TW: Starvation
Kakyoin felt the wooden door behind him. He must've fallen asleep while he was crying. How many times had that happened while he'd been here? Probably more instances than he'd like to admit. He was starting to think this would be a regular occurrence during his stay at the awful castle and its insufferable master.
Well, he couldn't stay on the floor forever. Not to mention this room. The bastard was right about one thing. He was extremely hungry. The other residents attempted to make him eat by leaving trays of food outside, but he didn't even touch them. When that didn't work, they tried talking to him. He was still awestruck by the Demon coming out of his cave to coax him out. Why had he come? It wasn't like he cared. Besides, what had the Demon expected? For Kakyoin to come out when he asked? That everything would be fine? Or they wouldn't fight? Maybe everyone here in the castle was delusional. Including himself.
What was he thinking? He couldn't continue starving himself because of his own stubborn pride. His body was certainly starting to hate him for not eating. He had a massive headache and his stomach felt like it was consuming him from the inside out. His body just felt off. He needed something. He could not keep this up, even if he wanted to. Gradually, he rose from the floor and cracked open the door that hadn't been used in days.
He released the breath he didn't know he was holding once the door quietly shut behind him. The hallway was still dark with small lamps being the sole source of light. It was likely still night. He would have to be careful going to the kitchen. The last thing he wanted was to trip and fall flat on his face. Hopefully, he wouldn't run into anyone while he was out and about. He really didn't want that awkward interaction. All he had to do was go to the kitchen, grab a few things to eat for now and later, and hide away in the room again. There was one problem; how was he going to find the kitchen again? He wished he had paid more attention to Avdol instead of looking for a place to escape. Surely he could find it. Probably.
After stumbling around the castle for approximately ten minutes, he finally found the dining room. To be honest, the dark was not his friend, but once he recognized the areas Avdol had pointed out, he eventually came to the double doors of the dining room. He sighed in relief and snuck in. He didn't know why he was being so cautious, it wasn't like anyone would be up at this unreasonable hour. The kitchen was right across from the dining room. He could see it through the serving hatch in the wall. He briskly walked over and practically salivated when he saw the food in the giant cupboard. He grabbed a couple of fruits and biscuits along with a can of preserved jelly. It was not much, but it would do the job for now. He eventually found a plate and utensils and allowed himself to eat. It might have been the best-tasting meal he'd ever had. He paced himself though to avoid becoming sick later.
He thought about taking some food to his room, so he could avoid roaming the castle every day and interacting with the other residents but decided against it. He wasn't going to stay holed up in that room all the time. He had to leave it sometimes. After he finished his meal, he put everything up and started retreating back to his room. He was stopped after seeing the living room lamp lights on. How could anyone be up this late? He guessed it was around two in the morning.
"I'm assuming it did not go well, did it?" It was faint, but he could hear the whispers from the room without having to approach it.
"I'm afraid not Lady Kujo." That was Avdol, Kakyoin could tell that much, probably talking to Miss Holly.
"Considering the screaming I heard near our room, it went far from well." Polnareff was there too. "Then again, mix his bad temperament and the kid's stubbornness, and you're going to get screaming as the outcome."
"That bad temperament is what's going to get him in trouble. Why don't you ever address that Holly?" Joseph must also be in the room.
"That's very true," Polnareff chimed in. "And with all due respect Miss Holly, we're never going to return to normal if he doesn't learn to control it."
"Jean, please. Lady Kujo is just as tired as the rest of us."
"It's quite all right Avdol. I don't know if there is really anything I can do. I am his mother. I can sense the curse changing in him more than anyone. We all know he was better before he-" Holly did not continue. Kakyoin could tell there were probably tears in her eyes. "Sorry. I got a little carried away there."
"Listen, we can't all lose hope yet," Joseph encouraged. "Let's all remember we have a way of breaking the curse now." Kakyoin was starting to get confused. A curse? That's impossible, magic didn't exist. At least, he thought it didn't. Then again, he thought a lot of things didn't exist before journeying to this place.
"What? The boy?" Polnareff laughed. Kakyoin did not like where this was going. "Please. What makes you possibly think that? Even if by some miracle the kid could potentially free us, he and the boy can't go five seconds without fighting."
"Just give it some time, Jean." Avdol was coming to the rescue as usual. "Kakyoin needs a little while to get acclimated."
"I've given it time, Mohammed. I've given it a hundred years. What about you, huh? You're not doing much better." A hundred years? Just what was going on? And how was he the solution?
"Jean," Avdol spoke low, almost threatening. "We are not discussing this here. We are all struggling and we just have to have hope. That's the only way we are going to overcome this."
