-
"I'm a little worried," Mr. Joestar started. "My perception of India is a place where the only food to eat is curry, and where people constantly get sick. Is there anywhere to get a cheeseburger?"
"I know," Polnareff said. "I'm worried by body won't be able to handle the cultural gap."
Avdol laughed. "Your assessment is distorted. It's a wonderful country where people live simply. That I can guarantee."
"The food isn't bad either," you add.
"I don't trust your judgement, Akira" Polnareff snickered.
You sighed and reached down to his hair in an attempt to mess it up, but it refused to change.
"What the hell? How much hairspray do you use?"
"Come on, we've docked in Calcutta," Avdol interrupts the two of you.
You nod and leave the ship.
You practically attach yourself to Avdol, knowing how crowded things can get and not wanting to get swept away.
The second you step onto solid ground, people are glued to the six of you, asking for money, offering tattoos and other services, etc.
"I stepped in cow shit!" Polnareff yelled, to which you evil smiled in response.
"Someone already stole my wallet," Kakyoin said.
"Avdol, this is India?" Mr. Joestar questioned.
"It's great, isn't it?"
Avdol laughed and the side of your lips curved upwards as you made your way out of the crowd.
-
Your group was now sitting at a table in the corner of a restaurant, away from the busy and overcrowded streets outside. You sat in between Kakyoin and Polnareff
There was still a bit of awkward tension in the air between Kakyoin and you after the hotel, but it wasn't anything the both of you necessarily cared about. There were other things to focus on, and whatever took place then wasn't one of them.
You drank a cup of tea, and couldn't help but feel someone's aura nearby.
"There's a stand user nearby," you interrupted everyone's conversations. "Keep your guards up."
"We can't catch a damn break," Mr. Joestar huffed.
In order to change the subject, Avdol spoke up. "India takes some getting used to, but it's nice, isn't it?"
"India is pretty great, I like it," Jotaro said.
"Jotaro, you can't be serious! Do you really mean that?" Mr. Joestar yells.
"Looks like someone couldn't sense the sarcasm," you whispered, to which Kakyoin softly chuckled.
"There's a hell of a culture shock, though," Polnareff starts. "I guess I'll like it once I get used to it. They do say that people adapt to their surroundings." He stands up and asks the waiter where the bathroom is.
"Polnareff, don't you want to order first?" Mr. Joestar asks.
"Have Akira pick for me, I'm sure she'll get something suited to the tastes of a Frenchman like me."
"Weren't you insulting my judgement back on the ship?" You say, to which he looks back at you sheepishly. "Whatever, just keep your guard up, tube-top."
Once he's out of earshot, you look at the menu.
"Get him something spicy."
A few minutes after your food arrives, Polnareff leaves the bathroom screaming.
"A stand! A stand!"
"It attacked while you were shitting!?" You asked.
"It.. it's the man with the two right hands! But where is he?"
Polnareff frantically searched around the restaurant, and then he ran out, disregarding you all entirely.
The group of you got up to follow him.
"What's wrong, Polnareff?" Mr. Joestar questions.
"What is this about?" Avdol adds in.
"If that stand I saw belongs to who I think it does," his mood completely shifted from before. "Then that means I found him. Jotaro, the man who uses mirrors is here. The bastard who killed my sister!"
"Are you sure it's him?" Mr. Joestar asks.
"Mr. Joestar, it's settled. I'm traveling on my own from here on out."
"What?" you ask.
"Now that my sister's murderer is here, I'm not waiting for him to attack first. I'll find him first and kill him!"
"Did you hit your fucking head Polnareff?" He was starting to piss you off. "You have no clue what he looks like in the first place, and it sounds like you're forgetting the part where the man Jotaro fought said that there's no way you'd beat him."
"Plus, it's obvious he's trying to single you out and pick you off." Kakyoin added.
"I don't care, he has two right hands, and that's enough for me. Plus, he knows I'm going to attack, so he'll be on the defensive. That'll give me the advantage. See ya."
You started walking after him. You were fuming. He joins your trip, uses and takes advantage of everyone's friendship and kindness, and then leaves? You trusted him. Avdol pulled you back behind him.
"You'll go out for wool, only to come home shorn," Avdol said.
"And that means?" Polnareff turned around.
"Take a guess."
"Are you implying that I'm going to lose?"
"Yes, can't you see that what Kakyoin pointed out is correct? The enemy is trying to purposefully get you alone. I refuse to let you go alone."
Polnareff turns around and approaches Avdol, getting in his face.
"Listen up, I'm going to make this clear. This was never about DIO. I told you at the port that I was only traveling with you to avenge my sister. Mr. Joestar and Jotaro already knew. I've been alone from the start."
"You selfish idiot!" Avdol retaliates. "Did you forget you were brainwashed by DIO to begin with?"
"You have no idea how it feels to have your sister taken from you, so shut up! I heard the last time you saw DIO, you ran away."He pointed at Avdol. "You coward could never know how I feel!"
You'd been repressing yourself from hitting him before, but something about the word coward has always resonated in you. Something about the word has always echoed your brain, no matter who was saying it, no matter who it was directed at. It hurt.
You grabbed Avdol's shoulder and propelled yourself out in front of him. You sent an uppercut into Polnareff's jaw.
