Chapter Text
Anne wasn’t the type of girl to plan way ahead, she made decisions more often on impulse than otherwise. Her idea of telling Taeko that her father would arrive in five days was a quick improvisation on her part. Only after really thinking about it did she realize that when the five days passed she would have to make up more lies or else everybody would find out she was a runaway and more then likely would be sending her home.
But as it turns out, she wouldn’t even have those five days to figure out what to do next.
“You guys are already leaving?!” Anne exclaimed as soon as Taeko informed her of their oncoming departure from the city.
Had Anne been the one with the enhanced sharp nose, she would easily have been able to smell the guilt Taeko was feeling. She really didn’t want to leave Anne behind but time was against them and they couldn’t risk losing any of it.
“I’m sorry, Anne. We really have to go.” Taeko apologized softly as she put on her backpack.
“Why are you guys in such a hurry anyway?” Anne asked, trying to get to the root of the problem.
Taeko hesitated, she felt the urge to justify their actions. To explain why they had to leave her. Yet, it also felt wrong. She had made a mention of Seiko’s illness when she was talking about Jotaro earlier and now she regretted it. She didn’t have the right to divulge that information. If someone were to tell Anne about it, it should have been Mr. Joestar or maybe Jotaro, not her.
“…It’s not my place to tell.” She said, to which the kid was not the best pleased with. “Mr. Joestar paid for a five day stay in this room so you can remain at the hotel until your dad gets here.”
While Taeko was hoping her words would soothe the girl, instead they had the opposite effect; they reminded Anne of her lack of planning. Sure, the five days at the hotel would be nice but it brought the question on what she would do after. The best plan she could come up with on the spot was to keep following this group.
Taeko interpreted Anne’s smell of nervousness and worry as due to her having to stay in this room on her own for days. The news of the two murders had spread fast around the hotel and when Taeko returned to their room, she had to inform Anne. She had explained that Polnareff was innocent but wouldn’t be able to explain what happened to the real killer without mentioning the use of stands. So, in Taeko’s mind, it made sense for Anne to be concerned as she was under the impression that there was still an assassin on the run.
Luckily for both of them, Taeko was quick to suggest something that would take the girl’s mind off their problems, even if it was just for a while.
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The classmates' agreement was for them to meet at the hotel's entrance so they could go and take the cable car to Singapore Station to reserve their train tickets for the next day. Taeko didn't want to spend more time at the lobby than needed so she specifically requested for them to meet outside.
Taeko came out of the hotel’s front door with Anne, glad she was able to get through the lobby quickly enough to not get a headache this time.
She didn’t even take more than two steps from the door when caught the smell of someone smoking. Checking where the smell was coming from, she found her classmate. Her brows knitted in a frown as she saw him she saw him exhale the smoke. Her mother and Yushiro had gone in depth when warning her of the harm of smoking so seeing that instantly reminded her of all their lectures.
“You really should stop doing that. You are going to cause harm to almost every organ in your body if you keep this up. It could also lead to several diseases unless you quit smoking as soon as possible.” She said that instead of giving him any greetings. She was aware that the delinquent would more than likely ignore any warnings from her to drop that harmful habit of his yet she still couldn’t keep herself from voicing her concern. “Think about your future.”
The delinquent felt very tempted to roll his eyes at her lecture. It was not the first time he heard something like that. His mother had told him the exact same thing when she found out he had started smoking. The only reason he dropped what was left of the cigarette into the ground and put it out by stepping on it was because he was done.
He turned to face her, not expecting to see the brat was there as well. Although, considering how Taeko took the kid under her wing, he should have predicted this. He didn’t even have to ask, Taeko was polite enough to give him an explanation.
“I promised to take Anne to eat something sweet.” Taeko looked at the kid, a warm smile on her face.
“We are going to go get ice cream!” Anne declared loudly, excited to finally get the sweet Taeko had offered her.
“That’s a great choice! There is nothing better than ice cream on a sunny day!” Taeko said. “What flavor do you want?”
The girls kept on chatting with each other while he watched, comparing the bubbly kid eagerly talking about her favorite flavor of ice cream to the hostile stowaway they met only a few days before. The brat that had threatened her with a switchblade was now looking up to Taeko like she was her older sister or something. It was a very sharp contrast considering the short time in between but well that's Taeko Kamado’s charm for you.
“Good grief.” He huffed while he pulled the brim of his hat down. “We don’t have all day.”
“Oh!” Taeko looked at him, embarrassed that she got distracted talking to Anne and left him standing there waiting. “Sorry! We can go now.”
“You guys are leaving without me?” Another person made their presence known before they could leave, making the trio turn to look who it was. They saw Kakyoin walking in their direction, revealing himself from the shadows of the building.
“You are coming too?” Taeko wondered, surprised by his unexpected arrival. Either way, she wasn’t going to protest him joining, it would be hypocritical on her part.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to sunbathe today?” Jotaro questioned, finding his friend's decision to accompany them a bit strange. It had been just a few minutes earlier, while he was leaving their room, that Kakyoin had revealed his plans for the day. It was weird how he had changed his mind so quickly.
“You don’t need to come if you prefer to do something else. We can deal with this.” Taeko assured Kakyoin.
“Why waste a chance to go out with my friends?” He mused with a blank expression on his face.
Taeko felt that there was something off in the way he said that. Kakyoin was a naturally polite person, he was soft and level headed when he spoke. But now, as he was talking about going with them he sounded more blunt and unapologetic. There was also something different in his scent, he smelled… malicious.
“…are you feeling alright?” Taeko had to ask, growing concerned over his strange behavior. “You seem a bit…” She stopped herself. It would be very rude of her to call him weird. She shook her head, choosing to be nicer. “Sorry, forget what I just said. You are more than welcome to join us.”
“Thank you, Taeko. You are a very sweet girl.” Kakyoin complimented her with a smirk that didn't seem to belong in Kakyoin’s face.
Taeko felt a shiver run down her spine and she couldn't help but ask herself why Kakyoin felt so off to her.
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The question still lingered in her mind as they strolled around Singapore, looking for ice cream stands. She and Anne were walking hand in hand, with Jotaro next to them and Kakyoin close behind. From time to time, Taeko looked over her shoulder to check on Kakyoin. At one point she caught him glaring at Jotaro’s back, with malice in both his eyes and his scent. He noticed her staring and when his gaze shifted to her, Taeko felt very unsafe. It was like she was being observed by an enemy instead of a friend. She instinctively held Anne’s hand a little tighter and edged closer to Jotaro’s side.
“Since when are you and Kakyoin on a first name basis?” The delinquent asked, making Taeko glance up at him with an expression of confusion. “He called you Taeko.”
“He did, didn't he?” Taeko realized she had been so thoughtful of Kakyoin’s behavior she didn't notice that detail until Jotaro pointed it out. “I don't remember him doing that before. I think that’s the first time.”
At her response his eyes narrowed as they darted to their friend. He was also finding Kakyoin's behavior weird, and he had enough experience with fights to recognize the face of someone that was looking for one. But usually he did something to piss that person off, and Kakyoin seemed fine at the hotel so he was sure it wasn't anything that he did.
