Chapter Text
Kakyoin had a new mission waiting for him.
He walked into the Speedwagon Foundation headquarters with a confident stride.
He had been summoned to HQ with a short, terse email from the director of the Japanese branch of the SWF telling him to get there immediately to receive his instructions. He wasn’t told much of anything about what this mission entailed; all that was said was that this new mission was something only he could accomplish.
Kakyoin giddily pondered over what that could possibly mean. Perhaps this mission involved art or literature, and Kakyoin was just the agent they needed to delicately handle the situation with class and grace. Or maybe there was a long-range stand user afoot, and Kakyoin was one of the few other long-range users strong enough to take them down.
Kakyoin couldn’t help but puff out his chest a bit at the thought. He could admit that he was proud of himself and how far he had come in his career. It had started off rough. There weren’t many omegas employed with the Speedwagon Foundation. Kakyoin had begged them to hire him as soon as he turned 18. They were hesitant for a long time: the SWF tended to obey the Joestar family, and they had made it clear that they wanted Kakyoin far, far away from any danger associated with stand business.
Kakyoin had started from nothing. They threw him a bone and gave him an administrative role. It was insulting but Kakyoin played along. It only took a couple of years for him to become an assistant. It took a few more years for him to become an agent. A few more years after that, he was put in charge of solo missions.
Kakyoin’s talent was difficult to deny. They could try to use his gender against him, but it was nearly impossible to argue with the results of his work. He had something a reputation for never having casualties in his missions: something that couldn’t be said for any members of the Joestar family.
The writing was on the wall that a huge promotion was in store for him very soon. He had heard whispers about his impressive work performance from several of his coworkers. Even Avdol and Polnareff, who frequently traveled all over the world, had told him over a call that they’d heard rumors of his upcoming promotion.
It was early summer of 2000, and he was turning 30 in just a couple of months. As he strolled through the SWF hallways toward the meeting room, cheerfully greeting all who passed by, Kakyoin couldn’t help but feel he was approaching a new era in his life. Things were really turning around for him. He felt a deep contentment.
He was going to get his promotion, and nothing was going to stand in his way.
Kakyoin opened the door to the meeting room and made eye contact with Jotaro Kujo.
His body froze. Only his eyes moved as he looked at the two other presences in the room. At the head of the table sat the director of the Japanese branch of the SWF, Kakyoin’s boss. On either side of him sat a frowning Jotaro Kujo and an elderly Mr. Joestar.
All three of the men were alphas. Kakyoin hated how conscious he was of that. In his defense, it was difficult to ignore the swirling stench of alpha discontent floating around the room.
“Come in, Kakyoin,” the director ordered. “Close the door behind you.”
Kakyoin cleared his throat and closed the door behind him as he entered the meeting room. The atmosphere was just as stifling as the scent.
Kakyoin hadn’t actually seen Jotaro or Mr. Joestar in well over 10 years. He’d heard plenty about them, and he was sure that they’d likely heard of him as well, but he had been careful to avoid them since the last time they saw each other all those years ago.
He caught quick glimpses of them as he chose to sit in a chair a few seats away from Mr. Joestar.
Jotaro looked exactly the same and completely different. He was wearing white. His frown was a little deeper than it used to be. His hair seemed shorter but it was hard to tell with his hat on. Everything else about him was the same. Kakyoin wasn’t sure what he expected.
Mr. Joestar looked old. Really old. Kakyoin did some quick math in his head. Mr. Joestar must be nearly 80 years old already. In Kakyoin’s memory, Mr. Joestar was an exuberant, unstoppable force but reality cruelly presented him as the frail old man that he really was.
He caught whiffs of their scents. Nostalgia hit him like a ton of bricks. Images of the desert, hotels, long car rides, and laughter flitted through his mind.
It hurt to look at both of them. Kakyoin avoided their gaze and focused on the director instead, a surprisingly bland-looking, black-suited man.
Kakyoin briefly wondered what they thought of his appearance. After all, he wasn’t the injured 17-year-old boy that he used to be when they last saw him. His hair was long and pulled into a neat braid that laid over his shoulder. His school uniform was long gone; he wore neatly tailored designer slacks and shirts instead. He had twin, identical scars over his eyes, although they had faded quite a bit over the years and were even less noticeable with his glasses on.
Although they had certainly seen the wounds on his eyes, they never got to see the scars that resulted from them; they had sent him back home before his eyes got the chance to heal enough to remove the bandages. With a twinge of old, festering anger, he wondered what they thought of the scars, or if they thought of anything really at all.
