Kakyoin ran to the one place in town he trusted to hide in. He guessed Dio's minions were still pursuing him, so he needed to lay low somewhere until it was safe. Kakyoin frantically knocked on the back door.
"Kakyoin? What are you doing here?" Oingo inquired between yawns.
"I'll explain later, please just let me in. Quickly." Oingo stepped out of the way, and Kakyoin bolted into the brothers' living room. He collapsed on the soft carpeted floor, closed his eyes, and then tried to regain his breath. Oingo slowly walked over to him with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Okay. What happened, Kakyoin?" Oingo crouched down to Kakyoin's level trying to make it easier to hear what Kakyoin had to say.
"Dio…" Kakyoin whispered vehemently between breaths, his heart hammering.
"What'd the bastard do this time?" This wasn't the first time Kakyoin went to Oingo's house after he had an unfortunate encounter with Dio. Kakyoin had never come this late at night though. After a few minutes, Kakyoin's breathing finally evened out, and he sat up against the wall.
"He basically kidnapped me in my sleep and asked me some really weird and kind of unsettling questions." Kakyoin started rambling, just wanting to get this story over with. He didn't feel like reliving it a second time. "He also was extremely touchy and just way too close, which made me very uncomfortable, but then…" Kakyoin abruptly stopped, not wanting to admit the rest. He didn't want to think about what Dio would've done had that man not disrupted him. Kakyoin sincerely hoped he was completely wrong about Dio's intentions, but a small part of him knew he probably wasn't.
"That sounds awful," Oingo decided not to force Kakyoin to tell the entire story. He looked distraught enough. "One of these days, I swear I'm gonna punch that guy." Kakyoin let out a tiny silent laugh. Good, but Oingo saw how troubled his eyes were.
"You can stay as long as you need to, okay?" Kakyoin nodded in acknowledgment at the offer as Oingo left the living room. He gradually started to stand and put his hands into his jean pockets. However, he felt something crumple in his right pocket. He didn't remember putting anything there. Confused, Kakyoin carefully pulled the small yellow paper out. A phone number? As he continued to read, there was a little note at the bottom. 'If you need me, just call. I love you.' - Dad
"Hey, Oingo, you have a landline, right?" Kakyoin called.
"Yeah! It's in the hallway, on the right, slightly across from the bathroom," Oingo yelled from the kitchen.
"Thanks!" Kakyoin strolled over to the hallway, following Oingo's directions. He grabbed the phone from its holder and began dialing.
"285-555-6728," he whispered to himself, as he carefully pressed the numbers. He placed the phone by his ear and listened to the familiar dial-up tone with anticipation.
"Hello? Who is this?" Kakyoin froze for a minute. Making phone calls wasn't exactly one of his strong suits. It was always nerve-wracking.
"Uh," he paused, nervously fidgeting with the sprial cord. He took a deep breath. "This is Noriaki, Hol Horse's kid. I was just wondering if my father had made it to your house."
"He hasn't arrived yet. Sorry, kid. Would you like me to have him call you when he does?" The tired voice responded. That was strange. Kakyoin glanced at the clock: 2:37. The journey through the woods should not have taken him this long. An overwhelming sense of dread filled Kakyoin's stomach.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Kakyoin must've zoned out.
"Yes, I am! That won't be necessary, but thank you anyway. Sorry, I called so late, I hope you have a good rest of your night." Kakyoin knew something wasn't right, and he needed to find out what had happened.
"You too." The line went dead. Kakyoin sighed. It wasn't like his dad to get lost. He had been in the woods plenty of times before, so what went wrong? Surely, he couldn't have gotten lost. Right? Or what if… Kakyoin's brain only came up with every terrible outcome of what could have befallen his father. He felt sick, and like he was spiraling down a rabbit hole.
"Kakyoin?" Oingo placed his hand on Kakyoin's shoulder, instantly bringing him back down to earth.
"I'm fine," Kakyoin lied, shaking off Oingo's hand. Right now Kakyoin didn't want to be touched. After everything that has happened so far tonight, he desperately needed space. Besides, he didn't even like people touching him anyway, except for his dad.
"Who'd you have to call?" Oingo asked, trying to change the subject.
"An acquaintance of my father. He left a note with the phone number in my jean pocket. He said to call if I needed him," Kakyoin responded.
"Was he there?" Oingo questioned. Kakyoin looked up, defeated. Worry was the only thing present in his eyes.
"No, which scares me. He and Emperor have traveled through those woods hundreds of times. It's not like he could've gotten lost. Something went wrong," Kakyoin paused. "And I'm going to find them."
"Kakyoin, are you insane?" Oingo was horrified at Kakyoin's suggestion. "You'd be out alone, at night, in the woods, surrounded by dangerous creatures that would not hesitate to slaughter you."
"Well, if you're so concerned, then why don't you accompany me?" Kakyoin retorted bitterly, crossing his arms.
