He had been enjoying a cigarette in the hallway directly in front of the garden when Kira came running for him.

It had been one of the few moments of blissful silence he had been awarded ever since he had made the grand mistake of saving the Joestars and friends from the fate Dio had deemed adequate for them.

Even though it had lasted a few minutes, it had been pretty nice to have this moment of solitude. It had given him enough peace of mind to be able to think a bit further on the dangers they were currently facing and possible contingency plans to be able to defeat those dangers... well... run away from those dangers was more accurate...

Hol Horse shook his head at the thought. Wasn't he supposed to believe that he was never supposed to enter a fight he didn't know he'd win? Wasn't he supposed to be the kind of person that was supposed to prepare others for the fights he knew he shouldn't embark on? Wasn't he supposed to have made his whole career on building others up and leaving the easy things for himself?

That's what Hol Horse was supposed to stand for... He was supposed to stand for running away, the easy life, having girlfriends, and making the good bucks.

And wasn't that a thing? Now that a woman had been pulled into this insanity... Hol Horse was contemplating standing his ground, rather than running away.

It was always a woman that made his calloused heart soften...

With a small sigh, Hol Horse shrugged to himself.

He couldn't be blamed. Holly Kujo was a one of a kind woman and she deserved to at least keep her home. And odds were that they would be first attacked by a force they would be able to fight off before the villains sent in a big gun, like Vanilla Ice. They would have enough time to pack up and leave with the woman if worst came to worst, he believed.

It wouldn't be too bad to have a woman traveling with them, though. Without a doubt she would be much more adept at handling the children than he was. So she certainly wouldn't be a bad addition to their ragtag group of mostly much too young and defenseless human beings.

Kira shouting at him about one of his traps having been set off forced him away from such silly thoughts and Hol Horse shook his head in an attempt to force his brain to come back to reality.

This was real life. Holly Kujo wasn't like him; she probably would even reject the very idea of leaving with him and the rest. Most probably she would prefer for him to leave Jotaro with her in this house and for the rest of them to run; hopefully they would be able to seek refuge with the Speedwagon Foundation she had told him about when she had explained her curious illness.

Honestly, if she didn't even mention the possibility of having Joseph stick around, Hol Horse wouldn't blame her. It was one thing to have to raise your child once again; it was a whole nother having to raise your father.

He only hoped they'd be able to stay safe- wherever they wound up after he left with the rest of the kids...

"Where and how long ago?" instinctually he allowed the cigarette to fall to the ground below him before he crushed it under his boot- and he internally winced when he remembered that was currently indoors and not out in the wilds he was so accustomed to.

He didn't allow himself to regret such an action for too long- he began to follow after Kira in a heartbeat and they swiftly made their way through the innerworkings of the Kujo household to wherever it was that Kira wanted to lead him.

Kira walked away from him as he answered his questions. "The front door- I don't know if they're idiots or powerful. But someone turned the doorknob around two minutes ago." as they passed by the guest door Hol Horse knew was supposed to be his and the kids' to sleep in, he heard the softest murmurs- Kira must have gotten everyone in there to keep them safe... huh... not bad. "None of the other traps have been set off."

After Kira informed him of this, Hol Horse motioned for him to not say anything else. They made their way towards the direction of the front door, keeping far away from any windows that may allow their enemies to know what they were doing.

Within the span of a few minutes- all of which were spent with Hol Horse's heart beating fast and his worry beginning to act up- they reached their destination.

As soon as he glanced over the area, Hol Horse could tell that there was something off. It was rather blatant and in his face, actually, so it would be rather impossible to miss this distinct change.

"Stay back." he instructed as he moved towards the piece of paper that had been slid through the small gap between the ground and the door. He heard Kira shift somewhat behind him- he didn't see the teenager again, though, so he knew that he had been listened to.

On the tips of his feet, he slowly made his way towards the paper on the floor. He glared at it for a couple of seconds, waiting expectantly for it to come to life or start shining or smoking or something... but nothing happened. After a safe amount of time had passed without anything changing or him getting knocked out, Hol Horse moved his left foot to prod at the paper. As soon as he nudged it, he moved his foot back- but, much to his surprise, no explosion came from the paper.

