A Torn Journal - Noriaki Kakyoin - Universe

Salt And Sugar

Iggy and I wrapped some bandage around the back of Jonathan's head and all but dragged him through the hotel doors. It was hard for me to get a grip on him, as I could hardly feel my left arm. Trying to use it made the whole left side of my torso erupt in pain. I didn't know how bad the wound was yet. I just hoped that the damage wouldn't be permanent. Jonathan can probably fix it. A more unnerving thought came. That is, if he wakes up. I shook my head. He'll be fine. I know he will.
     "Hey, uh, Kakyoin," I heard Iggy say. I glanced up at him. "What are we going to do about her?" He nodded towards a woman sitting on the other side of a counter in the lobby room we were stepping into. She hadn't noticed us yet. I studied her for a moment, at first wondering why her presence made a difference. I see, I thought. If she sees our condition she'll probably call an ambulance... That'd be fine if we weren't at risk of being arrested. We'll definitely be found out if we get too much attention. I looked around. This was the only way in as far as I knew. What could we do to avoid being noticed?
     Suddenly, the woman glanced up at us, and an alarmed look came over her face. I panicked a little. Looks like we'll have to think fast.
     "Woah," she gasped, "are you all okay? What's happened?" Her expression became even more terrified when she seemed to notice Jonathan's condition. "I- is that boy-" she shook her head, whipped around, and grabbed a phone that hung on the wall. "I'm calling an ambulance."
     "No, don't," I started with an uncertain smile. "We're okay, really. It's fine. We just, uh..." I couldn't think of an excuse. Come on, think!
     "Those boys are with me."
     I looked over to the source of the familiar voice and sighed a small breath of relief as I recognized Avdol stepping up to the counter. He knows a bit more about how to talk to people. I'll let him deal with this.
     "Thomas Marks," I heard him say. "I'm sure you heard I was in town."
     "You're that big-name investigator, right? The one who was on the Davidson case in California?" The woman seemed surprised as she said it. "I heard about you."
     Avdol proceeded to make up something about us already having a doctor in our hotel room, and him saying that all of our injuries were only minor ones. I scoffed. Guess you can get away with anything if you're famous enough. It's a good thing Avdol came when he did though. A hospital would be good for Jonathan, but we can't exactly afford getting caught right now. I can't believe we made it this far illegally... How did we even get on that plane? I bet Polnareff paid the security officers off then, too. I sighed. That won't work forever. We really have to get out of here. Pretty sure you don't have to have a passport to get into Koroka...
     About a minute after Iggy and I had left the lobby room Avdol rejoined us in the hallway. I gave him a look that I was pretty sure he understood.
     "A doctor," I said. "In our room? Is that so?"
     "How else was I supposed to get her to stop bothering you?" He replied in his defense. "Was I just supposed to tell her everything?"
     "It's not that," I murmured. "Just..."
     "How much can famous people actually get away with?" Iggy chipped in, completing my thought.
     "Not famous," Avdol told him. "Respected." He paused before looking to the side a little guiltily. "And truly, you have no idea."
     Thanks for the warning, my thoughts murmured.
As we approached the doors to mine and my companions' rooms, I could feel the strength in my arms giving out. Most of Jonathan's weight that I was carrying was being supported by my right hand, as my left wasn't able to sustain energy long enough to be useful. It was a challenge to finally reach the first room we came to and get Jonathan through the door. I heard a small gasp as we came in, and spotted Polnareff standing just a meter or so away with a shocked look on her face. Kanna was also in the room, but she seemed to be dozing.
"Holy Saint Peter," I heard Polnareff start, "What happened?"
She jumped over and took Jonathan as she saw my grip beginning to fail. As soon as I was sure she had him, I let my arms go limp and I collapsed onto the floor. Carrying Jonathan like that had been much harder than I thought it would be, even with Iggy's help. I could still feel the blood escaping my shoulder from where those darts had hit. I honestly didn't know how long I could stay conscious with such heavy blood loss, but I was determined to do so. I had to know that Jonathan would be okay.
