Sing For Me, Darling

Chapter 2 - Carol

Their agreement was upheld for a while, although the singing didn't stop completely. It happened more towards the evening, which worried the townsfolk quite a lot. The siren theory was gaining traction, and a few of the braver members of the populace were talking about hunting it down and getting rid of it once and for all. And then, one early morning, Kakyoin was called. Jotaro was carrying a simple tune, singing lowly and sweetly. He was floating in the water directly in front of their meeting place, sulking a little bit.

"Didn't we talk about this?" said Kakyoin. "What do you want?"

"Your protection." Jotaro replied bluntly. "Those humans are plotting to kill me, and I really don't want to die anytime soon."

"How am I supposed to prevent that?!"

"...You could let me stay with you?"

"Don't you need water to survive?"

"Don't you have a bathtub or something?"

"Not big enough to fit you."

"I'll manage."

Kakyoin sighed and rubbed his temples. He wasn't expecting Jotaro to be this stubborn.

"You said if I needed help, I could ask you. Well, I need help, and I'm practically on my nonexistent knees about this one."

"There's not really much I can do about this."

"Just... Look out for me, then. If something happens to me..."

"Hey. Don't talk like that. Nothing's gonna happen to you. The people here can barely kill flies, let alone a siren that hasn't hurt anybo–"

"Do you think they care about that?! You humans have killed so many sirens mercilessly, as if they, we, were some ordinary fish, and I highly doubt your species will be stopping anytime soon!"

Jotaro's ears were twitching agitatedly, betraying his feelings despite the stone cold expression on his face. His eyes were filled with a passionate spark that illuminated the sea trapped within their depths like lightning on a pond's surface. The siren was livid. It was almost frightening to Kakyoin, how fired up he had gotten. Clearly, this had been bothering him for a long, long time. Silence blanketed them, suffocating and practically tangible.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have–" Kakyoin began to murmur. 

"It's okay." Jotaro reassured. "I shouldn't have lashed out like that."

"If you say so. Now, about this protection thing. I think I may have come up with a way for this to work."

"Really now? I'd love to hear it."

"Since singing is getting more and more dangerous for you nowadays, I'll come down here every night to check on you. That way, you won't have to risk calling for me."

"But how will I know you're there?"

"You don't really leave these waters, so I'll just yell for you."

"And if I don't respond, you'll know something's up, right?

"Exactly. Sound good to you?"

He wordlessly nodded, and Kakyoin grinned at him. For such a stubborn person, he was suprisingly agreeable. Even so, there was a charming element to his obstinance, which was baffling to Kakyoin, as he found most of the more 'persistent' members of the townsfolk irritating to no end. He realized that the siren had become somewhat of a friendly face (or, voice) to him, which was also quite odd.

"Can I ask you for a favor, now?" he said without thinking.

"Sure...?" Jotaro said, raising an eyebrow.

"I want to paint you. Nothing fancy, just a simple portrait."

"A... Portrait? Of... Me? But why?"

"I honestly don't know myself. Something is telling me to do so, and it'll be good practice, anyway."

"I don't mind, I guess, but... Painting in the dark is hard, isn't it?"

"Don't you worry about all that. Just show up tomorrow night, okay?"

"I'll try my best, but I can't make any promises. You know that, right?"

"I'm aware."

'Though, I pray for you safety.'

It flickered across his mind almost unnoticeably quickly, that thought,  but he tried to bring it back to the surface, as it had come almost out of the blue. It made his mind and heart race.

"You alright?" Jotaro's voice cut through his reverie. "You kinda spaced out a bit there."

Kakyoin felt his face grow hot, and he cast a pointed glance at a very interesting rock that was jutting out of the water.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Listen, I have to get home, so..."

"Gotcha. Don't stay up too late."

"I could say the same for you, but you're nocturnal, so there's not much of a point."

Jotaro simply chuckled and disappeared into ocean's depths, leaving Kakyoin alone to wonder wonder about just what the hell was going in in his headspace. His relationships with people had always been flimsy at best, and even the select few he was semi-close with were held at arm's length.

'So,' he wondered, 'Why was I so flustered at this turn of events?'

He chalked it up to the lack of sleep he'd been getting as of late. That had to be it. Any other explanation was ludicrous. As he walked home in the cover of night, Kakyoin repeated this thought process, hoping it would give him solace. He was so caught up in thinking, he almost didn't notice the people standing in front of his doorstep.

"Noriaki." one woman said, her tone sharp and severe. "You've been down at the shore quite a lot lately, aye?"

"And if I have?" he snapped.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that siren, would you?" a man in the back practically shouted.

"No, I don't." he said, sneering. "And even if I did, I have to obligation to tell you anything. Now may I please go inside?"

The crowd parted reluctantly to let him in, glaring and jeering all the while. He glared unabashedly right back at them, and practically slammed the door behind him. The The whispers that rippled through the crowd as he walked by had made him unreasonably upset.

'He definitely knows something.'

'I never liked that painter boy, anyway.'

'We'll get him to talk. It's only a matter of time.'

There was one thing that bothered him more than anything, though.

'That son of a bitch won't know what's coming to him.'

They were already threatening to kill the poor thing, with not a twinge of guilt or remorse in their voices. Kakyoin finally completely understood why Jotaro was so bitter. Humans were awful creatures, selfish and unable to feel for others besides themselves. Even so, he knew he wasn't free from that judgement. After all, he was guilty of his own selfish acts. Regardless, he knew that what they were planning was much worse than his own folly, amd if he didn't live up to his promise, Jotaro's life would be at stake. It was with a heavy heart that he went to bed, falling into a restless sleep filled with visions of ways the siren's demise would come about.