Taeko felt Anne’s hand let go of hers when the kid rushed to the first ice cream stand she found. The teen had to contain the urge to drag the kid back to her side when her protective instincts pressured her to do so. There were no enemies around so Taeko wasn't sure what was making her feel that way.
“Could I get some ice cream, please?” Anne politely requested the man behind the counter.
“Welcome!” He said, greeting both the kid and the three teenangers accompanying her. Instead of giving her the ice cream she requested, he showed her a coconut. “Heya, miss. Ice cream is good, but this baby here…” He pressed his cheek against the coconut, a smile plastered his face as he did so. “...chilled coconut juice, nothing in the world like it. How about it?”
The man offered her another coconut. One that had already been pierced, with two straws ready to be used. His advertisement seemed to nudge the kid’s curiosity, but she was still uncertain if she should try it out or not. She had come here so excited for ice cream and wasn't originally planning on experimenting something different.
“I guess we can try it.” Jotaro, seeing that the kid was having difficulty choosing, ended up deciding to get the drink for the group. “Give us four then.” He held up four fingers as he said that.
“Well, then! That’ll be sixteen dollars.” The man stated, visibly pleased he got four customers.
“Hey, make it eight dollars! Eight dollars!” Anne tried to bargain, to which Taeko had to giggle at her cuteness.
Kakyoin was the one that took the initiative to pay for them, he fished his wallet from one of his pockets and took sixteen dollars from it. Witnessing him do that was doodly reassuring for Taeko. It proved to her that, regardless of his weird behavior of the day, he was still the polite guy they knew him as.
“This should cover it.” He said as he held out the sixteen dollars to give them to the seller.
“Okay!” The smiling man took the money and went to give them their drinks. “Enjoy!”
As Kakyoin was about to put away his wallet back in his pocket, it was snatched from his hands by a thief who none of them noticed was sneaking up on him.
“I’ll take that!” The thief snickered as he bolted away, intending to disappear in the crowd with the money left in the wallet.
Kakyoin’s expression remained blank but a shadow casted upon it as he called for his stand. Just as his user, Hierophant green was also behaving weird, instead of moving swiftly as he usually did, he crawled after the thief, grabbing the man’s leg to make him fall face first into the ground.
Taeko winced, knowing that had to have hurt. Yet, she supposed he deserved it for stealing what wasn't his. But what happened next crossed the line from comprehensible to cruel.
Kakyoin’s face twisted in a sinister expression, one she would never in her wildest dreams expect to make an appearance in his face. Joined by a dark aura that surrounded him, was a mix of emotions that exploded from inside.
ANGER. DISGUST. HATE.
“So you thought you could just grab my wallet, you disgusting piece of shit?!” The foul language he spat out caught his companions off guard, knowing their polite friend wasn't one to curse. Not yet done with punishing the thief, Kakoyin grabbed the man’s head as he threatened him. “I’ll have you spewing blood!”
Taeko’s mouth dropped open in horror as she witnessed her friend slam his knee against the man’s nose with enough force to break it with a loud crack. The smell of blood filled the scene as it began spewing from the thief’s face.
“Kakyoin!” Jotaro shouted for their friend to stop. Even he thought their friend was exaggerating and he was the violent one of their group!
As for Anne, the kid was watching the scene speechless with her eyes wide open.
Their reactions did nothing to snap their friend from his frenzy. He grabbed the, now scared shitless, thief by the hair this time.
“Why you, vile little cockroach dick, how dare you touch my wallet…” In a blur, the thief was face up across Kakyoin’s shoulders. The teenanger hooked the man’s head with one hand and his leg with the other. “…with the same grimy fingers that wipe that filthy ass?!” He then pulled down on both ends in an effort to snap his spine. “I can’t let you get away with that, now can I?” As their friend bent the thief’s back more and more, the nameless man kept coughing blood. “Come on! Come on! Come on!”
“Hey! What are you doing, Kakyoin? You will kill the bastard!” Jotaro shouted a second time trying to get their friend to stop but again it had no effect. Kakyion didn't even seem to hear him calling, too deep with his outburst to do so.
“Oh my God, a back-breaker?” Anne muttered as she sweat buckets. “Such a brutal move! And he is using such filthy language… It’s not like him at all!”
Taeko knew she had to do something yet she found herself frozen in her spot, not able to move even a muscle. Her mouth was hung open but she couldn't utter not even a single word. Had it been someone else Taeko would have taken action, but here was her friend doing something sadistic she never expected him to be capable of. She was stuck between being horrified over his actions or concerned over what is making him behave this way.
“Come on! Come on! Come on!” Kakoyin repeated again and again, each chant followed by a crunch and the sound of the man choking on his own blood.
“I told you to cut it out! What are you, deaf?” Jotaro decided he had enough of waiting for his friend to pull himself together so he shoved him to make him drop the thief. Kakyoin stumbled forward as his victim escaped from his grasp.
When the thief’s body hit the ground, Taeko found herself able to move again. She rushes to his side, couching down to examine his injuries. It was hard to determine the extent of the damage to his spine without an x-ray but she could tell it was bad. It would be a miracle that he was able to walk normally after that.
“Dammit, Kakyoin. You’re not right.” She heard Jotaro shouting at Kakyoin, he was just as shocked by their companion’s actions as she was. “What the hell’s gotten into you?”
Kakoyin, instead of expressing any remorse, brushed the dust off his shoulder and casually got his wallet from the ground. He turned to Jotaro, shooting him a glare with cold, empty eyes. It gave Jotaro the impression Kakyoin was annoyed with his interruption. While he appeared to have at least calmed down, Taeko could smell that his hate and anger was still there.
“That hurt… No need to push…” Their friend spoke slowly. “That man tried to steal my wallet.” He said, as if that was enough to explain his actions.
“The fact that he robbed you is irrelevant!” Taeko firmly stated as she got up and marched over to Kakyoin. “You could have killed someone!” She gestured to the thief he injured to show her friend the severity of his actions. Her words didn't seem to reach him as he didn't even turn to look at the man, instead staring down at her.
“He committed a crime. And criminals should be punished.” Without breaking eye contact with her, he took one of the coconuts that a still shaken Anne was holding and brought the straw to his lips. His focus then shifted from Taeko to Jotaro. “Tell me, am I wrong, Jotaro?” He took a long slip of the refreshing drink, observing his companions' reactions.
Taeko frowned, now having zero doubts that there was something seriously wrong with him.
“This guy…” Jotaro thought, his eyes flashing dangerously at their ‘friend’.
“What are you glaring at? The look in your eyes is awfully hostile, Jotaro.” Kakyoin confronted. “You couldn’t possibly be thinking about ending our friendship over a little tussle with this thief, now would you?”
“This was more than a little tussle!” Taeko refuted, looking deep in her friend’s eyes for any signs of regret. To her dismay, she found none. “It was unnecessarily cruel and yet you don't even seem to care.”
From the corner of her eye she saw the thief move, he looked back at Kakyoin with an expression of pure fear and began desperately crawling away to put as much distance as possible between him and the teen. While Taeko knew he wasn't totally innocent, after all he did try to rob the wallet, it didn't mean he deserved what he got. When he was far enough and tried to stand on his shaky legs, Taeko silently called forth Titania to give him a little help. The blue lady was careful not to aggravate his wounds as she aided him to get to his feet. He probably didn't even realize that was an invisible force helping him, just bent on getting away from there as soon as possible.
