delusion.

.o1 - mission

It wasn't that you chose to be a loner for nearly your whole life. In fact, the opposite was true.

Growing up a stand user from birth, you were often labelled as being insane and shunned by the people around you. And, though you weren't insane, you wondered if you were. You swore that there was an entity that you could communicate with, a ghost of some kind, but they all thought you were delusional. There was no ghost or ethereal being that followed you wherever you went. You were just seeing things. Everything was a delusion.

When you discovered that the "ghost" had a special power, you thought that the people who turned you away would change their mind. After all, its power affected actual, tangible objects. Maybe they'd accept you then.

Years would pass as you sought out friendship from kids your age, using your newfound power to appeal to them. It wasn't an inherently harmful power but, depending on its use, could be used for good. It could change the chemical composition of any object given that you knew the chemical structure of the product you wished to produce. You were only capable of making candy when you were young since you knew that candy was made of sugar. However, any hope you had for yourself quickly diminished as soon as cautious parents demonized you and your ability.

You walked in the world alone, your "satanic" powers keeping you from a social life.

It wasn't until you had a chance encounter with someone who understood you that you were able to make a "friend".

You were in Egypt with your parents when you saw a man beckoning you to his side. You naively approached him and learned who he was. He too possessed a being like yours, dubbed a "stand", and he was willing to teach you more about this strange power. All he needed was your loyalty. It was the first meaningful interaction you had with anyone at all so the opportunity to connect with someone was something you took immediately. Either your parents did not care or did not notice your disappearance because nobody looked for you once you were gone. Not that it mattered to you, since you now had someone like you.

It was a master-servant relationship under the guise of friendship that you unknowingly agreed to. You had become a slave for a wrong cause.

Although the decision you made was bad, there was a silver lining to your choice. Under the training of your new "friend", you learned to master your stand ability and received a name for it. Ptah. It was the name of the Egyptian god of creation, fitting to say the least. Additionally, you made contact with other "friends", all of whom had powers similar to your. Through an optimistic eye, you could see that this situation was better for you.

It was after a month of intense training and memorization of the chemical compositions of several hundred compounds, both dangerous and harmless, that you had your first "battle" with the enemy. Your friend had asked you to take care of a group of men that sought to kill him as the minions he previously sent were taken care of—dead or severely injured. You and your stand weren't suited to full on attacks but, if you were stealthy enough, could pull off an assassination. The only thing you needed to do was to turn the blood of the men into a strong acid and they'll drop dead, unable to stop it as it burns through their flesh. A nasty thought but you decided that you'd book it once you make your target, so as not to see their bodies quite literally melt, akin to those horror movies that have come out in recent years.

You were lurking around the outskirts of the city of Aswan when you saw five men matching the descriptions given to you—an angsty looking teen (a shocker considering this kid looked like he lived through a war), a buff grandpa, a fortune teller, a teen with the strangest bang, and a man with the leaning tower of Pisa as hair. They were an odd group to say the least, a group that possibly could not have formed unless the circumstances were right. Unfortunately, you'd have to shut them down without a chance to see how they played off each other.

It seemed like they were headed to the hospital. Through careful observation, you saw that one of them—the teen with the strange red bang—had a nasty looking wound on his arm. An easy hit and an easy target, you thought. It was a little cheap in your opinion to attack the weak first but all's the same when it comes to battle. Whatever.

You stalked them for several minutes, waiting for the perfect opening. Of course, as you were engrossed in monitoring their movements, a passerby walked into you. You squeaked as the man let out a string of curses and barked at you. From the corner of your eyesight, you saw the five men turn to see what the commotion was about.

"Get the out of the damn way if you're just going to be standing there daydreaming!" Your accuser grabbed you by the shirt harshly, a look of absolute fury in his eyes. You gulped.

You ran several scenarios through your mind. You could turn his flesh into gelatin or putty or turn his blood into acid... The regular passersby would think it was some kind of justice from god but you knew for a fact that the group of men you were sent to kill were stand users. If they saw your stand, they would no doubt keep an eye on you thus eliminating your chance at assassination. There was no way you could use your stand ability without looking suspicious so you were basically stuck. You resigned yourself to whatever came next.

While you were deep in thought, it appeared like you were actively ignoring the man who had walked into you. Angered initally by the fact you were in his way and that anger amplified by the fact that it seemed like you didn't care, the man drew a fist to give you a good beating.

Your eyes were shut tightly, anticipating the feeling of pain surge through your face. It never came though. Instead, you were put down gently onto your feet and, in a moment of confusion, you nearly fell over. (This wasn't due to shock or anything of the sort—you just didn't expect to be put down and therefore weren't prepared to stand.)

The man who had threatened to knock your head right off of your body was retreating like a pitiful dog with its tail between its legs. Huh? When did that happen? You stared at him as he disappeared from your sight. Shrugging, you turn around to continue your mission. I guess I can resume my work— You went face first into a solid, fleshy wall.

"Yare yare daze," a deep voice mumbled. Raising your view to meet that of who you assumed to be your "savior", you felt your heart drop and a cold sweat on the back of your neck.

It was that angsty looking teen. He held the brim of a tattered hat over his eyes, a perpetual frown gracing his expression, the kind you have from constantly hating the world.

"I take it that you're okay," the teen started slowly, and, from under the brim of his hat, you made contact with an electric blue. "Stay out of trouble." And with that, he turns back to his group and they go on their merry way.

It wasn't until several minutes later that you snap out of the realization that he now knew your face. The others who fought them before were smart and strong but yet were defeated. It would be logical to assume that he—that teen with the blue eyes—would catch on to your assassination plot if you weren't careful.

You made it a point to change attire as soon as you were able—you could not risk being recognized and failing your mission. Finding a clothing shop, you quickly purchase clothes typical of the region. Now donning a robe and a headscarf, you continue on your way.

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a/n: i hope that was okay for a first chapter :')
aaaaand
whoops no kakyoin

btw, large explanation coming right up
so if you don't want to read just skip

regarding the time this takes place, this is after the n'doul fight and before oingo boingo, which is around 14 days before the end of sc. kakyoin managed to avoid getting his eyes injured here but still sustains wounds. it wouldn't feel as stardust crusader-y if reader had a musical reference named stand so her stand is named after an egyptian god. we ran out of the major arcana for any names and the minor arcana are stupid like 5 of cups??? uhhhh no. that's why her stand has the egyptian god name and she appears in the second arc of stardust crusaders instead of earlier. since kakyoin, in this fic, didn't get temporarily blinded, this works out.