 materialized in front of her, his cloak billowing in the wind as the carousel picked up in speed. "Your friend's faithlessness in you will be your demise." Akemi clenched her jaw angrily. Maybe I shouldn't think out loud here. Using my emotions against me won't result in my loss, but it'll make things a little dicey. I need to find Kakyoin. She thought. But first, I have to get rid of Death 13. I shouldn't have called for him. I can't look for Kakyoin with him in the way. Akemi had to hop off her horse to avoid Death 13's scythe. While she remained unscathed, the horse she rode on was now sliced in half.
She landed roughly on the purple concrete, rolling on her side. Looking up, she saw Death 13 watching her from the carousel. His image disappeared around the middle of the ride, and Akemi was set off when he didn't reappear. She looked wildly around, looking to see if Death 13 was around her... but he wasn't. No sign of Stand energy around her.
She stood, her focus on finding Kakyoin now.
"Kakyoin!" Akemi called. It was silent at first, and her heart clenched with fear.
"Akemi?" A distant voice called back. Akemi doubled over.
"Kakyoin!" Akemi shouted, running toward the direction of his voice, bounding over the gate. Her head whipping around, she saw a head of red hair up ahead, standing on a castle.
"Akemi!" He called, looking around for her. She waved her hands.
"Kakyoin, down here!" She called. His gaze dodged around, but finally landed on her.
"Akemi! I thought my mind was playing tricks on me!" Kakyoin cried, relieved. Akemi allowed herself a small smile as he ran backward to exit the castle.
She met him at the entrance of the castle and he caught her in a hug, lifting her and spinning her around. He set her down and sent her a relieved glance as they fully separated.
"I'm so glad I'm not doing this alone. You have no idea how happy I am that you're here. I couldn't ask for a better friend." Kakyoin breathed. Akemi sent him a genuine smile, remembering how he acted when Akemi treated him like a friend for the first time. She hugged him again, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her as well, without the usual hesitation he had.
"Of course, Kakyoin. No friend would let their friend go through this alone." She said softly. She scoffed. "The others need a lesson in trust..." Kakyoin pulled away, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Hey... call me Noriaki. That's my first name. It's not fair that only I'm calling you by your first name…" Noriaki beseeched of her, his aura genuine. Akemi widened her eyes, but smiled, touched.
"Sure, Noriaki. I love your name, by the way! Noriaki... such a pretty name. Sorry, I would've done it earlier, but I didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Akemi complimented, causing a blush to rise on Noriaki's cheeks.
"Thanks." He smiled. "To be honest, the only other people that call me that are my parents… so I had to warm myself up to the idea." He admitted.
Akemi turned, getting serious, her fingers fiddling with her lower lip.
"Now, I'm sure Jotaro, Polnareff and Joseph are still real friends, they're just confused. They must've been tired, or mentally weak." Noriaki smirked.
"Right... they're probably asleep now. We should go find them." Noriaki said intensely. "But wait, did you summon your Stand before you got here? I mean, before you were knocked out." He asked. Akemi nodded.
"Yeah, last second." Akemi held up a fist, and Empress appeared briefly in the same position. "What about you?" Noriaki nodded, letting Hierophant Green appear from behind him before disappearing flamboyantly.
"Perfect! We can fight Death 13 down here." Noriaki hissed. "Now we have to find Joestar-san and the rest of them-"
"This is a world of nightmares!" Cried a familiar voice. Akemi and Noriaki exchanged glances.
"Polnareff." Akemi breathed.
"Bingo. At the cups!" He exclaimed. They both ran in that direction, their dialogue becoming more audible the closer they got.
"Oh, so it's just a dream. Then I'm just gonna relax." Joseph said tiredly.
"Don't have the same reaction I did!" Polnareff lashed out, unnerved. "Listen, what Kakyoin and Akemi were saying is true! Baby. Stand. We're in enemy territory. I know it's hard to believe, but the Stand user is that baby! Since we made Kakyoin and Akemi pass out, they should already be somewhere in this world. We have to find them!" Polnareff exclaimed, bounding over the rails and out of sight, but his hair was still visible. Jotaro and Joseph followed him, leaving the platform. Akemi and Noriaki hid inside a nearby teacup.
"Where are you, Kakyoin? Akemi!" He called frantically. "I have to apologize to them." Akemi's heart clenched, and both of them felt a mix of gratitude and conflict. Mostly Akemi, as she was extremely ruffled about not being believed.