It was the sound of Kakyoin’s chuckle that brought her attention back to their group.
“You’re both making way too much out of this.” He said. “I’m just having a bad day. I’m so exhausted from the trip, it puts me in such a bad mood.”
“A bad mood doesn't justify what you just did!” Taeko harshly told him. His unempathetic behavior was getting on her nerves. “If you are feeling bad just talk to us! You can't take your frustrations out on the first person who irritates you! This isn’t like you, so stop acting like an insane maniac!”
He narrowed his eyes at her, making her fear for a brief moment that he would turn his deranged rage at her. But, instead of that, his entire demeanor changed abruptly, the previously empty eyes glinted like he was on the verge of tears. His shoulders dropped, looking at Taeko with a pained expression as if she had just slapped him.
“That's a really rude thing to call a friend, you know?” He wails, putting her in the spot. “I hoped you would show more compassion for someone going through a hard time… but I guess I judged you wrong.”
“Kakyoin…” Taeko whispered, her heart clenched at the sight of her distressed looking friend. She opened her mouth, about to apologize for calling him that.
“Going through a hard time, huh?” Jotaro interrupted before she could speak. While she had been easily persuaded by Kakyoin, he could see exactly what he was doing. Everybody knew Taeko was too kind for her own good, so it would be easy to pull on her heartstrings. The fact that Kakyoin was doing exactly that was low and bothered Jotaro more than he would have expected. “Looked to me like you were enjoying yourself so drop the pity party.”
His accusation made Kakyoin drop the facade. The air grew heavy as the two males exchanged a glare that was nothing but hostile. Fearing they were about to begin a brawl in the middle of the street, Taeko went to deescalate the situation.
“I guess the last few days have left us all a bit agitated. We should calm down and just enjoy this day while it lasts. We still have to reserve the train tickets after all.” She looked deep into Jotaro’s eyes, knowing that between him and Kakyoin, the delinquent would be the one she would be able to reason with… and wasn’t that a weird thought to have.
The situation left her so uneasy she almost forgot to get her coconut juice from the seller before leaving, but she did so while apologizing for all the mess he had to witness. She began to walk away from the ice cream stand expecting everyone to follow, her mind rushing with all the possibilities she could come up with on what could be happening to her friend.
“So, got any idea on what the fuck is going on with him?” Jotaro's voice came from her left as he strolled beside her. He had spent enough time with her to recognize the face she made when she was thinking.
“I’m not sure…” She began to explain, holding her coconut a little tighter than necessary. “...his natural odor is the same so it really is Kakyoin. It’s his emotions and feelings that are all wrong, like his personality has done a complete 180 from one moment to another.”
“Maybe he is possessed. Could be another flesh bud.” He speculated with a huff, not at all excited with the prospect of having to rip another one of those from Kakyoin’s forehead.
“No. I would be able to smell it.” She denied with a shake of her head. It was impossible for her not to notice the presence of those things due to the terrible smell of pure evil they had. “Maybe it’s the effect of a stand.”
“A stand that turns people into violent assholes?” He summarized, considering the possibility of such a stand existing.
Their conversation was interrupted when the small form of Anne came rushing after them. Not only was her wide eyed expression a clear giveaway of her distress, the sentiment was algo evident in the way she clung to the first person she got within reach of, which was Jotaro.
“What’s up, half pint?” Jotaro asked the girl holding his sleeve, while his face did not reveal what he was feeling Taeko could smell that he was worried.
“N-nothing!” Anne’s response came in the form of a nervous stammer. It was clearly a lie, something had to have happened to get a reaction like that from her.
Suspicious that the kid just witnessed something from their oddly behaved “friend”, they looked back at Kakyoin. Seeing that he was still standing by the tree, his jaw moving as he was eating something the two teenangers weren’t able to identify in that distance. He stared back at them with those unnerving empty eyes.
“Stay close to us, okay?” Taeko requested in a slightly apologetic tone. She should have kept Anne close at all times. Her protective instincts have been right before, the Kakyoin that was looking at them was clearly dangerous. “Kakyoin isn’t in his right mind today.”
The kid conceded without any protest, taking hold of Taeko’s hand. She was more than willing to keep her distance from Kakyoin. She placed herself between the two teens as she felt safer on their side.
“What about we go find that ice cream that you wanted?” Taeko offered, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
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They found a place to get ice cream on the way to Singapore Station. Unfortunately, the sweet treat wasn’t enough to break the tension that had settled between the group. Both Jotaro and Taeko kept an eye on Kakyoin for any strange movements, not making the mistake of letting Anne close to him again.
The cable car station they were at offered a good view of the city so they were able to admire the scenery while they took their time eating their ice creams.
“Hey, Jotaro.” Kakyoin called as he approached the delinquent standing by the railing, making the other teens grow tense in anticipation of his next move. “Are you going to eat that cherry?” He asked as he looked at the sweet he was holding. “If not, then hand it over already. I’m starving.”
He reached forward and took the cherry without giving time for the delinquent to answer. As he did so, he gave Jotaro a shove the Kujo teen didn’t expect, one hard enough to push him over the edge of the platform.
“Uh-oh! Better watch out, Jotaro!” He warned, yet it sounded more like mockery.
Jotaro’s eyes widened as he tumbled backwards into a huge fall that would definitely end in his death. Lucky for him, he managed to grab hold of the railing just in time.
“Jojo!” The girls screamed as they rushed to his aid. Quickly realizing the two of them wouldn't be enough to pull him, Taeko summoned Titania and the trio together helped Jotaro climb back up.
As soon as he was back to safe ground, Taeko spun in her heels and faced Kakyoin with a glare of anger. She would have screamed at him for recklessly placing their friend in such danger but at that point she knew it would be pointless.
It wasn't recklessness that fueled his actions, he pushed Jotaro with clear intentions of killing him.
“No need to make a big deal about it.” He scoffed as he rolled his eyes at her. He wasn't feeling threatened the least by someone he knew was too nice to attack her friend. “I’m only playing with good ol’ Jotaro.” He said with a laugh.
What he did next was equally confusing as it was disturbing, he placed the cherry he stole in his tongue but instead of swallowing it he began playing with it.
“Lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick Lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick…” He kept rolling the cherry with his tongue until it fell into the ground.
Taeko couldn’t help but cringe at the scene, not sure why he was doing that. She could feel a scent of anger from Jotaro intensifying and she predicted that he was about to begin a confrontation.
“That look again!” Kakyoin teased as he pointed to the teen staring daggers at him. “What’s with all this hardcore glaring, Jotaro, old pal?” As he bent down, grabbed the cherry he dropped and went to put it back in his mouth, Taeko had to say something.
“You shouldn’t eat this cherry. It probably is infected with bacteria that was on the floor.”
Her warning didn’t deter him, but it made him pause. Probably because he didn’t expect her to say that. He eyed her intently for a moment, and then he answered.
“I can’t help it. I like devouring sweet things…” He teased with a grin before he finally swallowed the cherry.
The discomfort she felt at his comment, considering what he called her earlier, wasn’t enough distraction for her not to notice that his body got slightly bigger after he ate the cherry. She blinked, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her or if she really saw that.
