Philophobia (Jotaro Kujo X Reader)

Chapter Two

After walking a short distance with Jotaro, you arrive at a large, traditional-looking house. You both stop and take off your shoes before walking onto the property. A blonde woman stands outside, folding laundry. She quickly runs into the house and talks to herself.
"Jotaro's totally thinking about me at school right now!" The woman says, hugging a picture frame. "I felt like I had a connection with my son just now."
"I'm not thinking about you," Jotaro says, causing her to scream and drop the frame.
"Jotaro!" The woman, who you assume to be his mother, turns around to face him. "Wh-what about school? And who are they? Th-that boy is covered in blood! D-don't tell me... you did that?"
"It's got nothing to do with you." Jotaro says as he turns away from her.
"H-hi, M-Ms. Kujo." You wave a little at her, catching up with Jotaro as he walks away.
"I'm looking for the Old Man. Sucks having to find him in such a huge house." Jotaro turns the corner.
"I think your grandfather's in the tea room with Mr. Avdol." Ms. Kujo calls out.
"Hey." Jotaro stops and turns to look at his mother.
"Yes?" Ms. Kujo almost eagerly replies.
"You look a little pale this morning. Are you all right?"
"Yay! Fine, thank you!"
You and Jotaro walk into the tea room, where two men sit on the floor. The older looking man stands up as Jotaro lays Kakyoin on his back. Nervously, you sit on the floor and stare at your folded hands.
"Jotaro," the older man asks, "who are they?"
"A Stand user called Noriaki Kakyoin. He attacked me and this girl. I defeated him. He was sent by DIO." Jotaro looks at you. "I also think this girl is a Stand user."
You flinch. "Wh-wh-what!? M-me!?"
The older man squints at you. "Move the hair away from your forehead."
"U-Um... okay..." Hesitantly, you comply.
He sits back up and sighs. "She's not possessed by DIO, so at least we have one less problem. The boy, however... it's too late for him. He's not going to make it. He'll die in the next few days." You see Jotaro flinch from out of the corner of your eye. "Jotaro, it's not your fault."
"Mr. Joestar," the other man says, "what exactly were you looking for on that girl's forehead?"
The older man, who you assume to be Mr. Joestar, lifts his hand up. "Because, Avdol, I was looking for the reason that this man swore loyalty to DIO and came to kill Jotaro..." he says, pulling back Kakyoin's hair, "and it's right here!"
You stifle a gag when you see a small, pulsating growth imbedded in Kakyoin's forehead.
"What is that spider-like growth?" Jotaro asks, visibly disgusted. "You said that's the reason he swore loyalty to DIO?"
"That is a flesh bud, formed from DIO's own cells." Avdol looks down at the growth. "It connects to his brain. This tiny little flesh bud was implanted in his brain to influence his mind."
"In other words, that flesh bud is a controller that draws forth certain feelings." Mr. Joestar suddenly raises his voice. "Charisma! The feelings that make soldiers want to obey dictators! The feelings that make true believers follow cult leaders! This young man admired DIO and swore loyalty to him! DIO is a charismatic figure, which means he can sway others with his overwhelming powers of attraction. He used that to order this young man, called Kakyoin, to kill us. So operate on him and remove it. The brain is very delicate. If he were to move while we were extracting it, we could inflict brain damage."
Avdol looks up at Jotaro. "Jojo, the following happened four months ago in Cairo, Egypt. I met DIO!" Jotaro turns to look at Avdol in surprise. "I am a fortune teller by trade. I have a shop in a souk called Khan el-Khalili. It was the night of the full moon. He... stood quietly on the stairs that lead up to my shop's second floor. His cold gaze felt as if it was trying to stealthily pierce my heart. His golden hair, his near-transparent alabaster skin, and his strange sensuality made it hard to believe he was a man. I had heard about him from Mr. Joestar, so I knew immediately that he was DIO, back from the Atlantic's depths! He told me, 'I hear that you have powers that ordinary people don't. I'd be grateful if you could show them to me.'"
Those words cling to your brain, causing you to shudder.
"It was then that I found him truly terrifying." Avdol continues, voice shaking with unease. "His words brought such peace to my soul. They had a dangerous sweetness. That's exactly why he was terrifying! He attempted to attack me, but I ran for my life. I didn't dare think of fighting him. I was very lucky. Because I had heard about DIO and realized it was him, I was able to immediately jump out the window. I knew the labyrinthine souk below like the back of my hand, so I was able to escape. Otherwise, I would've ended up like this young man, made into one of his followers through a flesh bud."