"P- Polnareff, what's with your hairstyle? Did you mess up brushing it?" Joseph finally pointed out his elongated hair.
"Eh? Oh!" Polnareff said, noticing his hair. It suddenly grew taller, wrapping around the gate he stood on front of, confining him to the pillars.
"Polnareff!" Joseph cried. Akemi heard clinking.
"What?" Jotaro choked. His chain must've done something.
"M- my..." Joseph faltered. "My artificial hand! Holy shit!" He cried, a crash being heard afterward. All of them were immobilized in the span of a few seconds. The decorations around them started tittering at their misfortunes.
"Jeez..." Noriaki whispered to himself.
"How are we supposed to fight this? How?!" Polnareff cried. "A- anything can happen here. There are no rules or logic. It's a world where we're at his mercy!"
Akemi looked at Noriaki, silently asking if they could go and help. Noriaki shook his head.
"Not until Death 13 makes an appearance." Noriaki breathed, barely audible. Akemi nodded, keeping watch.
"Wait, there was just one rule..." Polnareff said lowly. "The thing that'll slice us into little pieces is his Stand, and his Stand alone!" He cried out.
"Lali-ho!" Death 13 greeted, appearing from nowhere.
"Death 13..." Akemi breathed. She moved to get up, but Noriaki stopped her.
"Star Platinum!" Jotaro cried immediately.
"It's no use, Jotaro!" Polnareff called. "We can't bring our Stands into the dream world!"
"Th- that's odd... his Stand appeared." Polnareff said, disturbed. Akemi shuddered.
"No it didn't." She whispered. "That's definitely not his Stand." Noriaki let out a soft snort.
They'd allowed themselves to see the amusement in the situation since they could summon their Stands and swing in whenever they thought their lives were in danger.
But it was only fair that they should let them suffer for a little bit after what they put Akemi and Noriaki through. Plus, they needed to wait for a good moment.
"Not yet." He hissed.
Akemi bit her lip, but saw the reason in his plan.
Her jaw dropped when she saw 'Star Platinum' attack Jotaro instead, launching him away with a barrage of fists and 'ora!'s. He then proceeded to laugh and summon a frying pan. He smacked his face with it, letting out a confused 'ora' when his face was flattened.
Akemi had to smother herself with her hand to keep from laughing. She could tell Noriaki was having the same problem beside her, a snort escaping him. He smacked himself five more times before his head turned into Death 13's.
"Lali-ho! I'm a fake!" Death 13 teased. He then created a strange mix of Star Platinum, Silver Chariot, and his own Stand. "This overwhelming power! This absolute fear! It's so much fun!" Akemi realized just then that she couldn't feel anyone's fear. She could definitely see it in their auras- in fact, everyone was practically encapsulated by their auras. But she couldn't physically feel it.
It was... refreshing.
"Damn... I just realized that I can't physically feel anyone's auras. Not even yours, Nori." Akemi mentioned, looking straight ahead. Noriaki looked at her, surprised at the nickname.
"'Feel'?" Noriaki echoed. Akemi glanced at him.
"I can sense auras in three ways- I can see the colors, kind of surrounding whatever's alive, like a mist, and I can feel them, in the same way you feel heat radiating from a stove or cold from a freezer, but I can also feel those emotions myself, within me. I've been able to recognize the difference between my own emotions and someone else's, though it was a long process." She chuckled.
"A Stand is spiritual energy. And dreams are the spirit unguarded! Death 13 has surrounded that unguarded spirit, and that's why you can't summon your Stands! Although..." Death 13 made a chilling display of slicing the weird Stand combination's head off with his scythe. "...if you had summoned your Stands before you fell asleep," He flicked the head off his scythe, "you could have brought them with you, like the clothes you're wearing, the sleeping bags, and the artificial hand. Death 13 will never have to face another Stand! And the only thing that can defeat a Stand is another Stand, so I'll always win!"
Noriaki nudged Akemi's side. She looked up at him, and saw Hierophant at his side.
"I have a plan. Send out your Stand." Noriaki whispered. "Make her appear behind Death 13, at his blind spot." Akemi nodded, a wide grin on her face and leaned forward, using the wheel in the middle of the teacup to spin them around so they could fully face the battle.
"...Now... How about you give me a scream? One that symbolizes how happy and refreshed I feel at my easy victory!" She watched as Hierophant led Empress through some foliage and appeared behind the massive Death 13, poking their heads over his huge shoulders. "L..." Death 13 trailed off, his head whipping around to look at the two Stands that hovered at his shoulders.
