Kakyoin and Avdol continued their tour, only stopping to pick up a warmer shirt for Kakyoin. To no one's surprise, there were tons of various rooms in the castle. In the hall with the library, there were probably ten more. They ranged from guests to drawing rooms and even had an occasional study. At least he would not have the chance to get bored here. Avdol talked about each room as he guided Kakyoin along. Avdol seemed to know everything about every place. He treated each as its own unique area like the castle would be incomplete without it.

As much as Kakyoin appreciated that, he could not bring himself to pay attention. He was too distracted. He fidgeted with the hem of the sleeve from the green sweater he grabbed from the closet as Avdol spoke, occasionally nodding to hide his inattentiveness. He would regret not listening later, but he figured that was Future Kakyoin's problem. He was just so overwhelmed by the sheer size of the palace and the ever-present thought of why he was there. He wished he could try to enjoy this place, but he could not shake that one detail. No matter how much he wanted to pretend he wasn't, he was a prisoner here, and nothing could change that. He may not have been in an unforgiving dungeon anymore, but the castle was still a cage locking him in.

"Kakyoin?" Avdol had stopped on the first stair leading towards the first floor and grand entrance hall. "Is everything all right?"

"Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I asked you a question, and you didn't respond." Nice going, idiot. Kakyoin mentally facepalmed.

"I'm sorry. I must have gotten lost in thought. What was the question?" Avdol merely smiled as he started to ask again.

"I asked if you wanted to go to the kitchen to eat now."

"Um, sure." He was still pretty hungry after all.

"I will warn you. It is around everyone's lunchtime, so all of the staff will probably be in the dining room. Do you think that would be too much?" Avdol was probably one of the most courteous people Kakyoin has ever met, and he's only known him for a couple of hours. In all honesty, he really didn't want to meet all of the staff at the moment, but he knew he would have to eventually. Why not now?

"No, it won't be a problem at all," he pseudo-lied. "I'm just hungry."

"All right. The kitchen is only a short walk from here." Avdol then led him down the staircase and through a few doors near the west stairs. Eventually, they made their way in front of two double doors.

"Here we are," Avdol announced as he pushed and held one of the doors open. Kakyoin tentatively looked at the light shining through the darkness from the opening. He searched for reassurance in Avdol's face, and a small grin was returned. It reminded him so much of his dad. Kakyoin closed his eyes, took a breath, and entered the kitchen.

The brightness and chatter that greeted him were jarring. He was so used to the dark and quiet of the castle. He opened his eyes to see four people eating at a table at the edge of the room, laughing as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world. A dog, a Boston Terrier he believed, was resting in a small bed near an empty food and water bowl. To Kakyoin's surprise, the dog looked very annoyed. He didn't realize dogs could be so expressive. He was relieved that the Demon wasn't there. Kakyoin wasn't sure what he would have done if he was.

The people at the table didn't notice he walked in but definitely heard Avdol closing the door. They all stopped laughing and glanced back at him and Avdol, who walked ahead of him. A man with tall silver hair and freckles stood up and gestured his hand towards Avdol to sit.

"Avdol, where were you? We've been waiting forever," he asked. The man's voice was loud and boisterous, perhaps borderline annoying. However, it reminded him of how his dad spoke, minus the country accent. It had the same warmness to it, that you could feel even through everything else.

"Forgive me," Avdol apologized. "I was slightly delayed."

"Knowing you, I bet you lost track of time reading in the library," the man lightheartedly accused.

"Perhaps." Avdol smirked. Kakyoin remembered now. The man with the ridiculous hair was the one called Jean from the night before. The only difference was now his voice was more chipper and voluminous. As the two kept talking, he finally noticed the older blonde woman staring at him. They locked eyes, and she gave him a warm gentle smile.

"Hello," she said while waving. Her greeting reflected the same gentleness as her smile and was just as cheerful. While he appreciated the gesture, now everyone's eyes were on him. He subconsciously shrunk behind Avdol, probably relying on the instinct of hiding behind Hol Horse as a kid. Avdol then moved out of the way to allow them to get a better view of him. He still didn't speak, so she continued. "I'm Holly. It's so wonderful to finally meet you."

"Noriaki Kakyoin," he replied, still feeling a little overwhelmed by everything. "It's wonderful to meet you too." Though he wished he could be truthful about it being wonderful. The table's tension seemed to dissipate after he spoke and everyone started introducing themselves.

"Sir Jean Pierre Polnareff. Nice to meet you." His assumptions of the silver-haired man were correct.

"Joseph Joestar, at your service and this is my wife, Suzie Q. Glad to see you up and about." Kakyoin wasn't sure why everyone was so happy to see him. It's not like he wanted to be here. Now that he had a name to these faces he tried to get a more proper look at every one. Polnareff wore earrings like him, except his were red broken hearts instead of cherries. He wore a frilly button-up with an almost corset-like black vest with matching silver pants and boots. In the kitchen light, he also could see Avdol more clearly. He had a long red robe with a crisp pale shirt and pants underneath, a scarf, and impressive golden jewelry. In addition, he had two identical scars on his face. He would never ask, but Kakyoin was curious as to how he got them. Another thing he observed was how close Polnareff and Avdol seemed to be and how they looked at each other.

Joseph and Suzie Q were a more elderly couple. Joseph had stubble and wore a sizable hat. He was dressed like the Demon, but much less formal. He only wore a simple cream shirt and black pants. Suzie Q had poofy gray hair and wore a blue dress. While everyone else seemed to be engrossed in their own conversations now, the woman named Holly never tore her eyes away from him. It was almost making him uncomfortable, but for some reason, he had a feeling she was merely trying to check on him. It was like she was making sure he was okay. Her blue eyes sparkled, but there was a little hint of sadness and perhaps, guilt.

