The morning greeted Singapore with a clear, quite pink sky, letting the sun spread its light all over the country.
Getting through the red curtains covering the window, small pieces of sunlight laid on (Y/N's) face, while she was peacefully staying in bed. The sunshine didn't really bother her, especially when it made her feel warm. She wasn't sleeping, but the bed and blanket were too comfortable to get out of them.
However, the room was empty. It looked like Jotaro was nowhere to be seen, even though she had the vague idea he had been there that night. Maybe it had been just a dream, but seeing the boy laying on the bed right next to her, his huge chest slowly going up and down, while he was sleeping; it all just seemed so real.
(Y/N) sighed touching gently with her hand the place where Jotaro should've stayed.
'I could have sworn he was here...'
The sheets weren't wrinkled at all, so how could he have slept there? That was one of the questions bothering her. Another one was why she was caring so much about Jotaro sleeping with her or not. If he hadn't acted like the last jerk on the planet, she wouldn't have said what she had. And why did he care so much about the others hating him? He didn't seem bothered about that at school. Well, not in highschool.
The girl could never forget the Jotaro she had known in middle school. He had been the most careful and gentle guy she had ever seen. He had been like a brother to her. (Y/N) remembered the one time when she had been sick on her birthday and Jotaro had been the only one of her classmates to stop by and wish her a happy birthday.
She didn't even realize that her eyes were full of tears, until she heard a knock on the door. (Y/N) rapidly wiped the small salty water drops with the blanket, immediately getting up. She walked to the door, opening it, while rubbing her eyes. Outside was Mr. Joestar.
"Oi, (Y/N)!" he exclaimed smiling. It was a little too early for her to hear the old man's loud voice. "Soon we'll have to head to the train, so please be ready in ten minutes!"
The girl smiled and nodded, closing the door. She groaned. "Is it too late for me to ask for five more minutes?" she asked around, throwing herself on the bed. Just then she realized she hadn't changed from her uniform the night before. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about dressing up anymore. Even though her skirt got kind of wrinkled, it wasn't so noticeable.
Getting ready just in time, (Y/N) went downstairs to the reception desk, to meet with the other crusaders. She hoped she wouldn't have to look Jotaro in the eyes again, but she also knew that that wasn't possible.
Sitting on the armchairs placed around de hallway were Mr. Joestar, Kakyoin, Polnareff and Avdol, but no sign of Jotaro. (Y/N) approached the four men, waving her arm at them. "Good morning, guys..." she said fixing her bag on her shoulder. They all answered back with the same thing. The girl hesitated with her next question, but she managed to say it anyway. "W-where is Jotaro?" she stuttered.
The others looked at eachother then smirked slightly. "He's outside, smoking." Only when she heard about smoking, the girl's eyes widened as she started coughing roughly. The old man got up, putting his big hand on her back. "(Y/N)! Are you alright, dear?"
When she finally managed to stop coughing, (Y/N) looked ap at him smiling. She gave him a thumbs up, still breathing heavily. "Y-yeah, I just... Smoked a bit too much last night, heh..."
Just then Jotaro entered the hotel, while shoving the cigarette pack back into his pocket. He huffed when he saw (Y/N) coughing so hard, remembering all the smoked butts he had picked up from the hotel room floor. He walked up to the others and stopped behind the girl, letting his shadow cover her and the old man's hand.
(Y/N) jumped when she felt the bulky student's presence, leaving everyone around her with a surprised look on their faces. "I-I'm sorry Jotaro..." she said turning around to face him, but looking down. She didn't expect anyone else in the room to understand, knowing that what had happened inside that hotel room, probably stayed inside that hotel room. Jotaro looked down at the girl as well, then, without saying anything, he walked pass her, in his grandfather's direction.
She watched him confusedly as he went to talk to Mr. Joestar. 'Oh God, what have I done?' she thought biting her thumb's nail. When she felt something on her shoulder, (Y/N) moved her head slowly, her eyes meeting Kakyoin's.