"Lali-ho." Teased Noriaki's smooth voice, emanating from Hierophant.
"Oh, they're just fakes I made." Death 13 concluded, flicking Hierophant on the forehead.
Akemi and Noriaki exchanged smirks. Hierophant wrapped his fingers around Death 13's neck, and Empress wrapped hers around his eyes.
"Peek-a-boo." Empress Gaea's ethereal voice teased.
"W- what? Impossible! These aren't fakes!" Death 13 stuttered, looking at Hierophant. "This is the real Hierophant, and the real Empress!" As Death 13 choked, Polnareff's hair, Jotaro's chain and Joseph's hand returned to normal.
"It's back..." Said Joseph, moving his false fingers.
"It's Kakyoin and Akemi! They're right there!" Polnareff cried, pointing to the two lounging on their teacup. Noriaki watched them, resting his head on his hand. Akemi's legs were folded over the wheel in the middle of the teacup, and both had equally smug looks on their faces.
"When we passed out earlier, did you forget that we had our Stands out?" Noriaki kindly reminded them. "I had Hierophant hide underground before I fell asleep."
"And I'm sure you all saw Empress." Akemi shrugged. Their crushed expressions faced them.
"Help me!" Death 13 choked out. Empress Gaea smirked and released a strangler fig to wrap around Death 13.
"It's time for your punishment, kiddo." Akemi said in a fake stern voice. "I think you've been rather bad lately, have you not?" She watched with amusement as Death 13's scythe waved around, desperately trying to get a hit on them.
"Let go!" Death 13 cried.
"Stop, Death 13! They're completely in your blind spot. If you keep resisting... I don't care that you're a baby. I'll snap your neck like a twig." The two of them bounded out the teacup and stood at the edge of the platform. She saw that the other three were jogging toward them.
"Kakyoin! Akemi!" Joseph shouted, relief flooding his aura. "We owe you two an apology." He confessed.
"I thought you might have become weak-minded." Polnareff admitted, his face contorted in shame. "I couldn't believe in you. You two were fighting this battle, all by yourselves... you're both so much stronger than I... I'm sorry." Akemi was looking at Jotaro as Polnareff said this. Jotaro had a small smile on his face and tugged his hat down.
"No, Polnareff. It couldn't be helped." Noriaki deflected. "I only figured out a way to bring my Stand with me into the dream after you hit me, though it connected in my head thanks to Akemi. So in a way, this is kinda thanks to you."
"R- really?" Polnareff said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully, a blush dusting his cheeks. "I- I can't help but feel a bit conflicted. I'm kind of ashamed..." Akemi elbowed Noriaki in the side.
"Noriaki, you're my best friend, but you're such a pushover. Polnareff didn't do anything to deserve your thanks." She scolded. Her hard stare met the gang, causing Polnareff to die down. "Maybe you guys should learn to have a bit more faith in us. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I'm weak-minded. You all were pretty quick to trust your rational thoughts over us- which, considering our situation- is quite misplaced, especially with my aura-sensing ability. While most of it is understandable- I mean, it's a baby. I'd be doubtful, too." She added, a lot more bothered than Noriaki, her arms crossed. "But... I thought we'd built enough trust over the time we've been together... I thought you might believe us. Especially you, Kujo." She saw the guilt in their auras, and that was honestly almost enough for her. She saw Jotaro tug his hat down over his gaze, his jaw clenched, his aura overcome with shame.
"I didn't mean to underestimate you because you're a woman, Kemi." Polnareff said apologetically, rubbing the back of his head. "You're probably stronger than some of us, actually."
"Mhm, I forgive you." Akemi said with her arms crossed.
"I'm sorry, Akemi. I know I trained you to be strong." Joseph said, taking Akemi's shoulders in his hands, causing her closed-off posture to crumble. "And I have. We would've been dead if not for you two." He said, grinning proudly. Akemi smiled back up at him as he removed his hands, suddenly feeling as if she might cry.
"I... I'm really sorry." Jotaro muttered, leaving her shocked. Jotaro... verbally saying sorry? And by the looks of his aura... he really meant it.
"You're all forgiven- but I'm holding this over you all, whether you remember it or not." Akemi dismissed, her touched outward appearance disappearing with a turned head and a light blush at all their praise.
"Hey, now, that's not exactly fair-" Polnareff was cut off when the sky above changed. Everyone else noticed it too and put their guards back up. "Hey, what's with the clouds?"
