False Confidence ; Jotakak

Looking for Answers in the Pouring Rain

CW - Casual Racism (Thanks Joseph)

By lunchtime, we were well and truly in India. Our stop in Calcatta was only thirty minutes away. As the moment we would step out on Indian soil grew closer, Mister Joestar began to vocalise his concerns.

"Avdol, do you think there will be a decent place to get a cheeseburger when we arrive? I've heard that India is all curry and disease."

Polnareff added. "I know, I'm worried my stomach is not going to be able to handle it."

Jotaro and I looked at each other, amused by the other men's anxieties. As Avdol began to explain that India has much more to offer than curry, and was a nice place that just took some getting used to, Jotaro leaned in and whispered to me in Japanese.

"Fuckin' gaijin." He muttered. I smirked, putting my fist to my lips to hide my smile from the others. "Typical. The first thing he's thinking about is where to get a goddamn cheeseburger." I snorted, but I felt bad about it.

When the train pulled up in Calcatta, the first thing I noticed was how busy it was. We all got swarmed right away, from people looking to sell us something, looking for money, and just curious kids who wanted to be a part of the crowd. I struggled to keep up with the rest of the group as we made our way through the crowd. I felt a tug on my jacket. When I looked to see what it was, I didn't find any identifier of what, or who had touched me so violently. I checked my jacket pockets. My wallet was gone. "Ugh, brilliant." I groaned. I sent out Hierophant to look for any sign of where it may have gone. As he floated above the crowd, a suspicious gentleman, trying to flee caught his eye. He swooped down to the man's level. Sure enough, he had my wallet. Hierophant coiled around the man as he wandered through the crowd. Plucking the wallet out of the man's hands when he wasn't paying attention. Thinking he'd dropped it, his eyes darted to the ground. The man bent down to find the wallet on the dirt road as Hierophant returned to me, and I caught up with the rest of the group.

It was almost 2:00, and we hadn't had lunch yet, so Mister Joestar lead the way to the first restaurant that suited his taste. He wouldn't settle for any street food, even though it all looked good. We sat in an empty restaurant; Avdol ordered a pot of chai for the group. Mister Joestar sipped it cautiously as Mister Avdol ran him through the history of the beverage. I found it hard to believe that Mister Joestar had never at least heard of chai before, but I suppose America was more of a coffee-drinking country anyway. I flipped through the menu, each dish had an English translation below it, but I felt as though I couldn't pronounce almost anything. I slid the menu across to Jotaro.

"Am I going mad, or can I not read this?" I asked him. I'd only been learning English since I started high school, almost exactly three years, but Jotaro's mum taught him English growing up, and he spoke it with native fluency.

He smirked at me. "Need me to translate, huh?" He teased.

I rolled my eyes, Jotaro chuckled. "Maybe. I seriously don't think I've encountered most of these words." Jotaro looked smug until he saw the menu himself.

"Hm," He groaned inquisitively. "No, you're not losing it Kakyoin. I don't know what it says either." He flipped over the page. "Makhani? What even is that?"

"Ah, makhani!" Avdol perked up. "A smooth, creamy and mild curry from northern India. Perfect for Polnareff and Mister Joestar. A great introductory curry." Avdol seemed to be the expect so we left it to him.

"Is there a dish you would recommend for us, Mister Avdol?" I asked.

The man stroked his chin. "Let's see...Perhaps the moilee. It reminds me of Japanese curry, so it's worth a try." He replied.