Before she could point that out, a cable car stopped next to them and as the doors slid open, Jotaro finally saw an opportunity to let out his pent up anger.
“Get in, Kakyoin.” Jotaro hissed with his clenched jaw. “The cable car just got there. Now I told you to get in. See, I’ve got your ticket right here.” He raised a clenched fist as he said that, the supposed ticket. “I’m gonna knock you crooked, possessed ass right into that cable car!”
That was all the warning he gave before his fist went flying straight into Kakyoin’s face with enough force to launch the teen into the cable car. The worrying part was that in the process, Jotaro also appeared to have dislocated his friend’s jaw.
“What?” Jotaro exclaimed, not expecting his punch to cause that damage. Anne let out a scream of shock and horror.
“Kakyoin!” Taeko gasped in concern, entering the cable car after him. Even if he really was possessed, they couldn't get their friend hurt that bad. After all, any wounds he got during the fight would probably stay even after they healed him from whatever was affecting him. Inside the vehicle, she saw him lying on the ground with his back to her, in a position that made it impossible to see the state of his face. “Kakyoin… are you alright?” She heard what she thought was him groaning in pain and hesitantly reached her hand out to him…
…just to jump back when he turned to face her. His dislocated jaw was dangling from his face, threatening to fall off with only parts of his skin and flesh keeping it in place. The cherry he had swallowed previously was somehow back on his tongue.
“So sweet of you to ask!” He teased and Taeko was sure he would have been grinning had he been able too. He began licking the cherry in his tongue yet again. “Lick lick lick lick lick lick lick…”
“Stay away from him!” Jotaro shouted, having entered the cable car following her and realized their theory had been wrong. “That fucker is not Kakyoin!”
“What?? It has to be him! He smells like Kakyoin!” She expressed her disbelief yet she still took some steps back away from Kakyoin. “He’s got to be possessed!”
“Possessed isn’t the right word, sweetie!” The deformed Kakoyin got up and tapped the ceiling of the cable car to show his height. He was noticeably taller than Jotaro while the original Kakyoin was shorter. “You two haven’t realized my body’s been growing this whole time,have you?”
“B-but if this isn't the real Kakyoin…” Which would mean someone tricked her sense of smell for the first time and that was a troubling thought that she would have to push aside for the time being. “...then who is this?”
“Maybe it's a stand…” Jotaro guessed, seeing it would explain how this impostor copied Kakyoin's appearance yet at the same time there were flaws in that theory. “…but I was able to touch him just now… Unless he’s a stand I can strike with my own fists?”
“Well, we were able to touch the orangutan’s stand. And I was able to headbutt Dark Blue Moon.” Taeko pointed out.
“Don’t compare my stand with those two losers.” The enemy scoffed through his dangling jaw. “You will see that mine is more impressive than both…”
The doors of the cable car began to slide shut behind them and before they could close completely, Taeko yelled instructions to Anne.
“Anne! Wait for us here! We will come back for you, I promise!” She said, knowing that it was too late for her to exit the car to stay with the kid. And so Anne had to watch from the platform as the cable car began moving away from her.
“Don't make promises you won't be able to keep…I can merge with any organic matter I consume. I’m a stand anyone can see, touch and smell.” The enemy said as Kakyoin’s face began to melt and distort. Now that his deceit was revealed, he saw no reason to keep the disguise up. The enemy’s cover dissolves to reveal an unfamiliar black haired man. “I’m Yellow Temperance, of the Temperance card. Gaze upon my handsome face with envy!”
At the same time as his disguise disappeared, Taeko could sense his scent was also changing from the smell of old paper and cherries from Kakyoin into what must be the cologne this new enemy uses. It explains how he was able to trick her. His stand wasn’t only able to copy appearances but also the natural odors of people.
That realization brought forth one very important and worrying question…
“What did you do with the real Kakyoin?” Taeko demanded from the stranger, interrupting him before he could say anything more.
“If you ask more nicely I may answer you, sweetheart. Also, you can call me Rubber Soul.” He informed her with a grin. He was amused by the distress she was expressing over the well-being of her friend. He also could see that his answer was bothering Jotaro as well, by the scowl he had on his face. “How about you take a look at your hand, Jotaro, old pal? I left a little bit of me when you hit me.” His comment made Jotaro raise his right hand to find that there really was a bit of the enemy’s yellowish slime around his little finger. “But I am warning you: Touch it, and it’ll go after your left hand, too.” He continued to blab on about how his stand worked. “You should save your left hand for picking your nose! This stand is a slow eater… And the more it eats, the bigger it gets. You’ll never get it off!”
“Damn you…” Jotaro cursed, his stand came from behind him ready to land a punch on the infuriating man in front of them.
“ORA!” Star Platinum exclaims.
“What do you mean, ‘ora’?” Rubber taunts with a grin. “When I digest you, I’ll shove your own crap down your measly throat!”
He uses his stand to counter attack. The slime stretches from his body to engulf Star Platinum’s arm and in reaction his user’s correspective body part begins to burn in purple flames.
“This stuff burns!” Jotaro hissed in pain as Rubber Soul was laughing at him. “You bastard…”
“Jotaro!” Taeko exclaims in concern. She faces the enemy, preparing to launch her attack. “Water breath—!”
She didn’t get to finish as the world around her suddenly became a blur. Before she could register what was happening, there was the sound of glass shattering and then she felt herself falling. Seconds earlier, Jotaro had decided to put some distance between them and the enemy so he could figure out what to do about his finger. He had jumped, taking Taeko with him, from the cable car when he saw they were passing a platform between the two cable lines.
A scream came out from the girl’s throat as she wrapped her arms around his, her panic intensified when she realized they would miss the platform and fall.
“Titania! Help!” Taeko yelled and her stand answered by coming out of her and taking hold of both teens. Her wings spread behind her, flapping intensely as she kept the teens from falling to their deaths. Taeko could feel that her stand was struggling, her arm holding onto Jotaro especially ached as Titania wasn’t used to carrying someone that heavy. Jotaro summoned his stand’s arm to drag them the rest of the way.
Both teens let out a sigh of relief when they reached the platform.
“Please, never do that again…” Taeko requested, slightly trembling, noticeably shaken by what she just experienced.
“Good grief.” Jotaro sighed as he inspected his finger, it was bleeding a bit but fortunately the slime hadn't begun spreading yet.
“How is it?” His companion inquired,a frown on her face as she looked at the wound.
“Could be worse but I've gotta get this thing off me.” Jotaro said, thinking of possible ways to remove the goo, even the uncomfortable ones. “Worst case, I might have to chop off my finger.”
“I’m sure we can figure something out that doesn’t include amputation.” Taeko squirmed at the idea, hoping they wouldn’t have to resort to that option.
“Think you got away? Sorry to burst your bubble, pal.” They heard their adversary speaking from back in the cable car. “Now dig that earwax out of your ears and listen up, hotshot! My stand, Yellow Temperance, has no weaknesses. You didn't escape. I just have no need to chase you! You are as good as dead!” And then he was too far for them to hear anything else.
Jotaro took out a lighter from one of the pockets from his coat. He brought the fire close to the slime, just to feel a smaller hand grab his bicep to make him stop.
“What are you doing?” Taeko asked, alarmed that he was about to burn himself.
