Word Count: 1841

Cars honking, people shouting and the sound of dozens of bodies moving in a horde was all that invaded your senses.

"So, this is India?!" Mr. Joestar shouted over the ruckus, at the front of your little group trying to leave the crowd.

You all had barely stepped off the boat when the mass drew in, surrounding you as you got to shore and now hanging all around you as you stood in a circle. You were squashed between Kakyoin and Joseph, practically back to back with Polnareff and Jotaro behind you as you tried to stay as far away from the people in front of and around you.

"Mr. Joestar, let's move out of the crowd!" Kakyoin called out over the shouting voices of the people around.

"Agreed!"

With that, the little group started moving away, Avdol at the helm and creating a wedge in the flood of people, through which the others followed.

"Jotaro!" Hearing his name suddenly be called, Jotaro turned back to look at Kakyoin, only to see the redhead quickly point behind himself. Following his arm, the delinquent watched at what he meant, seeing you get crowded backwards into the mass of people, like cattle.

Sighing, Jotaro pulled down his hat before quickly breaking off from the Crusaders, just pushing people aside as he walked over to where you were being hounded, anxiety and stress clear on your face.

You had just been trying to follow your friends when a man stepped forward, addressing you, and you – not knowing what else to do – stopped and held your hands up, trying to decline whatever he was telling you, only for him to step closer, with a woman stepping up from the right as well, forcing you to take a step back to keep some personal space – only for one step to turn into several.

Right now, people were too close, too many voices talking to and shouting at you, confusing you as you felt your breathing speed up a bit.

Suddenly, your wrist was grabbed and you yelped, a millisecond away from summoning your Stand to smack the person away, only to recognise the black cuff of the school uniform jacket.

Shooting your eyes up, they met with Jotaro's from where he stood behind two people and you let out a subtle sigh of relief, the familiarity calming you down just a tad.

Content that he had you, Jotaro turned around and pulled you with him, intent to bring you back to the rest of the group, yet after three steps, your wrist was yanked out of his hold and he abruptly turned around to see a man had jumped in between the two of you, now shoving something he held at your face, the rest of the crowd crushing you in as well and the delinquent had enough.

"Move!" He angrily said to the two in front of him, pushing them aside as he barged through until he was right in front of you, wasting no second in picking you up. You were as stiff as a board, your hands daintily placed on his shoulder as he held you against himself by your thighs and lower back, turning around and starting to walk while keeping you from the crowd.

You finally felt like you could breathe again, looking down on the crowd from your vantage point, making you relax a little.

Feeling your stiff muscles go flack, Jotaro glanced up at you from the corner of his eyes, briefly remarking how much you looked like a puppy with the way your hands were positioned on his shoulder, your head looking around. He quickly caught onto his own thoughts however and shook them off, rapidly walking through the mass to join back up with the crusaders.

- - - -

Sitting in the hotel's restaurant, you were glad for the relative peace and quiet, the hustle and bustle from Calcutta muted within the building as you sat at the circular table.

You had all just gotten a serving of Chai tea when Avdol spoke up. "Be patient with India. Once you get used to it, you'll see how wonderful this country is." Though he technically spoke to the whole group, he was giving you a patient smile as he said that and you quickly sunk into your chair, hiding your face behind your cup as you took a sip.

"You know, I kinda like this place. It's pretty cool." Jotaro remarked, much to Joseph's very vocal surprise, yet none were privy to the thoughts in his head, his eyes on you from beneath his hat. 

"Talk about culture shock." Polnareff spoke after drinking the last bit of his cup before getting up and turning to the waiter standing closeby. "Where's the john?"

"Right over there, sir."

"Hey, Polnareff. What do you want to eat?" Mr. Joestar questioned, making Polnareff look back.

"Pick something for me that would suit the tastes of a Frenchman like moi." He grinned with a wink and you chuckled softly as he walked away.

"Which means it doesn't matter." Kakyoin hummed as he looked through the menu, making Mr. Joestar close his mouth with a clack after he had opened it to look at the silver-haired man, completely flabbergasted.

The redhead then started ordering for both himself as well as Polnareff, with you and the others following with your order.

"Wait, so Stand users have increased healing? I always noted I healed fast but I guess I've never really had a point of reference." You spoke, intrigued as you looked at Avdol.

"Indeed. The exact reason for it is unexplained but I personally believe the fighting spirit of Stand users has something to do with it. It is the whole reason Stands exist, so I would not find it surprising if our souls materialised, these ghostly apparitions, boost their healing onto ours."

"You mean as if two people healing in one?"

"Sort of like that, yes." The Egyptian man smiled and you hummed.