He leaned forward a little bit, so the girl could hear him whisper. "(Y/N), are you alright? What happened between the two of you?"
She hesitated. "I-I-I... Of course I am fine!"
Before (Y/N) could answer the other question, the pink haired guy asked another one. "Then why are you stuttering so much?"
"I-I'm not...!"
"Yes you are!" the boy sighed. "And why did you jump when you saw Jotaro behind you?"
That was the hardest question Kakyoin had asked her. (Y/N) couldn't just say she was afraid of Jotaro, no-one had to know that. She thought that this adventure would help her overcome her fear for the bulky student, but all it did was to make her feel even more afraid. Even though Jotaro had said that he would've never hit her, she couldn't be one hundred percent sure of that.
After a long pause, knowing that he wouldn't get an answer, Kakyoin sighed, patting (Y/N) on the head gently. "It's okay if you don't want to answer that... But..." he stopped his sentence for a moment, only to look again at the girl. "There's seriously no reason to be afraid of him!" And with that, Kakyoin walked away to the others, leaving the girl behind.
'No reason to be afraid of him? Are you kidding me?!' (Y/N) cringed. She could easily find, right there, in that moment, more than fifteen reasons why she would've been afraid of Jotaro.
*
The train was making its way to India. The crusaders were all sitting down on their seats in their wagon. There were two tables right next to eachother, so they could have something to eat on their way. While Polnareff, Avdol and Mr. Joestar were staying at one table, the three students were staying at the other one. (Y/N) was sitting with Kakyoin, right in front of Jotaro, the pink haired guy having the window seat.
The French guy was looking thoughtful through the window. "So we're finally on our way to India... And the man with two right hands is called Centerfold..." That was one of the things Jotaro managed to find from the last Stand user. Polnareff's mood suddenly changed. "By the way, where did Anne run off to?" he asked getting away from the window.
"She was hanging around Singapore Station right before the train departed, but..." Mr. Joestar immediately answered, stopping in the middle of the sentence.
Avdol smiled. "I'm sure it was time for her to meet her father." he assumed.
Polnareff puffed chuckling. "That story about her father sounded really fishy to me. I'm sure she's a runway!" (Y/N) smiled shaking her head as the Frenchman continued. "But it is a bit lonely without that little brat, right Jojo?"
Sighing, the corner of Jotaro's mouth lifted up a little bit. It wasn't fully noticeable, but (Y/N) caught that small smile on his face. She was still feeling bad for what she had said to Jotaro, but she knew they both had to let it go after a while.
Eating a cherry, Kakyoin leaned forward to the window, resting his arm on the window's frame. "(Y/N), look! Flamingos in a flight!"
The girl moved a bit closer to the table so she could see the flamingos without asking Kakyoin to move aside. She smiled and giggled even though she hadn't seen the pink birds, only to see the pink haired guy happy. However, (Y/N) was still tired because she didn't get much sleep the night before. She yawned, covering her mouth. Leaning on her back, she closed her eyes, falling once again into a deep sleep.
After a while, when the train took a corner with a quite high speed, (Y/N's) head moved from its initial place, ending up on Kakyoin's arm. The pink haired guy turned his head in surprise, looking at her for a second. He smiled softly, going back to looking through the window.
On the other hand, Jotaro watched them closely, his expression neutral, as he refrained himself from frowning. He couldn't stand seeing Kakyoin and (Y/N) that close to eachother, even though he didn't know why. He didn't know why he cared so much, after all the shit the girl had told him that night. He desperately needed a smoke, but the old man had forbidden him to smoke while they were inside the train. Thus, all he did was to hide his face with his cap. "Yare yare..."
*
Once the six crusaders were almost arriving in Calcutta's harbour, Avdol reassured them that India was definitely one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Not only because of their food, but because of the people living there.