"You would have died a few years later, your brain completely devoured." Mr. Joestar adds that pleasant thought to the conversation.
"Died? Hold on a minute. Kakyoin here...isn't dead yet!" Jotaro summons his Stand and it crouches down next to him. "I'll pull it out using my Stand!"
"W-w-w-wait, wait wait!!" You interject. "Y-y-you're removing that... th-that th-th-thing? Here!? N-now!? Sh-shouldn't we go t-to a h-hospital o-or at l-least a s-s-s-sterile environment?"
"There's no time," Jotaro says to you, "we have to do it here."
"Wait, Jotaro!" Mr. Joestar shouts, standing up.
"Old man, don't touch me!" Jotaro growls. "I'll pull it out without harming his brain. My Stand moves with such precision that it can grasp even a bullet."
"Stop! That flesh bud is alive! Don't you realize why part of the flesh bud is outside of his body? That's why not even the best surgeon could extract it—"
Before Mr. Joestar can finish his sentence, the flesh bud sprouts a writhing tentacle that snakes under Jotaro's skin.
"O-o-o-oh n-no..." you gag.
"Shit!" Mr. Joestar exclaims.
"The flesh bud stabbed him with a tentacle!" Avdol shouts. "This isn't good! Let go, Jojo! It will try to enter the brain of anyone who tries to extract it!"
Jotaro gasps when he sees Kakyoin's eyes suddenly fly open.
"You..." Kakyoin mutters, looking around.
"Don't move, Kakyoin." Jotaro holds Kakyoin's head in place as his Stand grips the flesh bud. "If I fail, your brain is done for."
"D-don't tell him that!!" You cry out at Jotaro.
The tentacle moves further up Jotaro's arm and travels into his neck.
"Let's go, Jojo!" Avdol shouts in a panic, running towards Jotaro. "It's gone up to your face!"
"Wait, Avdol!" Mr. Joestar holds his arm in front of Avdol. "My grandson is quite the man. It's 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 that I anticipated."
Jotaro's Stand begins to slowly pull the flesh bud out of Kakyoin's head, blood and tentacles flying everywhere. The Stand yanks the tentacle out of Jotaro's hand and throws the bud at Mr. Joestar, who hits it so hard it disintegrates. Kakyoin slowly sits up, putting a hand on his forehead.
"Wh..." Kakyoin mutters, looking at Jotaro, "why? Why did you risk your life to save me?"
Your heart nearly skips a beat. That's a question you want to know the answer to, since he saved you, too.
"Who knows?" Jotaro sighs, walking out of the room and looking up at the blue sky. "I'm not really sure myself."
You feel your face start to heat up, your heart beating rapidly. You hug your legs to your chest and rest your cheek on your knees.
Ms. Kujo eventually comes in with a first aid kit and patches up Kakyoin, as well as replacing the bandage on your elbow that fell off during the fight in the nurse's office.
"So {Y/N} and Kakyoin, you two should rest for a while." Ms. Kujo smiles at both of you. "Stay the night tonight. Papa, please get their futons ready."
Mr. Joestar crosses his arms. "Why do I have to do that! I never even liked the idea of sleeping on the floor! Holly, replace the futon in my room with a real bed!"
"I-I'm guessing he's quite the f-foreigner..." you mutter to yourself.
"Papa, you're in Japan, so please just get used to the Japanese way of doing things." Ms. Kujo pats the floor. "Oh, and call me 'Seiko.'"
"What?!" Mr. Joestar asks, confused.
"Holly comes from the word 'Holy,' which is 'Seinaru' in Japanese." Ms. Kujo smiles sweetly at her father. "So all my friends call me 'Seiko.'"
"What the hell is that?!" Mr. Joestar yells. "'Holly' is the wonderful name I gave you mys—"
"If you don't call me 'Seiko' from now on, I won't answer."
"Holly!"
"Does it hurt, Kakyoin? Are you okay too, {Y/N}?"
"I-I'm fine," Kakyoin says. You nod in response, holding back laughter from the absurdity of the situation.
"W-well... I-I-I should get to m-my room." You stand up as begin to walk out of the room. "See you all in the morning."
"Wait." Jotaro points at you and you instantly freeze up. "You need to answer some questions."
"Right," Avdol says, looking over at you, "what makes you think she's a Stand user?"
"She stepped in front of my Hierophant Green's tentacles when I was aiming for Jotaro, so she could clearly see my Stand." Kakyoin sits up and looks at you. "She even cut my leg while struggling to break free."
"Look at her hands." Jotaro holds your hand in his, causing you to blush a little. "Her fingernails are far too short to cut that deep, and there's no blood under her nails either. If her fingernails did somehow cut Kakyoin, there would be blood under them."
You glance outside and see a small green snake slither across the ground.