I watched my companions set him down on one of the room's beds. Just after this, Iggy dashed out of the room, saying something about going to get Jotaro. When he returned, Polnareff had already taken some bandage from Jonathan's bag and was trying to get my shoulder to stop bleeding. I noticed Jotaro follow Iggy back into the room, and a shocked look hit his face as soon as he saw me. I shook my head.
"I'll be fine," I told him. "Go help Jonathan."
He hesitated, but nodded nonetheless, turning his attention to our more injured companion. I noticed him say something to Iggy, but I couldn't exactly make out his words. I was beginning to feel lightheaded but put all the energy I still had into remaining conscious. I have to know if Jonathan will be okay, I thought. He can't die, not now...
A quiet but clear voice sounded in my ears.
"Rest, Noriaki."
I can't, I argued silently. Not yet.
"This situation could become much worse if you continue to stress about it," the voice said. "You have to trust that your companions will pull through."
I knew my visitor was right, though his words brought no peace to me. There was nothing I could do to help Jonathan now- that task had to be left to the others. With a faint feeling of defeat, I closed my eyes and let my head lay back on the wall behind me. I hoped that my friend would be okay, but hoping was all I could do. Many uneasy minutes passed before I finally fell into unconsciousness.
I awoke in a silent place. I didn't open my eyes for a short while, but I could feel that I was laying on an exceptionally soft bed, and the air around me was cool, but not cold. This place didn't seem like the hotel I'd been in last time I'd opened my eyes. When at last I decided to see where exactly I was, my vision was met with a dark room whose whitish walls provided me with an odd sense of comfort. The feeling wasn't much though, as thoughts of my injured companion were still filling my mind.
"You awake?" I heard a voice ask. I recognized the tone as Polnareff's, as her strong English accent was easy to distinguish.
I turned over in the bed and met her gaze.
"I suppose that answers my question," she noted. "How do you feel?"
I sat up in the bed and tried to stretch my arms out in front of me. I quickly realized that I couldn't even feel my left arm, much less stretch it out. I could move it, but just barely.
"Can't feel my arm at all," I murmured.
Polnareff nodded. "Yeah," she replied. "The doctor said it could be months before your strength has fully returned to it, but I imagine Jonathan can just fix it when he wakes up."
"Doctor?" I repeated.
"Don't you remember anything? You were conscious through some of it."
I shook my head.
"Well, you passed out in the hotel room," Polnareff began to explain, "And since there wasn't much we could do for you and Jonathan with just a few rolls of bandage, we eventually decided just to call an ambulance. Once we had told the doctor the story about our plane crashing on the way to Koroka, he told us that he probably wouldn't turn us in since we were heading out of the country anyway. Apparently we aren't the only unregistered foreigners he's treated recently, or so he says."
I thought about all this for a bit.
"Did he ask how we'd gotten our injuries?"
"He did," she replied. "So if anyone asks about it, you were in a car accident."
'Car accident'. I see... Well, I suppose that isn't entirely untrue- I really have been in a car accident within the past week.
My mind drifted from the subject as the more pressing question returned to my thoughts.
"Hey, Polnareff," I said quietly.
"Hm?"
"How's Jonathan?"
She glanced away, her facial expression turning a bit darker. The look on her face scared me a little.
"I don't know," she told. "His condition was... A lot more serious than yours or Iggy's. I haven't seen him since we came here some hour or two ago. I was left here with you, and Jotaro with Jonathan. Partly to keep you company whenever you wake up, but also to make sure Void didn't attack you while you were hurt. I haven't left the room yet, so I haven't really received any updates."
"Can I go see him?"
Polnareff scoffed. "Look at the condition you're in," she said. "Do you realize how much you've actually been hurt throughout the past few days? Do you even know how many injuries you've sustained?"
I had to seriously think hard about that question. I had no idea.
