The seventh stand user... is a Kamado?!

by LadyOfTheBlueLight

Summary:

It has been almost seven decades since the final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, the demon king, and the disbandment of the demon slayer corps. Taeko Kamado, Tanjiro and Kanao’s granddaughter, is a teenage girl who hopes to one day live up to her family’s legacy.
After she arrives at a new school and crosses paths with a certain delinquent, Taeko will find herself embarking on a bizarre journey.
And this entity that has always been following her… is called a stand?

 

Or:
In an alternative universe where both the Demon Slayer and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure events take place, Tanjiro’s granddaughter joins the Stardust Crusaders in their trip to Egypt as the seventh crusader.

Notes:

I wrote this fic for two reasons: because I am sad that I reached the endgame of part 3 and decided to write some hurt/comfort with the crusaders( I hadn’t seen part 4,5 and 6 yet so this must be fun) and because I thought mixing the Jojo and Kimetsu stories would be interesting.

English is not my first language and this also is the first story I am posting here so I hope you like it.

I am planning to update this story every Friday. I’m already working on chapter 5 so you can be sure there will be new chapters for at least five weeks.

Chapter 1: Life shining across the years

Summary:

Edited(11/11/23): I expanded a bit on the scenes to show more of the character's personality and their forming relationships with each other. There were only minor changes that didn't change the storyline.

Edited(24/04/24): Added the illustration of little Taeko and old Tanjiro.

Demons existed a long time ago.

 

They were vile creatures that killed humans and consumed their flesh. In the shadows, misfortunate souls crossed paths with those monsters, with only a few living on to tell the tale. Many people were hunted, hurt, slayed in those dark times. But some victims chose to fight back. And eventually the demon slayer corps was formed.

 

For generations the corps had dedicated its existence to protecting humanity from demons, even with the clear disadvantage they had against an enemy with abilities beyond their human limitations. Humans didn't heal nearly as fast as demons regenerate themselves. And whenever they lost their limbs, they were gone forever. Yet, the demon slayers still chose to keep fighting. Spending countless years struggling to eliminate as many demons as possible.

 

It took many decades of effort and sacrifice before the generation that were destined to finally slay the demon king was finally born.

 

But when the time was near, two siblings joined the corps and fate took a dramatic turn.

 

Many adventures led them and their friends to their final battle against the demon king and his upper moons. And with the sunrise, Muzan Kibutsuji was finally vanquished from existence.

 

After his death and the near-extinction of the demon race, the Corps disbanded. Vanishing as if it never existed. 

 

Sixty years later, there are few remaining that knows of the demon slayer corps and all they sacrificed so that humanity could finally be safe. As regardless of everything they accomplished, the organization remained completely unrecognized by the government.

 

The era of the demon slayers came to an end and those who survived the final battle were finally able to live in peace.

 

But with the end of an era comes another.

 

And so the story of the granddaughter of Tanjiro Kamado begins.

 

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Taeko was very young when her grandfather began telling her about the demon slayers. 

 

It was exciting for a little girl like her to learn that her family story revolves around evil demons and honorable swordsmen. During her childhood, she spent hours hearing her grandpa retellings of his journey as a swordsman. About the battles, the friendships he formed with the other swordsmen and even how he met her grandmother.

 

Tanjiro taught Taeko about hope, courage and compassion. That even if you are in anguish, you have to try to be a graceful and strong person who can feel love for others. Taeko would carry those lessons for the rest of her life.

 

Whenever her parents were busy Tanjiro was the one to watch over Taeko, he was more than happy to spend time with his only granddaughter.

 

It was in one of those instances, after Tanjiro just finished telling her one of his stories of his time as a swordsman, that little Taeko decided to ask him a question.

 

“But demons don’t exist anymore, do they?” Taeko asked, her big innocent eyes gazing at her grandfather’s wrinkled and wise ones.

 

Tanjiro smiled at his granddaughter, giving her a nod. He lifted his only working forearm to gently stroke the child’s locks that had the exact same dark shade as his own.

 

Taeko had heard from her relatives that she looked just like her grandpa did when he was her age. They had the same hair and eye color and similar shaped eyes. It was too early to know if she would inherit his features when she was older but she hoped so. Taeko wished to be just as cool and brave as her grandfather when she grew up. There were no demons left( that she knew of) but someday she would have the opportunity to be a hero just like her ancestors before her.

 

“That’s right.” The old man told her. “Everybody worked really hard to defeat all the human eating demons so everything is okay now.” 

 

“I hope I can be as amazing as grandpa and grandma someday.” Taeko softly said, closing her eyes as she felt her grandfather's gentle hand petting her head.

 

“I’m sure you will.” Her grandpa reassured her with certainty in his voice. He had no doubts Taeko would do great things in the future. 

 

There was a comfortable silence settling in the room as Tanjiro enjoyed the peaceful moment with his granddaughter. Only for the kid’s eyes to snap open and look up at him as if some realization hit her at that exact second.

 

“…but what about those who died?” Taeko asked.

 

“They were definitely reborn and they are living their lives with their loved ones now.” Her grandpa explained, quickly recomposting from his surprise at the sudden question.

 

“Even the demons?”

 

Tanjiro paused, taking a little longer to answer as he decided what exactly to say. “When the gods decide to forgive them, those demons will also be able to be reborn as humans.”

 

“But where do they stay before they are forgiven?” Taeko asked without missing a beat. The kid was oddly eager to hear her grandfather's answer.

 

Unfortunately for Taeko, just a second later their conversation got interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and the Taeko mother’s voice echoing across the apartment.

 

“I’m back!” She called as she entered the house.

 

Taeko’s grandfather let out a sigh of relief as he mentally thanked the gods for his daughter in law’s perfect timing. The old man didn't want to have to explain to Taeko about Hell at such a young age. Even when telling his stories he kept in mind his granddaughter was a little child, too young and innocent to know some of the darker and more gruesome details of his time as a demon slayer. For now it was better to keep focus on the good parts of his past and the life lessons he wanted to pass on to her. He somehow knew that in time, Taeko would need those lessons for whatever life had in store for her.

 

Only he had no way of knowing that whatever life had in store for Taeko Kamado had already begun.

 

As she watched her grandfather move to get up to greet her mother and begin to talk about trivial stuff, Taeko felt a presence appear to her right.

 

Taeko turned to face the entity that had been following her.

 

No matter how much she thought back on it, Taeko couldn't pinpoint the moment 'she' first appeared. Weirdly enough sometimes it felt like ‘she’ was always there, Taeko was just too young to rationalize this creature wasn't supposed to be here.

 

The figure had interesting features. 'She' was wearing a mask concealing her lips but highlighting her reddish eyes( the same reddish color as Taeko’s own eyes). Had pale blue skin and long dark purple hair that reached to her waist. She wore some kind of armor in her upper body and hakama pants. But her most interesting feature was her blue haori, which had a butterfly pattern on it. Taeko had on more than one occasion seen it unfold itself into two beautiful blue wings making the spirit look like a fairy whenever her wings were spread.

 

The girl was reaching an age that she began questioning the appearance of this 'butterfly' and wondered where 'she' came from. And since according to her grandfather demons could take many forms, maybe 'she' was a demon.

 

And now, after asking her grandpa for answers, she suspected her silent companion might be the spirit of a demon that the gods hadn’t forgiven yet.

 

But while this conclusion made sense to the young girl, at the same time it felt somehow contradictory. This entity seemed too… kind to be a demon. According to her grandfather demons were dangerous creatures that had the instinct to kill and devour humans. Taeko couldn’t see the entity in front of her doing any of it. If anything, little Taeko even felt protected when her maybe-demon-spirit-friend was close.

 

Regardless of what kind of creature her companion was, Taeko wasn’t really bothered by her presence. If 'she' really was the spirit of a demon that wasn’t forgiven by the gods yet, Taeko didn’t mind keeping her company until she could be reborn.

 

Taeko quickly came to the realization 'she' needed a nickname. Even if the entity had a name, Taeko had no way of finding it out since 'she' was mute and couldn't tell her. The child decided to nickname her after a fairy from a story she heard about at kindergarten. 

 

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And so life kept going and the years went by. Soon it became known among the family that Taeko had an imaginary friend called "Titania" with whom the girl randomly talked from time to time. Whenever little Taeko was seen talking to herself or staring into an empty space, her family didn't question it so Taeko's friendship with the entity went unnoticed.

 

That was until Taeko reached ten years old. At that time she had grown accustomed to having Titania in her life, with the girl always trying to find new games for the two of them to play. Eventually figuring out that the entity could levitate her for a very short period of time by holding her by her shoulders and flapping her wings( Taeko decided to to call it the “flying time”). It took a bit longer for Taeko to be hit by the idea of teaching Titania how to draw. It didn’t go as well as planned. 

 

Titania was able to copy any drawing Taeko showed her but when it came to drawing something random all Titania drew was a circle with lines around it. 

 

The entity had already drawn the symbol more than ten times when the bedroom door swung open to reveal Taeko’s father, Kiyoto Kamado. Whatever the man was about to say didn’t leave his lips, as he immediately froze upon looking at his child and noticed the pencil floating midair next to her. 

 

“Dear... what are you doing?” Kiyoto finally choked out after a moment of shock.

 

“I’m teaching Titania how to draw. She is very good at it!” Taeko answered with a smile, telling a family member about Titania as she did many times before. Only this time her father finally realized that Titania WASN’T an imaginary friend.

 

Kiyoto Kamado was known by many as a wise man but, unlike his parents, he had little to no experience with the supernatural. He was never as fascinated by his mother and father's stories as his daughter, so he didn't ask about it much. He wasn't sure what to do in this bizarre situation. His only reassurance was that whatever Taeko was talking with didn’t seem to be a threat to her. Even so, the father knew he had to get to the bottom of this.

 

And to his luck, he knew of a person that may be able to help. Someone his father mentioned he could call in case of emergency.

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After the final battle, Yushiro never expected to hear from the Kamado family again. But Tanjiro had insisted on checking on him from time to time. The Kamado had clearly felt pity on Yushiro for losing his dear Lady Tamayo and wanted to see how the demon was holding on.

 

It was annoying.

 

And Yushiro made sure Tanjiro knew that. He also reminded the newly retired demon slayer that he had decided to live and keep Lady Tamayo's memory alive so there was no reason for Tanjiro to insist on checking up on him.

 

A memory still held fresh in his mind, of Tanjiro’s smile as he said a sentence that stuck with Yushiro for some weird reason.

 

“I like to visit you because you are my friend.”

 

Yushiro's complaints about his visits were not as tough from that point on.

 

But the demon absolutely did not shed a single tear after finding out about Tanjiro’s recent passing on… he did not.

 

( He did.)

 

It had been happening to all those who fought in the final battle. Their bodies were finally breaking down from all the stress put on them in their youth. They pushed their bodies to their limit and now they were facing the consequences.

 

It was actually a miracle they managed to survive till old age. Especially Tanjiro and Kanao, the wounds they sustained during their final fights severely weakened them. Tanjiro was never able to move his left forearm again and he got blind from his right eye. With Kanao ending up almost totally blind after using the vermilion eye technique two times. Even so, Yushiro and everybody else knew they cherished every moment they had together. 

 

Yushiro could recall how the couple was happy to be able to have their first and only child. They were worried they wouldn't be able to conceive since it had been revealed that due to her years as a demon and the effects of the antidote on her body, Nezuko had become infertile. Yushiro still cringed at the memory of how much Zenitsu cried on his wife’s behalf while said woman would be the one comforting him. Nezuko wasn't even that devastated by the news, just as her brother she was thankful to be alive and close to the ones she loved. The Agatsuma couple ended up choosing to adopt some children and they lived happy lives.

 

But now, without Tanjiro’s visits as a distraction, Yushiro could keep total focus on his art pieces of Lady Tamayo. They had become an obsession of his ever since his muse and true love sacrificed herself. Yushiro knew he would never be able to perfectly replicate Lady Tamayo’s beauty but he would spend the rest of his immortal life trying.

 

Then came the day he received an unexpected letter. It basically contained a plea for help from none other than Tanjiro’s only child. 

 

Yushiro should have known better than to expect to be free from the Kamado family drama forever. The idiot didn’t even explain what the help was for but Yushiro could catch the concern conveyed in his words.

 

But with the other demons gone, Yushiro wasn’t sure what could possibly urge the man to reach him out.

 

Maybe it was this curiosity and uneasiness that got him to make the trip to the neighborhood the Kamado family lived in. As he finally reached the address, the front door opened and he came face to face with a man that by the familiar appearance could only be Tanjiro’s son.

 

“You better have a very good reason for calling me here.” Was the first thing Yushiro told the son of his old acquaintance.

 

The demon’s rudeness didn’t faze the man, in fact, he felt relief that Yushiro really showed up.

 

“You must be Yushiro. My father spoke about you.” Kiyoto greeted him with a polite smile. He was reminding himself that his father had mentioned that while Yushiro could be a little difficult to deal with, he had a good heart. “Please come in.”

 

Yushiro, not wanting to spend more time there than necessary, entered the apartment as requested.

 

“Just spit it out. What is so important for you to…” Yushiro began but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the bizarre scene in the living room. 

 

To Yushiro and Kiyoto it looked like Taeko was floating by herself in the middle of the living room but, unseen to them, Titania was carefully holding the girl by the shoulders. With Taeko noticing the arrival of Yushiro, Titania promptly lowered the girl back into the ground while her wings shifted back into a haori.

 

The little girl looked up at him with curiosity and Yushiro finally glanced back at Kiyoto. 

 

“Please help us.” Kiyoto begged, not able to hide his worry anymore.

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Some minutes later, the trio was still in the living room but they had moved to sit in the couches. The father and daughter sat together in one couch while the demon sat in the other. Kiyoto had told Yushiro the little he knew of the entity while Taeko had cheerfully spoken to the two of them about her invisible friend and the fun they had together.

 

“It isn’t a demon.” Yushiro said, sounding firm in his conclusion.

 

“How can you be so sure of that?” Kiyoto asked, a bit surprised he was able to confirm that from the plain explanation father and daughter were able to offer.  

 

“The girl said the creature can appear to her any time of the day, including daytime. No demon can survive the sunlight so this can’t be a demon.” Yushiro thoughtfully pointed out.

 

Kiyoto didn’t seem to be any content with this explanation. In fact it only served to alarm him even more.

 

“But if it isn’t a demon…” Which the father had honestly expected since it’s the only sobrenatural creature he knew existed. “…then what is following my daughter?”

 

To their surprise, the next to speak was the child in question herself.

 

“I think maybe it’s the spirit of a demon.” Taeko admitted. Although the longer time she had spent with the spirit, the less she believed in her original theory. “Grandpa told me that when demons are forgiven by the gods they get to be reborn as humans. So I thought she was the spirit that wasn’t forgiven yet...”

 

At the mention of her grandfather, Kiyoto felt a familiar wave of grief wash over him. The death of his father was still a fresh wound, he had died not even a year ago.

 

Unseen to both humans, Yushiro was also affected by the comment, he felt an uncomfortable pang of sadness that got him to spat out his next sentence a bit too harshly.

 

“Demons go to hell, kid. Whatever you're seeing isn’t the demon or spirit of one.”

 

“Yushiro-San, there is no need to be so blunt…” Kiyoto requested, expressing disapproval at his tone while speaking to a child.

 

Yushiro stared at the little girl for a moment, half expecting her to be taken aback by his behavior but, instead of that, the girl warmly smiled at him. It was the same smile Tanjiro had on his face when he said that sentence that got stuck in Yushiro’s mind all those years.

 

“This really is the granddaughter of Tanjiro.” Yushiro thought, feeling an unexpected sensation of peace after seeing this smile again. “ She has the same kind aura that idiot had.”

 

“Tsk tsk. I really didn’t expect to have to use this again.” Yushiro clicked his tongue, finally breaking eye contact with the kid to get something from the pouch he had brought with him just in case. Both Kamado’s watched attentively as he took a piece of paper from out of the bag. Seeing how confused the two had gotten, Yushiro explained what the piece of paper was for. “My blood demon art, blindfold, is able to mask or reveal something's presence. Although I am not sure if it would work with whatever your daughter made friends with since it’s not a demon.”

 

A glint appeared in Taeko’s eyes as she gazed at the piece of paper as if it was the coolest thing she had ever seen. She had heard of the demon's blood demon art many times from her grandfather and now she was finally going to be able to witness one with her own two eyes! 

 

Taeko was so lost in her excitement she didn’t even notice when Titania appeared next to her as if the entity wanted to be there to witness Yushiro's power too.

  

“I think we don’t have any other choice than to try.” Kiyoto quietly reasoned, letting out a sigh. Needless to point out, he was much less excited about having Yushiro’s use his demon art than his daughter. Even with his limited knowledge of the subject, he knew blood demon arts could be very dangerous.

 

And so Yushiro held up the paper close to his forehead, making use of his demonic power for the first time in many years. While the Kamados observed as a blue glow and strange markings appeared on the paper, Yushiro could then see a silhouette behind Taeko.

 

It took a bit longer than usual for his demon art to fully reveal the entity’s presence, with the image of a blue figure slowly going on focus, like his demon art was adapting to be able to sense its presence. But in just a few more seconds he could now see the entity’s features clearly, from her red eyes to her butterfly haori.

 

“This is not a demon.” He said, this time a hundred percent sure of his conclusion.

 

“And you don’t know what it is??” Kiyoto questioned, and with his concern for his daughter fueling him, he ended up sounding a bit too accusatory for Yushiro.

 

While the demon was smart enough to know the human meant no offense and was only looking after his daughter’s well-being, Yushiro hadn’t came all the way here to be disrespected by the Kamado.

  

“I don’t have all the answers, you insolent fool!!” Yushiro snapped, instantly making the father flinch as the demon glared angrily at him. “You barely gave me any information to work with and your daughter clearly doesn't know what she is talking about! All I know is that’s not a demon! And the knowledge I have is on demons! This is new for me too!!” 

 

After he finished his rant, silence hung in the room for some seconds, with Kiyoto and Yushiro quietly looking at each other with neither knowing who would speak next. 

 

Taeko could only watch at both of them, in worry. Her smile had vanished from her face as the tension in the room grew thick and palpable. Her excitement of meeting a new character and seeing his abilities now gone.

 

The girl had recently realized she had inherited another thing from her grandfather, his famous enhanced sense of smell. Like him, she could also smell other people's feelings. But with him gone before she realized it, the girl had to learn the hang of it alone.

 

Hence why she took so long to identify the spicy scent she was catching from her father as concern and fear.

 

Her eyes widened as she witnessed her father slump on his seat looking defeated. His shoulders hung low as the man buried his face in his hands, hiding the expression he had on from the others. Kiyoto had hoped to finally get some answers and find out what was happening to his little girl. But now that his hope(Yushiro) proved himself to be as confused as them, Taeko could clearly catch the intense smell of distress and worry that clouded the living room. 

 

The little girl felt guilty for being so unaware of her father’s feelings until that point. She had always been honest about the existence of Titania to his family so when she told her father about her friend days ago Taeko hadn’t noticed how the reveal affected him. The girl didn’t realize that her family brushed off the entity as a harmless imaginary friend and that to find out that Titania wasn’t an imaginary friend changed everything to her father. For Taeko it wasn’t a big deal, Titania wasn’t someone to be concerned about. She knew the entity ment no harm to her or her family . There was no reason for her father to despair over her existence. And so, the child struggled to think of ideas on how to make him feel better. 

 

Whenever she feels sad, her parents give her a hug. Maybe this could work now. But before she could even move to do that, someone had already taken the initiative to give her father a hug.

 

It had been as soon as the idea of a hug came to her mind that Titania approached the older Kamado and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The entity even went as far as giving reassuring pats on his back, just like Taeko’s parents did to her whenever she felt sad.

 

While Kiyoto looked up in confusion at feeling like someone was hugging him but not seeing anybody, Yushiro watched in contemplation. A theory came to the demon’s mind.

 

“Why is it doing that? Is it worried about him? Or maybe…” Yushiro debated mentally and turned to talk to Taeko.

 

“Kid, did you ask it to do that?” He inquired.

 

“What?” Taeko slightly tilted her head in confusion at the question.

 

“Your ‘friend’.” Yushiro clarified, gesturing to the spirit still trying to console the father. “Did you ask it to do this?”

 

“I didn’t! At least I think I don’t…” Taeko answered, uncertain.

 

“Are you sure?” Yushiro pressed on, wanting the girl to say something more informative.

 

“I did think about hugging dad. It's what mom and dad do when I’m sad. So I thought it could make him feel better.” Taeko explained, earning her a look of fondness from her father. He always felt proud whenever his daughter expressed kindness and compassion, both were considered invaluable traits in their family.

 

“Maybe this creature isn’t really following you. Maybe it’s somehow linked to you.” Yushiro said as he speculated on the new information. “It would explain why it’s always close and the affinity you feel towards it. It would also explain how it reacted to your thoughts without you having to say anything. It sensed you wanted to help your dad so it did it like you wished. It could even mean that it is in a strange way a part of you.” 

 

Titania is connected to me? She is… a part of me? Taeko thought, surprised by his conclusions. But somehow, even though it was something she hadn’t considered, his idea somehow sounded right. Like all evidence she had pointed to this direction. To her it felt liberating to accept that conclusion as truth as she was happy to have Titania with her.

 

The entity finally let go of her father to look at her. While Titania didn’t have visible lips to smile at Taeko, she did so with her eyes. And the kid smiled back.

 

“Even so, I can be wrong.” The demon continued, observing their interactions with intrigue. “I can’t confirm for certain what it is or where it came from in only a day.” Yushiro gave a pause, surprised with the decision he found himself about to make. Choosing to really do it, he let out a long sigh and continued. “It seems like I have no other option but to keep my eye on you.”

 

Kiyoto looked at him with astonishment. Was Yushiro offering to stay in contact with them?

 

“Yushiro-San, I appreciate your help but you don’t need to do that if you don’t want to.” Kiyoto assured his guest, concluding by the behavior he displayed until that point, that the demon wasn’t pleased to take part in this situation.

 

“And keep a Kamado child with an unexplained ability unsupervised?!?” Yushiro cried out. “It could only end in a disaster!!” 

 

“Did you hear that, Titania?” Taeko began talking excitedly with the entity. “Now there will be someone around that also can see you! Isn’t that cool?”

 

Again, the entity smiled with her eyes at the kid. Titania could sense that Taeko was so happy she could even hug Yushiro.

 

With that Titania turned to Yushiro. And judging by the expression of joy on the kid’s face, he knew exactly what the spirit was about to do.

 

“Don’t even think about it…” Yushiro warned.

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Maybe Yushiro had gotten bored after spending years only having a cat and his paintings as company. That could be the only reason he opted to basically become the nanny of the Kamado child. But, regardless of the reasoning, from that point forward Yushiro once more became a recurring presence in the Kamado family’s life. Eventually he met the mother of the family, Eiko Kamado, to whom Kiyoto introduced Yushiro as an old family friend. The demon found out the woman was a doctor with a busy schedule, and didn’t spend much time at home so it wasn’t hard to keep her in the dark from the existence of Titania. Not that he asked, but according to Kiyoto, he didn’t want to bring distress to Eiko’s when her life had already plenty of it in her job.

 

To keep an eye on the family easier, Yushiro moved from his old home to an apartment only a few minutes away from theirs and adopted the surname Yamamoto to better blend in the new neighborhood. The demon could admit to himself that the move wasn’t at all bad, his new apartment had ample space so he could paint and store any new paintings of his. Not even his new “Kamado distraction” would keep him from working on his art and the search for the perfect image of Lady Tamayo.

 

It had not only been a week from the move and his new art room was already full of paintings depicting Lady Tamayo. One would probably say that they were magnificent but as much as Yushiro kept trying and trying to get her face right, he still felt like there was something missing.

 

Deep down he knew what that something really was. It was her, the real her. 

 

“Who is this?” Yushiro was startled when the voice of Taeko coming from next to him pulled the demon from his thoughts. A bit panicky, he turned to confirm that the girl was really there smiling while standing uncomfortably close to him.

 

“When did you get here?!” He screeched in irritation, mentally cursing himself for getting so distracted with the painting that he didn’t notice the girl’s arrival.

 

“I just got here. You left the door open so I came in.” The ten year old explained, not taking her eyes off the painting of the pretty lady even when Yushiro exclaimed his question at her. “Who is she?”

 

“That is Lady Tamayo.” Although irritated with her unauthorized arrival, Yushiro didn’t waste the opportunity to gush about his muse.

 

“She is very pretty!” Taeko praised.

 

“This? This is nothing compared to the real Lady Tamayo!” Yushiro spat as he looked at his own painting in disapproval. “The purple of her eyes is in the wrong shade, it’s too dark. The real red of her lips was more vibrant in contrast to her pale skin. And her hair? Her soft dark brown hair looked much better than this! It is almost impossible to display her in all her beauty in a simple painting like this!”

 

Taeko quietly observed him as he complained, a bit surprised he was criticizing his own art so harshly. To her the painting looked great but she did have an idea on why he thought so highly of the original, even though she wasn’t sure if she was identifying the scent she was catching right.

 

“You really do love her, don’t you?” The girl inquired in curiosity.

 

She got no response but her question did make a deep red blush appear on Yushiro’s face. He had gotten so red that the girl almost feared that he had suddenly gotten sick.

 

The girl’s eyes then caught movement on the other side of the room. In the only corner of the room that did not have a painting resting against it, a small figure had been awakened from its rest by the sound of the conversation. 

 

“Kitty!!” Taeko squeaked in excitement as she saw an adorable calico cat resting there. It was a small feline with white fur with black and brown spots. The cat had striking amber eyes that looked up intently at Taeko. After a moment of what the kid suspected was consideration, the animal approached the red eyed girl and took a tentative sniff of her scent. Something in her scent seemed to please the cat as it immediately began rubbing itself against her leg. With a smile, Taeko couched down to pet it. “I didn't know you had a cat.”

 

The animal gladly accepted the fondling as it purred. With a bit of a blush still on his face, the other demon snorted at the scene.

 

“That’s Chachamaru.” He introduced, then gave the child a stern warning. “She is a demon like me, so don't even think about doing anything stupid like bringing her outside during the day!” 

 

The reveal that cats could become demons surprised Taeko but she was too busy gushing over the adorable feline to comment on it.

 

“Hello, Chachamaru! I’m Taeko!” Taeko greeted, happily introducing herself to the animal. “It’s very nice to meet you!” 

 

The demonic animal kept purring in pleasure as she was being caressed by the girl to the distress of its companion. It only took a cuddle for the feline to accept the kid as her new favorite human.

 

Too distracted with each other, neither noticed Yushiro mumbling in annoyance. “Traitor…” 

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Little more than one year later the trio found themselves back at the Kamados’ living room. Yushiro had been called there by Kiyoto who informed him Taeko requested to talk to both of them about something.

 

As they sat there, Taeko shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The girl tried not to look her father in the eye, knowing that what she was about to tell him was not going to be received positively in the slightest.

 

Ironically enough this behavior was already worrying her father, who nervously waited for his daughter to say something.

 

Yushiro, on the other hand, had already grown annoyed with the silence of the girl.

 

“Kid, if you want to say something just say it. I have other things to do today.” He bluntly pointed out but since both Kamado’s had already grown used to his usual rudeness neither commented on it anymore.

 

Taeko took a deep breath, knowing she would have to say it sooner or later.

 

“It’s about Titania.” Although to Yushiro this detail was obvious, Kiyoto tensed on his seat. Taeko wasn’t sure on where to start so she struggled to explain. “Well… I was walking in the park today and a tree branch fell on my head.”

 

It was enough to alarm her father, who immediately jumped up from his seat and rushed to her side.

 

“A tree branch fell on my head??” Her father began looking her up and down to see if she had any visible injuries. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?? Are you hurt??”

 

“I have the Kamado’s forehead, remember? It’s as hard as a rock.” Taeko told him with a playful grin, managing to bring a little smile to her father’s face. “That didn’t hurt me. Don’t worry.”

 

“So, what does it have to do with Titania?” Yushiro inquired, interrupting the duo. As much as he found Kamado's interactions sometimes amusing, he would prefer not spending his afternoon hearing Kiyoto fussing over his daughter. He could understand a father’s need to make sure his daughter is alright but Yushiro doesn’t have to be there to witness that.

 

Taeko's grin dropped before she answered.

 

“She cut it.” Taeko revealed, her words only serving to confuse the other two. Realizing she had to be more specific she continued. “After the tree branch fell on my head, Titania cut down the tree.”

 

“How did she cut the tree?” Kiyoto hesitantly asked, fearful at the answer.

 

“With her katana.”

 

To Taeko’s dismay, Kiyoto became as white as a sheet. The room fell in total silence for a brief moment, with Yushiro being the one to break it.

 

“Considering your lineage, it is the most likely weapon for Titania to use.” Yushiro observed, not too bothered by the information. 

 

The mention of her lineage nudged Taeko to speak more on the event. 

 

“… It was pretty amazing, actually.” Taeko began, growing more excited the more she spoke. “Titania’s katana looks very cool! She cut down the entire tree with only one slash! I think I even saw some water come from the blade! I think it’s like grandpa’s water breathing but with real water!”

 

Kiyoto still said nothing and Yushiro let out an exasperated sigh.

 

“Guess we will have to deal with that now.”

 

And so the trio(initially just Taeko and Yushiro with Kiyoto joining when he finally recomposed himself) began to discuss on how they should proceed. While Titania had never threatened anyone, the damage she did to the tree proved how destructive she could be. Kiyoto pointed out that if Taeko wanted to keep Titania under control both of them needed discipline. Yushiro agreed that it would be better for the girl to learn control. Taeko became ecstatic when her father suggested she take part in her school’s kendo lessons. After watching Titania use a sword, Taeko felt an urge to learn to use one herself so she excitedly said yes to her father’s suggestion.

 

That’s how at twelve years old Taeko joined her school's kendo club. 

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In a basement very far from the Kamado home, two figures walked among numerous bookshelves containing various old artifacts. There was limited light in the room, most of it coming from the lantern one of the figures was holding.

 

“I never thought anyone would make use of those books again.” The voice of the old man made Yushiro turn to look at him. “Tell me, are you sure she will need those?”

 

“Trust me, she will. There is no way a kid like her won’t attract trouble in the future.” Yushiro explained while rolling his eyes. He wouldn’t be there if he wasn’t sure she would need those books.

 

As the duo was reaching their predestined session, the seventy four year old Kiriya Ubuyashiki spoke again.

 

“Normally I wouldn’t even consider the possibility of lending this to anybody. But me and my family owe you a lot for your help in the final battle.”

 

“Just get over it already.” Yushiro said, his tone as harsh as always. “I didn’t do that for you, I was just doing what Lady Tamayo wanted.”

 

“And so you said, many times.” Kiriya recalled their many conversations about the battle during Yushiro’s visits. “I’m just surprised you came all this way to help your new friend.”

 

“She is not my friend! She is my problem!” Yushiro retorted.

 

His response made the Ubuyashiki laugh softly, he was already used to Yushiro’s quirks. So, like anyone that knew him personally, he wasn’t fazed by his usual behavior.

 

“I’m happy that you still have space in your heart for more people.” Kiriya admitted.

 

They didn’t speak again until they finally reached their destination.

 

“Here they are.” Kiriya said, his voice suddenly somber as both of them stared at what stood on the bookshelf in front of them.

 

There lay some of the most treasured possessions of the Ubuyashiki family and probably the most dangerous ones. The last records of the breathing techniques, written by those who created and improved them as a way to make sure the knowledge of their techniques was passed on in case of their untimely death. After the disbanding of the demon slayers, the Ubuyashiki family took the responsibility of guarding these records and making sure no one would be able to use the battle techniques of the demon slayers for evil. As Kiriya had previously stated, he wouldn’t even consider the possibility of lending this to anybody. But as Yushiro was someone special and a friend of the family, he trusted him to make sure the books didn't fall on the wrong hands. And there was also the fact that he wanted to help a Kamado, Kiriya would never refuse to help a Kamado.

 

“I don’t think I need to tell you that you can’t bring all the books with you.” Kiriya clarified after a moment.

 

“I know. It’s not like the kid would be able to learn all the breathing techniques, it’s impossible.” Yushiro said. “I’m just going to need two of those.”

 

Kiriya smiled already knowing which books he was talking about.

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There had been two years since Taeko joined the kendo club. To her surprise, the girl found herself learning the techniques very quickly and in no time became known as one of the best in the school, even taking part in some tournaments. Unknown to Taeko, her classmates found her very intimidating. To them, it was unnerving how such a sweet and kind looking girl could become so fierce and skillful in combat. It unfortunately didn’t make making friends much easier for the teen.

 

One day, she returned home to see Yushiro waiting for her. She was awestruck by the two relics he presented to her.

 

“Water breathing… flower breathing…” Taeko carefully read the titles, having difficulty believing what she was seeing. It felt too amazing for it to be real. “Are those really…?”

 

“What else could they be? You didn’t think I would bring you some random books, did you?” Yushiro simply asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

 

“That means… I get to learn my grandparents breathing styles?” Taeko’s eyes sparkled in excitement. “That’s so cool!!” 

 

The girl reached with a hand to hold one of the books only for Yushiro to slap the hand away. Taeko cried out in pain and brought back her hand, feeling it sting because of the slap.

 

“Not so fast.” Yushiro said, staring at her without his usual expression of annoyance or anger. He sounded very serious and oddly calm at the moment. It made the girl bite her lip, now feeling a bit nervous. “You have to understand the severity of this. Although those breathing styles are probably the best suited for you since those are the ones your grandparents used, it won’t be the same.” He paused for a moment, letting his lecture sink in for the girl. “Your grandparents had masters to teach them, but now breathing styles are almost extinct. The only three hashira, if they are alive wherever they are, are too old to use them anymore.” Now Taeko understood where this was going. “You will have no sensei. Your only guidance will come from the descriptions in the books.” He said as he gestured to the books with his hand. “I’m not going to lie, it will be hard. And your technique will probably not end up being similar to the original. You will never know if you can reach the old hashira because there will be no one able to tell you that.”

 

Taeko quietly reflected on what he had said. It all felt very overwhelming, not at all what she was expecting just before his speech. But at the same time, Taeko felt grateful for Yushiro giving her a reality check. If she wanted to learn, she had to give one percent and even more. 

 

Taeko would have to learn the breathing styles entirely by herself. 

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“…and then he said I could help train the freshmen if I wanted.” Now fifteen years old, Taeko spoke to her father about her day as they prepared the living room table for dinner. 

 

“Is that so?” Her father smiled at the news from where he was getting the plates in the kitchen. The man was proud of his daughter's continuous success in kendo. He had witnessed how the girl had flourished ever since she first began in the classes. “I guess it’s not unexpected considering you are his best student.”

 

“Dad, I’m not sure I’m the best.” Taeko protested, a bit flustered. She placed the silverware on the table as she spoke. “Akane-san is also very talented. Maybe more than me.”

 

“From what I remember you defeated her in the tournament last year, dear.” Kiyoto pointed out with a smirk, bringing the plates to the living room.

 

“It was luck. She got slower for a moment.” Taeko took the plates from him to arrange them at the table.

 

“And it was all you needed to win.” Kiyoto pointed out. A bit saddened by his daughter's self doubt, he let out a sad sigh. ”You really need to stop diminishing your accomplishments.” He then turned to go back to the kitchen to get the cups. “Well, at least you are making new friends.”

 

Unnoticed by him, his comment made the teen girl tense where she stood. She didn’t want to reveal to her father that she was in fact, not making friends. Yes, she did interact and talk with people quite a lot both at the school and the kendo club. But there was a huge difference between getting along with someone and being friends with them. Taeko knew how to talk and get along with her classmates, her polite and kind demeanor seemed to please them. But there was never more interaction than exchanging pleasantries or working together in school assignments. And the kendo classes were worse. At that point she had already realized how intimidated the new members were of her and those who weren’t usually saw her as an adversary or rival. So she wasn’t having luck there either.

 

More than just that, Taeko felt it was hard to connect with people. It was like an invisible barrier existed between her and the others and as much as it hurt to admit, that barrier was none other than Titania. Titania was a part of herself so how could Taeko make friends that accepted the entirety of her if they couldn’t even see an important part of herself?

 

But there was no reason to bother her father with that. She could still vividly remember the distress she put him through over the years. His reactions to finding out about Titania, to trying to find out what Titania was and how pale he got the day she told him about the katana. She never wants to make her father feel that way again. If he is happy thinking she has friends, why correct him?

 

As her father returned with the glasses, Taeko realized he was waiting for an answer.

 

“Yeah… they sure are nice.” She weakly said, giving him a smile she hoped didn’t appear fake.

 

He frowned probably noticing she was lying but wasn’t able to say anything before he suddenly released an awful and deep cough.

 

“Dad? …are you okay?” Taeko asked, growing concerned. It wasn’t the first time he coughed like that. It had been happening the last few days but she had been foolishly hoping it wasn’t serious.

 

“There is no need to worry. It’s just--” He tried to comfort his daughter only for it to be interrupted by another stronger cough. 

 

It got worse from there.

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Soon Taeko was sixteen returning home after her school's yearly kendo tournament. Even though the girl exited the finals victorious, she wasn’t able to feel any joy that day. She entered her home with a heavy heart, quietly closing the door behind her. The girl then walked towards her parent’s room to see her father but had to pause at the door for a moment. She needed it to prepare herself to put on a happy face. 

 

“Hey, dad. I'm home.” Taeko greeted as she opened the bedroom door, now displaying a warm smile on her face. She had to force herself to keep her expression up as she saw her father’s figure sitting in the bed.

 

The past few months had been the hardest of Taeko Kamado’s life. Her father had gotten ill, with his coughs getting more frequent and worse by the day. His illness seemed alarmingly similar to the one that had killed his grandfather many years ago, hauntingly so. And as the days went on his loved ones watched as he grew more sick and frail.

 

Yushiro attempted to make use of the medical knowledge he had to help Kiyoto, only to realize how far behind he was compared to Taeko’s mother. He came to an alarming realization he had neglected to follow the new medicinal advancements. He had become so obsessed in struggle to capture Lady Tamayo’s essence in his paintings that he had forgotten what she would have wanted him to do with the immortal life she gifted him. She would have wanted him to keep helping people. And he had shamelessly forgotten that. 

 

Kiyoto became more sick over time. Gone was his previously healthy appearance and in its place stood a frail looking man with pale and dull skin. His form seemed to have sunken, his bones becoming more apparent against his skin. Still, his daughter's arrival brought a smile to his face.

 

“Congratulations on your victory.” He said, his voice sounding much weaker than a year before. His words took Taeko by surprise.

 

“How did you know that I won?” She asked, walking closer to the bed.

 

“I just got the feeling you did.” He confessed with a smirk. A thoughtful expression crossed his face as he contemplated his next action. “I think… you deserve a prize for winning.”

 

Taeko’s smile dropped as her father held up his hands towards his ears. Her entire body freezing while she watched him taking off the earrings he constantly wore ever since being gifted them from his father. 

 

Kiyoto stretched his hand out to Taeko, intending on gifting her their family’s hanafuda earrings as a present.

 

“Those are your grandfather’s earrings. The same ones he wore during his journey.” He presented, knowing how much his father's legacy meant to her. He then gently took one her hands on his own and placed the object on it. “They have been passed on to our family from one generation to the next. And now I want you to have them.”

 

“Take them back.” Taeko immediately said with her voice now shaking, surprising her father. Surprise turned to dread as he noticed her eyes begin to water.

 

“Taeko…” Her father weakly tried to say something, finding himself unable to. He had hoped she would be too happy with the present to realize why he chose to give it to her now. But Taeko is smart, so she quickly saw through his actions.

 

As he said, the hanafuda earrings are passed from generation to generation but they usually aren’t gifted, they are inherited with the passing of the previous wearer.

 

“Take the earrings back, dad.” Taeko pleaded, sounding more frantic this time. She held out the earrings back to him but he didn’t take them. “You can give me them later!”

 

Kiyoto opened his mouth to say something but found himself unable to find any words of comfort to tell her. He could only watch as tears streamed freely down his daughter’s cheeks, and it hurt much more than anything he felt in the last year.

 

“Just take it!!” She exclaimed with a sob, looking with tearful eyes as her father’s expression tightened in pain and worry. The girl kept trying to convince him. “You can give them to me next year! Maybe even the next!”

 

Kiyoto closed his eyes and took a deep, long breath. Then he looked at her in the eyes and just shook his head.

 

“No… No!” She wailed with tears raining down her cheeks. She did not want to accept what he was indirectly telling her. 

 

Unable to see his daughter in such a state any longer, Kiyoto pulled the girl into his arms to give her a warm hug. It was unfortunately the best he could come up with at that moment. The girl hugged him back, desperate sobs leaving her as she kept crying. She clutched the earrings in a tight fist, finally accepting they were hers now.

 

Kiyoto felt terrible for causing his daughter so much pain but he could feel his end coming. He had already made peace with that. Even so, he wished he could be here to help with whatever the future had in store for his daughter. Kiyoto always had the feeling that Titania appeared for a reason. And someday, Taeko would find out what that reason was. He only hoped all the knowledge he passed on to her would help her later down the line.

 

But for now, the father and daughter just held each other as they cried. They cried for everything that happened until that point and all that could happen in the future.

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Eiko Kamado, Taeko’s mother, was a busy woman. Her work at the local hospital meant she spent most of her day out of the house. But as she witnessed her beloved husband fall deathly ill, she realized how much she neglected her family. Eiko tried her best to support both Taeko and Kiyoto. She deeply regretted not having spent more time with them.

 

With her husband’s recent passing, she found herself being the one to have to look out after their daughter. To Eiko’s relief, being the sweet girl that she is, Taeko did not resent her mother for being distant. The girl knew how important her job was. Nevertheless, the red eyed girl was relieved to be told that her mother was going to spend more time at home from now on. Being able to talk and know her mother better brought her a bit of peace in the darkest days of her life. But whenever she was alone, Taeko couldn’t help but cry. She missed her father very much.

 

Yushiro also began to show up more frequently, although he always gave random excuses for going there instead of just admitting he wanted to support Taeko and keep the girl company.

 

One evening, Eiko was at work. Even with her new laxed schedule, she still had to work to keep a roof over their heads. Both Yushiro and Chachamaru had come to visit. The demons had opposite approaches to helping Taeko. Chachamaru refused to leave her side, rubbing against her hand from time to time to ask for head pats. Having the feline there brought a small smile to Taeko’s face but it didn't reach her eyes. They had lost some of their spark since the day her father passed away.

 

Yushiro, on the other hand, refused to stay still. He knew the feeling of grief very well but had no idea how to help someone else go through the grieving process. And the fact that he wasn’t able to help Kiyoto when he first got sick still hung over his head. He would never admit it, but he came to view Taeko’s father as a friend in the last few years. So the demon just ended up walking around the apartment, looking for anything out of place to fix or that needed cleaning.

 

“You!” Yushiro spat, pointing an accusatory finger at Chachamaru. “You better not leave any of your fur on this couch! I just cleaned it!”

 

The cat gave a meow in response.

 

“Yushiro-san, you didn't need to do that.” Taeko said, offering her friend a small smile. She had watched him clean the house top to bottom for the last few hours. At first she tried to join but he just dismissed her offer to help with a wave of his hand.

 

”Just because you and your mother are going to move, it doesn't mean you get to live in filth until then!” Yushiro complained, throwing himself at the couch next to them. As the silence set in, he was reminded why he kept himself busy during his visits. He had no idea what to say to the teen next to him. It wasn’t like he was good at comforting people.

 

“Yushiro-san.” Just as he had feared, the girl began a conversation. “ You are still going to visit us at the other house, aren't you?” 

 

“Stupid girl.” Yushiro answered without missing a beat. “I can't just leave you unsupervised. I'm stuck with you.”

 

The demon was caught off guard when Taeko pulled him into a hug. In normal circumstances he would immediately push her away and scream at her. This time he found himself unable to and instead returned the hug. He decided to accept it just this once. He knew the girl needed it… and maybe he needed that hug too.

 

With the death of her father, Taeko Kamado became the last blood related descendant of the Kamado family.

 

It could be maybe just paranoia on his part, Yushiro couldn’t help but feel like a chain of events was just set into motion.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

At seventeen years old, Taeko went to a new high school and met a teenanger with a star birthmark on the back of his neck.

 

Notes:

Shōwa era secret:

Here is the timeline,

1889- The events of Phantom Blood (part 1) ends.

1903- Tanjiro Kamado was born.

1916- The events of Demon Slayer begin.

1919- The events of Demon Slayer end with the final battle and death of Muzan.

1936- Kiyoto Kamado was born.

1938~1939- The events of Battle Tendency (part 2) takes place.

1971- Taeko Kamado was born.

1977- Taeko’s grandfather tells her about her ancestry and the tale of the demon slayers. Taeko names her stand Titania.

1980- Tanjiro Kamado dies.

1981- Taeko’s father finds out about Titania’s existence. Taeko meets Yushiro.

1983- 12 year old Taeko joins her school’s kendo club.

1985- Yushiro requests the records for water and flower breathing from Kiriya Ubuyashiki.

1987- Kiyoto Kamado dies.

1988- Taeko moves schools, and the events of Stardust Crusaders (part 3) begin.

Chapter 2: Kamado meets Kujo

Notes:

I am one day late but I did it. I originally had this chapter complete but when I was rereading I realized that I wanted to change most Taeko and Jotaro’s interactions. Originally she was supposed to be more afraid of him but it felt out of character since she can smell he is actually a good person. Also it’s especially difficult to write Jotaro’s parts since he is a man of few words but I think I managed. What do you think? I would love to read your opinions on this chapter.

I hope there are not any grammar errors. English is not my first linguage so I can make some mistakes. If you spot any of them please warn me. I would appreciate that.

Edited(04/26/2024): Changed some parts of the chapter but nothing that deeply impacted or changed the plot. Also, this chapter now also include an illustration.

Taeko likes sleeping. In her dreams anything is possible. Sometimes, if she is lucky enough, she sees her family. They never talk to her but that doesn't bother Taeko. She, even so, feels happy to be able to see them again. Some figures in her dreams are easy to recognize, like her grandparents and father. While others are unfamiliar, Taeko somehow knows those are the relatives she never got to meet. They all seem serene and peaceful, and the feeling is so contagious that Taeko can’t help but share in their tranquility. 

 

In those dreams, Taeko always finds herself at her grandparents house. The place which was the home of her family for generations. The weather is always sunny. And the flora of the front of the house, that she still vividly remembers seeing her grandparents taking care of back when they were still alive, always catching her attention with its beauty.

 

Taeko doesn’t know why she keeps having this same dream but if she had to guess it was probably because of how much she misses them. Losing her grandfather, grandmother and father in the last few years was very hard for her so maybe her subconscious created this dream to ease her grief.

 

Yet, this time there was something different. She opened her eyes to see the garden but there wasn’t anyone in sight. Unlike the other times she dreamt of this place, this time it was cloudy outside. Not to the point it was dark but the sun was hidden behind the clouds.

 

“Time goes on quickly, doesn't it?” A voice coming from her side made the girl realize she wasn’t really alone. When she turned to check who it was she saw her grandfather.

 

Taeko had met her grandpa many times in these dreams. He always appeared to her like the old man she knew, with wise and gentle eyes. The old man that used to give her head pats with those kind hands while smiling at her.

 

This was the first time he appeared to her as a teenanger her age, maybe even younger. Taeko recognized his younger self from the old photo that hung in the living room. Seeing him like that in person felt very different from seeing him in that old picture. Taeko had heard for her entire life that she had inherited her father and grandfather’s unique features and now, standing right next to him, she could clearly see it. It was almost as if she was looking at a mirror.

 

“It feels like it was only yesterday that I came back here.” He said glancing back at the house he lived in most of his life. “And now it's already time for your generation to take on the responsibility of taking care of the world.” 

 

Taeko was surprised to realize that he was actually talking to her, he never spoke to her in these dreams before. She opened her mouth to respond but no sound left her lips. She couldn’t speak, only listen to her grandfather’s words.

 

“You have grown up so much, Taeko. You became a kind and gentle young girl…” He continued to speak to her, audible pride in each word. “I’m sure whatever happens from now on. You will do great.”

 

As he spoke the clouds looming above them began to disperse and their surroundings became more and more bright. Teaeko could sense that this dream was coming to an end and found herself wishing to be able to keep herself from awakening just a little longer. To be able to hear more of her grandfather’s words.

 

Yet, the scenery continued to brighten around them until it all became white and as Taeko was about to wake up she heard her grandfather say something else.

 

“Take care, little butterfly.”

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With her grandfather’s parting words echoing in her mind, Taeko opened her eyes back in her bedroom, her thoughts lingering back in her dream. The red eyed girl wasn’t sure what to take of it.

 

Why that of all nights she would hear her grandfather talking to her? Not that she thought that was really her grandfather, Taeko wasn't silly, she knew dreams were just images created by her brain. Her grandfather has been dead for years and he couldn’t communicate with her from heaven.

 

But, still, there had to be a reason her mind made her dream that. Maybe she is just nervous because of the new school and her subconscious thought seeing her grandfather would help.

 

Speaking of which, wasn’t that day going to be her first day at the new school?

 

The realization made Taeko turn to look at the clock on the blue wall of her room in trepidation and immediately jump from her bed upon seeing that she had overslept. She would have to be quick otherwise she would be late on the first day.

 

Taeko grabbed her new uniform from her wardrobe and was unable to keep herself from scowling at it. Far from her being a fashion critic, but the coloring of the clothes was just so bad. This shade of purple wasn’t going to look good on her… or anyone, to be honest. Still, the uniform was mandatory at this school so Taeko had put it on. 

 

As she did that, a smile formed in her face. She was excited for this new chapter in her life. At this new school, Taeko has the chance to finally make some friends. There were so many people at the new school that there had to be someone she would be able to befriend.  

 

“I have to make a good first impression.” Taeko thought just as she finished putting the uniform on. “Whatever happens today will impact the rest of my life. I just know it!”

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Taeko sprinted in the direction of her new school, glad to have previously memorized the route. She tried not to feel bothered by people in the streets giving her odd looks when she sprinted across them. Have they never seen a teen running late to school before? It wasn’t that weird.

 

She wasn’t even running as fast as she could. She could have used the total breathing technique to go even faster. She had gotten to the point she could easily use her breathing to boost her stamina whenever she needed but her training was far from complete. She couldn’t say she had control of her breathing all day and night. She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to do it while asleep. 

 

Some minutes into her walk, Taeko began to see other students, including girls with uniforms similar to hers. With her new schoolmates around, making Taeko realize she was now on time, she slowed her walking to a calmer pace. Taeko let out a sigh of relief, thanking the gods she wouldn't be late on her first day.

 

Taeko gazed at the other teens with intrigue, again wondering what this new school had in store for her. As if the gods were answering this question, as soon as this thought crossed her mind Taeko heard a squeal. The sound caught her attention to an agglomeration some steps ahead. While most students in the street were in groups of two or three, this group contained a cluster of people, almost all of them were girls, giggling and gushing excitedly about something.

 

“Jojo!” 

 

“Good morning, Jojo!”

 

“You look great today!”

 

“He looks great everyday!”

 

“Let me hold your hand today, Jojo!” 

 

“Hey! Don’t you get so chummy around Jojo!” 

 

Taeko was quick to notice that there was someone standing in the middle of the crowd of girls. With the height this guy had, it would be impossible to miss his presence. He was a head taller than most girls around him.

 

Taeko tilted her head curiously at the scene. That must be the “Jojo” the girls are talking about. Taeko felt a sting of envy as she watched the girl’s speak excitedly to him. Taeko wished she had friends that would greet her this eagerly in the mornings. This “Jojo” guy sure is popular.

 

“How does someone get this popular?” Taeko wonders. She was never popular back in the other school so it was a mystery to her. As she continued following the group and watching the scene unfold, Taeko noticed “Jojo” wasn’t responding to the girl’s at all.

 

Anger. Frustration. Irritation.

 

The scent carrying his feelings had barely reached her nose when she jumped at hearing the tall teenanger suddenly let out a loud shout.

 

“SHUT THE HELL UP! YOU’RE SO FUCKING ANNOYING!”

 

His words made the chatter between the girl’s cease instantly and not even a second later another shout echoed across the street.

 

“Hey!” The words escaped Taeko’s mouth before she realized what she was doing. “You shouldn’t talk to your friends like that!”

 

With that, all of the girls’ eyes turned to look at her, Taeko flinched. Those girl’s smelled angry...

 

At her.

 

“Mind your own business!” One of the girl’s exclaimed.

 

“…what?” Taeko choked, not expecting this reaction from the ones she was trying to defend.

 

“Who do you think you are to talk to Jojo like that?!” Another girl snapped, taking a step towards the new girl.

 

“How dare she?!” 

 

“What a rude bitch!!”

 

“But… he just called them annoying… Did I get the situation wrong? …or do they just don’t mind being called that? Which is it?” To say Taeko was confused was an understatement.

 

While Taeko was distracted by the girl’s glaring daggers at her, Jotaro looked back at the girl who had just shouted at him. He didn’t recognize her so he was quick to realize she was new at school. Not that he remembered every face he encountered at school, but he would remember a girl with red eyes and those unique earrings of hers. Also, anyone that dares to shout at him doesn't know who he is. Because if she knew about him, she wouldn’t do that. Everybody knew he took shit from nobody. 