"The clouds... are moving strangely, and coming closer!" Joseph exclaimed. Akemi widened her eyes as she noticed the clouds were converging over Death 13.
"Don't try anything funny, Death 13!" Akemi shouted, lashing her arm out. Her threat went ignored, and she watched as the clouds turned into one large cotton ball-shaped cloud.
"Akemi, Kakyoin! Get your Stands away from his back!" Jotaro cried frantically. The clouds formed an arm and grabbed Death 13's scythe from his hand.
"What?!" Cried Noriaki, confused and panicked.
"I'll chop you in half!" Death 13 cried, using the scythe to slice himself in half.
"I- impossible!" Noriaki's words fell out of his mouth. "He chopped himself... in h-half." Noriaki said, horrified. He fell over.
What? But we weren't actually... wait, he's joking... okay, I'll play along. I'm not done being mad at them yet, I guess. Akemi thought. She clutched her stomach and collapsed.
"Akemi! Kakyoin!" Joseph exclaimed.
"Lali-ho!" Death 13 cried triumphantly, opening his cloak to reveal that he had no body- that he was only a floating disc with arms and a head.
"I- impossible... my vines wrapped around a body..." Akemi croaked, actually a bit shocked.
"Didn't you realize it? Death 13's body is actually hollow! This world's logic follows my own, so I hardened a space to act as my body, so you would be fooled!" He cried. Smart, for a one-year-old. His scythe fell back into his hand. "Death 13 is just the head, arms, and giant scythe. You enormous fools!" But Noriaki jumped back up, perfectly fine.
"Just kidding." Noriaki said brightly, helping Akemi back up.
"K- Kakyoin! Akemi! You're alright?" Joseph asked, bewildered. Akemi let out a small giggle.
"Yeah, I wanted to fool you guys. I'm not quite done being mad at you yet." Joseph and Polnareff gave her pained looks, while Jotaro simply turned away, his expression annoyed.
"Please, look closer." Noriaki said. "My Hierophant isn't so careless as to stay on his back forever. Neither is Empress." He waved his hand and the rest of the crusaders looked up to see Empress Gaea hovering a safe distance away. Hierophant whisked away Death 13's cape to reveal his lower half, a tentacle entering Death 13's ear.
Akemi saw Death 13 moving to swing his scythe, so Empress sent out wisteria vines to fold his arm, preventing any movement from that arm. She also sent them to the other arm and plastered it to his shoulder plate.
Hierophant's arms became tentacles and entered his other ear and his throat from underneath his plate.
He's using the possession he used on that nurse when we met him... Akemi realized as she shifted the vines to make it so he held the scythe at his neck.
"M- my arm's moving on its own-!" Death 13 cried.
"One movement and you're gone, little one." Akemi called. With that, Hierophant had completely entered Death 13's body and his head was visible in Death 13's mouth.
"I told you! They were in your blind spot, so your scythe couldn't touch them. Now, if you don't wish to be destroyed from the inside-out... How about you heal this wound on my arm? Anything can happen in dreams, so I'm sure you can heal a cut, right?" Noriaki asked. Akemi turned to him, slightly confused.
"But Akemi can heal the wound on your arm." Polnareff pointed out.
"Yes, but it'll be more fun if I get Death 13 here to do it for him." Akemi said teasingly. "After all, it's that or his head's gone."
"R- right." Said Death 13. The wound faded away, and it was as if it were never there.
"Nicely done, you two." Joseph said with a crinkly smile. He looked down at Akemi. "Your grandfather would be so proud. You have his tenacity, you know." He told her. That brought a bright smile to Akemi's face.
"R- Really? You think so?" She gushed, her eyes sparkling. Joseph laughed gruffly and patted her head.
"Of course I do, Kemi." He assured her. Just then, something came to mind. Akemi turned to Jotaro, who held her eye contact.
"Now, since we won't remember this..." Akemi said, approaching the tall man. He looked down at her, slightly confused. Her hand trailed up his chain and suddenly she yanked it down, putting his head level with hers. And without a moment of hesitation, her lips landed on his.
"Oh my god!" Joseph shouted.
"Hell yeah! Finally!" Shouted Polnareff. Noriaki let out a chuckle.
"Jeez, that took forever." He sighed, satisfied and supportive.
Akemi pulled away and looked at Jotaro, his eyes wide and his cheeks bright red.