"Well, what if the boy doesn't fix everything like all of you think he will? What then?"
"I don't know." Avdol sounded lost. Was he really that important? "I suppose we continue to wait until we have a full-proof way of breaking the curse." Kakyoin didn't want to hear anymore. It was just too much after his fight with the Demon earlier. He backed up and hit the wall. In doing so, he knocked down a painting that fell with a resounding thud.
"Hey!" Jean shouted. "Who's there?" Crap. He was not in the mood to explain he eavesdropped on their conversation. Especially to Polnareff. He had a feeling that guy wasn't overly fond of him. Therefore he did the most logical thing he could think of with little sleep. Run in a random direction and hope for the best. He thinks he headed toward the west end of the castle, but he couldn't tell. He just needed out of there as quickly as possible. He ran up a large set of stairs and down the hallway to the left of them. Ultimately, he stopped to catch his breath when the hall branched off again. This area of the castle was more unkempt than the rest. It was almost like no one came up here anymore. Maybe he could hide here for a long while. At least until tensions died down.
He decided to go left again and found that this hall was even worse. It looked like a wild animal had been let loose. There were pieces of wallpaper missing and places where the walls looked punched in. He was pretty sure there was a hole by the door at the end of the hall. He knew he should turn around now. Go back to the safety of the room and come out later. But some adventurous part of him wanted to keep exploring and find out what could've occurred here. So against his better judgement, he continued.
He was most intrigued by the paintings decorating the hall. Or what looked like the remains of a few. They were presumably the old royal families that used to rule the village. He mostly glanced at a few, none of them particularly caught his interest. He then saw one with a face ripped out of the canvas. It was an older man, probably the king, and two young boys, or one young boy and what was left of the other. It appeared as though that part of the painting had been mutilated in every way possible. The face of the boy was gone, and it seemed as though someone punched the picture many times.
At the bottom of the painting was a tiny plaque to identify everyone. The inscription read: His majesty King George Joestar, with Prince Jonathan and-. The rest had been thoroughly scratched out. Whoever the other boy was, it looked like someone wanted to wipe him out of existence. What could he have done? Unless. King Joestar and Prince Jonathan. Those were the royalty from the legend. Could the missing boy be Prince Dio? It was still so jarring to know that the story was indeed real. He only wished he had actually finished reading the tale.
Kakyoin shook his head. He could tell the lack of sleep was getting to him. He probably should head back to his room soon. Though it couldn't hurt to explore just a little more. As he kept looking at the portraits, one other stood out to him. It was another family portrait, but this time he recognized the subjects. It was a beautiful painting of the family, with Joseph and Suzie standing proudly to the right and, to the left, Holly sitting on an ornate chair with Josuke on her lap. What amazed him was the person in the middle of them all was smiling. It was faint, but there was a smile. He scarcely recognized the Demon. He didn't think the Demon could smile. It was strange, and a minuscule part of Kakyoin wished he'd smile more often.
The Demon was significantly different in this picture. He looked happy for once. He also was extremely regal. Kakyoin couldn't help but think he looked an awful lot like Prince Jonathan. There was also a crown on his head. He was confused. He knew the Demon was probably outcast royalty, but just how high did he rank? Though there was a more important question. How did this sweet-looking boy become the vile monster he was now? He decided to read the inscription: Prince Jotaro's 17th Birthday, 1889. That was a hundred years ago. So Polnareff hadn't been exaggerating, but how…
Kakyoin was befuddled by this whole situation. He had to get his facts straight, but that would have to wait until later. He needed to sleep. Though he felt an inclination to see what was behind that door. Maybe there would be more clues that could help him. What could it hurt?
After he had crept through the door, he immediately regretted his decision. It looked as if a tornado had ripped through the room. There was broken and splintered furniture everywhere. A person could hardly walk. The curtains were torn, and the windows he could see were boarded shut. The bed in the center of the room seemed to be the only thing not completely decimated. He even saw glass glittering on the scratched-up floor. How did anyone come in here and not get injured? He then found the culprit of the myriad of pieces. All around the room were shattered mirrors. There were around twenty of them, all broken beyond repair. He needed to get out of this room and quickly. He shouldn't be there. He feared if stayed any longer he would share a similar fate with those mirrors. He turned around to leave but hit something hard and cold.
"What do you think you're doing here?" It was then and there that he realized who's room he'd stumbled upon. Now he had to deal with the consequences of entering it. He shifted his gaze up and was met by the Demon's red eyes scowling at him. They practically glowed in the darkness of the room. "Well?"
"I-" He had to think quickly. Though he wasn't exactly sure how he would get out of this situation. "I just got l-lost and was trying to find my room again."