"That arm of yours isn't the only thing that's been treated so far," she went on. "Depending on how long it takes Jonathan to get well, you could be here for a while."
A feeling of dismay came over me as she said it. I didn't want to admit it but I knew she was right. I could very well have broken or fractured something given how much pain I'd been in. I'd been needing a hospital for days.
"But that could delay us a ton," I murmured partly to myself.
Polnareff nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, potentially, it could."
We both sat in silence for a bit, thinking about this. We weren't exactly on the same time limit we were on when we fought Void in the past world, but even so, any delay put us at an even greater disadvantage. The Void's infection seemed to be spreading fast in this world for whatever reason, and most of our party had already been hit. If we waited too long, someone would be overtaken. I glanced down at my hands. My entire right hand was covered with the pitch black substance. I knew that Polnareff was infected too, and I could see that some of its spread had reached the base of her neck. It was probably on her shoulders or on her stomach as well. Though I'm pretty sure I'm the most infected right now. I haven't really started to feel its influence yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time...
"Well," Polnareff began suddenly, "I think I'm going to go check on Jonathan and Jotaro. You'll probably be fine here by yourself for just a few minutes, right? I really doubt Void will attack again in such a small timeframe."
"Actually," I said as she stood up, "Can I come with you?"
She held my gaze for a moment. "You really shouldn't. Have you seen that bruise on your back? Well, probably not- it's on your back. But the point remains. You should stay here and rest."
Do I have a back injury? I suppose so... Void threw me into a tree during our fight the other day. I'd nearly forgotten, with everything that's happened recently. I sighed. Polnareff's right. I probably shouldn't go anywhere for now. I really want to check on Jonathan... Guess I'll have to wait.
Polnareff warned me to stay on guard as she stepped out of the room. I sank back into my bed, turning over and wondering exactly how long I would be in this hospital. I don't know whether or not Jonathan can heal himself with his Stand, so it could be a long while until he's well enough to be able to help me. I could just leave today, hypothetically, but if I keep going on like this my injuries will just keep getting worse... Fear began to creep over me as another thought came to mind. And at that rate I might not even reach the end of our journey.
I pulled the bed's sheets up and stared at the wall, thinking about all of this. It looks like our companions are going to have to continue without us for a while. I hated the thought of having to sit in this hospital bed while my friends continued the fight. I'd had to do it once before, during our fight with Dio. Well, I thought to myself, at least this time I can see.
Suddenly, I began to see something strange amidst the dim light of the room. A thin, dark mist appeared to be hanging weightlessly about it. No, I pleaded silently. Not now. Of all times, not now. I wanted to just pull the sheets over my face and imagine that the mist wasn't there but, knowing that my life could be at stake, I sat up in the bed and summoned my Stand. I looked around the room from where I sat, but didn't see anything suspicious other than the eerie black fog. There has to be a Void servant around here somewhere.
"Noriaki Kakyoin."
The sinister voice made me jump with its sudden words. I looked to my right, and there he sat, right next to me in the chair Polnareff had been using.
"Void," I said under my breath. I lashed out at him with my arm, but my attack phased right through him. I expected as much. The same thing had happened when he appeared to Polnareff back in Russia. He can project himself here, in a way, without actually being here physically.
"Now, Kakyoin," he began with eerie smile. "That's no way to greet someone. And didn't I once ask you not to call me by that name? So very rude..."
Knowing there wasn't really anything I could do right now, I just straightened up a bit where I sat and tried to keep an eye out for any surprises.
"You haven't earned the right to be called anything else," I sneered. "Why are you here? Why would you show yourself?" Maybe if I can carry a conversation I can stall until Polnareff gets back, my thoughts noted. I know Void can't help but talk when he has a chance to.
The enemy shrugged. "Oh, I just wanted to talk. Don't need a reason for that, do I? Just wanted a chat."
I tried to calm my breathing. "A chat?" I repeated. "About what?"
"You."