“Did you pack a bag as you were ordered?” The director asked him.
“Yes,” Kakyoin reluctantly answered. All previous excitement he had once felt for this mission had evaporated. He had a very, very bad feeling.
“Good. Allow me to explain your new assignment,” he stated, unphased. Kakyoin wondered if he knew of his disdain for the Joestar family. The director looked completely unaware of the unease filling up the room but surely he must be ignoring it on purpose. The tension was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.
Kakyoin could feel Mr. Joestar staring at him with his jaw agape. He tried his best to ignore him.
“We had an incident with a loose stand arrow in the town of Morioh last summer,” the director drawled. “It resulted in the creation of a number of new stand users; the exact number of which, we cannot be sure.”
Kakyoin nodded. He’d heard of this event several months back from some of his fellow SWF agents, although this information had been largely overshadowed by the much juicier gossip about the scandal revealed in which Mr. Joestar had a bastard son after cheating on his wife with some college-aged girl. Kakyoin had laughed at his expense at the time, however, he wasn’t laughing anymore.
Kakyoin nodded with utmost sincerity.
The director continued his explanation. “The arrow gave stands to some unsavory characters. We thought we had been able to catch them all, as well as document all of the new stand users within the town, but it seems we had been careless after we caught the one we believed to be the most dangerous.”
The director slid a folder down the table toward Kakyoin. Kakyoin caught it and opened it. He curiously peered inside the folder at a series of bloody crime scene photographs. It seemed to be several different people, and judging by the photograph timestamps, they were all separate incidents. The bodies were so broken and bloody, it was difficult to make out their features.
“What am I looking at?” Kakyoin asked, curiously. When he looked up from the photos, he realized that he had become so absorbed in the crime scenes that he had briefly forgotten that Jotaro and Mr. Joestar were there. Jotaro avoided looking at the pictures with disgust on his face. Mr. Joestar looked sad.
The director nodded. “It seems that history is repeating itself. We have another rogue stand user in Morioh using their abilities to kill innocent people.”
Kakyoin sat up a little straighter. Perhaps this would be an interesting mission after all.
“How many deaths have there been? How long has the killer been active?” He asked.
“There’ve been 11 victims in the past 3 months,” Jotaro answered him. Kakyoin almost jumped at the sound of his voice. It was deeper than he remembered. “However, he appears to be escalating. Four of those victims have been killed in the last 30 days.”
Jotaro looked extremely unhappy to be relaying this information to Kakyoin. It put Kakyoin on edge. What was Jotaro thinking? How was he involved in this, anyway? Would Kakyoin have to work with him? The thought almost made him shudder.
“And we’re certain it’s the work of a stand user?” Kakyoin asked.
Mr. Joestar sighed. “The poor souls were completely torn to shreds without a trace of anything. No murder weapon, no residue, nothing. It’s hard to imagine how someone could achieve this without a stand.” Mr. Joestar’s voice wasn’t loud and booming anymore; not even close. Kakyoin gave him a small nod. He could have sworn that the old man’s eyes looked a little brighter at his acknowledgment.
Kakyoin steadied himself. This was certainly an important mission.
Kakyoin was nearly 30 years old. He had matured. Despite his history with the Joestar family, he could remain professional if needed. He could get along with them for the greater good so that they could catch this killer.
Or, at least, that’s what he told himself.
Kakyoin took a deep breath and nodded at the director. “So I’m to help investigate and catch this killer then?”
“No,” the director immediately intoned. Kakyoin sat back from shock. “Dr. Kujo and Mr. Joestar are working on this case full time, and we have the assistance of dozens of stand users in town helping to keep a lookout. We simply don’t need another set of hands on this.” The director took a deep breath. He looked exhausted. “You have a very special mission.”
Kakyoin opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but he was interrupted before he could speak.
“I have to object to this,” Jotaro stated. “Surely this is going too far. And to bring Kakyoin into this-”
“Dr. Kujo, if I may be frank,” the director said with a sharp tone. The man sounded extremely irritated. “We have tried to accommodate you and Mr. Joestar several times and none of our efforts have succeeded so far.”
“You just haven’t brought in the right person-”
“We are simply running out of options at this point. I fear we will run out of agents if we do not take more drastic measures soon.”