Ophidiophobia...

"Oh my God!!!"
Everyone quickly turns to look at Mr. Joestar, who is cowering in the corner of the room.
"Mr. Joestar, what's wrong!?" Avdol asks in a panic.
"Y-y-you don't see that giant snake on the floor!?" Mr. Joestar shouts. You whip your head around to see a giant python, almost as big as you, hissing at you. You squeak and cover your mouth. Your hands are shaking and you break into a cold sweat.
"What snake?" Kakyoin exclaims. "{Y/N}, what's going on!?"
"It's her Stand." Jotaro runs over to you, tightly grasping your shoulders. "{Y/N}, you need to snap out of it. The snake isn't really there. It's all in your head. Just clear your mind, focus on my voice."
You look into Jotaro's jade green eyes and listen to his voice. His calm tone soothes your fear. You exhale, voice rattling as you rest your head on Jotaro's chest. You look back up at where the snake was, only to see that it isn't there anymore. You look over at Mr. Joestar, who is starting to calm down.
"Do you realize what this means?" Avdol asks.
"Yes. Jotaro," Mr. Joestar says calmly, "punch her."
"E-eh!?" You take a step away from Jotaro, holding your arms in front of you. "I-I-I-I-I'm sorry!! I d-d-didn't mean—"
"Don't worry." Jotaro takes a step closer to you as his Stand appears in front of you. "If this works, you won't be hurt." The Stand reels its arm back and throws a punch at you. You let out a loud scream, but you don't feel the impact. You slowly open one eye to see something that wasn't there before.
Wings. You see a pair of large, black wings. Not made of feathers, but of layers of metal. You look around the room at everyone staring in shock at you. You take a slight step back and see what stopped the punch.
A slender, feminine figure with seven-inch-long nails sharper than razors grips Jotaro's Stand's fist. Its inky black body is covered with white lines, reminiscent of cracked china. Its face is a pure white, its soft and dainty features making it look like a porcelain doll. Black hair cascades down its back and between its wings. The one thing you feel like you should be afraid of, you're not. Jotaro's Stand lowers its fist and disappears.
"Wh-what..." you mutter, approaching the figure, "a-are you...?"
"That's your Stand," Avdol speaks up, "a physical manifestation of your fighting spirit. Each Stand has its own inhuman ability, like Jotaro's Stand's heightened reflexes or Hierophant Green's ability to possess people. It appears that your Stand's ability is to cause a person to hallucinate something that they're afraid of."
Your Stand looks down at you with eyes bluer than the ocean. You tilt your head to the side, and its head tilts the same way. "M-my... S-S-Stand...?"
"A Stand is like an extension of yourself. Any harm done to your Stand will be done to you. It will fight for you and do everything it its power to protect you. It takes time to fully train a Stand to its full potential." Avdol approaches you, holding a deck of tarot cards. "Pick a card, and I will name your Stand."
You pick up the deck and take the second to last card from the bottom, placing the rest of the deck back into Avdol's hand.
"I... got the N-Nine of S-Swords..." you say, looking at the card, "what does th-that mean...?"
"The Nine of Swords suggests anxiety, depression, and nightmares. But it can also mean getting perspective on your fears." Avdol takes the card and holds it towards your Stand. "I will name your Stand... Onyx Sword!"
Onyx Sword pulls its shoulders back, extending its wings so the sheets of metal stick out like daggers. It hovers closer to you before merging with your body and disappearing. You shudder and look at your hands, looking up when Jotaro puts a hand on your shoulder.
"Just so you know..." he tells you, "I wasn't actually going to hit you. If you feel threatened, your Stand will step in to protect you."
"B-but... h-h-how did you even know I h-had one?" You ask Jotaro.
"The moment you could see the fight between my Stand and Kakyoin's, I knew you had one too. Only Stand users can see other Stands."
"A-and that cut I gave K-Kakyoin?"
"That was Onyx Sword trying to protect you."
You sit on the floor and hold your head as Jotaro leaves the room. While Avdol pulls Mr. Joestar to the side to talk in private, Kakyoin walks over and sits next to you. Awkwardly, you look away from each other.
"I... just wanted to apologize for attacking you." Kakyoin smiles at you a bit.
"Y-y-yeah... I'm sorry for when I— I-I-I mean, when O-Onyx Sword c-cut your l-leg..." you sigh, "I-I really didn't m-mean it..."
"Hey." A hand rests on your shoulder, causing you to look next to you. Jotaro kneels down at your side, holding a water bottle. "Take it. You looked lightheaded."
"Th-thank you, Jojo." You smile as you open the cap and take a sip.
"{Y/N}," Mr. Joestar says as he approaches you, "would you like to go on a trip with us?"
"A-a trip?" You look up at Mr. Joestar. "Wh-where to?"
"We'll be traveling to Egypt to defeat DIO."
You freeze up. "E-E-E-Egypt!?"

To be continued...