Ocean Eyes (a part 4 JotaKak fanfic)

Chapter two

A slim, tall man with broad shoulders and a wooden cane stepped out of the boat. He was wearing a long green coat, unbuttoned on the neck to reveal a grey turtleneck, and a pair of silver rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. A long strand of cherry-colored hair hid part of his face. He took a few steps forward and stopped, only a few paces in front of the frozen Jotaro. 
   "I'm sorry."
   Jotaro didn't move. He stood there, his hand resting on the bridge of his hat like he was about to pull it over his eyes, the shadow hiding his expression from Josuke's view.
   "If there was any way I could have told you that I was still alive, I would of." The man sat down his bags and took a small step forwards. "After the fight, the Speedwagon Foundation found me. I had lost a lot of blood, and my insides were almost pulp. I was practically dead. They knew they didn't have the technology to heal me, so they put me in a coma, which kept my heart beating just enough to let me survive." He took another step. "It wasn't until last year that they were able to help me, and even then they couldn't save my legs." He pointed down, and Josuke noticed a glint of silver where his ankles should have been. "Even now I'm too weak to fight very well, and if a DIO follower were to have found out I was still alive-"
  "I thought I had lost you." Jotaro's voice was shaking almost as much as he was. "Do you know what it's like, knowing that you had lost someone important to you on a mission that had nothing to do with them?"
  "Jotaro, what could I have done? I didn't want to die at the hands of the enemy after all the work that we went through to stop him-"
  "I was the one who told your parents what had happened." Josuke saw the man flinch as Jotaro spoke. "They said it was my fault, that I had dragged you with me. And you know what? I believed them."
  "It's NOT your fault, I chose to go on the mission!"
  "ELEVEN YEARS I had to deal with the fact that I lost you. Every day something different reminded me of you. I didn't think I could ever be truly happy again, not since your death rested on my hands-"
  "Jotaro, please don't be angry!" The man's voice broke, and Josuke saw tears starting to form in his eyes.
   "...Angry?" Jotaro's voice was quiet almost to a whisper. "What makes you think I'm angry?" He stepped towards the man, pulling up his hat, and Josuke finally saw his expression. Tears were streaming down his face, and, to Josuke's surprise, he was smiling. "Do you know how long I've waited to hear your voice again?"
   Complete shock turned to a mix of what looked like grief and joy on the red-haired man's face, and it looked for a minute like he was about to collapse. Jotaro hurried forwards and wrapped his arms around him as support, and the two stood there, not wanting to move. Josuke cast a bewildered look at Goro, who looked like he was about to cry himself. 
   "Can someone please tell me what is going on here?" Okuyasu said loudly.

A few minutes later they were sitting in one of the nicer restaurants in Morioh. Jotaro and the other man were sitting at a table a bit aways from the one Josuke and his friends were at, talking quietly.
   "This was actually a far better reaction than we'd thought he'd have." Goro said, skewering a forkful of the pasta he had ordered. "Knowing him, I half expected him to punch Kakyoin into a wall."
  "Kakyoin? Is that the red haired guy?" Okuyasu asked through a mouthful of chicken. Josuke elbowed him, and he  nodded waited until he was done chewing to continue. "I'm pretty sure that was the most upset I've seen Mr. Kujo- I mean, that's not saying much, I haven't known him for long."
   "Jotaro will have to explain what's going on in more detail." Goro said. "In the meantime, I'll give you the basics." Josuke, Okuyasu and Koichi all leaned in. "Eleven years ago, Kakyoin got punched through the stomach by what we could consider a vampire, thrown into a water tower, and basically died."
  "WHAT?" Koichi yelped. "But Kakyoin doesn't look dead?"
  "I said BASICALLY dead, didn't I?" Goro sighed and pushed his still-full plate away. "We were able to save most of him, but his lower body was so mangled we couldn't do much about it. We could have let him keep his legs but at the least they would have been paralyzed, so we thought prosthetics were a better option. The rest of him is mostly fine, but he is no longer in any condition to fight. He is a lot weaker, both physically and mentally. However, he has a long-range stand and almost as much experience with this type of fighting as Jotaro. I have no doubt that he will be beneficial to your mission."
  Josuke looked over at where he was sitting, his cane propped against the table. He and Jotaro seemed to be in deep conversation. "They were really good friends, huh?"
  "And still are, by the looks of it." Goro smiled. "Kakyoin told me a lot about Jotaro during the trip here. I'm glad they're back together."
   Kakyoin said something to Jotaro that Josuke couldn't quite hear, and they both burst out laughing. This is the first time I've heard Jotaro laugh, Josuke realized. Shrugging, he turned his attention to the plate of pasta in front of him. I'm sure I'll have more time to think about this later.

"Josuke, that look on your face means you're trying to figure something out." Jotaro looked over at Koichi, who was staring at him curiously. "Your thinking about Jotaro, aren't you?"
   They were walking back home from the restaurant. It was late, and Josuke suspected that his mom was probably worried about him. That was the least of his concerns at the moment, though.
 "Very observant of you, Koichi, but I'm sure you guys are too. That was the first time we've seen Jotaro act like that."
   Okuyasu shrugged. "I mean, he just found out his friend's alive after a good eleven years. Do you blame him?"
  Still, something seemed off. "Hey Koichi, you're seeing that Yukako girl, aren't you? You know what it's like to be in love?"
  "Yeah, but now's not the time to be talking about relationship-" he broke off when he realized what Josuke was hinting at and his eyes widened. "Oh nononONONO PLEASE tell me your not going to try to go prying into Jotaro's personal relationships? I have a feeling he wouldn't like that-"
   "Yes, but just THINK about it! This is the first time we've seen Jotaro this happy, and as a member of my family, I feel like it's my duty to help out in these situations."
   Koichi was almost jumping up and down in exasperation. "Just think about this, would you! You'll probably end up making Jotaro and angry, and last time that happened someone broke a rib-"
  "Yea, but Crazy Diamond can always heal you, right?"
   "I don't think I quite understand where this conversation went, Josuke…" Okuyasu broke in.
  "I think," Josuke said, slamming his fists down on a non-existent table, a grin spreading across his face. "That Jotaro's in LOVE!"