Jotaro looked pissed off. Mr. Joestar winced. Kakyoin raised an eyebrow. Were the Joestars really receiving a lecture right now? Was that even allowed?
“And besides, Kakyoin is one of our most resourceful agents. He is a stand user, so he’ll be able to utilize his abilities when required. Most importantly, he is familiar with both you and Mr. Joestar. I have a feeling that if he was able to put up with you two for several weeks, then surely he’ll be able to handle your… spawn.”
Kakyoin stilled. What?
Jotaro looked ready to storm out of the room. He glared at the director. The director glared back. Mr. Joestar seemed to cower slightly.
“Wait. What the hell is going on here?” He demanded. It wasn’t the most professional tone but it seemed professionalism during this meeting had long gone out the window.
Mr. Joestar pushed his glasses up his nose and sheepishly turned to Kakyoin. The director and Jotaro still glared at one another but Jotaro seemed to falter slightly.
“Ah, Kakyoin, did you know that Jotaro got married and had a daughter?”
“I heard he’s divorced,” Kakyoin answered flatly. Mr. Joestar flinched. Jotaro gave him an irritated look.
Mr. Joestar tried to laugh it off. “That is true! He got divorced a couple of years back but he still has a daughter! And you’ll never believe this: I have one, too!”
Kakyoin gave him a look. “I know that, Mr. Joestar. I’ve met Holly, remember?”
Mr. Joestar laughed more sincerely. The sound made Kakyoin’s chest ache. “Oh, not her. I meant that I have a younger daughter that I adopted. Her name is Shizuka, and she’s about one year old. I have a total of three kids now; two daughters and a son! Can you believe that?” He spoke with a joy that actually managed to soften some of Kakyoin’s hard edges. He caught himself almost smiling at the old man.
The light mood abruptly ended when the director spoke. “The baby is a stand user and requires near constant supervision.”
Mr. Joestar grew sheepish once again. “It’s not her fault. She really can’t help it.” He spoke defensively but his tone wasn’t very convincing.
Kakyoin paused. “She has a stand?”
Mr. Joestar shrugged. “She’s- well, she has a habit of-”
“She turns invisible. She’s nearly impossible to detect when she activates her stand.” The director sounded deeply annoyed by this fact.
Kakyoin raised his eyebrows. “You adopted an invisible baby? Mr. Joestar, how on earth do you take care of her? That must be an enormous strain!” Kakyoin tried to ignore how concerned his tone sounded.
“It is quite the strain,” the director cut in before Mr. Joestar could answer. “The baby takes away not only his attention but also the attention of his son and Dr. Kujo over here. That is why you will be looking after this baby full-time until the killer is caught.”
Kakyoin felt like he had been electrocuted. He opened and closed his mouth for several seconds before he managed to summon words. “A baby? The important mission is to babysit? While there’s a murderer running around?”
“Babysitting implies a short-term job consisting of only a few hours. You’ll be more like a nanny. This will be long-term, and you’ll live with them.”
Kakyoin scoffed. “This is an insult!”
The director looked vaguely annoyed. “I have no doubt that this may be one of the hardest missions you have ever had.”
“Look, I get that she's a stand user, but how is looking after a baby my hardest mission yet?”
“Because the invisible baby is just the tip of the iceberg. You will also be looking after Dr. Kujo’s daughter.”
Kakyoin froze.
Jotaro looked furious. His jaw was clenched. “She’s not that bad,” he spoke through gritted teeth.
The director actually scoffed. Kakyoin worried Jotaro would flip the table or something but he didn’t move. He just looked terribly angry. Kakyoin recognized his scent. It was how Jotaro smelled whenever they fought a particularly annoying stand user. The scent was deeper, stronger now. Jotaro was an adult now, not a teenager. He was a father, too.
Kakyoin tilted his head with curiosity. “She’s a stand user, too?” He asked. If her stand was even half as powerful as Jotaro’s, Kakyoin could see how that could be a problem.
“No,” Jotaro answered. “She didn’t even know about stands until a few weeks ago when I was forced to explain them to her,” he said while giving a pointed look at Mr. Joestar.
Mr. Joestar put his palms up facing Jotaro. “Don’t look at me like that! I told you, Shizuka can’t help when she goes invisible!”
Kakyoin rolled his eyes. “Then what’s the problem? She can’t be more than nine or ten years old, right?