“It’s that or the chopping.” He hissed in annoyance. It’s not like he was going to like burning his own finger, he knew it would hurt like a bitch but it was the best option he could come up with. Reluctantly, Taeko let him continue, biting her lip as she watched. Jotaro held the flame close to his finger, wincing at the pain he knew was coming. Instead of burning it off as he hoped, the slime exploded and spread to a second finger, now bleeding more than before. “This… It only made it grow! This was a bad idea…Damn.”
“Jojo, look!” Taeko called and he glanced in the direction she was pointing. A different cable car was getting closer to them and as it approached the duo could see a kid inside. The boy looked at them as he licked a popsicle. “If fire didn’t work…”
“…maybe ice will.” Jotaro said, quickly understanding her suggestion. “Think your stand can give us a lill boost?”
Taeko sighed, knowing how hard it was for Titania to carry the huge form of Jotaro, but still she nodded.
She approached him to wrap her arms around his as she did before but was surprised when she felt his left arm sneaking around her waist and pulling her close.
“Wrap your arms around my neck.” He asked as he didn’t want to risk dropping her during the jump.
“What?” She squealed, her cheeks a bit pink.
“Good grief. Do you want to fall?” He huffed.
Seeing his point, she conceded and did as he asked, wrapping her arms around his neck for support. He took a few steps back for impulse and ran. When he jumped from the platform, Taeko immediately felt the gravity beginning to pull their bodies down.
“Titania!” She called for her stand. The blue lady once again took hold of the teens and aided them in reaching their destination.
When they got to the cable car, Star Platinum appeared and ripped one of the doors open so the teens could get inside. They were greeted by barks from a small dog. Looking around Taeko saw a kid and who she supposed were his mother and father. The man was sleeping so he didn't notice their arrival but the woman was awake.
“My, my. That’s certainly a bizarre entrance.” The mother said, luckily she seemed more entertained then freaked out.
“Don’t mind us.” Jotaro grunted, looking down at the kid.
Taeko couched down in front of the little one and began talking to him.
“Hello there.” Taeko greeted him with a smile. “Sorry for the intrusion to your ride but we really need your help.” She said, getting the kid’s attention. “My friend over there is hurt and we really needed some ice to make the pain go away.” She gestured towards Jotaro and the kid was able to see the blood pouring from his finger so he easily believed her explanation. Still, he hesitated in giving her the delicious popsicle. “I’m going to pay so you can have another one, don’t worry.” The kid finally nodded and Taeko wasted no time in taking and then giving the popsicle to Jotaro.
“Well, well. You really do have a way with kids.” She heard his mother comment.
“Not really, it’s your son that's very kind.” Taeko said with a smile and that made the kid frown.
“T-that’s not my mother.” He whispered shyly to Taeko. The teen's body stiffened when she heard what he said next. “She wasn’t there when we got in.”
Taeko got a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach, even with only that bit of indication she got an instant suspicion on who the “woman” really was. Luckily, the “woman” didn’t appear to have heard the kid unintentionally exposing him.
“That bastard! Now it's forming needles and digging deeper into my hand!” Jotaro hissed in pain. He had tried icing his hand with the popsicle just for the slime to shift into spikes, making even more blood spew from the wound.
Taeko sensed that the chubby woman was pleased by her classmate’s distress and it was enough for her to confirm that it was their enemy that had come after them. The disguise’s painted lips opened but Taeko was the one to speak.
“Flower breathing!” Taeko called for her stand, Titania appeared with her sword already positioned to attack. “Fourth form!”
The enemy’s smirk instantly dropped, alarmed the girl saw through his disguise. He watched with frightened eyes as the blue katana came rapidly in his direction, targeting his neck. The woman’s appearance then dissolved into yellow slime to reveal the form of Rubber Soul.
“Dammit! You lill bitch!” He cursed, an expression of panic on his face as he made his slime shift into a barrier to keep the katana from slashing him in half. “You should be more careful with that thing. For a moment I thought you wanted to hurt me.” He said with a smirk that was noticeably forced.
“You bastard! You were waiting for us in this cable car!” Jotaro glared at the enemy, mentally cursing himself for having not realized the bastard had followed them there.
In the background the sound of the dog barking and the kid screaming at the commotion woke up the father. He said something and when he took in the bizzare scene he dragged both dog and kid closer to him. The teens gave them no mind as they had more troubling matters to focus on.
“I've come to put an end to you, Jotaro, my old pal!” Rubber teased the delinquent, though his gaze stayed on the female stand, watching as she tried to remove her katana from the slime. “I’m just going to have to deal with your friend first!”
Jotaro noticed that the slime around Titania’s blade was expanding, threatening to go up from the blade to the stand’s hands.
“Kamado! Let go of the sword!” He warned but the girl didn’t respond. She kept urging anxiously for her stand to free the katana. “Kamado!”
“Just give me a moment! I can get it out!” With that Titania’s struggle intensified, trying desperately to pull the sword from the slime.
Seeing the yellowish slime almost reach the handle of the katana, Jotaro summoned Star Platinum to force Queen Titania to let go of the sword by grabbing and pulling her by her haori. The blue lady’s slender fingers slipped from the sword just in time as the slime spread to where they had been just a second before.
“I keep telling you, I don't have any weaknesses!” The enemy bragged with the slime covering half of his body. Taeko bit her lip as she saw that her katana was almost completely consumed by the yellow slime. She had to resist the urge to take it back because Titania now would have to stick her hand into the slime to grab the handle. “Are you two dumbasses even listening? My stand is armor that can also absorb power. A defensive wall that can also attack! No matter how fast or how strong you may be, against Yellow Temperance, you’re both helpless! You can't defeat me!”
At that Jotaro’s hand began bleeding even more, yet the delinquent did not let any grunt of pain escape his lips.
“Do you finally understand?” Rubber Soul laughed maniacally as he commanded his stand to expand from his body, shooting the yellowish substance into the two teens. “You have no way of winning! You are not getting out of this! Not until you’re digested, Jotaro! I’ll eat you up!”
As the slime burned their skin, with some steam even coming out of it, somehow Jotaro seemed unfazed. Which Taeko found quite impressive considering there was considerably much more slime covering him than her.
“You are right, you really have no weaknesses.” Jotaro calmly admitted, to the confusion of the two other stand users present. “Maybe you are the world's strongest, and that's terrifying. But I’ll tell ya, we Kujo’s… No, I mean, we Joestar’s… we use strategy to fight past any obstacle. I still have one strategy left.”
“What?” The enemy questioned, still smirking.
“A secret Joestar strategy?” Taeko asked, confused because this was the first time she was hearing of it.
“And that’s to…” Jotaro said slowly and in a split of a second Star Platinum appeared and punched a huge hole into the cable car’s door. There was a second of total confusion on Taeko’s part before Jotaro finished. “...run away!”
Taeko felt a flutter of panic as the few ropes of slime on her skin disconnected from her body when Jotaro jumped into the hole, pulling Rubber Soul(and her Katana) with him. She looked down and let out a sigh of relief seeing that the two men had fallen into a body of water.
The three other occupants in the cable car, who were cowering in the opposite corner with no idea what was going on, watched as the Kamado pulled some cash from her backpack and placed it in one of the seats.