He stood up and began to walk around the room, sitting down at the foot of my bed and giving me an unnerving look. He was smiling, but his creepy expression and grim voice made his demeanor anything but comforting. About me? I thought. I don't like the sound of that...
"You know," he began, "We're quite similar, you and I."
"Are we?"
"We are. And I know, Kakyoin, how much you care about your friends."
My bad feeling about this conversation grew worse. The Void was quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"This isn't exactly a good position for you to be in now, is it?" He went on. "Alone, unprotected, and I know you can't defend yourself in your condition. Why, I could kill you right here and now if I wanted to." He let out a small laugh and tilted his head up, granting me a better view of his face that had been darkened by his hood. The look in his grey eyes was ice cold. "Any guess as to why I haven't yet?"
I stayed quiet. I wanted to drop an insult, but I knew that I couldn't protect myself if Void retaliated. Don't say something stupid, I warned myself. You're in no position for that right now.
Void continued after giving me a few seconds to respond. "It's because I think you're a very interesting individual," he said. "And I realized something recently."
"What?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He snarked. I guessed that he wasn't willing to share that part. "Anyway, I think that we might be able to come to an agreement."
"An agreement?" It was all I could do to keep my voice level. "Why would I make an agreement with you? I'm still dealing with everything caused by the last deal I made with you, and you think I haven't learned my lesson?" Is he... mocking me?
The enemy shrugged. "Well, you have to at least hear me out."
"Why should I?" I challenged.
"Because if you don't, I'll kill you."
I stiffened a bit where I sat. I didn't really have a choice but to listen now, as I knew Void's statement was no empty threat. Just don't agree to anything, Noriaki, I told myself. No matter how good he makes it sound.
"Now that we have that settled," Void sighed, "the time has come to present my offer. As you know, I'm not exactly happy about how our last deal turned out either." His eyes narrowed. "You may not realize, but I've been played quite a few times in the past, so having an agreement broken is something that makes me more angry than it should. You surely noticed by your last encounter that I've still been targeting you- Jonathan as well. But I believe, Kakyoin, that we may be able to put our differences aside."
"What do you mean?"
"I bet you want to go home, don't you?" Void noted. "The only reason you're here is because you feel obliged to be, right? Because this fight is 'yours' as well as theirs?" He tilted his head down, his hood shading his face to the point that I could only make out his eerie grin. "I bet you wish you could just forget all of this."
I was going to object, but I suddenly found myself looking away. He wasn't entirely wrong, and I hated to admit that. I'd never actually gotten to live out my life in the past world, and when Void mentioned it, I realized that I could be making the exact same mistake now. Thinking about this, I almost did want to forget everything. There was a part of me that wanted to move on and live my life. But I really do think I'll make it back home alive this time, I thought to myself. Though I've had a lot of close calls. I was quiet for a bit longer, thinking about this.
"What are you getting at?" I questioned in a small murmur.
"I can give you your life back, Kakyoin," he told me. "I never got to live mine out either, you know. I had dreams. I had ambitions, like you do. I had family. And I know what they must mean to you." He was silent for a few seconds, giving the words time to sink in. "Do you realize that right now, right here in this room, I could take that life away from you?"
A cold realization began to creep over me as I understood what Void meant. If I don't accept his offer, he can kill me. I thought about my mom, about the plans I had made, and about what my life truly meant to me. I didn't want to die. I'd never wanted to die.
"I see," I whispered, partly to myself. "Either I die now or I accept your deal."
He pulled his hood down and gazed at me, finally giving a clear view to his grey eyes. His smile faded from his face.
"I'm giving you a chance, Kakyoin. I do have the power to make you forget."
I let out a quiet sigh, thinking about this. I don't... I don't have much of a way around this, then. But that's not all, is it...? He wants something.
"In exchange for what?" I asked.
"Kanna."
I felt my breaths become uneven as my heart quickened its pace. Kanna?
"M- my sister?"