“She’s seven,” Jotaro said. “And there is no problem. Jolyne is just stubborn sometimes, but it’s not-”
“She terrorizes every agent we send to look after her,” the director interrupted. “She does not listen, she misbehaves, she refuses to follow orders, she bites-”
“That was one time-”
“And Dr. Kujo refuses to send her back to live with her mother full-time like she usually does.”
Jotaro’s face looked closed off. He pulled his hat down so that it covered his eyes.
Kakyoin felt extremely out of place in this conversation. He slammed his palms on the table and stood to leave.
“Look, I sympathize and all but I really don’t think I’m the right person for this mission. I really, really don’t like kids, so I think it’d be best if you found someone else to-”
“I’m sure you’re aware of the promotion we have lined up for you. You’ve been quite the useful asset to us so far,” the director interrupted. “If you step out of this room, you can kiss that promotion goodbye. Matter of fact, you can kiss your career goodbye,” he said, nonchalantly.
Kakyoin, Jotaro, and Mr. Joestar’s heads all jerked toward the director at once. Kakyoin felt like his stomach had fallen out of his body.
Kakyoin straightened his posture. “I’m just stating my opinion that I don’t believe that I’m the right agent for this job,” he spoke in a low, even tone. “Perhaps an agent with children or experience with-”
The director scoffed. “Aren’t omegas supposed to like kids?” He asked incredulously.
Kakyoin could barely move. He felt like he had been slapped.
Jotaro stood from his seat. Mr. Joestar looked angry as well.
“Is this how you talk to your employees?” Jotaro demanded. Kakyoin was stunned by the anger on his behalf.
The director stared down Jotaro. “You know, I did some light reading on your little excursion in Egypt. It’s how I found out that Kakyoin, here, was an old buddy of yours before he was injured and discovered to be an omega at the hospital.” The director looked curiously at Kakyoin, Mr. Joestar, and Jotaro. He watched them squirm as he continued to bring up their past. “It brought up several questions for me. Did you really not notice the boy was an omega for the several weeks you spent together? Was he really that good at hiding it? Did you send him home because he was weak?”
The director cocked his head. He looked Kakyoin up and down, appraisingly. His next words made him feel ill. “Or maybe you were just done with him?”
Jotaro lunged at the man, but Kakyoin conjured Hierophant Green, who held him back by the shoulders. Jotaro seemed shocked by his stand’s presence.
Mr. Joestar waved his hands at the director. “Let’s not get too hasty now! Really, I can look after the kids, myself, so that-”
“No,” he interrupted. “You can’t. And I’m tired of wasting time on this. I listened to you and Kujo last year when you insisted that you had things under control, and several innocent people died as a result. I’ve listened to you both these last few weeks and several more innocent people have died. I am done doing things your way.” The director pointed at Kakyoin. “ You will look after the children,” he then pointed at Mr. Joestar, then Jotaro. “So that you two can focus on doing your damn job.”
Kakyoin had never seen the director look so angry, nor had he ever seen the Joestars look so chastised.
“Understood!?” The director demanded.
The three of them nodded slowly. Jotaro was the last of them to nod, just barely tipping his head.
“Good,” the director said. “Your car to Morioh is waiting out front. You all have your orders. I expect to see some headway on this case sooner rather than later.”
The director gathered his things and stormed out of the room. He must be a very busy man, Kakyoin thought to himself.
As soon as the door slammed shut, Mr. Joestar let out a sad sigh. “It looks like we finally pushed the Speedwagon Foundation over the edge,” he commiserated. “I figured it could happen at some point, but I didn’t think they’d get so personal about it.”
Mr. Joestar tried to stand up out of his chair. He shuffled to the edge of his seat and planted his feet on the ground, but had a difficult time getting enough momentum to stand up. Kakyoin could hardly watch him struggle. He strode forward and silently offered Mr. Joestar a hand.
Mr. Joestar looked up at Kakyoin. The old man’s eyes looked hopeful. He accepted Kakyoin’s hand. He helped pull Mr. Joestar to his feet. The old man felt unbelievably fragile to him.
When the old man stood, he was slightly hunched over, making him look closer in height to Kakyoin than he was to Jotaro. It was the opposite of how things used to be. Kakyoin was nearly at eye level with the man.
Mr. Joestar continued to hold onto him. “I’m sorry, Kakyoin,” he said. “It looks like we dragged you into our mess again.”
Kakyoin sighed. “No shit,” he said. Mr. Joestar hunched a little more. Kakyoin immediately felt bad. “What did you even do to piss them off so bad anyways?” He asked with a lighter tone.