"I... like you… a lot." Akemi said, hiding her shyness behind a determined gaze. Jotaro only blinked, unable to make words.
"Right then, let's wake up, shall we?" Polnareff said, stretching his arms over his head.
"Alright, I'll see y'all in the morning!" Joseph said, a grin on his face. Jotaro's aura grew frantic, holding a hand out to Akemi.
"W- wait!" Jotaro shouted, that being the last thing they heard.
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Akemi blinked her eyes open. Noriaki was hovering over Akemi, poking her in the forehead where her bangs started to part.
"Kak- Noriaki?" Akemi croaked, lightly smacking his hand away.
"Wake up, sleepyhead." Noriaki whispered, leaning on both his fists. Akemi blinked the sleep away, rubbing her eyes.
"Five more minutes..." Akemi protested tiredly, rolling over. Noriaki let out a small laugh.
"Do you remember anything?" He asked. Akemi's eyes snapped open, and the dream came flooding back to her.
"Yeah..." She muttered into her arms. Noriaki wiggled his eyebrows.
"Everything?" He drawled the word out, causing Akemi to turn red. She sat up and barraged his shoulder with light hits.
"Stop that!" She shouted, narrowing her eyes. Noriaki let out a laugh and fell backward.
"Hey, let's make breakfast." Noriaki suggested, a smile on his face. Akemi stopped her attack and blinked, putting a finger on her lower lip.
"Yeah, sure. Hey, I know how to make some really good French toast." Akemi said, a smile lighting up her face. She climbed out of her sleeping bag and stood up, helping Noriaki off the ground.
"That's the spirit!" Noriaki said enthusiastically. "I'll make some sausage." Akemi raised her eyebrows.
"Ooh, maple?" Akemi asked. Noriaki raised a can of maple sausages.
"You know it." He smirked. Akemi licked her lips.
"Mmm, sweet! I'll make some scrambled eggs too, while I'm at it. And I can make a good fruit salad!" Akemi said, rubbing her hands together.
About thirty minutes later, five plates were set, each graced with French toast, scrambled eggs, some fruit salads and sausage. Akemi set down a container of syrup in the middle of the moss blanket she'd grown for them to sit on like a picnic. Noriaki saw the setup and lifted himself, walking over to the other three crusaders.
"Alright, everyone. Wake up!" Noriaki shouted, banging a pot and a pan together. Slowly, they started to shift. "Polnareff, wake up! Breakfast is ready!" Noriaki leaned over and shook Polnareff.
They washed their faces and hands at the nearby stream.
"I feel like I had a terrible dream..." Polnareff said tiredly, looking down at the river with a frown.
"Same here." said Joseph in a gravelly voice, rubbing his face with his towel. "I can't remember it, but I still feel like it was terrifying." Jotaro hummed in agreement.
"For some reason... I feel like I'm indebted to Akemi..." Jotaro spoke, confused.
"That might be because you're in l-"
"Shut up, you idiot!" Jotaro snapped. Polnareff giggled. "I mean... I feel like I owe her an apology. Her and Kakyoin."
"We kind of do. We knocked them out last night- actually, we should all check in on them." Joseph suggested, feeling awful.
Akemi and Noriaki shared smug smirks as he mixed the baby food by the fire.
"Kakyoin! Akemi!" Polnareff shouted, getting up from his place by the stream. He jogged over to the two teens, giving them concerned stares. "A- are you alright?" He asked. They exchanged glances again.
"What do you mean?" Noriaki asked, his gaze not leaving the pot. "I'm fine."
"W- what do I..." Polnareff asked, bewildered. "You were totally deranged last night! Both of you! Kakyoin even carved letters into his arm... you both attacked the baby!" Akemi tilted her head to the side slightly.
"Why would I attack a baby?" She asked, faking innocence. "You know I grew up with young cousins I had to take care of. I just told you yesterday... come on, Polnareff." She asked, crossing her arms with a huff. "Wait, was that the terrifying dream you had on the plane..? I'm sorry, Polnareff. We're just fine, see?" As if to prove her point, Noriaki angled his featureless forearm toward Polnareff.
"H- huh? The wound is gone?" Polnareff breathed, shocked. Akemi furrowed her brows.
"What wound? Are you okay, Polnareff?" Akemi asked, feigning concern. Polnareff only looked more shocked and backed away slightly. Noriaki stood with a bowl of baby food.
"Now, I'll just go feed the baby. Akemi, would you mind changing his diaper?" Noriaki said, brushing Polnareff off. Akemi stood as well.