 

He was already having a bad day due to an incident during a fight the night before and now with those annoying girls’ that refused to leave him alone even after he yelled at them to back off, his already bad mood was only worsening. Having the new girl shout at him would have gotten him more irritated if not for the fact her intervention finally made those girls leave his side to confront the new girl.

 

And so he took the opportunity to keep the walk to school alone while they were distracted. The other girl’s didn't see it as they had their back to him but Taeko noticed him leaving.

 

“Apologize to him!” One of the girls angrily demanded to Taeko, who took a step back as they got threateningly closer to her.

 

“I can’t.” Kamado responded.

 

“Why not?” Another teen asked.

 

“Because he left.” Taeko pointed at his retreating figure and only then did the girls realize he was walking away.

 

The girls seemed to immediately forget about Taeko’s existence as they rushed after their beloved.

 

“Wait for us, Jojo!”

 

“Jojo, wait!”

 

“Jojo!”

 

With that Taeko was left in their dust, still having trouble comprehending what the hell just happened.

 

Of all the things that could happen on her first day… this one she would have never been able to predict.

 

Taeko could only hope the other girls at this school wouldn’t be this aggressive, otherwise she will have a hard time making friends.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“Look at her eyes, have you ever seen a shade like that before?”

 

“No. It’s kind of weird.”

 

“What are those earrings she is wearing?”

 

“She looks kind of hot.”

 

“Isn’t she the one that was rude to Jojo before?”

 

“It’s her. What is she doing here?”

 

Curiosity. Nervousness. Desire. Disgust. Annoyance.

 

Now standing in front of her assigned classroom facing her new classmates, Taeko was not only able to hear their whispers but also catch their sentiments by scent. To her dismay, it was mostly a negative reaction to her presence.

 

“Alright, class. As you can see, we have a new student.” Her new teacher said, unphased by the class’ commentary. “Please introduce yourself.” 

 

Trying to avoid looking at the familiar tall teen in one of the seats by the back of the room, Taeko made sure to plaster a polite smile on her face while she greeted the teens she will study with from that point on.

 

“My name is Kamado Taeko. It is very nice to meet you all.” She said, hoping to give them a good first impression of her.

 

“You can sit in front of Kujo.” The teacher instructed Taeko. Before the teen could ask who that was, came her classmates’ indignant whispers.

 

“She gets to sit close to Jojo? How lucky!”

 

“She better not try to steal him from me!”

 

Taeko sighed. Not only was Jojo in her class, some of the girl’s from before were also here. How lucky of her.

 

As she walked to her new seat, she took the chance to get a closer look at Kujo. Even while he was sitting she could tell he was tall (something that she already noticed when she saw him earlier), probably six feet, and very muscular. The uniform he was wearing was very different from the other’s she had seen on her way to school. It had been heavily modified, probably more than the school would allow, even including a huge golden chain in the collar. 

 

He was sitting like he was about to take a nap instead of paying attention to the class, cap covering his eyes while laying back on his seat with his feet up on his desk.

 

As for his scent… It surprised Taeko.

 

He smelled of someone with a good heart.

 

Taeko must have been staring for too long because he lifted his cap to stare back at her with his sharp green eyes.

 

Taeko smiled at him.

 

“Good morning.” She greeted her new classmate politely and finally sat on her newly assigned seat.

 

He didn't reciprocate her greeting.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

For the next few days, Taeko adjusted to her new environment and learned more about both the school and students. She quickly realized that the most infamous delinquent of the entire school was sitting right behind her.

 

Kujo Jotaro or, as most people called him, Jojo. Apparently someone had the idea to combine the “Jo” of his name with the “Jo” of his surname into the nickname “Jojo”.

 

Taeko thought the nickname was kind of cute…

 

…but maybe too cute for a guy like Jotaro.

 

Especially considering his reputation as a delinquent. Taeko found out he had taken part in countless incidents in both the school and neighborhood. Mostly participating in fights in which he ended up beating the opponents so badly they almost always had to go to the hospital. He also doesn’t seem to have much respect for authority either as when a new teacher messed with him he spooked the man so badly he never returned to the school (hearing that made her realize her first encounter with the guy could have gone much worse). There is also the rumor that he refused to pay at restaurants when the food was bad… Taeko had no idea how people found that last one out. 

 

Taeko had yet to personally witness him doing any of it so she took those rumors with a grain of salt. While these stories did sound true, she wanted to see more of him before making any conclusions.

 

Her reluctance to write him off as merely an aggressive and mean person was more than likely because of her smelling goodness in him.

 

Her nose never failed her so if she smells a good heart in someone this person has a good heart.

 

The only proof she had that he wasn’t as aggressive as the rumors implied was his behavior with the girls. They trailed after him every opportunity, expelling a sickly sweet scent of desire, admiration and lust. Their fixation with the delinquent coming very close to being an obsession. And still, no matter how annoyed Taeko could smell he was getting, he never did more than yell at them. Unfortunately, not even yelling seems to deter those girls. It made Taeko feel ashamed for ever wishing to have friends like these. They were more followers than friends. Taeko now understood why he was so irritated at them the first day, she even pitied the guy for having to deal with this every day.

 

And, as if those girls weren't enough already, the entirety of the female population of the school had a crush on Kujo. Which, in result, ended up making it impossible for Taeko to make any female friends. Her brief interactions with Jojo during her first day of class angered those girls one way or another. Some condemned her for being rude to Jojo during the walk to school and others were annoyed for her flirting with him in class. Being that the flirting they were referring to is the “Good Morning!” She offered to him every day before class that was never reciprocated.

 

Taeko didn’t have any more luck making male friends. It seemed like the entire population at school couldn’t understand the concept of male-female friendship as all the guys she talked with acted like she was flirting with them.

 

All in all, her social situation there was even worse than how it was in her last school. Back then, Taeko at least was able to hold regular conversations with other people without being criticized for previous actions or getting flirted with.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Taeko reread the same sentence for the seventh time before she finally accepted that she wouldn’t be able to study the records of the flower breathing techniques that day. It had been more than a month after her first day of class and she found herself resting on the sofa of Yushiro’s living room as she read (or at least tried to).

 

Her situation at school was bothering her that day more than usual. It was a particularly lonely day of not being able to hold a conversation with other students without any hostility from them. Not having friends was something she was already used to but not being able to peacefully socialize with her classmates was new. Now she is more isolated than ever before.

 

Closing and putting the book down, her gaze shifted to the other person in the room, seeing Yushiro reading another book on the other side of the room. After years of Yushiro making painting after painting, he was now reserving a part of his day for medical studies. He was doing deep research on the medical advancements of the last few decades and was learning surprisingly fast. Taeko also knew he had been speaking to her mother about the subject and had even visited the hospital she worked at to look around.

 

Although she recognized what sparked his renewed interest in medicine, Taeko still felt happy to see that Yushiro had a new hobby.

 

The girl was jolted from her thoughts by the loud “thud” Yushiro made by suddenly slamming the book he was trying to read into the table.

 

“What is it?” He hissed, glaring daggers at her. She opened her mouth to respond but he was quicker. “And don’t you dare tell me it’s nothing. You only have problems reading the records when something is bothering you. It’s painfully obvious.”

 

He really does know her very well, doesn’t he?

 

“I’m just having some problems at the new school. No need for you to worry about me.” Taeko reassured him with a small smile.

 

“I’m not worried!” Both of them knew that was a lie. “I just don't want to have you whining around me!”

 

Taeko got quiet for a moment, considering her next action. Yushiro was definitely not the best person to vent to. Even with all the knowledge he had, the man had the emotional intelligence of a teaspoon. However, the girl decided to give it a shot as Yushiro was one of the few people she trusted enough to talk about her problems with.

 

Where should she begin? Taeko decided it was best to start from the beginning with her first day at the new school when she met Kujo Jotaro.

 

“On my first day of school there was this boy…“ 

 

Not even a second after the word “boy" left her mouth, Yushiro made an expression of pure disgust.

 

“No.” He exclaimed as he got up from his chair in a hurry, not even bothering to take the book he was previously reading with him. “I’m not doing this.”

 

“What do you mean?” Taeko questioned, not seeing how what she said got such a reaction from him, watching as Yushiro marched to another room without looking back.

 

“I’m not having ‘boy talk’ with you!” He answered, to her shock and then closed the door behind him.

 

“It’s not ‘boy talk’!” 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“I should have known better than to speak to him about this…” Taeko mused out loud some minutes after, as she was making her way back home from Yushiro’s apartment. Her head hung low while she walked, feeling even more dejected than before her exchange with the angry demon. “I love him but Yushiro-san can be really dense sometimes…” There was a pause in her speech before she looked down at the small figure strolling beside her. “Please don’t let him know I said that.”

 

That earned Taeko a “Meow” from Chachamaru in response. The demon cat had followed Taeko as she left Yushiro’s apartment, something the feline had already done countless times before. Chachamaru didn't like being confined to one place so sometimes she likes to visit the Kamado’s to spend some time with Taeko.

 

“I wouldn’t have spoken to him about that if I had someone else to talk to, but I don't. If I had a friend I could talk to him. After all, that’s something that friends do, right?” Her gaze once again landed on the feline. “They talk about their problems.” 

 

“Meow.”

 

Taeko sighed, reminding herself yet again that she was chatting to a cat.

 

“Sometimes, I wish your blood demon art gave you the ability to speak.” The red eyed girl confessed, only half joking.

 

She was still looking at Chachamaru and, the next thing she knew, a collision with something sent Taeko tumbling into the ground. She fell back on her butt, mentally chastasing herself for not looking where she was going.

 

Checking what was ahead, the teenanger realized she hadn’t bumped into something.

 

She bumped into someone.

 

“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!” Taeko jumped into her feet, quick to come to the person’s aid. “Are you alright?”

 

Laying on the ground with plastic bags scattered around her was a woman with light brown hair. Taeko fully expected the lady to complain at her for having walked right into her and make her drop what the teenanger suspected were her groceries into the ground but the lady instead smiled sweetly at her.

 

“No need to apologize, dear. I’m perfectly fine!” The woman answered in a lighthearted tone as she got up from the ground and brushed some dirt from her clothes. “Silly me got too distracted with my own thoughts and I forgot to look where I was going.”

 

Calmness. Acceptance. Amusement.

 

While Taeko should feel relief that she wouldn't be shouted at, the woman's kind demeanor instead made her feel even more ashamed for having bumped into her. When the lady couched down to gather her groceries Taeko helped her gather everything that had fallen out back into the bags. 

 

The lady again smiled at her with what seemed to be gratitude but what caught Taeko’s attention was the scratches on the palm of her hands. She must have gotten them when she fell and yet wasn’t showing any sign of resentment.

 

“...let me help you get these home. It's the least I can do.” Taeko offered with a frown. “It’s a lot for one person to carry.”

 

The woman giggled as if Taeko had just said a joke.

 

“Such a nice girl you are.” She remarked. “But there is no need. I assure you, I am stronger than I look.” She jocked in a playful tone.

 

“I insist!” Taeko shouted, determined.

 

“I still have quite a walk back home, are you sure you want to come with me?” She clarified and Taeko had no hesitation in nodding in affirmation. With that the woman finally accepted that Taeko would not back down. “Alright, then. Just know you are free to go if you change your mind!”

 

And with that Taeko accompanied the woman home while carrying half of the bags. The first few minutes of their walk were awkward to say the least. Even more awkward than Taeko’s talk with Yushiro earlier and the girl thought that would have been the worst moment of her day.

 

Taeko sighed, asking herself yet again why the last few weeks of her life had been such a mess when they were supposed to be the beginning of something good.

 

“Is everything alright?” The kind woman walking next to her asked while wearing a concerned expression on her face. Seeing the girl’s confusion at her sudden question, she explained herself. “It looks like something is bothering you.”

 

“I’m just sad I'm having problems making friends at my new school.” Taeko was surprised how easily it felt for her to answer the question. While this woman seemed to be nice, she was still a stranger. And Taeko shouldn’t feel so comfortable divulging personal stuff to strangers.

 

But it was just something about this woman. Something in her calm demeanor and sweetness that made it easier to open up to her. 

 

“Really? A nice girl like you having difficulty making friends? Hard to believe!” The woman said, sounding genuinely surprised. “I’m sure you just need some more time to socialize.”

 

“It’s already been weeks.” Taeko's voice became weaker. “Besides, everybody at school already made their own conclusions about me.” 

 

The woman was quiet for a moment, and then her expression softened and she continued speaking.

 

“I know how hard it can be to get used to a new place.” She revealed. “When I first moved here to be with my husband, It was hard making friends. I felt very isolated and feared I would never feel at home here.” 

 

“...and what did you do?” Taeko felt the urge to ask.

 

“I didn’t give up.” The lady said, smiling reassuringly at the young girl. “And I found out friends can come into our life when we least expect it from where we least expect. In all those weeks was there ever someone you interacted with that you hoped to know better?”

 

Taeko found herself immediately thinking of one specific student that intrigued her.

 

“... there is someone. But I’m not sure if it's a good idea.” Said Taeko. “He has a bad reputation as a delinquent.”

 

The corners of the woman’s mouth dropped as soon as the words left her mouth. Her scent began to emanate sadness, something the teenanger was quick to notice.

 

 “...did I say something wrong?” Taeko hesitantly asked, concerned.

 

“You said nothing wrong.” The woman was quick to explain, not wanting the girl to feel bad. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “It’s just that you reminded me of my son, he also has the reputation of a delinquent.”

 

“Really?” Taeko asked, finding it hard to see this gentle woman having a delinquent son.

 

“Yes.” The woman confirmed. Been taken over by nostalgia, she continued to speak about her son. “He was a kind and sweet child when he was younger. Such a good boy for his mama!” The mother cooed, probably remembering some instances of her son’s childhood. Taeko could catch the scent of the pure deep love the woman felt for her son. Then the mother’s gaze lowered to the ground, her eyes darkening with sadness. “Sometime ago, he changed.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“I’m not sure. He doesn’t tell me anything anymore. But I know that beneath that rough exterior of his, he is still my sweet boy.” A small smile grew on the woman’s face. “My little Jotaro.”

 

Taeko forgot how to breathe for a moment.

 

Did the woman just say what she thought she had?

 

It couldn’t be…

 

“You are Jotaro’s mother?!” Taeko loudly blurted out in her shock. After all, what were the chances of this happening?

 

The woman was taken aback by Taeko’s sudden outburst, a frown appearing on her kind face.

 

“Yes, I am. Why do you…?” The woman began before realization hit her. She beamed in both excitement and amusement. “It can’t be! Is my Jotaro the one you were talking about? What a coincidence!” 

 

“Yeah… what a coincidence…” Taeko mumbled, still recovering from her shock.

 

“I didn’t even introduce myself, did I?” The woman, somehow behaving now even more friendly than before, asked. “I am Kujo Holly. It’s wonderful to meet you.” 

 

“…I’m Kamado Taeko.” The teenanger introduced herself out of politeness.

 

“This is such a surprise. My son didn’t even mention any new students at his school. But, well, he doesn’t tell me anything these days. He stays most of the day out and when he comes back he doesn’t feel the need to tell me where he’s been. It makes me worry for him.”

 

Holly continued speaking with Taeko silently walking beside her, still finding it hard to believe that of all the people she could have bumped into, it ended up being Jotaro’s mother.

 

“…and I know something has been bothering him these last few days. It’s like he is afraid of something.”

 

That last comment caught Taeko’s attention back to the woman. Jotaro being afraid of something? Is that even possible?

 

“Oh! We are here!” Taeko almost bumped, again, into Holly when the woman stopped walking. 

 

Unnoticed by the teen, the duo had reached their destination. Taeko barely had any attention to the huge house in front of her, she was inching to get done with this uncomfortable situation and drown in her shame back at home.

 

“Well, guess I will be going then…” Taeko said, holding out the bags for Holly to take.

 

The woman frowned, casted a glance at the quickly darkening sky and then looked back at the teen.

 

“I can’t make a young girl walk back home alone this late.” Holly explained, gesturing to the huge house she lived in. “Why don’t you come in? You can use our phone to call your parents to come get you.”

 

Taeko, horrified with the high possibility of coming across Jotaro, was quick to protest.

 

“I will be fine! I have…” The teen trailed off, realizing just what she was about to say.

 

“I have Titania, the invisible spirit that wields a katana and it’s always following me! I swear she is real and I am not going crazy or anything!” 

 

No. That won’t do. She couldn’t reveal Titania’s existence to Holly. No matter how kind the woman was, there is no way she is going to even believe her.

 

“I insist!” Holly used Taeko’s words against her and before the teen could say anything else the mother gently nudged her inside the house. And, finding no other excuses to give, Taeko resigned herself to her fate.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

 

It didn’t take more than a minute for Jotaro to appear before them, like he had been waiting for his mother to arrive to confront her.

 

“Where the hell have you been, bitch?!” Jotaro spoke with his usual rudenesses and smelled of annoyance but Taeko also could catch another emotion that almost completely overshadowed it.

 

Concern.

 

His mother did arrive late so it would make sense for him to be worried about her. He was probably waiting for her to get home.

 

Still, nothing excused him from calling his mother a “bitch” and to be so rude to her.

 

“That’s a really rude way to speak with your own mother. Please stop talking to her like that.” Taeko declared, trying to be both firm and polite. She was a guest at their home, after all. Taeko couldn’t just yell at him.

 

It took her talking for him to notice that his new classmate was there too.

 

“What are you doing here?” He demanded, scowling at the unexpected guest.

 

“I bumped into her on the way here.” Holly was the one to explain. “She helped me carry my bags. But it got late so I am going to let her use the phone to call her family to come pick her up.” 

 

She showed no signs of being bothered by her son’s behavior. On the contrary, seeing him was enough to make her feel happy. Taeko could smell her happiness. It was both heartwarming and unsettling because the poor woman was probably used to her son’s rude attitude.

 

Seeing mother and son standing close to each other just highlighted the differences between the two of them. Jotaro was tall and buff. Holly was small and lean. Jotaro always wore a hard glare on his face. Holly had been smiling all the way there. Jotaro was hot-headed and rude. Holly was kind and polite.

 

They were polar opposites in many ways.

 

“The telephone is in the kitchen.” Holly told Taeko, pulling the girl from her thoughts. “I will show you.”

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

After spending most of the day wandering around the neighborhood, Jotaro had returned home fully expecting to hear his mother’s voice welcoming him back. But, instead, the house was silent. 

 

He had the habit of staying out most of the day, knowing his mother would protest if she saw him smoking or drinking. Both things he did on the regular. So, normally, by the time got back home, his mother was already done with the day's shopping and was doing something around the house. That was their usual routine.

 

So, his mother’s absence that evening left him feeling uneasy.

 

He had been waiting for some time, smoking to calm his nerves, when he heard the sound of someone entering the house. He had deduced something had delayed his mother but he had no way of predicting she would return in the company of Kamado Taeko. He hadn’t even noticed the girl was there before she spoke. 

 

He hadn’t given the new girl much of a thought. The only interaction the two had since her first day was the good morning she offered him everyday. Opposite what their first interaction made him expect, he found that he didn't mind sitting behind her. Taeko was way easier to deal with than any of the other girl’s in class. Unlike them, she respected his space and her greetings in the morning were brief and to the point. Hence why he never complained about them. Taeko was probably the only girl in their class that wasn’t infatuated with him, which automatically makes her the most tolerable.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a new classmate? She seems really nice.” His mother said as both her and her son waited, having given Taeko some privacy to make her call.

 

Jotaro scoffed at the question. He didn’t tell her anything because it doesn’t matter. It wasn’t like he was going to become friends with the new girl. They sit close to each other and have a daily one sided greeting, that’s it.

 

“It’s none of your business.” He firmly stated to get her to drop the subject.

 

Then, the next moment, a sound caught his attention. It was the hissing of a cat. He looked down to see that there really was a cat standing there. It was a small feline colored in white with black and brown spots with big ember eyes seemingly glaring at him while it kept hissing. Other than the fact it showed out of nowhere, there was something off about that cat. He just couldn’t point out exactly what.

 

“What an adorable kitten!” Unlike him, his mother was seemingly unbothered by the weird cat. But, thankfully, she had enough caution not to touch the unfamiliar animal. “I wonder where it came from?” 

 

“Chachamaru!” Having finished her call to home, Taeko came into the room to see her companion standing there, hissing at her classmate. Acting quickly, she gathered the feline into her arms, petting it gently in an attempt to get her to calm down. “I’m so sorry.” She apologized to Jotaro. “She is usually very calm and well behaved. I even forgot she was with me.”

 

“It’s fine.” Jotaro said, nonchalantly. Something about this cat irked him but he wasn’t willing to ask.

 

“Did you manage to call your parents, dear?” Holly asked with a smile.

 

“Yes. Mom was already coming back from work, so she can pick me up.” Taeko explained, glancing anxiously down at a still hissing Chachamaru, who apparently wasn’t going to calm down any time soon. “I’m going to wait for her outside.”

 

“There is no need. You can wait here.” Holly assured, not wanting the girl to wait in the dark.

 

“I inconvenienced you long enough. Mom won’t take long to get here by car, don’t worry. I’m going to wait close to the entrance.” Holly opened her mouth to protest but the teen gave her no time to say anything before leaving in a hurry with the cat.

 

Still, the woman was visibly worried for the girl and when she looked at her son, Jotaro knew what she was about to ask.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“Chachamaru! What was that?” Taeko complained, chastising the demon cat that was now licking her paw innocently on the ground as if she hadn't been hissing at her classmate not even five minutes earlier. “What’s gotten into you?”

 

The demon paused, glanced up at Taeko only for a brief moment before resuming licking her paw.

 

The teenager let out a heavy sigh, both confused and frustrated at the cat’s unusual behavior. Where did all her dislike for Jotaro come from? 

 

Taeko saw something blue from the corner of her eye and saw Titania floating next to her, her expressive red eyes showing her concern for the teen.

 

“I’m fine. Just tired.” Taeko reassured the entity. “It’s just that this day was… a lot. First at school, then with Yushiro and now here!” Taeko said, already used to talking about her emotions to Titania. “I mean, of all the people to bump into it had to be the mother of the guy I was talking about. How embarrassing was that!” The girl exclaimed, burying her face in her hands in shame. 

 

There was a moment of silence and then she lifted her head just in time to see Titania looking back at the entrance of the house and heard Chachamaru begin hissing again.

 

That, combined with the scent of cigarettes she was catching, was enough for her to realize who was there before she even turned to check.

 

It was Jotaro standing here, just staring at seemingly nothing. Taeko would have thought he was staring at Titania if not for the fact that she knew she and Yushiro were the only ones that could see her.

 

But she did begin to suspect it could really be it because it was when her invisible friend vanished from her side that Jotaro seemingly shook himself from whatever trance he was in.

 

Taeko opened her mouth to ask but, probably sensing that she was about to ask if he was alright, Jotaro spoke first.

 

“You are still there.” He huffed, his discontent with the fact evident in his voice. 

 

“My mom must be arriving soon. There was no need for you to check on me.” Taeko answered after a moment of hesitation. 

 

“I’m not checking because I wanted to.” He said, unapologetically sincere. He didn't say it but Taeko was almost sure his mother was the one who asked for him to see if she had already left.

 

Then the two of them got quiet.

 

Taeko wanted to ask the question but at the same time she didn’t know how.

 

How could you ask someone if they are seeing what no one else can see and not feel worried about their reaction?

 

Maybe he did see Titania but what were the chances?

 

After years and years of being the only human able to sense Titania’s presence, it was hard for her to believe she finally found another one.

 

Also…

 

“…and I know something has been bothering him these last few days. It’s like he is afraid of something.” Was what Holly had told her earlier, something the teen didn't really believe.

 

But now she could smell what he was feeling.

 

Apprehension. Stress. Fear.

 

“What?” He finally snarted at her, bothered by the feeling of her staring intently at him.

 

The girl hesitated. Looking at him with those big dark red eyes of hers that seemed to be able to see deep into his soul.

 

“Are you afraid of something?” She finally asked, only to immediately regret it when she felt anger rising within him.

 

“Mind your own fucking business.” He yelled, making the girl flinch.

 

He stormed back inside the house before she could protest, leaving the girl unable to get her answers.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

He did see the blue entity floating right next to his classmate. And, unfortunately, it wasn't the only strange thing he saw the last few days. For a while he had seen glimpses of something purple appearing from time to time around him. It appeared especially during fights where his adversaries ended up much more injured than he intended. 

 

He knew he was being haunted by something.

 

Something dangerous that he was having a bad time controlling.

 

He had never expected someone close by to also have an evil spirit, especially not someone like Kamado. But, there she was, talking casually to a blue skinned floating lady wearing a butterfly mask as if they were old friends.  

 

In highsight he should have probably questioned her before leaving but, honestly, he found the way she was able to correctly guess what he was feeling unsettling. 

 

He decided he was going to talk to her about it the next time they saw each other.

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Taeko was determined to talk to him about that the next time they saw each other. 

 

She thought she would have time to do so at school but he didn't appear for class. It shouldn’t worry her, he was a delinquent after all, skipping class was something he did sometimes but considering how he was the last time she saw him, Taeko had this feeling something had happened.

 

This feeling only worsened when he didn’t appear for the next three days.

 

Then came the news he had been arrested for getting into another fight and sending his attackers to the hospital.

 

It generated much speculation around the school on what the details of the fight were but Taeko couldn’t find within herself to care about what the other students were gossiping about. She just hoped Jotaro would be released from jail soon so they could have their talk. 

 

It had been some days since she last saw him when Taeko was taking her usual path to school, hoping to finally see the delinquent that day. The street was empty that morning, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts. She considered calling Titania for some company but ended up choosing not to. She had learned a long time ago that speaking to an imaginary friend in public space was not a good idea when someone could appear when you don't expect and see you talking to nothing.

 

Suddenly Taeko’s eyes widened and she sensed something terrible.

 

It was the scent of something evil.

 

It was so bad it made Taeko feel violently sick from getting in contact with it. The girl gagged and bent over, almost dropping her bag. Her hand went to her mouth, trying to swallow the vomit she could feel rising from her throat.

 

Taeko had smelled bad people before. They reeked of malice, envy and cruelty. But this smell was different. It was worse than anything she scented before.

 

Taeko could only classify it as EVIL. It was as if she was smelling the definition of EVIL itself.

 

“Are you alright?” She heard someone ask.

 

This person was an unfamiliar red haired teenanger a few feet away from her. He stood in the shade of a nearby tree. In his hands he held a brush and palette that he was probably using to make a painting at the canvas setted up close to him.

 

Taeko felt a chill run down her spine, something on the way this guy spoke unsettled her. While his words conveyed worry, his voice was weirdly emotionless.

 

Was that terrible smell originating from this person?

 

Yes and no.

 

It was coming from his direction but the smell wasn’t his. His was another smell. The smell of someone gentle but lonely, with a good heart.

 

Taeko was stunned to realize that this man had two different scents. She supposed that maybe the second was the smell of someone this guy had been in contact with recently. That, theoretically speaking, would make sense.

 

Still, there was something weird… something really wrong with this guy.

 

“I will be fine.” Taeko answered, her body tensing as some instinct told her to be ready to flee at the first sign of danger.

 

The other teen didn’t really react. He kept staring at the girl for what felt like hours but were probably just some seconds.

 

“Those are some pretty earrings you have there.” He spoke again, looking directly at her hanafuda earrings. “Family heirloom?”

 

“Yeah…” Taeko weakly confirmed, uncertain why he pointed her earrings out. “Sorry but I really need to go to school now.” 

 

Some more moments of silence followed, with Taeko giving the other teen some time to answer. Seeing that he wasn’t going to say anything else, Taeko awkwardly resumed her walk to the school. As she did so she could feel his eyes still following her.

 

The girl was relieved when she finally reached her destination, surrounded by other teens she felt safer. Seeing that the class wouldn’t begin for a while so she chose to stay outside feeling the smells the soft morning breeze carried.

 

Some minutes later, the faint smell of blood caught her attention and she noticed a familiar silhouette approaching the school, surrounded by many smaller ones.

 

Taeko smiled, seeing that Jotaro was back, but it soon vanished from her face when she saw a painful looking cut on his leg that was bleeding a lot. 

 

“Kamado!” He called for her as soon as he saw the red eyed girl standing there.

 

His fangirl’s watched in confusion and dismay as he approached the new girl, speculating on what this was about.

 

“Did the Kamado girl mess with Jojo again?” One of the girls in the group whispered.

 

“She better not try to steal him from me!” Other yelled.

 

“I wish Jojo approached me like that!” Another confessed.

 

Their commentary made a scent of annoyance grow within the tall teen.

 

“Good grief…” He groaned, bothered by the girls’ presence. His attention, however, was focused on the Kamado teen standing in front of him. “We need to talk. Alone.” He said and it got Taeko to suspect he also wanted to discuss what happened the other day.

 

Jotaro guided her to a secluded spot on the side of the school where no one else would overhear their conversation. The smell of cigarettes that lingered in the place tipped Taeko on how Jotaro found this spot and what he used it for.

 

Still, the scent of blood coming from his knee was the one scent concerning her.

 

“Did you get hurt at jail?” She had to ask only to immediately realize how rude she sounded and try to correct her mistake and she kept blabbing on and on. “It’s just that people had been talking that you got arrested. I wasn’t sure whether to believe it or not but you didn't come to school so it sounded possible. Not that I think you deserved to go to jail but I also know you had been in fights before so…”

 

“SHUT UP!!”

 

The girl clamped her mouth shut. Recoiling a little from the taller teen.

 

“Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that part about the rumors. Making new friends sure is tough.” She reflected in her mind.

 

“I want to talk about your stand.” Jotaro kept eye contact with Kamado as he finally broached the subject he wanted to talk about.

 

“Stand?” Now confused, the red eyed girl tilted her head to the side. “I’m not sure what you are talking about.”

 

The taller teen kept eye contact for the entirety of the exchange. Analyzing her reaction to see if she was lying. Joke’s on him, Taeko can’t lie without her eye twitching, a habit of hers she couldn't break. It’s ridiculously easy to know when she is lying.

 

“The evil spirit that is haunting you.” He clarified, watchful of her reaction.

 

“Evil spirit?” Taeko answered, still trying to understand. “Are you talking about Titania? She sure could be a spirit but she isn't evil. And I’m not sure if she is this stand thing, either.”

 

Kujo stood straight while pulling down the brim of his hat to cover his eyes.

 

“Good grief…” He sighed in exasperation. “You are coming with me after school.” His firm tone made it clear that there was no room for argument.

 

The girl ended up arguing anyway. Though she sounded surprisingly chill about it.

 

“…is there any way to ask a friend to come to your house?” Not that they were friends but weirdly enough, Jotaro was the closest to a friend she had. “What is this all about?”

 

“Just do as I say, I’m taking you to meet the old man.” Was all the explanation he gave, seemingly done with the conversation as he turned to leave.

 

“WAIT!” Taeko shouted, making him stop. She pointed to his injured knee with her finger. “That wound in your leg is bleeding quite a lot! You should go to the nurse to get it checked. It could get infected.”

 

At that he could only roll his eyes at her.

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The class was happening around her and, even so, Taeko could barely pay attention to any of it. If the teacher were to ask her any questions on the subject, Taeko doubted she would be able to answer. She was too distracted with her thoughts on the occurrences of that morning.

 

She was finally getting some answers about Titania and what she really was, from someone that could also see the spirit. How cool was that? 

 

And maybe, just maybe, having that to talk about would help the two teens get closer and become friends.

 

Taeko really wasn’t in the mood to sit and study that day. Perhaps she could take a note from Kujo’s book and leave the class

 

…in a more polite manner of course.

 

“Sensei?” She asked, catching the adult’s attention. “Can I go to the bathroom?”

 

After easily getting his permission, Taeko was able to leave the class. There was the slight feeling of guilt for “lying” to the teacher when she had no intentions of actually going to the bathroom. Instead she wanted to check on Jotaro at the nurse’s office.  Maybe they could continue their talk.

 

As she approached the nurse’s office, Taeko caught a scent of fresh blood which confused her. Jotaro should have been done having his knee wound treated by now. 

 

She was about to quicken her step just to almost being thrown into the ground by an abrupt and violent shaking of the ground. The entire school building was trembling as if it was hit by an earthquake. There was the sound of shattering windows and creaking concrete that Taeko could hear from her spot.

 

Now alarmed, she ran the rest of the way. Arriving at the room, the first thing that caught her attention wasn't the destruction or the two bleeding bodies laying on the ground. Taeko was distracted by the huge purple figure floating close to Jotaro that was there for a brief moment, too brief for her to notice more of his (?) features, before vanishing.

 

It was only when the unknown figure was gone that her attention shifted to the nurse laying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. Without any hesitation the girl dropped to her knees to check up on her. Placing a finger to her neck, the teen checks for her pulse. Kamado let out a sigh of relief when she found it.

 

“…she is alive. Thank the gods.” She felt Jotaro’s gaze set on her and looked back at him, he appeared fine other than a cut on his cheek that was bleeding a bit. “What happened here?”

 

Before he had time to answer the question, the emergency bell had started ringing  and yells of confusion and fear echoed across the school grounds.

 

“What was that? A gas explosion?”

 

“It came from the nurse's office!”

 

“None of you leave the classroom!”

 

“I guess they will take care of it.” Jotaro, seemingly not bothered by the mess they were in, had walked to another bloodily figure laying in the ground, throwing the body over his shoulder to carry him like a potato sack. He then glanced back at Taeko. “We’re ditching school today.”

 

“We can’t just leave!” Taeko voiced her protest, shocked he was just going to flee the scene carrying a visibly wounded person while the nurse was still laying on the ground.

 

 “Just shut up and follow me.” He rudely said, not having enough patience to have to convince her to go with him. What he said next was referring to the person he was carrying. “I've got to have him explain some things about DIO.” 

 

His response only got the girl confused. She had no idea what was going on and instead of getting answers she got more and more questions.

 

“What is a Dio?” She wasn’t sure if this word was supposed to hold any meaning to her.

 

Jotaro felt no need to give her an answer. He just got out through a broken window, leaving Taeko to decide if she should follow him or not.

 

The girl was hesitant, standing on her spot for a moment while glancing at the nurse. It felt wrong to leave someone wounded behind like that but Jotaro did have a point. With all this commotion someone would quickly come check what happened and help her.

 

It was the sound of approaching footsteps that finally nudged her to jump out of the window, hoping to catch up to Jotaro before he got too far.

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The two teens arrived at the Kujo estate just in time to witness Holly picking up a framed picture of her son that had been resting on a table and then gently nestling the picture in her arms.

 

“Jotaro's totally thinking about me at school right now!” She sang in a loving manner while moving from side to side almost as if she was dancing. “I felt like I had a connection with my son just now!”

 

Taeko smiled, able to catch the scent of maternal love coming from his mother. On the other hand, Jotaro wasn't having any of it.

 

“I'm not thinking about you.” He bluntly stated, earning him a glare of disapproval from the Kamado present. If he did notice her expression, he was actively choosing to ignore her.

 

The woman ended up dropping the picture in surprise upon hearing her son’s voice, just then noticing their arrival.

 

“Jotaro! Shouldn't you be at school?” She asked in confusion, which only grew when she saw who was standing next to him. “And Taeko-chan is also here!” Then, her confusion turned to alarm when she finally noticed the injured person he was carrying. “And who is that? H-He's covered in blood!” Holly’s alarm grows as she looks back at her son’s face. “D-Don’t tell me… you did that?”

 

“It’s got nothing to do with you.” Was what her son said in response, making Taeko want to slap him in the back of his head for his careless words.

 

If he wasn't going to ease his mother’s worries, Taeko decided to do it instead.

 

“We brought him here to help him.” She said, fully intending on following this promise. 

 

Jotaro looked disapprovingly at her intervention but his mother, thankfully, seemed to be a bit more at ease. 

“I see, that makes sense.” The older woman said, sounding relieved. “You will probably need medical supplies!”

 

The woman turned, probably intending to go look for the supposed supplies but her son interrupted before she could leave.

 

 “Where is the Old Man? Sucks having to find him in such a huge house.” He asked.

 

“I think your grandfather's in the tea room, with Avdol-san.” Holly informed him.

 

“So Jotaro’s grandfather was the one he wanted me to meet?” Taeko silently wondered.

 

Seeing Jotaro begin to move, Taeko was about to follow him yet before she did so she took a moment to greet Holly.

 

“It’s nice seeing you again, Holly-san.” Taeko greeted the woman with a kind smile, to which the woman returned with one of her own.

 

“Hey.” Jotaro loudly called for his mother, making the other two almost jump in surprise.

 

“Yes?” She asked a bit hesitantly, not sure what he was about to say.

 

“You look a little pale this morning, are you alright?” He questioned, looking at her intently.

 

Both females were surprised by the question. It was a good surprise.

 

“Yay! I’m fine! Thank you!” Holly chirped in response, happiness blooming within her, as she held up a peace sign. 

 

The little display of worry from his part was so sweet to witness that Taeko couldn’t stop herself from smiling. What she just witnessed was a small proof that Kujo Jotaro indeed has a good heart, just as she suspected.

 

Resuming his walk to the tea room, the delinquent didn’t even have to look back to know Taeko was smiling at him. He scowled, the girl emanated such positive energy that it rivaled his mother’s.

 

“You better wipe that smile off your face.”

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“Hey! Old man!” Jotaro barged into the tea room with Taeko close behind.

 

Inside the room stood two people, one older man that shared some of Jotaro’s features that was probably his grandfather and another man that must be the Avdol Holly had mentioned before.

 

“Jotaro? What are you doing here?” The old man was just as confused as his daughter had been minutes prior. “Shouldn’t you be at school? And who are those two?”

 

“They are stand users. This one attacked me…” He explained as he placed the person he had been carrying in the ground. “...and I was not sure about the other one so I brought her here.” 

 

Taeko froze, feeling the two men glance at her with suspicion as Jotaro said the last part.

 

“Did I just willingly walk into an interrogation…?” She quietly murmured to herself, only then realizing the situation unknowingly she placed herself in.

 

While Jotaro’s grandfather was checking on the wounded teen, the other man, Avdol, kept looking at her with his brown eyes. Taeko had the feeling he was measuring her, checking if she was a threat or not. The only reassurance Taeko had that they would do no harm to her was that neither him nor the old man smelled of any maliciousness, both seem mostly unsure of what to take of her presence.

 

“Well, this is no good. It's too late for him.” Jotaro’s grandfather spoke after looking the wounded boy over. He had just gotten a quick explanation from Jotaro about the fight at school.

 

As Taeko’s sight landed on the bloody body, she was able to finally get a good look on the person. She wasn’t able to do that before because of the way Jotaro had been holding him. Hence why it was only at that moment that she realized she had seen that person before. It was the same boy she crossed paths with on her way to school. 

 

In fact, now that she was really paying attention to him, she could scent the same smell that made her gag before. Only this time she thankfully didn’t have the same explosive reaction.

 

Still, the revelation made her eyes widen and her face pale a little. Does that mean she was right about her suspicions before? Was there truly something wrong with him?

 

Unseen by her, Avdol took note of her reaction.

 

“He's not going to make it. He'll die in the next few days.” The old man continued to explain, seemingly sure of his assessment. “Jotaro, it's not your fault.” He said making a point to clear his grandson from any guilt he could be feeling. “Look. The reason that this man swore loyalty to DIO and came to kill you... is right here!” He used a hand to spread the wounded boy’s hair apart to reveal what was hiding below his red locks.

 

The weird bug they could see stuck on his forehead was the true source of the terrible smell that had been bothering Taeko. She was sure of it.

 

“What the hell is that?” Jotaro asked, frowning at the disgusting bug that was squirming at the forehead of the other teen. “You say that that’s the reason why he swore loyalty to DIO?”

 

“So Dio is a person?” Taeko made sure to store the new information.

 

“It’s a “flesh bud” that’s made from DIO’s cells and it’s connected to his brain.” Avdol spoke for the first time since they got there. “That little flesh bud was implanted on his brain to affect his mind.”

 

“So Dio is a person that not only smells like evil itself…” Since, based on what he said, if the bud was created from his cells the smell it had was actually his. “But he also is mind controlling someone else for some reason I don’t know yet to kill Jotaro.”

 

What kind of mess did she get herself into?

 

“In other words, this flesh bud is a type of command that evokes certain emotions…” The gray haired man continued the explanation. “Charisma! The feelings that lead a soldier to obey a dictator! The feelings that lead a believer to follow the leader of the cult!” He proceeded to monologue, gesturing to the boy on the ground. “This young man admired DIO and swore loyalty to him!”

 

To Taeko, it did not seem like he really swore loyalty to him. It sounded more like whoever this DIO guy forced the red haired boy to do his dirty work. 

 

“DIO is a charismatic entity, the main reason why he can control people with his crushing ability to drag them to him” The oldest in the room continued to explain. “That’s how DIO managed to get Kakyoin to come to kill you.”

 

“In that case, taking his thing out of his head wouldn’t save him??” Taeko asked, getting the old man’s attention. He could see the concern evident on her face. After getting an explanation for his odd behavior earlier, the girl felt really bad for the unlucky boy that was so maliciously manipulated by someone truly evil.

 

“It would. But the brain is a very delicate organ.” He responded with a sigh, while he also felt bad for the teen, he had already accepted him as a loss. “If he moves while removing it, we could cause her a lot of damage.” 

 

Before anything else could be said, the other adult in the room spoke.

 

“Jojo.” He was speaking to Jotaro but he also glanced at Taeko as he spoke. “I’ll tell you about something that happened four months ago… In Cairo, Egypt… I met DIO!”

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Looking back, Mohammed Avdol could confirm he only survived that night four months ago, because Joseph Joestar had warned him of the threat DIO was.

 

He didn’t recall what exact time it happened but he could vividly remember how it was dark outside, the light of the moon illuminating Cairo’s empty streets. He was on his way to his shop in the souk Jan el-Jalili when he had the most terrifying experience of his life.

 

He met him.

 

DIO

 

He was walking up to the second floor of the shop when he was stopped by the blond haired figure that stood at the top of the stairs.

 

Avdol was overtaken by the feeling of fear. He immediately could recognize the danger that man imposed. If a fight broke out, he knew for certain he was going to lose. His best chance was to flee.

 

“They told me that the abilities you possess can’t be found in ordinary people…” the man in front of him spoke in a silky voice that surely would lure anyone that didn’t know who he really is. “I would be very grateful if you could show them to me…”

 

The fortune teller noticed how the blonde’s hair was moving unnaturally, from its tips emerging some weird thing Avdol was sure he was supposed to stay as far as possible.

 

“Come, Avdol…” DIO called.

 

His golden hair finally shot in Avdol’s direction. The black haired man let out the scream of terror he had been holding the entire time and quickly threw himself out of the window. Preferring to risk getting cut in the glass and breaking some bones than risking a fight against DIO.

 

As soon as his body hit the ground, he pushed himself up and ran as fast as he could. He used his knowledge of the city’s layout to flee as far as possible from the vampire. Even as he felt he was about to fall, he forced himself to regain his balance not wanting to give the monster time to catch up.

 

It was a long run, he ran faster and longer than he ever ran his entire life. The fear he felt that day was unlike anything he ever felt before.

 

But after he was forced to leave Cairo, came the realization that no matter how scary and threatening DIO was, someone had to stop him. That’s why he joined Joseph’s quest to find and defeat DIO. So that no one else had to feel the fear Avdol felt that night.

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That’s how he got to this point, four months into the future, with the members of the Joestar family. Standing at the Kujo’s house as Jotaro returned with not one but two stand users.

 

One of them was a victim of DIO, as he himself almost was. The other was a more complicated matter.

 

Jotaro hadn’t explained anything about her yet so he wasn’t sure what to think of the girl. He did observe the worry she expressed over the wounded boy in the room, he could tell it was genuine. Maybe she was just a stand user that had the misfortune of getting caught in this situation.

 

“In any other way, just like this young man, he would have used his flesh buds to turn me into one of his followers” Avdol concluded his tale about what happened in Egypt. Feeling himself sweat at the terrible memory as he looked at the boy on the ground. He would probably be in Kakyoin’s position if he hadn’t been so lucky in the past.

 

“You would have died some years later after your brain was completely rotten…” Joseph reassured him, knowing that retelling that story was hard for his friend.

 

Taeko wasn’t sure if Yushiro would be able to take that thing off the poor boy’s head, still she was considering asking him for his input. She only knew first aid, not how to take a freaky looking kind of worm out of someone’s head.

 

“Dead?” Jotaro spoke, making all the others in the room look at him as he approached Kakyoin and stood beside him. “Wait just a minute…Kakyoin here isn’t dead yet!”

 

Another body soon emerged from his, a ghostly purple warrior-like spirit. 

 

It was the one Taeko had seen back at the nurse’s office but now she had time to get a better look at him.

 

He was huge. A huge, muscular purple spirit. He was dressed as a warrior and, judging by the muscles he had, Taeko had no doubts that he could pack up quite the punch.

 

“I’ll get it with my Stand!” Jotaro declared.

 

The others in the room were in total shock for a moment as the delinquent dropped to his knees next to Kakyoin and placed his hands on the other boy’s head holding it in place for what he was about to do next.

 

“Wait, Jotaro!” Quickly recomposing from his shock, his grandfather tried to stop him but Jotaro continued to prepare to use his stand to get a hold on the bud.

 

“Do you even know what you are doing??” Taeko pleaded to his classmate. She was stunned by his boldness and confidence, didn’t he just hear his grandfather explain how delicate the brain is??

 

“Gramps, don’t touch me!” Jotaro ordered, trying to concentrate on his task at hand. “I’ll pull it out without harming his brain. My Stand moves with such precision that it can grasp even a bullet.”

 

“How does he know that?” Taeko very briefly wondered, finding the fact oddly specific.

 

“Stop! That flesh bud is alive!” His grandfather exclaimed. “Don’t you realize why part of the flesh bud is outside of his body? That’s why not even the best surgeon can extract it!” 

 

Even with their warnings, Jotaro proceeded to carefully use his stand’s hands to grab the bud. As a reaction to getting prodded, the bud released one of its tentacles from Kakyoin’s head to instead stab Jotaro’s hand.

 

“That’s bad! That’s really bad!” Taeko gasped in alarm, hands flying to her mouth.

 

“Shit!” The grandfather exclaimed.

 

“The flesh bud stabbed him with its tentacle! This isn’t good! Let go, JoJo!” Avdol pleaded.

 

“It will try to enter the brain of anyone who tries to extract it!” Grandpa warned.

 

Even as the tentacle beneath his skin made its way up his body Jotaro didn’t stop, only allowing a grunt to leave his lips but still keeping himself firm.

 

“There is no stopping him. He is really doing it.” Taeko realized in astonishment. Jotaro wasn’t just saving Kakyoin´s life, he was also risking his own in the process.

 

Because of Jotaro prodding his forehead, Kakyoin awoke, his eyes snapping open. There was a moment of confusion as he took in what was happening around him, with his gaze ending up on Jotaro.

 

“Why… you…” He mumbled weakly, not being able to move his head due to Jotaro’s tight grip on it.

 

“Don’t move, Kakyoin.” Jotaro warned, not looking away from his task. “If I fail, your brain is done for.” 

 

The more Jotaro was progressing with removing the terrible bud the more its tentacle reached within him probably in an attempt to protect itself and get rid of the threat. The tentacle soon reached his neck.

 

“Let go, JoJo! It’s gone up to your face!” Avdol moved to stop him but Taeko quickly placed her hand on the man’s arm to stop him.

 

“I don’t think he can! Even if he does that thing will hurt him too!” Taeko explained, she wasn’t sure of the fact but she didn’t want to risk it.

 

“The girl is right, Avdol. It’s too late to stop him now.” The grandfather agreed with her. “But my grandson is quite the man.” He then added while looking at the figure of his grandson working on extracting the bug with total focus. “It entered his body, and yet he’s completely calm. He isn’t even trembling, nor is his Stand! He moves with more precision and strength than I anticipated.”

 

He was right, Taeko realized, for someone who was putting his life on the line Jotaro seemed to have no hesitation or nervousness in his actions. When he made up his mind to help no one would be able to stop him and now he was determined to finish what he started.

 

He was amazing.

 

Yet, seeing the tentacle was almost reaching his brain made her fear he wasn’t going to do it.

 

Not even one second before the tentacle reached its target, Jotaro’s stand let out a war cry and finally managed to remove the bud.

 

“He did it!” Taeko and Avdol cheered at the same time, both relieved.

 

The stand tied its tentacles before they could reach anyone else and he threw it in his grandpa’s direction.

 

“Overdrive!” The old man exclaimed as a strange glow surrounded the hand he used to karate-chop the bud to destroy it.

 

Free of the parasite, Kakyoin was able to sit up, his hand went to his forehead as if to confirm the bud was really removed. Then he turned his attention to the person who saved him.

 

“What-Why?” He couldn’t help but ask, making the tallest teen in the room turn his head to look at him. “Why did you risk your life to save me?”

 

“Who knows?” Was Jotaro’s simple answer. “I am not sure myself.”

 

Until that day Taeko hadn’t witnessed Jotaro do anything that proved why he smelled like someone with goodness in his heart. But now Taeko had seen how far he was willing to go if he decided to help someone that needed it.

 

“What about her?” The old man then asked as his daughter arrived at the room with a first-aid kit.

 

Taeko had failed to realize that now that Kakyoin’s life was out of risk, the focus turned to the other stand user the trio was suspicious about.

 

Maybe she should say something to break the tension in the room.

 

“I have no flesh bud stuck on my head if that’s what you are asking…” She offered with a small smile, making a point to brush her locks away to show more of her forehead.

 

Kakyoin was having his head wound treated by Holly when he spoke next.

 

“She isn’t working for DIO.” He said, interrupting before the trio could even begin to question Taeko. 

 

“And how would you know?” Jotaro narrowed his eyes at Kakyoin.

 

“Because if she was, he would probably not have to ask me to bring her to him.”

Notes:

Shōwa era secret:
Most of the students of Taeko's class think she can see their souls with her dark red eyes. Because she can read their intentions and feelings, they are kind of right. Only they don't know that she doesn't use her sight to do this, she uses her sense of smell.

Chapter 3: The curse of the star

Notes:

My original plan of posting chapters every Friday is not working so I am changing for Saturday so I have more time to reread the chapter and fix any mistakes.

I hope you are liking this story.

Something was wrong.

 

His current painting was turning out a lot worse than his other ones. No matter how much he tried to fix it, Tamayo’s face didn’t end up right. Yushiro was never able to make a perfect painting of Lady Tamayo but the one he was working on that day looked terrible.

 

“Lady Tamayo doesn’t deserve to have such an inaccurate representation of her beauty!” He complained to no one in particular. Only really wanting to voice his frustration.

 

Chachamaru raised her head from where she had been resting to glance at her demonic companion. She hoped he would give up on that painting or just stop complaining so she could have some peace. If that continued until nighttime, the cat had intended to just flee the apartment and look for Taeko. For some reason the cat was feeling this urge to check up on her. It was probably nothing but the feeling was still there.

 

Unknowingly to her, Yushiro was feeling a similar thing. The feeling that something was happening to Taeko at that same moment. The painting was his attempt at ignoring it although the painting ended up looking more as a Taeko dressing up as Tamayo than Tamayo herself.

 

Unlike Chachamaru, Yushiro thought that whatever situation Taeko was stuck into couldn’t be that bad and even if it was, the girl had the tools to deal with it.

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Back at the Kujo household, Taeko was not having a good time. Tension grew in the air as she was subjected to the calculating stares of all the males in the room. Each one asking themselves the same question.

 

“What could DIO want with her?”

 

“Me? Are you sure he was talking about me? This can be just a misunderstanding.” She spoke as calmly as she could under the circumstances.

 

“You are Taeko Kamado, right?” Kakyoin got a nod of affirmation in response. “Seventeen years old. Black hair and dark red eyes. 5’5” feet tall.” He listed and then pointed at her earrings. “You also wear hanafuda earrings. They are an heirloom from your grandfather, Tanjiro Kamado.”

 

“…yes. That’s me.” She relented. It was too much of a specific description to not be her.

 

“Is this about my grandfather? Is this Dio guy a demon??” She questioned in her mind. “No. He couldn’t be. The only demons that are alive are Yushiro and Chachamaru, I am sure of it. But if that’s the case what would this guy want with me? And how is this connected to my grandfather?”

 

“I’m sorry, but can we go back a bit?” Taeko pleaded, she needed more information. “Who are you two?”

 

Grandpa and Avdol exchanged a quick glance before introducing themselves and finally giving Taeko some needed explanations.

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Holly was careful not to hurt Kakyoin as she treated his wounds. The boy still winced from time to time as she cleaned the injuries with alcohol to make sure they wouldn’t get infected. Even so, he made a point to keep listening to the conversation happening next to them. 

 

Mr. Joestar and Avdol were informing Taeko of all of the basics. The girl had a stand too, according to her it was called “Titania”, so they made sure to tell her what a stand exactly was and that all of them had one(with the exception of Holly). Then they went through a resumed version of the Joestar family history, which was also enlightening to him since DIO didn’t explain much before sending him after Jotaro, about DIO’s origin and apparent defeat. About his return four years ago from his underwater grave and connection to their family.