“Sorry for the inconvenience.” She apologized while also keeping her promise of paying another ice cream for the kid.
Taeko again looked down the hole and drew a sharp breath. It was a long fall and she really didn't want to jump from a cable car again. Even so she still threw herself into the hole, knowing the longest she waited the farest from the duo she would land.
The teen promptly called for her stand and Titania appeared, taking hold of her user’s shoulders to ease her descent. The blue skinned lady used her wings to glide across the air. The landing in the water was so soft that, instead of splashing it as did the other two, Taeko only created ripples on the surface. Titania floated to a specific spot and pulled her katana out of the water. Taeko had no idea how she knew the sword had fallen there. Just another proof that there was a lot about stands the Kamado teen didn’t know.
“I want something from you.” She heard Jotaro speak, he was a bit far from her with the enemy standing in between them. While she couldn't see Rubber Soul’s face, as she was only able to see his back from her position, Taeko smelled that there was blood on him so she surmised Jotaro had already punched him. “The other stand users, I want all the info you got.”
That immediately perked her interest so she chose not to announce her arrival and instead let Jotaro continue his interrogation.
“That's the one thing I can't talk about. I have some pride, you know.” Rubber Soul wailed, hesitant in sharing what he knew. “I can’t rat them out…”
“Well, okay then.” Jotaro said as he raised a fist, an incentive for him to start talking unless he wanted to get punched again. “That's honorable.”
“Oh, I remember now!” Rubber Soul was pathetically quick to give up, though, considering the damage Jotaro’s punch could cause, Taeko couldn't really judge him for avoiding getting hit a second time. “Death, The Empress, The Hanged Man, and The Emperor are after you!”
“So, what can they do?” Jotaro urged him to keep talking.
“I don't know.” Rubber Soul admitted and, when he saw Jotaro clenching his fist, put one hand up in defense, fingers wide. “No, honest! I really don't know! Stand users never reveal their abilities to each other! If they did, they’d be exposing their weakness outright!” His words did sound true though all of them knew he would need to say more to escape Jotaro’s ire. “But I do know that some witch taught DIO about stands… Her son is one of the four that is coming after you. His name is Centerfold. He’s unmistakable because he has two right hands.”
Taeko froze at the mention of the man with two right hands, feeling like her heart had just skipped a beat. At that moment she was reminded of the expression of deep anger that Polnareff had on his face when he spoke of his sister’s murderer.
“He’s the one who killed Polnareff’s sister, right? I've heard the occasional rumor about his powers…” Rubber Soul continued, having no idea the effect his words were having on the girl. As he spoke, he got to the edge of the water, using the wall as support for his wounded body and unknowingly giving Kamado a better view of him. “A mirror. Apparently, he uses a mirror. I haven't actually seen it, but Polnareff has no chance of winning. He’s dead meat.”
Taeko chose to ignore his last comment and focus on the useful information. The detail that he uses mirrors revealed little in the bigger scheme of things. From what she had seen until that point, there are many ways stands can be used. So, unfortunately, the only precaution they would be able to take from that would be to keep distance from any mirrors.
“I just noticed something, Jotaro…” The enemy spoke, now wearing a smirk on his face. “Looks like I’ve still got luck on my side. See the drain over there? The one with…” A glinting blade suddenly appearing right below his chin kept any more words from coming out of his throat. He paled, his gaze shifting to the wielder of the katana floating next to him and the red eyed girl glaring daggers at him. Feeling very unsafe under the threatening gaze of the teens and their stands, the enemy began to tremble in his spot.
“Don't even think about it.” Taeko threatened in a cold voice. “I also have questions. Now tell me, what did you do with the real Kakyoin?”
“I-I did nothing to him, I swear! My priority was you two! I just followed you when you left the hotel and thought disguising as him would be efficient!” He said in a shaky voice, desperate not to provoke any more anger from the two menacing looking teenangers.
Knowing their friend was safe brought relief to both of the teens. Yet, Taeko still needed to make one important question she couldn't pass the opportunity of getting answered.
“What does DIO want with me?” She then asked, hoping he at least knew that.
“I don’t know.” The enemy denied with a shake of his head but a bit of intimidation from Star Platinum’s part made him speak more. “He just said not to waste any of your blood!”
“Her blood?” Jotaro inquired, narrowing his eyes at him. “Why does he want her blood?”
“He is a vampire, does he need any more reason to want someone’s blood?” The defeated enemy said and, surprisingly, he made a good point.
While she knew it had been worth the try, Taeko felt a twinkle of disappointment. With her user done with her questions, Titania lowered her blade. The enemy let out a huge breath, relieved to have the pointy object away from his throat. Unfortunately for him, his relief was short-lived as he was immediately grabbed by the hair by Jotaro and his fear instantly returned in full force.
“But I answered your questions!” The frantically enemy protested to the beating he knew was about to come.
“Do you think I forgot you were planning on attacking me again?” Jotaro spat as he glared down at the pathetic man.
“I was just messing with ya! Just a little prank. Come on, don't tell me you took that to heart?” He tried to excuse himself but when he saw that his words were having no effect on the delinquent he opted to instead plead with the one he knew was the most merciful of the two. “Miss Taeko, please help me! You’re not letting him punch me any more, are you? My nose is already broken and my jaw is gonna have to be wired shut…”
Taeko didn’t even dignify him with a response. Robber had his chance to give up and, even if she tried, not even she could stop Jotaro from beating someone if he really wanted.
“We got nothing left to say to you.” Jotaro stated, not wanting to hear any more of his pathetic begging. “You’re way too pathetic. I'm done wasting my breath.”
And with that, Star Platinum began punching the man while yelling his battle cry.
“ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!” The stand yelled with each of his punches. When he was done, he delivered one last punch that threw the enemy backwards into the water. The enemy floated belly up as the water around him turned red with his blood. He had gotten so beaten up that the only proof they had that he hadn't died was the grunts of pain they could hear him making.
With the enemy defeated, Jotaro began moving to get out of the water. Taeko was about to follow him but paused when she caught the trail scent of the feelings he had at the moment.
Anger. Frustration.
Taeko frowned, thinking maybe the fight had angered him more than she expected.
“Jojo… are you alright?” Taeko hesitantly asked, a few steps behind him.
“I told you to let go of that freaking sword!” He snapped at her as his hands clenched into fists. The girl’s red eyes widened, taken aback by his sudden outburst. She had thought he was feeling angry with the enemy but it was at her the anger was actually directed to.
“S-sorry about that but I couldn’t let him take it! I need it to use the breathing styles!” She stuttered nervously as she tried to justify her actions although deep down she knew it as a weak justification. She knew that Jotaro had been right in dragging Titania away from the slime. The reason she insisted on getting her katana was because as a swordsman her instincts always told her never to let go of her sword. Letting go of their sword during a fight is basically accepting death. “I couldn’t fight without it!”
“So I had to save your ass yet again.” Jotaro rudely scoffed, making the girl flinch at his harsh yet admidly true words.
With what happened that day, there were three times Jotaro had to help her when she had been careless and stupid. She came on this trip to help in their quest but now realized that maybe she is slowly becoming a burden. And this thought felt more painful than any physical wound she had received until that point.
