Omake 37: United We Stand

“So, how sensitive are those?”

Kate could only groan when Derek brought up a fine topic to converse about, aiming a finger at the cat-like appendixes atop her head. This comment came up during one of those peaceful waits to reach the next stop. It was mentioned out of the blue as the cowboy had just finished cleaning up his boots when he decided to ask about the two elements as soon as he looked up and saw those twitching at the minimal noises. The feline nature of her physique had been discussed for weeks now, and yet no one had been as direct as the revolver-user. The blonde had been rather resilient on any questions about her unique biology, and I had been the one that she opened up the most. Despite that rejecting reaction, Kate was surprised when the subject wasn’t dropped. It was Bhediya that struck next and he spoke some of the most amusing words possible. And also embarrassing ones since they detailed a bit of an awkward ‘one-on-one’ session we had while I was doing paperwork.

“I was nervous the first few times I allowed Dio to scratch my ears, but it’s not that bad. In fact, I love it from time to time and… Trust me, we’re not going to embarrass you or-”

“It’s not just allowing, it’s also thinking about it,” The girl interjected fiercely. “I really don’t like that people bring attention to… me.”

“That’s because you expect to be mocked or worse, but trust us when we say that we know you are our friend, Kate. We care and we are just curious,” Robert argued truthfully. “Sure, it sounds bizarre but you have to admit it’s not like you don’t have your own interests in each of us.”

Speedwagon seemed to nail a particular topic we weren’t aware about. Kate’s posture tensed up, her gaze now aimed at the ground while Zephy quietly stalked behind her.

“What do you mean?” Bloody asked, but before the gentleman could answer, the woman’s familiar decided to put his fifty cents.

“Kate has started to have her own questions towards each of you.”

I actually frowned. “Of what kind?”

“The same as the one you have on her, I believe. In fact, I guess you can say that because she isn’t able to tell you anything because she doesn’t feel it would be equal to what you’re asking from her,” The familiar remarked. “Which is why I think it would be better if you complied to some minor requests that could make you stand out better in her eyes. In return, you would be able to ask an equally important question to her.”

…

“I accept.”

My voice interrupted any attempt to ponder about this matter. Kate’s eyes widened, and then she narrowed those at me. “Why did you accept this quickly?”

“Because I trust you to not make it too upsetting or awkward. We’re not exactly trying to do anything that you might find yourself uncomfortable with… but I also understand it can be quite upsetting to be reminded of your situation.”

She offered a smile. “Thanks and… I suppose you want to go first, right?”

It was there where my bravado faltered by a fair bit. I wasn’t exactly confident of my capacity to outright get any questions answered since there were a few things I really wasn’t up to discuss with anyone in particular. What I didn’t expect was for Kate to go for a verbal uppercut as soon as I nodded.

“What is the most embarrassing thing you have dealt with… ever?”

...I was glad that it had been this question. And yes, this wasn’t the worst question possible as far as I knew about myself. Still, it was a bit embarrassing as Bhediya perked in curiosity at the notion since he could recall I had once mentioned something really embarrassing that only Jonathan and Speedwagon knew about. I refused to tell anyone else because ‘I got enough from having to handle these two and their infuriating reactions’. And it was there when I decided to be quite honest and speak of what was really the most embarrassing thing I had to ever experience.

I brought up the very nightmare that got me caught up in some terrifying scenarios about a… female Jonathan. Yes, despite the crazy things I went through, that was perhaps the scariest but also the most embarrassing thing I was ever subjected to. Bhediya himself was shocked at the narration, especially when I described the terrifying Stand the female Jojo had at her disposal. The idea of a ‘fiercely in love’ but ‘insanely so’ woman giving chase with a monstrous Stand that could easily destroy London with some simple attacks was enough to paint a rather grim scenario. The only saving grace, which got a bit of an annoyed frown from Speedwagon since he had planned to hear the ‘most amusing bit of it all’, was that I didn’t mention the ‘Speedwaifu’ bit. I had told only Jonathan, but when these two spoke up about it, Robert learned of it too and saw it fit to tease me about what ‘sizes’ he had in that situation. Hannah sure was perplexed but equally disturbed when she heard the truth. A really chilling sight to see someone so horrified and yet so helpless in handling that kind of pressure.

The others were pulled to handle through similar questions, with Speedwagon being asked about his scars, Bhediya pressured to ultimately confirm if he saw himself as my ‘pet’ while in his dog form (which proved to be yes as this made things between us relatively weird for the time being), Bloody was asked if he had some ‘childish flaws’ (which proved to be his incapacity to eat a certain kind of veggies for too many consecutive meals). By the end of it all, it was finally time to ask the big question and the answer was pretty much what everyone expected… and yet it left Kate in quite the unexpected turn of events herself as she had actually expected for something more than just a question.

“They are sensitive, yes. What about?”

“We were just asking,” I replied calmly. “We were just asking for that and nothing more.”

“So… wait, what about touching?”

“You want us to touch them?”

“No!” She exclaimed, pausing for a moment. “So you were just asking about this and nothing more?”

“Yes. I think the situation is pretty clear.”

…

“Oh.”

“Did you really expect them to press for more?” Zephy teased and the Japanese girl huffed.

“Yes. Why? Did you think they wouldn’t?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

“He isn’t exactly lying,” I argued in defense of the familiar. “You’re uncomfortable with that and you allow others to handle those elements you feel rather nervous to show around only when necessary. We are friends, Kate-”

“And we look out for each other, even if it’s a bit strange if we start comparing one with the other,” Derek said. “Am I right, hairy guy?”

Bhediya’s lips twitched. “I suppose you are, frail man.”

The cowboy snorted at the remark and as Kate watched the rest of the group share funny jabs at each other’s flaws, she realized one thing. Despite how much she tried to keep a formal and mostly solitary approach in life, now she had made friends and those people were precious enough to make her feel like she was back home, with a family.

A very bizarre family.