 

When they were done there was a moment of total silence as the others allowed the girl to let the information sink in. While Taeko didn’t know what she expected when asked for answers, it was not that. Seems like she isn’t the only one in this room with a bizarre family history. The fact that she also had quite a peculiar legacy made their entire tale plausible to her. After all, if demons existed why not vampires?

 

But even now that she knew more about this DIO she couldn’t see any clear connection between him and her that would explain his interest. 

 

“I still don’t understand what he wants with me.” She voiced her thoughts, hoping to get any theories from the others.

 

“He did mention your grandfather.” Joseph pointed out, recalling Kakyoin words from earlier. “Who was he?”

 

Taeko paused to consider her next words. Should she tell them? It’s not like the tale of demon slayers was a secret, they were just unknown by most because the existence of demons was doubted by those who haven’t seen them in person. And since those guys believe in vampires and fighting entities, it was probable they would believe in her words. But at the same time they were still strangers, good intentioned strangers, but so still strangers. What really worried her was that they also had powerful stands that would probably be able to decimate Yushiro and Chachamaru if they considered them a threat.

 

Maybe she could keep the existence of her demon friends a secret and tell them the rest. But even so, she didn’t want to risk their safety because of her new vampire-after-her problem. If they found out about the demons, they could find out about the two that had survived.

 

In the end, Taeko chose to keep it all a secret. At least for now.

 

“He was a swordsman, died some years ago.” She quickly explained, making sure not to tell any lies. It was a very resumed version of the truth that didn’t include demons.

 

The demon slayer descendent didn’t notice Jotaro narrowing his eyes at her, suspicious that she was hiding something. Taeko was very easy to read.

 

“Maybe he is interested in your stand.” Avdol then suggested. “What can it do?”

 

“Oh! She uses a sword.” She explained, the silence that followed made her realize they were waiting for more. “…that’s it.”

 

“It doesn’t seem like a power DIO would get interested in.” If the situation wasn’t so serious Taeko would have gotten offended over Joseph’s statement. Titania’s swordship skills were amazing, thank you very much!

 

While their conversation was taking place Holly finished working on her patient by warping a bondage around his head.

 

“Right, all done.” She sang looking pridefully at her work.

 

“Thank you… very much.” Kakyoin offered while sending a smile of thanks to the woman.

 

“Kakyoin, wasn’t it?” Holly asked. “You should rest for a while. Stay here tonight.” She then turned to Taeko. “You are welcome to spend the night too, dear. Papa, please get their futons ready.”

 

“Why do I have to do that?! I’ve never even liked the idea of sleeping on the floor!” The old man complained in annoyance. He then slammed his palm into the ground as emphasis to his next words. “Holly, replace the futon in my room with a real bed!”

 

“Holly-san, there is no need to get a futon for me. I should probably return home.” Taeko said, not wanting to intrude in their home especially now that they already had three guests.

 

“Papa, you’re in Japan, so please just get used to the Japanese way of doing things.” Holly explained as she imitated her father, slamming her palm against the ground too only in a slightly gentler manner.  “Oh! And I forgot to tell you last time but you can call me Seiko, Taeko-chan.”

 

“I’m sorry. I thought your name was Holly.” Taeko apologized, thinking that maybe she had gotten her name wrong.

 

“It is! I gave that name to her!” Joseph exclaimed in response.

 

“Holly comes from the word “Holy”, which is “Seinaru” in Japanese. So all my friends call me “Seiko.” She explained clapping her hands together with a sweet smile on her face. “I want you to call me Seiko too, papa.”

 

“This isn’t how names work…” Taeko thought, feeling a comedic sweat run down her forehead.

 

“What the hell is that?! Holly is the wonderful name that I gave to my beaut--“ He tried to complain but couldn’t finish as his daughter interrupted him.

 

“If you don’t call me Seiko from now on, I won’t answer.”

 

“Holly!”

 

Instead of answering to her dad, Holly( Seiko?) decided to check on her patient.

 

“Does it hurt, Kakyoin?”

 

“I-I’m fine.” 

 

“Holly!”

 

Taeko watched the scene in amusement. Jotaro’s family sure is entertaining. The girl let out a small giggle, it going unnoticed in the middle of the father and daughter’s exchange.

 

Jotaro, on the other hand, was by no means entertained by his family’s shenanigans. He pulled down the brim of his hat in annoyance.

 

“Good grief…” He mumbled.

 

“All right, Kakyoin, take off your uniform. Come on, now.” Holly(Seiko??) requested. 

 

With that everybody left the room to give the red haired teen some privacy.

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Joseph followed after his grandson soon after begrudgingly accepting to get those damned futons, Avdol close behind. Taeko had gone with Holly, the blond was probably still trying to convince the girl to stay for the night.

 

Now that the trio was alone, Joseph could voice what he had on his mind.

 

“You noticed too, didn’t you?” He asked his grandson, already having noticed how observant he could be.

 

“She is hiding something.” Jotaro pointed out, the tone of his voice made him sound bored but he actually felt otherwise. “And it’s probably about her grandfather. She was intentionally being very vague about him.” 

 

“I don’t think she has any ill intentions. Her worry over Kakyoin’s wellbeing was genuine. I’m sure of it.” Avdol gave his two cents. He didn’t want his companions to get overly suspicious of someone just because she could have personal family secrets. The fortune teller himself had known other people that didn’t like to talk about their ancestry, and that didn’t make them bad people.

 

“Let’s still keep an eye on her. Just in case.” Joseph suggested, he didn’t want to jump into conclusions about the girl but at the same time he had to be cautious. Now that DIO had sent someone to kill them, who knows what else he could have in store.

 

As for Jotaro, he wasn’t sure what to think about the Kamado girl anymore. He initially wrote her off as only being the new girl at school that was trying too hard to make new friends. Other than being the only girl from school that wasn't infatuated with him, she didn’t seem to have anything out of the ordinary. He would have never guessed that she had a stand, she didn’t behave as someone with a strong fighting spirit. 

 

Now not only he knew that she had a stand, he also noticed that there was something odd in the way she reacted to everything. During all the information dump, Taeko was weirdly accepting of what she was told. He expected at least a bit of skepticism from her but she didn’t question anything. She didn’t question the existence of stands. Not even the existence of a vampire. Or the fact that said vampire stole someone else’s body. 

 

Like it all wasn’t so unbelievable to her.

 

It meant that either the girl was a firm believer in the supernatural or that her standards for what is weird to her are abnormally high.

 

All of that poses the question of who Taeko Kamado really is.

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There were no images in her dream. It was all pitch black.

 

But all of her other senses made a good picture of the chaos around her.

 

There was blood around… a lot of it.

 

She could smell the feelings of fear, despair and sadness of other people.

 

She was able to hear their voices echoing across the darkness.

 

“Get back!!”

 

“Don’t just stand here!! Get away!!” 

 

“Why are you the one always suffering?”

 

“Let’s all go home.”

 

“STOOOP!!”

 

“Don’t kill anyone!!”

 

Those voices were pleading, crying out and screaming at her.

 

She felt hands holding, grabbing her tightly.

 

What was going on? Who were those people? And why were they saying those things?

 

Taeko was confused.

 

She couldn’t move.

 

She couldn’t see.

 

She couldn’t look for the owners of those voices.

 

She heard a low terrifying growl. The type you would hear coming from a wild animal.

 

Finally, she was able to open her eyes. Finding herself back in the Kujo household. 

 

Her heart was beating uncontrollably fast in her chest. She instantly raised a hand to feel the beating under her fingertips, making sure to control her breathing pattern to relax her tense muscles and calm herself down.

 

When she did calm down, there was a moment of confusion as she took in her surroundings. She wasn’t in her bedroom. 

 

Then it all came back.

 

She had ended up staying for the night due to Seiko’s insistence. It was hard saying no to a sweet person like her. Seiko-San seemed genuinely happy when she agreed to spend the night. The house was incredibly big enough to house all six people in different rooms.

 

The next thing she noticed was that there was a weight on her legs. She could recognize that familiar pattern of white with black and brown spots anywhere.

 

“Chachamaru? What are you doing here?” She questioned and ended up answering herself. “You came looking for me didn’t you?”

 

The cat tilted her head at that. Taeko took it as a sign that she wanted an explanation.

 

“Well, mom had a Night Shift at the hospital and Seiko-san really insisted on me sleeping over so I thought it wasn’t a big deal.” She explained. “I didn’t expect you to come look for me. I apologize.”

 

The Kamado petted the cat, getting a purr back. The girl smiled, she loved hearing Chachamaru’s purrs. She was still running her hands through her fur when she noticed her folded uniform close to the door. Taeko’s gaze went down to the pajamas she was wearing at the moment. The previous night Seiko had taken everybody’s clothes to wash them, even going as far as giving Taeko one of her pajamas for the girl to wear during the night.

 

The girl gently nudged Chachamaru away from her legs so she could stand up and fold up the futon. As she changed into her clothes, she spoke with her cat friend.

 

“It’s morning by now so I will have to carry you.” She explained, folding the pajamas and placing it on top of the futon as she spoke with her cat friend.

 

The girl had kept her bag close by so she was quick to get it from the corner in the room where it was resting. She opened the small bag, eyeing the little space inside.

 

“Do you think you can fit in here?” She wondered, holding the bag low in the ground so Chachamaru could jump inside. The cat just stared at her, not moving a muscle. “Yeah… this probably won’t work. If only you could get smaller this would be a lot easier.”

 

The girl became thoughtful for a moment before letting out a sigh.

 

“I didn’t want to have to resort to this…”

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The extra bulk under her shirt was alarmingly noticeable but she preferred that to risking the cat being exposed to the sun shining outside.

 

Even so, making sure the cat didn’t slip was harder than she expected. They hadn’t even managed to leave the house yet and Chachamaru almost fell two times.

 

“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea…” She mumbled, using one hand to keep Chachamaru in place and the other to hold her bag.

 

Taeko got a handful of cat fur in her mouth when Chachamaru suddenly poked her head outside, her attention caught by something she felt was important. The girl let out a cry as the cat jumped away from her and began running to somewhere in the house.

 

“Chachamaru! Come back here!!” The teen began chasing the cat while screaming-whispering, worrying about making too much noise and waking up the others. “Where are you going!?”

 

The cat was able to stick to the shadows as she ran, soon entering the specific room she seemed to be looking for. Taeko came barging in after her.

 

“Chachamaru!” She called again, freezing in her tracks when she noticed where the cat had guided her to. It was the kitchen and Seiko appeared to be preparing to make some food when the intruders arrived.

 

“Taeko-chan?” Seiko asked, likely surprised by the way they rushed in and the second’s presence. A beat passed with the place in total silence and then Seiko’s signature smile appeared on her face. “Good morning, Taeko-chan!”

 

“G-good morning!!” Taeko returned the greeting, stammering in her embarrassment.

 

“I see you have Chachamaru here too! She must be a really smart cat to be able to find you here!” The cat approached the blonde who bent down to be able to pet her.

 

Taeko was confused to say the least. Chachamaru was far from an ordinary cat. She was usually really disciplined and was really intelligent for a cat. She didn’t do random things. There had to be a reason Chachamaru brought her here.

 

With that in mind she began to scan the room with her eyes, looking for anything that seemed out of place or unusual.  It looked like a normal kitchen. As her gaze returned to the woman still petting the cat, realizing that Chachamaru wasn’t purring this time. The cat just stared intensely at Seiko.

 

Taeko followed the cat’s gaze to the blond this time taking a good look at her. There were some details she hadn't noticed at first glance. Seiko-san was pale, more pale than she was yesterday. And there was a scent of pain and uneasiness coming from her.

 

Now that she thought about it, didn’t Jotaro mention that his mother already looked pale the previous day?

 

“Are you going to wait for Jotaro so you two can go to school together?” Seiko said, getting back on her feet.

 

“Sure…” Taeko answered without even thinking, she had a bigger concern in her mind at the moment. “Seiko, are you feeling alright?”

 

Seiko didn't say anything in response, she instead moved to get something from the fridge. Her movements were slower than normal like she was struggling to move her body. 

 

“I know my Jotaro can be a bit hard to get along with.” Seiko talked as if she didn't hear Taeko’s question. Her signature smile was still on her face but Taeko found it looked forced, like the woman was finding it hard to keep it up. “He can be a bit rude sometimes…”

 

Taeko’s eyes widened as she was struck by this feeling that something really bad was about to happen. Seiko’s voice was getting weaker the more she spoke, her breathing became longer and deeper.

 

“Seiko-san, maybe you should sit down a little.” Taeko weakly suggested getting closer to the woman just in case.

 

“…But I know that…” Seiko continued, making it clear she wasn't listening to Taeko anymore. “…deep down, he is a sweet boy …with a good heart.” She finished and whatever was happening to her became too much for the woman to handle and she fell backwards.

 

“Seiko-san!!” Taeko moved fast and was able to catch Seiko in her arms before she hit the ground. Taeko cautiously laid her on the floor, as she had no idea if moving her too much was going to worsen her state. Knowing now that Chachamaru took her to the kitchen because she sensed something wrong with Seiko, she spoke to the cat in panic. “W-what is happening to her??”

 

The cat’s only response was to leave the girl there and run outside. Taeko trusted the cat not to just run away from the problem. She also was too distracted by the unconscious woman laying on the ground to really mind the cat's actions. Taeko tried to think of any way she could help but her knowledge of first aid was unfortunately very limited. 

 

Seiko was breathing heavily at that point, her face twitching with pain. Not really knowing what to do, Taeko checked the woman’s temperature just to find out her forehead was really warm. In her state of panic, Taeko didn’t notice the heavy steps approaching them.

 

“Miss Holly!” Taeko heard a male voice shout. Avdol was here with Chachamaru, the cat probably had guided him here. The man kneeled next to Seiko taking assay of her ill state before speaking to Taeko. “What happened?”

 

“I don’t know. We were talking but then she fainted! …I did notice she was very pale and looked in pain even before …and now she also has a high fever!!” Taeko rushed to explain, her mind in too much tremor to form her sentences right.

 

To the teen, the situation was too much of a grim reminder of what happened to her father. Seeing someone you know in pain and not being able to do anything to help hurts too much, especially for Taeko.

 

As Avdol took Seiko’s form in his arms to view her state more closely, his eyes caught something on her neck.

 

“This is… It can’t be!” He exclaimed, eyebrows raising in surprise.

 

“…what is happening to her? Is she sick?” The girl asked, desperate to know how she could help.

 

“Help me turn her over.” He requested.

 

Taeko did as asked, both of them carefully turning the woman over onto her stomach. With the woman in the position, Avdol was able to pull down her clothes exposing her back. Taeko let out a gasp as a bunch of transparent vines were exposed, the vines circling around the woman’s back. The girl could also see some flowers there. Instinctively she went to touch the flowers only to find out she couldn’t. Having seen the girl’s hand move around the vines unable to touch them, Avdol had confirmation on what they were.

 

“It’s intangible… It’s a Stand! A Stand has manifested from Ms. Holly, as well!!” He declared, making the teen next to him confused.

 

“I don’t get it. You told me she wouldn’t develop a stand.” She asked while recalling the talk they had during the previous day. The man had specifically singled Seiko out as being the only current resident of that house without a stand.

 

“We hoped she didn’t…” Avdol admitted, shaking his head at her. He then explained the situation to her in more depth than he had before. “We thought that only JoJo and Mr. Joestar were being affected by DIO’s body… We were relieved that Ms. Holly was unaffected… But there’s no way she could be unaffected. ” He grimly said, regretting being too foolishly hopeful that Ms.Holly would have to suffer like that. He covered the woman’s back, hiding the vines that were causing all of this. With Taeko’s help he turned her onto her back again so she could be more comfortable. It was unfortunately all they could do to help her at the moment. “Anyone who has the blood of the Joestar family in their veins will be affected by DIO’s curse.”

 

“B-but then why is only her like this?” Taeko questioned, mind going back to when she saw Jotaro use his stand without any visible side effects. “Her family developed stands too and they didn’t get sick like that.”

 

“Stands are controlled by a person’s mental strength and move with their fighting instincts.” He explained to the younger stand user, making her understand more of the power they had. “Ms. Holly is very gentle and peaceful, so she lacks the strength to withstand DIO’s curse. She has no power to control her Stand! That’s why her Stand is moving against her and harming her.”

 

“Seiko isn’t weak. Not wanting to fight doesn’t make anyone weak.” The girl speculated at that moment, fists clenched on her lap. “I think the real reason Seiko is suffering is because she unconsciously is trying to keep the power of her stand from hurting others.”

 

She could remember the worry she had of Titania accidentally hurting someone, only her desire to be a warrior like her ancestors and learn to use that power for good made her accept it fully. 

 

“This isn’t good at all. At this rate… she’ll die! She’ll be killed by her Stand!” He finished his speech as the vines from Seiko’s back began to grow. Climbing up to her neck as if the malicious stand wanted to force them both to face it.

 

When the terrible scent of intense fear, worry and despair reached Taeko she knew who had arrived in the room without even looking at them. Kamado forced herself to turn her head and face the duo standing by the door.

 

As someone who had the experience of watching a family member get sick in front of her eyes, Taeko felt intense empathy for Seiko’s father and son. Even with their forms shadowed by the lights outside the room, Taeko could identify the expression of worry and fear on Joseph’s face.

 

“A S-Stand…” Joseph mumbled, terrified by the scene of his worst fear coming true. “Holly…”

 

Jotaro’s face was harder to read due to his hat hiding the upper part of his face, a “tsk…” leaving his lips. He didn’t express much but Taeko knew the smell of worry was coming from him too, as intense as his grandfather’s.

 

The somber atmosphere was cut by Joseph’s loud scream of frustration. He roughly grabbed the collar of his grandson’s coat, Jotaro’s back soon colliding with the wall with a loud slam when his grandfather pushed him against it, all the while Joseph kept screaming his heart out.

 

“This… This is the one thing I feared the most!” He brokenly lamented, his body trembling as he rested his head on his grandson’s chest. “M-My daughter finally has a Stand …I knew she didn’t have the power to withstand it …I knew she didn’t have the power to deny the curse from DIO’s soul.”

 

Taeko had never smelled such sorrow before, the only thing close to it was her mother’s smell during her father’s last days. That level of sorrow you only feel when you want someone precious to you to survive longer than you do and if that person dies earlier, or dies protecting you, then it feels like your flesh is being gouged out. She felt tears threaten to fall from her eyes.

 

“Tell me, what do we do?” Jotaro demanded as he held his grandfather’s hands tight so he could remove them from his coat. Taeko knew he was determined to fix this, even more than he was the day before when he saved Kakyoin.

 

“There’s only one thing.” Joseph revealed, his fear slowly turning into determination. “We need to find DIO!  We need to kill DIO and lift the curse! That’s all we can do!”

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Taking care of someone sick was tragically nostalgic to her as not even two years ago she and her mother were doing everything they could to make her father feel comfortable in his last months.

 

Now, as she placed a wet towel at Seiko’s forehead, those memories kept popping up in her head. The girl had to force herself to shake those away, seeing them as distractions from the current situation.

 

She couldn’t do anything to save her father but now she will help however she can to save Seiko’s life.

 

“But… no matter how many times I try, he hides in the darkness.” Joseph explained from where he was sitting with Jotaro and Avdol, looking at  several photos spread across the ground.

 

After the group had taken Seiko to her room, Taeko offered to keep an eye on the woman so the trio could analyze the pictures they had of DIO. Even so, they preferred to stay in the room, not wanting to leave Seiko’s side. Taeko was the closest to the other female, with the others sitting a bit far from the two.

 

“In every spirit photo I take, the background is darkness!” Joseph continued to explain, his gaze set on the pictures, looking for any details he could have missed. “I can’t find out where he is with them. We’ve used various methods to analyze them, but with this darkness, it always fails.”

 

Taeko couldn’t contain herself from snatching one of the photos. She needed to put a face on this DIO, being that she was the only one in that house that had no idea what he looked like.

 

The picture she held in her hand showcased a blonde man, his shirtless body making his muscular physique clearly visible. As Joseph said, the background was total darkness making it impossible to catch any details that may indicate where that man was.

 

What struck her the most was not the strange star shaped birthmark on the back of his neck but the scar he had around his throat. The one she knew connected the true DIO with the body he stole. The thought of desecrating someone’s corpse to steal his body is sickening to Taeko. It’s an unforgivable act of disrespect and lack of shame. This man was truly disgusting.

 

“Hey, you should’ve told me that in the first place.”

 

The photo was taken from her hands by none other than Jotaro. Why he decided to grab the one photo she was holding instead of the others was something she never found out.

 

“I might be able to find something… hiding in the darkness!” Jotaro declared, sounding really confident in his abilities. He then summoned his stand. Taeko stared at the warrior type stand with awe in her gaze. She was not used to seeing other stands yet, especially one as massive as Jotaro’s. Jotaro’s stand held the picture while scanning carefully the dark background for anything they could have missed.

 

“Did you see something in the space behind DIO?” Jotaro asked, not really needing an answer as he walked to a nightstand to get a notepad and a pen. “My Stand is able to move with such accuracy that it could extract a flesh bud from a brain and with such precision that it caught a bullet.” He explains, a bit unnecessary since those there already knew that. “Let’s have him sketch.”

 

And the stand did just that, he began drawing in an inhuman speed, meticulously recreating what he saw in the picture. With the picture finished, the others gathered closer to Jotaro to take a look at it.

 

“A fly! A fly was in that space!” Avdol exclaimed.

 

“But a fly won’t help us at all…” Joseph lamented, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“That’s not necessarily true.” Taeko pointed out. “Some insects only live in specific places. So if it’s the case for this one…”

 

“…we can identify where DIO is by finding where this type of fly habitats.” Avdol completed. “And I think I have seen this fly before.”

 

“What?!” Joseph exclaimed in surprise.

 

“JoJo, do you have an encyclopedia?” Avdol asked the teen, urgency in his tone.

 

“We’ve got in the library.”

 

“I’ll take the memo. And I’ll go investigate.” Avdol was about to leave the room when Taeko spoke.

 

“I’ll go with you. It will be quicker if we both look for it.” She offered, feeling like the family needed a moment alone. She got a nod of approval from the man, and they left together. Hurrying across the house to get to the library, because of course that huge house had a library too.

 

“You know where the library is?” The teen asked, only then realizing she forgot to ask for the location of the library before leaving the bedroom.

 

“I visited there yesterday. I know where it is.” The fortune teller explained. As they finally reached the library, they noticed a small figure standing by the door.

 

“It’s the cat from before.” Avdol observed, getting curious about the animal for a moment. He remembered it was the same one that guided him to Ms. Holly earlier.

 

“She is mine.” Taeko explained, it was technically true since Chachamaru likes to visit her a lot. “Don’t worry about it. Sometimes she likes to follow me.”

 

The men offered no response, deciding to not give it much thought since they got a bigger problem on their hands. So the duo got to work, looking for the correct encyclopedia among the lots of books at the Kujo library. From the corner of her eye, Taeko noticed Chachamaru was searching for the book too. The clever cat probably overheard the conversations and knew what they were looking for. Avdol didn’t even notice the odd behavior of the cat, he was too focused on their quest.  

 

Luckily it didn’t take too long for Avdol to find an encyclopedia. Taeko was waiting to see if he would find information of the fly there when the familiar scent of Kakyoin alerted her of his presence. The boy glanced at Avdol, probably unsure if he should talk to the man while he was busy.

 

“Ohh! Kakyoin, are your wounds okay?” Taeko asked, offering him a welcoming smile. They may not know each other well but now that she knew what happened to him, the girl wished for him to have a swift recovery.

 

Sensing the warmth in the kind smile of the Kamado seemed to take the boy by surprise for a moment, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

 

“Yeah… I’m fine…” He confirmed.

 

“That’s great.” Taeko cheered, honestly happy to see him getting better so quickly. “I’m glad you are better now!”

 

He returned her smile with one of his own but it vanished when he refocused his attention on Avdol. The small lighthearted moment came to an end as the tension in the room returned.

 

“I need to know.” The teen began. “…Is it really possible for your own Stand to kill you?”

 

The girl realized he had been overhearing the conversation and was already informed of what was happening to Seiko.

 

“It is.” Avdol confirmed, not looking away from the book. “In the past, I have seen many people suffer that fate.”

 

Both teens listened carefully to the words of the more experienced stand user.

 

“Right now, it’s just her back, but eventually that Stand, growing like a fern, will slowly bind Ms. Holly’s entire body.” He explained, making images of what's described appear on their minds. “She will suffer high fevers and various illnesses, and eventually, she’ll fall into a coma…She’ll die. It would appear to a normal person that they are dying of something unseen and unknown, and no skilled doctor would be able to treat them.” Not finding the information, he returned the book he was reading to the bookshelf. “No one, not even you nor I, can do anything about it.”

 

Taeko let out a shaky breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. The dark description of what’s going to happen to sweet Seiko hitting her like a ton of bricks. Still, she knew there was hope. And realizing that Kakyoin probably didn’t hear all the conversation in the room, she informed him what she knew.

 

“Mr. Joestar said we have to kill DIO to save Seiko-san.” She said, making the boy’s eyes widen in shock.

 

“It will take around fifty days for her to reach that state.” Avdol explained, knowing that not even Taeko knew of the deadline yet. He got another book from the shelf, looking for the information here. “We will find and defeat DIO before that. If we are able to destroy the connection to DIO’s Stand, we can save her!”

 

The sound of something falling startled the trio. A heavy book had landed on the ground. Another encyclopedia. All stand users checked to see what had made the book fall. Chachamaru stood on a high shelf, licking her paw innocently.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

They eventually were able to identify the fly as The Nile Ue Ue Fly. According to the information they found it dwells only within the Nile River Basin. The ones with the stripes on their legs are known as Aswan Ue Ue Flies. 

 

With the information in hand, Avdol took the lead and swiftly left the library, leaving the two teens in his dust. They followed after him but the adult reached the room first.

 

“Mr. Joestar, I’ve found it!” They heard Avdol declare as soon as he got into the room. “That fly is… this.” 

 

The duo reached the room to see Avdol, Joseph and Jotaro looking at the book they found. The later two read the information in the marked page.

 

“Egypt!” Joseph revealed as soon as he reached the part about the location.

 

“And we’ve narrowed it down to the Aswan area.” Avdol added. “DIO is there!”

 

Next to Taeko at the doorway, Kakyoin spoke next.

 

“So it is Egypt…” He said, making the others look in his direction.

 

“Kakyoin…” Jotaro muttered.

 

“What do you mean by that?” Joseph demanded, wanting to get all the info he could from the boy. Anything that could help his daughter.

 

“The flesh bud was planted in my brain three months ago.” Kakyoin explained, his expression getting dark as he recalled the memory. “When my family was on vacation in Egypt visiting the Nile, I met DIO.”

 

Sensing that the memory was painful for Kakyoin and having heard Avdol’s recount his own terrifying meeting with the man, Taeko decided to offer some comfort to the other teen by placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

 

“Avdol said he met DIO four months ago in Egypt and Kakyoin met him three months ago in the same place.” Taeko summarized.

 

“It appears that for some reason, DIO doesn’t want to leave Egypt.” Avdol muttered, curious on the reason the vampire would settle for that specific place.

 

“When are you going?” Kakyoin decided, making Taeko remove her hand from his shoulder in surprise. The boy almost died yesterday and wants to go after the man that left him in that state?  “I’ll go with you.”

 

“Go with us? Why would you?” Jotaro questioned. Although he knew the other teen had reasons to want revenge from DIO for what he did to him.

 

“To tell you the truth…” Kakyoin began. “I’m not sure why I suddenly want to join you, either.” He admitted, getting a “Tsk…” from Jotaro. “I’ve regained my senses because of you. That’s all.”

 

“… are you sure you want to go?” Taeko asked, a little hesitant since she may be overstepping. It was Kakyoin’s decision to make after all.

 

“I’m sure.” Kakyoin affirmed, giving her a small but confident smile.

 

With that they had a group of four members for their trip. But Taeko wasn’t going to just leave things as they were. She was a stand user too and wanted to help.

 

“Allow me to come too!” Taeko offered, making sure to sound firm.

 

“No.” She immediately got from Jotaro. And by the looks on their faces the others seemed to be unsure about her inclusion. It did hurt a little to be looked down upon but she had to admit that she hadn’t given them any reason to consider her presence an advantage yet.

 

“Then I refuse your refusal!” She refused to back down. Countering Jotaro’s glare with one of her own.

 

“I don’t care, you are not coming!” He shouted, obviously trying to intimidate the smaller teen into giving up. “You are only going to slow us down!”

 

“Jotaro, there is no need to be so harsh.” Mr. Joestar tried to correct his grandson. Not wanting him to be so rude to someone that only wanted to help.

 

Taeko clenched her firsts in frustration. If things kept going on like this she wouldn’t be able to get them to allow her to come with them. Her gaze then went to the figure of Holly Kujo, an innocent woman that did nothing to deserve such cruel fate. Avdol and Kakyoin too, were also victims having to flee their homes and be forced to act on someone else’s behalf. And how many people else could have been killed, tortured and in pain because of him. DIO. She doesn’t know the man but she couldn’t forgive him for his horrible actions.

 

She can’t just stand aside and let fate run its course without her. She is a Kamado and in her family they always help those in need.

 

Kamado focused on her breathing for a moment, making sure to keep her total concentration breathing invigorating her. And then she summoned Titania.

 

The appearance of the butterfly-like stand behind her gave her strength. While she wasn't as huge or as muscular as Jotaro’s stand, Titania was still an imposing figure in her own power. And Taeko wanted the guys to see that when she continued. With Titania behind her, Taeko felt confident enough to speak again.

 

“I know I haven't given you any proof of my competency yet. But if you let me go with you I promise I will!” Taeko promised with a gleam of determination in her eyes. “You guys will need all the help you can get on this journey. And I want to offer you mine!”

 

She didn’t get an instantaneous reaction from them. Joseph and Avdol exchanged a glance as if they were having a silent debate. Jotaro didn’t seem too convinced, pulling the brim of his hat down as he usually does. It was Kakyoin who spoke first.

 

“I think she should come.” He offered. “We may not have had the opportunity to see her fight but I think we should give her a chance.”

 

“But her stand only has a sword.” Joseph pointed out, still hesitant to take her on this dangerous trip.

 

“I know how to use that sword. I assure you.” Taeko promised. Titania even summoned her blue colored katana so the others could see it. 

 

“We will need all the help we can get.” Avdol commented, warming up to the idea of bringing her. 

 

“Good grief. We don’t have time for this.” Jotaro complained, sounding frustrated. Then he threw a question to his grandfather. “Is she coming or not?”

 

It was the closest of an approval she could get from him.

 

With the other three agreeing with her, only Joseph’s approval was left. Everyone waited for his decision for a moment.

 

“…If everybody agrees I guess I have no other choice.” He finally conceded. “Besides, DIO is after you for some reason so you are already involved in all of this.”

 

And so they became a team of five. 

 

Taeko had no opportunity to celebrate her addition to the group since the situation was so dire, but she did smile a little.

 

“I hope I can be as amazing as grandpa and grandma someday.” She remembered her younger self saying a long time ago. Maybe that was her chance to be a warrior just like her grandparents.

 

With the group formed, Joseph went to his daughter. Kneeling beside her, observing her unconscious state he gave her a reassuring smile.

 

“Holly… We’ll save you, no matter what.” He promised. Even though he knew she couldn’t hear him, he still felt the need to say it. “Don’t worry. There’s nothing to worry about…” He trailed off for a moment, sounding like he was holding back tears. “We’ll make you better. You just take it easy.”

 

Watching the father’s interaction with his daughter, the rest of the group gathered together.

 

“JoJo’s mother, Ms. Holly, is a woman who can calm the hearts of others.” Kakyoin commented, thinking of the gentle way the woman took care of his wounds. “People feel at ease when she is nearby.” 

 

“I think that’s her usual effect on people.” Taeko admitted, feeling the same as him. While her first meeting with Seiko may have been chaotic, it wasn’t because of the woman. In fact, Seiko gave her her perspective on her son and helped Taeko feel better. Seiko surely was an amazing woman.

 

“This may sound awkward… but if I were to fall in love, I’d like it to be with someone like her.” Kakyoin continued.

 

“Kakyoin, she is a bit too old for you.” Taeko pointed out, making the red haired boy blush a little at her comment.

 

“There’s no time! We’re leaving immediately!” Joseph declared, making everybody jump into action.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

It felt weird being free after spending three months with that bud stuck on his head. For the entire time he really thought he was in control. He was so sure that killing Jotaro was the right thing to do just for the delinquent to rip that worm off his head and make him snap out of it.

 

Jotaro saved him and Ms. Holly healed him so how could he not help now that they needed it??

 

The others had gone to their rooms to pack, only getting the essentials since they were in a hurry. Him and Taeko were left waiting for them, since their things were at their respective houses they had nothing to pack.

 

Speaking of which, where did that girl go? She had left the room in a hurry like the others.

 

He had been wandering around the entrance of the house waiting for the others when he heard her voice.

 

“You will leave to wait until night.” The girl was speaking to somebody in a low tone. “But when it gets dark give this to Yushiro, okay?”

 

Curiosity getting the better of him, he followed the voice to find Taeko kneeling in front of a cat. The girl held a letter in her hands, she seemed to be trying to get the cat to take it but the animal turned its head away, refusing to take the letter in its mouth.

 

“Chachamaru, please. I won’t have time to go see him!” Taeko pleaded, not realizing Kakyoin was watching since she had her back to him.

 

“Is everything okay here?” He calmly asked, not wanting to keep spying on the conversation.

 

“EEEP!” The girl let out a squeal for fright and faced him, her eyes widened in surprise. “Kakyoin? How long have you been there??”

 

“I just got there.” He reassured her. “I apologize, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

 

“…it’s fine.” Taeko answered after recomposing herself. “I was a little distracted by something.”

 

The girl narrowed her eyes at the cat, who gave her no mind. 

 

“Who is this little fellow?” He asked, seeing it was the same cat that was at the library earlier.

 

“This is Chachamaru.” She introduced them to each other. “Chachamaru, this is Kakyoin. He is also going on the trip.”

 

The cat let out a hiss at Taeko’s mention of the trip. 

 

“She doesn't seem to support your decision.” He observed, getting a groan from the girl.

 

“Man, I already had to convince the others and now I have to convince my cat??” She lamented. 

 

Kakyoin recognized that she did had to do more than him to get a spot on the group, after all they never got to see her fighting. Maybe it was more than a spur of the moment decision from his part to advocate for her inclusion. He did feel like they accepted him very easily even after he attacked one of them. If he did get a spot on this trip even after doing that, he felt like Taeko also deserved a chance to prove herself.

 

“Did you try giving it a treat?” He suggested, crouching beside her.

 

“I gave her three treats!” She answered, shaking the letter in her hands. “She just ate all of them and refused to take the letter!”

 

“Who is the letter to?” He asked, making the girl stop on her tracks for a moment. Sensing that maybe he overstepped he added. “…you don’t have to answer if it’s too personal.”

 

For a moment, Taeko held the letter in both hands. Looking intently at it as if rereading it. When he thought he wouldn’t get an answer the girl spoke again.

 

“It’s for a family friend.” Taeko began, speaking softly with her mind elsewhere. “My mom gets night shifts at the hospital so she probably didn’t notice my absence yet. So I was hoping to get him to talk to her since I won’t be able to.”

 

It seems like they had that in common. Both had parents that were too busy to realize their children slept somewhere last night. He knows it’s not his parents fault, but a small part of him even resented them for not noticing something was wrong with him for the last three months. It was a stupid thought of this, they didn’t even know of stands so how would they even know of flesh buds?

 

“I get it.” He decided to tell her. “I’m not even sure what I will tell my parents if they catch me packing.”

 

It seemed like it was her turn to get curious.

 

“Do your parents know about your stand?” She asked.

 

“Do your’s know?” He countered, expecting to hear a negative answer from her.

 

“…my dad did.”

 

He didn’t have to ask to know what the “did” meant. He could see the pain in her eyes as she mentioned her father. 

 

The red haired boy felt the slight urge to ask how she got her father to acknowledge her stand, he ended up deciding to push this urge aside.

 

“But I am going.” Taeko spoke with determination. Her gaze hardened and her hold on the letter tightened enough to begin to crumple the paper. “Whether this letter is sent or not, I'm still going.”

 

The boy smiled at that, he could feel this aura of pure resolve coming from her. It seems like the girl would go with them to the trip with his support or not. It made him feel more at peace with his decision to convince the others to take her too.

 

Something with her words, or more likely the way she spoke them, made the cat finally relent, taking the letter from her hands carefully in its teeth. Taeko kept eye contact with the feline, giving her a small smile of gratitude.

 

“Thank you. I will be back soon.” She softly promised.

 

Hopefully she will be able to keep that promise.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Taeko felt a mix of emotions at the beginning of their journey. While she was excited to have the opportunity to be a warrior like her grandparents as she wished for so long, it came with a price. Only the price was not from her. This journey was only happening due to Seiko's suffering.

 

Jotaro had joined her and Kakyoin in waiting for the others outside the house. As they waited Taeko kept glancing back at the house. In a weird way hoping if she stared enough times Seiko would magically get better. It felt wrong to leave Seiko behind in that state, even if the objective of their trip was to save her.

 

“Should we really leave her alone like that?” She questioned. Thinking that someone had to keep an eye on the woman in such a vulnerable state.

 

As if someone above was listening to her, at her question several black cars had suddenly appeared. Many men came out of them, rushing inside of the house without even exchanging a word with the trio. 

 

Joseph and Avdol emerged from the house ready to leave, they seemed to be a bit relieved to see the strange group of men that had just arrived. Sensing that the teens were confused by their presence Joseph clarified things.

 

“They’re doctors from the Speedwagon Foundation. We can trust them. They will take care of Holly around the clock.” He reassured them. And being that as her dad he was the most worried for her there, the others trusted his judgment.

 

But before they left, Avdol needed to do something first.

 

“JoJo, before we leave, since I am a fortune teller, I shall name your Stand.” He offered, getting the delinquent’s attention.

 

“Name?” Jotaro questioned.

 

“With the cards of fate, the Tarot.” Avdol explained as he showed the cards he held. “Choose a card blindly and it shall be decided. This will suggest your fate, as well as your Stand’s power.”

 

Taeko watched the “stand name selection process” with intrigue, this was way cooler than the way she named her own stand. Jotaro removed part of the cards from the stack, getting one from the middle. As Jotaro showed which card he picked, Avdol seemed more excited than him.

 

“The Star! The Star card!” The fortune teller announced. “Then I shall name your Stand… Star Platinum!”

 

It didn’t bring any reaction from the teenager but at least he seemed to accept the name. Feeling a little disappointment at the lack of response, Avdol went to put away the cards when he noticed how intensely Taeko was staring at them.

 

“Do you want to try too, Kamado?” He offered the cards to her.

 

“But I already named her Titania…” 

 

“The cards are not only meant to name them. Choosing one can also tell you more about your stand.” Avdol explained, still holding out the cards for her to pick. “Take ‘The star’ for exemple, it represents Hope, faith, purpose, renewal and spirituality.”

 

“Just pick one of the damn cards already.” Jotaro spat, wanting them to be done with it.

 

Knowing they had no time to waste, Taeko took one of the cards without thinking much more of it. It wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot. The card she took showed a woman sitting on a throne decorated with sunflowers. On the woman’s head sat a crown and in her hands she held a large stick with a little sprout on it. There was also a black cat close to her feet.

 

“Queen of wands.” Avdol revealed, giving the girl a knowing smile. “It represents courage, confidence, independence and determination.”

 

That sounded good, she supposed. She would really need those traits in this adventure. But there was a detail in the card that irked her.

 

“…what about the black cat in there?” She pointed to the black cat at the woman’s feet, knowing most of the time black cats are a bad omen.

 

“While the queen is bold and outgoing, the cat represents her shadow self.” Avdol explained, a somber expression flickering on his face. “The cat represents the darker, lesser known part of her being.”

 

“Oh?” Taeko instantly regretted asking that. “The darker part of her being”? Did she even have a dark part? She hoped not.

 

Noticing how the answer troubled the teen, the fortune teller decided to get her at least to forget the subject.

 

“If I may.” He began, dragging the girl out of her thoughts. “From what I know, Titania is the name of the fairy queen from a book called" A Midsummer Night's Dream”. So you could just add the title of queen to her name if you want to change it according to your card.”

 

The suggestion did sound good to Taeko.

 

“Sure.” Taeko smiled, taking the opportunity to push her dark thoughts aside.

 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

 

Kujo Jotaro. 

Stand name: Star Platinum! 

Powers: Precise movements and superhuman strength!

 

Joseph Joestar. 

Stand name: Hermit Purple! 

Powers: Spirit photos!

 

Mohammed Avdol. 

Stand name: Magician’s Red! 

Powers: Fire and heat!

 

Kakyoin Noriaki. 

Stand name: Hierophant Green! 

Powers: Long distance manipulation and Emerald Splash!

 

Taeko Kamado.

Stand name: Queen Titania!

Powers: Water and Flower Breathing Styles!

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“All right, we’re off!” Joseph announced, officially beginning the first step on their journey. “Let’s go!”

 

The four men were literally posing side by side when Taeko hesitantly interfered.

 

“Mr.Joestar.” She called breaking the man of whatever trance he was in. “I'm sorry, but I have to grab my things back at home before we go."

 

“OH! I forgot about that!”

 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Taeko could smell her mother’s perfume coming from her bedroom as she entered her home. Making sure to make as little sound as possible, she went to her own bedroom and quickly gathered some clothes and essentials in a backpack. Then she changed from her uniform to some comfortable clothes for the trip. No way she would be wearing a skirt on a trip to fight a vampire.

 

Taeko knew her mother was sleeping after the long night shift so she would have to be silent not to wake her up before she left. In other circumstances, she would have explained to her mother where she was going. But not only Taeko had very limited time, since the team had to arrive at the airport in time to catch the plane, but also because there was the possibility Taeko’s mom would forbid her daughter from going. They had gotten closer the last year and after losing her husband, Eiko Kamado had become very protective of her daughter.

 

After getting everything she needed from her room, Taeko walked carefully across the house stopping to get a glimpse of her mother sleeping in her room. The teen tried to reassure herself that they would laugh about this situation someday but that’s impossible. If Taeko did survive her trip her mother sure would kill her when she returned.

 

There was something special she wanted to bring with her. Maybe it was a bad idea to take something so precious with her on a dangerous trip, still Taeko felt the need to take them with her if only as reassurance. Years ago, when Yushiro gave her the two books on breathing styles he told her to take care of them and to keep them hidden. So when she opted to take them, Taeko swore to herself to keep them close at all times.

 

Before she left her home to the unknown there was one last thing she needed to do. Close to the entrance of the house stood a picture, taken many years ago. In there many figures stood, most of them smiling. Taeko looked the faces of her grandfather and his friends happily smiling as they finally had managed to defeat the ultimate evil. Kneeling in front of the picture, the girl closed her eyes and began to pray to her ancestors.

 

“Grandpa, grandma… Please guide me on my journey…”

 

In the silence of the house, the girl could almost hear the whisper of her grandfather's voice from her dream all those weeks ago.

 

“Take care, little butterfly.” He had told her. Maybe that was his way of giving his blessing for her journey.

 

With that reassurance, Taeko left her home. She hoped Chachamaru would give the letter to Yushiro so he could inform her mother.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Yushiro-San,

    I’m sorry for leaving without notice but remember that guy from school that I mentioned? It ends up that he has a spirit too( I found out they are called stands)! Also there is this vampire in Egypt he has to kill because he is indirectly killing his mom and I want help. So I’m going to Egypt with him. But don’t worry, I will be back soon.

 

P.S.: Give Chachamaru some head patts for me. I know she likes it. 

Also could you please tell mom where I am going? Thanks.

 

Yushiro had to read the letter three times to make sure he wasn’t reading it wrong. That bad feeling he felt during the entire day seemed justified now. He should have known better than just try and ignore it, he didn’t notice Chachamaru’s absence until she returned after sundown with the letter.

 

He looked at the cat.

 

Then at the letter.

 

Then back at the cat.

 

Back to the letter.

 

“Please tell me this is a joke.” He pleaded.

 

He only got a meow as a response, of course.

Notes:

Shōwa era secret:
Chachamaru almost gave Taeko a heart attack when she ran away from her during daytime. The cat came very close to burning herself in the sun but she was determined to guide Taeko to Seiko.
Chachamaru was able to feel the curse of DIO affecting both Jotaro and Holly, hence why she hissed at him when they first met.

Chapter 4: The charriot arrives

Notes:

This was hard to finish. I had a very busy week so there wasn't enought time for me to review this chapter before yesterday. Still, I said I would post it saturday and I tried to... unsucessfully but it was close. So if there are any spelling errors please warn me and I will correct it.

Anyway, my second favorite cruzader is introduced in this chapter and I have A LOT of plans for him. If you read the tags you will probably figure out what kind of relationship he will have with Taeko(it's not a romantic one).

I also want to annunce that there are arts of Taeko and Titania on my Tumblr(also named Lady of the Blue Light) so if you want to check out how they look like you can see them there. There is also some interesting info on both of them.
Taeko Kamado
Queen Titania

I hope you guys like this chapter on the Tower of grey fight.

It’s dark outside.

 

Yushiro had gotten her letter by now.

 

And Taeko was glad she wasn’t near to witness his reaction.

 

She knew better than to expect his support. If not even Chachamaru wanted her to come, Yushiro would surely try to stop her. She gets it, this is a dangerous journey and, even though he would never admit it, he worries for her. It’s just how Yushiro is, he pretends not to care but he actually does. Maybe if she wasn’t able to smell the fondness he felt for her, she would have believed he really did despise her.

 

But she knows for a fact that he is worried sick after reading her letter.

 

She just couldn’t not come with them. There is an evil in the world that needs to be stopped and she can help. How could she not? Her grandparents vanquished the evil of their generation, so it would be fitting of her to help defeat hers.

 

As she glanced through the window at the darkness surrounding the plane, Taeko could help but let her mind wonder how strong this DIO guy really is. He is a vampire so he had to be stronger than a human.

 

But how strong is he on a demon scale?

 

Is he stronger than a regular demon? A lower moon? An upper moon?

 

…is he stronger than the demon king? If he is, they surely were in for a hard fight.

 

Taeko brushed that somber thought aside. DIO couldn’t be stronger than Muzan.

 

(Or so she hoped.)

 

Taeko sank back into her very comfortable seat. First class sure is cozy.

 

After leaving Taeko’s home the group also had to stop at Kakyoin's house for him to get his things. Due to how quickly he was, Taeko doubted he spoke to his parents but it wasn’t her place to judge. She had also left without speaking to her mom. They had to get to the airport fast so there wasn’t enough time to go over… well, everything with their parents.

 

Luckily, they reached the airport just in time for the flight. Mr. Joestar had booked them seats in the first class, not that that surprised Taeko. She had already learned that his family is very wealthy. Never in her very few travels by plane had Taeko ever gone to a first class cabin before, so it was a new experience to her.

 

As they entered the plane, they checked their tickets for their seats. Since there was a lot of vacant space on that specific flight, Mr.Joestar was able to get them seats close to one another. But there were only two chairs per row and they were in five so someone had to sit alone. 

 

And that ended up being Taeko.

 

She sat behind everyone else. With Avdol and Kakyoin together in the front and grandfather and grandson in the middle seats. At least she wasn't placed next to a stranger. The seat next to hers was still empty when the plane took off so she had plenty of space for herself.

 

Since it was nighttime, most people there were sleeping, including her companions. But with the many thoughts she had in her mind Taeko felt restless. Now that they were on their way to Egypt the situation felt more real to her. She needed something to distract herself. 

 

Whenever Taeko felt anxious, she read the records on the breathing styles so she decided to do just that. Taeko had kept the two precious books in her backpack, planning to carry them with her for the entire duration of the trip.

 

It still impressed her how well preserved the old book that carried the inscriptions explaining the water breathing moves was. It contained the combined knowledge of all who used water breathing, dating from way before her grandfather was even born, it was ancient.

 

Even after analyzing those inscriptions more than a thousand times there were still many things she couldn’t get right. Having to learn a breathing style only by reading was way harder than it would be with a master. Maybe if she had a mentor she would have been able to learn all forms of water breathing by now. Taeko still could only use some of them. The eleventh form was especially impossible for her to get, it was a defense technique that would require a training partner to test it out. Since no one else could see Titania(with the exception of Yushiro) and she knew no other swordsman, there was no use reading about this technique.

 

Even so, she still chose to read the paragraph explaining the Eleventh Form: Dead Calm. Taeko had no idea for how long she was reading before a chill suddenly ran down her spine. Not even a millisecond later, Mr. Joestar woke up from his sleep with a gasp, taking his hat off his face. Next to him, Jotaro had been awoken by something too.

 

“He saw us.” He told his grandson, making Taeko tense in her seat at the ominous information.“I definitely felt DIO looking at us just now.”

 

“Yeah.” Jotaro confirmed, he had the same feeling of being watched as his grandfather.

 

“Be careful.” The Joestar warned, then noticing Taeko was awake. The warning he gave next was also directed at her. “The next Stand user may already be on this plane.”

 

Taeko’s eyes widened, the possibility that an enemy may be there with them took her by surprise. She was expecting to begin fighting enemies after the flight, not during it.

 

Now that she was on alert, a buzzing sound coming from somewhere in the cabin became very clear. She quickly placed her book back in her backpack. At that point Kakyoin and Avdol had also woken up from their sleep, having heard the sound too. Like the others, they also began looking around to see where the buzz was coming from.

 

Their gazes soon converged at the bug flying around the cabin.

 

“A rhinoceros beetle?” Jotaro mumbled, already getting up from his seat. He got a better look at the insect that was flying around the cabin and corrected himself. “No… A stag beetle!”

 

“Avdol, is that a Stand?” Joseph moved on his seat so he could lean forward to talk to Avdol. “Are we already encountering another Stand user?”

 

“It is very possible.” Avdol confirmed, watching the insect intently. “It could be a bug-shaped Stand.”

 

As if it realized it was found out, the possible stand vanished from their vision by using the seats as cover. Even the buzzing sound stopped.

 

“It hid in the shadow of the seats…” Joseph remarked.

 

“Where did it go?” Avdol wondered, worried about a sneak attack. 

 

The group kept looking for any glimpse of the potentially enemy stand. Jotaro got from his seat to the hall, intending on facing the threat head on.

 

Taeko sniffed the air around them, trying to use her sense of smell to detect anything that could indicate the location of an enemy stand. She ended up nearly getting nauseated as a result. Normally it would be hard to find the source of a scent in a cabin full of people since there are a lot of smells mixing in a closed space, but that bug had such an awful smell it made it easier to segregate it from the other ones. By tracing the terrible smell she was able to find the bug that was flying dangerously close to Jotaro.

 

“Jotaro! It’s right next to you!” She warned Jotaro, making him turn to face it. Now that it was near they could see that the insect was too huge to be normal.

 

“I-It’s huge! It has to be a Stand. That bug is a Stand!” Kakyoin exclaimed.

 

As if the smell wasn’t sickening enough for Taeko, the stand began to foam at its mouth revealing his second claw-like mouth. The disgusting yellowish substance intensified the stench of the bug, making Taeko feel ill. And even without an enhanced sense of smell, the others felt a similar repulsion.

 

“It’s disgusting.” Jotaro took the words out of her mouth, alright he didn’t look as troubled as the girl was. “But leave this to me.”

 

“B-Be careful.” Avdol warned, worried that his suspicions on who this stand actually was would be confirmed. “I’ve heard there is a user of a bug Stand that likes to rip out the tongues of its victims.”

 

“H-how horrible…” Taeko commented, hoping that this stand wasn’t this ‘tongue-ripper’.

 

“Star Platinum!” Jotaro called out for his stand, the purple body emerging from his as he swung his arm to hit the bug. To everybody’s shock, the enemy stand was able to dodge the attack.

 

“I-It dodged!” Avdol stammered, his eyes wide as he looked at the bug. “I-I can’t believe it! It’s faster than Star Platinum, whose speed and precision are such that it can grasp bullets!”

 

“They always have to mention the grasp bullets part, don’t they?” Was what Taeko briefly thought. Though her observation was far from a priority at the moment.

 

“It has to be a Stand. That bug is a Stand!” Kakyoin concluded, the bug’s incredible speed serving as the last proof they needed. But if the bug was a stand, where was the user? “Where is he? Where is he hiding?! Who is the one who’s controlling it?!”

 

The cabin wasn’t full of people but there were still too many for them to search after the user while worrying about the stand.

 

“I can’t find the user by his scent… there are too many scents here for me to search for it.” Taeko rationalized as she looked at the other passengers. She was doing a relatively good job in keeping the stench of the bug from distracting her, although it did make it hard for her to locate other scents at the moment.

 

“I-It’s attacking!” Kakyoin cried out, seeing the bug prepare to attack.

 

Not even a second after his warning, the stand shot its second mouth in Jotaro’s direction. Due to Star Platinum’s quick reflexes he was able to raise his hand in time to block the attack. The claw pierced the purple stand’s hand to get to his mouth.