"It sounds like an unfair trade to you," he said, "I know. But in the event that you do accept, all you would have to do is help to lure her into an ambush, and I could take her easily. I notice that your group has started keeping at least one Stand user in each group when sorted into pairs, so it wouldn't be all too hard. And I really don't mean any harm to her."
"Why then?"
"As I said before, I realized something," he said with a huff. "I don't think you could understand my reasoning if I simply said it, and I haven't any reason to give an in depth explanation to my enemy."
"What difference does it make if I forget everything anyways?"
"You haven't agreed to do that yet," he replied.
He was right- I hadn't agreed to it, and I wasn't going to. Honestly, his offer was tempting. My life had been really good before I came- I was a lucky kid. I was smart, happy, and had people who cared about me. I wanted to have that. I wanted to graduate, to fall in love, to become an artist and simply experience life. And I sincerely hope that you, the reader, will get that chance. But despite how I felt about my future, I cared more for my friends. I couldn't betray Kanna- at one point she had been my own blood relative, and nothing could truly change that, not even the universe itself. I didn't know what Void wanted with her but finding out simply wasn't worth it. Even if it costs my last shot at life.
"So?" The Void said after a while.
"I-" I took a deep breath. "I refuse your offer."
He raised his eyebrows. "Really, Kakyoin? Are you sure? This is your last chance."
I nodded slowly. "Yeah," I told him in a quiet voice. "I'm sure."
He stood up from the foot of the bed and stretched his arms out in front of himself. "Well," Void said, "You've made your decision." The enemy walked up to me and I noticed a dark aura begin to surround him. He seemed annoyed that we hadn't come to an agreement, and I had to wonder again what exactly he wanted with Kanna. He just said that he'd 'realized' something. What's that supposed to mean? If only I could warn her... He could be targeting her now, and she doesn't have any way to defend herself if he catches her alone.
"Any last words, Kakyoin?"
I glanced away, thinking about this. "Yeah, actually," I responded. I raised my voice and said it with hurried words- "Door's unlocked, come on, quick!"
A shocked look hit Void's face as the door to the room burst open. Polnareff and Silver Chariot stood with a fierce stance in the doorway. I could see the fire in their eyes.
"Wh- Polnareff?" I heard Void stutter. "You shouldn't have been back for at least another six or seven minutes! I sent a Shadow to check on you hardly more than a few minutes ago, and you had just started to walk down to the vending machine at Jotaro's request! Why would you have come back this way?"
"I sent Hierophant to go get her," I told him plainly. "What, you think just because I'm hurt that I can't move at all? My Hierophant Green is a long distance Stand, so he snuck under that crack in the door while you were talking and alerted Polnareff."
My friend nodded. "And it looks like it's a good thing I got here when I did," she said. She thrusted Chariot's rapier through the enemy's side. The sword phased through him, but her threat was clear. "Get out," she ordered.
Anger erupted in Void's expression. He knew that he really had no way to attack me right now as long as Polnareff was here to defend me. I'd noticed the way he moved while he was talking. He seemed sluggish. I'd already guessed that he was too tired for an all-out attack at the moment. He can't fight her right now. Retreat is his only option.
Suddenly, his anger seemed to break into a small, maddened laugh. "I see," he began. "I should have been a bit more observant. This big, stupid, talkative mouth of mine!" He let out another laugh. "This wouldn't be the first time it's gotten me into trouble... Fine then, have your victory. It's only a matter of time before I destroy it anyway." At this, the enemy vanished in a small cloud of black. I found it strange, how quickly his entire demeanor could change. Eerie.
Almost immediately after he was gone, Polnareff completely lost her composure.
"Kakyoin," she started with a huff, withdrawing her Stand, "I'm so bloody sorry, if I'd been gone just a moment longer you'd have been dead- are you okay?"
I sighed. "I'm alive, if that's what you mean."
I noticed her start trying to calm her breathing.
"Well," she said, "that's a good start."