"And if you pair it with my Hamon, it's three-double healing!" Mr. Joestar grinned while nudging you with his elbow, knocking you into Kakyoin who nearly spilled his drink at it.

"Mr. Joestar, please do be aware of your surroundings." Kakyoin spoke a bit dejectedly, putting his cup down and shaking the few droplets that spilled off of his hand, wiping it on his napkin after.

"Oh, sorry, my boy." Joseph scratched his beard a bit as he apologised, only to get distracted when two waiters walked up, trays loaded with the food that was ordered.

Getting your plate put in front of yourself, you curiously looked at the curry in front of yourself. It smelled good so you had high hopes for it.

"Should we wait for Polnareff to arrive?" You questioned while still looking at your plate, only to look up to see no one seemed to have heard you, making you shut your mouth a bit dejectedly.

"No, just eat."

Snapping your head up, you saw Jotaro looking at you, one eye obscured by his hat but you blinked a bit before giving a sheepish smile and nodding.

It wasn't until a few minutes into eating that anyone else seemed to notice your lack of French company.

"Polnareff sure is taking a long while." Mr. Joestar mused and as if the universe was listening, the silver-haired man chose exactly that moment to appear, Jotaro right in the middle of taking a bite when he noticed the man from the corner of his eye.

"Stand!" Polnareff exclaimed, almost out of breath, looking worked up and catching all your attention's as well as those of the people in the restaurant. "Where's the user? Who is it? The man with two right hands..." He started frantically looking around, glancing at all the patrons' hands before sprinting to the door and bursting out.

Quickly getting up in tandem with the rest, you followed your friend with concern, while the others held more confusion.

Walking through the door, Polnareff was standing in the street, looking around at the dozens of people walking back and forth.

"What's wrong, Polnareff?"

"What is this about?" Avdol finished Joseph's sentence

"He's here. Jotaro, it's the Stand user you told me about, the one who uses mirrors! The bastard who killed my sister." Polnareff was gritting his teeth as he spoke, his fists firmly clenched before he abruptly turned around, a determined look on his face. "Mr. Joestar, I'll be travelling on my own from here on out."

"Huh?!" Everyone held their own surprised confusion, your eyes wide as you stood beside Kakyoin, looking at the scene.

"I'm not going to wait for him to come after me. I'll find him first and kill him." Polnareff spoke while slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"We don't even know what he looks like, or what his Stand does!" Kakyoin jumped in but Polnareff merely gave him a glance.

"He's got two right hands, that's enough for me."

"Polnareff-"

"Tough talk for someone who's digging his own grave." Avdol now joined in and you softly started shaking your head, your eyes sad as you looked on as the two continued to argue.

Polnareff got right up into Avdol's face, shouting at him while the man was only trying to help, and you could do nothing but just stand there, frozen.

For some reason, verbal fights had this effect on you. The Stand battles, seeing a punch thrown at you? You could dodge, bring out your Stand – defend yourself. But in a shouting match? You were useless.

Feeling a hand placed on your shoulder, you looked to your right at Kakyoin, seeing him give you a comforting nod. Did you really come across as physically uncomfortable that easily?

"Why, you-!" Your eyes snapped open, seeing the normally calm and collected Avdol rush forward, fist poised, only for Mr. Joestar to step in, grabbing his friend's hand.

"That's enough, just let him go." He sighed, looking sideways at Polnareff. "No one can stop him now."

Composing himself, Avdol brought his hands down. "I've just lost my respect for him, that's all." Looking up at Polnareff one more time, he spoke. "I'm certain that foresight will let us win. Rushing in without thinking will get us all killed."

"Oh? Then I'll say this with certainty too. Your little divination will be wrong." Slapping the chain hanging around the Egyptian man's neck, Polnareff then turned and walked away, watched by the entire street who witnessed the fight.

By now, Kakyoin had turned towards you, shielding you from the view of Polnareff while he kept you behind the rest, both his hands on your shoulders now, though from the clench of his fist you noticed how affected he was.

It was silent for a minute as everyone let sink in what just happened.

Eventually, it was Joseph who broke it, sighing loudly. "Come on everyone, let's get back inside. Finish our meal." Walking forward, he put his hand on your back and pushed you forward after turning you around, patting Kakyoin on his shoulder with his other hand, urging the teen to follow as well. "There's nothing we can do now."

- - - -

I'm so sorry this is 2 weeks late ;-;
But hey! I spent that time making a SDC timeline to help with this fic, so I'll be able to tell you exactly when and what date all the fights took place on! :D

Also woop woop, finally back into actual canon material! Sorry if its a bit jumbled. I try to not make it boring and I am also tired, kek. Have an awesome day peeps ^^
(I'll try my very hardest to update on time from now on >.<)

30-03-2022