 

“No!” Taeko gasped.

 

“Jotaro!”

 

“Jojo!”

 

The others were relieved to realize Star had bitten the claw with his teeth before it could rip his tongue off. There was still the damage in his mouth and hand that began to bleed. His wounds were transferred by his user who also began to bleed from the same places.

 

It was the first time Taeko was witnessing a stand user getting hurt from his stand’s wounds, she was warned about it in the explanation of the situation back in Japan but it was still surprising to see it with her own eyes. She was never in a stand battle before so she never got hurt because of Titania, she felt thankful for getting the warning. If she hadn't, maybe she would have had to learn it the hard way during a fight.

 

“Since it tried to bite off Jotaro’s Stand’s tongue… it must be him!” Avdol concluded, watching intensely at the bug now that he knew what it was. “The Tower card of the Tarot… The one that depicts a Stand suggesting destruction, calamity, and the end of a journey: Tower of Grey!” He named the stand making sure to share all the information he had with his allies. In his mind the images of the destruction this stand left on its wake flashed. “Tower of Grey commits mass murders, making them look like accidents. That airplane crash that happened last year in England, causing 300 deaths, is thought to have been its work. I had heard rumors, but it seems he’s working with DIO!”

 

“It’s going to try to crash this plane?!” Taeko exclaimed, she thought the tongue ripping thing was bad enough but he also crashes planes?!

 

“ORA!” Jotaro wasted no time before commanding his stand to release another flurry of punches.”ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!” He managed to break the second mouth of the bug into tiny pieces but missed the stand itself.

 

“I-It dodged it!” Avdol spluttered, still surprised at the stand’s speed. “Not just the single hand, but it also dodged a two-fisted rush of blows! It’s so fast!”

 

That was when a mocking laugh came from the beetle. 

 

“Even if you were to have ten guns shoot bullets from one centimeter away, they wouldn’t be able to touch my Stand!” The user boasted, slyly pleased at the failure of his enemies to hit his stand. “And you couldn’t kill my Stand with a bullet anyway.”

 

“He has to be nearby!” Joseph realized, his gaze wandering across the cabin, looking for the user. “Who is it? Where’s the one controlling the Stand?” To his dismay he could find no signs that could indicate where the user is. “Which one of the passengers is he? If we can track him down…”

 

The bug vanished from the group’s sight again, too quick for them to follow. They all tensed, in alert for any sneak attack.

 

“It disappeared again.” Jotaro said. The enemy stand was right in front of him and not even he was able to follow its path. It was like the bug was there for a second and the next it was gone.

 

Using her sense of smell again, Taeko tracked the bug. It could escape the other’s sight but not her nose.

 

“It moved over there!” She informed the others on the bug’s location.

 

The others turned to look as the bug flew behind the seat a man was sleeping in. All the while the user was still laughing at the group.

 

“What’s it planning to do?” Jotaro questioned, noticing how the bug seemed to be positioning itself for something.

 

“I-It can’t be!” Avdol seemed to already dread what was coming next.

 

What followed was the most horrific scene Taeko had ever witnessed in her entire life. In a swift move the stand shot straight ahead piercing every seat in its path. The four unlucky passengers resting in those seats had their tongues ripped from their mouths, blood gushing from their wounds. They were dead in seconds. 

 

“Bingo! Got their tongues! And my objective…” As the passengers life’s quickly faded, their murderer kept laughing, his stand holding the four tongues.

 

The expected reaction from a teenanger like Taeko, a young girl witnessing for the first time the darkness in the world, would be to let out a scream of terror and maybe pass out of shock. That would be a normal reaction to this situation.

 

But instead of that something weird happened.

 

Seeing the senseless murder of innocent people stirred something inside her. 

 

Something hidden deep within herself, in her blood.

 

For a moment she felt like she was elsewhere. In another place and another time.

 

More than just a feeling, a memory emerged in her mind. But it was not hers.

 

Words spoken more than sixty years ago sounded to her like were just spoken at that moment.

 

“Protect those who are sleeping!!”

 

Suddenly Taeko felt oddly perceptive of the opponent's small movements. Her mind rushed to analyze the situation at a speed unusual for her. 

 

The demon Stand was small and fast. If Star Platinum wasn't able to hit it, Titania wouldn't be able to. She couldn't just cut where the enemy was, she had to aim where the enemy would be to cut his neck.

 

The wall, she realized by the way the bug was positioning itself, it's going to fly to the wall.

 

Taeko didn’t even have to call her stand for her to appear, the blue lady came without need for verbal command. She swung her katana on the enemy’s path.

 

To the others, Taeko’s reaction time was insanely fast. Even with all of that, Tower of grey was still able to dodge.

 

By very little.

 

The bug came close enough from being cut in half by the blade that it managed to see its reflection in the blue metal.

 

“W—what the—?!” The enemy gasped in surprise, only then realizing he was almost killed by the Taeko. He didn't expect anyoine from the group, especially the girl, to have quick reflexes like that. “Hey! I’m in the middle of something here!”

 

“She almost got it!” Joseph cursed, his voice snapping Taeko from the trance she was in. 

 

The girl blinked, feeling deeply confused from one moment to another. What the hell was that? For a moment Taeko could swear they were on a train. 

 

Tower of grey still went with his original plan and was able to reach the wall. It smashed the four ripped tongues of its victims against it, using the blood as ink to write something.

 

‘Massacre’ the word spelled on the wall in dark red when it was finished.

 

“Massacre!” Tower of grey presented, both as a warning and as a boast. “This word’s meaning: to kill everyone!”

 

“I-It actually did it…!” Kakyoin spoke in horror.

 

It killed people just to do that? Taeko felt more angry than scared at that point. She wanted to cut that disgusting stand in half and send it to hell. And Avdol seemed to share her sentiment.

 

“I will burn it to death!” Avdol declared, his voice firm as he summed his stand. “Magician’s Red!”

 

In other circumstances, Taeko would have taken a moment to observe his stand for the first time but for now she opted to focus on the enemy. 

 

She wouldn’t let anyone else die!

 

Both Magician Red and Queen Titania readied themselves to attack, fueled by their user’s urge to strike the enemy down. 

 

“Wait! Wait a moment, Avdol! Taeko!” Kakyoin called them. “Your stands can damage the plane!” His warning made both his companions stop in their tracks.

 

He was right, it was clear that both Magician red’s fire and Queen Titania’s sharp sword were too dangerous in these surroundings. Reluctantly, both called their stand’s back, recognizing they couldn’t help at that moment without risking other lifes.

 

“It’s so noisy…” Their commotion seemed to have awoken one of the passengers from his sleep, an old man. He rubbed his face as he briefly took notice of their group's presence. “I wonder what all the ruckus is…”

 

To everyone’s worry, Tower of grey flew towards the aged man.

 

“Watch out!” Taeko yelled, frustrated at not being able to summon Titania to help.

 

“I guess I’ll go to the bathroom.” The old man didn’t react to her warning, maybe too sleepy to recognize the dangerous situation he was in, and for some reason Tower of grey opted to just fly past him. As he got up to walk to the bathroom, he passed the wall that was painted with the blood of the dead. He placed a hand in the wall for support, touching the blood in the process. “What’s this slimy stuff?” He checked the substance in his hand, recognizing it. “I—Is it blood?! Blood!” He exclaimed in horror.

 

“Atemi.” Kakyoin was quick to strike the old man in the back of his head, knocking him out before he could scream. His quick decision made Taeko take a brief moment to look at him and the passenger lying on the ground. It was an aggressive way to “calm the man down” but was better than risking more people waking up in the middle of the fight. It would be total chaos if more people saw the blood and corpses.

 

“We have to defeat it before the other passengers panic.” Kakyoin stated. Sensing his companions' urge to join the battle, he made a point to explain his reasoning. “But, Avdol, an active Stand like your Magician’s Red could make the plane explode.” He spoke with the older man before turning to the other teenangers. “JoJo and Kamado, if your powers were to put a hole in the fuselage, it’d be a catastrophe.” With that he faced Tower of grey, getting into a fighting stance. “My quiet Stand, Hierophant Green, is most suited to defeating it!”

 

“Noriaki Kakyoin, eh? I’ve heard all about you from Lord DIO.” Tower of grey mocked, not taking his adversary threat seriously. “Stop. If you know that your Stand is quiet, there’s no point in challenging me. You cannot catch me with your speed.”

 

“You think so?” Kakyoin calmly asked, his stand appearing next to him. “Emerald Splash!” His stand released a stream of emeralds from the palm of his hands. Unfortunately, Tower of grey was able to dodge all of them. While the enemy laughed at his adversary’s failed attack, Taeko realized how Kakyoin was able to avoid sending any emeralds in the passengers direction, even during a battle the smart teen was taking care not to accidentally hurt anybody.

 

“Emerald Splash!” Kakyoin repeated not backing down, his stand released another splash of emeralds that missed his target. 

 

“You seem to think you can hit me if you fire enough shots!” Tower of grey mocked him again as it flew around the emeralds that were being shot at it. “But you haven’t hit me at all!”

 

“This isn't good! It’s still dodging with its speed!” Avdol observed, watching the fight from the sidelines with the others.

 

“…he is planning something.” Taeko mumbled, from what she had observed Kakyoin was a sharp guy. He analyzed the situation and recognized that his stand was more suited for this battle and directed his attacks as not to hit the sleeping passengers, he wasn’t the type of person to just go into a fight without a plan. She didn’t realize Jotaro heard her mumble, having a similar opinion about Kakyoin’s fighting style.

 

To the team’s dismay, Tower of grey shoot its second mouth into Hierophant Green’s mask as he did with Star Platinum before. Only Hierophant Green doesn't have as fast a reaction as Star had so he wasn't able to block the attack. The claw broke through Hierophant Green’s mask making both the stand and his user spit blood.

 

“Kakyoin!” Both Taeko and Jotaro exclaimed at the same time, watching in concern as Kakyoin and Hierophant Green fell to the ground in pain.

 

“My speed is an entirely different level.” Tower of grey bragged, his constant laugh getting into everyone’s nerves. “You’re way too slow to get a bingo. And Kakyoin… With my next attack, I’ll stab your Stand’s tongue with this Tower Needle and rip it out!”

 

As Tower of grey positioned itself to release its finishing move, Taeko mentally begged for Kakyoin to rush with whatever plan he had.

 

“Emerald Splash!” Kakyoin repeated the attack yet again, stopping the enemy from striking him as it had to dodge the emeralds.

 

“Don’t you get it?!” Tower of grey mocked as his user was under the impression Kakyoin was attacking at random.

 

“Th-This isn’t good!” Avdol pointed out, he and the others were reconsidering joining the fight as they wanted to help their ally. “He dodged Emerald Splash again!”

 

“Once this rips your tongue out, you’ll go mad from the pain!” The enemy shouted as it flew straight toward Kakyoin, fully intending on finishing him off.

 

“What? If its tongue is ripped out, it’ll go mad from pain?” Kakyoin kept his composure, looking oddly calm at the attack directed at him. “My Hierophant Green?”

 

With his words, his stand’s tentacles appear from behind the seats where he had positioned them during the fight. In the blink of an eye Tower of grey was impaled from all directions, giving the stand no space to dodge this time. Just as Kakyoin predicted.

 

“What?!” The enemy screamed in pain.

 

“If it rips you apart, it’ll go mad, all right. From joy!” Kakyoin declared as he glared at his defeated opponent. While it probably sounded like a cool quote to himself, Taeko on the other hand thought it sounded kind of weird. Kakyoin then decided to explain his plan to his defeated foe. “Hierophant’s appendages had already slipped beneath the sheet.” He explained, making Taeko look at the stand’s feet and the appendages extending from it in all directions. She gets it now, the enemy was so distracted by the persistent emerald splashes it didn't realize Kakyoin was spreading the appendages around the cabin the entire duration of the fight. Kakyoin sure was a smart guy, she felt relieved he was on their side.

 

“Didn’t you realize when I was trapping you there with Emerald Splash?” As he finished his explanation, Kakyoin made his stand retract his appendages, effectively ripping the Tower of grey apart. To everyone’s surprise, a scream of pain came from the old man Kakyoin had knocked out earlier. In his tongue, appeared an imprint of the bug indicating he was the user all along. The wounds received by his stand appeared on his body, blood rushing out of him similar to how it gushed out of his victims only minutes before. His scream was cut short when he fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless.

 

“So that geezer was the user?” Kakyoin scoffed, throwing a look of disgust at the old man. “A repulsive Stand usually has a repulsive user.” 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“Are you sure you are fine?” Taeko asked in worry as she looked at the taller teen next to her to check his wounds. Kakyoin had stopped bleeding from his mouth but Kamado still wanted to be sure he was alright. Although he defeated the enemy, the damage he received in the process was enough for him to spat blood before.

 

“I’m alright. There is no need for you to worry about me.” Kakyoin reassured her, offering her a kind smile to ease the girl’s nerves. He had already realized that Taeko cared a lot for the welfare of others. To him, the effect her presence had was not unlike Ms. Holly’s. Taeko’s presence also made him feel at ease, even after this bloody fight. He was glad she was there, it made him feel more tranquil. 

 

While they talked with each other, Jotaro and Joseph finished moving the old man’s body into one of the seats. They couldn't just leave him in the ground where someone could see him.

 

“It doesn’t appear that he has DIO’s flesh bud in his forehead.” Kakyoin noticed as he played with the long lock of his reddish hair.

 

“He doesn’t smell like it…” Taeko commented after taking a sniff of the guy just to be sure. She didn't not even realize she voiced her thoughts.

 

“Smell like it?” Kakyoin repeated, confused at her words.

 

“I will explain it later.” Taeko quickly promised. She should probably tell the others of her incredible sense of smell. It could be useful information for them in the future.

 

“From the start, Tower of Grey was an evil Stand that killed tourists, making it look like an accident only in return for pay.” Avdol explained as he already suspected there would be no flesh bud this time. He placed a blanket over the body to hide it.  “I’m sure DIO was able to use him because he was easily bought and blinded by greed.” 

 

After a moment of silent contemplation that followed, they all heard something on the plane suddenly begin creaking. They felt the floor below them shift as a cup from someone’s seat fell into the ground.

 

“Something’s wrong.” Joseph realized, looking back at his companions. “I could be imagining it, but it seems like this plane is flying crooked.”

 

At that the cup began rolling around, making Joseph take it as proof that something was really wrong.

 

“It’s crooked after all.” Joseph concluded, a dreadful realization hitting him. “I-It can’t be…”

 

With that he ran towards the front of the plane, most specifically the cockpit. His four companions stood on their spots in confusion for one more moment before deciding to follow him. 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

When Joseph approached the cockpit, two flight attendants tried to stop him.

 

“Sir, where are you going?” One of them asked, feeling nervous to have to deter a man as huge as Joseph. “The cockpit is up ahead, so passengers cannot enter.”

 

“I know that.” Joseph easily moved her out of the way.

 

“S-Sir! Ahh…” The attendants weakly protested, not finding in themselves enough courage to confront the older man. Hearing someone else approach from behind, both attendants turned to see the most gorgeous man they had ever seen looking menacingly at them.

 

“My, what a handsome man!” They both thought, the spark in their eyes being recognized by Jotaro, who only got annoyed at the unwanted attention.

 

“Move, bitch.” He harshly pushed the attendants aside, not wanting to deal with them. His rude behavior didn’t break the woman out of their enamored state.

 

“Ahh! What a shock!” They exclaimed as they fell backwards. Before they hit the ground, two strong arms kept the two from falling. To their surprise, it was another handsome man.

 

“Woah, there. Pardon.” Kakyoin politely apologized for his companion, charming the two women he held in his arms. “It is inexcusable for him to treat women in such a cruel manner, but this is an emergency. Please forgive him.”

 

“Okay…” The females agreed, falling for the charm of the second teen.

 

Avdol and Taeko watched the scene, they were the last ones to reach the front of the plane.

 

“Kakyoin is so polite.” Taeko remarked with a smile of admiration on her face. She hopes she gets to become friends with Kakyoin, he seems very nice to be around. Standing next to her, Avdol looked at the scene in confusion.

 

“Oh, this is awful!” The shout from Mr. Joestar caught everybody’s attention back in the situation at hand. He was already in the cockpit but the trio could hear him. “We've been had!”

 

The scent of blood Taeko caught was a warning of the terrible scene waiting for them.

 

“Their tongues have been ripped out.” The girl entered the cockpit while Jotaro was speaking. Her eyes widened as she saw the three pilots laying dead on the floor and their seats. She felt a pang in her heart at the realization that three more lives were lost. “That stag beetle bastard! He had already killed the pilots!” 

 

Joseph rushed to the controls, checking the altimeter. As he feared, they were losing altitude rapidly.

 

“It’s falling. The autopilot has been destroyed as well.” He informed his team. “This plane’s going to crash!”

 

Before anything else could be said, there was the sound of gurgled laughter coming from behind them. They all turned to find the bloody form of the user of Tower of grey standing right behind them.

 

“What?!” Jotaro shouted in surprise, he had been so sure the man was deceased.

 

Taeko glared at the dying man in front of them. She was already sick of him. He reeked of greed and malice, someone who took such great pleasure at hurting and killing people made her sick.

 

Her new instincts told her to be prepared to cut his head off if he gave any indication that he would attack.

 

“I am the Stand that holds the Tower card, which suggests accidents and the end of a journey.” He began to taunt the group, pointing at them as blood shot out of his wounds. “You will not reach Lord DIO! Even if you survive this crash, you are 10,000 kilometers from Egypt!” Even in his final moments, the murderous old man kept taunting his enemies. He was bleeding so much it was already forming a red puddle on the ground. “Those who swore loyalty to Lord DIO will pursue you every hour of every day. There are Stands in this world that you can’t even imagine. Lord DIO is the master of Stands! Lord DIO has the power to reign over all of them. There is no way you’ll reach him! You bastards will never reach Egypt!”

 

After using his last force to scream his final prediction at them, the user of tower of grey’s pathetic life came to an end. His body falling into the ground for the last time, landing in a pool of his own blood.

 

Even in his last moments, all that was in his mind was his master. Taeko though, a chill running down her spine as she realized that any future adversaries of the group could be as blindly loyal to DIO as him.

 

“You’re definitely professionals.” Jotaro said, having noticed that while scared, the flight attendants only let out a silent gasp when the old man died. “It’s a good thing you didn’t scream. That would’ve been annoying. Now, I’ve got a request.” What he said next sounded more like an order. “This old man is now going to emergency land this plane on the water. Go put life jackets and seat belts on all of the other passengers.”

 

Next to him, Mr. Joestar didn't look sure of this plan.

 

“G-Got it!” The flight attendants agree, rushing to check on the other passengers.

 

“Old man.” Jotaro called for his grandfather.

 

“Well…” Mr. Joestar began, taking a moment to consider the situation at hand. “I have experience with propeller planes, but…”

 

“Propeller?” Kakyoin repeated.

 

“That’s a different type of plane!” Taeko gasped. Would he even be able to work with this plane??

 

“But Jotaro… this is my third time.” Joseph added, his mind going back to some of the misadventures of his youth. “Have you ever heard of someone being in a crashing plane three times?”

 

The new information made the group’s little confidence in Joseph’s flying skills go down to none.

 

“I’m never… never riding in a plane with you again”

 

Taeko found herself in total agreement with Jotaro’s statement.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Their plane had landed 35 kilometers off the Hong Kong coast giving the group no choice but to wait for rescue with the other passengers. They suspected it would probably take hours for the rescue to arrive. Until they got there, the team of five had to wait in one of the emergency rafts. Even now that they were out of the plane and away from the dead bodies, Taeko still had trouble processing all of what happened in such a short period of time.

 

In less than one hour she went from quietly reading in her seat to waiting in the middle of the nightly ocean waiting for rescue after fighting a bug that killed seven people. It was all so quick. 

 

That not even mentioning the man’s troubling last words. 

 

“Those who swore loyalty to Lord DIO will pursue you every hour of every day.”

 

This was only the beginning. There are more of DIO’s servants out there, waiting for the right moment to attack them. But would they be evil murders like Tower of grey or victims of DIO like Kakyoin?

 

“Kamado?” A hand landed on her shoulder, gently shaking her out of her train of thoughts. “Are you alright?” It was Kakyoin, looking at her in concern.

 

“What?” She asked in confusion.

 

“You have been staring at the water for some time now.” He pointed out. He had been trying to talk to her yet Taeko just kept gazing at the endless night ocean with an expression of contemplation on her face.

 

“I didn’t realize.” The girl apologized.

 

“I wanted to ask about your skills.” He politely breached the subject, not being able to resist his curiosity. “Back on the plane, you came very close to hitting the bug even with his speed.” He reminded her. “I only managed to defeat him because I gave him no space to dodge.”

 

Oh.

 

There was also that.

 

“I don't know what happened.” Taeko honestly admitted, it was hard to explain what happened but she still decided to try. “I just thought fast and acted quickly… only it didn't feel like it was me doing that.” 

 

That statement made the others look at her in bafflement. They weren't sure what to think of her words. What could she mean by it wasn't her doing that?

 

“For a moment, I felt like someone else.” Taeko continued, avoiding their gazes by looking at the dark sea again. “Someone way more battle experienced than me. Someone that was used to doing things like that… but at the same time it felt somehow familiar.”

 

Her explanation didn't clear things out for most of the guys. The more she spoke the more bizarre her situation sounded. Only one of the guys had a suspicion on what she was talking about.

 

“…did your grandfather kill people?”

 

Avdol’s random question made Taeko’s head snap in his direction.

 

“Excuse me?” She uttered, her stare hardening in defense of her grandfather. While it was true that Tanjiro did kill demons, Taeko didn’t like the way that Avdol made it sound. Her grandfather was not a murderer.

 

Sensing that he struck a nerve, the fortune teller quickly explained himself. “Maybe your fighting instincts came from your grandfather. He was a swordsman, wasn’t he?” He deduced, taking into consideration the little information he had of Taeko’s family. Not only had Taeko calmed down at his explanation, the others were also paying attention to his words with curiosity. So the Egyptian continued speaking. “Once I heard of something called ‘inherited memories’. Some people believe that appearances aren’t the only things that are inherited from parent to child. They believe they pass on their memories too. It would explain how you reacted so quickly in your first real fight. It was a fighting instinct you inherited from your grandfather, it’s how you knew how to act in a dangerous situation when you never have done it before.”

 

It would explain everything Taeko felt on the plane so the teen concluded he was probably right.

 

Even the brief moment she thought they were on a train, It was probably the Mugen Train. Grandpa had told her about his mission with the flame hashira so she knew of the battle they were on to protect the sleeping passengers. Maybe when the enemy stand attacked the innocent bystanders, her subconscious connected the two situations due to how similar they were.

 

“I see.” She answered after her moment of consideration. As long as her new instincts helped her in her journey with her new allies, she supposed it wouldn’t be bad to use them to her advantage. She was just going to have to fight her new urge to go for the neck, as demon slayers used to do with demons. While their adversaries were evil, Taeko would prefer not to kill anyone unless it’s necessary. 

 

While the situation they were in that day was still a giant mess, it felt good to have some explanations. Taeko felt thankful for Avdol, even if it wasn't his intention, he helped lift her spirits up even if it was just a little bit.

 

 “You really know a lot of interesting stuff.” Taeko said with a small smile.

 

Her comment made something spark in the fortune teller's eyes, something akin to excitement, he gave her a slight smile as well.

 

“I had all kinds of people come to my store. It was common for them to tell me a little about their own cultures and beliefs.” Speaking of his work made him feel nostalgic, it felt like a lifetime ago but he missed it. Being a fortune teller was his calling, it's what he loved to do. “When this is all over, I hope I can reopen my store and do it again.”

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Hong Kong smells weird but not in a bad way. You see, going to new places for Taeko also means being exposed to a mixture of new scents, especially now that she was standing close to a food stand, waiting for Mr.Joestar to finish a call he was making at a telephone cabin they found. At this distance Taeko couldn’t make out what exactly he was saying but if she had to guess it was probably something to do with his plans to continue their trip now that the original plan to go to Egypt by plane wasn’t an option anymore.

 

“Hey, little lady!” She heard the stand merchant call and being the only female( and small) in the group she knew he was talking to her. “Are you and your friends tourists?” He correctly guessed. “Want some rice porridge? If you’re in Hong Kong, you ought to try dim sum or rice porridge. We have hot cola, too.” 

 

“Rice porridge? I'm not sure if I want it.” Considering the last time she ate was back in Japan, Taeko was tempted to try it out.

 

“It’s not bad. Unlike in Japan, rice porridge is a staple food in Hong Kong.” Kakyoin spoke from next to her. He decided to place an order as he felt hungry too. “I’ll have it the popular way, with pork and a century egg.”

 

“Coming right up!” 

 

“Then I’ll have—“ Avdol was also going to order something when Joseph called for them.

 

“Hey!” He said as he walked to them. “What are you guys trying to eat? We’re going to go to my friend’s shop.”

 

“Hey, dandy guy.” Seeing that the old man was about to doom his current deal, the merchant opted to offer something for him to buy too. “Want to try some Hong Kong hot cola?”

 

“Hot?!” The offer ended up backfiring, as Joseph began to shout at the poor merchant in outrage shaking his fist at him. “Everybody knows that cola’s supposed to be cold!”

 

“Old man, who were you calling?” Jotaro interrupted, not wanting to hear more of his grandfather complaining over small things.

 

“Hm? Oh, I’ll explain everything when we get to the shop.” Joseph explained, giving the merchant a last glare before walking away, the others quickly followed him with the exception of Taeko.

 

The merchant's previous smile vanished from his face as he not only lost clientele but was also yelled at by the old man. Taeko felt bad for the guy, he was only doing his job.

 

“I’m sorry for that.” She kindly apologized. “He really likes cold cola.” 

 

“It’s alright. That’s part of the job.” The merchant smiled at the girl, immediately being affected by her kind aura.

 

The girl reached into her backpack to offer him some coins. “Here. For the troubles.” 

 

“There is no need for that. As I said, it's part of the job.”

 

“I insist. My friend was very rude to you.”

 

“Eh, there is really no need.” The man said while shaking his head. “There are always more tourists around.” 

 

“But I am still giving you those coins!” Taeko at that point began to exclaim, determined to give him the money.

 

Her voice reached Jotaro’s ears, making him stop walking to look back at her.

 

“What is she doing?” He questioned, his eyes narrowing as Kakyoin also began watching at the scene.

 

“I said there is no need already!!” The merchant also began to raise his voice, a little taken back by the girl’s insistence. “You’re a really stubborn child!”

 

“Even though it’s only a few coins please take them!!” With that she grabbed the man’s hand and slammed the coins with so much force that it made the merchant’s palm sting. “Sorry for the trouble!” Ironically as she was walking away she was still apologizing for Joseph instead of apologizing for the fact that she had accidentally hurt the man in her enthusiasm.

 

“Oww!” The merchant yelled in pain, holding his hand.

 

“That girl is fucking crazy.” Jotaro huffed while Kakyoin let out a small laugh.

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Joseph’s friend's restaurant was a very charming place. It was also close to where they were so it didn’t take too long for the group to get there. After giving a brief greeting to his friend, they sat at one of the empty tables.

 

“We need to work out a plan that’ll get us to Egypt as safely and quickly as possible.” Joseph explained, his tone serious as he spoke of their current situation. 

 

“Mr. Joestar, we cannot allow any more innocent civilians to be hurt.” Avdol quickly pointed out. “The quickest way would be by plane, but…” He didn’t have to finish, to all those at the table the memories of the massacre at the plane were still fresh in their minds.

 

“True. It’s now become impossible for us to fly to Egypt.” Joseph agreed, he didn’t even consider going by plane after what had happened. “If we encounter another Stand user like that one on a commercial flight, we’re sure to cause a disaster that will harm many people. We have to get to Egypt either by land or by sea.”

 

“Even if we go by land or sea, there will still be the chance we will be attacked.” Taeko speculated. “That man mentioned that there are a lot of different stand users working for DIO. Tower of grey specialized in crashing planes but maybe others work with boats or cars.”

 

“You are not wrong.” Avdol confirmed that, being the only one in the group that had information of other stand users, he knew Taeko made a good point. “But we don’t have a choice. If we fail to meet DIO within fifty days…” The reminder of their limited time made everyone at the table tense. Even if they wished to be careful, they also had to be quick or else they wouldn’t reach Cairo in time.

 

“If we had stayed on that plane, we’d probably be in Cairo by now.” Kakyoin lamented, if only they hadn’t been attacked they would be a step closer to saving Holly.

 

“I’m aware of that.” Joseph acknowledged, more than anyone else there, he felt frustrated at their setback. Still, he wouldn’t let anything stop him from saving his child. “But it’s too soon to worry about it.” He added with a playful wink to cheer the others up. “A hundred years ago, Jules Verne wrote a story in which the protagonist traveled around the world in 80 days, traveling 40,000 kilometers. This was in the age of trains and steamboats. Even without a plane, in fifty days, we’ll be able to travel 10,000 kilometers to Egypt. As for the route… ” He affirmed, his tone decisive. He proceeded to grab a map he had on his coat, placing it on the table for all to see. “I say we go by sea. We’ll charter a suitably-sized boat, go around the Malay peninsula, and across the Indian Ocean.” While he spoke, the man traced the described path with his finger. “It’ll be the Silk Road of the sea.”

 

“I believe that is best, as well.” Avdol opined, taking into consideration the advantages of the route. “If we go by land, borders will be a hassle. And we’d have to cross the Himalayas and a desert.” He noted. “If we ran into trouble, we’d lose a great deal of time. There are too many dangers.”

 

“I haven’t been to any of those places using either route, so I can’t say anything.” Kakyoin admitted. “I’ll leave it up to you two.”

 

“Same.” Jotaro said with a nod.

 

Taeko also gave a nod of approval. She too knew nothing of the territory so as the other teens she had nothing else to offer.

 

“Then it’s decided.” With their plan asserted, Joseph tucked the map back in his coat. “The greatest danger will be the Stand users that DIO sends against us. We’ll have to do our best to get to Egypt without being spotted.”

 

Taeko had the gut feeling that they would in fact be spotted, a gut feeling that was incredibly spot on considering the man with heart shaped earrings who was sitting at the closest table would turn out to be not only their next adversary but soon a big ally.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Not paying attention to the small talk Kakyoin and Jotaro were having on her right, Taeko took a moment to concentrate on her breathing. The girl was able to maintain the total concentration breathing only during the day as it was unfortunately hard to keep doing it at night when she was sleeping. Still, she had the habit of taking some moments along her day to remind herself to breathe correctly, even going as far as testing her skills with a gourd from time to time. It was oddly therapeutic to her as regulating her breathing helped her calm down and think more clearly in complicated situations.

 

With her eyes closed, she took a deep breath relishing in the feeling of the fresh air filling her lungs. She let the air out and repeated the action two more times.

 

It made her feel more tranquil, the tension that formed in her muscles there ever since the plane fight finally leaving. She could hear the chatter of her friends, feel the soft surface of the table with her fingertips and scent the many smells in the restaurant.

 

It was a mixture of perfumes of other clients, the smell of delicious food…

 

…and the terrible scent of evil she could recognize anywhere.

 

Her eyes snapped open just in time as an unfamiliar voice spoke with them.

 

“Excuse me, do you have a moment?” Taeko turned to watch as the man came walking over to their table, he was holding a menu that concealed his face. “I’m a tourist from France, and I’m having a hard time with the kanji on the menu. Would you please help me out?” The man sounded very polite, closing the menu he revealed his bizzare appearance.

 

“What a strange hairstyle…!” She thought when she saw the peculiar haircut he had.

 

If it wasn’t for the familiar scent of evil coming from him, Taeko would have been more than happy to help him with the menu. But now all she wanted was to help him get free from the parasite she knew was placed on his forehead.

 

“You’re annoying. Go away.” Jotaro hissed, he had no problem being rude to the guy so that he went away to bother someone else.

 

“Come now, Jotaro. It’s fine.” Joseph interrupted. He gave the stranger a reassuring smile, more willing to help as he held his hand to get the menu from his hands. “I’ve been to Hong Kong many times, so I can at least read the kanji on the menu. Why don’t you join us?” The man returned the smile with one of his own and went to sit in the empty chair that was between Taeko and Joseph.

 

Now that he was right next to her, not only could she confirm for certain he had the scent of one of DIO’s flesh buds, she also could catch his second smell, the real one. 

 

Pain. Sadness. Mourning.

 

If one saw the smile on his face, one would never suspect he carried such a sad scent. Whoever this man was, he went through something tragic.

 

“Why the tears, papillon? Is something wrong?” The man was now speaking to her, his voice soft as if he really cared. “A cute girl like you shouldn’t cry like that.”

 

“Oh—“ Taeko raised her hand to touch her cheek to check and she was indeed crying without noticing. His sad scent was affecting her so much it brought tears to her eyes. She moved her hand to cover her nose in an attempt to block the smell. “…I’m sorry. I have a very sensitive nose. Some smells make me react like that.”

 

It was not a lie as it was his smell that made her tear up like that.

 

“If I expose him, a fight could break out! There are too many innocent people here who could get hurt.” Kamado rationalized, feeling a sweat of nervousness run down her forehead. “And even if I don't pont him out, he could attack anyway. I have to tell the others without him realizing. But how?”

 

“A sensitive nose?” Kakyoin repeated, holding his chin between his fingers thoughtfully. “I do remember you mentioned something back at the plane about smells.” 

 

Taeko’s eyes widened as she was reminded of their brief exchange.

 

“It doesn’t appear that he has DIO’s flesh bud in his forehead.”

 

“He doesn’t smell like it…”

 

“Smell like it?”

 

“I will explain it later.”

 

She could work with that to warn the others!

 

“You see, I have a very sharp nose.” Taeko explained, tapping her nose as emphasis to her words. “I can also perceive things outside the normal range of perception like the intentions, feelings, and thoughts of other people.” 

 

“Really?” That immediately got him curious, he never heard someone being able to smell emotions.

 

“But I don’t usually react like this. Only when I catch intense smells that affect me a lot.” Taeko continued, hoping she was choosing her next words wisely. “Just the other day I was walking to school and walked past this guy painting.”

 

The smart guy he was, Kakyoin didn’t point out that he was talking about him. He was sharp enough to realize that there had to be a reason she was talking about him in the third person.

 

“Although he had this awful scent, I realized that it was not his. It was almost like it was parasitizing him. It almost made me ill when I caught it… it was the scent of someone truly evil.” Her shadowy statement made not only Kakyoin tense but Jotaro and Avdol too as they had also heard it. Both quickly catching on to what she was referring to.

 

Now that she had managed to indirectly inform the others of her ability to detect flesh buds, Taeko just needed to somehow connect that scent to the French man and hopefully they would get the hint.

 

Before she could, the girl was interrupted by the food finally arriving. She was silent as the waiter placed the plates on the table but the atmosphere at the table had become heavy at that point due to Taeko’s mention of flesh buds. None of the others even reacted to the fact that the food they got wasn’t what they thought they ordered.

 

“This wasn’t what I expected.” With the exception of Joseph, who to his grandson’s disappointment didn’t catch the meaning behind Taeko’s words. “Well, it doesn’t matter! It’s on me!” The man laughed cheerfully. “It doesn’t matter what you order. It’s all delicious! Let’s dig in!” When the others didn’t move to get the food, he seemed to finally notice how tense the others were. The feeling of uneasiness passed on to him too.

 

“They’ve certainly taken a lot of time to prepare this.” Undeterred, the French man reached for a slice of carrot, picking it up with his chopstick. “Look, these carrots… They’re star-shaped. It reminds me of something…” Taeko didn’t have more time to point the man out as he was already revealing himself. “That’s right. Someone I know has this exact mark on their neck.”

 

“You… Are you another…!” Kakyoin stammered, not realizing what Taeko was attempting to warn him about.

 

In response, he hummed while pressing the star-shaped carrot on his neck in the exact same spot Joseph and Jotaro had their birthmarks.

 

The bowl of porridge close to Joseph in the table began to bubble, a pointy sword suddenly shooted from it.

 

“Mr. Joestar, look out!” Avdol warned.

 

“Woah!” Joseph gasped, he was barely able to keep the sword from cutting his face by catching it between the metallic fingers of his prosthetic hand. “It’s a Stand!”

 

Avdol was quick to flip the table, ignoring all the delicious food—that they didn’t have the chance to even taste— that he dropped into the ground.

 

“Magician’s Red!” He shouted, his stand appearing with his call. To Taeko’s dismay, the bird began shooting fire from his mouth at the opponent.

 

“Wait!” She exclaimed. That man was being controlled so she didn’t want them to harm him.

 

Her desperate call was unnecessary as their adversary was able to bend the fire with his fencing sword, swirling the element around the blade.

 

“There is no need to worry about me, petit papillon.” The enemy reassured her. His stand’s full appearance is revealed to be some kind of knight. With a swing of his sword, he shot the fire he had contained in his blade at the flipped table. To Taeko’s wonderment, the flames formed a clock. It took a lot of skill to be able to do something like that with his sword. The girl found within herself a respect growing for the man as a fellow swordsman.

 

“H-His sword is so fast…” Kakyoin flattered in surprise, he also recognized the man’s impressive skill.

 

“My Stand holds the Chariot card! Silver Chariot!” The user introduced his stand, his voice expressing his pride. “Mohammed Avdol, it appears that you want to die first. I’ve made a fire clock on that table! I will kill you by the time that clock burns to twelve!” He declared as his stand pointed his sword at the Egyptian’s direction.

 

As Taeko watched the mysterious man challenge Avdol to a fight, she decided to do all in her power to keep Avdol from accidentally hurting an innocent man.

Notes:

Shōwa era secret:
Taeko have been influenced by her inherited memories for a while, she just hadn't noticed yet. It's why she got both swordfighting and total breathing so fast. Even from the beyond, Tanjiro is still helping his family.

Chapter 5: Queen Titania vs Silver Chariot

Summary:

You didn't really expect me to have two swordsman at the same place and DON'T make them fight each other, did you?

 

Taeko watched with worry as Polnareff and Avdol’s eminent fight was set into motion. Their unexpected adversary challenged the fortune teller with such confidence in his victory that it made Taeko nervous.

 

Not that she didn’t trust Avdol’s abilities. From all the knowledge she knew he had on stands to his evident fighting experience, she recognized Avdol as a formidable foe. The matter was that while she was inexperienced with stand battles, Taeko knew of enough sword fighting to recognize someone's skills by the way they held themselves. It's all on their posture, their grip on sword and the manner they maneuver it. 

 

The way that Polnareff’s stand moved his sword to throw the fire into that table was as relaxed as it was calculated. The moves of someone that had enough experience with a sword that it became like an extra limb to them. 

 

Because of that, Taeko knew that man was dangerous.

 

“Your sword is terrifyingly fast.” Avdol admitted as he closed his eyes in contemplation. “It’s amazing, but do you really think you’ll defeat me by the time the flames on that table strike 12?” He countered with a fierce expression on his face as he reopened his eyes, pointing a finger at the French man. “Aren’t you being rather conceited, Mister…?” He trailed off, not knowing what to call him.

 

“Polnareff.” The man, who now they knew was called Polnareff, informed them. “Allow me to introduce myself. Jean Pierre Polnareff.” 

 

“Merci beaucoup. I appreciate your introduction.” Avdol saluted with a slight bow. “But…” With only the flick of his wrist, he commanded the flames on the table to combust. The impact made the table go airborne for a moment before crashing down back into the ground spreading fire everywhere around it.

 

The impressive display of his power got a “Woah!” from Joseph, with the teens watching in shock.

 

Maybe Taeko was wrong in worrying he could lose against Polnareff.

 

—No.

 

The problem wasn’t who wins or loses, they shouldn’t be fighting in the first place. Taeko knows Polnareff isn't a bad person, there is no malice on his scent. It’s almost like he doesn't realize he is doing something bad. And maybe he really doesn't. After all he is being controlled by someone else, isn't he? Anything he is ordered to do must seem like the correct thing to do for him.

 

It feels very unsettling to even speculate how this mind control thing works.

 

“Monsieur Polnareff, don’t assume that my flames always burn upward or downward as they would in nature.” Avdol calmly explained. “It is called Magician’s Red because it controls flames freely.”

 

Polnareff hummed, his stand stuck its sword in the ground while its transparent shape aligned with its user’s in a way that made it seem like he was the one holding the sword. The French man remained unfazed by his adversary’s speech.

 

“In the beginning, this world was engulfed in flames. I expect nothing less from Magician’s Red, who controls the flames that suggest the beginning of all things.” Polnareff said as he rested a hand on his stand’s sword and the other on his hip. “But you say I’m being conceited? You’re saying that my swordsmanship…is mere conceit?!” He sounded offended, something that weirdly enough Taeko could understand. She felt similar when the other’s looked down upon her stand’s swordsmanship back in Japan. You have to train for years to learn how to correctly wield a sword and when you do it’s normal to become proud of your skills.

 

In what was probably an attempt to show off his own skills to compare them with Avdol’s, the French man threw five coins in the air. With a fast and precise thrust of his sword, Silver chariot was able to pierce all of the coins in only one move. 

 

“In the moment they lined up, he pierced five coins in a single strike!” Joseph exclaimed in surprise, after Tower of gray he doubted they would face an enemy faster.

 

“That's not just that…” Taeko muttered. She had been watching mindfully in an attempt to get a good reading on Silver Chariot’s swordship skills, so she was able to catch the way he pierced Avdol’s fire too.

 

“No, it isn’t.” Jotaro agreed with her, also catching the full picture with his sharp eyes. “Take a closer look.” 

 

At Taeko’s and Jotaro’s comments the others did as they were told and finally noticed the flames that were contained between the coins. That detail made the enemy's display of skill even more impressive.

 

“I-I see…” Avdol pointed out even though at that point everyone had seen it. “There are flames between each coin.” 

 

“It appears you understand what this means.” Polnareff smirked with satisfaction as he spoke. “It is not conceit. My Stand has the power to sever even fire! It can slash the very air and create gaps between nothingness and nothingness.”

 

Even though he kept holding his ground, Taeko smelled another feeling joining the determination and courage that Avdol was feeling earlier.

 

Nervousness. 

 

Avdol was feeling nervous.

 

And that was the last fuel that she needed to jump into action before things got worse.

 

Since he was facing in her direction, Polnareff was the only one to notice her summoning Titania. He observed her actions but made no comment.

 

Taeko requested for her stand to put out all the fire in the restaurant. Lucky for them, Queen Titania works with the perfect element to extinguish flames so she used her katana to do just that.

 

Her companions didn't see Titania tracing an arch upwards with her sword, nor were they able to watch as drops of water emerged from the blade.

 

Though when it began raining down on their heads, it was impossible to miss it.

 

“Water?” Joseph frowned, looking up at the ceiling. “The fire must have triggered the sprinklers.”

 

“It wasn’t the sprinklers.” Jotaro said while looking back at Taeko, making the others finally realize she had her stand out.

 

“Kamado?” Avdol questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.

 

“Avdol, if you harm this man I guarantee you will regret it.” Taeko firmly warned the Egyptian. There was a brief moment when the group( minus Kakyoin) thought she was about to betray them before she continued. “His actions are not his own.”

 

At these words it finally hit Kakyoin what she was trying to tell them before.

 

“He has a flesh bud doesn’t he?” Kakyoin realized, now looking at the French man with different eyes. He knew how it was to be controlled by that damn parasite and the same was happening to this man.

 

“Are you sure?” The information also made Avdol rethink his first impressions of the French. He had observed that even though this enemy was arrogant, he didn't seem to be as malicious as an “bud-less” enemy like Tower of Grey.

 

“The foul stench of DIO is unmistakable.” Taeko confirmed, not taking her eyes off Polnareff. It was almost like she could visualize the trail of DIO’s scent coming from his head. “He has a bud on his forehead. I know it.”

 

The enemy had been silent as they spoke. He didn’t even react when they pointed out he wasn’t acting on his own free will. No. Instead of that he chose to keep looking at Queen Titania, or more specifically her sword.

 

“…To think there is another stand that sheaths a sword.” Polnareff murmured, genuinely surprised to see the blue katana the girl’s stand was using. Not that it was a bad surprise. In fact, now he felt more excited than before. “I wasn’t sure if there was another.” A smirk formed on his face as he came to a decision. “I changed my mind. Avdol can wait. I want to fight her first.” He finished with his stand pointing his sword at the Kamado this time.

 

His sudden change of plans came as a shock to the others there.

 

“What?” Joseph cried out. 

 

“Keep the girl out of this. You wanted to fight me, so fight me!” Avdol moved to block the enemy’s view of Taeko, in an attempt to get the enemy’s attention to return to him.

 

“The chance to fight a stand the same type as mine is too great to pass.” Polnareff undisturbed by his protest, explained. “Don’t worry. I won’t seriously injure the girl.” He added. Not that his reassurance made any of the guys feel better. “The request is for her to be caught alive. I take no pleasure in harming a woman.”

 

Avdol clenched his fists, he opened his mouth to say something but Taeko spoke first.

 

“No! I think you got it wrong!” She cried out to Polnareff. “I don’t want to fight you and I think you don’t really want to fight either.“ 

 

“You don’t really expect to sweet talk him into backing down.” Jotaro hissed at the girl. While he knows that it is usual for Taeko to be nice and friendly, this was not the time for this.

 

“Kamado, I know you have good intentions.” Kakyoin said as he gave her a look of understanding. “But Jotaro is right. Talking with him isn’t going to help. We have to defeat him first so Jotaro can remove the bud.”

 

Hearing this coming from someone that knows how it is like to be controlled by a flesh bud makes it impossible to argue against. If Kakyoin says there has to be a fight, Taeko believes there really has to be.

 

Not that it was going to stop her from helping someone that needed it.

 

“If that’s the case, I will do it.” Taeko spoke with determination, her stand pointing her katana back at the opponent. “I am going to fight you!”

 

“Kamado!” Avdol exclaimed in surprise at her quick change of posture.

 

“Très bien.” Her new adversary now spoke in his birth language. He smirked, satisfied that she accepted his challenge. “But before we continue, why don’t you give me an introduction?”

 

Taeko stared at him at the request. She concluded that since he had shared some information about himself and his stand with Avdol, it would be right for her to do the same.

 

“My name is Taeko Kamado.” She told him while placing a hand on her chest. “My stand that represents the card of the Queen of Wands, is called Queen Titania.”

 

“After the fairy queen?” Polnareff seemed intrigued with the name, Taeko didn't expect that he would know where it came from. “You really are a Pettit papillon.” He then stood straight, crossing his arms over his chest. “The card that my Stand has, The Chariot, suggests conquest and victory.” He told her about his tarot card since she mentioned hers. 

 

Too fast for their eyes to follow, Polnareff suddenly was at the door, the coins previously trapped in Silver Chariot’s rapier falling to the ground. 

 

“So fast…” Taeko whispered in shock, she didn't even see him moving to the exit.

 

“When did he…?!” Avdol exclaimed.

 

“I don’t mind taking care of you in this cramped little space, but you’d both be able to use your elemental abilities in a much more open space, no?” Polnareff said as he stood by the door.

 

“Do you really pretend to fight both of us where we have the advantage?” Avdol spoke, shaking his head at Polnareff’s cockiness. “You really are conceited.”

 

“It would be fitting for my Stand to defeat you under those circumstances. A fitting victory.” He then closed his eyes for a moment, before reopening them as he yelled at them. “All of you, outside!”

 

Taeko was about to move to follow him when a hand landed on her shoulder stopping her. It was Avdol.

 

“You don’t have to do this.” He informed her, wearing an expression of sympathy that made it evident he wouldn’t judge her if she opted to let him fight in her place. “He challenged me first. I assure you I will try not to hurt him.”

 

“No.” She quickly refused, making his eyebrows rise in surprise. “I didn’t come on this journey only to stand by and watch. I still haven't shown you what I can do.“

 

Taeko could tell how reluctant Avdol was to let her fight without even having to scent him. He, like the others, wasn't sure of her skills yet. Especially against someone like Polnareff.

 

And to be honest neither was Taeko.

 

The girl was well aware of her flaws and that her inexperience would be a great disadvantage. 

 

Even so, she needed to do it. It was her chance to prove to them( and even herself) that she would be useful in their journey. 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

The Kamado didn’t know what to expect of the battlefield Polnareff chose for them. Even so, the place he guided the group too was still a surprise. It was one of the most bizzare places she had ever seen in her entire life. There were statues of animals and other things everywhere, all of them very realistic. I was so colorful and full of many different sculptures that Taeko couldn’t help but take a moment to look around.

 

“Wh-What is this place?!” Joseph asked, having a similar reaction to Taeko.

 

“It’s Tiger Balm Garden.” Kakyoin informed him. “It’s unique taste and appearance make it number one among Hong Kong’s bizarre zones.”

 

They walked up to an open field in the middle of the garden, where the duo would have space to fight. When they got there, Polnareff wasted no time before calling for his stand.

 

“You know.” Taeko’s attention returned to her adversary when he spoke to her. “I shouldn’t be surprised your stand wields a katana considering who your grandfather is.”

 

While the mention of her grandfather caught her off guard, Taeko still had the caution of calling for her stand too since he had his out.

 

“…you knew my grandfather?” She hesitantly asked. That was not a good moment to talk about grandpa Tanjiro. The team didn’t know the truth about her family yet and this would be a terrible way for them to find out.

 

“Not really.” He answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “It was Lord DIO that told me the basics. The tale of a man that did everything he could to protect his little sister.” A glimpse of pain appeared in his expression. “I can relate to that.”

 

For someone that had been spewing praises of himself until that point, that sentence sounded very self deprecating.

 

“Kamado…” She heard Jotaro speak. Taeko didn’t turn to look at him. 

 

“If you know of my grandfather. You know what I am capable of.” Taeko declared with determination. Her stand was now firmly holding her sword with both hands, with the tip of the blade pointed ahead.

 

There was a moment of total silence with both stands and users staring at each other with their swords out, while their audience had to wait to see who would make the first move.

 

Taeko's last thought before Silver Chariot launched an attack was that she hoped her inherited memories would help her here.

 

“Come on, then!” Polnareff shouted and with that Silver Chariot advanced, thrusting his sword into Queen Titania, who was able to block it. 

 

Seeing both stands finally fighting each other contrasted the different fighting styles they used. While Silver Chariot unleashed a barrel of quick thrusts with his rapier to stab the opponent, Queen Titania’s moves her katana like it was following the flow of water as she blocked and deflected each of the thrusts of the rapier.

 

“Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on! Come on!” Polnareff shouted while his stand continued with his constant attack. “Come on. What’s wrong? You’re not going to show me what you are capable of? If not, I’m going to take my turn!”

 

Taeko’s mind rushed to think of a strategy.

 

She knew Silver Chariot was fast from his little show back at the restaurant. He isn't moving as fast as he did then. Polnareff isn't taking this fight seriously, he probably only decided to fight her because he saw her katana. Not because of her skills.

 

It’s his mistake to underestimate her. 

 

When someone moves to attack there is always the brief moment he leaves himself open for an attack. For Silver Chariot is the moment he retracts his sword to gather momentum for the next thrust. It's only there for a second but it's still there.

 

“Come on! Come on! Come on!” He kept shouting, watching Taeko’s stand on the defensive fueled his arrogance.

 

As his stand momentarily prepared to release another thrust, Titania finally attacked.

 

The stand promptly crossed her arms to use the first form of water breathing.

 

Water Surface Slash!

 

As Titania made a horizontal cut with her katana, Taeko’s companions could this time observe as water formed around the blade following the movement of the cut to form a wave.

 

Silver Chariot didn't have time to block but he was able to instead manipulate the water with his sword similarly to how he did with Magician Red’s flames back at the restaurant.

 

Taeko’s eyebrows rose in shock as she saw that for the brief moment Silver Chariot copied the fluid-like movement of water breathing users while he redirected the wave to a nearby statue. By the looks of it Taeko wasn't the only one closely observing the adversary's moves. Polnareff had only witnessed her using water breathing briefly and he was already able to replicate it. The man had to be a natural at any type of sword fighting.

 

She couldn’t help but wonder how good he could be using another breathing technique if he had time to study it.

 

“That bastard. He’s mocking us.” Joseph’s comment was what made her snap out of her train of thought and see that not only Polnareff was able to fend off her water but somehow he was also able to carve the statue into a replica of Queen Titania. “He carved a statue that looks just like Queen Titania.”

 

“You know…” Polnareff said as he inspected his carving. “You fit quite well in this garden, Queen Titania.”

 

His mocking had no effect on Taeko. While someone in her place would probably be bothered by the jab, Taeko felt excitement for meeting such a skillful opponent bubbling from her chest. Praise left her lips before she even realized it.

 

“Your stand is really amazing, Polnareff.” She said with a smile, to the shock of everyone there.

 

It especially shocked Polnareff as he could see genuine admiration in her eyes. It almost made him want to stop the fight.

 

Almost.

 

“Are you going to show your true power?” He spoke through clenched teeth making the smile drop from her face. “I want to see what this water breathing of yours is capable of. I’ll take what you dish out.”

 

“Water breathing?” Jotaro quietly repeated, having been paying close attention to Polnareff’s words ever since he mentioned Taeko’s grandfather. If the girl wasn't going to tell them the whole truth about her family, he thought maybe Polnareff would let something illuminating slip.