"Maybe it's just normal paper?"

Hol Horse grunted but eventually crouched down beneath the paper. After a few more seconds spent glaring at the invader with utmost distrust, he decided to bite the bullet and pick it up.

No gas began to escape and no stand-related shenanigans ensued.

Hol Horse furrowed his brows, absolutely confounded. Why in the world hadn't they been attacked?

There was writing on the paper. It wasn't kanji, though; or any other written language Hol Horse knew little or nothing about. Instead, the writing on the side of the paper that had been left pressed against the floor was English- it was a neat scrawl, had been written in thick black ink, and it was a sizeable chunk of words.

"Well I'll be damned," he muttered in his native English, left hand moving to tip the brim of his hat upwards- only to find empty space.

Hol Horse frowned at this, then remembered that it was bad manners to keep a hat indoors and Holly Kujo deserved for him to at least try and act like a respectable person, even when he wasn't.

"What is it?" Kira piped up from behind him.

Hol Horse leaned his head slightly towards the right in a silent show that he had listened to the teen, then spoke up in Japanese, "Some kind of letter or something."

Kira grunted softly.

Hol Horse focused his attention on reading what had been directed at him.

Dear Mr. No Proper First Name Hol Horse... he scoffed. Just from the ridiculous title that had been written as to address him, he believed he knew which Dio follower had written him.

Well, it would make sense. He had killed his brother and all... it wouldn't be much a surprise if D'Arby Sr. wanted some kind of direct revenge on him before he tried to trap the children to return to Dio.

"What's so funny?"

Hol Horse contemplated if he should tell Kira to buzz off- he only needed to worry if Hol Horse told him to worry... but this was the first time the kid seemed to show any actual care for the safety of their group; although this was mostly because their safety equated to his safety... Hol Horse sighed softly at the thought and couldn't believe he wasn't inclined to be an asshole to a budding killer.

"I know the prick." he answered eventually as he straightened back up, the paper still in his hands.

Kira frowned, asked nothing else, and Hol Horse was allowed to focus on what had been left behind for them.

'Good evening, cowboy. Considering how you ran away from my brother's murder scene and continue to avoid detection, I am guessing you are not aware of the fact that Dio is no longer in the realm of the living- allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your unbelievable amount of stupid luck that allowed you to murder off the most powerful individual in the world without even being aware of what you were doing.'

Hol Horse's heart stopped as soon as he read the first paragraph.

He blinked.

His fingers began to feel rather cold- a cold sweat broke through him.

He re-read the same part two more times to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating and had, indeed, read what he believed to have been what he had actually read.

Cold fingers tightened their grip against the paper just as he forced his lungs to breathe in- even through the difficult of the tightness he now felt in his chest.

"What's wrong?" he heard from far away... and Hol Horse shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind.

D'Arby Sr. had written him... and let him know he had killed Dio?

Impossible.

He was Hol Horse. A gun for hire, yes... but he wasn't good enough to kill someone as immortal as a vampire.

Through his shock, Hol Horse forced himself to continue reading what had been left for him by the professional gambler.

'Now that the news is out of the way, I feel like I should inform you that I hold no ill feeling towards your killing of my brother. If anything, I feel like I must thank you for freeing me from the weight of his power. Believe it or not, the person I disliked the most in this world was that pesky brother of mine- you did me a favor by killing him off. So, I feel like I must do a favor for you to repay your ignorant kindness. Dio is dead and many of those contracted by him have gone about living our own lives- the Oingo Boing Brothers and myself being the ones I care enough about to take stock of such information.'

Even with the shock of what could very well be the most elaborate lie D'Arby Sr. ever created... Hol Horse couldn't help but scoff at the outright narcissism of his fellow American.

'Some others, though, want your head on a pike. I was generous enough to follow this group to Japan, just to be able to inform you of their plans once you reached the Kujo house. I am leaving as soon as I deliver this paper, though, for I want no further part in the devilry of Dio's cult of fanatics. Vanilla Ice, Nukesaku, and Kenny G. are the three that wish to avenge Dio's death. Mariah and Alessi are not part of this group; I am not sure if they do or do not wish to kill you, though.