As the little ship stopped, the door opened, letting the passengers get off. Unfortunately, they were all surrounded by Indian people, from kids who were asking for tips, to adults who were either offering their services, either trying to steal from the foreigners.
While the other men were dealing with the Indians, (Y/N) was also trying her best to get away from a gang of kids. Holding her bag tightly to her chest, the girl was trying to get out of the crowd, but failing. "I-I'm sorry, I swear I have no money!" she was telling the kids bothering her.
"You won't go to heaven if you don't give a tip!" they kept shouting, grabbing her clothes.
'It looks like I'm already in hell...' she thought. She knew that all the children around that place were probably really poor, so she tried with all her strength to refrain herself from yelling at them. If she would've done that, the kids might've approached Jotaro, who seriously wasn't the best at holding himself.
"Avdol!" Mr. Joestar shouted loudly, trying to cover the crowd's noise. "So this is India?" he managed to say after finally escaping from a group of Indian guys, offering him some anti-venom.
The Egyptian man laughed. "See? Such a great country, isn't it?" Avdol was obviously amazed by that country, even though the others couldn't really understand why.
"Oh God, this is way too much for me..." (Y/N) said taking two or three steps back, accidentally bumping into Jotaro. Fortunately, the big guy didn't say anything, probably too busy with all the annoying Indians surrounding him.
After a while, they finally got out of that crowded place, managing to go to a restaurant. There, Avdol offered each one of them to drink 'chai', one of the most popular drinks in the country. Mr. Joestar was the first one to try it, stating that it actually tasted really good. "At least, a little peace..." he sighed winking.
Avdol, on the other side of the table, shook his head. "Be patient with India. Once you get used to it, you'll see how wonderful this country is!"
'If it was that simple...' (Y/N) thought, taking a small sip of her own drink. She really missed her family, especially her mom. What if she thought her girl ran away from home and tried to look out for her? The old woman wasn't a Stand user, how could have she protected herself? All these things were storming (Y/N's) mind, but her expression remained neutral. No-one had to deal with her problems. If the others were happy, she was, so there was no need for them to worry about all the stuff going inside her head.
All of sudden, Jotaro's voice interrupted her thinking. "You know, I kinda like this place. It's pretty cool." The girl almost spat out the chai from her mouth.
'How can he like such a crowded place, with so many annoying people around here?!' (Y/N) thought, swallowing, then wiping the liquid that accidentally got out of her mouth while she coughed. She was looking up at Jotaro, right next to her, with narrow eyes. A small drop of sweat was slowly going down her face.
The old man's mouth fell open at the black haired student's words. "Jotaro! You can't be serious!" Mr. Joestar shouted at his grandson.
After finishing the drink from his cup, Polnareff got up from his seat, that was right next to Avdol's, and excused himself. As he asked the waiter where was the bathroom, Mr. Joestar asked the French guy what he wanted to eat.
"It'd better be something amazing!" His statement made the three students roll their eyes. "Something gorgeous and sophisticated that suits a Frenchman like moi!" Could that man have an even bigger ego than that? Most likely.
As the white haired guy walked away, Mr. Joestar's mouth fell open, after he heard what Polnareff wanted. Immediately, Kakyoin translated without taking his eyes off his menu. "Which means it doesn't matter."
"Hm." (Y/N) smiled leaning with her back on her chair. Taking the last sip of chai that had remained in there, she put the small white cup on the table, fixing her uniform skirt.
The order came quite quickly, letting them start eating before Polnareff came back from the bathroom. The girl was so hungry, after almost starving on that boat that had led them to Calcutta. She was ready to take the first bite from her food, when the French guy bursted through the bath door, desperately yelling something about a Stand and it's user. They also heard him talking to himself about the man with two right hands, so as he ran outside the restaurant, the other crusaders followed, leaving all the food behind. Even though she felt like she could cry because of all that wasted food, (Y/N) knew that there was no time for being hungry in that moment.
"What's wrong Polnareff?" Mr. Joestar asked as they all got outside.