 

Taeko’s face hardened as she took a deep breath. If Polnareff wanted to see water breathing she would show it to him.

 

“Water breathing, Eighth Form…” She began, this time calling the title of the attack out loud.

 

Her stand raised her sword above her head, preparing to strike vertically this time. Again water began to form around the sword.

 

“Here it comes!” Polnareff cheered, wanting to see what she got to offer.

 

Something in Queen’s pose nudged Avdol’s sense of danger, it told him this attack was more destructive than the first.

 

“I think we should hide from this one.” He told the others, then rushed to stand behind one of the statues. They wisely chose to follow his lead and do the same.

 

“…Waterfall Basin!” Taeko finished, with Titania making a downward slash. As the sword made contact with the ground there was an explosion of water that formed a huge waterfall.

 

While Polnareff had to admit the move itself was impressive, Silver Chariot had no problem in avoiding getting swept by the water as his stand had more than enough time to move away from the attack.

 

“Is that all you’ve got?!” Polnareff mocked in a shout as his stand prepared to slash at the wall of water that was still in front of him. “Didn’t you hear that my swordsmanship can create gaps between nothingness and nothingness?!”

 

Taeko had an expression of serenity as she answered.

 

“Not if I don't give you space to do it.”

 

There was no time for him to think on her words, when Silver Chariot made a cut on the water Queen Titania was suddenly right in front of him already prepared for her next attack.

 

“Water breathing, Third Form: Flowing dance!” 

 

Titania began to release water aided slashes against the opponent as she gracefully danced around him. Her adversary had no time to evade or counter attack as she moved like rushing water from side to side while delivering blow after blow. As a finishing move she delivered an upwards cut hitting him right at his chin. The sheer force of her gathered momentum and of the water was enough to send the enemy flying as water still circled around them.

 

“She tricked me…” Was what Polnareff mumbled as he watched his stand be hit again and again. He then could feel the impact of her strikes being transferred from his stand to him, pain forming along his body. When he felt the final hit to the chin, the French man ended up falling into the ground with his eyes closed.

 

The crusaders were in awe as they finally witnessed what water breathing, and by extension Taeko, was capable of. They had never seen an attack that could be so graceful and strong at the same time.

 

“She really does know how to use that sword.” Joseph admitted, feeling regret for brushing her abilities off back at the Kujo household. “I’m not even sure what I just saw. It was so fast.”

 

“It wasn't necessarily fast, it was smart.” Kakyoin corrected, making the others turn from the fight to look at him. “She used the water as cover. Taeko knew Polnareff was faster than her so she used the waterfall to catch him off guard. He was so busy dealing with one of her moves he didn't notice she was already preparing another.”

 

As for Avdol, he felt relieved that the girl wasn't harmed in a fight she took in his place.

 

Jotaro kept silent while he watched the figure of Taeko Kamado. That girl was full of surprises, wasn’t she?

 

Taeko was breathing heavily, adrenaline still pumping in her veins. The rush of a real fight felt different than anything she experienced during her training. She wasn't used to this feeling.

 

The girl gave the unconscious form of Polnareff a long look, almost expecting another attack from the enemy. But when he didn’t move, worry began to grow on her chest.

 

“Did I hit him too hard…?” The girl asked herself, sweat dripping from her forehead in her nervousness. Maybe she should have chosen an attack that didn't involve as many consecutive hits.

 

“Only you to feel bad after defeating someone.” Kakyoin approached her while he shook his head in slight amusement. Taeko really had such a kind soul.

 

“As long as you don’t destroy his stand he is going to be fine.” Avdol clarified, a hint of pride in his voice. “Jojo, can you…” Avdol was about to ask Jotaro to remove the flesh bud when the sound of something exploding interrupted him.

 

The sound repeated more times with pieces of Silver Chariot’s armor being thrown around the place.

 

“Wh-What?!”  Joseph shouted in confusion and alarm. “His Stand is breaking into pieces!”

 

“What is happening with him?!” Taeko felt her heart twitch in worry for Polnareff, fearing that she had done something with him during the fight that resulted with this.

 

With one last explosion Polnareff's unconscious body was sent flying several feet above the ground.

 

“He flew into the air while still lying down!” Kakyoin exclaimed, as confused as the others.

 

Polnareff’s eyes snapped open, an expression of joy spreading across his face as he applauded the performance of the Kamado.

 

“Bravo! Oh, bravo!” He praised her.

 

“H-He’s…” Joseph stared at the flying man with widened eyes.

 

“I don’t believe it!” Avdol cried out.

 

“He’s perfectly fine!” Kakoin exclaimed.

 

“Oh! Thank the gods…” While her friends watched the undefeated enemy in dismay, Kamado felt relieved that the French man was alright.

 

“But why is his body floating in the air?” Jotaro questioned.

 

Polnareff chuckled at them.

 

“Take a good look with your inner eye.” He requested and with that the transparent form of Silver Chariot became visible below him.

 

“That’s…” Avdol began but the enemy acted before he could finish.

 

Polnareff commanded Silver Chariot to throw him even higher and then the french man somersaulted through the air and landed on his feet at the ground.

 

“Yes, this is.” He confirmed as he posed with his arms behind his head. His stand was next to him,the armor it wore previously was now gone. “My Stand with its armor off: Silver Chariot.” He smirked, satisfied at the team’s reaction to his technique. “You seem shocked, and it wouldn’t be honorable to defeat you without explaining my powers first. You could even call it a surprise attack. Would you give me the time to explain?”

 

She thought he would explain himself anyway without her approval but to her surprise he really paused to wait for it.

 

“Sure.” She finally said.

 

“My Stand did not break apart and disappear. Silver Chariot was wearing armor.” He informed her. Now that he mentioned it, Silver Chariot did look a bit different then before, “That’s what it just took off. The armor protected me from the hits. That’s why I was only lightly injured.”

 

“So Silver Chariot is like a knight wearing armor.” Taeko reflected in her mind but chose to not voice it. “Seems fitting for a stand like his.”

 

“And with its armor off, it is lighter.” Polnareff continued to brag. “Did you see it lift me up? That’s right. That’s how fast it can move now!”

 

Feeling his eagerness to continue the fight, Taeko gave one more attempt to calm him down.

 

“So you were able to take my Flowing dance head-on because of the armor.” She pointed out with an expression of concern. “Wouldn’t that mean without the armor you're now vulnerable? If your stand gets hit again, you could get really hurt.”

 

Polnareff crossed his arms as if considering her words. “Oui, precisely.” He admitted, but the danger he was subjecting himself to didn’t worry him so he sent her a sly smirk. “But that would be impossible.”

 

Taeko tensed, she didn’t like where this was going.

 

“I’m going to show you something astonishing.” He threatened with a dark expression as he placed a hand on his hip.

 

To the shock of all those present, in the blink of an eye Silver Chariot split into seven copies of himself. 

 

“Wh-What?!” Joseph asked in bewilderment as he counted the Silver Chariots. “His Stand just multiplied into six… no, now there are seven of them!”

 

“I…Impossible.” Kakyoin corrected, looking at the copies in shock. “There should only be one Stand for each user.” 

 

They are not really copies. Taeko realized that as she rationalized on the scene in front of her. According to Polnareff, without the armor on Silver Chariot is faster. That would mean the stand wasn’t multiplying. No, what was really happening was that his movements were so fast that they created afterimages.

 

“It seems that you are astonished. These are afterimages.” Polnareff explained, having no idea he just confirmed Taeko’s theory. “Afterimages of my Stand that confuse not only your eyes, but your senses. Your senses can’t follow its movements.”

 

Her senses can't follow the stand’s movement? While it’s true for sight and the others, Taeko’s sense of smell was out of the ordinary.

 

While she couldn't see Silver Chariot move, she could picture the trail of scent he left as he moved from place to place repetitively. She would have to use this knowledge to dodge the attack she knew was coming.

 

“How do you like its swordsmanship?” Polnareff asked as his stand’s copies launched in Titania’s direction. 

 

Even though it was only one stand, it felt like being assaulted by multiple opponents at once. Silver Chariot moved so fast it seemed like the copies were attacking at the exact same time. Queen’s movements lost the grace they had before as she frantically moved to evade or block the constant barrel of attacks with her sword.

 

Being able to follow the trail of scent the enemy left didn’t help as much as Taeko hoped it would. It was still impossible for her to hit him. He was too fast.

 

Queen Titania gave it a shot, she swung her water covered sword into one of the copies. Only hitting air as the copy disappeared.

 

“I told you that you wouldn’t be able to follow its movements.” 

 

She tried again. Another swing and another miss. 

 

“Striking at random now?” The French man mocked the teen as her stand tried to find the real Silver Chariot. “You’re getting a bit desperate, Papillon!”

 

“It’s true, that’ll just use up all her energy.” She heard Kakyoin speak, voicing her own concerns.

 

Kakyoin was right. She needed to do something different before she became too exhausted to continue. 

 

But she had to wait for the right moment if she wanted the plan she had in mind to work.

 

Queen tried another hit to no avail.

 

“Non, non, non, non, non, non. That is also an afterimage.” The enemy denied, shaking a finger at her in disapproval. “Your attack will not work against my Stand.”

 

“Taeko, he is coming!”

 

“Come on, come on, come on!”

 

Her grandfather’s voice suddenly screamed in her head as if shooting her a warning from the afterlife and Taeko barely had time to cover her face before the copies appeared right in front of her so the cuts they aimed at her face instead harmed her in the arms. The girl let out a yell of pain as blood began to drip from the cuts in her skin.

 

“Kamado!” Jotaro called out for her, as alarmed as the others by the wounds his classmate received.

 

Instead of using her moment of distraction to defeat her, Silver Chariot stopped returning to his user's side.

 

“I’m sorry. I think I got a bit too enthusiastic.” Polnareff apologized with fake concern. “Do you need a moment?”

 

“You bastard!!” Joseph screamed at the enemy in anger. “Didn’t you say you don’t like to harm a woman??”

 

“She is a swordsman.” Polnareff declared, sounding even more serious than before. “The moment you decide to hold a sword, you decide to accept all the danger that comes with it. It would be a disrespect to keep holding myself back in the presence of someone who clearly puts passion in the art of the blade.” 

 

Weirdly enough, it sounded like he was praising her skills. In other circumstances she would feel flattered. 

 

But now as she felt the pain blossoming in her arms, there was only determination that sparked from deep within her.

 

“You are a really skillful swordsman.” Taeko confessed as she clenched her fists in an attempt to distract herself from the pain. “You must also put a lot of passion in your training.”

 

“For certain reasons, I trained for nearly ten years.” He admitted, a shadow casting over his face for a brief moment. He then gestured for her to attack. “Now, come at me again. I will finish you with my next move.”

 

“Even as my enemy, I can't help but admire you. You are the first person that I met that shows a real connection with the art of the blade.” Taeko said as she kept eye contact with the french. “Someone with such passion shouldn’t be working under a monster like DIO. So I apologize but I will have to hurt you again so that my friend can take that stupid worm off your forehead.”

 

Her warning made the adversary laugh at her audacity.

 

“Big words from someone that can't even find the real Silver Chariot.” He said back to her, not breaking eye contact. “You are really naive, Kamado!” He shouted as seven Silver Chariots formed a protective circle around him.

 

“They formed a circle!” Joseph cried out.

 

“There’s no opening!” Kakyoin exclaimed.

 

“Naive! Naive, naive, naive, naive! You’re naive! I’m going to finish this now!” Polnareff shouted as he commanded the Silver Chariot duplicates to attack Queen again.

 

All the copies approached at the same time, just what Taeko was waiting for. If she could not find the real Silver Chariot her only chance was to hit all of them with only one attack. And there was only one water breathing form that reached a large area and would protect her from all sides.

 

Water began to form around the katana, much more than before.

 

“Water breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!”

 

Queen Titania twisted her body, moving her katana in a fierce whirling motion to create a big whirlpool. The huge body of rotating water threw all the clones away from Queen Titania with force. With the impact of attack made the stand cease his repetitive movements so the clones became only one again.

 

“What??” Polnareff cried out.

 

“She provoked him so that would get close enough for her to use the whirlpool!” Kakyoin realized.

 

“I am not falling for this again!” The whirlpool was blocking his vision of Queen so Polnareff wrongly assumed she would try a front attack with the water as cover like she did previously. He was prepared to counter it but Queen was not in the middle of the whirlpool anymore. 

 

Instead, Queen had jumped high in the air then shot at the speed of a bullet in Silver Chariot’s direction. It wasn’t a frontal attack as Polnareff expected, it was one from above he wouldn’t be able to escape from.

 

“Water breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!” Taeko commanded as her stand raised her sword above her head.

 

This time the attack sent the knight crashing against the ground as water exploded right above him. The strength of the impact was so intense that Polnareff began to bleed from his forehead as his stand hit his head on the ground. He fell to his knees, feeling dizzy. The last thing he saw before finally passing out was the kind eyes of the girl that had just defeated him.

 

Seeing the man fall face down encouraged Taeko to run to him. She tried to move him to his back but he was too heavy for her to roll him over so it was only with Avdol’s help that she was able to do it.

 

“I think he is fine.” Taeko concluded after taking a moment to check up on him. She was serious when she warned him that she would have to hurt him but seeing the blood rush down from his forehead still concerned her.

 

“Are you fine?” Avdol asked, as he eyed the cuts the girl received during the battle.

 

The girl gave him a nod in response.

 

“This is nothing to worry about, they aren’t even bleeding anymore.” Taeko explained.

 

“If that’s the case, we better remove the bud before he wakes up.” Avdol decided, relieved that the girl was alright. “JoJo!”

 

“I’m on it.” Jotaro summoned his stand and got close to the unconscious man to deal with the parasite.

 

Taeko gave him space to work, getting up from where she was kneeling as she moved to stand close to the others. It was when she noticed the looks of curiosity they were giving her.

 

“Is something wrong?” Taeko asked, tilting her head to the side.

 

“You said your stand only used a sword.” Joseph questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.

 

“She does.” 

 

“Yes.” Kakyoin agreed. “But you did fail to mention that she also has the ability of creating waves, waterfalls and whirlpools.” He said as he gestured to the puddles that were left around the place by her attacks.

 

“…with her sword.” She deadpanned. 

 

“You know, It would have been a lot easier to convince the others to bring you along if you had told us about this water breathing of yours.” Kakyoin sighed but curiosity did spark within him when he spoke of Taeko’s technique. “By the way, where did you learn to do all that?”

 

Taeko was saved from having to explain herself by none other than Joseph, he had not resisted the urge to check on his grandson’s progress with the bud and he was now regretting it.

 

“Ugh! Those tentacles are so gross!” Joseph cried out while he squirmed in discomfort. “Jotaro, hurry up and get it out! Hurry! Hurry!”

 

“Shut up, old man.” Jotaro snapped, not having the patience to command his stand and deal with his grandfather’s hysterics at the same time. When he was done with removing the parasite, it immediately burned under the sun.

 

To Taeko’s confusion, as Jotaro stood from the ground Joseph went to his knees and propped up Polnareff’s unconscious body.

 

“Good!” He cheered with a wide grin on his face. “Now that the flesh bud is gone, we can be buddies. Tadah!”

 

“Mr. Joestar…” Taeko murmured, not sure what to say at his terrible joke.

 

On the other hand, Jotaro knew exactly what to say.

 

“Kakyoin, don’t guys like him who make stupid puns seriously piss you off?” He complained to the other teen.

 

“What are we going to do with him?” Taeko asked as she looked at Polnareff.

 

“I already removed the stupid bud. We are done here.” Jotaro simply stated what he thought was obvious.

 

“Done?” Taeko gasped, surprised by his uncaring demeanor. He had taken Kakyoin with him when he was being controlled so she expected him to do the same now. “We can’t just leave him unconscious like that!” 

 

“Kamado…” Joseph began, making the girl turn her huge pleading eyes at him. He was going to tell her that it would be better to leave the man behind but as the father of a daughter that still sometimes shoots him a similar look he couldn’t resist but immediately agreed with her. “I can pay for an extra room at the hotel we will be staying at for him.” 

 

“Good grief.” Jotaro sighed.

 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

When his consciousness returned the first thing Polnareff became aware of was that he was laying on his back. He felt the warmth of the sun, grass tickling his skin and then came the sound of someone crying.

 

He tried in vain to open his eyes. Not only his eyelids but his entire body felt too heavy to move.

 

“I’m so sorry.” A female voice said between tearful hiccups. “I’m sorry for leaving you, frère.”

 

He knew that voice.

 

His efforts to move his paralyzed body intensified. Yet, he still couldn’t lift even a finger.

 

It was frustrating. He wanted to hug her tightly and make her feel better. To stop her from crying. To protect her from all danger as a big brother should. 

 

His body didn’t allow him to do that.

 

“Please don’t die for me.” She continued, pleading with her brother. “I want you to live.”

 

He was finally able to open his eyes. The most precious person of his life was kneeling right beside him. Even with his vision blurred, he could recognize his little sister anywhere.

 

“Sherry!” He called for her, reaching with a hand in her direction.

 

“You are awake! Thank the gods!”

 

“Wha?” It wasn’t his sister who answered. In fact, he wasn't lying in the grass anymore, instead now he was in an unfamiliar room. It only took a second for him to understand what had happened. “I see… that was only a dream.” It could only be a dream.

 

His sister was dead.

 

“Are you okay? You have been unconscious for hours!” The girl that was standing where his sister previously was, was Taeko Kamado. The same little lady that to his shame he challenged to a battle and almost harmed her face. 

 

“Where am I?” He asked instead of answering, on alert at the unknown location. By the looks of it, the place seemed to be a fancy hotel room with two beds( one of which he was resting on).

 

“You passed out after our duel so we brought you here.” The girl calmly explained, giving him a gentle smile to ease his nerves. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Like a truck ran over me.” He admitted placing a hand in his sore forehead.

 

“Sorry about that.”

 

“I am the one that should apologize. My actions were deeply shameful.” He was crestfallen as he said it. His mind was dizzy, he still had some difficulty understanding everything that happened after that parasite was placed in his head. Even so, he knew he did terrible things today. He came very close to seriously hurting an innocent girl. Hurting a woman feels so wrong to him. It would make him no better than that man.

 

“No. No. I actually really liked to fight you.” Taeko’s response made the French look at her in surprise. She was still smiling, a spark of excitement in her eyes. “It was awesome. I had never been in a real sword fight before.” She proceeded to try to reenact the scene on her own. “You were all like ‘you can’t defeat me!’ and I was like ‘yes I can!’. And we began to fight and our blades went ‘Clang! Clang! Clang’!” 

 

Her comical description of the fight combined with the hand movements she motioned as she spoke made some of the weight that had been settled in his heart for the last three years finally lift. It even got a chuckle from him.

 

“You really are something.” He said as he shook his head.

 

“I will take it as a compliment.” The girl accepted. She gestured to a plate on his bedside table. “I don’t know what you like to eat so I got you some fruits. Mr. Joestar is paying for the hotel stay so don’t worry about money. It’s very late now but tomorrow you are free to go. Until then rest a little.” 

 

With that she began walking to the other bed in the room making the man realize she had probably been sleeping there before he woke her up.

 

Her attentive and tender behavior towards him was already very confusing as all he did that day to her was more than enough to earn him at least a slap in the face but the fact that the girl was planning to sleep in the same room as him was too much for him not to question.

 

“Are you really going to sleep in the same room as me after all I have done?” Why is she being so nice to him? She doesn’t even know him.

 

Taeko stopped for a moment at the question, thinking back about what happened after they left Balm Garden. Her friends had also been surprised when she offered to share a hotel room with Polnareff but when they realized she wasn't changing her mind they relented.

 

She had felt the need to make sure Polnareff was alright. Now that the flesh bud was gone she knew he would be no danger to her. 

 

Her sense of smell told her that.

 

“You aren’t going to attack me. I know that.” Was the answer she gave him as she grinned. “I’m a very good judge of character.” 

 

His eyes trailed after her as she went to lay in her bed. The fact that she fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow wasn't surprising considering she was exhausted after the long day she had. 

 

Polnareff wasn't sure for how long he kept looking at her sleeping form. Not that he was looking at her in a weird way, he just knew he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep.

 

As he realized how hungry he really was, he hesitantly took one of the fruits from the plate. 

 

Polnareff had much to think about.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“And that’s what we talked about yesterday. He seemed to really regret his actions.” Taeko explained as she walked with the others early the next morning. “I wanted to say goodbye but when I woke up he had already left. Hope he is alright. What do you think?” She asked the tall teen next to her.

 

“I don’t care.” It was Jotaro’s dry answer, he then scowled at her. “Stop talking to me like I am your friend.” 

 

“…but we are friends, right?” Taeko tried, forcing a smile.

 

“No. We are not, you dumbass.” He rudely declared.

 

The girl deflated a bit at his refusal. Maybe she was wrong in hoping this trip would be a good bonding experience. Why is making friends so difficult for her? Grandpa made it seem easy: be kind to people and they will be kind back.

 

Though this probably won’t work with someone like Jotaro.

 

She opted to stay silent as the group made their way to the docks.

 

“The boat that we had chartered from the Speedwagon crew yesterday should be at the harbor now.” Joseph informed, he was about to guide the group to the boat when a familiar figure blocked their path.

 

“Polnareff, you are back!” Taeko cheered, her smile returning.

 

“Couldn’t leave. I haven’t thanked you for freeing me from DIO’s spell yet.” Polnareff spoke, a little smirk appearing on his face as he looked at the Kamado.

 

“You should thank Jotaro. He was the one that removed the flesh bud.” She gestured to the tall teen standing next to her.

 

“Don’t need it.” Jotaro coldly shrugged the apology off, earning him a glare from Taeko.

 

“Don’t be so rude.” She whispered to the delinquent, not that he cared for her input.

 

“It appears there’s no one to accept your kind thanks.” Avdol chucked as he had just witnessed Jotaro and Taeko’s quick interaction. It was amusing to watch the smaller teen try to scold the taller one.

 

“All right. I don’t like to be pushy, either.” Polnareff admitted with a sigh. “But there is something else…” He then looked at Joseph. “Monsieur Joestar, I’d like to ask you a very bizarre question.”

 

“A bizarre question?” Mr. Joestar repeated, quickly getting intrigued.

 

“Forgive my curiosity, I hadn’t seen you without your gloves yet so I have to ask…” Polnareff began, now his voice was deadly serious. “…Your left hand wouldn’t happen to be a right hand, would it?” The French man asked, arms crossed over his chest. The way he spoke gave the impression that depending on the answer things would get tempestuous.

 

“What? My left hand, a right hand?” Joseph questioned, looking at his two hands in confusion. “That is indeed a bizarre question. What do you mean?”

 

“I’m looking for the man who killed my younger sister.” Polnareff revealed, shocking everybody in the group.

 

With that, Taeko found out the reason behind the scent of sadness that emanated from the man. Of course he would feel depressed after losing his younger sibling. Taeko felt deeply sorry for his loss. It must hurt a lot to lose such a precious family member. She missed her father and grandparents but they were older than her and she knew she would lose them one day. But with someone younger like a little sibling? She knew the loss must feel different and even more devastating.

 

“I don’t know his face.” Polnareff continued. “But he has two right hands.”

 

Joseph, now understanding the reasoning behind the bizarre question, removed the glove from his left hand. Taeko saw his prosthetic hand for the first time. It was a hand made of metal but still a left hand. “I lost it in a battle fifty years ago.” He explained while flexing his fingers. “If you don’t mind, tell us what happened.”

 

Taeko felt a wave of uneasiness wash over her. While curious, she wasn’t planning to ask for his story as she knew the memory would be painful for him to remember. How could it not be?

 

Polnareff complied with Mr. Joestar’s request, turning away from them to gaze upon the sea. Probably taking a moment to gather himself for what he was about to retell. Taeko had the suspicion that he also didn’t want to show weakness to the group he barely knew so he concealed his facial expressions.

 

“It’s been three years now…” He began, mind turning back to the worst day of his life. While they couldn’t see his face, the sadness and pain he carried in his voice was noticeable. “My younger sister was walking home from school with a classmate one rainy day. It was a country road in my native France.” As he described the scene, the team could picture with their minds what happened. “On the side of the road, a man stood with his back to them. Mysteriously, even though it was raining, the rain around him fell in a dome-like shape. Suddenly, as if cut down by a scythe, her classmate’s chest was sliced open. And then…” He paused for a moment, forcing himself to say the worst part. “…my sister was shamed and killed.”

 

Taeko clapped a hand over her mouth in horror, she couldn’t even begin to imagine how horrible the last moments of that poor girl’s life were like.

 

“That was all that man wanted. Barely escaping death, her friend somehow survived.” Polnareff continued, traces of anger and hate manifesting in his scent as he spoke of the man who killed his sister. “She said that she didn’t see his face, but both of his arms were right hands. No one believed her testimony, but I understood it! Because I believed that man may have a similar power to the one that I had been keeping a secret.”

 

“He’s definitely a Stand user.” Mr. Joestar voiced everybody’s suspicion.

 

“I swore! My sister’s soul would not be able to rest unless he atoned with his death! I will use my Stand for retribution!” He shouted his objective loud and firm. “Then, a year ago, I met DIO.”

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

The search for his dear sister’s murderer had been going on for two years at that point. It wasn’t as easy to find a man with two right hands as he first hoped. Nevertheless, he persisted, looking constantly for the man he so much desired to kill. 

 

Then, in one of his travels, he found himself at that tower with the vampiric monster called DIO. 

 

Looking back, he knew it was stupid to go walk into that castle ignoring all the indication that there was something really wrong with that place. The weird purple smoke running through the halls should have been enough to convince him to turn around and leave.

 

But when he gazed at the crystal ball sitting on top of the table, he found himself unable to move from his spot. 

 

“I see something in the crystal ball!” He exclaimed, easily distracted from the danger the man with thorns around his arms opposed. “It’s…!”

 

“A vision. I didn’t create it. What’s inside your heart is being projected via my powers.” Somehow DIO knew exactly what Polnareff wanted to hear. Using the French’s weak point against him, he continued. “How about it? Would you like to be friends with me? Something is bothering you. You’re in pain.”

 

He was right. There had been something bothering him for two years that felt like an eternity of suffering.

 

“Stick with me, and it’ll disappear from your heart.” 

 

Yes, he wanted that pain to cease.

 

“What’s being shown in the crystal is what pains you, yes?”

 

Yes. Yes. The man on the crystal. He is the reason all of those terrible things happened. He wants that trash of a person gone, or else he will never feel at peace again.

 

“Let me help you.” DIO offered in a smoothing tone. “I have pain of my own… My body cannot go out into the sunlight. So please, help me, as well. I shall find this man for you.”

 

Polnareff was about to take the offer when long streaks of the blond man’s hair shot in his direction. 

 

It was difficult to remember what happened after that. He knows he shadowed that man for some time before he was finally sent after the Joestar crew. 

 

Although, there was one instance he could vividly remember. Six months ago something changed. It was when DIO told him about a story he had heard recently, about a big brother that did everything to heal his little sister.

 

DIO seemed very intrigued by the story.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“And then I was ordered to kill you.” Back at the docks, Polnareff finished recounting his tragic tale. “I believed that was the right thing to do.”

 

“It’s partially because of the flesh bud, but DIO is also skilled at manipulating others.” Avdol noted as he crossed his arms.

 

“Indeed.” Kakyoin agreed, thinking about the new information. “But according to what you just said, it would appear that DIO has found the man with two right arms and has joined forces with him.”

 

“I’ve decided to go to Egypt with all of you!” Polnareff declared with firmness. It would be useless to try to convince him otherwise. He will do anything to locate the man he wants to kill. “If I go after DIO, I’ll be able to find the one who took my sister’s life!

 

Even knowing the French wouldn’t take no for an answer, the team still debated over his offer.

 

“What should we do?” Kakyoin questioned his companions.

 

“I have no objections.” Avdol offered.

 

“I think his skills will be a great help.” Taeko chimed in.

 

Jotaro only huffed, pulling the brim of his hat down as he usually does.

 

“I’m sure you’d follow us, even if we said no.” Joseph shrugged.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Jean Pierre Polnareff. Stand name: Silver Chariot.

 

Powers: Fast and precise swordsmanship!

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“It’s an honor.” Polnareff said with a big grin on his face. 

 

“I’m glad you decided to join us.” Taeko offered him a welcoming smile. “Having you coming along brings me a lot of confidence.” She was beaming with excitement at the team’s new addition.

 

“The pleasure is all mine.” Polnareff sent her a playful wink. “I look forward to fighting alongside you. I’m sure we will get along just fine, papillon.” 

 

As they talked with each other, Jotaro was hit by a sudden feeling that having these two together would be a nightmare. 

 

“Good grie--“ He began, closing his eyes.

 

“Excuse me!” A female voice interrupted him. He reopened his eyes to find two young women standing close to him. One of them was holding a camera. “Would you mind taking our picture?”

 

“We want our backs toward the ocean.” The second one begged.

 

It was painfully obvious that those two were charmed by Jotaro’s looks and wanted to use that as an opportunity to talk to him by their scents of desire.

 

“You’re annoying me!” Jotaro yelled, he had no patience for those types of girls. “Ask someone else!”

 

“Now, now, now, now…” Polnareff immediately jumped into the opportunity of being that someone else. “I’ll take your picture for you. Come, come.” With a smile on his face, he guided the young ladies away from the angry teen and closer to the edge of the harbor. “You have very nice legs. Let’s get a full body shot.” He proceeded to take some pictures of the girls, all the while giving them compliments in a flirtatious manner. “Ooh, nice! I’m going to take one more! Tres bien! Just like the button, I want to push, push, push your hearts toward mine!”

 

Taeko and the others watched the scene in confusion. They didn’t expect Polnareff to have such a reaction giving their first impressions of him.

 

“I don’t quite understand his personality.” Avdol admitted.

 

“That was a very sudden change of mood.” Kakyoin added.

 

“More like his head and his lower half are very clearly separated.” Joseph said.

 

“Good grief.” Jotaro grunted as he pulled the brim of his hat down.

 

Taeko giggled at the comments made by her friends. This sure was an unexpected new side of their new companion but it didn’t make his inclusion any less exciting to Taeko.

Notes:

There is a lot to say about this chapter. It’s my first time writing a fighting scene so I hope I got a good result.

I watched the attacks from the Demon Slayer game “Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles” a hundred times for this fight scene. The Flowing Dance move Taeko used against Polnareff is based on Sabito’s Ultimate art move so you can watch it on YouTube and just picture Silver Chariot and Queen Titania there instead. Also, her last move was inspired by Shinobu’s Butterfly Dance: Caprice. There is a video showing each one of the forms from the game so it would help visualizing the moves she used in their fight if you check it out.

As for my decision of basically robbing Avdol’s fight, it’s only one of the many changes in the plot that will happen from now on. There were two stands with swords there so how could I NOT make them fight each other?

But for real, It was important for Taeko and Polnareff to have this fight because of what I have planned for their friendship. I’m not gonna hide it, I am going to abuse the “good older sibling Polnareff” tag. He has dormant big bro instincts and now that he formed an attachment to Taeko, the instincts are going to return to him full force. She is not his sister and he realizes that but the instincts are still there.

As for Avdol, don’t worry I am not giving anymore of his moments to Taeko. I have plans for him.

Also, Tanjiro’s little interference during the fight is like those moments in demon slayer when Tanjiro sees his loved ones during a battle. He was not really there.

 

Shōwa era secret:

Joseph’s friend back at the restaurant wasn’t surprised by the destruction the group left behind. After all he KNOWS Joseph. Actually he even expected that result.

He still wants that money compensation though.

 

Especial announcement:
We have fanart!

Chapter 6: Butterfly in the water

Notes:

I spent an uncomfortably long time considering whether to make Taeko join the Dark Blue Moon fight or not.

As they left the port and were on their way to Singapore, Taeko knew her time to tell the group about her legacy was approaching. After all that Polnareff said during their fight, they for sure were going to ask her about it soon. The French not only confirmed that DIO knew certain information about her grandfather, he also revealed the existence of the water breathing style.

 

She had already been planning to eventually reveal everything to her companions. Since they are now far away from Japan, Taeko doesn't have to worry about putting Yushiro and Chachamaru in danger. Even if the team gets troubled with the existence of the remaining demons she would have time to reason with them before returning to Japan. So telling them would not be a problem.

 

The real problem was the fact that DIO knew too much. He knew about her grandfather. About the demons. And probably about the corp too.

 

That brought forward the questions on how, why and when he found out. Taeko couldn’t ask the vampire himself for obvious reasons but she knew who could give her some answers.

 

Lucky for her, Polnareff didn't protest when she asked to speak with him privately. At that point, Mr. Joestar had gone to his cabin to change clothes, Avdol had also gone out somewhere to enjoy the scenery, and Jotaro and Kakyoin were talking to each other, doing their own thing. Still, she guided him to a spot at the front of the ship, closer to the bow, so they couldn't hear them talking.

 

“I need to ask you about something really important and I don’t want you to mention it to the others.” Taeko requested as soon as they got there.

 

“Keeping secrets from your friends? Didn’t expect this from you.” He spoke with slight amusement, maybe even intrigue. Judging by his relaxed posture, the man wasn’t taking her secrecy as anything suspicious. “But fine. I will respect your wishes. What do you want to talk about?”

 

“…what did DIO tell you about my grandfather?” 

 

The mention of DIO did make him flinch, though his casual smile didn’t drop from his face. 

 

“As I said before, he only spoke the basics.” He explained, shifting his gaze upwards as he thought back on the vampire’s words. “That your grandfather’s family was attacked and his little sister was turned into a demon. That he learned a special technique called water breathing and fought many demons to be able to heal her and in the end he was successful.” He then let out a slightly nervous snicker. “I’m gonna admit, I thought he was messing with me when he mentioned demons.”

 

“You heard about all of that from a vampire.”  Taeko automatically pointed out. “Why are demons more unbelievable?”

 

“Touché.” He relented, looking back at her. “Can you blame me, though? I bet the others also took a while to digest when you told them…” Taeko broke their eye contact, gazing at the ocean in shame. Observing her reaction, the French took a guess. “You didn’t tell them?” 

 

“I will tell them soon. I just wanted to talk to you before speaking to them.” She explained herself. For some reason, Taeko felt comfortable enough in his presence to talk about her worries. “I never had to tell anyone of my family legacy. And it’s a lot to cover. I’m not even sure where to begin.” The girl lets out a sigh. “I don’t even know how much DIO knows. Or what he could possibly want with me.”

 

The man was silent as she talked, carefully listening to her words. He only responded when he knew she had finished.

 

“Does it matter?” He argued with a shrug. “Whatever he wants he needs to get to you first and It’s not like you plan to be caught by him.”

 

“Of course not!” Taeko confirmed.

 

“Here it is, then.” With a large grin on his face, he slung his arm over her shoulder in a friendly manner. “Don’t let this keep bothering you.” He began to walk back to the others, all the while trying to cheer her up. “Look around! It’s a beautiful day, the sea is calm and best of all… we don’t have to pay for anything!”

 

The girl couldn’t keep herself from giggling at the reminder of how Polnareff reacted when he saw the ship. The man clearly wasn’t used to luxurious things. Neither was her, but his expression of shock and excitement was really funny to witness. His words also helped ease her worries. Once again, she felt glad he decided to join them.

 

“To get from Hong Kong to Singapore, we'll be on the water for three full days.” Joseph announced. Now he wore a red and white striped tank top, the sleeves rolled all the way up. "Well, let's relax and keep our spirits up." While he seemed content with his planned sequential days of tranquility, something was bothering him. "But seriously, guys…can't you do something about these school uniforms?"

 

Having just arrived on the scene, she hadn’t noticed what Kakyoin and Jotaro had been up to until Joseph mentioned it. The two teenagers were lying on two loungers. Which wouldn't be strange in itself, if not for the fact that they were still wearing their school uniforms.

 

“You’re going to continue our journey wearing those?” Joseph questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Isn’t it ridiculously hot?”

 

The two teens looked completely relaxed in their warm clothes even under the blazing sun. Jotaro had his hat thrown over his face, hands behind his head as if he was about to take a nap while Kakyoin was quietly reading a book.

 

“Well, we are students, and students should behave as students.” Kakyoin calmly pointed out, not giving a care about the heat. “But I suppose that sounds like a stretch.”

 

“Japanese students are such stiffs.” Joseph said as he rubbed his beard.

 

“I see… So this is bushido.” Avdol supposed, he also hadn’t changed from his original clothes. “Once you clear your mind, even fire seems cool.” 

 

“But you know, girls won’t fall for stiff guys like you.” Polnareff pointed out.

 

Knowing how wrong the French man actually was, Taeko had to speak up.

 

“Actually, Jotaro is quite the charmer back at school. All the girls are crazy for him.” And she could say that for a fact since all the girls she tried to befriend at school turned her away because of her interactions with Jotaro.

 

“Really?” The revelation made Polnareff’s eyes grow comically wide. “They like this guy?” He asked as he pointed at Jotaro. He couldn’t accept that the delinquent was a chick magnet while he, being the flirtatious guy he is, was still single. “What is wrong with those girls??”

 

Jotaro huffed at the French man’s comment although he chose not to lift his hat from his face to glare at him.

 

Taeko took a moment to look at Jotaro. He’s sure got the looks to catch a girl’s attention, she isn’t going to deny that. Back at school, she heard the girls talking about him. About how handsome, tall, strong and cool he was. All of that was so… shallow. Taeko doubted that girls had any real conversations with him to get to know him. It escaped her how those girls could fall in love with someone they hardly even know.

 

Ironically enough, in those two days of travel she probably got to know him better than those girls had in years.

 

The calm atmosphere between the comrades was pierced by a loud scream.

 

“Let go!”

 

The group turned to see what was going on. Taeko tensed as she saw a small kid in a struggle to escape the hold one of the sailors had on his shoulders. Even without context, it immediately bothered her considering the obvious difference in strength of the two. There was no way that kid could fight that man off.

 

“Let go of me, you big lug!” The kid demanded as he kept thrashing around, trying to remove the sailor’s hands from him. “Damn it, let me go! Let me go!”

 

“Shut up! What a little brat!” The man roughly shouted back, causing Taeko to clench her fists to stop herself from doing something reckless. While seeing a child in distress immediately gave her an urge to intervene, she couldn't do that without knowing what was happening.

 

“Hey, what’s going on?” Joseph questioned the sailor, he was as confused as Taeko was with the scene. “I thought we agreed there would be no passengers on our boat.”

 

“I’m sorry. It’s a stowaway.” The sailor explained, now with a firm grip in the child’s upper arm. “This brat was hiding in storage down below.”

 

“A stowaway?” Joseph questioned, surprised that a kid managed to break into their ship without anyone noticing. Just how long was that child here?

 

“Come at me if you’re gonna!” The boy foolishly threatened as he saw their group getting closer. “I’ll kick your balls in!”

 

Taeko's face twitched in worry, her urge to step in was growing the more she looked at the kid. She hoped the boy would just keep still so he wouldn’t get hurt.

 

“I’ll turn you into the naval police.” The sailor seemed to already be sick of having to deal with the kid.

 

“What? The police?!” A scent of fear began to emanate from the child as he, instead of spitting more insults, began to beg for mercy and try to negotiate with him. “P-Please. Let me go! I just want to go see my dad in Singapore! I’ll do anything! You can work me as hard as you want!”

 

“Let’s see. What should I do?” He teased, taking delight in messing with the kid. The moment he began pulling the child’s cheeks, he had unknowingly resigned himself as the target of a Kamado’s rage. “Should I let you go? What should I-?”

 

“Stop that!!” An angry shout made him quickly let go of the child’s cheeks.

 

Taeko’s travel companions were so distracted by the ruckus that they didn’t notice the Kamado getting angrier at the sailor’s behavior. The cheek pulling was the last straw before she blew up.

 

“I understand that what the kid did was wrong but I will not let you harm a child.” She declared, glaring daggers at the man.

 

“Wha-?” The kid was surprised to see that someone was defending him. Even more considering that the one that stepped up was the smaller and only girl in the group of people that was there.

 

“Kamado, let the man do his job.” Joseph tried to calm her down. 

 

“No. It’s one thing to do his job. Another is to be a shitty bastard.” As if her sudden anger wasn’t surprising enough, the offensive language she used was shocking to the others as well. They quickly came to the conclusion that seeing children get hurt must be an easy trigger for her fury.

 

“Keep your thoughts to yourself, stupid girl.” The sailor fired back at her. It was when he was busy glaring back at Taeko that the kid bit the sailor’s arm as hard as he could. The man yelled in pain, Taeko gave him no mind as the kid broke free from his hold and turned to jump from the ship.

 

“Wait!” Her plea made the child hesitate for a second, giving Taeko a quick look before choosing to leap off the boat.

 

Taeko rushed to the railing in time to see the child begin to swim away. Polnareff, wanting to peer down at the child too, was soon beside her.

 

“Woah!” Polnareff whistled watching how quickly the kid swam. “He jumped in! Talk about energetic.”

 

“He isn’t energetic.” Taeko denied, after what just happened it wasn't surprising that the kid doesn’t feel safe in the ship. “He is just desperate to escape.” Making a quick decision, Taeko took off the backpack containing the breathing records that she always kept with herself and thrusted it against Polnareff’s chest. “Here! Please hold this for me!” She trusted the French man to take care of her precious possessions.

 

With the books in safe hands, Taeko jumped after the kid. 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

The others called after Kamado as she threw herself into the water. 

 

“She didn’t even take her shoes off.” Was what Polnareff chose to say at that moment.

 

“Actually, it’s good that she went after him.” Kakyoin pointed out, taking into consideration the seemingly endless ocean around them. “I doubt he could swim to shore from here.”

 

“What should we do?” Joseph asked. “Do we go after them or wait?”

 

Jotaro was still resting on his lounger with his eyes closed, he saw no point in worrying about those two. He had no doubt the Kamado girl would just smile at the kid and he would happily come back to the ship. The girl had this thing about her, in that friendly manner of hers, that made people want to stay close. It may not have worked on their classmates (because they fucking suck) but he knew it began to affect the others, especially Polnareff. Only yesterday they were fighting and now they are all buddy buddies having secretive conversations when they thought no one was looking.

 

Jotaro was looking.

 

“Just leave them.” He clicked his tongue in dismissal. “I’m sure Kamado can deal with this on her own.”

 

He was planning on ignoring any other commentary and instead trying to take a nap when the crewman spoke.

 

“Th-This isn’t good!” The man sputtered. “Sharks gather around these parts!”

 

“Good fucking grief.” He hissed as he got up from his chair. 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Shit! Shit! Shit!

 

Why did they have to find her right now?? There were just three days left for them to reach Singapore! It was so close! But she had gotten hungry so she left her hiding spot to steal some food and one of the sailors found her. Stupid fucking sailor. Her arms and cheeks still ached from the tight grip he had on her.

 

No way she is returning to that. She cannot allow herself to be arrested! She will be brought back home if she does!

 

Her heart skipped a beat when suddenly there was someone holding her arm again. 

 

Did that sailor swim after her?? That fucking lug sure is persistent! She won’t go without a fight!

 

She began to struggle to break free from the grip. But instead of holding firm, the person holding her just let go.

 

Confused, Anne stopped and turned to check who it was. To her surprise, it wasn’t the sailor that followed her.

 

“You!” Anne gasped. It was the girl from the boat, the one that tried to help her.

 

“Are you alright?” Taeko asked, looking at the kid for any sign of injuries. “Don’t jump from ships like that. You could get hurt.”

 

Her concern rubbed Anne the wrong way, she didn't need to be babied by anyone.

 

“G-get off me!” Ann snapped. Taeko complied, moving back a bit to give her some space. She didn’t want to overwhelm the child.

 

“Please be more careful.” Taeko requested, making sure it doesn’t sound like a reprimand. She got the feeling such a headstrong child wouldn’t react well to being scolded. “You don’t look so good.”

 

Anne was exhausted from his hurried swimming, breathing heavily and shivering with her clothes being drenched in cold water. Her entire body hurt, both from exhaustion and from being manhandled at the ship. In all, the image of her wasn’t one of welfare. Taeko decided to find something to keep the kid warm, when they got back to the ship.

 

“Hey, brat! Kamado! Come back!” The distant voice of Mr. Joestar was heard. “Get back here! It’s dangerous!”

 

“There are sharks!” Polnareff screamed, holding her backpack on a tight grip. “Those waters are shark-infested!”

 

Taeko quickly pulled the child close to her side. At first she planned to respect the child’s space and try to convince her to get back to the boat. Now that she knew they were in danger, Taeko's priority was to protect her. There were no protests from the kid this time, she had heard the warnings too.

 

When they saw a shark’s fin emerge from the water shooting fast in their direction, the kid let out a scream of fear. Pushing her own fear aside to protect the child, Taeko stood firm and called for Queen Titania. The stand already had her katana out as if she already knew what move her user was about to call for.

 

“Water breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!”

 

With Titania’s sword movements, a huge body of rotating water formed around them acting as a shield. The shark hit the wall of water with force. The current of the whirlpool was more than strong enough to toss the animal far away from them. 

 

From Anne's perspective, the shark was getting nearer until an invisible force threw him with so much strength it flew through the air for a few seconds before crashing back into the water. She stared in bewilderment, trying to figure out what exactly she was seeing when she heard the teen holding her take a sniff of her hair.

 

“Why are you sniffing me?” Not knowing of Taeko’s sharp nose, the kid was weirded out by her behavior.

 

“Why are you hiding as a boy?” Taeko countered. It wasn’t just her fragrance that exposed Anne’s true gender, now that the red eyed girl took a good look, it was also noticeable in her features too.

 

“How did you—?” The little girl gasped, surprised the teen was able to find out her gender even with the disguise she was using. “—That’s none of your business!”

 

“Probably not.” Taeko said. She didn’t want to have a scuffle with the little girl, it would make it a lot harder to bring her back to the ship. Kamado, instead, wanted to itch her to choose to go back.  “I just want you to come back to the ship. It’s not safe here, and it’s too far for you to swim back to shore from here.”

 

Ann got quiet for a moment. She looked back at the endless ocean she was planning on swimming to. There was no way she could argue that Kamado wasn’t right, she would probably drown if she continued swimming in that direction. While she still doesn’t feel like returning to the boat, it certainly was safer than swimming until she can't anymore.

 

The girl opened her mouth to answer but whatever it was to be said was replaced by a terrified scream as she saw something behind Taeko.

 

“Taeko! There is another shark there!” Polnareff’s yell came too late for Taeko to react. The second shark was already too close to her, its mouth open to take a bite of her flesh.

 

Before it could hurt her a purple figure came bursting from underneath the shark, giving it a hard punch. The animal was thrown up in the air as Star Platinum threw punch after punch. Beating the animal into a bloody pump as he screamed his battle cry.

 

“ORA ORA ORA!!”

 

The familiar smell of cigars made Taeko smile. The large hand that soon landed on her shoulder could only be Jotaro’s.

 

“What part of ‘shark-infested waters’ did you not understand?” He complained, glaring at her in annoyance. He would have been still resting on his chair if he didn’t have to come rescue her.

 

“I got distracted for a moment.” Taeko explained, very grateful that he got there in time. “I’m lucky you came to our aid, Jotaro. Thank you!”

 

“Good grief.” He scoffed at her overly positive attitude. “Let’s just take the little brat back.” 

 

He grabbed the kid by her collar, intending to drag her back to the ship before any more sharks appeared when he felt something he didn’t expect to be there.

 

Taeko and the girl stared at him in shock as he decided to press his hand on her chest to check if what he suspected was right.

 

“You’re…”

 

Taeko slapped his hand away, shooting him a reprimanding scowl.

 

“Jotaro! You can’t touch people like that without their consent! Especially girls!!” She then gave the girl an apology on his behalf. “Please forgive him for this, Jojo can be silly sometimes.”

 

“He better not dare do that again!” Anne angrily exclaimed.

 

“Good grief.” Jotaro groaned, pulling the brim of his hat down.

 

The trio finally began to swim back to the ship, Taeko and Anne taking the lead while Jotaro swam right behind them.

 

Taeko and Jotaro were alerted that something else was there by a strange noise. The two of them turned to see that the corpse of the shark Star had beaten was torn in half, there was also the fin of a creature neither could identify. It was too blue to be another shark’s.

 

“J-Jotaro! Below you! Something’s attacking from underwater!” Having seen whatever that creature was, rip the body of the shark in two, Joseph warned them of the danger. Whatever it was began to swim in the trio’s direction at an abnormal speed. “It’s not a shark! It’s really fast! Jotaro! Kamado! Hurry!” He shouted. “Hurry and swim to the boat!”

 

There was no need for him to ask, the three of them were already swimming as fast as they could to the ship. Taeko took hold of the girl’s arm again, dragging the exhausted child with her.

 

“I-It’s too far!” Avdol shouted as the creature was closing the distance between it and the trio very fast. Its strange shadow could already be seen right below them.

 

“If it’s at that distance, leave it to me.” Kakyoin decided as he called for his stand. “Hierophant Green!” 

 

His green stand appeared, going over the railing to grip both Taeko’s and Jotaro’s wrists to pull them, and the girl on Taeko’s hold, into the safety of the ship. As Taeko fell onto the deck on her back, soaked and exhausted, she hugged the girl to her chest.

 

“I-It disappeared! It’s a Stand!” Polnareff blurred out, still looking at the water. “That thing is a Stand!”

 

“A seafaring Stand…” Avdol mumbled thoughtfully. “I don’t believe I’ve ever even heard of such a thing.”

 

“Are you alright?” Taeko asked the girl lying on her chest, the cap hiding the girl’s long dark locks had fallen during their landing. Kamado got a nod of affirmation from the kid, who was too breathless to give her a verbal response. 

 

“Thank the gods… for a moment I thought we were doomed…” Taeko confessed while looking up at the sky. She got so distracted by the kid she didn’t notice the second shark. If not for Jotaro, she would probably be dead by now. 

 

“Wh-What’s with you jerks, all glaring at me like that?!” Anne exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, the action bringing Taeko’s thoughts to an end. “I don’t know what’s going on, but do you want a fight?!” 

 

The child glared at Taeko’s companions. They had been staring down at the girl in suspicion, talking among themselves about the possibility of her having led Jotaro and Taeko into the water on purpose. The girl looked for something in her overalls, that ended up being a sharp switchblade that she pulled out to threaten the men.

 

“Don’t underestimate me! I’ll take you on!” She exclaimed to them while gesturing with her hand for them to come to her. “One-on-one! Face me, one-on-one! You little shits!”

 

“Be careful with that! You can end up cutting yourself!” Taeko stood up, having observed that the girl had no experience with a blade judging by the way she was holding it. There also was no malicious intent coming from her. The kid is just hurling empty threats at the boys to make them back off.

 

Not that they noticed it. They kept discussing among themselves about what to do with her. Meanwhile Taeko tried to deescalate the situation with the kid.

 

“You really should put this away before you get hurt.” She said, eying the sharp weapon in Anne's hands.

 

“Do you want to get stabbed too?” Now the kid was pointing the switchblade at Taeko. “I can take all of you guys in!”

 

Fear. Worry. Desperation.

 

This kid will end up getting killed if she keeps acting that way. Not that Taeko won’t be using her aggressive behavior to her advantage.

 

“Oh! No! I wouldn’t want to fight you!” The kid was shocked by her admission, not even she was expecting her threats to be taken seriously. It caught her off guard.

 

“Y-yeah…” The kid stammered in surprise. “You better back off!”

 

“Alright. Alright.” Taeko held her hands up in surrender. “If I get my friends to back off, will you tuck this scary blade back? I don’t want to have to face it in a fight.”

 

Her compliment of the blade made an inkling of pride spark on the child.

 

“Yeah, you shouldn't want that.” The girl smirked. “This demon’s blade is telling me that it wants the blood of its 340th victim already.” She placed the blade dangerously close to her face, sticking her tongue out.

 

“Oh my gods, please don’t lick it!!” Taeko exclaimed, her worry breaking though her smoothing facade. 

 

A laugh made the girls realize the guys were looking at them. They witnessed Taeko trying to soften the kid up, it was amazing how she managed to get the kid to relax so quickly. Kakyoin just had to laugh at the “demon’s blade” comment, it was so silly.

 

“What’s so funny, you stupid grunt?!” The kid yelled at Kakyoin in her irritation.

 

“Grunt?” He repeated, finding her insult attempt entertaining instead of threatening. “You know, I really don’t think it’s her.”

 

“Yes, but…” Joseph was still suspicious of her, he had already checked all of the people on the boat. Did he miss something? 

 

The scent of maliciousness reached Taeko’s nose before the voice of a man reached her ears. Taeko positioned herself in between the child and the very tall man that had just arrived there, who judging by his hat could only be the captain.

 

“So is this girl our stowaway?” He attempted to move to grab the child by the shoulders but with Taeko in the way there he wouldn’t be able to do it. The Kamado was intentionally blocking him from getting to Anne, she had witnessed how the other sailor treated the girl so she doubted the captain would be any better.

 

“Captain…” Joseph confirmed her suspicion on the identity of the man menacingly glaring at her. For some reason Taeko couldn’t understand, Jotaro chose that moment to light a cigarette.