"Cause unlike you, I don't have a death wish." The room was completely silent as the tension grew between the pair. Oingo deeply sighed and turned towards the kitchen. Kakyoin followed. Oingo grabbed the kettle from the stove and poured the freshly made tea into one of the small mugs on the counter.
"Listen, if you wanna go search for Hol Horse, be my guest. Just know, even if I genuinely wanted to go with you, I couldn't. If something were to happen to us, who would look after Boingo? I can't just die and abandon him. He needs me." Oingo gestured with the kettle to the second mug, and Kakyoin accepted his offer.
"Thank you." Kakyoin took the cup and had a tiny sip. "Oingo?" Oingo hummed in response. "I…" He never was exceptional at apologizing. "Can you drive me back to my house? I need to get Hierophant if I'm going to the woods."
"Alright. Let me go check on Boingo real quick." Oingo left to go up the stairs to the bedroom, leaving Kakyoin. He didn't want to be by himself though. He tried drinking some more of the warm tea but failed. He was nauseous and tired. This night just couldn't get any worse. If Kakyoin was being honest, he wanted nothing more than to go home and crash onto his comfortable bed. He looked at the giant clock on the wall, and it was almost three. How long had his dad been in the woods now? He finally stood up to place the cup in the sink and restlessly waited for Oingo to return.
"KAKYOIN!" Boingo gave an elongated shout while quickly running down the stairs. He seemed extremely frightened.
"Boingo!" Oingo followed close behind. "Little bro, it's okay." Boingo clutched fiercely onto Kakyoin's legs.
"Hey," Kakyoin bent down to face the young boy who was on the verge of tears. "Hey, what's wrong, Boingo?"
"Something bad is going to happen to you!" Boingo cried out. Kakyoin gave a puzzled glance to Oingo who shrugged in return.
"Little bro, it was just a nightmare," Oingo calmly assured, squatting to his brother's level. "Everything is okay. I promise."
"I'm fine, Boingo, alright." Kakyoin offered him a comforting smile. "Nothing bad is going to happen to me. Besides, that would break my promise to come back tomorrow." Boingo didn't seem completely convinced, but at least his tears were dry.
"Okay," Boingo looked away, wiping the tears from his eyes with his sleeve. "Just, don't get hurt, please."
"I won't." Kakyoin gave Boingo a little hug, adding a small squeeze for good measure. "Now, you need to go back to sleep. I'm sure you have a busy day tomorrow." Oingo gently hoisted Boingo into his arms and carried him back up the stairs.
Well, that was slightly alarming. Kakyoin decided to merely mark it off as a creepy coincidence.
"Sorry about that, Kakyoin," Oingo apologized while descending the staircase.
"It's fine," Kakyoin responded.
"He's been getting terribly unpleasant dreams lately." Concern was plastered across Oingo's face. "I'm starting to worry about him. This stuff never used to happen, but now it seems every time he goes to sleep, he wakes up screaming or crying."
"Has anything profoundly affected him recently?" Kakyoin asked. "I know when I first started living with my dad, I would have horrible nightmares."
"No, nothing like that has happened to him." Oingo knew most of the particulars as to why Kakyoin began staying with Hol Horse.
"Oingo, I'm certain he'll be fine. After all, it might just be a rough phase." Kakyoin encouraged.
"Maybe. I just wish I knew what was wrong." Oingo noticed the clock on the wall. "C'mon, let's go. I'd rather you'd leave now instead of being out in the woods later." Oingo led Kakyoin to the garage, after making sure everything was locked. Kakyoin got into the passenger's side of the large black car, and Oingo switched on the ignition.
Cautiously, they made their way through the backroads of town, trying to draw little attention to themselves. Kakyoin shrunk at any passing car, fervently hoping it wasn't anyone in cahoots with Dio. The ride was quiet for the most part, excluding the radio playing faintly in the background. Kakyoin stared out the window, feeling awkward just sitting there doing nothing. Something was calming about the passing street lamps casting small flashes of light into the car.
Finally, they reached his house. Eager to get going, Kakyoin quickly tried to exit the car, but it was still locked.
"Oingo, it's locked." Kakyoin attempted to pull the car door open again.
"I know," Oingo said nonchalantly. "I still don't think this is a good idea Kakyoin."
"Yeah, well, I'm still going whether you like it or not." Kakyoin bluntly declared.
"I figured, just be extremely careful, okay." Oingo cautioned and unlocked the door.
"I will. I promise." Oingo nodded solemnly, and Kakyoin shut the car door. As Oingo drove off, Kakyoin ran to the stable to get Hierophant ready to leave. Rousing the horse from his sleep, Kakyoin rushed him outside and placed the necessary equipment where it was warranted. After he was finished, he swiftly mounted and urged Hierophant forward towards the woods.
"Hang on dad," he muttered. "I'm coming."