rubycity_rp ic inbox | I

[lapidarius]

"This is Kakyoin Noriaki. Please leave a message, I'll contact you as soon as I can."

⇦ ● ⇨

Comments

[lapidarius]

[Kakyoin hid a smile behind his arms, trying to downplay the genuine sense of pride he felt in hearing that.]

Hierophant's never been very independent, even when I was a kid. There may have been occasions when I wasn't sure where he stopped and I started, but he almost never acted entirely on his own. That night, with Giovanna--that might have been the first time he moved to that extent without me realizing it. And he obviously doesn't show emotions visibly, not in a way that most people would be able to see.

[He paused for a second, wondering if maybe he was about to sound just a little obsessive about the concept. While it was something that fascinated him, Kakyoin wasn't really sure if that was something normal even for Stand users.]

...You're more like Hierophant yourself; you're quiet and it takes practice to learn to understand what your expressions mean. But Star's really something. Whether you're happy or really pissed off, that's something that'll show on his face. If he acts independently that means it's something that you wanted on some level. Like...I didn't want you to leave, so Hierophant reached out to stop you.

[Another pause, and Kakyoin's voice turned a little quieter again.]

I think that I've been really lucky to be able to watch a Stand like that develop firsthand, you know. And...I'm really interested to see where he goes from here.

[starmark]

You think maybe that's because you've always thought of him as a part of you? I've been wondering about that, if how you think of them has something to do with it.

[He ran his hand experimentally over the coils of Hierophant that were draped around his shoulders, with the calm ease of someone handling a very large snake instead of a Stand.]

I started out thinking Star was something I had to get rid of. Something that obeyed me and protected me, but that wasn't supposed to be there, something I hadn't asked for. I wonder if that makes him more independent, that expecting him to be that way means that's how he is.

Maybe he's like that because I expected him to be the boogeyman or something. So that made him kind of a monster.

[lapidarius]

Believe me, you don't need to remind me of that much. [He said that with an almost playful laugh, Hierophant squeezing both its user's arm and Jotaro's shoulders with all the pressure of a friendly handshake.]

I don't really know. Perspective must have something to do with it, or... [Kakyoin straightened up enough to tap a finger against his head in thought, carefully considering the situation. He didn't seriously think of himself as an expert on Stands by any means, but he could approach the idea from an angle most couldn't.]

...Did you ever think he could have been responding to your own confusion, maybe even frustration--not just at having a Stand, but at learning about Dio and everything else on top of that? I'd probably have beaten the shit out of the first person to give me a problem after that, too.

[At least he's got a sense of humor about it.]

[starmark]

...I never really mentioned that, huh. Stuff from before you turned up.

[He hummed again under his breath, squeezing Hierophant back in reply.]

I put four guys in the hospital. Four on one, I could handle that on my own, but Star kept coming out and I had to try to control him, too, while I was at it.

[lapidarius]

Well, that's just obvious in hindsight--he was trying to protect you. But I guess it'd screw anyone up to deal with that not knowing what it was or how to control it.

[Pausing again, a small smirk crossed Kakyoin's face as he started recalling a distant memory.]

A few years ago...I think I was thirteen, and there was this aggravating kid I went to school with. Wouldn't stop annoying the hell out of me, you know the type.

One day I was just leaving the front gate to walk home, and he's getting on my case about one stupid thing or another. So I decided I'd had enough of dealing with it, and since there was no one around I decided I'd knock a couple of his teeth in to shut him up.

[As you do.]

Like I said, Hierophant doesn't really act independently. I can't say 'so I pulled my fist back but he was already on the ground', it was more a weird moment of clarity. Like 'instead of that, I could do this', but I didn't really know what 'this' was.

So I opened my hand and put it forward, because that felt like what I needed to do. That kid got shoved back a meter or so; landed flat on his back, looking like someone dumped a bucket of water on him and a mark in his forehead like he'd been hit with a rock.

[The smirk on his face widened just a little, clearly the look of someone with zero shame about the matter.]

And that's how I learned Emerald Splash.

[starmark]

...So did it knock out his teeth, or did you miss?

[Which wasn't to say that Jotaro wasn't absorbing everything that Kakyoin had said; just that he'd decided to comment on a completely different facet of it.]

[lapidarius]

I missed.

[And still, this was the face of no regrets.]

But my aim's gotten a little better since then.

[starmark]

So which way do you think it goes? Did Hierophant already know what it could do, and taught you how to activate it? Or did Hierophant answer because that's what you wanted him to do?

[lapidarius]

I've never been sure which way it goes. There have always been some things Hierophant knew that I didn't--his name, for example. But I also know that he's always found a way to answer when I needed something. For all I know, there might still be some things I haven't learned yet, whether he shows me or I figure it out myself.

['developmental potential: D' is one rank above hermit purple, folks]

Like I said, I don't always know where 'Kakyoin Noriaki' stops and 'Hierophant Green' starts. In or out of a fight, the line between Hierophant already knowing what to do and me telling him what to do isn't always clear even to me.