Ever since the day she first met Jojo, Taeko tried not to let his careless words get to her, to brush them off because she knew under all his rudeness and anger he was a good person, but this time she wasn't able to do that.
Hurt and indignation grew within her until they exploded into words.
“You don’t need to be so rude about it!” She exclaimed, making her classmate stop on his tracks. There was a moment of silence and as quick as her sudden anger came, it was replaced by sadness. “Why do you dislike me so much? I am always trying to be nice to you.”
He turned to face her so abruptly that Taeko found herself instinctively backing away from the other teen.
“Nice?” He spat as he shot her a hostile glare. He was so fucking tired of seeing her acting like she was the nicest girl in the word when she wasn’t even being honest with them that he impulsively decided to confront her then and there. “It would be nice if you just told us what the big deal is with your grandfather! Then we would be able to finally figure out why DIO is after an annoying bitch like you!”
The red eyed girl swallowed hard, with her shoulders then dropping in shame. She should have known he was suspicious of her obvious secretiveness, and probably the rest of the guys were as well. In addition to being terrible at lying, she was also bad at keeping secrets. It is like her father used to say, she was too honest for her own good.
Taeko took a moment to recompose herself before she responded. She had already been planning to reveal this sooner than later anyway.
“My grandfather was a demon slayer. Member of a secret organization that hunted flesh eating monsters.” The truth came out of her mouth quite easily, it actually felt like a certain weight being lifted from her shoulders.
Surprisingly, the reveal didn’t bring any visible reaction from her classmate. He just kept staring at her, as stoic as usual. She would have thought he didn’t hear her had she not been able to smell the surprise he was actually feeling. Taeko had to give it to him, he was doing a great job hiding his shock. But she knew that not even Jotaro Kujo could have ever suspected nor predicted the existence of demons.
”I held back on telling you guys that because I wanted to build trust first.” There was a weak smile on her face as she continued to explain. “I was planning on talking about it during the train ride to India.”
She wasn't sure why she felt the need to say the last part but she did. The true reason she had been waiting that long was because things kept happening and she was too busy taking care of Anne. But now that they were saying goodbye to the little girl, Taeko felt that the train ride would be a perfect opportunity to have that talk.
“We should go get Anne, she must be waiting for us.” Taeko then blurted out as she walked past him and began swimming away from the teen she had tried so hard to befriend. She felt too fidgety to wait to see his reaction.
Her classmate didn't immediately swim after her. There were many thoughts rushing in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he could now make sense of Taeko Kamado’s weird behavior. She had no problem believing in vampires because she already believed in demons. Her fighting skills were not only due to her grandfather being a swordsman but because he was this ‘demon hunter’.
It was probably because of those conclusions that he found himself not doubting her words although, even with all the bizarre shit he saw the last few days, finding that demons exist still was hard to process.
But there was also something else bothering him. Ever since they left Japan he was impatient to get the truth from that girl yet now he wasn’t able to feel any satisfaction. Not after seeing the pained expression on her face at his accusations, nor with the way she grew so uncomfortable around him that she had to leave in a hurry. It was the first time he got a reaction like that from her and he didn’t fucking like it.
“Maybe if you were a bit nicer, she would feel more comfortable opening up.” He remembered his old man’s advice and had the nagging feeling that he maybe should have followed it instead of forcing the truth from her.
“Good grief.”
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After reuniting with Anne and finally buying the train tickets, the trio returned to the hotel. Taeko spent most of the way back chatting with Anne with Jotaro silently accompanying them. Neither teen wanted to acknowledge the conversation they had earlier so they hadn’t exchanged even a single word during the walk.
Coincidentally, they arrived at the same time Polnareff did as the French man had finally been released by the police. He looked happy to see them and Taeko felt bad for having to tell him something she knew would make his mood change. Even so she pulled him aside and relayed the information she and Jotaro got from Rubber Soul.
“So the man with two right hands is called Centerford…” Polnareff murmured, his eyes full of hate. The scent of anger coming from him was so intense that it felt like a punch to the gut.
Seeing him in that revengeful state concerned Taeko. She worried he would do something reckless when he crossed paths with his sister’s killer. His anger was understandable but was also dangerous. She could only hope the bit of info she was able to give him would be helpful later.
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They had one last night at the hotel but as she layed in the comfortable bed Taeko found herself unable to fall asleep. The events of that day still hung heavy on her mind and she knew what she would have to do the next day.
It was time to tell the guys the truth about her grandfather.
Jotaro was rude in his words, but Taeko could recognize that he was right in demanding to know the truth. He and the rest of the guys deserved to know it. It wasn't right of her to act nice to the guys' faces while she was keeping a relevant secret from them. It takes trust to fight beside someone, especially in a dangerous journey such as this, and she couldn’t demand trust from them without giving them hers. Not with all they had gone and will go through during this trip.
She should have known the longer she kept the truth hidden, the hardest it would be to tell the guys. She hadn’t been worried about their reactions before but now, with Jotaro’s harsh words still fresh in her head, she felt anxious. Sure, Jotaro being the way he was sure would have a more explosive reaction. So, in that case, the others would probably be more understanding… wouldn’t they?
Mr. Joestar gave her the chance to prove herself. Avdol offered guidance when she began having flashes of her grandfather’s memories. Jotaro saved her three times. And Kakyoin was nothing but kind to her.
They deserved honesty from her. And if they got angry with her secrecy, she would deserve it.
She took solace in the fact Polnareff already knew. At least he wouldn't get angry at her.
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The next morning came very quickly and the group left the comfort of the hotel to continue their travel. They got to the train in time and found a table where the six of them could sit.
“We’re finally on our way to India.” Polnareff mused as he looked out of the train window, seeing the scenery slowly change. Then, a question came to his mind and he turned to Taeko for an answer. “By the way, what happened to Anne? I didn't see her when we were leaving the hotel.”
Taeko let out a long sigh, head hanging low in shame.
“I left her in our room. She didn't really want to talk to me because we were leaving her behind.” She lamented, remembering her last interaction with the kid. She had tried to say goodbye but received no response back. It made her feel bad all over again for abandoning the kid there.”I hope she will be fine without us.”
“Without us, there will be no stand attacks where she can get hurt.” Joseph explained, sounding relieved they wouldn’t endanger her anymore.
“I'm sure it will soon be time for her to meet her father.” Avdol added with a small smile.
“That story about her dad sounded real fishy to me. I bet she’s a runaway!” Polnareff commented and Taeko had to assume he was just joking. “But it will be a bit lonely without that little rugrat.”
“She is really nice when you get to know her, she quickly grows on you.” Taeko commented. “It’s almost like I can still catch her scent close by.”
“It’s eerie…” Kakyoin spoke with a nervous chuckle, changing the subject as he thought of Jotaro's recounting of the events of the previous day. “To think a stand could disguise himself as me.”
“Seems he had already turned into you by the time we left the hotel.” Jotaro explained, remembering what the impostor said when Taeko questioned him.
The other teen’s attention then was caught by something on Jotaro’s plate.
“Jojo, are you going to eat that cherry?” Kakyoin felt the need to ask as he pointed to the two cherries resting there. “Not to be greedy, but they are my favorite. Can I have one?”
“Yeah, sure.” Jotaro allowed with a nonchalant shrug, not thinking too much about it.