Suddenly Kakyoin felt something crash into his leg, throwing him off his balance and onto the floor. He grunted in pain as he lifted his head to look at his assailant.

"Josuke!" Holly cried out. Her green dress swished as she stood up from the table. "You must be more careful. You could have hurt the young man.

"Sorry, Holly!" Josuke was a child who couldn't have been older than six or seven by Kakyoin's best estimates. He was quite small, which is probably why he didn't see him when he had first entered the kitchen. He looked almost exactly like the Demon, but with purple hair. Even their clothes were similar. The resemblance was almost uncanny. He stared at Kakyoin with big blue wonder-filled eyes. "I'm Josuke!"

"Nice to meet you." Kakyoin had never been the best with children, but he could try. Though first, he had to get the air back in his lungs from where the child had knocked it out. "Can I get up, please?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry again." Josuke rolled off of him and Kakyoin sat up but stayed on the floor.

"I apologize for Josuke, Kakyoin. My little brother just gets very excited." Holly then started tickling Josuke, which made him scream with laughter. Josuke was Holly's brother? She looked nearly forty, so he wasn't exactly sure how that was possible. Then again weirder things have occurred. Maybe he should just get used to bizarre things in this castle.

"It's all right. He just startled me." Kakyoin stood back up and brushed the dirt from his clothes. Holly gestured to the seat next to her for him to sit down as Josuke slid off of her lap and went down to pet the dog on the floor. She offered to get a plate of food from the kitchen, and he gratefully accepted. When she returned with his food, he ate like he hadn't had a meal in years. He glanced up from the plate and saw that Holly looked troubled when she sat back down.

"I also apologize for my son's behavior." The Demon was her son? Now that is even harder to believe. How could a woman who seems so nice, have raised a monster like that? "I first want to start by saying just how brave I think you are for making that deal. Secondly, Kakyoin, you have to believe me when I say, my son is a good kid, but something has been eating away at him lately. While I do not condone his actions, he hasn't been himself. I also believe you don't deserve any of this, but you just might be what he needs to help him." What the literal fuck. Kakyoin was left utterly speechless. She wasn't serious, was she? Luckily Avdol seemed to notice his distress.

"Lady Kujo, please." Avdol interrupted. "Let Kakyoin relax. He has been through enough already today."

"I know. I'm sorry. Either way, I know you don't want to be here, but I hope you enjoy your time with us." Kakyoin couldn't be mad at Holly; she was too sweet. However, he knew he could never truly be happy here, and whatever issues the Demon had, he certainly would not be the one to fix him. At least he could enjoy his meal.

"At the moment, why not think of yourself as a guest?" Joseph interjected.

"Exactly, he's not a prisoner. He's our guest." Polnareff added. Kakyoin's fork dropped with a clang on his plate, immediately silencing the room.

"Jean," Avdol cautioned, trying to avoid the conflict he sensed was growing. Kakyoin shot a glare at Polnareff and Joseph. Now, Holly's absurd proposition was one thing but calling him a guest rubbed him the wrong way. While everyone else might have been saying that to make him feel better or to clear up their guilt, it did nothing but make him even angrier. He was not going to sugarcoat this or lie to himself that this was a wonderful change. He would never do that.

"Not to ruin the mood or be a pessimist, but I would rather not think that," Kakyoin began. "I have no interest in pretending I'm something I'm not."

"We were only trying to help," Polnareff responded defensively as he rose from his seat. Only for Avdol to pull him back down.

"Well, you're not helping," Kakyoin snipped. He didn't mean to be mean, but he couldn't help it. "If anything, saying that makes it worse." He finished speaking with a mumble and began eating again.

"Look, we didn't mean any harm by it, kid." Kakyoin froze at Joseph's words. Kid was Hol Horse's special nickname for him, and anyone else calling him that was wrong. He gripped his fork hard, trying to ignore everyone talking.

"Isn't it better to think that, though?" Kakyoin flinched as Polnareff spoke from the seat beside him, much to Avdol's dismay. He was staring at Polnareff like he knew something bad was going to occur that he could not fix. "It's a whole lot better than being bitter about everything."

"I'd rather be bitter than sugarcoat the truth." Kakyoin tried to keep his voice calm, but the irritation was starting to slip through the cracks.

"Still, I will consider you a guest." Could this Polnareff guy not take a hint and leave him alone? "You're not a prisoner to me."

"Can we just drop this subject?" Kakyoin gritted through his teeth as he took another bite.

"Why?"

"Because none of you get it!" Kakyoin snapped and everyone faced him. "What point of, 'I'm not a guest' do you all not understand. I made a deal with him. My life for my father's." Tears started forming in his eyes and his breathing became shakey. "Guests are allowed to leave as they please. Guests don't feel as though they have sold their soul to a heartless Demon to keep the one person they love most safe. Guest's are free. I'm a prisoner here, and nothing will change that."

Kakyoin briskly stood up with a mumbled excuse, his plate halfway eaten. Polnareff tried following him out, but Avdol stopped him. At this moment, Kakyoin wanted to be alone forever. As he stumbled through the castle trying to find his room, he couldn't help but think back on what Joseph had said. He had been here for only a couple of hours, but he wasn't sure he could make it another minute. He missed home and desperately wanted to go back, but he couldn't. He had to stay for dad. That was the last thought he had before opening his room's door and letting sleep finally take him.

Well, it's now the holidays so I finally get time to write. I've actually had this in my drafts for a while but did not have the time to edit. Anyway, thank you all so much for your support.