So I guess...I really don't know how to answer that, Jojo.

[starmark]

...Stands are weird like that. But I think seeing other people's — especially ones like Sex Pistols, that are so different and weird — I think that can give a lot of insight into the way ours work, too.

[And he was running the backs of his fingers lengthwise along Hierophant now, not quite like petting a cat, but certainly an absentminded gesture of affection.]

Sometimes with Star it feels sort of like...having a pet, I guess. It's weird to think of him as being entirely me when sometimes he operates without me. It's not just me wanting to avoid getting hurt, and my wanting is what directs him. Sometimes it's more subconscious, it's more...I can act reckless, but he just knows to intervene.

[lapidarius]

Is that how it is for you?

[Kakyoin smiled, seeming completely relaxed as he thought about it. Maybe that was due to talking about a subject he enjoyed, or because of the light and caring touches to Hierophant.]

I think that makes sense, yeah.

[starmark]

Sex Pistols does it, too. Self-preservation...or I guess you could call it "user preservation", but it's sort of the same thing. Being able to act independently to protect their user even if the user is unconscious.

[He hummed reflectively.]

So, knocking Mista out wouldn't necessarily stop Sex Pistols, and it wouldn't necessarily stop Star, either.

[lapidarius]

I wonder if Hierophant's ever done that. Death Thirteen was one thing, but obviously I don't know if he's acted while I was unconscious or asleep otherwise.

[. . .]

...I've never talked about him like this with anyone before. I don't...sound crazy or anything, right? Talking about how I don't always know the difference between us or things like that, I mean.

[starmark]

[Ah. There it was again, one of Kakyoin's subconscious nervous check-ins: is this really okay, do I sound crazy, you don't think it's weird?

He was going to have to remember to buy Giorno a case of chocolate pudding sometime; where once he knew full well he would've gotten frustrated and made demands, insisting on knowing why Kakyoin would even assume something like that in the first place, all of a sudden now it was like holding a crystal ball in his hands and being able to see where the odd behaviors all fit into place.]

...Actually, it helps me out a lot. It wasn't like we ever really had a lot of time to just sit around and think about our Stands; we were too busy using them. So having the chance to think about it now...it makes me realize how much I don't know, which is why hearing what you think is really helpful.

[lapidarius]

[Put completely at ease just like that, Kakyoin smiled brightly in response. Ordinarily he might have stopped long enough to realize that answer may have been different than expected, but the approach to his favorite subject completely distracted him.]

You think so too? Even as long as I've had him, there's a lot that I don't know either--like you said, most of the time we were more focused on fighting with them. I've never had any real opportunity to see other Stands in any normal context until now.

...I really like having the chance to think about it, knowing more about what they are now.

[starmark]

...Star ate chocolate pudding the other night.

[...Which may have inadvertently revealed where the pudding cup balanced on Kakyoin's face the other night had come from, as well. WHOOPS.]

Do you think if Hierophant went in the water, he'd fan out across the surface like a puddle? If you weren't making him hold his shape, I mean.

[lapidarius]

... [you little shit.]

I've never thought to try it, but maybe he would.

[starmark]

We should try sometime.

[...]

So. My mom liked him too, huh?

[lapidarius]

I think that she did, yeah. I told you I'd be able to handle it.

[starmark]

I never doubted you were the right person for it. So thanks, I know it wouldn't have gone nearly so well if it'd been me.

[lapidarius]

It's okay, really. You don't have to thank me, I just wanted to help.

['Because you keep useful things as long as they're useful.']

[Whether Kakyoin consciously knew what he was doing or not--and he didn't--the fact that he'd been able to do something positive about the situation was enough.]

[starmark]

...Hey. Hierophant's out, and taking you back to your room if I have to isn't any trouble, so...

[Um. Okay, maybe that was sort of an awkward lead-in, but they couldn't all be winners.]

...If you want to try to get some sleep, I'll take care of —

[It?]

— you.

[lapidarius]

Oh--

[Hierophant didn't move, but Kakyoin himself seemed to pull back and straighten up.]

Right, it's...late, isn't it? Should I just...just leave so you can sleep and save you the trouble in the first place?

[starmark]

Kakyoin.

[His voice came quietly, without reproach, but still gently firm.]

Listen to what I'm saying. If you want to try to fall asleep here, while it's quiet and Hierophant and I are both with you, that's what I'm offering.

If you want that, say yes and come over here.

[lapidarius]

...

[Of course he wanted it. Kakyoin had wanted to sit next to him this entire time, but there was 'what he wanted' and 'what was probably expected of him'. So he'd settled on letting Hierophant take that position--until now, when he was outright given the option rather than considering taking it for himself.]

[Slowly, he stood up and crossed the room to sit down next to Jotaro, Hierophant loosely around both their shoulders.]

...okay.