Mr. Joestar chuckled. “What haven’t we done? I think we have a way of getting on their nerves. Though it seems like Jolyne’s the one who’s finally starting to get to them, now.”
Kakyoin glanced at Jotaro. Jotaro gave his grandfather a look. “She is not that bad,” he repeated.
Mr. Joestar nodded enthusiastically. “Sure, sure!” He held onto Kakyoin’s arm while he shuffled towards the door, pulling Kakyoin along with him. “Kakyoin! We have so much to catch up on! How many years has it been? 11? 12? You look so grown up!”
Kakyoin had been full of disdain for the Joestars for well over a decade. His negative feelings for them had festered. He had taken joy in their misfortune. He had stayed furious with them for years after he felt they’d abandoned him.
Now, after only a few words exchanged between him and Mr. Joestar, nearly all of those negative feelings had evaporated.
Kakyoin felt a void take the place of the anger. It was like a black hole had opened up within him and sucked all the emotion away. He felt empty. He felt confused.
He glanced at Jotaro. Jotaro was looking back at him. He appeared just as apprehensive as Kakyoin felt.
Kakyoin briefly wondered if he ever really knew Mr. Joestar or Jotaro in the first place.
Kakyoin took a deep breath. “I don’t think I’ve been nearly as busy as you and Jotaro, Mr. Joestar,” he said with a calm, patient tone. “The car ride to Morioh is a few hours, isn’t it? That should give us at least a little time to catch up. I’m very curious about these new children of yours.”
It was like extending a hand and offering a truce.
Kakyoin could have sworn that Mr. Joestar’s eyes were slightly shinier than normal, but perhaps it was just the glare from his glasses. The old man smiled brightly at him and squeezed his arm.
Kakyoin braced himself for a long car ride but it went by surprisingly fast.
Mr. Joestar talked the most, by far. He waxed poetic about his son and youngest daughter. He told Kakyoin about meeting them both the previous year. His eyes positively sparkled as he spoke about them. Kakyoin watched him in wonder. He had cursed Mr. Joestar for so many years, and now he found himself earnestly feeling happy for the old man.
Jotaro spoke the least. He drove the car, and his eyes remained focused on the road, but it was clear that he closely listened to Kakyoin and Mr. Joestar speak in the back seat. Kakyoin occasionally caught his eyes lingering on the rearview mirror, watching them. Jotaro only spoke up when addressed specifically by his grandfather, usually answering yes or no questions, like “ Isn’t Shizuka so cute? ” or “ Isn’t Josuke such a nice boy? ”
Jotaro only nodded or hummed in agreement which seemed to be all that Mr. Joestar really wanted out of him anyways.
It wasn’t until the final hour of their car ride that Mr. Joestar started gently grilling Kakyoin about his own life. As Kakyoin answered the questions, he could see Jotaro sit up a bit straighter, clearly interested in Kakyoin’s answers.
No, he wasn’t married. No, he didn’t have kids. No, he wasn’t currently dating anyone. Yes, he had dated a little in the past. No, he wasn't going to tell Mr. Joestar any details about his type. Yes, he was turning thirty in a couple of months. No, he did not care that his biological clock was ticking, thank you very much, Mr. Joestar.
Mr. Joestar laughed and scratched the back of his head. “I guess I’m just surprised is all! You’ve grown up so handsome, you must be beating alphas off with a stick!”
Kakyoin rolled his eyes. “Mr. Joestar, I’m a male omega with scars on my face and an ‘ imaginary friend ’. I’m not exactly a hot commodity.”
Mr. Joestar waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll believe it when I see it! I think there’s something you’re not sharing with us!”
Kakyoin sighed. He didn’t feel like explaining that he wasn’t keen on dating. Sure, he’d had a handful of flings here and there, but he’d never wanted to commit to anything other than his career. He had never felt particularly compelled to stay by anyone’s side before.
Well, anyone besides the man sitting in the driver’s seat, but those days were long gone.
During the last few minutes of their drive, Kakyoin tried to ask more about the two young girls he would be looking after. Mr. Joestar went on and on about Shizuka’s recent milestones: saying Papa, and making animal sounds. Nothing was said about Jolyne.
As they approached the house, Kakyoin grew a bit nervous.
They pulled into the driveway of a beautiful ranch-style house on a quiet street in Morioh. The house was well maintained. As they all stepped out of the car, Jotaro briefly explained that they were renting the house for the summer as opposed to staying in a hotel.