 

The captain tried to go around Taeko to get to the kid. Taeko mirrored his movements, shielding the kid with her body. He was growing more and more bothered by her interference.

 

“I’m pretty harsh when it comes to stowaways. And people that defend stowaways. Step aside.” The man looked down at her with menacing eyes in an attempt to intimidate her. “You may be a girl, but if I go easy on you, we’ll just get more and more stowaways.”

 

“I’m not letting you hurt her.” Taeko calmly said, she did not want to begin a fight with the captain unless extremely necessary. “You and your men don’t need to harm her to discipline her. Only a coward would hurt a little child.”

 

“Kamado! Don’t be rude to the captain!” Joseph tried to intervene, his comment fell on deaf ears. The captain and Taeko were too busy in their glare contest to listen. “I expected something like this from Jotaro, not her.” 

 

“Kamado is very protective of those who need help.” Kakyoin pointed out, even he was bothered by the way the sailors were treating the kid. Though, unlike Taeko, he wasn’t willing to call the captain a coward right to his face. 

 

The captain was a step from roughly shoving Taeko away when his gaze shifted from her red eyes to her ears, to her earrings. His expression changed from frustration to complementation then smugness.

 

“Fine then.” The captain suddenly conceded. “We’re gonna hold her in one of the rooms below deck until we get to port. You can join her to make sure her treatment is at your standards.”

 

“Alright, I will go with the kid for the rest of the trip.” Taeko accepted. While she wanted to protect the child from harm, she would not keep her from facing the consequences of her actions. Hiding in this ship was wrong, regardless of her reasoning.

 

“Hey! I thought you were on my side!” The child protested from behind her.

 

“Captain, I’d like to ask you something.” Joseph interfered, giving them no time to leave. He didn’t want Taeko to separate from their group. “You’ve verified the identities of all ten of the men on board, right?”

 

“Of course. All of them are veterans who have been on this boat for over ten years.” The captain confirmed, even sounding a bit offended. “I’m not sure why you’re so worried about that. By the way…” 

 

He proceeded to snatch the cigarette Jotaro had been smoking from his mouth.

 

Big mistake.

 

“I request that you refrain from smoking aboard this ship. What did you plan to do with the ashes and butt after you’re done?” The captain continued to speak, oblivious to the scent of anger coming from the delinquent. “Were you planning on throwing it into the beautiful ocean? You’re a guest on this ship, but I’ll have you follow her rules, Mr. Outlaw.”

 

As if the mocking wasn’t enough, the captain took a step further and crushed the cigarette against one of Jotaro’s hat pins. Taeko winced, that fool will regret doing that. And instead of just leaving it at that, he also decided to discard the crushed cigarette in one of Jotaro’s coat pockets. All the while she could catch Jotaro’s anger intensifying.

 

She and the others knew what was about to come. 

 

“Got it?” When he was finally done with his little show the captain began to walk back to the girls.

 

“Hold it.” Jotaro called him before he could get to them. While he sounded calm, Taeko knew what he was really feeling.

 

Anger. Fury. Rage.

 

That captain is a dead man, for sure. Jotaro beats people up for doing way less than that.

 

“If you’re going to put it out, just put it out.” Jotaro said. “Don’t be a condescending prick about it, you jackass.”

 

“Jotaro! Don't insult the captain! You’re the one at fault.” Joseph tried to scold his grandson even though he and each one of his companions knew the rage Jotaro was about to release was inevitable. This was even worse than with Taeko, at least with the girl he doubted things would get violent.

 

“I’m very aware that I’m being rude.” Jotaro hissed. “He isn’t the captain. I just figured it out. He’s the Stand user!”

 

Needless to say, his bold claim caught everyone present by surprise.

 

“Wha…?!” Joseph began, having trouble comprehending what Jotaro just said.

 

“What?!” The rest of their group finished.

 

“Sta… nd?” The captain asked, he appeared to be confused by the word. “What might that be?”

 

“That’s inconceivable, Jotaro.” Avdol exclaimed, unsure on how the teen came to that conclusion. “Captain Tennille came recommended with verification by the Speedwagon Foundation.” He gestured to the captain with his hand. “He’s someone we should trust. There’s a 0% chance that he’s a Stand user.”

 

Taeko knew better than being 100% sure of the man’s innocence. While Avdol had good arguments, the maliciousness she could detect from the captain made her feel at edge. She placed a hand on the girl’s shoulders taking a step back with her, ready to guard her in case a fight broke out. It was better being safe than sorry.

 

“Hold on, a Stand?” The captain asked again. There was this little bit of nervousness emanating from him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

 

“JoJo, random guesses will only make things more confusing!” Polnareff protested, he was just as confused as their other teammates.

 

“Do you have any proof, JoJo?” Kakyoin asked.

 

“I’ve found a way to differentiate Stand users from other people.” Jotaro boldly claimed.

 

“What?” Joseph was surprised by his grandson’s claims again.

 

“You can do that??” Taeko asked in bewilderment. Information like this would be game changing. It would make identifying the enemy's way easier.

 

“That is…if a Stand user inhales even a little bit of cigarette smoke…” He said as he tapped his nose with his finger. “A vein pops up on the tip of their nose.”

 

At that, all stand users present touched their noses to look for the alleged vein. Anne was the only one that didn’t do it.

 

“What the hell are they all doing?” The child thought.

 

“You can’t be serious, Jotaro!” Polnareff asked in disbelief as he got closer to the delinquent.

 

“Yeah, I’m lying.” Jotaro nonchalantly admitted, still looking at the captain. “But… it looks like we’ve found the idiot.”

 

With his indication the others noticed that the captain had been looking for the vein too. When everybody turned to look at him, he accepted that his trick had been done for. He finally dropped his facade of clueless captain, releasing a snicker as he removed his hat. His facial expression changed to one of insanity, his threatening aura he was concealing before now clear to all of them.

 

“Jotaro, how did you know he was suspicious?” Joseph couldn’t help but ask his grandson as he approached him from behind.

 

“Initially, I didn’t think he was at all. I planned to try this with all of the men on board.” He explained, narrowing his eyes as he added. “But I did find very suspicious the way he reacted when he saw Kamado’s earnings.”

 

Taeko stood straight at the mention of her name. She knew that one of the descriptions DIO had given to Kakyoin for him to find her were of her unique hanafuda earrings. It would only make sense for him to give the same description to anyone else he sent after them.

 

“You’re cold. Damn, but you’re cold.” The false captain said with a malicious smirk on his face. “You’re right. I’m not the captain.” Taeko knew even before he said it. The only way for him to effectively replace the captain is to get rid of the original. “The real captain is already sleeping with the fishes at the bottom of the ocean back in Hong Kong.” 

 

“Then you can sleep at the bottom of Hell!” Jotaro threatened, pointing his finger at the enemy.

 

Unbothered by the threat, the false captain shifted his crazy eyes to the girls, shooting them a grin. When a blur of something blue appeared from the side of the boat Taeko pushed Anne out of the way, thinking it could only be his stand moving to attack them. A claw grabbed the red eyed teen by the ankle, pulling her towards the new enemy.

 

“Damn it!” The team cursed as they watched the enemy stand hold their companion tight against his chest.

 

While Taeko doubted she would be able to overpower a stand, she still tried to break free. Unfortunately, the stand had wrapped his slimy arms around hers, effectively immobilizing her.

 

“I-I can’t move…!” Taeko stammered, the hold it had on her was so tight that it hurt to try to move. The enemy probably knew better than giving her any space for her to call for her stand. If she did, the enemy would probably retaliate against her.

 

The crusader that had the biggest reaction to Taeko being taken hostage was Polnareff.

 

“Give her back!!” He demanded in a shout, Silver Chariot appearing from his body. His stand was more than ready to cut the enemy into pieces.

 

It was Avdol that stopped him from doing something reckless, he placed a hand on the French man’s shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

 

“Polnareff! Stop!” He warned, a sweat going down his forehead. “If you attack he is going to hurt Kamado!”

 

“But…” Polnareff wanted to protest yet he knew the Egyptian was right. 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Trouble on the water! Lies and betrayal!

 

The Moon card, which suggests fear of the unknown.

 

Its name: Dark Blue Moon!

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“If I tried to take five of you at once, even I’d break a bone or two, so I was going to hide my identity and take care of you one by one…” The captain admitted, taking glee in the concern the men( minus Jotaro) had with the girl. “But if you’ve figured me out, I guess I have no choice. I’ll have to take on all five of you!” He shot the restrained form of Taeko a look of malicious glee. “Getting my hands on this girl is a sign that my luck is changing for the better. Lord DIO offered a generous reward to anyone that brings her to him.” 

 

As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, the news that DIO had placed a bounty on Taeko was also troublesome. It was another thing to worry about later.

 

“I’m going to jump into these shark-infested waters with her.” The captain continued to speak as he leaned back on the railing. “Of course, you guys will end up following us in to save your friend. If we fight in the water, where I have the advantage, I can beat all five of you!”

 

“Don’t underestimate me by taking a hostage.” Jotaro calmly stated as he crossed his arms.  “Don’t think that I, Jotaro Kujo, will be shaken by this!”

 

Ouch! She knows Jotaro doesn’t like to show weakness and is probably waiting for the right moment to attack, but his total lack of concern for her safety still stings Taeko a little. It really seems like he doesn’t care a bit.

 

Even if he is planning something, Taeko isn’t willing to wait and see what exactly Jotaro has in mind. She already thought of a way to catch the enemy off guard.

 

“Underestimate? No, this is a prediction.” The captain continued speaking. “I hear that your Stand, Star Platinum, is pretty damn fast. I’m not trying to brag, but my Dark Blue Moon is pretty fast in the water.” He stopped speaking because he felt Taeko’s body go limp on Dark Blue Moon’s arms. 

 

Shit! He cursed to himself. He needs to bring the girl alive if he wants the reward! Maybe his stand was holding her too tight… He decided to let his stand’s arms loosen up a bit around her since the girl looked to be unconscious now. He then continued speaking to the men as he climbed the railing, preparing to jump in the water with his hostage. “Come on in… if you are not afraid of little seawater, that is!” 

 

After Dark Blue Moon loosened his hold on her, Taeko was able to move more of her head and torso. With that the girl tilted her head forward and then brought it back with as much force as she could muster.

 

The others watched her action with wide eyes, fully expecting the girl to have cracked her skull at how hard she headbutted the stand. Only, instead of the girl, it was the fake captain that yelled in pain. As the damage inflicted by the hard skull of the Kamado on his stand’s head was transferred to him, his forehead began to bleed.

 

Taeko took advantage of his moment of agony to slip out of his stand’s grasp. And with her out of the way, there was nothing stopping Jotaro from finally releasing the rage he was feeling towards the captain.

 

“ORA!” Star Platinum came out from his user's body and rushed to the enemy with his war cry, punching Dark Blue Moon right in the face. Not satisfied, he proceeded with a barrel of punches. ”ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!” When he was done, released an upper hook that sent both the enemy and his stand flying from the ship into the water.

 

While he knew the pain he was feeling was mostly from the wounds he got from Star Platinum, the captain couldn’t understand…

 

“…how is that girl’s head so hard…?” He choked out as he floated in the ocean.

 

Standing back on the ship, Taeko watched him drift away. The girl never felt more grateful for having been born with her family’s stone hard forehead.

 

“What was that??” Polnareff’s question made her turn to look at him standing only a step away from her, wearing an expression of worry and confusion. “You just head-butted a stand and the stand was the one that got damaged!!” He exclaimed, waving his hands in the air.

 

“My family has an innately strong skull. So that did not hurt me.”  Taeko nonchalantly explained.

 

“I see…” Joseph said with a playful smirk on his face. He nodded at her with what sounded like praise. “…so the Kamados have a secret technique too…”

 

Taeko wasn't sure what he meant by that.

 

“He’s drifting away.” Polnareff commented while the captain's body was slowly sinking in between the waves. “He sure talked up his Stand’s powers, but it looks like he was just an idiot.”

 

“You are really judging someone for being a show off after all you said yesterday?” Taeko didn’t sound accusatory with her statement, she was only pointing out the irony.

 

“It’s different.” Polnareff countered with a grin. “I can brag about my stand. After all, Silver Chariot is actually impressive. Unlike this Dark Blue Moon that couldn’t even take a headbutt from a teenager.”

 

From the corner of her eye, Taeko saw Jotaro get closer to the railing, moving like something was dragging him by the arm.

 

“Jotaro, what’s wrong?” Joseph asked as he noticed his grandson grabbing tightly at the railing, arm extended in the direction of the water as if he was about to pull something overboard.

 

Jotaro didn’t respond, he was too busy using all his strength to keep himself from being pulled from the ship into the ocean and call back his stand. His effort was enough to make his body shake and sweat form in his forehead. The struggle he was showing put his companions on alert again.

 

“What’s wrong, Jotaro?!” Joseph insisted, now more concerned.

 

“D-Damn it… I’m being pulled in…” Jotaro hissed, feeling both his arms begin to bleed. His stand was still out, also being dragged closer to the water.

 

“Th-These are…” Avdol murmured, surprised at what he was seeing spreading across the stand’s purple arm.

 

“Acorn barnacles!” Kakyoin exclaimed. “The crustaceans are called acorn barnacles!” 

 

“They’re all over Star Platinum’s arm and on the side of the boat!” Joseph observed as he, Kakyoin and Avdol quickly grabbed his grandson to pull him back before he fell from the boat. 

 

Still standing next to the railing, Taeko noticed the absence of the captain's body where she last saw him.

 

“The captain is gone!” She alerted them.

 

“He’s still planning on fighting. He attached them to me earlier when I hit him.” Jotaro grumbled as he felt himself being pulled down even harder, the more the barnacles grew. “They keep multiplying! My Stand’s strength is being drained…”

 

“Jotaro! Pull in your Stand!” Joseph exclaimed, holding his grandson by the arm.

 

“What do you think I am trying to do? That’s why I’m sweating like a fucking pig, old man!” Jotaro shouted back.

 

The force became too much for even their combined strength to fight it so Jotaro ended up slipping from their grasp falling off the boat, face first into the water.

 

“Cr-Crap!” Joseph cursed.

 

“This isn’t good!” Kakyoin exclaimed.

 

“Can anyone see him?” Taeko asked as she frantically looked at the water hoping to see the delinquent swimming back to the surface. The others did the same but no one saw any glimpse of him.

 

“What do we do?” Polnareff questioned, looking at the others for guidance. “Should we jump after him?”

 

“It can be exactly what the captain is hoping for. His stand is stronger underwater!” Avdol pointed out.

 

“But Jotaro is in danger!” Taeko protested.

 

Before anyone could say anything else, a tremor shook the boat. Everyone grabbed the railing so as not to fall, with Taeko feeling a weight crash into her side.

 

While Anne considered herself to be a brave girl, all that weird stuff happening around her was beginning to freak her out. So the tremor sent her rushing to the only person in the boat she felt safe with. 

 

Taeko looked down at the child who was hugging her waist and gave her head a gentle pat.

 

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be alright.” Taeko softly said. 

 

Feeling Kamado's gentle hand caressing her hair, Anne had to blush in embarrassment as Taeko’s kind gesture effectively got her to calm down a bit.

 

Whatever was happening down there made the boat stop moving. There was still no sign of Jotaro resurfacing.

 

“I-It’s been too long!” Joseph frowned as a scent of worry came from him. “He’s still not coming up!”

 

“A whirlpool!” Avdol pointed out as the water began to rotate around the spot Jotaro had sunk. “There’s a giant whirlpool!” 

 

“Where the hell is JoJo?!” Polnareff asked, quickly growing impatient of waiting.

 

“Let’s go save him!” Kakyoin shouted as he called for his stand. Avdol, Polnareff and Taeko followed his lead, summoning theirs as well.

 

Hierophant Green was the first to rush towards the water, with the others close behind. Only when the second the emerald stand made contact with the water, cuts appeared in his user’s hand as he hissed in pain.

 

“Th-These are scales!” Kakyoin gasped as he examined his and his stand’s hands, quickly realizing what was going on. “Th-That guy’s Stand has scales as sharp as razors!”

 

“There are countless scales swirling in that whirlpool.” Avdol said as observed the countless scales glistening in the big whirlpool. “He wasn’t bluffing when he said he could beat all five of us. That whirlpool is like a watery antlion pit! It’s very possible we could all die if we dive in.”

 

“C-Curses… It’s too reckless to act.” Avdol slammed his fists against the railing, frustrated at not being able to help the teen.

 

Taeko bit her lip, she also wanted to jump in and help her friend but at the same time if she did jump and got caught in the whirlpool it would end up making the situation even worse.

 

While she gazed upon the huge body of rotating water, Taeko chose to have faith in Jotaro. He was a very resourceful and smart guy. She also knew that he was more than capable of protecting himself.

 

She had to believe that.

 

“It’s JoJo! I saw him in the whirlpool!” Kakyoin’s yell made Taeko finally see the dark figure close to the surface.

 

“This isn’t good! He was limp!” Polnareff exclaimed.

 

“Limp? He wasn’t struggling at all?” Joseph asked as he stroked his beard, deep in thought. “That might be a good thing.”

 

“What?” His last comment left the others confused.

 

After what felt like an eternity but were only a few more moments, Jotaro’s head bursted out the water to the relief of everyone there. 

 

“Jojo!” 

 

“That’s my grandson for you!” Joseph cheered, a detectable scent of pride and relief coming from him.

 

Breathing heavily after being minutes underwater, the teen began to swim back to the ship. His grandfather prepared to throw him a life preserver.

 

“Well done, Jotaro! Hurry up and come up!” Joseph congratulated him.

 

But before he could throw the life preserver an explosion rocked the ship. Taeko sniffed the air, cursing herself for not noticing the scent of explosives before.

 

“There are bombs on the boat!” She warned them with a yell. “More than one!”

 

“What?!”

 

As she just predicted, more explosions followed the first one. The deck was being destroyed too quickly for them to do anything about it.

 

“It can only have been that captain! Damn it!” Polnareff cursed, knowing full well that the boat they were on was going to sink.

 

“Hurry up and get the emergency boats out!” Avdol urged the others to move.

 

“We’ll signal a nearby boat for help!”

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

The group watched as their boat disappeared below the waves from their little emergency boat. Everyone, including the other sailors, was able to escape the sinking unharmed. 

 

Unfortunately, with the boat they lost all of their stuff. The only thing left were the clothes they were wearing and the emergency supplies stored in a compartment in the boat. Now in the freezing night, Taeko wished she had been wearing warm clothes like Jotaro and Kakyoin.

 

Speaking of whom, both had been cut by the scales so she decided to check up on them.

 

When she became the team's medic? She has no idea. But Taeko is beginning to have the feeling they would need one… a lot.

 

Kakyoin had only suffered minor cuts in the brief moment his stand touched the water, his hand wasn’t even bleeding anymore.

 

Jotaro, who spent much time inside the whirlpool, had been protected by his uniform so the cuts he suffered were only on his hands and face. Unlike with Kakyoin’s, his cuts were still bleeding a bit. Taeko tried to offer him some bandages she found on the boat but Jotaro wasn’t collaborating.

 

“I already told you I’m fine! Don’t touch me.” He rudely snapped at her, making too much noise considering both his grandfather, Avdol and Kakyoin were already sleeping.

 

“You are still bleeding. At least let me clean the cuts.” Taeko requested while eying a cut he had in his cheek. 

 

“Good grief, woman! I told you I don’t need it!” He pointed a thumb at Anne, who had ended up in the same boat as them. “Go check on the runt instead!”

 

“Stop calling me a runt, you shitty jerk!” Anne barked at him, her impression of the delinquent becoming even worse. “My name is Anne!”

 

“I didn’t ask.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Anne.” Taeko intervened before the two of them began to argue. “I’m Taeko Kamado.” She decided to introduce each of the guys to the kid. “Those are Joseph, Avdol, Kakyoin and Polnareff. And you already met Jotaro. You are safe with us.”

 

“Safe? Really?” Anne scoffed, sticking a finger in Polnareff’s direction. “I heard him suggest that they should throw me back in the ocean!”

 

“I’m sure you misunderstood.” Taeko confidently stated. “Polnareff is a nice guy, he wouldn’t say that.”

 

Taeko would have probably kept believing in his innocence if not for the guilty look he had on his face.

 

“Polnareff!” She gasped with an expression of horror.

 

“It seemed like a good idea at the moment!” He said, not wanting to have to apologize.

 

In response Anne huffed at him, turning her head away from them. Taeko had the feeling the kid wasn’t willing to talk to them any longer. Taeko hoped the child would sleep a bit, she is probably exhausted after all that action. 

 

“Before I forget, here.” Polnareff gave her the backpack he had been guarding ever since she jumped into the ocean after Anne. Taeko smiled as she saw that it had been well taken care of by the French. It wasn't even wet.

 

“Thank you!” She unzipped the backpack to check on the books. “I don’t know what I would even do if they had gotten damaged.”

 

“They?” He repeated.

 

“The water and flower breathing records.” With a smile on her face, Taeko took out the books to show them to him. “Written by all those who used those techniques ever since their creation. They are priceless!”

 

“Wait!” He gasped, looking at the two books in bewilderment. “There are two of them?? I thought water was the only one!”

 

“There are way more than two.” Fortunately there was one page on the introduction chapter of all the books with a chart of all the breathing styles so she opened it for him to see. “Each person that learned the breathing techniques has to see which one he would be compatible with and sometimes they created new ones.” She pointed to the insect breathing style in the chart. “Take for exemple my grandmother’s older sister. She created a breathing style that instead of cutting her opponents consisted of stabbing and thrusting her sword at them. Kind of like…”

 

“…A fencing sword.” He correctly guessed with a smirk. “That sounds like a style that would be compatible with me and my Silver Chariot.”

 

“I think that too!” She beamed with excitement. “When this is all over, maybe you can come visit Japan! I can ask my friend to get the book about insect breathing for you!”

 

“Kamado, I…” He knows he is only going with them until he finds the man with two right hands. But as he sees her expression of pure innocence, he couldn’t find within himself to reject her offer. “I would love to.”

 

God, I already developed a soft spot for her. He realized to his dismay. He knew forming any attachment with the group would be a mistake as it would only make it harder for him to leave them behind.

 

Still, he couldn’t help but liking to talk with her.

 

“So…” He chose to enjoy her company for now and live the moment. “What styles do you think would be more compatible with the others?”

 

“Avdol would obviously use flame breathing since his stand controls fire.” Taeko immediately answered as this was a question she had already asked herself. “For Jotaro I am not sure but I would guess…”

 

And so they kept talking for a while, neither of them getting much sleep that night.

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Dreams are supposed to be different, aren’t they? Hers always were.

 

So why is she now having the same one?

 

Again, she found herself in that chaos with the scent of blood and despair. The screams ringing in her ears seemed even louder this time.

 

“Get back!!”

 

“Don’t just stand here!! Get away!!” 

 

“Kamado?”

 

“STOOOP!!”

 

There was a hand on her shoulder.

 

“Don’t kill anyone!!”

 

“Kamado, wake up!!”

 

It was the hand that was shaking her that woke her from that terrible nightmare. She opened her eyes to find everyone in the boat looking at her.

 

“W-what?” Her heart was still racing as she took deep breaths.

 

“You were screaming like a mad woman.” Polnareff said without really thinking about his wording.

 

“Oh…” Taeko realized she must have awoken all of them with her screams. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologize for having a nightmare.” Kakyoin reassuringly told her. In fact, the others had been up for a while since it was already morning. “Do you want to talk about it?” He kindly offered.

 

She didn’t answer him, her hesitation to speak making it evident she wasn’t comfortable talking about the nightmare. Her friend respected that and didn’t pressure her.

 

“Have some water.” Joseph offered a flask with water to Anne. While they weren’t expecting her presence, all of them would still take care of her until they got to land. “We’ve sent signals for help, so someone should be here soon.”

 

“I still have no idea what’s going on.” Anne admitted as she accepted the flask, all the while her eyes wandered around the boat and the bizarre group that resided there. “What was all that happened yesterday?”

 

“We’re hurrying along a journey, just like you.” He explained with a smile. “Though you’re on a journey to see your father, while I’m on one for my daughter.”

 

There was a trace of shame in Anne’s scent after he said that.

 

The young girl took a sip from the water she was given just to immediately spit it all out as she saw something surprising in the distance.

 

“Hey! That’s our precious water!” Joseph scolded the girl since he knew there was limited drinkable water and there was still no sign of rescue coming. “Don’t you spit it out!”

 

“Is something wrong with the water?” Taeko asked.

 

“N-No…” The girl answered her, still staring in the same direction. She was so overwhelmed by what she was seeing that she began to stutter “E-E… E-E-E-E-E…”

 

She was taking so long to finish that it gave enough time for Taeko to turn to where the girl was looking and realize what gave her that reaction.

 

“Everyone, look!” The girl finally finished.

 

As the team looked at the gigantic ship no one noticed approaching, they thought rescue had arrived.

 

How wrong they were…

Notes:

I have some news you probably won’t like to hear: I am going to have to put this history on hiatus for a month.

As I have mentioned previously I have this story scripted till this point. Until now each week I just had to reread the already scripted chapter for errors and make some changes when I thought some character would act differently in one part or another. But now I would have to write each chapter from scratch and I’m sure you can understand it wouldn’t end up with a good result.

So I came up with a timeline that will allow me to have time to work on the new chapters and will guarantee you that I won’t just drop this story.

It will go like this: There are six chapters of this story that have been released each week, now I will go on a month-long hiatus, return to release five chapters, one more month of hiatus, five more chapters and so on until the story is finished.

So the next Batch of chapters( that will begin to be posted in 24th of june) will include:

7. Strength
8. The Devil
9. Yellow Temperance
10. The Emperor and the Hanged Man, Part 1
11. The Emperor and the Hanged Man, Part 2

Until then all of you are free to ask me anything about the fic in my tumblr, unless it's a spoiler. I won't spoil you. I will also probably release more artwork this month and share it there. I already drew Taeko with Polnareff.
Taeko with Polnareff

 

Shōwa era secret:

Taeko’s guesses on what the breathing styles each of the guys would use…

Avdol-> Flame breathing

Polnareff-> Insect breathing

Kakyoin-> Snake breathing

Jotaro-> Stone breathing

Joseph-> …Love breathing

Iggy(when she meets him)-> Wind breathing

Chapter 7: Troubling tides

Notes:

Hi, guys. I'm late, very late. I'm terribly sorry about that. Life happened and I wasn't getting the inspiration to make a good chapter so the time went by without me noticing. That was, until a week and a half ago when a certain someone decided to post a theory on this fic on tumblr. Bless TheDarkOne121 for giving me the push I needed to continue with this thing.

Two warnings before you read this chapter, the first is that I replaced the first chapter with an edited version yesterday. Because while rereading it to return to this fic I realized I was a bit vague in some scenes so I ended up expanding and showing more of the character's emotions and interactions. Also I gave Titania a new feature, so it may be a good idea to return there and check it out.

Second warning, as you know, certain monkey is going to be in this chapter so there will be vague descriptions of harassment, but nothing too graphic. And don't worry, that monkey will get what it deserves. I assure you of that.

Very far from our heroes, somewhere in Egypt, stood a dark mansion. One in which resides one of the most evil people to have ever been born. A man that many decades ago threw away his own humanity for power. He committed acts so vile that his soul was condemned to go to hell if he were to die. Not that he bothered to think about it.

 

He was more than a hundred years old and yet the blonde man looked like he could be in his twenties. It was one of the many advantages of being a vampire.

 

He stood shirtless in front of a mirror in a dark room only illuminated by some candles, looking down at the body that now belonged to him. The one that linked him to the descendents of his old nemesis. 

 

“Enyaba, there’s something I’d like to ask you.” He spoke with the old woman that was in the dark room with him. “What does it mean to live?”

 

“To obtain what one desires.” His assistant was quick to answer while she scratched her wrinkled arm. “To put it simply, that is all it means to live. People want money, they want fame, they want food, they want love, they want a lover…” She ended with a chuckle.

 

“But when they attempt to obtain what they desire, there is always a battle, is there not, Enyaba?” He continued, thinking of the many battles he fought in order to get what he wanted. Both the ones he won, and the one he lost. He walked away from the mirror, passing by the old woman as he went.

 

“Indeed.” The old woman, Enyaba, agreed.

 

“If they lose the battle and fail to obtain what they desire, they feel frustration and a sense of failure. They are hurt… and they feel fear when faced with the next battle.” His hand moved to right below the scar on his neck, touching the star birthmark that every member of the Joestar family had. The birthmark his adoptive brother had. “I believe that conquering fear is what it means to live.” He said while standing in front of a staircase, hands on his hips. “The one who will stand at the top of the world is the one who feels no fear whatsoever. Do you understand, Enyaba?”

 

”I was the one who told you about the existence of your Stand and how to use it.” Enyaba reminded, making him look back at her. “And you have an immortal body. Is there anything that you fear?”

 

“Perhaps.” 

 

“What concerns you?”

 

“The Joestar bloodline.” DIO revealed, his hate for the family evident in his voice.

 

“Hmm? Joestar? Those two?” Enyaba scoffed, baffled. She did not see how her powerful master could feel concerned over the threat of one teenanger and his aging grandfather. “They are mere trash. They are no match for your Stand!”

 

“Yes… But when the lives of those trash are so deeply entangled with my own, I cannot help but believe it is destiny.” DIO explained, looking at the elderly woman with his red eyes. “To be more specific… it is not the Joestars that I fear. It is the fact that I cannot underestimate the Joestar bloodline.” He had, once upon a time, underestimated a Joestar and he did not plan on making the same mistake again. He did not see that teen, Jotaro, as an equal to his ancestor, the deceased Jonathan Joestar, but he would make sure to eliminate him regardless of that. “I feel that I must rid the Joestars from my wheel of fortune.”

 

“You thought to eliminate them yourself simply because you feel that they cannot be underestimated?” Enyaba inquired.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Foolishness! You should never engage in such foolishness!” The woman shouted, unsatisfied with his explanation. “We already have seven Stand users -- The Empress, The Hanged Man, Strength, The Wheel of Fortune, Temperance, The Emperor, and the Devil -- on the move.” The old woman listed the cards, counting each lackey they had sent after the Joestars and their group. “You need not worry about taking action yourself, Lord DIO.”

 

DIO did not respond, letting the woman continue with her mad laughter, his eyes then went to the source of light in that room. In the specific table that stood the chandelier, there was a pot next to it which contained a single blue flower. A very special flower he did not know existed until a year ago. 

 

He had learned a lot of interesting information around that time. And he fully intended to use them to his advantage.

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If something seems too good to be true it's because it probably is.

 

So when a huge ship materialized from the mist as the rescue they had all been waiting for, the skeptical part of Taeko was immediately suspicious.

 

Would there be friends or enemies aboard that vessel?

 

“A-A freighter!” One of the sailors that was with them exclaimed in surprise.

 

“I didn’t see it coming at all!” Another sailor spoke.

 

“Jotaro, what are you concerned about?” Joseph asked, noticing his grandson’s look intently at the boat. It made Taeko suspect that she wasn’t the only one feeling uneasy. “Do you think there might be another Stand user on this freighter, too?”

 

“No, I was just wondering why no one’s shown themselves, even though the ramp is down.” Jotaro answered with a shake of his head, then pointing to the boat's ramp.

 

Looking over at the boat Taeko saw that he was right, there was no one on the ramp to greet or check up on them. A chill ran down Taeko’s spine as a recent memory came to her mind.

 

“Those who swore loyalty to Lord DIO will pursue you every hour of every day.”

 

She still remembered Tower of Gray’s final words very well. While the man was obviously insane, Taeko saw it as unwise to ignore his prediction.

 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another stand user there…” She admitted, earning her a raised eyebrow from Joseph. She proceeded to give him and the others an explanation to her comment. “Just think about it. If the captain knew where to find us, why wouldn’t our next enemy also know where we were going?”

 

“We spent enough time in the emergency boat for another enemy to be sent after us.” Pointed out Kakyoin, nodding in agreement to her words.

 

Being the reckless guy the group already learned he was, Polnareff dismissed their concerns and jumped from the boat to the ramp as soon as it was close enough.

 

“All of you shouldn’t be so paranoid!” He said, looking over his shoulder at them. “They came this far to rescue us! There has to be someone abroad! Even if they’re all Stand users, I’m getting on this boat.”

 

The rest of the group shared a look, all of them thinking the same. Even if they were to ignore the ship and leave in the emergency boats, the few supplies they had stored on them wouldn’t last long. So they ended up choosing to board the ramp after Polnareff.

 

One by one the men exited the boat and climbed into the ramp. As they did so, Taeko put on her backpack and took the opportunity to check up on the child standing next to her. Anne was looking at the boat with a frown, noticeably hesitant about boarding the mysterious freighter.

 

“I’m sorry for getting you involved in all of this. But I promise that I will protect you.” Taeko gently told her, offering the girl a reassuring smile. “And my friends will find a way to get us to Singapore, so don’t worry.”

 

The girl’s expression softened and her lips lifted upwards into a small smile. She looked up at the ramp to see both Jotaro and Joseph still standing there, with the rest of the guys having already walked up the ramp. Noticing that Anne would come next, the delinquent teen held out his hand to the girl thinking she could use the help.

 

“Grab on. I’ll help you up.” He said.

 

Anne stared at his hand for a moment, considering her next move. She was still resentful at him for the “chest feeling incident” so she didn’t want his help. The child instead chose to make a jump from the boat into Joseph’s arms. The old man, fortunately, had quick reflexes to catch her in time. Anne then stuck her tongue out at Jotaro.

 

“Good grief.” Jotaro muttered.

 

“She is really a headstrong child, isn’t she?” Taeko said, forcing a small smile as she watched Joseph carefully lower the child back to the floor.

 

When Taeko looked back at Jotaro, she realized he was already moving up the ramp without giving her any type of acknowledgement. She shrugged this as his usual behavior and jumped from the boat to the ramp by herself then followed him up.

 

Neither noticed the frown Joseph had on his face at what he just witnessed.

 

The four of them had joined the rest on the deck, with Taeko sticking close to Anne just in case there was danger around. If the little girl noticed, she chose not to complain. She was probably unsettled by the creepy atmosphere at the ship’s deck, as Taeko herself was. 

 

Even as both the gang and the sailors searched around, they couldn’t find anyone. In fact, they couldn’t find any sign of life in that part of the ship. 

 

“Hey! Is anyone around?!” The shout Joseph let out was loud enough to be heard by anyone in that area of the ship. Unfortunately, the only ones subjected to hearing his unexpected shout were his companions.

 

“Please, warn us before you yell like that.” Kakyoin politely requested, yet his eye twitched in irritation. Joseph didn’t even acknowledge his complaint.

 

“Weird. There should have been at least someone on the deck.” Joseph said, stroking his beard as he thought on where to look next. 

 

The group ended up deciding to split up, with Avdol staying to search the deck with the sailors and the others going inside the boat in hopes of finding someone there.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“What’s with this boat?!” Joseph shouted in frustration as he entered the pilothouse only to find it also empty. “There’s no captain in the pilothouse!” He said as the others followed him into the room. “There’s no operator in the radio room. There’s no one anywhere!” He then approached some of the machinery in the room to check up on it. “And yet, look! All the meters and machines are working properly.”

 

“Maybe they’re all in the bathroom with a bad case of diarrhea.” Polnareff put out his theory but no one took it seriously.

 

“Maybe this is a ghost ship…” Taeko suggested, instantly making Polnareff pale next to her.

 

“Ghost ship?! This place is haunted??” He exclaimed, wildly looking around like a ghost would all of a sudden appear next to him. The others weren’t amused by his reaction.

 

“No.” Kakyoin firmly denied. “A ghost ship is by definition a ship that is found without a crew or passengers. It’s not hunted. There is a logical explanation on why it was abandoned.” He spoke matter of fact, crossing his arms in contemplation of the possibility. “Maybe the crew left this ship because they thought it would sink during a storm or it somehow freed itself from where it was stored.”

 

His dismissing demeanor got under Polnareff’s skin. Who in an attempt to defend his theory spoke without thinking on what he was about to refer to.

 

“Well, maybe a ghost spooked the crew away!” He said. “Ghosts can exist, considering…”

 

He interrupted himself by clamping his mouth shut, finally realizing he was saying something he shouldn't. Simultaneously, his and Taeko’s eyes widened, both knowing exactly what he was going to say next.

 

“…considering demons do.”

 

Teako threw him a pleading look, quietly begging him not to finish that sentence. They were in uncharted territory, this was not the time to reveal this information to their friends.

 

“Considering…” Kakyoin raised an eyebrow at him, urging the French to continue.

 

“Nothing.” Polnareff said instead, avoiding the teen’s gaze.

 

There was a moment of awkward silence after that. It was painfully obvious to everybody that he was hiding something. Especially Jotaro, who having seen the two having a private conversation back at the other ship, narrowed his eyes at them. But to Polnareff and Taeko’s relief, neither he or the rest chose not to press on it. At least not at that moment.

 

“Just track them.” Jotaro said instead. Taeko glanced up at him and realized he was talking to her.

 

“What?” Taeko asked with a slight tilt of her head, confused.

 

“Good grief.” He said with a huff, annoyed she didn’t immediately catch what he meant. “You have the nose of a sniffer dog, don’t you? See if you can find someone.”

 

“Jotaro, don’t compare the girl to a dog.” Joseph tried to correct his grandson but as always it fell on deaf ears.

 

“That’s a great idea!” Taeko said with a beam, not feeling insulted in the slightest. She was proud of her weird talent. Not only is it very useful in situations like these, it was also something she got from her grandfather.

 

Taeko took a deep breath, taking in all the scents around her. By closing her eyes, the girl tried to organize the scents by categorizing them by color. She could mentally visualize a rainbow of colors entering the room and getting to the exact place each one of the crusaders and Anne stood. The rest of the room however, was colorless, devoid of any traces of scents that could come from other people.

 

…Wait!

 

Concentrating a bit more she was able to detect one more scent. And she was sure it wasn’t one of theirs as the trail didn’t follow the same path from the entrance to the room. The scent was also weaker, slowly dispersing with time, indicating that the person who it originated from passed through this room earlier than them.

 

There was also something distinct about this scent but Taeko couldn't exactly identify what.

 

The others watched as her eyes snapped open and she pointed to the open door to a room they had not yet investigated.

 

“There! There is someone in that room!” She declared, sounding confident in her findings. Following her indication, the group went to look inside. Only instead of finding another person there, they found a cage with an animal locked inside. 

 

“A monkey!” Anne said from where she stood next to the other girl. “There’s a monkey inside that cage!” 

 

“An orangutan.” Kakyoin corrected.

 

The large monkey, or orangutan, sat crisscross inside the cage, creepy staring at the group that just entered the room. 

 

“I wonder what it is doing here…” Taeko mumbled, looking at the animal as if he was a puzzle to be solved.

 

“Who the hell cares about a monkey?!” Joseph complained, frustrated that their search wild nothing. “Let’s find whoever’s been feeding it.” He said, quickly dismissing the animal’s importance and leaving the room. Polnareff left after him, with Kakyoin and Jotaro close behind.

 

Taeko and Anne remained in the room for longer, with the older one trying to figure out what was the deal with the caged orangutan. 

 

She could catch a scent emanating from the animal but Taeko was having trouble identifying it. It was because of the ‘something distinct about this scent’ she was thinking about before. The natural odor of an animal was different from a human’s, making it harder for Taeko(someone obviously accustomed to using her ability to read humans’ feelings) to identify what animals are feeling. 

 

Weirdly, something in Taeko, maybe coming from the inherited instincts of her demon slayer ancestry, warned her that the animal was a threat. Not that it didn’t make sense, orangutans are very strong so they could harm humans easily, but there wasn’t just it…there was something off with this animal. 

 

While the two girls looked at it, the orangutan looked back at them. It’s eyes scanning both their frames but he mainly stared at Taeko, like she was the most interesting of the two. His eyes were so intensely glued at them that Taeko began to feel too uncomfortable to continue with her train of thought.

 

For a brief moment, she thought she had identified the current emotion of the animal, but immediately brushed it off as there was no way he was feeling that while looking at human girls. 

 

Still, she decided it was time for them to leave.

 

“Anne.” Taeko gently called for the girl that had also been looking at the ape. She smiled warmly at the younger girl, making an effort to not let her nervousness show. “Let’s go back with the others. Maybe Avdol and the sailors found something useful on the deck.”

 

Taeko gave the orangutan one last glance and guided Anne out of the room to reunite with the others.

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While the second group was venturing inside, Avdol and the sailors had continued to investigate around the deck. They again weren't able to find anyone, eventually deciding to check one of the rusted red cranes.

 

“How is it?” Asked Avdol, watching as one of the sailors examined the crane’s machinery.

 

“It doesn’t appear to be broken, but…” The man began to explain as he looked over the mechanism in front of him.

 

Returning from the pilothouse with the others, Joseph spotted their group gathered around the crane. He was about to ask them if they found anything when he noticed movement above them. It was the hook of the crane, it had begun moving strangely then swinging wildly. The moment he saw it coming down, Joseph let out a loud shout in warning.

 

“Avdol! That sailor is in danger!” 

 

The warning came too late for the sailor to be saved. The hook went down, impaling the unlucky sailor through the back of the head, killing him instantly. Then the deceased’s body was lifted up as the hook retracted to his original place all on its own.

 

Taeko, with eyes wide in fright, rushed to cover Anne’s eyes so the girl wouldn’t have to look at the corpse dangling in front of them. Unfortunately for Taeko, even if she were to close her own eyes the stench of fresh blood would still be detectable. It was one of the downs of having her sharp nose.

 

She is always aware when there is blood close by.

 

The sailors watched the corpse of their crewmate bleeding enough to have already formed a puddle of blood below it. It had all happened so fast. And they weren’t even sure what just happened.

 

“B-But no one was touching it…” One of the sailors sputtered out in fear. 

 

“I saw that crane move, even though there was no one operating it!”

 

“Th-That crane impaled him on its own!”

 

The sailors weren’t the only ones horrified by what they just witnessed, even some of the stand user’s present there felt similar.

 

“I-I told you guys! This place is haunted!!” Polnareff exclaimed, a nervous sweat dripping down his forehead.

 

“There’s someone else here.” Joseph firmly stated, fast to take charge of the situation. To make sure this wouldn’t happen to anyone else, he shot orders to the sailors. “Don’t touch any of the machinery. If it moves or runs on electricity, don’t lay a finger on it! If you want to live, follow my orders. Don’t leave the cabin down below until we say it’s okay!”

 

The sailors did what they were told, probably more than glad to flee the bloody scene on the deck. Anne was hesitant to follow them in, still not trusting the group of bulky men. The girl felt the need to stay close to the one person there she knew for sure would watch her back. So, instead, she decided to stay by the door, watching the crusaders as they arranged in a circle to talk among themselves.

 

“That could only have been the job of another stand user. Did anyone see even a glimpse of a Stand just now?” Joseph questioned.

 

“No…” Polnareff confessed from next to Taeko, unnerved by the situation.

 

“My apologies… I was the closest to the crane, yet I saw nothing.” Avdol apologized.

 

“There were also no other scents close by. None that I was able to catch, at least.” Taeko explained, a tad disappointed in herself. While she didn’t have the best of impressions on the sailors, since one of them mistreated Anne, it brought her no joy to see a life being taken so brutally.

 

“Ghosts don't have smell.” Polnareff quietly pointed out with only Taeko being close enough to hear.

 

“There has to be someone else on this ship.“ Joseph concluded.

 

“I will have my Hierophant Green look around.” Kakyoin decided, his stand then appearing from behind him.

 

The emerald stand threw himself into one of the cracks on the floor, his body disappearing into the insides of the boat until there was only his tail left.

 

While they watched their friend’s stand work, Polnareff sneaked a bit closer to Taeko to talk to her without the others listening.

 

“Hey, Kamado. I just wanted to make sure…” He began, a bit hesitant to ask his next question. “…your grandfather never mentioned anything about ghosts, did he?”

 

Having found out both vampires and demons existed, the French had begun to wonder what other paranormal beings could exist in the world. And now he couldn't take his suspicion of the presence of ghosts there off his mind. He opted to reassure himself that ghosts did in fact not exist by asking someone with knowledge on the paranormal. Unfortunately for him, being one to obsess over her grandfather’s stories, Taeko immediately remembered one tale that did contain ghosts. The story of the two ghosts that helped her grandfather train for the final selection. Although they weren’t evil ghosts, Taeko wasn’t sure mentioning them now was a good idea.

 

Lucky for her, they were interrupted before she had time to respond.

 

“Kamado!” Taeko heard Joseph call to her. She looked in his direction to see the older man crouched down in front of Anne. He gestured with a hand for her to come to them so she did, walking to their side. “Do you mind going with Anne and the sailors?” 

 

Taeko looked at the little girl, who was staring at her expectantly.

 

“As long as she doesn’t mind my company.” Taeko had joked, making the little girl smile in relief before walking into the cabin fully expecting Taeko to follow.

 

“I think she feels safer with you around.” Joseph commented with a smirk, as he got to his feet. Though it quickly vanished from his face as he gave Taeko a serious warning. “Be watchful. We don’t know what this stand is capable of.”

 

“Alright.” Taeko agreed, the strong scent of fresh blood in the air was an effective reminder of the danger they were in. “You guys too. Be careful up here.”

 

Joseph nodded in response and then watched as Taeko left, when she was out of view he took the opportunity to approach Jotaro. He wanted to question his grandson about something that had been bothering him for a while.

 

“Why are you always so rude to Kamado?” He asked, with the instances of what happened at the emergency boat and at the pilothouse fresh on his mind.

 

“Are you beginning to forget stuff, old man?” Jotaro countered with a grunt, looking at him from the corner of his eye. “Don’t you remember that she is hiding something from us?”

 

“Maybe if you were a bit nicer, she would feel more comfortable opening up.” Joseph suggested. While he doubted the teen would ever accept any of his guidance, he would keep offering it. Jotaro may be a resourceful young man but he is still his grandson after all.

 

He also wouldn’t mind Jotaro becoming friends with Taeko. That kind girl would surely be a good influence on him.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

 

In the communication room, Anne and Taeko stood aside as the rest of the sailors tried to get the machines to work and send out a message requesting rescue to any nearby boats.

 

Since Mr. Joestar had specifically warned them not to touch any of the machinery, Taeko had tried to stop them. But they had been insistent in trying to send out a request for rescue and nothing the teen said convinced them otherwise. So all she could do was watch over them as they worked and hope they were going to be successful.

 

Taeko found it oddly convenient how the machines at the pilothouse were working properly yet the machines at the communications room, the ones they needed to call for help, weren’t. It may be just paranoia on her part but it felt like someone intentionally attracted them to the ship and was planning on keeping them there.

 

She could feel the kid standing at her side staring at her, she had been doing that since they got there. The kid was growing suspicious of their group and wasn’t even trying to hide it.

 

“I have no idea what’s going on, but dangerous things keep happening when you guys are around.” Anne questioned, narrowing her eyes at Taeko.

 

“Our group is going through some bad luck recently.” The red eyed girl kept a hopefully calming smile on her face as she answered with honesty. What she said technically was the truth as their last few days had been a mess.

 

“So you guys are jinxes?” Anne accused, pressing on with her ‘interrogation’. “I’ve heard about people who cause disasters that endanger everyone, and that I should avoid them. Is that what you all are?”

 

“No!” Taeko firmly denied, making Anne flinch at her sudden rise in tone. The red eyed girl hadn’t meant to react like that but the idea that she and the others could be endangering innocent people got her agitated. She didn’t want to consider the possibility of a repeat of the massacre at the airplane. “I told you that me and my friends are going to take you to Singapore safely. And I intend to keep that promise, you can trust me on that.” Taeko continued, ashamed for momentarily losing her composure. 

 

Anne stared intensely at her eyes as if looking for any sign of deceit. The kid then finally averted her gaze from her, deep in thought. Taeko suspected she needed a moment to herself after what she witnessed at the deck. That sight was enough to scar someone mentally, especially one as young as Anne. Taeko could only hope the girl didn’t see too much before she covered her eyes. 

 

There were a few minutes of silence between the two of them with Taeko watching the sailors as they worked. From what bit she could gather of their conversation, they weren't having much success in sending a message out. Taeko was also able to feel the scents they were emanating quickly intensifying.

 

Fear. Worry. Grief.

 

She could tell that they were very shaken by what they witnessed by the deck. These sailors had probably worked together for years, they more than likely knew the man that died very well. To see someone you know die violently like that would mess with anyone. 

 

Taeko briefly considered going there and offering her condolences but they were trying to concentrate on their task so it would probably be unwise to do it now. They did not need another reminder of the danger they were in.

 

Maybe Anne does have a point. Maybe me and the guys really are jinxes.

 

Taeko shook her head, trying to erase the negative thought from her mind. There was no use being pessimistic. The best she could do was being watchful of the group, like Mr. Joestar said. 

 

“This is boring.” Anne said with a pout, breaking the silence between the girls. She perked up as an idea hit her. “Let’s go take a look around!”

 

“Sorry, Anne.” Taeko answered with a shake of her head. “But we have to stay with the sailors.”

 

“Com’on, Taeko! It’s not like they will miss us! We have been waiting here for ages!” The kid begged, trying to convince the red eyed girl. Her gaze then shifted to the sailors for a brief moment before returning to Taeko as she added a last part.“…I could use some time away from these guys…”

 

Taeko wasn’t sure she was supposed to hear that due to how silently and shyly the girl said it. But it would make sense that Anne doesn’t feel comfortable with the sailors around. It would probably be due to one of two, maybe she was still frightened due to her encounter with the sailor that restrained her back at the other boat or maybe looking at these sailors was just a grim reminder of the one sailor she watched die.

 

Taeko would have preferred not leaving this room, but as Anne said the two of them were just standing there without being of any help. There were no signs of enemy stands close by and nothing had happened to the men all the time they were gathered around the machinery. So they would probably be safe here. 

 

Besides, maybe by inspecting the rooms a second time the girls could find a clue to what was really going on in there. And in case an enemy attacked them, she had Queen Titania to defend them. Just in case, Taeko would guarantee they didn’t go too far and that they would return quickly.

 

“Alright. We can take a quick look around.” Taeko conceded, hoping not to regret her decision. “But you have to stay close to me and never leave my line of sight.”

 

Instead of giving her a verbal answer, Anne grinned triumphantly and grabbed Taeko’s hand to eagerly drag her out of the room.

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Their little stroll wasn't as exciting as Anne made it seem, yet the girl didn't complain as they strolled through the rooms closest to the communication room. While Taeko wasn’t sure what exactly would usually be expected to be found aboard a freighter, she couldn’t spot anything that seemed out of place. And, of course, they didn’t find anyone around or any sign that anyone had been around.

 

“I was really hoping we would find something this time…” Taeko thought out loud as the duo was checking the pilothouse again only to find nothing new. Just as she had feared, the regret for leaving the other room began to sink in. “We should go back. We were gone for a while so the sailors may come looking for us soon.”

 

Anne took too long to respond, making Taeko look over and see her gazing at the still open door to the room with the orangutan with a contemplating look on her face.

 

“Anne.” She called again, making the younger jump in surprise and break from her trance when she finally noticed Taeko calling for her. “Are you okay?” The red eyed girl asked gently.

 

“I'm fine, just curious.” The eleven year old answered, clearly referring to the orangutan.

 

“It is weird that that orangutan is all alone in here.” Taeko conceded, again thoughtful on the subject. “For it to survive in that cage someone had to have given it food yet we found nobody.”

 

“Maybe we missed something. We should check out again.” Anne suggested, not really giving Taeko time to answer before quickly walking to the room.

 

Anne strolled into the room to find the animal still sitting inside the cage. Anne instantly felt it looking at her, almost like it had been waiting for their return.

 

“Anne, I told you to stay close to me!” The Kamado exclaimed as she entered the room right after her, making the younger girl mutter an apology in response.

 

It was at that moment that the monkey began rattling the bars of his cage, getting him the girls’ attention. Taeko frowned as she watched it pointing with one of its big fingers up at the lock of the cage. 

 

“You want us to open the cage?” Anne asked. In reaction, Taeko looked at her with what can only be described as a ‘Don't even think about it’ expression, to which Anne responded with one of ‘Do you think i am dumb?’. “We couldn't even if we wanted, we have no idea where the key is.” She added with a shrug.

 

The orangutan didn’t seem bothered by the answer, as it instead extended its arm towards them to reveal a half an apple. That caught both girls by surprise for more than one reason.

 

“I-it’s offering us an apple?” Anne stammered in bewilderment.

 

“It's offering us a recently cut apple!” Taeko analyzed, noticing that the fruit has not begun to turn brown yet.

 

“That means that there really is someone somewhere in this boat with us!” Anne exclaimed, pleased that they finally found a clue. 

 

But Taeko didn't share her enthusiasm anymore. She felt her insides freeze at that moment.

 

She couldn't catch any scents in this room other than her’s, Anne’s and the orangutan’s. She knew that if someone did recently give the animal that fruit she would be able to catch his scent in the room as well. But there were none others.

 

So how did the orangutan get the apple without leaving the cage?

 

And more importantly with what did it cut it? Did it have a weapon in the cage with him?