"Sure! Not like any of you boys could do it right." She added jokingly, following him, earning a light smack on her shoulder and a laugh. They both kneeled by the baby's side.
"Come on, it's morning." Greeted Noriaki, his voice honeyed. Akemi took the baby out of his basket, cradling him against her.
"So... did you sleep well?" She asked, a note of teasing in her voice. Noriaki held the baby's food in his lap as Akemi laid him gently on the ground, unwrapping his diaper. Akemi almost felt guilty at the pleasure she felt at the baby's fearful expression.
"Everyone has forgotten." Said Noriaki. "A Stand whose existence is completely forgotten... What a unique Stand. But we remember. We were the only ones who brought a Stand into the dream." The baby let out a small whimper.
"Listen," Akemi began, her eyes visible through her bangs, "because you're a baby, with your entire life ahead of you, neither of us will hurt you. We'll take you to a nearby town. You need to go back to your mother. But don't ever come near us again. Use the rest of your life to better yourself, and use your Stand for good. Because if you do otherwise... we'll punish you." She ended the sentence narrowing her eyes. Noriaki took the spoon and cut a piece of the baby's dung off.
"Just like this." Noriaki added lowly. The baby watched with horror as he tilted the poop into the food and stirred. With a smug expression, Akemi continued changing him, tying a new diaper on.
"Oh, Akemi, Kakyoin." Joseph's voice said from beside them. Akemi looked up to see Joseph with a light smile on his face. "You even made some baby food?"
"I did." Said Noriaki, sitting by Akemi as she pulled his pants on.
"Let's see. I'm sure you must be hungry by now." Joseph noticed. He picked up the baby and held a spoonful of the food in his hand. "Come on, it's dewicious! Open wiiide!" Joseph cooed. The baby looked warily at the spoon and tried desperately to get away from the spoon as it neared him. "Oh, this again? I wonder what he's got against this stuff... at this rate, I'll have to force-feed him." Joseph said, frowning. Polnareff approached them.
"Hey, hey, Monsieur Joestar." Polnareff said, raising a finger. "If you force him, he'll just hate it more. In cases like this..." Akemi snorted as Polnareff started tickling the baby. "Coochie-coochie-coo. Coochie-coochie-coo. Coochie-coochie-coochie-coochie-coo." The baby couldn't help himself- he opened his mouth wide with a laugh and Joseph plunged the spoon in his mouth.
The baby let out a scream as the two adults surrounding him giggled successfully. Akemi put her hands on her hips.
"Huh. Since when was Polnareff an expert on babies?" Akemi asked, looking to Noriaki. He shrugged.
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these two chapters were so fun to write, i think they're my favorite
facts
-akemi used to make french toast with her grandmother every morning they could, so the recipe is ingrained in her mind. her grandmother usually had her grow the ingredients in the backyard as well. a child that can create a garden at will is quite useful- and quite the money saver as well.
-both kakyoin and akemi understand the importance of cool entrances, especially when lives are at risk.
-while jotaro will never remember that kiss in the dream, akemi will forever hold that image in her mind. also, after the kiss, jotaro was going to ask her to tell him in real life, but he never got the chance.
anyways i'll see yall soon :)!
- caelesti
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REVIEWS
Goatjo: This story deserves more attention I hope you can update it soon
Thank you so so much bestie, that means a lot! I will try my best, but I actually lost a bunch of my drafts for the later chapters and will have to write them anew, so it will take longer but I promise it will come out!
Redangel14: will there be a sequel
After I finish this, I have plans for 4, 5 and 6, but I'm still trying to figure out how that'll all end out in my head, and if I want to do the original 6,7,8 and 9 or if I want to go off course and start my own way after that.
Wondeverett: hory sheeeeat this fic got me in a chain, waiting for the next chapter!
and the kiss oh my god, my goat akemi will cherish that memory forever. jotaro stop being a pussy dude, ask her out FOR ONCE
LMFAO I LOVE YOU BRO, i'm working hard on the next chapter, i'm so sorry for the delay!
Jkiul: I'm really loving this story so far I can't wait for the next chapter. It's really sad to hear that some of your drafts for the future chapters got lost but it is what it is. I'm also excited to see what you're thinking abt for the sequels.
WAAAHHHH thank you! it really is what it is, i'm dealing with it and hey it'll be better than it was before. EEEKKK i'm so glad you're enjoying the story!
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word count: 7,258