Jotaro carried Kakyoin’s bag. Kakyoin quietly thanked him. Jotaro nodded. The interaction should have been normal, but it wasn’t. It was tense and weird. Kakyoin didn’t know how to talk to Jotaro anymore. Kakyoin wasn’t sure how it was possible but the man seemed even more reserved than he was as a teen.
Kakyoin followed Jotaro and Mr. Joestar inside the house. There were a number of young voices excitedly shouting. Kakyoin listened with curiosity. The voices sounded like teenage boys. Mr. Joestar yelled out to the voices that they had returned, and the teens shouted greetings in return.
Kakyoin followed Jotaro and Mr. Joestar to the living room where the voices had been coming from. There, they found three teenage boys and a little girl.
One teenage boy sat on the couch but immediately stood and greeted them. He curiously stared at Kakyoin. Kakyoin stared back for a second. Despite the boy’s rather short height, he was an alpha.
The other two boys sat on the floor in front of the TV with controllers in their hands. They were playing a video game; their eyes were completely focused on the screen. Kakyoin recognized the game they were playing and briefly appraised their scores.
One of the two boys looked unmistakably like a Joestar. From his eyes to his nose to his shoulders, he was a Joestar through and through. Kakyoin guessed that this must be Mr. Joestar’s teenage son, Josuke.
Hanging on the boy's back with her arms thrown over his shoulders and studying the screen was another vaguely familiar face. She was small and young. Her hair was pulled into two neat buns sitting atop her head. She had many of the same features as the boy she leaned against. Kakyoin had no doubt that the little girl must be Jolyne.
It was strange. It was one thing to know that Jotaro had a daughter, but it was another thing entirely to see her in real life scowling at the TV the same way that Jotaro used to scowl when they were teens. It sent a shiver down Kakyoin’s spine.
“Josuke!” Mr. Joestar exclaimed. “Turn that thing off and come meet an old friend of ours!”
Josuke paused the game and looked up at them with a raised brow. Jolyne and the other boy looked at them as well.
Josuke and the other boys curiously stared at Kakyoin.
As for Jolyne, Kakyoin recognized the expression on her face. He had seen it on Jotaro’s face many times before. She looked incredibly irritated by Kakyoin’s presence.
Kakyoin tried to keep his expression neutral. He nodded at the teens as Mr. Joestar introduced him.
“This is Noriaki Kakyoin! He went to Egypt with us!”
All three of the boys’ jaws dropped. “Like, Dio-Egypt!?” The short boy incredulously asked.
“Oh, yes! In fact, Kakyoin knew Dio!” Mr. Joestar bragged. Kakyoin saw Jotaro frown out of the corner of his eye. “He survived being in Dio’s mansion for months!”
All the teen boys looked incredibly impressed. Kakyoin wondered what they even knew about Dio. He wondered if they would still be impressed if they found out that he was injured by one of Dio’s men and sent away before being able to fight him again.
Kakyoin shook the thought away at the sound of Mr. Joestar’s voice.
Mr. Joestar squeezed Kakyoin against his side as he spoke. “Kakyoin is going to be staying with us for a while! He’s going to be looking after the girls.” Mr. Joestar pointed at Jolyne, who glared at him in return. “You better watch out, Jolyne! We found the meanest person we know to look after you!”
Kakyoin rolled his eyes. “I see one girl, but I don’t see the other one. Where is your daughter, Mr. Joestar?”
Mr. Joestar looked around. “That’s a good question. Josuke, where is Shizuka?”
Josuke looked nervous. “Uh, that is a good question, uhhh… Koichi, where’s Shizuka?”
The shorter boy, Koichi, also looked around nervously. “She was just here a minute ago!” His voice sounded stressed. “Okuyasu, did you see or hear her?”
The last boy, Okuyasu, scratched the back of his head. “I was focused on the game, so I didn’t see anything,” he admitted.
Mr. Joestar cursed under his breath. “Shizuka, are you hiding again?!” He called out to the room. He received no response. He cursed under his breath again. “Well, she couldn’t have gone far! With everyone here, I’m sure we’ll find her fairly quickly! Jotaro’s gotten very good at finding her hiding spots, so it won’t-”
“Mr. Joestar,” Kakyoin interrupted him. Kakyoin conjured Hierophant Green and sent several tendrils to snake along the living room floor. The boys watched the tendrils move in awe. “Does this happen frequently? Losing the baby?”