"You selfish bitch! You can say whatever the hell you want about Avdol, but we aren't cowards. Go, get yourself killed. Do whatever the fuck you want." You punch him again, but this time across the face. "But the next time we meet, I'll make this man's work look like cat scratches."
You stared down directly at his eyes while a shadow casted over yours, while he avoided eye contact with you. He clenched his fist tighter around his bag.
"Just remember that I'm a hundred times angrier-" You punched him again.
"I thought I told you to go."
Polnareff spit at your feet and then walked off.
You pulled out a cigarette and adjusted your hood as you watched Polnareff disappear into the crowd again. You felt so many things in that moment. Anger, fear, disappointment, but the one you felt the most heavily was betrayal. You and Polnareff became close instantly. Sure, you both made fun of each other constantly, but you knew you could trust him if it came down to it. Why didn't he tell you? You felt an overwhelming sense of guilt wash over your body.
'If he does die, the last time I talked to him I punched him in the face.'
You felt instant regret in that moment, regret you haven't felt in a long time.
-
That night while everyone was in their own rooms, you snuck out. You were on your own again since Polnareff was gone.
You walked the streets of Calcutta in search of any sign of him. You asked around to see if anyone knew anything. After a few hours of searching, you had gotten a reasonable distance from the hotel. It was about four in the morning anyway, so you made your way back.
Throughout your searching, a thought sat in the back of your head.
'There's a possibility he's already dead.'
You ignored it. He wouldn't have died so easily. He still had to be alive. Maybe he was even at the hotel right now.
By the time you got back to the hotel, you were left with just over two hours to sleep. As you walked in the entrance, it started to rain.
You got back to your room and didn't fall asleep. It didn't bother you, however. , but you'd still be able to fight. If anything, your senses would be sharper and you would have more anger behind each move you make.
Jotaro and Kakyoin got you for breakfast and you all walked down together.
You sat at a table for seven, with one empty chair in between you and Jotaro.
"So he really didn't come back..." Mr. Joestar sounded disappointed.
You couldn't help but still feel guilty. You reached for the coffee set in front of you and took a sip.
"Akira," Avdol said. He had that tone of voice that told you that he knew something, and you knew exactly what he knew. "How did you sleep?"
"Fine," you responded.
"Really?"
You nodded.
He hummed. "I thought I saw someone that looked like you out the window early this morning, but I must be mistaken."
"You must be, I slept like a baby."
You took another sip of your coffee, staring at him across the table.
"You know," he said. "Your boots make a very distinct 'clank' when you walk. I could've sworn I heard it earlier, maybe at about five?"
"Someone else must have good taste in footwear," you said. The others were just watching the conversation unfold.
There were a few moments of silence before Avdol spoke up.
"Were you looking for him?"
You didn't respond. You hated the fact that you were like an open book in front of Avdol. You've spent more time with him than anyone, and he picked up on your expressions and mannerisms. He knew you felt guilty for what you did.
"I hate that you know me so well,"
You took a sip of coffee again. Before grabbing a cigarette and standing up.
"There wasn't a trace of him out there," you walked from the table to go outside.
You stood under the awning of the hotel. It was still raining. You stood in thought taking silent drags from your cigarette. Thoughts about Polnareff, thoughts about the safety of the group, thoughts about Holly, thoughts about DIO, etc. You threw your cigarette on the ground and stomped on it. You walked back in to see Avdol walking out. He didn't seem to be in a rush at the time, and he didn't seem to notice you either, so you kept walking.
As you approached the dining room, Jotaro, Kakyoin, and Mr. Joestar ran out.
"Akira!" Mr. Joestar shouted.
"Hm?"
"Avdol went to find Polnareff alone!"
You sighed as you followed them out the door.
You all split up and began frantically searching the streets of Calcutta. You had a sinking feeling in your chest the moment you heard what Mr. Joestar said. Did you do the same thing? Yes, but you didn't do it in broad daylight. No one would have recognized you with the streets being as dark as they were, but the streets were bustling and lit up now.
As you searched, you felt multiple faint auras coming from somewhere nearby. Multiple people were using their stands.
You ran your way towards where the aura was coming from.
When you turned the corner, there was a clearing. In that clearing, you found Polnareff and Silver Chariot in front of a broken window and standing across from a blonde man.
Also in that clearing you saw Kakyoin, standing near Avdol's lifeless body.
You walked over. They hadn't yet noticed your arrival.
"Who fucking killed him?" you asked.
Polnareff and Kakyoin turned to look at you.
"Well, well," the blonde said. "Nice of you to join us."
"Kakyoin," you looked at him. Your hands were shaking in anger. "Who was it?" He looked back at you with sad eyes in front of the blonde a few feet ahead of you.
"Hol Horse, and Centerfold," Polnareff said, his breath was shaky. "The Emperor and Hanged Man."
You stared down at Avdol's body in front of you. At first glance, there was a bullet wound in his head, but there was also blood leaking from his back.
You were furious. Avdol, despite how he presented himself, still hadn't reached thirty. He still had a life to live. He still had so much to teach you. What would you do without him?
You realized that you were thinking selfishly. You took no more than a few seconds to process everything before devising a plan.
"Polnareff," you said. "Go after the Hanged Man. Take Kakyoin with you. Avenge your sister."
"The Emperor is mine."
-
To be continued...>
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