From what I understand, they wish to strike tomorrow morning, when everyone in the house is asleep. Take a stand or run as you have always done, foolish cowboy- I wish for you to not die an unfortunate and painful death just because you chose to take pity on an dangerous group that will turn against you one Set's power dissipates. I would much rather have your soul as part of my collection, after all.

If you survive, swing by Florida at some point- we can enjoy ourselves with some nice relaxing gambling. I bet that stand of yours isn't capable of hitting a target every single time.

~Daniel J. D'Arby'

As if he would ever play any games with that asshole... he'd rather die tonight than become part of D'Arby Sr.'s collection.

"Hol Horse?" Kira tried again, prompting the cowboy to grunt somewhat.

He was frowning heavily down at the paper.

If D'Arby Sr. wasn't currently attempting to betray him... then Hol Horse would be in for one hell of a confrontation in the morning.

With the likes of Vanilla Ice plotting against them... he knew that he stood no chance.

Beside himself, he bit the inside of his lip as frustration and helplessness began to eat up at him.

If he ran away right now and left the kids behind no... No. Even if he was able to escape, Vanilla Ice wouldn't be content with just the death of this group. If he really had somehow killed the vampire and the band of Dio followers knew about this... there would be nowhere he could ever run to where he would be safe. Vanilla Ice would eventually get to him. That guy was insane.

Besides... just the thought of abandoning the kids and Holly to face these monsters made his stomach roil with guilt.

It was a foreign feeling he absolutely regretted, of course, because it had no right to bother him- he was a lone-wolf first and foremost.

"Hol Horse." Kira tried to call for him with a bit more force, but his voice trembled just a little bit with rising anxiety. Hol Horse's silence must have been getting to the teen.

And why did that make Hol Horse feel bad? Kira was a budding murderer! He was trash that needed to be taken out! Hol Horse was just going to use him and take advantage of his existence before... Oh, why was he trying to keep on lying to himself?

The time they may have spent together had been short, yes... but the teen managed to make him feel bad for him. And the idea of training him up to channel his murderous ambitions in the right avenue didn't sound horrible to the cowboy. And the idea of having an apprentice take on some of the less savory jobs wasn't half bad either.

Hol Horse really hated himself sometimes.

"How do them traps of yours work?" he asked, a stupid, no-good, absolutely reckless plan forming in his mind.

When he turned to Kira, he found the teenager's eyes wide and surprised. With one serious look that wasn't quite a glare from the adult, though, the boy was clearing his throat and answering quickly, "Bombs. Uh, I mean, I plant bombs. Until now I've only just mastered transfering a bomb I plant to the first person that touches the surface I put it on- that's how I knew someone had touched the front door's door knob."

Hol Horse's eyes widened at this, "Wait, does that mean the hand of the guy that touched the door's a ticking bomb right now?"

Was he happy about that? Was he bothered by it?

Hol Horse wasn't sure.

D'Arby S- wait a minute. Jr. was dead. That meant D'Arby was now just... that.

Odd.

Kira shook his head, seemingly not noticing Hol Horse's wandering mind. "I have to detonate it manually... do you want me to do it? I mean, blow up whatever touched the front door?"

Hol Horse thought about the possible decision... but soon sighed. He was putting a lot of stock in D'Arby's hate for his now dead brother... but he felt that the note was honest.

Hell... he needed a miracle right now. Maybe this was it.

Shaking his head, he said, "Nah. Whoever touched the door actually helped us." he waved the paper a little bit, then asked, "Can you tell what your bomb's transferred onto? Or is it that you just know it's been transferred?"

Kira's eyebrows narrowed a little and the look of I don't know that came onto his face reminded Hol Horse that even though this little asshole had tried to hurt someone... he was just some dumb teenager.

"I can't really explain it... I can plant a bomb on any surface- living or inanimate. And I can tell when someone touches the surface I've trapped- so I can decide to transfer it onto whatever touched it... and I can kind of tell when what's touched the trap is living or inanimate... but I don't know why..." after he had said this, Kira frowned. "I don't really know much about this power I have- uh, what you called a stand."

He couldn't believe it... Hol Horse's vendetta against this kid was slipping away slowly... Kira reminded him too much of himself at that age... too damn much.

