"H-huh?" you gasped out, still a bit flustered from the situation earlier as well as the space, or lack there of, between you and Jotaro. You could feel your cheeks heating up as he leaned in even closer to you.
"You can see them, can't you?" He articulated each word clearly, leaving no room for error on your part.
"See what?" You tried to wiggle out of the cage Jotaro had made with his hands, only for him to slam his elbows against the door as well. What little distance had existed before was now gone, your noses basically touching now.
"Don't play dumb, I saw the way you were looking at my mom and the space behind Kakyoin. You can see out stands, can't you? What are you, some kind of enemy? We took care of Dio already, so why the fuck did you follow us all the way to Japan from Egypt?" Jotaro growled, his breath warm against the skin of your face.
"D-dio? Egypt? Stand? What the fuck are you talking about?" A burst of confidence erupted in your heart. You knew something fishy happened while Kakyoin was in Egypt, and Jotaro finally gave you some kind of evidence to confirm it. You still weren't entirely sure what he was talking about, but at least you knew there was more to it than your friend had been letting onto.
"I told you not to play dumb!" Jotaro slammed his fists against the door behind you, the sound making you flinch more than the worry of him actually hitting you. The purple creature you saw earlier appeared fully behind Jotaro know, studying you through narrowed eyes. Was that what Jotaro was talking about? A stand? The boy in front of you followed your line of sight while you were distracted. "So you can see him."
Your gaze snapped backed to Jotaro, who looked like he was ready to kill you at any moment.
"Now wait just a minute." You tried to sound angry, but your voice came out more flustered than anything. "I've known Kakyoin since I was a kid, and you can ask him that. I've also never been to Egypt. Hell, I've never even left Japan before! On top of that, I have no idea who this Dio is, nor do I know what the hell a stand is!"
Jotaro's eyes scanned you throughly, as if he were searching for some sort of flaw in your words despite it being all truth. When he was sure you didn't pose a threat to him, he dropped his arms, taking a step back and letting out a sigh.
"Shit," he whispered to himself, realizing he had said too much too soon.
"I knew there was more to the story," you said in a low voice. "Just what the fuck happened to you and Kakyoin when you guys were on 'vacation.'" You put air quotes around the last word, showing that you would no longer believe that shitty excuse.
"None of your damn business," Jotaro mumbled, turning on his heels and quickly taking off in the direction of the kitchen.
"Hey! I'm not done asking you questions!" You went to chase after the tall teen, but didn't have to move very far as the figure you saw standing behind you in the mirror earlier had blocked his path. Jotaro froze in his tracks, looking over his shoulder at you and then back at the form standing before him. He tried to move around it, only for it to mirror his movements, preventing him from running away. Giving up, he turned to face you again, an annoyed expression making itself known. "You can start by telling me what the hell that thing is. I saw it behind me in the mirror when I was in the bathroom earlier, and it was the first time I had ever seen anything like it."
"That, is a stand. Like my Star Platinum." Jotaro held his hand out to the side, the purple figure from before appearing and giving you a soft smile. You had a million more questions to ask, but before you even got the chance Jotaro continued to explain. "They're a manifestation of one's mental capabilities to put it simply. All of them have names and different abilities. Some of them are short range, like mine, while others are long range, like Kakyoin's. Short range stands are usually more powerful, but have a limited attacking distance whereas long rage stands can be controlled from far away, but don't have as much strength. You saw Kakyoin's stand earlier I presume, the green and white one. His stand's name is Hierophant green. Yours probably has a name too."
You looked over Jotaro's shoulder at your stand, which was still holding its ground. You examined it, taking in every feature trying to figure out what to name it. It's skin was a pale blue, and it wore no clothes except for a cloth garment that covered the lower half of its face. It appeared to have the build of a human female, the breasts and lower private area covered by a mass of dark blue clouds. The same dark fluff also wrapped around her wrists and ankles, leaving the rest of her body exposed. She had long hair that was the same deep blue as the clouds around her body. It was long and somewhat curly, laying loosely against her shoulders and falling lazily in her face. She had eyes, but no pupils or irises. It was only a blank whiteness from which facial marking that looked like tear stains dripped from. Those markings combined with the way her eyebrows were permanently turned upwards made it look like she was always crying.
"Crybaby," you whispered. "I think her name is Crybaby." You had no idea where the name came from, or why it was rooted in your mind, but it felt perfect rolling off your tongue.
You glance back up at Jotaro, curiosity circling in your eyes. "How am I supposed to know what her abilities are?"
"You'll have to figure that out on your own," he shrugged, looking over his shoulder at your stand. Suddenly, Jotaro's eyes went wide and he balled the collar of your shirt up in his fist, dragging your body forward and lowering his gaze to meet yours. "Wait a second, you said this morning was the first time you were able to see stands, right? And you never had this ability before?"
You nodded hesitantly.
"Did you fucking snoop around my room?" He barked, anger flaring in his eyes. "You touched the damn arrow didn't you! I told the old man we should have hidden it better, that thing's dangerous." Jotaro sounded like he was talking more to himself than to you at the end.
"So what am I supposed to do now?"
"Whatever you do, don't tell Kakyoin."
"Don't tell me what?" The silky voice of you best friend chirped up from behind Jotaro's large frame. Kakyoin's build was so much smaller than his friend's that you hadn't even seen him approach the two of you.