"Uh-huh." The Demon did not seem convinced. He crossed his arms and continued eyeing Kakyoin. His voice was alarmingly calm when he spoke. "And just what possessed you to come into this room, when it was clearly off-limits?"
"It was?" Kakyoin's voice must've raised an octave as he lied. "Sorry, that was my bad for not realizing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just-" As Kakyoin tried to go past, the Demon seized his arm and jerked him back.
"Really? The hole in the wall wasn't a dead giveaway?" The Demon came closer and Kakyoin backed up farther. "Why do I have a feeling you're lying?"
"Look, I'm sorry for coming in, all right. Now, will you please let me go back to my room?" The Demon didn't listen, he just kept coming closer. Kakyoin was out of options at this point. He was panicking and tried to scramble back more. Unfortunately, he lost his footing and fell into the sea of glass on the floor. He felt his palm get sliced on a particularly large shard. "Itai!" He pulled his hand to his chest and cringed when he felt blood seep through his shirt.
On the bright side, the Demon stopped approaching. He halted dead in his tracks. Did he look, concerned? Kakyoin didn't think the Demon cared about him. He instantly found he was mistaken as concern transformed into hunger. In a split second, he felt his back land on silk sheets. Just how fast was the Demon? He opened his eyes to see the Demon's face mere centimeters away. He was utterly terrifying. If there was one word to describe him at the moment, it would be feral. The Demon looked like a ravenous animal, and Kakyoin was his prey.
"You know, I've been a major asshole haven't I?" Kakyoin was confused. The Demon was now smiling, but much like how his voice sounded, there was something very wrong under the surface. "I'm sure you hate my guts. Don't worry though, I also despise myself." Kakyoin began shaking. He didn't like anything about this. The Demon's voice sounded manic. Though Kakyoin couldn't disagree with what the Demon was saying. Kakyoin did hate his guts and wanted nothing more to go home.
"I'm sorry for invading your space," Kakyoin tried even though his teeth were chattering. "I won't come back here again, I swear. Please just-" Kakyoing attempted to kick the Demon off, but he just put more weight onto Kakyoin's body, effectively locking him in place.
"Oh don't apologize, dear boy." The Demon just brought his face closer. "If anything I should be thanking you."
"What?" Kakyoin was shocked. "What did I do?"
"You're a lifesaver y'know that?" The Demon placed his head beside Kakyoin's neck and breathed out a shaky sigh that sent a shudder down Kakyoin's spine. "Because of you, I don't have to starve anymore," He whispered directly into Kakyoin's ear making his skin crawl. Kakyoin finally realized what irked him about this whole situation. The Demon was reminding him exactly of Dio. The fake sincerity. The creepy smiles. The hungry red eyes. It was all Dio. Kakyoin had to do something and fast. He felt so helpless, but he had a feeling if he stayed here in this castle, he would die.
"Please, stop." Kakyoin whimpered as he tried struggling. The Demon didn't pay him any attention and went back to staring at his neck. "Stop." This time it was louder and more urgent. He felt breath on his neck and kicked as he yelled. "Yamero!" Kakyoin didn't speak Japanese much, but if he was in deep distress he reverted back to it. Maybe it was for comfort. Convinced he wouldn't be able to escape the Demon's grasp, he squeezed his eyes shut. For some reason though, the Demon rapidly pulled away. Kakyoin looked up and saw repulsion on the Demon's face. It was like he'd been burned.
Kakyoin didn't waste this opportunity and bolted to the door. Broken glass be damned. He didn't spare the Demon one last glance. Fuck the deal. He couldn't stay here any longer. He would be killed if he did. Honestly, he would rather take his chances with the potential wolves in the woods. He dashed through the main hall and bumped into Avdol.
"Kakyoin! It's so good to see you. Are you feeling better?" Kakyoin didn't respond and kept running. "Wait! Where are you going? And why are you bleeding?"
"Ask your maniac of a Prince," Kakyoin spat back. "I'm not staying here so he can kill me." With that, he burst through the doors and immediately ran towards the stable for Hierophant. The horse reared up in surprise at Kakyoin's franticness, but it appeared that someone had been feeding him during his stay. That was reassuring. He swiftly mounted and grabbed the reigns. "C'mon Hierophant. We're getting out of this place." They soon rode headfirst into the woods, and Kakyoin was convinced that whatever horrors awaited them there, would be welcome friends compared to the Demon.
I'M BACK! I am finally getting a break and should be able to update more. I've missed writing so I'm very excited for the next couple of weeks. Anyway, thank you for reading and for your support. It always makes my day.