Gritting his teeth, Hol Horse forced his mind to focus on the here and now, rather than the past he had been forced to leave behind.

"That's good." he eventually spoke up, "Not the whole you don't know how your stand works- I'm talking about how you have some idea about how it works." he clarified with a clear of his throat, then asked, "How many bombs can you make?"

Kira's eyes now narrowed, suspicious. "Depends on the blast I would like... Why?"

Hol Horse sucked at his teeth, mouth eager to wrap around a cigarette from all of the stress he had been forced onto in less than an hour... and conceded he would need Kira's help for the insane plan he was contemplating.

"A group of killer's out there and they want the head of everyone in here..." the look of tacit reluctance fueled Hol Horse's spite to inform the teenager of the fact that he couldn't just walk away because he didn't want to die. But instead of threatening him with being the one to enact the violence, he informed the teen, "Considering how you've been seen helping us, they'll want your head too."

Now the teen's eyes burned with spite... before dulling with acceptance.

Huh, Hol Horse blinked in surprise. That hadn't taken too much convincing.

"Of course someone like you would pull me into my death..." the kid lamented the fact and Hol Horse wanted to bop him on the head for being so selfish.

Neither he nor Hol Horse would really be missed if they died. Criminals like them were a dime a dozen. It was the children that needed to live... people that did good things for others for no reason other than just them doing good... they weren't common at all.

Kira and Hol Horse were the kind that deserved to die bloody; it was the fact of their reality. But those kids... Holly... they deserved to die old, in a bed surrounded by their loved ones. They didn't deserve to be killed by a group of fanatics that were only really hunting them down because Hol Horse had apparently accidentally killed their idol of sin.

"Small blasts would be enough to destroy someone's fingers?" he chose to ignore the comment and instead remain professional.

Kira frowned, but shrugged, "Yeah. Some fingers would fly off- others would just get burned really badly. I can make around a dozen of those."

Hol Horse nodded. "Good."

He couldn't believe he was actually thinking of taking a stand against a heavy hitter like Vanilla Ice when all he had for backup was a teenager with a mildly destructive stand and children and a non-stand having woman...

But he needed to try.

If they ran, it was only going to be a matter of time before they were caught in this very situation yet again- but at that point, they would not have the home advantage and they wouldn't have the knowledge of the ambush.

He'd need to come up with a contingency plan for Kira to get the children and Holly out while he kept their enemies busy... Hell, if he planned this right, he'd be able to kill off Nukesaku and Kenny G. in less than a minute, and then only Vanilla Ice would be left... he'd die to the guy, he knew... Hol Horse swallowed, his heart clenching and his whole body froze up at the thought.

He had always been scared of death.

His legs wanted to trumble at just the thought of having to die when the morning came.

But... he had been running all his life. His legs were more tired of running than they were of standing.

"Alright. I've got a plan." he told the teenager, "Them dozen bombs you can plant, put them in all of the doors inside the house- one on the front door again." he instructed the teenager just as he balled up the paper in his hands.

Kira nodded... then asked, voice smaller than Hol Horse had heard before, "What are you planning?"

Hol Horse ran his tongue over his dry lips, mind aching for another cigarette, then he began to walk away. As he made his way towards the guest room that had been used to hide the innocents, he called out, "Something mighty stupid."

~/~

The kids understood the plan. Holly didn't like the idea of having to leave Hol Horse to fight, but she knew very well that neither her nor any of the kids were going to be of any use in a fight- it had taken her some convincing, but eventually she had agreed to run when Hol Horse gave the word.

He hadn't told any of them that he knew he was going to die come morning. If he did, he knew they'd try and get him to run away. If they tried that, they wouldn't get a wink of sleep and then they'd be too tired to properly run away- he couldn't have that.

Kira didn't like having to be so close to the enemy- but he had eventually agreed to help Hol Horse out in the execution of the weaker enemies before he aided the innocents in their escape.

Hol Horse allowed the fingers on his right hand to flex as he used his left to bring his lit cigarette up to his lips.

Sunrise was beautiful in this part of the world.

~..~..~

What? A self-sacrificing Hol Horse? Who ever would have thought the kids would influence him this positively!?

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!