"Nothing-"
"I'm a stand user-"
You and Jotaro spoke up at the same time. The dark teen shot you a threatening glance, telling you to shut up with his eyes.
"I'm not gonna lie to him," you spat, pulling Jotaro's hand away from your shirt. Pushing past the taller, you saw Kakyoin staring at you with an unknown emotion on his face. It was like he was debating whether or not to believe you. In an attempt to prove to your friend that you weren't lying, you looked around for your stand, only to realize she vanished from the spot she was previously standing in.
"How do I make her come out?" You asked Jotaro.
"It usually just happens naturally," he shrugged, clearly not caring much to help you.
You rolled your eyes, turning your attention back to Kakyoin. A heavy blush spread across your cheeks when you saw your stand already out in the open. Floating behind Kakyoin, she draped her hands over his shoulders, her face hovering mere centimeters away from his. He marveled at her figure, eyes glittering with confusion and wonderment. Kakyoin's own stand, who you now knew as Hierophant Green, came out and began to interact with your stand. The two seemed to have minds of their own, appearing to have a conversation amongst themselves yet never actually saying any words.
"She's beautiful," your friend complimented, returning his eyes to you. "But... how?"
"She found the arrow."
"She did what?!" Kakyoin half shouted, half whispered, brushing past you and planting his feet firmly in front of his friend. "I told you and Mr. Joestar we should have hidden the damn thing better! But nooo, no one ever listens to Kakyoin unless he's about to die now do they?"
Jotaro shushed Kakyoin through gritted teeth. "Just because she has a stand now doesn't mean she knows what happened in Egypt you idiot!" The two boys turned to look at you, but you were so intrigued with the way your stand was interacting with Hierophant that you paid no attention to the others. They sighed in relief, Kakyoin hoping to keep the trip a secret from you as long as he possibly could while Jotaro had no intention of ever telling you.
Your eyes glimmered as you watched Crybaby converse with Kakyoin's stand, a blush rising to your cheeks. You had no idea what was going on earlier, and you still didn't quite grasp the situation you were in, but you felt oddly calm. Knowing that you now shared this... power, that Kakyoin also had made you feel special. It gave you a deeper sense of connection to the cherry haired boy.
"Have you guys always had these, what did you call them... stands?" You reached out to touch Kakyoin's Hierophant, your fingers grazing the smooth exterior of its face. The creature leaned into your touch, and you noticed your own stand copying you, holding its own face within its grasp. You giggled softly, seeing the blue form learning from you in the same way a child would learn from their mother.
"Jotaro discovered his stand only a few days before he left for Egypt, but I've had mine since I was a kid."
"Really?" Your head snapped to face him, thinking about how the entire time you knew Kakyoin, he had his stand.
"Yeah..." Kakyoin's eyes fell to the ground, as if he were ashamed to admit the truth about his stand.
"That's amazing," you beamed. "Where did they come from in the first place?"
By now your stand had faded into the air, Kakyoin's doing the same moments later. The boys flashed each other a series of looks, having some kind of conversation with their eyes as you grew impatient. Scowling, you snapped your fingers to draw their attention back to you, your cold stare demanding an answer.
"It's a long story." Kakyoin rubbed the back of his neck, words seemingly failing him.
"You don't need to worry about it. All that matters now is you have a stand and you're gonna have to figure out how to use it so you don't accidentally end up killing someone," Jotaro stated simply.
"I'm not going to kill anyone," you huffed, crossing your arms over your chest.
"With the short temper you have, you just might. Since you have no experience controlling a stand, the thing is moving purely based on your emotions. If someone at school pisses you off a little more that usual, it's not impossible for you to send them flying across the courtyard with one punch." Jotaro glared at you knowingly.
"He knows from experience," Kakyoin mumbled, loud enough for you to hear. You chuckled at his remark while Jotaro glared at him. Your friend whistled innocently, pretending to have never said anything.
"I'm being serious when I tell you, Y/n." For the first time since you met him, Jotaro had used your name. You perked up upon hearing it, the sound of his rough and deep voice enveloping you. "Stands can be dangerous things when used properly, but they can be even more dangerous when used improperly. Not only that, but now that you have this power it's safe to say that the only people you can trust are Kakyoin, people from my family, and the Speedwagon Foundation."
"Speedwagon... Foundation?"
"Don't worry about that right now, just know that if something ever happens and you need some kind of help, they're the people you go to if not me or Jotaro," Kakyoin explained.
You furrowed your brows in comprehension, doing your best to take in all the information that was being thrown at you. The boys thought you took everything pretty well for manifesting and learning about the existence of stands all in one morning. Deep down though, you were terrified of what this meant for you going forward. Whatever this new power that you gained was, you were certain it was somehow tied to Kakyoin and Jotaro's trip to Egypt, which could no longer be covered up as a simple vacation. You had told yourself you were going to drop the topic at least for another month just so you wouldn't be pestering your friend about it, but now you were more curious than ever to uncover the truth of what really happened in the deserts that were thousands of miles away from your home.
The image at the beginning of the story is me using my shitty art skills after sifting through reference poses for a long ass time to try and show what the vision in my head is. It's based off the song Crybaby by Destroy Boys if you happen to know who they are.
Anyways i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next ones, I'm gonna have to shuffle through my playlists a bunch to find some inspo for a villian hehe >:)