“Thank you.” He thanked and with a smile on his face took one of the cherries. He dropped it on his mouth and in an ironic twist of events began licking it just like his impersonator did before. “Lick lick lick lick lick lick…” He gleefully licked the cherry oblivious to Jotaro’s disgust. His gaze was focused on the scenery and he commented on it. “Hey, look, Jojo. Flamingos in flight.”
“Good grief.” Jotaro groaned, resting a hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes only to open them when he felt someone looking at him. Red met green as he looked back at Taeko, only for the girl to immediately evade his gaze.
“Kamado, is something wrong? You seem nervous.” Avdol inquired with a raised eyebrow, noticing her tapping a finger on the table.
Taeko’s eyes widened as she immediately ceased with the tapping, she hadn't even realized she had been doing that. She sat straight on their seat, choosing that as the right moment to tell them.
“I need to tell you guys something important.” She said in a firm tone, making him look at her with intrigue. “I think you may have realized I have been keeping information about my grandfather from you…”
That got the rest instantly interested but none of them confirmed or denied her speculation on their suspicions. Polnareff, knowing what she was about to say, offered the girl a small smile and nod in a show of his support. It encouraged her to continue speaking.
“I told you guys my grandfather was a swordsman but that was only part of it.” She said, forcing herself to continue speaking regardless of her nervousness. “My grandfather was a member of an organization that hunted demons, the demon slayer corps.”
Unlike with Jotaro, the other’s emotions were clear in their faces. Surprise, bewilderment and skepticism adorned Joseph’s, Avdol’s and Kakyoin’s expressions.
“Demons?” Avdol repeated with wide eyes, feeling the need to confirm that he had heard that correctly. He did recall on rare occasions hearing rumors of the existence of demons from his clientele but still thought of demons just as myths so it was a shock for him to hear that.
“Demons are real?” Joseph didn't sound skeptical, just surprised. After all, he had seen a lot of abnormal things in his lifetime so he was more accepting of this revelation. He just wasn't expecting this twist in her family story. “First vampires, then Pillar man and now demons? What’s next, ghosts?”
“That’s what I thought!” Polnareff exclaimed with a grin on his face, exhilarated that the old man now understood what he was feeling back at the ‘haunted’ ship.
“Sorry, but this is a bit too much for me to believe.” Kakyoin voiced his doubts with a shake of his head. Unlike the two adults, he had little contact with unknown entities or rumors of them so he was the most skeptical there. “Wouldn’t we have already heard of demons if they were real?”
“The demon slayer corps existed with the sole purpose of protecting humanity from demons.” Taeko explained to him, understanding of his disbelief. “Their effort was probably what kept the demons from becoming common knowledge.”
“Wait a moment…” Joseph murmured, hand on his chin as an old memory came to his mind. “Now I remember!” He exclaimed with eyes wide in realization of something. “The Speedwagon Foundation investigated rumors of an organization hunting supernatural beings around fifty years ago. They looked for records of the group but found none.” He said, finding her story even more believable with that evidence to support it.
“It’s because the corp was unrecognized by the government.” Taeko explained, glad that at least the adults were believing in her. “They found no records because there were never any of them. The only ones that know of the corps were members or their relatives, like me.”
“So this corp doesn’t exist anymore.” Avdol stated, seeking confirmation of this fact.
“After my father and his friends defeated the demon king, a man named Muzan, the demon slayer corp disbanded.” Taeko explained.
“If that’s the case, then why did you keep this from us?” Kakyoin inquired.
Taeko froze and she knew they could see her apprehension clear on her face. But, to her gratitude, they didn't demand an answer and instead allowed her a moment to brace herself for their reaction to her next reveal.
“Because I was worried you would find out about the two demons I am friends with...” Taeko weakly confessed with that being the part she had been the most hesitant in talking about.
That information caught all five men off guard, even the two that had already known at least a part of the story.
“Y-you didn’t mention that detail before.” Polnareff stammered, visibly disturbed.
“I needed to make sure you guys were trustworthy.” Taeko explained, choosing her next words carefully. She couldn't allow herself to give them a bad impression on the two demons she wanted to protect. “I know demons have a bad reputation even with those who think of them just as myth. It’s true that most demons were evil flesh eating monsters but there were a few exceptions. My grandfather’s sister was a demon for a few years but she remained a good person even after the transformation. The reason grandpa joined the corps was to find a way to turn her back into a human. And other than her, there were other three demons that fought on the demon slayer’s side. A lady named Tamayo, her companion named Yushiro and a cat named Chachamaru.”
The naming of the cat immediately sparked some recognition from three of the guys.
“A cat? It can’t be… you don’t mean the same cat that guided me to Ms. Holly?” Avdol was quick to remember about the cat that conveniently took him to Holly when she had first fallen ill. If the cat really was a demon, he supposed the animal could have done that on purpose.
“…The one in the library.” Kakoyin was also fast in recalling the cat he saw back in Japan.
Jotaro realized he had also seen this demon cat the day Taeko came to his house. Now he knew why Taeko’s cat had felt so odd to him.
“Wait! There was a demon cat at my daughter’s house and I didn’t see it???” Joseph exclaimed, disappointed that missed the chance to see this demonic feline. Jotaro shook his head at his grandfather’s silliness. Couldn't his old man take this talk seriously?
“Unfortunately, Tamayo was killed in the final battle with Muzan. But Chachamaru and Yushiro are still alive today.” Taeko continued to inform them of the origin of her childhood friends.
“You are close to them. That’s why you hadn’t told us. You were afraid you could be putting them in danger.” Kakyoin hit the nail on the head to which Taeko nodded in confirmation.
“Yushiro and Chachamaru are like family to me. They helped get used to my stand when I didn’t even know what a stand was. They were there during the hardest moments of my life…” As she said that, memories of the painful days after her father’s death flashed in her mind. She would be forever grateful for Yushiro and Chachamaru’s support during that time. “After all they did for me, I couldn’t risk their safety.”
“Of all the secrets I thought you could be keeping, I would never have guessed that!” Joseph said with a loud laugh, his playfulness catching Taeko off guard.
“Sure is quite the legacy to have.” Avdol calmly agreed, nodding as he did so.
“It does make more sense of your fighting skills.” Kakyoin pointed out, closing his eyes in contemplation on all the info he just got. It was a lot to think about.
“So you guys aren’t angry that I kept it from you?” Taeko asked, both surprised and relieved they took the reveal so well.
“You were being careful with people you didn’t know much about, we can blame you for that.” Kakyoin assured her, offering the girl a small smile. Although he still didn't believe for certain that demons do exist, he knew Taeko wasn't lying to them.
“We have not known each other for long, so I am happy you chose to trust us with this information.” Avdol said, and Taeko was able to confirm there really was happiness in his scent.
“We are not going to condemn you for trying to protect your family. Can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same in your place.” Joseph confessed with a grin, a tad amused at the expression on her face. His next words carried seriousness, relating with Taeko’s protectiveness of her family he knew she needed this reassurance: “I promise I won’t tell anyone about your demon friends.”
Taeko smiled at them in both gratitude and relief. It felt good to finally let the truth out. She felt that this was the beginning of a new phase of her friendship with this group. One that hopefully included deeper trust from both ways.