 

Unaware of her companion’s rushing thoughts, Anne tried to get some answers from the animal.

 

“Do you know where the person who feeds you is?” She asked.

 

The animal brought both a match and cigarette from out of nowhere and proceeded to light a smoke right in front of them. With that, Taeko felt even more uneasy.

 

When the female stand user saw the ape move its arms to get something else, Taeko grabbed Anne and pulled her behind her. Taeko had blocked the kid’s view just in time as the animal did something that repulsed the demon slayer descendent.

 

It pulled an adult magazine and began to read it.

 

And then it clicked.

 

Taeko really had been able to identify its emotions before, but she had convinced herself she was reading the scent wrong.

 

Because of how sickening the mere idea of it feeling lust while looking at them was.

 

Yet, now, watching it reading that type of magazine and then looking at her, it confirmed her first suspicion.

 

It really had been feeling lust when it looked at them, both of them.

 

It wasn't the fact that it was lusting over her that made Taeko furious, it was the fact that it was lusting after a eleven year old girl that made any nervousness the Kamado had burn into fury. 

 

The animal would probably have been disturbed if it had seen the girl’s expression shift into a cold glare of disgust but it probably didn't. Taeko had wasted not even a second before removing Anne from the room, all the while making sure to keep blocking the girl’s view of the animal and shutting the door after them with so much force the sound echoed through the halls.

 

“Wha–? What happened in there?” Anne asked, confused. To her it had all happened so quickly she felt a bit stunned. The last thing she saw was the ape move to grab something but thanks to Taeko she didn't see what it was.

 

And that fact made Taeko smile in relief as this little girl hadn't had to see something that would have more than likely messed with her head.

 

“Nothing that you will want to know, trust me.” She said with a shrug, making it seem not too important but at the same time not lying as she was terrible at it.

 

“Here you two are!” Came an unfamiliar voice came as two of the sailors walked up to them. As Taeko had predicted, they had come looking for them when they failed to return. They quickly deduced the girls had just come out of the orangutan’s room, as they had heard the door slamming. “Were you checking on the orangutan?”

 

“You should be careful with that thing.” The other added. “They say an orangutan has five times the strength of a human, so it could easily rip you off your arms.”

 

“We will keep that in mind, thank you.” Taeko gave a polite answer although thinking the sailors shouldn’t describe something so gruesome to a young child. “Did you guys have any luck with the communications?”

 

Even without giving a verbal response, the expressions of defeat and frustration on their faces made it clear that they didn't.

 

“I see…” Taeko said with a sigh. If communicating with the outside wasn’t an option, their best hope was that the guys had figured something out. But that was unlikely as ever since she, the sailors and Anne left the deck, there wasn't any news from them. The only reason she wasn't more concerned over their safety there was because she trusted them and knew how strong they were.

 

Taeko was intending on going with the two sailors back to the communication room, but didn’t as she felt Anne lightly tapping her in the arm to get her attention. The kid looked a bit uncomfortable and gestured for Taeko to get closer so she could speak to her. She crouched down a bit and Anne was able to whisper directly to her ear.

 

“Taeko, I need to pee.” Anne said, with slight embarrassment at having to say that in front of the sailors.

 

“Oh.” Taeko dumbly said, caught off guard by the request. Still, she didn’t dismiss it and turned to the sailors for information. “Do you guys know where the bathroom is?”

 

“We saw one down the hall while we were looking for you.” One simply answered, pointing in the direction.

 

Luckily, the sailors didn’t suggest going with them, instead requesting them to return to the other room when they were done. 

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After taking Anne to the bathroom and letting her do what she needed, as they were returning, the girls stumbled into a new room. It was the shower room. As if the sight reminded her of her hygiene, Anne took a sniff of her clothes only to be repulsed by the strong smell.

 

“Ew! I’m all sticky from the salt water!” The kid scrunched her nose in disgust. “We should take the chance to take a bath.”

 

Cue to Taeko looking at the girl as if she just grew a second head.

 

“What?” Taeko slowly asked, thinking she must have heard it wrong. 

 

“I said I wanted to take a shower.” Anne repeated, not seeing how out of line her request was.

 

“You want to take one now? Here??” Taeko asked, flabbergasted that she would ask that after everything that had happened aboard the freighter.

 

“I am all sticky from salt water! We both are!” Anne repeated.

 

Taeko already knew they smelled bad due to her sharp nose yet didn't think it was something important to think about in the situation they were in. She couldn’t believe Anne thought this was the right moment to take a bath as they were somewhere clearly unsafe. That not even mentioning that there was a perverted orangutan in the ship with them, but she knew that Anne remained unsuspecting to that part.

 

“We can take a shower when we make it to Singapore.” Taeko offered, hoping to change the girl’s mind.

 

“Why wait until then when we can just take a bath here??” Anne persisted, gesturing with both hands to the room conveniently right in front of them.

 

“No.”

 

“Please?”

 

“No.”

 

“…Pretty please?”

 

“No.”

 

Anne took a deep breath and then…

 

“Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!” She kept repeating it again and again.

 

To her dismay, Taeko didn’t seem fazed by her persistence. Instead the older girl chose to wait until Anne tired herself from speaking the same word over and over again.

 

The repeating came to an abrupt stop as Anne watched Taeko's eyes widen as she suddenly snapped her head to the side( the direction the communication room was), taking a sniff of the air. The color drained from the red eyed girl’s face.

 

“Blood…” The Kamado whispered, knowing full well what catching the wave of scent coming from that room meant. Even while pale and visibly shaken, Taeko was quick to take action. “Get into the room.”

 

The command confused Anne, but before she could question it, Taeko pushed her into the shower room and closed the door behind them. The kid felt her fear grow as Taeko guided her to one of the showers, using the curtain to hide their figures from outside view. 

 

“What are you—?” Anne in a panicked state. Taeko motioned with a hand for her to keep quiet and didn’t move her eyes off of the door, waiting to see who would enter the room.

 

They stood so silently behind the shower curtain they could hear their own shaky breaths and speeding heartbeats, that was, until there was the sound of the door slowly cracking open and then footsteps. While the curtain made it difficult to see the intruder in detail, the huge silhouette of the orangutan was easily recognizable.

 

Anne opened her mouth to let out a scream of terror. Taeko placed a hand over her mouth before she let it out, as it would have revealed their hiding location.

 

“Hold on. Don’t scream.” Taeko quietly requested, her eyes trailing the animal’s movements as it looked around the room for them. There were more than one shower in the room and all of them had curtains so it gave them some time before it found out in which one they were hiding. Forming a plan, Taeko picked up some soap that was laying on the ground. “Listen, Anne. I’m going to distract the monkey and I need you to run when I tell you to. You have to look for the others, you will be safe with them. And don’t go to the communication room, go directly to the deck.”

 

“B-but—!” Anne tried to protest in a whimper as soon as Taeko removed her hand from her mouth. 

 

“Keep calm. It will be fine. I promise that I will return to you.” Taeko softly told her, giving her a reassuring smile. “I still have to bring you to Singapore, remember?”

 

Anne was hesitant but ended up responding with a nod. While she didn’t want to leave her friend behind with that creepy monkey, she knew there was little she could do to help here. The best she could do is to find and inform the guys that Taeko was in danger.

 

The footsteps creeped closer as the monkey looked for them in each of the showers, soon the shadow of the monkey was right in front of them. Taeko saw its hand move to pull the curtains and held the soap in her fist tightly. 

 

The animal barely caught a glimpse of the girls when something was thrown directly into its left eye, making it cry out in pain. 

 

“Run Anne!!” Taeko exclaimed as the monkey stumbled a few steps back, bringing its hands up to its injured eye. The kid remained frozen like a statue, looking at the huge animal that she knew had tried to sneak up on them. “Go, now!!” She screamed at Anne, who only then sprinted out of there. 

 

The kid intentionally did not look back, knowing she wouldn’t be able to leave Taeko behind if she did so.

 

Taeko was very content that she was able to get Anne out of there before she could have been harmed but she quickly became fearful when the monkey lifted its head to glare at her, his rage fueled by the pain he still felt in his left eye. Without having Anne to worry about, Taeko was able to register the danger she was in.

 

It was her first time fighting a real enemy all alone.

 

She felt her knees begin to tremble as the monkey stood tall and her smaller form was swallowed by his large shadow. A cold fell down her forehead as she felt like a prey looking up at its predator.

 

But then, there was a nudge in the back of her head. Another inherited memory flashed in her mind, she could see her grandfather in a similar situation. He stood in front of two young kids, protecting them from a demon with drums prodding from his body. She could also feel what he felt, he had been scared too. But he had a duty and he found the strength to do it.

 

And so would she.

 

Clenching her fists, willing her knees to stop shaking, she felt Titania appear behind her. The stand extended her wings to look bigger. Taeko noticed that the orangutan could see the stand by the way its eyes shifted to look at the blue skinned figure.

 

“So you are the one behind all of this…” She said out loud, now knowing the orangutan was a stand user too.

 

The animal moved to attack, rushing in her direction while raising both of its large arms to hit her. Taeko was able to dodge by throwing her body to the side before it’s hands smashed into and cracked the floor she had been standing in before. 

 

“Water breathing, eighth form: Waterfall Basin!” Taeko commanded. Titania raised her sword above her head, preparing to bring it down as some drops of water began to form from the blade. 

 

Taeko expected to see her stand crush the monkey into the ground with a waterfall but instead she heard the sound of metal bending and then the shower rail extended from the walls and snaked around Titania’s wrists, preventing her from finishing the movement. It was like what had happened with that crane before, the shower rail had moved on its own. Taeko was sure she hadn’t seen anything that could be the monkey’s stand close to it. 

 

Her stand was pulled against the wall as the rail of the shower retracted, then it snaked up to around the blue stand’s hand and forearms, effectively immobilizing her.

 

“Titania!” Taeko gasped, eyes wide in surprise. She urged Titania to pull against the shower rail harder to break free. To her dismay, the blue lady’s lacked the physical strength to do so. 

 

Taeko did not have time to try anything else, as next, pieces of the bathroom wall tile shot in her direction. She was able to dodge the projectiles due to her quick reflexes from her years of training, though some pieces did almost graze her.

 

She took some steps to the side and back while dodging until her back collided with the cold wall with force, her shoulder throbbing with pain. She didn’t realize she had been backed into a corner.

 

Again, she heard the metal bending and pipe that was resting in the wall began to twist and bend around her. Taeko pushed herself from the wall to get away, only for the pipe to expand after her, wrapping itself around her chest and arms and then retracting, making the girl collide against the wall a second time.

 

Taeko, by instinct, tried to break free even though she knew it would be impossible for her to break through the metal wrapped around her.

 

Seeing both the user and her stand had been successfully rendered defenseless by its stand, the orangutan made a noise that to Taeko sounded like mockery laughter.

 

Panicking would only make figuring out a way to escape harder, but as she felt the orangutan’s eyes roaming over her body up and down it was very hard for her to keep the fear from engulfing her whole. It became impossible to stay calm when the orangutan began approaching her, hands twitching as if it couldn't control the urge to touch her.

 

“Stay away from me!” She yelled at the top of her lungs, heart palpitating wildly against her ribcage as she watched the animal getting closer and closer.

 

“Hey!” Taeko thought she was hearing things when the familiar voice came from the doorway.

 

She saw the monkey stop on its tracks and turn to look at who spoke, only to have the lock from its cage be slammed against its head with enough force for blood to come spurting from the wound. The animal dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. 

 

Holding the lock now covered in the ape’s blood was none other than Jotaro.

 

“Jojo!” Taeko exclaimed in both relief and surprise, she had been so focused on the enemy that she didn’t even notice when he got there.

 

He looked at her with an unreadable expression, and for a brief moment his blue eyes locked in her red ones. A form blocked her view of him, briefly fearing it was the ape, Taeko was eased to see that it was instead Star Platinum.

 

“Ora!” Star Platinum cried out as he grabbed the pipe trapping her, ripping it apart to get her free. Taeko was happy to see Titania was able to untangle herself from her restraints as they had loosened up now that the enemy stand user was impaired.

 

Jotaro glared down at the monkey, who was cowardly crawling away from the delinquent. 

 

“Don’t forget your lock!” Jotaro growled, throwing the lock into the monkey’s skull with force. If she hadn’t felt such disdain for the animal, Taeko would feel bad for the agony it was being subjected to.

 

The animal stumbled backwards but it didn't fall, it regained balance by grabbing Jotaro’s jacket in a tight grip. 

 

“This ape… is no ordinary ape.” Jotaro frowned at the strange behavior of the animal, a suspicion came into his mind. “Could it be that he is…”

 

“Jotaro! The monkey is the stand user!” Taeko’s warning confirmed what he had already been suspecting. Next, the monkey attempted to land a kick on him but, with quick reflexes, Star Platinum was able to block the attack with his forearm.

 

As they fought, Taeko kept a watchful eye on their surroundings, trying to figure out what exactly the monkey’s stand was. While she couldn’t see anything that looked like a stand, she was fast to react when a fan broke loose from the ceiling and flew in Jotaro’s direction.

 

“Titania!” She exclaimed, trusting her stand to know what to do. The blue lady jumped in front of the delinquent, cutting the object into pieces before it could hurt him. Quickly, Taeko called for the eight form once again. “Water breathing, eighth form: Waterfall Basin!” 

 

This time Titania was successful in launching the attack, aiming at the space in between the two teens and the enemy. The ape was forced to jump back to avoid the explosion of water. It was ready to launch another object into the delinquent but when the curtain of water dissipated, the duo was nowhere to be seen.

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As soon as Taeko had realized what the monkey’s stand actually was, she knew they had to flee. The sound of their footsteps echoed across the hall as they ran, with Taeko holding Jotaro’s hand as she guided him away from that room. Taeko was very aware that Jotaro was allowing her to lead him away, she wouldn’t be able to move someone as huge as him otherwise. When he stopped moving, she had no other option but to stop too. He raised an eyebrow at her, as if to ask why she decided to flee the bathroom.

 

“We need to get to the deck.” Taeko said, dread written all over her face yet eyes blazing with determination. “I know what the stand is!”

 

“Did you see it?” He asked, weirdly not complaining that she had grabbed his hand. “That steel propeller bent on its own yet I couldn’t see anything.”

 

“It’s because it’s everywhere!” Taeko exclaimed, spreading her arms to gesture to the walls around them, with that It finally clicked. 

 

“It’s the ship.” He stated, eyes widening in realization. “The Stand is the freighter!”

 

“Yes, from what I have seen the orangutan can control anything in here.” She confirmed with a nod. “But it also means its stand is more effective in the closed spaces of the ship. If we get to the deck there will be less things for it to manipulate!” Taeko explained her strategy.

 

Seeing movement from the corner of his eye, Jotaro huffed at her idea.

 

“That ape isn’t going to let us get there.”

 

The next second, Taeko felt herself being shoved into the ground away from him. Jotaro had moved her just in time before the pipes shooting from the wall wrapped all around his body and slammed him against it, trapping him there. He could feel that Star was also stuck in the same position.

 

“Crap!” He cursed.

 

“Jojo!” Taeko exclaimed in worry, jumping to his aid. “Don’t move! I am going to cut the pipes!”

 

Queen Titania appeared, sword raised to slash the metal but she was forced to change target when more pipes shot out from the walls after Taeko. Titania destroyed the pipes before they caught her user.

 

What sounded like laughter could be heard, and from another wall, quite literally, emerged the user of the enormous stand. The ape was now dressed in a captain uniform, including a smoking pipe. It held up a dictionary and pointed to the word “Strength”.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

It means force, energy, power, or aid.

 

And… It is the eighth card of the Tarot!

 

It suggests challenge, powerful will, and hidden instinct!

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Queen Titania floated very close to Taeko as she and Jotaro shot glares at the enemy. The ape tossed the book aside and casually smoked the pipe while it began playing with a Rubik’s cube. Its smug behavior got into Jotaro’s nerves and he commanded Star Platinum to rip one of the pipes off him. Two more pipes immediately replaced the one he ripped.

 

“This ape thinks it’s already won…” Both teens thought at the same time as the monkey laughed at them.

 

The orangutan kept laughing at them while it solved the Rubik’s cube. It wasn’t able to speak but they had a good idea what it would be saying if it could.

 

“This ship, the entire thing, is my Stand! You’ve completely lost! You can’t do anything!”

 

The ape crushed the cube when it was done solving it, turning to look at the still unbounded Taeko. The way it admired her female body while licking its lips, disgusted not only Taeko but Jotaro too. The delinquent attempted to free himself again, but more pipes replaced the ones he ripped.

 

When more pipes appeared to trap Taeko, she was quick to react. 

 

“Flower breathing, Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum!”

 

Titania released several rotating sword slashes at each pipe that appeared around her user. The pipes came from both sides and Jotaro observed from the sides that the pieces of the pipes destroyed were absorbed into the floor, probably to form more pipes to attack.

 

To the enemy’s aggravation, Taeko and her stand kept successfully destroying all the pipes that came their way. But Jotaro knew it was only a matter of time until Taeko missed one and got trapped too. He gritted his teeth and used two of his fingers to snap a button off his coat, sending it flying into the monkey’s neck. The action made the enemy shift his attention from the girl to the delinquent.

 

“That button’s not part of your Stand.” He intentionally taunted as he watched the ape pick the button up from the ground. The animal trembled with anger, something Jotaro took a bit of enjoyment from. “You mad? I guess it wounded your pride, since you thought you’d already won.” He kept the monkey’s attention on him, noticing that the pipes stopped attacking Taeko while the enemy's focus was on him. “No, it’s not hurt… because apes don’t have any pride!”

 

The animal screeched in rage, jumping in the air to attack him. In another life, Jotaro would have used the chance to ricochet the button to its face with a star finger but in this one Taeko was there.

 

“That’s exactly what makes you an ape.” He calmly said, his next words making the ape freeze on its tracks. “Dumb enough to turn your back to the adversary.”

 

“Flower breathing, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!”

 

The monkey only realized its mistake a second before it saw Titania spun around with her body weight to deliver a large slash to its chest, making the enemy screech in pain. It fell to the ground with force, blood gushing from the wound.

 

With the enemy defeated, Jotaro was finally able to break free from his restraints. 

 

“Good grief.” He sighed, watching as the monkey stood up and backed into a corner away, trembling with fear of the two of them. It opened the front of his already slashed shirt to show its bleeding stomach.

 

“I heard that, when frightened, animals show their stomachs to signal that they’re giving up.” Jotaro observed, pulling down the brim of his hat as he did so. “So you’re asking us to forgive you?”

 

The monkey nodded in affirmation and threw them a pleading look while raising its arms up to show it was giving up.

 

“You killed the other sailors, didn’t you?” Taeko grimly questioned, her question surprised the ape as it knew she did not see the bodies in the communication room. She also felt Jotaro’s eyes on her, a trace of intrigue on his scent. “I’m always aware when there is blood close by.”

 

The monkey was shaking like a leaf at this point, a clear sign of guilt. Jotaro tsk’d at the new information.

 

“You’ve already crossed a line no animal should.” He hissed, more than eager to beat the shit of the animal. “So I don’t think you deserve forgiveness.”

 

“ORA ORA ORA ORA!!” Star Platinum released a flurry of punches at the animal, without showing any mercy, all the while screaming his battle cry. The final punch sent the monkey flying backwards through a nearby door. “ORAA!”

 

The animal fell to the ground, gravely wounded. Taeko was not sure if it was even alive anymore with all its still bleeding injuries. While she would never feel joy or satisfaction at a life being taken, in this instance she wouldn’t feel bad if the orangutan did die. Not after all its sins.

 

This orangutan may not be a demon but it is as evil as one.

 

The look that Jotaro shot her made Taeko realize she had murmured that last thought. Again, she could smell his intrigue.

 

Before either of them could speak, the entire ship shook violently. The unexpected tremor almost made Taeko fall to the ground.

 

“This stand…” Taeko realized something as she watched the ship begin to contort and twist on itself. “It’s not going to hold up without the user!”

 

“This ship is about to sink, let’s get out of here.” Jotaro said.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

For the second time in less than three days, the crusaders were forced to abandon the ship they were in. Back in their emergency boat, they watched the stand twist as it shrunk. Its features of a huge freighter were slowly being replaced by its original appearance of a small row boat.

 

“Unbelievable… So that monkey used its own Stand to get this far into the ocean.” Avdol said, still shaken by the experience of almost being crushed by this huge stand. “What terrifying power. That was the first time I’ve encountered such energy.”

 

“We were completely overwhelmed. If you two hadn't figured it out, we would have been done for.”  Joseph confessed with a sigh, looking at both Jotaro and Taeko.

 

“I didn’t actually suspect the monkey was the stand user. That was only Jojo.” Teako admitted, shaking her head. “I had no idea animals could have a stand.”

 

“They can.” Avdol confirmed, him and Joseph exchanging a look as both were reminded of a certain street dog. “This was not the first animal stand user we met.”

 

“That would have been a valuable information to know before.” Kakyoin pointed out, yet he did not sound annoyed at them for forgetting to mention it.

 

Taeko listened to their conversation but her attention was mainly on the girl that was sitting next to her, Anne had been very silent after they escaped the freighter. She hadn’t said a word to Taeko after they reunited at the deck, not even while the oldest expressed how relieved she was that Anne was alright.

 

The red eyed teen was struggling to think if something she did could have offended the kid in some way, when she finally said something.

 

“I'm sorry.” She shyly apologized. Taeko didn't understand what she was talking about until she continued. “I'm sorry I left you alone with that weird monkey.”

 

“Dear, no…” Taeko whispered, hands instinctively reaching out to gently pet her hair. “I told you to go, you didn't leave me because you wanted.” Taeko winced as the image of the sailors working flashed on her head. Unlike Anne, she had chosen to leave them alone in that room and now they were gone because she hadn't been there to protect them. But now was the time to make Anne feel better, not to think about her own guilt. ”Besides, you were the one that told Jojo that I needed help, weren’t you? He wouldn’t have known I needed help if you hadn’t. I'm safe now thanks to you.”

 

Her comforting words did seem to make the kid feel better, judging by the way her body relaxed under her touch.

 

“I wonder… are we going to encounter even more Stands with unknown powers from now on?” Joseph thoughtfully reflected at the same time that Jotaro was trying to light up a cigarette.

 

“Want some gum?” Polnareff offered some to the grandfather, probably to calm his nerves.

 

“And now we’re going to be drifting again.” Joseph groaned in dismay.

 

“Good grief. My cigarettes are soaked.” Jotaro complained, unable to light up the cigarette in his mouth.

 

“Maybe that’s a good thing. Smoking is terrible for your lungs.” Taeko softly pointed out as she held Anne close to her while still caressing her locks. The kid was exhausted and, with her gentle touch, had quickly fallen asleep in her arms.

 

“Mind your own business, Kamado.” Jotaro shot back.

 

“We’ll just have to pray that we get rescued and reach Singapore safely.” Joseph said, shaking his head at his grandson’s rude behavior. Was it so hard for him to say something nice to the girl?

 

“It’s been four days since we left Japan…” Kakyoin murmured.

 

While he was probably referring to their time limit of fifty days, Taeko couldn’t help but wonder how things were back home. She hoped her mother was alright. Yushiro and Chachamaru too. 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Yushiro was not alright.

 

Not even a bit.

 

In his more than a hundred years of age, he had never left Japan. So his travel to Hong Kong by plane was more troublesome than he would like to admit.

 

You may be wondering why he is in Hong Kong instead of going to Egypt as Taeko noted in the letter. The truth is that he was actually planning to book a ticket to Cairo until he heard of a plane crash on the coast of Hong Kong, and he instinctively knew Taeko had to have been on that flight.

 

Because of course Taeko would have been on the one flight from Japan that would crash! 

 

When he finally got to Hong Kong he had to ask around if someone had seen Taeko. Lucky for him, Taeko had a striking appearance with her red hair and eyes so after shoving her picture in a bunch of people's faces he was able to follow her footsteps in Hong Kong.

 

And those were very concerning footsteps. After the plane crash, Taeko was present with a bizarre group of men as a restaurant was destroyed, they were also seen at Tiger Balm Garden the same day that place was hit by a strange flood. There was no doubt in his mind that the flood was caused by Titania. The last place the group were spotted was by the docks, that’s how Yushiro ended there late in the night.

 

A huge disadvantage of being a demon was that he can only be out at night and, unlike in the city, the docks were almost empty at that time. It took him a while to find someone that could tell him if Taeko got on a boat.

 

When he finally found someone, his patience was already very thin. 

 

And as if the situation wasn’t bad enough, they were apparently too late as Taeko had left in a boat the day before.

 

“Curse that girl!” Yushiro exclaimed in frustration. “We missed her!”

 

A meow came from his right. Yushiro wasn’t able to understand what Chachamaru was meowing but after years together he got very good at interpreting it.

 

“I was about to ask him that.” Yushiro grumbled to the cat as he looked at the dock worker he was talking to. “Where was the boat going?”

 

“I think I heard them mention Singapore.” The man answered with a shrug.

 

“They must be planning on using another route to get to Egypt.” Yushiro was quick to rationalize. “Do you know when the next boat there leaves?”

 

“That one leaves tomorrow morning.” The man said, pointing to one of the boats.

 

Yushiro’s left eye twitched in irritation at the inconvenience. He can’t be out in the morning! He is a demon that would perish in the sun! 

 

He lets out a sigh, turning his back to the dockworker dismissively. Chachamaru followed him as he walked away.

 

They had to reach Singapore as quickly as possible. 

 

And, unfortunately, there was only one option that would guarantee they would be at that ship next morning without getting exposed to the sun.

 

Some hours later, both found themselves below the deck of the boat. They had snuck in the first hours of the morning and in order not to be found by either the sun or the sailors there, they had had to squeeze into the small free space between the cargo. As they felt the boat finally begin to move, Yushiro could only curse Taeko and whoever was with her at that moment for getting him in that uncomfortable situation.

Notes:

I rewrote like 80 percent of this chapter when i came back to writing it so I hope the end results were satisfactory. A lot of things happened and I would love to get your guys opinion on them.

I ended up sneaking in there a little clue to what DIO's plan is with Taeko since it was a theory on it that ended up bringing me back here.

About when the next chapter is going to be posted...I'm not sure. There is a plot point I wanted to introduce but I am having trouble figuring out how to insert and describe it. So, unfortunatelly, I can make no promises. But fic isn't in hiatus anymore and I will try to post the next capter this month or the next.

As always, Thanks for reading.

...Shit! I almost forgot the-!

Showa era secret:

There was more than one reason the inherited memory Taeko saw at that moment was of the drum demon. His blood demon art had allowed him to control the mansion he was in, so there is a certain similarity to the stand strength that Taeko unconsciously noticed even before she even figured out what the orangutan's stand really was.

Chapter 8: Bad Room service

Notes:

I am posting this way earlier than I expected. The excitement of finally returning to this fic stayed with me the entire week so I ended up being able to post it today. Hope you enjoy it.

After what must have been just a few hours, the group came across another ship, this one much smaller and a lot less ominous than the last. To everyone’s immense relief there were no enemies aboard. Quite the opposite, at least in Taeko’s opinion, as those sailors were kind enough to take them the rest of the way to Singapore. It gave the group a much needed break. 

 

When they were at last greeted by the sight of the land of Singapore appearing in the distance, all members of the group felt more than happy to finally return to dry land.

 

“Thank you very much for your help!” Taeko made sure to give sailors her farewells before getting off the ship with the others. “I hope you all have safe travels!” She left with a smile on her face, oblivious to the effect her charm had on the men there.

 

“What a good kid that one was…” With her kind words and cheerful aura, the sailors couldn’t help but feel fuzzy inside.

 

“Kamado! Hurry up!” 

 

Jotaro, on the other hand, couldn't stand having to wait for her to be done.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Once upon a time, a prince from the land of Sumatra went out to sea, seeking new lands.

 

He then found an island where there were white-maned lions called Singas, and so named the island Singapura.

 

A country of straits that ships and tankers from around the world pass through!

 

A country whose people share both Western and Eastern heritage thanks to free trade: Singapore!

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

“We are finally here… took us long enough.” Polnareff said with a huff as their group now stood in one of the streets of Singapore. His body still felt sore all over, especially his back, after almost being crushed to death by tons of metal. The brief rest on that last ship didn't help, what he really needed was a bed to lie down.

 

“We’ll stay at a hotel tonight and figure out our route to Egypt.” Joseph told the rest, he scanned their surroundings for a moment to choose where they should go. “All right, let’s stay at that hotel!” He had pointed at a huge and expensive looking building not too far from them. Of course, none of the guys protested at the suggestion of spending the night in such a luxurious place.

 

While the guys began walking to the hotel, Taeko looked back to check on their little companion. She knew that Anne was following them since they left the ship. The red eyed girl didn’t feel the need to comment on it because she had been planning from the start to only part ways with the kid after she was reunited with her family.

 

“So, where are you going to meet your father?” Taeko asked, fully intending on accompanying the little girl to the location. For reasons Taeko couldn’t figure out, Anne looked nervous when she asked that.

 

“About that…” Anne answered while unconsciously shifting one foot to another. “…he isn’t actually here.” There was a long pause. “Yet.”

 

“What?” Taeko asked with raised eyebrows. The kid hadn’t mentioned this part before.

 

“…He will be here in five days.” Anne informed her, looking away slightly. “I will meet him then.”

 

“Do you not have anyone to stay with?” Taeko asked, concern laced on her voice. “Or at least somewhere to stay?”

 

The little girl shook her head in denial.

 

“I was thinking of just doing whatever I wanted while I waited.” Anne shrugged nonchalantly.

 

Taeko didn’t need to ask more, she knew what she had to do.

 

“Come on. We will arrange something for you.” 

 

And so both of them continued walking together some steps behind the guys, that incredibly hadn’t noticed the kid’s presence yet. 

 

They were almost at the hotel when the sound of a whistle made them stop. The sound came from an officer then ran to the group, an expression of sterness on his face.

 

“Hey, you!” He shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Polnareff. “Yeah, you with the flat top!”

 

“Me?” Confused, Polnareff pointed at himself.

 

“Yeah, you!” The man shouted. “You threw this trash, didn’t you? That’s a 500 Singapore dollar fine!” He held up five fingers as he specified the amount.

 

“What? Five hundred?” Polnareff asked, even more confused after that. He didn’t even know what trash the man was referring to and now was asking for all that money!

 

“Here in Singapore, the law prohibits littering and fines all violators for doing so!” The man sternly, and very rudely, informed. He gestured to a plaque that stood nearby that announced the fine he was talking about.

 

“500 Singapore dollars…” Kakyoin mumbled, calculating the quantity in his mind.

 

“That’s about 40,000 yen.” Joseph said, having transferred the amount into yen.

 

“Wait!” Taeko intervened with an exclamation. The attention of the officer was shifted to her but his glare didn’t intimidate the Kamado even a bit. She didn’t want her friend to be obliged to pay for something he didn’t do. “What trash are you talking about? Polnareff didn’t throw any trash.”

 

“The girl is right.” Avdol said in support of her inquisition. “We would have seen if he did.”

 

In response, the officer pointed at something on the ground. The group’s eyes followed his finger down to whatever the officer was pointing at, they had different reactions at seeing what the supposed ‘trash’ actually was. Avdol had to hold back a laugh while Taeko just shook her head at the officer’s stupidity, and Polnareff was just pissed.

 

After all, the dumb officer was pointing at his luggage.

 

“All I see on the ground here is my own luggage.” Polnareff revealed through gritted teeth, making the officer’s eyes widen in surprise as realization sunk in.

 

“Would you be so kind as to tell me what trash you’re referring to, officer?” Polnareff pressed on, jabbing a finger at the officer’s chest. The officer's expression quickly became a mix of regret and shame as Polnareff took his shoulder in tight hold while giving him a wicked grin. “You sure you see some trash?”

 

“…you mean, that bag’s your luggage?” The officer asked weakly, trying to confirm his mistake.

 

“Are you suggesting something about my friend’s luggage?” Taeko intervened again. “Because it would be very rude if you were doing that.” While her voice sounded innocent, her red eyes were accusatory as she stared at the man.

 

“I-I’m terribly sorry.” The officer nervously apologized. With that, all of their group(with the exception of Jotaro, who only smirked) bursted into laughter. 

 

Anne joining in their laughter made the guys stop laughing and finally realize she was there, standing right next to Taeko. The girls kept laughing a few seconds longer before they noticed the guys got silent and were now staring at them. Anne huffed and looked away, with Taeko placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

 

“Well, I’ll be going, then…” The officer took the chance to leave before he lost what was left of his dignity. He ran off with Polnareff shushing him away with his hand.

 

“Kamado, why do you still have the kid with you?” Joseph was the one to ask, realizing there was no way Taeko hadn’t known the girl was standing there before. His next question was directed at Anne. “Weren’t you going to see your father, kid?”

 

“Why don’t you stop following us for once and leave?” Polnareff asked, looking rather annoyed that she was still there. He did not want to have to save her if they were attacked again.

 

“I’ll meet him in five days.” Anne responded with a huff.  “Until then I can just do whatever I want! I'm not taking orders from you jerks!” 

 

“I was hoping she could stay with us a little longer.” Taeko suggested, to the surprise of all the guys. To them, it seemed reckless to keep the kid close. Especially after all she had gone through in their company.

 

“It’s not safe for the little girl to accompany us.” Avdol crossed his arms, quick to oppose the idea.

 

“We can’t just leave her roaming the streets alone. That would also be dangerous.” Taeko reasoned to which her friends couldn't really deny. Enemy stand users were not the only danger in this city to a little girl like Anne.

 

“Doesn’t she have the cash for a place to stay?” Kakyoin inquired, trying to look for other options.

 

“Not that she mentioned.” Taeko said. She looked at Anne for a response. The kid shook her head in negative.

 

“Then that’s it… We’ll get her a room.” Joseph relented with a sigh. He knew Taeko wouldn't leave Anne behind even no matter how much they kept trying to convince her. Also, while he was not a hundred percent sure Anne would not have to be witness to another stand battle while with them, he knew that it would be safer for her than being abandoned, homeless and alone for five days. The father in him would never be able to put a little kid through that.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

It didn’t take long for them to reach the hotel, the building looked even more luxurious off close. Not knowing this was the one hotel Joseph chose for them to stay at, Anne was stunned when she noticed this was where they were going.

 

“We’re staying here?” She stared open mouthed at the outside of the hotel, the girl couldn’t help wondering how such a place looked on the inside. “You guys must be loaded!”

 

“Not really.” Taeko admitted, giving credit to who it was due. “It’s Mr. Joestar that is paying for everybody. He is the one that has been investing this entire trip.”

 

“I see, so you guys are a bunch of freeloaders then.” Anne said rather rudely, narrowing her eyes at Taeko.

 

In response, Taeko flicked Anne’s chin. The kid yelped, taken by surprise by her action.

 

“Why did you do that??” Anne exclaimed, feeling her chin stung.

 

“Don't be so blunt.” Taeko scolded her while wearing a straight face. “You have to think before you speak, otherwise you may end up hurting someone with your words.”

 

Anne’s face warmed in embarrassment at being scolded like the child (that she actually was, but she didn’t like to be reminded of that fact). She opened her mouth, about to complain. Only, Taeko knew the exact thing to say to cheer her up.

 

“Let's not waste any more time then.” She spoke with a sweet smile before Anne could say anything. “I think we are long overdue for a nice warm bath.” She said, knowing very well that Anne was eager to take a shower back at the ship and no doubt still wanted one.  “And after that we can go eat something. I don’t know about you, but I am yearning to eat something sweet.”

 

The premise of having a hot shower and eating some nice food was enough to make Anne shrug off her own complaint. A glint appeared in her eye and she wasted no time in grabbing Taeko’s hand and running with her into the building.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

The hotel’s lobby was a beautiful place, in which stood many attractives that would get anyone eager to stay a night there. The cristaline marbles, that were a golden color, were so clean you could see your reflection on it. There were also fancy red couches, so comfortable looking one would inch to rest on it for a while. The decoration contained palm trees to give the vibe of summer vacation to those who got there. No doubt somewhere only the rich would be able to pay to stay at.

 

Unfortunately, the beauty of the place was barely noticed by Taeko. Getting inside that lobby felt like a punch to her gut.

 

You see, while having a sharp nose has many advantages it also leaves Taeko with one big weakness.

 

Something called sensory overload.

 

Taeko can’t regulate her sense of smell so when faced with strong or intense scents she becomes overwhelmed. Closed spaces with crowds are almost impossible for her to stay in as there are too many perfumes mixing with each other. It's too much information for her brain to process so she ends up with headaches.

 

And Taeko could tell the staff of the hotel used many cleaning supplies to make sure that room was always spotless. Many, very strong in smell, cleaning supplies. And that combined with the perfumes of the many rich looking people in there was a lot.

 

Taeko almost stumbled back, feeling very tempted to run back outside and escape from this room.

 

Anne had let go of her hand in order to freely marvel around the huge room, not noticing the state Taeko was in. The one to realize how uncomfortable she got was Kakyoin.

 

“Kamado, are you alright?” He asked, looking at her with eyebrows knitting in concern.

 

“I’m fine… it’s just that, the cleaning supplies they used in this room are very strong.” Taeko said while massaging her temples in an attempt to alleviate the headache that had begun to form.

 

Kakyoin, being the smart guy that he was, was quick to deduce what was the problem.

 

“Of course.” He said, furring his eyebrows as he realized what she was having to deal with due to her talent. "Since you have an enhanced sense of smell, it would only make sense that being close to intense scents overwhelms you.”

 

Taeko slowly nodded in confirmation. She usually didn't like talking about this to other people but she trusted Kakyoin.

 

“I can't exactly turn off my sense of smell so I don’t do well in places such as those.” She explained with a helpless shrug. “But it’s nothing I’m not used to.”

 

“I'm sure you will get better when you get to your room.” He said after a moment of consideration, thinking fast on the right words to say to console her. “There will be no crowds there and if you feel overwhelmed you can just open the windows.”

 

“Thanks.” Taeko said, really appreciative that he was expressing that concern over her. “You are a really sweet guy, Kakyoin.”

 

“I’m sure Mr. Joestar has already arranged some rooms for us.” He rapidly said, quite abruptly turning his back to her to walk to the front desk, where the others were already gathered.

 

It could have been her eyes playing tricks on her, but for a moment Taeko could swear she saw his cheeks turning red.

 

Regardless, she followed him to the front desk just as Joseph was speaking with the receptionist.

 

“I’m terribly sorry, sir, but we tend to be booked this time of year.” The receptionist apologized while Joseph was writing down his signature to pay for their rooms. “The rooms we have available are located on different floors. Is that all right, sir?”

 

“Well, I guess we have no choice.” Joseph shrugged, not much bothered by the inconvenience. They were already there and he wasn’t going to go around looking for another hotel. And so he turned to the others, deciding who would room with who. “Then for the rooms… Avdol and I will share a room.” 

 

“Jotaro and I will share a room, since we’re both students.” Kakyoin suggested, with Jotaro agreeing with a barely noticeable nod.

 

“As for the rest…” Joseph continued, now looking at the trio in question. With only Taeko, Anne and Polnareff left, either they all would have to share one room or someone would have to stay alone. He was leaning more towards having them all together, as it would be safer for all three, but Anne chose this moment to share her opinion on the matter.

 

“I want to room with Taeko!” Anne boldly announced. “We are both girls so we need to stick together! No guys allowed.” She said the last part as she shot a glare at Polnareff, making it clear she didn’t want him there.

 

“What?” Polnareff exclaimed, offended that the brat who wasn't even part of their group was excluding him.

 

Anne childishly stuck her tongue out at him, making Taeko sigh and shake her head in disapproval at her rude behavior.

 

“Maybe it will be better to give the ladies their own room.” Joseph reasoned, turning back to the receptionist now that their arrangements were ‘sorted out’. “We’ll take four rooms, please.”

 

“Yes, of course!” The receptionist swiftly got the four keys to their rooms from the table drawer. As soon as she laid the keys on the desk, Polnareff took one of them.

 

“Fine, I can relax more in my own room anyway!” Polnareff sang, suddenly sounding satisfied to have a quiet room all for himself. Even so, Taeko still smelled that he felt a bit sore for being the one left out. “I’m gonna sleep like a baby tonight!” He began walking away, looking over his shoulder at the others. “Let’s go. We’ve been through all kinds of hell ever since we left Hong Kong. We should hurry up and take a shower now that we are actually safe.”

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

It was only after closing the door to their room that Taeko felt that she could properly breathe again. Kakyoin had been correct in his assumption that she would feel better when she got there. 

 

Anne made a beeline to the bathroom, heading straight to the shower. She checked the water’s temperature before getting in and was delighted to feel the warm water against her skin. The girl hastily took off her clothes, throwing her dirty jumper carelessly at the ground. 

 

“You know the shower isn't going to run away, don’t you?” Taeko asked as she went to pick up the mess Anne left behind, even though she knew Anne probably wouldn't hear her over the sound of the running water. 

 

She couldn’t help but smile when she heard the little girl begin happily humming to herself. It soothed her to know the kid felt safe in her company. She had been worried the events at the ships would have lasting effects on her, but she could sense by her relaxed scent that it was not the case.

 

With the humming as background noise, Taeko began to wash hers and Anne’s clothes on the bathroom sink. She didn’t take too long to be done, having years of experience taking care of the house chores back at home. At that point Anne had already finished with her bath so it was Taeko’s turn. Under the warm water Taeko felt her muscles relax, intentionally spending a few more minutes in the bath just to enjoy it a bit longer. 

 

When she got out of the bathroom, she found the younger girl sitting in front of the mirror wearing the clothes she lent to her(fortunately for the two she had two changes of clothes in her backpack). Anne was trying to untangle a knot on her hair by pulling a brush down so hard Taeko expected her to rip some locks in the process.

 

“Careful. You will end up getting bald if you comb it like that.” Taeko warned with a frown. “Here, let me help you with this.”

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

The girls had moved to sit in one of the beds, finding it to be as comfy as it looked. Anne had her back to Taeko, trying to stand still as the red eyed teen carefully combed her hair. It felt a bit embarrassing having the older girl help her like that but Anne had to admit it was better than what she was doing before.

 

“So, what are you doing with those guys?” Anne tentatively began small talk. “How did you end up traveling with them?”

 

“Jojo and Kakyoin are my classmates from school. Well…  Kakyoin is new so we haven’t really had class with him yet.” Taeko revealed and as she spoke about it came the pleasing realization that even after this trip was over Kakyoin would keep being part of their daily lives. During the short time they spent together, Taeko had come to think of the red-haired teen as a friend and she knew the feeling was mutual. When she was younger, she had wished to have a friend with an “invisible companion” like hers and now she was finally getting her wish granted. As she had told him in the hotel lobby, she thought Kakyoin was a really nice guy and she was looking forward to getting to know him better during and after the trip.

 

“I don’t get how you stand him.” Anne commented with a scoff.

 

“Him?” Taeko asked, confused. Due to her mental reflections, for a moment she thought Anne was talking about Kakyoin. That was, until Anne clarified.

 

“Jojo.” Anne said, making a face as she spoke his nickname.

 

Taeko frowned, she had expected Anne’s impression of the Kujo teen to have gotten better at that point. He had saved them, not only once but twice, after all.

 

“Jotaro may seem a bit…” Taeko tried to choose the right description to fit the delinquent.“…gruffy most of the time. But he is actually a nice guy.” 

 

Anne snorted, clearly thinking otherwise.

 

“I’m serious. His actions speak louder than his words.” Taeko insisted, making Anne turn her head to shoot her a look of curiosity that inched her to continue.  “He is rude and has a short fuse, that’s true, but when it comes to his actions he always makes the right choices.” Her shoulders slumped a little, a heavy sigh escaping her lips as she continued.“I know he doesn’t… like me very much… but when I needed he didn’t hesitate to come.” Taeko’s mind went back to key instances of the last few days, of Jotaro’s moments of bravery and sympathy. “He protected me. He saved Kakyoin’s life even after he attacked him. And he didn’t think twice before coming all the way here to cure his mother from a terrible disease.” She could feel her smile returning to her face while she revealed what she really thought about him. “Jotaro Kujo isn’t like anyone I have met before.”

 

Taeko didn’t realize she had begun to refer to moments Anne wasn’t even aware of. Taeko had gotten so deep in her thoughts on Jotaro that she even forgot the kid was there for a second.

 

Anne just stared at her, gazing into her eyes as she looked for something in her smiling expression. The kid was hesitant to voice her suspicion.

 

“…do you like him?” Came Anne’s next question.

 

“Of course.” Taeko answered without hesitation, making Anne’s eyes widen. “He may be difficult to befriend but I am sure he will end up opening up to me eventually.” She said with determination at forming a friendship with the guy.

 

“Not like that!” Anne exclaimed as she shook her head, luckily it didn't mess with her hair as she did so. “I mean like like him.”

 

Now it was Taeko’s turn to stare. 

 

“Like like him?” Taeko repeated, confused.

 

“Really really like him!” Anne said, and with that Taeko finally understood what she meant. 

 

“Anne, are you asking if I am interested in Jojo…romantically?” Taeko asked for confirmation as she tilted her head slightly to the side.

 

“Yeah!” Anne exclaimed. “That’s exactly what I am asking!”

 

Taeko became eerily quiet, there was an unreadable expression on her face.

 

It took a while for her to say something.

 

Anne wasn't sure what she was expecting but it wasn't to hear Taeko snort while trying to hold back laughter by biting her lip. The brunette blushed in embarrassment, thinking she isn’t being taken seriously.

 

“Don’t laugh at me!” She said, face red of exasperation as she began to rabble.  “It’s a very valid question! You spend a lot of time together and he is really good looking!”

 

Taeko got herself under control, wiping away a tear that escaped from her eye.

 

“Sorry… I am not laughing at you, Anne.” She said while giving the girl an apologetic smile. “It’s just that I don’t see Jotaro liking someone that way.” Not after weeks of watching him either ignoring or declining every advance from any of the girls at school. “He is quite the lone wolf at school. And he seems repulsed by any girl that tries to get his attention. I’m not sure if he will ever like someone romantically.” There was a pause as a thought came to her mind. “Although…”

 

“Although…?” Anne asked.

 

“I think that if he ever did find someone to love, that person would be very lucky to have him.” Taeko said with a soft smile as she resumed working on Anne's hair. While Jotaro had shown himself to be quite rude to his mom, Taeko had been able to smell the truth of their bond.

 

Love. Concern. Trust.

 

He came on this journey knowing full well of the risk of death because he cared deeply about her, even if he didn’t voice it the best way. She had no doubt that if someone were to accomplish the seemingly impossible feat that would be to win his heart there was nothing he wouldn't do to protect that someone.

 

“And it’s done!” Taeko grinned as she finally finished making Anne’s hair. She was very proud to see how it turned out, as she had not done this for a while. “What do you think?”

 

Anne looked up at her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall, taking note of her new hairstyle. Taeko had fixed her hair in three thick braids, two falling down her chest and the third hidden on her back. It was different from anything she had tried on her hair before but she found herself liking how it looked on her. It was an efficient way to organize her messy locks without having to stuff them into a hat and all the while keeping herself looking pretty.

 

“Grandpa called this ‘The Kanroji triple braid.’“ Taeko presented, catching in the younger girl’s scent that she was satisfied with the new look.

 

“Kanroji?” Anne wondered, looking over her shoulder at Taeko with curiosity.

 

“This type of braid was inspired by a friend of my grandfather and her name was Kanroji. So he named it after her.” Taeko could recall keeping this hairstyle on for days after her grandfather told her stories of the Love Hashira. She smiled softly and watched as Anne got up from the bed and approached the mirror to better inspect her new braids.

 

“Alright!” Anne then headed back to the bed, wearing a grin on her face. “Now is your turn!”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“I let you style my hair so I get to style yours.” Anne said. “It’s only fair.”

 

Taeko, remembering how Anne was combing her hair before, rushed to convince the girl to drop the idea.

 

“Anne, I like your enthusiasm but you don’t have to.” Taeko said, feeling dread form in the pit of her stomach. “My hair is short so there isn’t much to do with it.”

 

“I can figure something out!” Anne declared, sounding determined with this task. Seeing how hesitant Taeko was, Anne decided to give it one more push by showing her the cutest puppy dog eyes she could muster. “Please.”

 

It was super effective.

 

“Alright…” Taeko conceded with a sigh of defeat. She couldn’t say no to that face even if she knew she was going to regret this.

 

And she did.

 

Now with their positions exchanged, Anne was being careful not to comb Taeko’s hair as forcefully as she did with her own before. Even so there still were a few moments when she pulled too hard on a lock of hair making Taeko yelp in pain.

 

Anne looked at Taeko’s hair as if it was a complicated math question she had to solve, she hadn't figured out which hairstyle to make yet.

 

“How about a ponytail?” Taeko suggested a simple one as she just wanted to be done with it before her reddish locks had to be subjected to any more pulls. 

 

“No!” Anne was quick to shoot the idea away. “That's too basic, I want to give you a hairstyle as cool as the one you did on me!”

 

On other occasions Taeko would have been happy to hear that she liked the braids that much, but now she almost regrets showing them to Anne.

 

She let out a louder yelp of pain when Anne again pulled the brush too hard yet again. Both girls jumped when suddenly there was a loud bang on the door.

 

“Kamado! Are you and Anne alright in there??” A familiar voice called with urgency.

 

“Kakyoin?” Taeko asked, recognizing his voice. She got up from the bed to open the door for him. When she did, she found that Jotaro was there as well. “Do you guys need anything? Why did you come here?”

 

Kakyoin looked her up and down, checking for any visible injuries. When he found none, he frowned.

 

“I thought I had heard you yelp in pain.” He said, having heard the sound through the door when he was about to knock. Taeko wasn't going to mention the hair pulling so as not to embarrass Anne but Kakyoin saw the comb that was still in the kid's hand, her new hairstyle and put two and two together. Now amused, he smiled, raising an eyebrow at the red eyed girl. “You two were doing each other's hair? …That’s kind of adorable.” With this comment, he made the Kamado teen blush. 

 

“Why didn’t you answer the phone?” Jotaro joined in their conversation, sounding annoyed. “The old man called and you didn’t respond so we had to come here to get you.”

 

“Mr. Joestar must have called the wrong number, we received no calls since we got here.” Taeko assured him. Even if she had been distracted with Anne, she surely would have heard the phone ring. 

 

Suspicious, Kakyoin went to the hotel’s phone to investigate. At first glance nothing seemed to be wrong with it but as he looked down to check on the wire, he found that someone had sliced it with a sharp object. He didn’t announce the discovery because Anne was there and there was no need to distress her. He knew the one being targeted was Taeko, not her.

 

“We are going to meet in the old man’s room.” Jotaro said and Taeko was able to read between the lines that another attack had taken place. 

 

“Alright…” She slowly said, feeling unease growing within her. “Anne, you wait here.” She instructed the kid. “ We’ll be back soon. Don’t leave this room and don’t unlock the door to anyone unless it’s one of us.”

 

“Fine, mom!” Anne sarcastically answered, rolling her eyes. Taeko gave her an unimpressed stare, waiting for a clear answer. “I’m just joking! I’m going to be careful. I promise.”

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“I really was too naive in thinking we would get a nice evening, wasn’t I?” Taeko while letting out a heavy sigh. The trio had left Anne behind in the room and was now going up the stairs to the twelfth floor. “So, what happened?”

 

“Polnareff was attacked. There was a stand user waiting for him in his room.” Kakoyin revealed as he walked beside her.

 

“Waiting for him?” Taeko repeated, both baffled with the news and worried over her friend’s wellbeing. “But how did they know Polnareff would be in that room? He chose his key at random when we were at the lobby!” 

 

“The bastard is tracing our movements.” Jotaro said with a grunt of irritation. After that first time on the plane, there were more moments when he and his grandfather felt DIO’s eyes on them. It was very disturbing, even for a stoic guy like Jotaro, to sense the vampire's menacing presence as he watched them from afar. He asked his grandfather about it but there was nothing they could do to block the bastard’s view of them so they would just have to deal with it.

 

It just gave him one more reason to beat the shit out of DIO when they finally got to Egypt.

 

“I should have insisted on him rooming with us.” Taeko lamented with a pained expression. She had been so uncomfortable back at the lobby she ended up not sharing her opinion on the rooming, she wouldn’t have minded having Polnareff with them. “Maybe he wouldn't have been attacked if he wasn’t alone.”

 

“But if he was with you girls, Anne could have gotten hurt. It’s safer for her if we keep her out of this.” Kakoyin cleverly pointed out, making Taeko feel stupid for not considering that detail while making her previous statement. “Don't worry, we will meet Polnareff when we get to Mr. Joestar and Avdol’s room.”

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Joseph and Avdol, having heard the sound of the door opening, looked up and were surprised to see the three teens entering their room. They had been expecting Polnareff to arrive first and that the trio would bring the kid with them.

 

“It’s just you three?” Joseph asked.

 

“Why isn’t the girl with you?” Avdol was also curious.

 

“She’s not a Stand user. Bringing her here would only place her in more danger.” Kakyoin was the one to explain their decision. Their conversation barely registered in Taeko’s head, she was too busy scanning the room for any sign of Polnareff’s presence in there.