Avdol immediately continued. "What's this all about?"
The French guy was shaking, both of his fists tightly clenched. He was mumbling something about a Stand inside a mirror, when he turned around facing Jotaro, whose eyes opened widely. "Jotaro!" Polnareff exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "The Stand user you heard about in Singapore is the bastard who killed my sister!"
The other men and lady were frozen. After a moment of menacing silence, Mr. Joestar spoke. "Are you sure it's him?"
His question was ignored by the French guy, who was facing the old man this time. "Mr. Joestar, I'll be traveling on my own from here out." His statement was completely beside the subject, however, it left everyone else with their mouths open. Everyone except Jotaro, who was showing no emotion as usual. They didn't even have to ask why, the French guy explaining himself. "I have to find my sister's murderer first and kill him!"
Kakyoin objected. "But we don't even know what he looks like of what his Stand is!" That didn't stop Polnareff, the guy saying that knowing that he had two right hands was enough for him.
(Y/N) was about to intervene, when she was stopped by Avdol walking in front of her. She knew if Avdol couldn't change Polnareff's mind, no-one else could. But it didn't work out how the girl thought it would. They were both too stubborn to understand eachother, so all they did was fight. While Avdol was telling the Frenchman that he was digging his own grave, Polnareff responded that he was strong enough to kill the man with two right hands and Dio on his own. Those two men's ego was so big, they destroyed their friendship only because of some insults, some empty words.
Avdol grabbed Polnareff's shirt. "Don't touch me!" the white haired guy said slapping the Egyptian man's hand, making him take it away. "You got lucky when you defeated me in Hong Kong! Enough with this lecturing!" His selfishness was crossing the line and Avdol wasn't the only one to get angry.
"How dare you..."
"Oh, did that offend you?" Polnareff asked touching his cheek with his hand, mocking a surprised face. "I'm the one getting angry here! You can just keep being yourself with that holier that thou attitude!" He exclaimed putting his pointing finger between Avdol's eyes.
That was when the Egyptian snapped, raising his fist, wanting to punch Polnareff right in his selfish face. Unfortunately, in (Y/N's) opinion, he was stopped by Mr. Joestar, who grabbed his wrist, holding his arm in the air until he calmed down. Avdol gasped, feeling the old man's still strong grip.
"That's enough." he said calmly. "Just let him go. No-one can stop him now..." Even though Mr. Joestar's face seemed emotionless, (Y/N) knew he was as worried as everyone else was for the white haired man.
Avdol sighed, taking his hand back when the old man let go of it. "I've lost all respect for him, that's all... My impression of him was completely wrong..."
Polnareff huffed turning around arrogantly. He left the restaurant, neither looking back at the other crusaders, nor wishing one last goodbye.
(Y/N's) face was as red as a tomato. She hadn't felt that angry before; not even with Jotaro. Both of her fists were clenched so hard, her nails were almost penetrating her skin. Her brows were twitching as she was shaking. Even though she wasn't the biggest, the toughest nor the strongest, the girl felt like she could run to the French guy in that second, jump on his back and rip out all of his beloved hair. She would've done it, if she hadn't been stopped by two hands on her shoulders. When she looked up she saw Jotaro and Kakyoin looking down at her. They both had a neutral-to-worried face, Jotaro's cap covering half of his face.
Immediately understanding that it was no need to use so much energy on something so useless, (Y/N) calmed down, taking deep breaths. Nodding, she tanked the boys, who took their big hands off her shoulders. Her next thought was to have a smoke, but when she shoved her hand into her pocket, she couldn't feel her cigarette pack in there. She groaned thinking that she might've forgotten it at the hotel in Singapore.
However, Jotaro noticed the girl searching inside all of her pockets, probably looking for her cigarettes. With his hands in his own pockets, he smoothly patted her small package, which he stole from her, thinking she had smoked enough for a while. Of course, he was eventually going to give it back, but he hadn't found an opportunity yet.