Mr. Joestar avoided eye contact. “Well, it didn’t happen too often, but Shizuka has gotten pretty quick lately,” he sheepishly admitted.
Kakyoin sighed. After only a few seconds, one of the tendrils gently bumped into something small, warm, and baby-shaped behind the TV stand.
“Hah! Gotcha!” Kakyoin exclaimed. Hierophant Green’s upper body manifested and grabbed the baby presumably around her waist. He had his stand carry her through the air. She remained invisible, but her squeals of laughter gave away her presence in Hierophant Green’s clutches. Hierophant Green brought her to Kakyoin, gently placing her in his arms before dematerializing. Kakyoin bounced the invisible baby on his hip a couple of times. She continued to squeal and laugh as she slowly became visible in Kakyoin’s arms, revealing a rather cute baby girl who looked at him curiously.
“You must be quite the troublemaker!” He spoke to her in a soft voice as he bounced her on his hip. “Stands and babies just don’t mix!”
Josuke stood from his spot on the floor. “Wow! That was a new record! It usually takes at least 15 minutes for us to find her!”
Mr. Joestar patted Kakyoin on the back. “And she already likes you, too! You’re a natural, Kakyoin!”
Kakyoin gave Mr. Joestar a look, not liking the implication in his words. He wasn’t sure if Mr. Joestar was purposefully implying that being an omega meant that he was naturally good with children or not, but he resented it either way.
Kakyoin looked back at the baby. She pulled on his braid. He gently took it from her grasp before she could put it in her mouth. If anyone were to ask, Kakyoin would stand his ground that he did not like kids, but he did have to admit that she was awfully cute. “You know, I likely had my own stand since I was a baby. Maybe Shizuka-chan and I are kindred spirits in that regard.”
Mr. Joestar let out a hearty laugh that reminded Kakyoin of old times. “Kakyoin, I have a feeling that this whole nanny thing is actually going to work out!”
Jotaro stepped forward. “Jolyne, come introduce yourself,” he said.
Jolyne stepped back. She was pouting.
“No!” She raised her voice. She stared angrily at Jotaro, almost seething with rage.
The three teenage boys looked on with wide eyes.
Josuke let out a nervous laugh. “Well, uh, it was nice meeting you! Bye, Dad! Bye, Jotaro! See you later, Jolyne!”
The teenage boys quickly packed up their things and fled the house. Jotaro’s jaw was clenched. Mr. Joestar looked nervous.
Shizuka mindlessly cooed against Kakyoin’s chest. He was jealous of her unawareness.
Jolyne only looked angrier at the boys’ farewell. Kakyoin briefly wondered how so much rage could possibly radiate from her little body.
Jotaro took a deep breath. He looked annoyed but he spoke in a patient tone. “Jolyne-”
“I don’t need a nanny!” She yelled. “Why can’t I just hang out with Uncle Josuke!?” She demanded.
“Josuke has school,” Jotaro answered. “Someone needs to look after you and Shizuka during the day.”
“Shizuka is a baby! I’m not a baby!” Jolyne shouted. She stomped angrily. “And why can’t I just spend the day with you!?”
Jotaro’s brow was furrowed. Kakyoin could tell he was frustrated. He couldn't believe he was seeing Jotaro get yelled at twice in one day.
“We’ve gone over this before. I can spend the evening with you, but-”
“I can take care of myself! I don’t need a nanny! I don’t have a nanny when I’m with Mom!” She was nearly screaming. Her face was turning pink. She was trembling slightly from the anger.
Kakyoin watched the tantrum with a raised brow. He didn’t dare step in.
Jotaro glanced at Kakyoin. If Kakyoin didn’t know any better, he’d say the man looked embarrassed, or perhaps, ashamed.
“Listen, Jolyne, Kakyoin is-”
“Fuck Kakyoin!” She screamed. “And fuck you!” She stomped out of the room and down the hallway before she slammed the door to what was presumably her bedroom.
Kakyoin watched with raised eyebrows. The slamming of the door made Shizuka jump. Her face crinkled and grew red. Her mouth was open for a moment as she breathed in. She let out a long cry from being startled by the noise. She faded from sight as her cry grew louder. Kakyoin’s arms and side where she rested became invisible as well.
Kakyoin blinked.
He couldn’t help but think that Jolyne was like her father in more ways than one.