 

“Suppose you’re right.” Joseph said, he was about to mention Polnareff but Taeko did it first.

 

“Where is Polnareff? Wasn’t he supposed to be here already?” Taeko asked, concerned.

 

The old man and the fortune teller shared a look. They knew both swordsmen of their group had formed a strong bond very quickly so they weren't expecting Taeko to have a positive reaction at knowing the french man was late nor to learn that he was wounded.

 

“He said he would be here in five minutes but that was a while ago.” Joseph revealed and, as they predicted, it did nothing to soothe the girl's nerves.

 

“Shouldn’t we go meet him in his room, then?” Taeko suggested, yet the way she said it made it sound more like a plea.

 

“We agreed to meet here.” Joseph shook his head as he reasoned with her. “If we go, Polnareff can get here just to find the room empty. We will give him a few more minutes, if he doesn’t show up then we will go find him.”

 

Next, the adults proceeded to tell the teens the identity of the attacker, it was the devil card, Devo the cursed. He was yet another assassin, known for putting a curse on his victims. The guy had just attacked Polnareff and then disappeared before he could catch more than a quick glimpse of his stand, so they wouldn't have much information to work with when coming up with a plan to defeat him.

 

While Taeko had agreed to wait for their companion there, she still felt anxious. Unable to stand still, she ended up pacing around the room, walking in circles. Hearing the sound of her botts tapping against the ground again and again in the otherwise dead quiet room was getting on Jotaro’s nerves. He glared at her, about to yell for her to stop doing that, just to see the exact moment she froze, head snapping up, her red eyes suddenly glued to the door. 

 

“What is it?” He asked, knowing she had to have sensed something to get this reaction from her.

 

“There's someone bleeding... bleeding a lot.” She revealed in an unintentionally ominous manner.

 

And just like that, everyone was on alert. Those who were sitting got up as now they all stared intently at the door, waiting in trepidation for this bleeding person to arrive. In case it was the enemy, they were prepared to attack.

 

The doorknob began to turn.

 

And the door finally opened to reveal…

 

“Polnareff!”

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The french man was in a bad shape, there were several bleeding wounds on his body. After he came lumbering into the room, he revealed that the enemy’s stand had attacked him after he called. He was able to defeat the stand but one man from the hotel’s staff ended up being killed during the altercation.

 

Knowing someone would eventually stumble across the body, Joseph was quick to make contact with the speedwagon foundation for help. As he did so, Avdol and Kakyion left the room to check on the situation at the hotel and to see if there were news of the discovery of the body yet.

 

That left Jotaro and Taeko (it in truth was just Taeko with Jotaro standing aside as she worked) to help take care of Polnareff’s wounds. The Kamado girl luckily had learned first aid from both her mother and Yushiro so she knew how to deal with cuts. She asked the delinquent to get her a first aid kit and he did so. Although she wasn't sure where he got it, she didn't question.

 

Her main concern was her friend’s physical state. Most of the bleeding had stopped but Taeko still had to clean off the blood to be able to apply the antibiotics from the first aid kit to prevent any infections.

 

As she began to clean the cut on his forehead Taeko bit her bottom lip, worried. Her reaction didn’t go unnoticed by her patient currently sitting on the bed. Even though he was the injured one, Polnareff offered words of comfort to the other swordsman.

 

“It looks worse than it is.” Polnareff reassured her, giving her a tender smile.

 

His words didn't help her because she could see that the cuts were deep. There was a cut on his left hand and two on his legs. Taeko could spot two bite wounds, one on his calf and another on his neck. Cleaning and bandaging wouldn't be enough, it would take time for the cuts to heal and she was sure he would end up with some scars.

 

When she accidentally placed too much pressure on the cut she was cleaning, he winced.

 

“Sorry.” She was quick to apologize. “Are you sure you don’t feel dizzy anymore? You lost a lot of blood!” It was amazing that Polnareff was strong enough to keep conscious and walk up the stairs to the twelfth floor while bleeding that much. He must have left a trail of blood behind while he was getting there.

 

“I had worse.” He bragged with a smirk.

 

“That fact doesn’t make me feel better.” Taeko let out a sigh.

 

“You worry too much. You know it would take more than that to take me down, Sherry!” He must have been a bit disoriented from blood loss because he didn't seem to notice the slip up, but the others in the room did.

 

Taeko felt like her heart was twisting on her chest as a saddening question came to her mind.

 

Has Sherry been the last person to care for him this way?

 

She sensed Jotaro’s eyes on them from where he stood in the room, yet, he didn't say anything.

 

After disinfecting the cut on the forehead, Taeko decided to clean the cut on his achilles tendon next. Polnareff had wrapped this one wound up, so she would have to take the piece of cloth off first. That's when she noticed how that piece of cloth smelled.

 

“Polnareff… what did you wrap your leg with?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, to which Polnareff cringed and mumbled something she wasn't able to hear. “What?”

 

“It’s my underwear.” He confessed, shame clear on his face.

 

Taeko’s jaw dropped, she was speechless for a moment and then…

 

“Why would you bandage a bleeding wound with your underwear?!” She exclaimed, immediately unwrapping the underwear and throwing it over her shoulder so she could tend to the wound as quickly as possible. “Don't you know it could get infected??”

 

They had to put their conversation on hold as the door of the room opened and Avdol and Kakyoin walked inside. 

 

“They found the body in Polnareff’s room. The police were called, they must be on their way as we speak.” Avdol revealed.

 

“A janitor also found what must have been Devo’s body in one of the bathrooms.” Kakyoin added. “The staff seem to be under the impression the deaths are connected.“

 

“Merde! C'est un problème après l'autre!” Polnareff, knowing that now he would be suspect in both murders, cursed in French.

 

“I called for a lawyer from the Speedwagon Foundation to take care of it.” Joseph told Polnareff as he finally ended his phone call. “You will be out in no time. Just keep quiet until the lawyer gets there.”

 

Polnareff sighed, his little trip to the jail would for sure be insufferable. And that’s after getting tortured by a fucking voodoo doll. Suddenly feeling even more exhausted, he fell back into the bed only to immediately grunt in pain and sit up.

 

“Be careful! Try not to move your leg too much! It's going to aggravate the wounds!” Taeko pleaded. Just as she feared, this cut on his tendon was going to be a problem. Only using the first aid kit wouldn’t be enough, it would take time for it to heal.

 

“Let me take care of this.” Joseph said, placing a hand on Taeko’s shoulder to move her aside. “Let’s see if I can still do this trick… Hermit Purple!”

 

At the older man’s call, vines shot from his raised arm to wrap themselves around the white haired man’s wounds. 

 

“What are you going to do?” Taeko asked but she didn’t get an answer.

 

Joseph was concentrating on his task, he took a deep breath and felt a familiar power pulse through his body.

 

Taeko saw a golden glow materialize from Joseph’s body, it began to let out crackles as the energy spread from his arms to the vines. Yet, the one detail that caught the red eyed girl’s attention was his breathing pattern. She could tell he was intentionally taking longer and deeper breaths, it was impossible for her not to be reminded of her own breathing technique. 

 

Taeko wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the golden light dispersed and the vines retracted, but when they did, she was shocked to see that Polnareff’s wounds were now sealed. The blood was still there but there was only minor scarring left where the cuts and bites had been.

 

“Ha! I still got it!” Joseph praised himself. “How do you feel?”

 

“…I’m fine.” Polnareff said, sounding just as surprised as her. He looked over at the new scars on his skin and frowned. “Crap! Scars don’t do well with the ladies, do they?”

 

“Really? That’s what you are worried about?” Kakyoin asked, finding the French man’s behavior sometimes hard to believe.

 

“W-what was that?” Taeko stammered, puzzled by what she just witnessed. “What did you do?”

 

“That?” Joseph had a smirk on his face, beaming with pride at still being able to use this power. “That was just a bit of healing hamon.”

 

“Hamon?” Taeko repeated, not recognizing the word. She shook her head, confused. “No! You breathed! You just used a breathing technique!”

 

Joseph raised an eyebrow at her, intrigued by the unexpected direction this conversation was taking.

 

“Yes, it is a breathing technique. Hamon is an ancient breathing technique that can be used to store and use sun energy in attacks and healing.” He explained while making a point of showing her his power by concentrating his hamon in his right hand, the golden glow making an appearance once again.

 

…So it’s not really the same as the demon slayer’s breathing technique , Taeko realized as she watched the glow vanish a second time.

 

“Guessing by the name, your water breathing also must revolve around controlled breathing.” Joseph tentatively remarked in order to get more information from the girl. He knew this was an opportunity to find clues to what she was keeping from them.

 

Taeko decided to reveal more of her technique, he had explained his so it only felt fair for her to do the same.

 

“The group my grandfather was part of used the total breathing technique to enhance their physical traits and abilities.” Taeko said, aware that the other guys were also listening to their conversation. “I read of previous users being able to keep their wounds from bleeding but nothing close to real healing. This hamon sure is impressive!”

 

“Can’t say I disagree.” He remarked, with a playful glint in his eyes. He then cleared his throat. “Anyway, back to business. After Polnareff gets released from jail we will be leaving g for our next destination, India.”

 

“Already? But Anne’s dad isn’t here yet!” Taeko argued.

 

“You didn’t really expect us to wait five days here?” Jotaro scowled at her as he crossed his arms.

 

“…I hoped so.” Taeko shyly admitted. 

 

“Kamado, we can’t wait that long.” Joseph said, looking at her in sympathy. While he also would have felt better if they stayed to see the kid reunite with her father, time wasn't on their side. “Anne will be safe, I arranged it so she can stay the five days here at the hotel.”

 

“How are we going to get to India?” Kakyoin inquired, returning to the subject of their trip.

 

“We will go by train, but someone will have to go reserve our tickets.” Joseph was making a point of looking at both Taeko and Jotaro as he said that.

 

Both teens understood what he was indirectly asking from them. Taeko offered her classmate a smile but, of course, she didn't get one in return.

Notes:

I'm gonna be very honest, hamon is something I am barely able to understand so I hope the healing scene is comprehensible. Speaking of it, special thanks to baileek313 for helping me with that. I would probably still be stuck in that scene if she hadn’t answered my questions on hamon.

Shōwa era secret:
Back when the Polnareff siblings were young, whenever Jean got in a fight and ended up hurt It was Sherry that nursed his wounds. After she was murdered, he had to learn to care for his wounds alone. He was never really good at it but he managed.

Chapter 9: Truth be told

Notes:

The last few scenes of this chapter were hard to write and you will find out why when you read them.
Also, I want to thank the thirty people that were kind enough to give kudos to this story and also thank the ones that leave comments. You guys are the best! ❤️

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.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

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.” 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

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.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

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.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

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.

Notes:

So, what did you guys think of this chapter? I had a lot of work writing and rewriting the scene of the reveal so I am excited to know your opinions on it. It was hard to describe the guy’s reactions in a way that aligned with their personalities and experiences so I hope I got it right.

 

The next two chapters will probably take a while to write because they will be an emotional rollercoaster, for obvious reasons. I already got a pretty good idea on what exactly will be Taeko’s participation during the events of both of them, I just need to put it into words.

In case I don't post the next chapter until then: Merry Chrismas for you all!

 

Shōwa era secret:
During the crusaders conversation at the train, Yushiro kept sneezing each time his name was mentioned. But other than that he also got the nagging feeling someone was talking about his precious Lady Tamayo. It irritated him as he was the one supposed to sing his lady praises.

Chapter 10: Brothers and sisters

Notes:

I'm back after more than a year of unintentional hiatus! Sorry about the delay but there were a lot of things distracting me from writting. This, by far, is the chapter I have spent the most time working on. I'm still trying to figure out how to write angst so this was quite the challange to get it right. I'm very glad to finally be able to post this and hope it reached expectations!

Taeko had a complicated relationship with Kanao Kamado.

 

For the longest time Taeko found it difficult to connect with her grandmother. It wasn’t that Kanao was unkind to her. Far from it, actually. The old lady always wore a smile on her face when little Taeko was around. She treated her granddaughter with kindness and love. But in contrast to her husband, who was widely known as one of the most outgoing and friendly people on the planet, her grandma Kanao was more… reserved. So, naturally, Taeko gravitated towards her more outgoing grandparent. 

 

Ironically, it was the death of Tanjiro that brought the two of them closer. Back then, when the grief was almost unbearable, Taeko’s father wanted to keep his remaining family together. He tried convincing his recently widowed mother to move in with them, not wanting her to be alone at her old house.

 

The blind woman was kind but firm in denying the offer. The old house she lived in was precious to her, it carried decades of memories with her husband, son and her friends. In her own words, she felt more at peace there. It wasn’t the response Taeko’s father was hoping for but he respected his mother too much to argue with her.

 

So, instead, Taeko and her parents made sure to visit as much as possible. Hoping to at least give the retired swordswoman some company and to help her with the house chores.

 

In one of those visits, Taeko was left alone with her grandmother. The two sat in the room in an uncomfortable silence, neither sure how to start a conversation. Before, It had been Tanjiro that bridged the gap in their relationship, he always knew exactly what to say to break the ice and lighten up both their moods.

 

Now that he was gone, leaving them both in a deep state of grief, the two found it difficult to choose the right words to comfort each other.

 

Little Taeko had no clue how to spark a conversation. It was such a delicate situation, for both of them, and she feared saying something wrong and making her grandma feel worse.

 

Because of that, Kanao ended up being the one to finally speak up. And, in one of the hardest moments of both their lives, they found comfort in one another. They spoke of their feelings of grief, of their memories with Tanjiro and how his absence was affecting them. 

 

For Taeko, It became easier to speak with her grandmother with each visit. Yet, never told her about Titania. She, her father and Yushiro had agreed that it was better to keep that as a secret between the three of them. 

 

Sometimes Taeko considered telling her grandma the truth. But as she looked at her grandmother, who appeared to have aged ten instead of the one year since her husband's death, Taeko found herself unwilling to burden her grandma with anything else.

 

Kanao constantly exuded sadness. Even in happy times with the family together, Taeko could always smell sadness in her grandmother's scent. The little girl realized that no matter how much time passed, a part of her grandmother would remain mourning the death of her soulmate.

 

It was a scar that was never going to disappear.

 

But the child would soon learn that this was not the only scar Kanao carried with her.

 

Kanao had begun to open up to her granddaughter about her past. The old woman was not as talented of a storyteller as her husband, but Taeko enjoyed listening to her stories anyway.

 

The big difference between Tanjiro’s and Kanao’s storytelling was that Kanao was very blunt and descriptive in her recounts of her demon slayer days. While Tanjiro had tried to keep the stories “Kid friendly”, Kanao didn't do the same. And she had her own reasons for choosing to do so.

Reasons that led to an important conversation they had when Taeko was twelve years old.

 

By that time, Taeko had just joined her school’s kendo club. And she was also having some difficulties hiding her secret from her mother. Sometimes it felt to her like she was barely keeping everything under control. With that keeping her busy, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find time to visit her grandmother.

 

So, when the old woman requested her to visit, Taeko came as soon as she could. She was hoping to hear more of her stories but wasn’t prepared for what she would learn that day.

 

“Do you remember what I told you about my sisters?” Kanao asked as both of them sat on the engawa outside, in view of the garden that decorated the front of the house. 

 

The mention of the sisters immediately sparked Taeko’s interest and words escaped her mouth before she could stop it.

 

“Of course I remember them! Grandaunt Kanae was your oldest sister, the flower hashira! She was the one that decided to take you in as both a sister and apprentice. She taught you the flower breathing technique! Grandaunt Shinobu was the second oldest, the insect hashira! She was the main medic of the demon slayer corps and she taught you medicine!” Taeko enthusiastically described both women until she realized that wasn't the response her grandmother had been expecting.

 

Kanao seemed a bit taken aback by the kid’s enthusiasm. The old woman let out a soft giggle, both amused and pleased by the deep admiration Taeko expressed for her sisters.

 

“They were some of the best demon slayers… and even better sisters. I owe them a lot.” Kanao said, mind momentarily lost in a sea of memories. After a brief pause she continued talking. “Most of the stories I told you mentioned at least one of them. But I never told you how I lost them.”

 

At that, Taeko frowned. A look of uncertainty formed on her face.

 

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Taeko told the old woman, not wanting her grandma to relive any painful memories. “Grandpa never went into detail on the day he lost his family, and you also don't need to.”

 

Kanao had been blind for decades at that point but when she turned to face her granddaughter, Taeko felt like her grandmother could see deep within her soul.

 

“I do. I want you to know what happened all those years ago.” Kanao’s serious tone made her granddaughter feel uneasy. “I need you to know my entire story.”

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Leaving Singapore behind, the team proceeded to their next destination: India. After the reveal Taeko had shared with them about her ancestry, the guys were taking the break to process the new information. Polnareff and Jotaro had already known and believed her. Avdol and Joseph were relatively easy to convince due to their past experiences. So, from all the group, Kakyoin was having the hardest time wrapping his head around the concept of demons. According to him, he knew the myths, but it was hard to believe humans walked among humans for decades and somehow most people didn't realize they were there.

 

Surprisingly, it was Joseph who changed the teen's mind. The old man took the chance to share a story from his youth about his fight against creatures he called the “Pillar men”. Somehow, his stories were more bizarre than her grandfather’s. And after listening to his descriptions of the creatures incredible abilities, Taeko couldn’t help but be grateful Joseph defeated them.

 

Well, at least most of them, since according to Joseph the strongest pillar man was currently floating in space… Taeko, and the rest of the boys, could only hope he remains up there.

 

After hearing such a crazy tale from the old man, Kakyoin became more open minded on the existence of demons.

 

“I find it easier to believe in things I can see.” Kakyoin explained to the group. “I probably wouldn't believe in vampires had I not seen one myself.” 

 

As he spoke of the man, Taeko could catch fear and shame etched in his scent. Unlike Avdol, Kakyoin had not told them exactly what happened during his encounter with DIO. None of them felt the need to demand an explanation, already knowing the experience would be hard to recount. 

 

“You won't see any demons around here. That, I can guarantee you.” Taeko told the other teen, trying to take his mind off his encounter with DIO. “As I said, Yushiro and Chachamaru are the only demons still alive, and these two were back in Japan.”

 

“I’m just glad we don't have to worry about demons too. We already have enough problems.” Polnareff added his two cents to the conversation and the rest of the group had to agree. They had been encountering enemy stand users left and right but at least they didn't have to worry about flesh eating demons as well.

 

“You have the demon slayers to thank for that. Demons were very hard to defeat. You had to either decapitate them or get them under sunlight, and sometimes not even that worked.” As Taeko explained, a tale her grandfather had often told her came to mind and Taeko took the opportunity to share it with her companions. “My grandfather told me about this one time when he fought one of the strongest demons. A demon had been devouring young women in the entertainment district so he and his friends were sent with their superior to find and slay it.” Taeko continued, her enthusiasm growing with each word. “The demon they found there was disguising herself as an Orian. She was a sadistic woman with the blood of many generations on her hands. She held the title of upper moon six, marking her the sixth strongest demon under Muzan’s command. Grandpa said the only reason they survived that fight was because a hashira had come with them. Hashiras were the strongest demon slayers of the corp, they were the ones that created the breathing styles. While my grandfather had not been able to decapitate the demon, the Hashira managed to cut off the demon's head so quickly that grandfather said he didn't even see him do it!”

 

The red eyed girl hadn’t planned to recount the entire story but when she continued to tell the tale, she found herself too immersed in her storytelling to stop.

 

“But, even without her head, the demon didn't disintegrate as they always did. Grandpa realised there was something wrong. Then suddenly another demon emerged from her body! And this one was even stronger!”

 

The sound of someone loudly clearing his throat made her stop and realize not only her travel companions but everybody in the train compartment was staring at her. The few people sitting on the other tables were throwing judgmental glares in her direction, probably annoyed she was speaking too loud.

 

With her face now crimson red, Taeko slid down in her seat wanting nothing more than to disappear from the other’s view.

 

Unlike the other people there, the other crusaders didn't seem to be judging her, not even Jotaro. They didn't at any point make any attempt to stop her from telling her story.

 

“You do admire your grandfather a lot, don’t you?” Kakyoin was the one to comment, chuckling lightheartedly at the girl’s embarrassment. 

 

“I always loved hearing his stories so I guess I got a bit too excited to be able to share them.” Taeko explained, her cheeks still red.

 

“I think it's nice to see someone recount their grandparent’s stories with such enthusiasm.” Joseph said, feeling slightly envious if judging by his scent. The old man shot his grandson with a pointed look that was completely ignored by the teen.

 

Jotaro remained quiet while sitting comfortably in his seat, his eyes closed and cap tilted down. An outsider would have thought he was sleeping but those on that table know for a fact he was listening to their conversation.

 

“Can you tell us the rest of that story?” Avdol requested to the surprise of the girl. The reaction of the outsiders had discouraged her from continuing so she wasn’t planning to do so. ”I heard all types of stories from people that came to my shop. Never liked when they left their stories unfinished.”

 

She scanned the faces of the group, seeing if the others also wanted her to continue. Hearing no protests, she resumed the story.

 

“As I was saying, the demon slayers found out the upper moon six wasn’t one but two demons.” Taeko was a bit hesitant at first and to make sure not to annoy the other tables she was speaking more quietly and evenly. “The second one was even stronger than the first. They had to separate in teams of two, each duo fighting one of the demons. It soon became clear that to defeat them, their group would have to decapitate both demons at the same time. A feat that was hard to accomplish as the strongest demon was very protective of the weakest.”

 

“I thought demons were selfish creatures that only cared about themselves.” Kakyion asked with a raised eyebrow, his current interest a sharp contrast with his skepticism from before.

 

“Demons are more complicated than that. Every demon was a human at some point and even after their transformation aspects of their human selves remained.” Was Taeko’s response, remembering her grandfather’s words about the sadness and pain he sensed from the demons he fought. “The upper moon six were siblings, the brother being the oldest. Their demonic transformation soured their bond but it was still there. Grandpa said that even years later, he sometimes thought about them. He had become a demon slayer because his little sister got turned into a demon and he wanted to turn her back into a human. But had he also been turned into a demon, would he have followed the same path as the upper moon six to care for his little sister?”

 

The entire table became silent as the question hung in the air, making each member of the group question themselves on what they were willing to do for their loved ones.

 

“An older brother would do anything for his younger sister. Even dirt their hands with blood.” Polnareff said in a somber tone, not meeting anyone’s eyes. His hand resting on the table clenched into a fist.

 

Grief. Sadness. Anger.

 

Taeko’s eyes widened in realization, her mind replaying the scene from the day before of her sharing the info she got on Centerford with Polnareff and his reaction, of his look of anger.

 

Telling that story probably wasn’t a good idea. Polnareff didn’t need another reminder of his quest for revenge.

 

She feared for her friend. While his rage was understandable, this much thirst for blood never ends well.

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“Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore…”  Joseph spoke, mentally mapping the path they came from and the way ahead . “So the Indian leg of our journey is finally upon us… But, well, I'm a little worried.” He confessed to the rest, a sheepish grin on his face. “I've always heard India is the land of curry and rampant disease.”

 

The team of six were on a boat that was approaching India’s coast. They were waiting in one of the ship’s halls, standing close to a door they would be able to exit through.

 

“I'm worried my stomach won't be able to handle the culture gap.” Polnareff also shared his thoughts, tightening his hold on the strap of his luggage.

 

Avdol chuckled at their comments.

 

“That assessment is rather distorted.” He affirmed, to ease their nerves. “You needn't worry. It is a beautiful country with wonderful people. That I assure you.” 

 

They all felt the boat finally come to a stop and then heard the sound of the ramp being lowered, signifying their arrival. 

 

“Well, this is Calcutta.” Avdol presented, opening the door for them. “Let's get going.”

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They quickly learned that Calcutta was a lot.

 

The moment they stepped out of the boat a crowd of locals immediately surrounded them. People of many ages jumped into the opportunity of talking with the recent arrivals. And as if that wasn't overwhelming enough, those people had no problem intruding in their personal space.

 

“Hey, give me a tip!” A group of children yelled as soon as they saw them.

 

“Let me carry that for you! “ One man offered to Polnareff, trying to take his luggage from his hands. Polnareff had to hold on to his bag to protect his belongings.

 

“Want a tattoo? You're very pretty.” An older man asked Kakyoin to which the teen was a bit appalled by.

 

“Need some anti-venom? It won't hurt your stomach.” A man asked Joseph and before he could even answer that came another offer from a second guy. “Let me show you my hotel!”

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Calcutta, India.

In the 20th century, its population reached 11 million. 

Calcutta buzzes with a bustling energy that will pull you in and never let you go!

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“I stepped in a pile of cow shit!” Polnareff cried out while looking down at his foot. “ Merde! ”

 

“I don't need any.” Joseph had to give a response to each local that tried to talk to him. “Seriously, thank you, but no!”

 

“Somebody's already stolen my wallet!” Kakyoin realized after checking his pockets.

 

“Tip! Tip! Tip!” There were also kids talking with Jotaro. He seemed unfazed by them even when they began grabbing and pulling on his jacket’s chain. “If you don't give me a tip, you won't go to heaven, sir.”

 

“Hey! Don't rub your nose all over my stuff!” Polnareff exclaimed, pulling his bag away from a kid that had almost managed to take hold of it.

 

“Avdol! So this is India?” Joseph asked in disbelief of the mess they found themselves in, looking over his shoulder to the only member of their group that was calm at the moment.

 

“See? Great country, isn't it?” Unlike his companions, Avdol felt very tranquil. He was smiling as he interacted with the locals that approached him. “They're what make India great, don't you think?”

 

"So many scents..." Taeko was the one having the most difficulty with the new environment. She knew the locals were also trying to talk to her but all she could perceive of them were their scents. There were so many of them, her head felt like it was going to explode. Even when she tried to cover her nose with her hands, the sensation did not diminish. 

 

Joy. Greed. Curiosity. Greed. Greed. Annoyance. Pride. Lust. Anger. Curiosity. Irritation. Sadness. Desperation. Joy. Excitement. Annoyance. And more.

 

Taeko felt her chest tighten as it became harder to breath in the heavily scented air. 

 

She was startled by a hand touching her arm, looking to her side to see Kakyoin's concerned expression at her clear distress.

 

“Too many scents,” Taeko whispered to him with a shaky breath, knowing what he was going to ask.

 

His eyes widened as he remembered their conversation about her reaction to strong scents. His hand remained on her arm as he and the others followed Avdol as he led the group away from the crowd.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Some minutes later they were inside one of the restaurants in the area with Taeko now seated in between a concerned Polnareff and regretful Avdol. The girl felt her headache slowly ease now that they were somewhere calmer. 

 

“I apologize, I should have warned you that this city can be a bit overwhelming for some people.” Avdol's mood had dropped the moment he realized the state the girl had been in. He felt ashamed to have forgotten the girl’s enhanced sense before bringing her to a place with such a huge crowd. When he realized what was going on with Taeko he had been quick to guide the group away from that place, something the girl was grateful to him for.

 

“It's okay, I'm better now.” Taeko smiled as she reassured him, not wanting her friend to feel bad for his innocent mistake. “As long as I keep away from any agglomerations of people I will be fine.”

 

A waiter came with the drinks Avdol had ordered for them, the Egyptian man took one of the drinks and placed it in front of Taeko. As a familiar sweet apple-like scent hit her nostrils, Taeko knew what it was before Avdol said it.

 

“Here, I asked for chamomile tea for you.” He said, his tone apologetic and gentle. He then spoke to the rest of the group. “As for the others, there is one of India's most popular drinks. A sweet concoction of black tea, sugar, ginger, and milk.”

 

Joseph was a bit hesitant to try it out but when he took a sip of the tea he found it to be quite delicious. 

 

“At last, a little peace.” The old man sighed in content, his body relaxing in his seat.

 

“Be patient with India.” Avdol requested this from his companions as they drank their tea. “Once you get used to it, you'll see how wonderful this country is.”

 

“You know, I kinda like this place. It's pretty cool.” Jotaro confessed, to the shock of his grandfather.

 

“Really?” Taeko asked, also surprised by his opinion.

 

“What, Jotaro? You can't be serious?” Joseph exclaimed in disbelief, he had expected the commotion from before to have bothered the delinquent.

 

“Talk about culture shock.” Polnareff sighed as he put down his now almost empty cup. “Guess I'll like it once I get used to it, huh?” He mused as he picked up his bag and stood up from his chair. “Well, I suppose people adapt to their surroundings eventually.” Looking at a waiter close by, he asked for directions. “Where's the john?”

 

“Right over there, sir.” The waiter answered, gesturing with his hand to where the bathroom was.

 

“Polnareff.” Joseph called for him, making the frenchman stop and look back at him.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“What do you want to eat?”

 

“Pick for me.” Polnareff answered with a grin as he looked over his shoulder at them. “It'd better be something amazing. Something gorgeous and sophisticated that suits a Frenchman like moi .”

 

Taeko chuckled at his antics while Joseph just stared open mouthed at the Frenchman wandering off.

 

“Which means it doesn't matter.” Kakyoin summarized.

 

“I will choose for him.” Taeko smiled, volunteering for the task. She grabbed a menu and Avdol was quick to offer his suggestions on what she and the rest should try out. His excitement in introducing his travel companions to the local culture was evident in the way he spoke.

 

After they made their order, it didn't take long for the food to arrive. As the waiter was placing the plates on the table, Taeko threw a look in the bathroom's direction. She frowned, noticing Polnareff wasn't back yet.

 

“What is taking him so long?” Taeko murmured to herself.

 

Her friend reappeared the second those words left her mouth. Polnareff rushed back into the room looking distressed, the smell of intense fury following him.

 

“Stand!” He yelled as his eyes scanned the room looking for the one his wrath was directed at. “Where's the user? Who is it?” His frenetic behavior was unsettling to witness, disturbing the random people at the restaurant he was staring at. “The man with two right hands…”

 

A chill ran down Taeko’s spine, sensing the murderous intent behind those words.

 

Frustration. Fury. Pain.

 

He ran out of the restaurant and his companions rushed to follow him, leaving their food forgotten on the table.

 

They found him standing outside, his emotions running so high his body was trembling. His eyes darted from side to side, trying to find his nemesis in the crowd. His frustration grew as he realized he would be unable to find him among that many people on the street.

 

“Too many people… Merde! ” He spat through gritted teeth.

 

“What's wrong, Polnareff?” Joseph asked as he came out of the restaurant with the rest.

 

“What is this about?” Avdol added from right behind Joseph.

 

“If that…” Polnareff said, his mind in such a frenzy he barely registered their questions. “If that was a Stand, then that means…Then that means he's here!” He clenches a fist, every fiber of his body urging him to hunt that bastard down. “It's the stand user Kamado told me about, the one that uses mirrors!”

 

Seeing him in such a state made the girl almost regret sharing that information. 

 

“The bastard who killed my sister!” He hissed, his fist now clenched so hard it dug his nails into his skin. It was becoming increasingly harder for Taeko to inhale his scent of pure hate due to how intense it was getting. “The scum who heartlessly trampled my sister's life, soul, and dignity. Finally…Finally I found him!”

 

“Are you sure it's him?” Joseph asked, now understanding the seriousness of the situation.

 

Polnareff looked back at him but, instead of answering his question, he made an announcement the old man had been worried would come soon.

 

“Mr. Joestar, I'll be traveling on my own from here on out.” The Frenchman informed, choosing to continue in his quest for revenge alone. 

 

“What??” Taeko exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock.

 

“With my sister's murderer finally within reach, I'll be damned if I'm going to wait for him to come after me.” Polnareff said, his anger both fueling his determination and cementing the path he chose. “It would put me at a disadvantage, and that's just not my style. I'll find him first and kill him!” He looks away from the others, throwing his luggage over his shoulder.

 

“But we don't even know what he looks like, or what his Stand is.” Kakyoin intervened in an attempt to snap some sense into him. He knew Polnareff was hot headed but even he was surprised at how reckless he was being at that moment.

 

“He's got two right hands, that's enough for me!” Polnareff informed the redhead, more than willing to work with this little description he got. “And he knows I'm after him, so he'll be on the defensive.” He gave his back to them, giving his allies a brief and cold goodbye. “See ya.”

 

“Tough talk from a man who's digging his own grave.” Avdol spoke, eyes boring holes into the Frenchman’s back. His words made Polnareff stop on his tracks before he could take more than a few steps.

 

“And that means?” Polnareff turned his head to shoot Avdol a look.

 

“Just as it sounds, my friend.” Avdol stated, calmly and at the same time firmly.

 

“Are you trying to say I can't win?” Polnareff spat, getting irritated at the Egyptian's insulation.

 

Sensing the growing tension between those two, Taeko decided to say something.

 

“Not if you go alone.” Taeko took a step forward, now standing on Avdol’s side. “Don't you see this is just what he wants? He attacked you to provoke you into going after him. He wants to get you isolated and more vulnerable.”

 

Unfortunately, instead of sparking reason in him, her words seem to have struck a nerve. 

 

“You stay out of this!” He snapped at her, his harsh tone making her recoil back. The glare he threw at her was more hostile than any he had sent her way during their fight in Hong Kong. “You don't know what you are talking about, little girl!”

 

“You better show some respect! This is the girl that saved your life!” Avdol exclaimed, offended in Taeko’s behalf. 

 

“Listen. Let me make one thing clear… to all of you.” He said while looking in between Taeko and Avdol. “I never once gave a damn about DIO. I told you in Hong Kong I'd tag along so I could get my revenge. Mr. Joestar and Jotaro already know this.”

 

Joseph and Jotaro, while visibly disapproving of the French man's choice of going on alone, didn't sound any protest to his decision. Joseph just looked away as if resigning himself into accepting Polnareff’s departure. As for Jotaro, his expression remained stoic and hard to read but Taeko could smell his frustration.

 

“I've been alone from the start! I've always been fighting alone!” Polnareff declared.

 

“You don’t have to!” Taeko exclamation was left unacknowledged. 

 

“You selfish fool!” Avdol hissed, marching closer to Polnareff so he could poke with a finger at his chest. His irritation with the French rising with each sentence. “Did you forget that DIO brainwashed you? Did you forget that he's the root of all this?”

 

“You have no idea how it feels to have your sister murdered!” Polnareff snapped and in his anger he proceeded to say things he deep down knew he shouldn't. “I heard the last time you met DIO, you ran like a dog with his tail between his legs! A coward like you would never understand why I need to do this!”

 

“Polnareff!” Taeko exclaimed in reprehension. She knew his accusation would make the situation even worse.

 

“What did you say?” Avdol’s eyes widened, caught off guard by Polnareff’s cruel words.

 

“Don't touch me.” Polnareff pushed Avdol away as he continued speaking. “You are lucky I chose to fight Kamado first in Hong Kong.” He said, insinuating he would have defeated Avdol if given the chance. “Enough with this lecturing!”

 

“How dare you…” Avdol hissed, body now trembling with barely contained anger.

 

“Oh, did that offend you?” Polnareff acidly mocked him, glaring daggers at Avdol. “Don't forget…I'm a hell of a lot more pissed off than you right now! You can just keep being yourself, with your holier than thou attitude, Avdol.”

 

“Why, you!” Avdol as his anger finally exploded into violence. The man raised a fist, about to land a punch on the French man’s face.

 

But he froze on his tracks when a smaller figure quickly placed herself in between the two of them, intense red eyes staring at him in disapproval.

 

“That’s enough! Fighting is exactly what the enemy wants us to do!” Taeko exclaimed, making the dark haired man lower his fist in shame of letting his anger get the best of him. The girl then turned to the furious french man, her expression softening sensing her friend’s emotional pain. “Please, Polnareff, don't act on impulse. You know this is a terrible idea, you are just too angry to admit it!”

 

“You have no idea how I feel!” He spat at her, both his hands balled into fists.

 

“I DO!” Taeko yelled so loud this time Polnareff was the one to recoil. “You are angry and frustrated! And you are in pain! You have been carrying all this resentment for so long so you want to finally be free of it!” 

 

Polnareff froze, stunned. Truly realizing for the first time that Taeko had been able to get a clear read on his emotions since the beginning.

 

“I know you want peace for you and your sister. But I also know Sherry wouldn't want to see you getting hurt, or worse, killed.” Taeko realized talking about Sherry had been a bad choice when Polnareff's anger reignated at the mention of her name.

 

“Don’t you dare talk about my little sister!” He screamed while glaring at the girl, his hostility towards her back with force. “You can't know how she feels because she is dead!”

 

“I did indeed run in fear from DIO.” Avdol intervened, bringing the French's attention back towards him. “But I'm certain that foresight will let us win.” He sounded determined in defeating that monster now that he had his companions fighting beside him. “Rushing in without thinking will get us all killed.” He made a last effort to make Polnareff reconsider leaving.

 

Unfortunately, neither Avdol’s or Taeko’s words were able to change Polnareff’s mind.

 

“Oh? Do you think so? Then I'll say this with certainty, too.” Polnareff scoffed, flickering Avdol’s necklace in a mocking manner. “Your little divination will be wrong.”

 

He turned his back to the group and began walking away from his former allies.

 

“Polnareff! Wait!” Taeko exclaimed but her friend didn't stop. She was just about to go after him when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

 

“Just let him go. No one can stop him now.” Joseph said, there was a flicker of familiarity in his eyes, like he had seen this situation before. 

 

Taeko felt helpless as she lost sight of their friend in the crowd.

 

“Maybe Polnareff will come back after he calms down.” Joseph tried to assure the girl, sensing how worried she was.

 

“But what if he doesn't calm down?” Taeko asked, still looking in the direction Polnareff disappeared at.

 

The older man had no answer to give to her.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

In the last hours of the night, Taeko found herself gazing at the empty streets of Calcutta through the window of her hotel room. The teen had a nice view of the night sky but she wasn't standing there because she wanted to admire it. She had found herself unable to fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Polnareff’s face, his eyes full of hate and pain. She couldn’t rest while knowing he was somewhere else all alone, seeking a fight he was not prepared for.

 

“Having trouble sleeping?” Taeko was startled when she suddenly heard Avdol’s voice coming from behind her.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up.” She spoke softly, offering him an apologetic smile. “I have a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

 

Her gaze went to the third bed in their room, where Polnareff was supposed to be sleeping. The fortune teller noticed what she was looking at and sighed. He had witnessed as she and Polnareff formed a close bond in the short time they knew each other; it made sense for the girl to be too worried about his friend to be able to sleep. 

 

Avdol walked to her side, joining her in staring up at the night sky. They were quiet for a while, silently sharing each other’s company.

 

“It’s like story is repeating itself.” Came Taeko’s cryptic words in almost a whisper.

 

Intrigued, the man raised an eyebrow at her, not understanding what she was talking about. It was only when he reacted that Taeko realized she said that thought out loud. 

 

The girl bit her lip, hesitant in sharing this specific story. While there were many stories she would eagerly share with her friends, this was not one of them. 

 

“It's a story my grandmother told me.”

 

“You didn't mention her before.” He said and thinking back he was only able to remember her speaking about her grandfather. “Were you two close?”

 

“Not as much as I was to my grandfather.” Taeko confessed. She took a deep breath, composing herself as she began talking about Kanao.

 

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Before becoming Kanao Kamado, Taeko’s grandmother had been known as Kanao Tsuyuri. And even before that, she had been a nameless slave sold into slavery by her abusive biological family.

 

Kanao had been rescued from her situation by two sisters, Kanae and Shinobu Kochou. She was an empty shell at that point, having learned to repress her emotions because of all the abuse she went through. But even after seeing she was incapable of making her own decisions and deeply traumatized, the Kochou sisters decided to take her in. They gave her clothes, food and even a new name. 

 

Even after choosing another surname, Kanao had basically become the third “Kochou” sibling. They let her live with them at their huge mansion, the two sisters having a lot of patience with her. They took care of her, taught her how to defend herself and tried to get her to break out of her shell.

 

One day, she witnessed her oldest sister training her flower breathing technique. Kanao watched Kanae's movements intently, almost able to visualize the trail of flowers and petals her katana left behind. 

 

The third sister then got herself a katana and began to train, trying to replicate the moves she saw Kanae making with her sword. Her older sisters didn’t encourage her new interest, not because they doubted her skills but because they knew the dangers of the life of a demon slayer.

 

Kanao had to sneak out of the mansion to be able to take part in the selection exam. When she returned, Kanao found the entire Butterfly state in distress. The three young girls the Kochous had also taken in were crying, Aoi( the oldest housekeeper) looked ready to blow a fuse, Shinobu didn't look any less angry than Aoi, and Kanae…

 

Her oldest sister gave her a sad smile. She wasn’t happy about the path Kanao chose for herself yet she still congratulated her. And she said that no matter what, they were all proud of her. Kanae opted to train Kanao in flower breathing so her younger sister would be more prepared to become an official demon slayer.

 

Then came that terrible day. When Shinobu gathered the girls to inform them of Kanae Kochou’s death at the hands of a demon. Kanao wanted to cry, she knew should have. It was what everyone was doing during the funeral. Yet, even as she felt sadness grip her heart, her eyes remained dry. To her surprise, none of her adoptive sisters condemned her for it.

 

They all had to carry on with their lives, having to learn to live with the empty space their oldest sister's absence left in their hearts.

 

Shinobu, now the new Insect Hashira, took her deceased older sister’s responsibilities and became the new master of the Butterfly mansion. She consoled her younger sisters, allowing them to cry in her arms as much as they needed. Even so, Kanao knew her behavior was a facade, she knew that her sister was masking her true emotions with the kind smile that had belonged to Kanae.

 

Shonobu’s anger for demons had turned into extreme hate. Kanao had seen her train till the latest hours of the night, pushing her body to the limit just for her to then let out a yell in frustration, realizing she would never be able to become strong enough to defeat the demon that took their sister from them. Shinobu was a very small and petite girl, her body lacked the fiscal strength needed to decapitate even weaker demons.

 

So, instead, Shinobu’s nights of training became nights of studies and tests on many types of deadly poisons. The insect hashira, on some occasions, spent days locked in her office trying to create something strong enough to kill a high ranking demon.

 

Kanao watched as her sister’s mental state declined, becoming more and more eager for revenge. And the worst part was that Kanao was the only one to see just how dire things were getting with her master.

 

It was like something instinctual was telling her that she was slowly losing another sister.

 

Then came the final selection and she finally became an official demon slayer. It was also the first time she saw the boy that would become her husband, not that any of the two knew at that point. Not too long after, she became one of the demon slayers to bring the Kamado siblings to the demon slayer headquarters. The time she spent with Tanjiro during his rehabilitation training sparked something within her, the boy had rekindled her will to follow her heart and make her own choices.

 

But while she became more willing to do what she thought was right even if it was against the rules it wasn't enough to give her courage to confront Shinobu about her plans.

 

Sometime before the final battle, Shinobu invited her to a private conversation and revealed what she had prepared to defeat the upper moon two. It was even worse than anything Kanao could have imagined.

 

The insect hashira told her sister about the huge amounts of wisteria flower poison circulating through her body after a year of preparation. The plan was to weaken the demon with the poison so Kanao could cut off his head and finish him off. But, for that to work, Shinobu’s body had to be eaten by the demon. Kanao’s older sister was fully intending to sacrifice herself to avenge Kanae’s death. 

 

Kanao’s first reaction was to protest and say they could defeat him by fighting side by side, but Shinobu was quick to point out the facts. That demon was too strong for them to defeat without the huge dose of poison weakening him and at that point her plan had already been in motion. She just needed Kanao to agree to do her part.

 

It was an impossible choice to make. Kanao knew they needed to defeat all the upper demons before fighting the demon king. Her sister’s logic was sound, Kanao had to admit that. But, at the same time, she didn't want to lose her. 

 

She wanted to protect her. She was willing to risk her life for hers.

 

And more than anything, she wanted them to go back home together.

 

When the time came, all of the demon slayers fell into the maze called “infinite castle”. Kanao knew what it meant, knew where her sister was heading. She searched for Shinobu, not to follow the plan but to protect her.

 

Her heart was telling her to save her older sister and that was what she was going to do.

 

Yet, when she got there it was too late. Her sister had already fought the demon, the plan was in motion. As the demon prepared to absorb her sister’s body, Kanao saw her sister sent her a signal for her to proceed with her part of the plan.

 

She saw Shinobu let go of her sword, ready to die.

 

Kanao made one desperate attempt to save her sister. Just for the demon to easily dodge her attack and absorb her sister’s body into his.

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

 

“She was able to defeat the demon with the help of one of grandpa’s friends, fulfilling grandaunt Shinobu’s last wish. Grandma didn't celebrate her victory, instead, she cried for her sisters.” Taeko finished her grandmother the tragic tale as one tear escaped her eye. She could still vividly remember the scent of grief her grandma carried, it was present even before her grandfather died.

 

Avdol had been quietly listening to the young girl as she spoke, not interrupting even once. He felt both sadness and admiration for Kamado’s grandmother. Not everyone would be able to go through so much pain and loss and still find the strength to move on.

 

He was also now able to see the similarities to their current situation. Where Taeko’s concern was coming from.

 

“While seeking revenge, one must dig two graves.” Avdol quoted solemnly as he lowered his head. “One for your enemy, and one for yourself.”

 

“One sibling seeking revenge for the murder of the other.” Taeko muttered, wiping away the tear on her cheek. “It happened when grandaunt Kanae was killed and it's happening again with Sherry’s murder.” She looked at her friend standing at her side, her concern showing in her expressive eyes. What she said next came as an hesitant whisper, worried that voicing her thoughts would make her fear come true. “I’m afraid both stories will have the same ending.”

 

“Polnareff may be reckless but he isn’t suicidal, really does believe he can defeat Centerford by himself.” Avdol promptly pointed that fact out. He remembered Polnareff’s exact words during their confrontation. The French spoke as someone with too much confidence in his own skills, not with a desire for death. “Dying is not a part of his plan.”

 

“His ‘plan’ is to run head first into what is more than likely an ambush to fight an enemy that he has limited information about!” Taeko snapped, face twitching in frustration and fear. “He is about to get into a fight he is not ready for, it's dangerous!”

 

“We have been in constant danger ever since we chose to board the plane leaving Japan.” He reminded her. “Besides, Polnareff was able to defeat Devo the Cursed on his own. You are right to be worried about him but remember that Polnareff isn't defenseless.”

 

“He came back from that fight looking like a train ran him over! I was surprised he didn't faint from blood loss!” Taeko pointed out, remembering the scene. And then, to Avdol’s surprise, she laughed. “Can you believe he bandaged his wound with his underwear??”

 

Caught off guard by both her sudden change of mood and reveal, Avdol also laughed.

 

“Sounds like something he would do.” Avdol admitted, smiling at the memories of their friend’s shenanigans. 

 

Then Taeko’s shoulders dropped, the weight of the situation returning to her with force.

 

“I hope at least he found somewhere safe to sleep.” She said, looking out of the window at the empty streets.

 

“Even Polnareff knows better than to jump into a fight without an entire night of sleep.” Avdol told her, hoping Polnareff wouldn't be stupid enough to prove him wrong on that. He placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder, his touch warm and reassuring against the cold night. “We should rest too, we must be ready for tomorrow. When we go after Polnareff there are huge chances we will find Centerford.”

 

Taeko was relieved to hear he did not plan to leave Polnareff behind to fight his nemesis alone. After Mr. Joestar told her to let Polnareff go, she feared the others wouldn’t be willing to risk losing precious time to look for Polnareff and bring him back.

 

“He still owes me a fight, remember?” Avdol reminded her, then he smirked confidently. “I can beat some sense into him if needed.” 

 

A part of the Kamado teen wanted to go look for their friend at that moment instead of waiting for the next morning. Yet, she chose to trust Avdol’s judgment. 

｡⋆｡° | ⋆ 𐀔 ⋆ | °｡⋆｡

Taeko opened her eyes not too long after the sun had risen. The girl got up from the bed, resisting her body’s urge to rest for a bit longer. 

 

Still sleepy, she walked to the bed Avdol was sleeping in with the intention of waking him up. She froze midstep, her eyes widening, when she saw the bed was empty.

 

“Avdol?” She called as she looked around the room, not seeing him anywhere. “Avdol??” She called for him again as she checked the bathroom only to find it also empty.

 

Taeko inhaled, trying to catch her friend’s familiar smell and trace it. To her dismay, the scent that was already dispersing led to the door, meaning her friend had left sometime ago.

 

Taeko had changed into her regular clothes in such a hurry she didn’t even realize she had forgotten her jacket. She flew down the stairs and ran outside, drawing more than a few confused stares from both the people of the hotel and the locals walking the street.

 

She searched for her friend among the people she could see around, hoping he hadn’t gotten far. The girl could barely make out his scent apart from the many others present there.

 

Knowing his trail would vanish soon, Taeko didn’t stop to think before rushing to follow it. Maybe, if she had taken a moment to consider, she would have realized that she should have warned Joseph, Jotaro and Kakyoin, who had been sleeping in another room, of the situation.

 

Instead, because of her decision, the trio would wake up soon after just to realize that both Avdol and Taeko had vanished.

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The teen lost track of Avdol’s scent when she reached a very crowded street. Without a trail to follow, Taeko was unsure where to head next. She tried asking the people working at the shops if they had seen someone matching Avdol’s specific description, just to get negative responses.

 

“I’m sorry. I have not seen him.” A woman that had been selling vases answered her with a shake of her head.

 

Taeko sighed, the knot in her stomach tightening with each denial she got.

 

“Thank you anyway.” Even while disappointed the girl was never impolite to the shopworkers. She understood they were too busy doing their jobs to notice everyone that walked by their shops.

 

Before she could ask another person, Taeko felt someone’s eyes on her. At first it didn’t bother her, she clearly wasn’t from around there so it made sense for people to look.

 

She only got alert when she got to the next street still feeling like she was being watched. A chill ran down her spine as she realized someone was following her.

 

Looking back, Taeko’s eyes searched the crowd for anyone looking at her. Queen Titânia appeared, floating beside Taeko, ready for a fight.

 

Then, she was startled by the sound of glass breaking and a scream. A window nearby had broken, scaring two women that were right next to it.

 

“What happened?” Someone asked, confused.

 

“It just broke out of nowhere!” One of the women said.

 

As if that wasn’t already weird enough, the next thing to break was a liquor bottle a man had been drinking. Unlike the women that were unharmed by the glass, he had been holding the bottle as it exploded. He let out a yell of pain, falling to his knees as his hand began spewing blood from many cuts.

 

That was enough to make some people run away from whatever was happening on that street. Others went to the man’s aid, gathering around him. Some were still watching the window, trying to figure out what happened.

 

As people moved around, Taeko was finally able to spot the distinct man that she suspected was responsible for what was happening. It was a cowboy that was standing a few feet away from her. He was smirking casually at her, unbothered by the mess he had just caused.

 

“What a surprise!” He exclaimed when their gazes met. “Didn’t think I’d met you here all alone, lil lady. Where are your bodyguards?”

 

She did not fall to his provocation. It was not his words that were bothering her, it was the terrible smell of blood in the air. It reminded her that someone innocent had just been harmed. 

 

“Leave those people alone.” She glared at him, her words firm and authoritative. “They have nothing to do with this.”

 

“They aren’t the ones you should be worried about.” He said dismissively of the importance of the locals. Using her concerns against her, he held out his hand towards her as he made an offer. “I’m here because of you. Come with me and I promise no one will get hurt.”

 

Her answer was immediate, she knew better than trusting anyone that works for DIO.

 

“Liar.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

 

“It was worth the try.” He sighed, disappointed at her response.

 

What happened next was very fast. With his arm still screeched towards Taeko, he summoned his stand. At the same time, Titania placed herself in front of Taeko and changed into a defensive position to protect her user. Taeko’s eyes widened in shock when she saw that the enemy’s stand was a gun.

 

The blonde man’s smirk widened as he pulled the trigger.

Notes:

Kanao finally makes an appearence! In flashback but it still counts. I couldn't help myself but make the pararell between the Kochous and Polnareffs. It was a great oportinuty to show Taeko's bond with her grandmother and her opinions on revenge and grief.
The next chapter is mostly done and if everything goes according to plan, I will post it next week. If not, It's because i felt like something was missing and needed a bit more time. Know that while there may be some hiatus from time to time, I'm not going to abbandon this fic.

Shōwa era secret:

Chamomile tea is one of Taeko's favorite drinks. She developed quite the linking to it since it helped whenever she got headaches.

Notes:

Shōwa era secret:

TIMELINE

1889- The events of Phantom Blood (part 1) ends.

1903- Tanjiro Kamado was born.

1916- The events of Demon Slayer begin.

1919- The events of Demon Slayer end with the final battle and death of Muzan.

1936- Kiyoto Kamado was born.

1938~1939- The events of Battle Tendency (part 2) takes place.

1971- Taeko Kamado was born.

1977- Taeko’s grandfather tells her about her ancestry and the tale of the demon slayers. Taeko names her stand Titania.

1980- Tanjiro Kamado dies.

1981- Taeko’s father finds out about Titania’s existence. Taeko meets Yushiro.

1983- 12 year old Taeko joins her school’s kendo club.

1985- Yushiro requests the records for water and flower breathing from Kiriya Ubuyashiki.

1987- Kiyoto Kamado dies.

1988- Taeko moves schools, and the events of Stardust Crusaders (part 3) begin.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of A Kamado in Jojo