Chapter 1 – Emerald Reborn
A/N: Quick warning, guys. This is a story based on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which is a show with a lot of graphic violence and dark themes. If you were looking for a light-hearted story, check out Narancia's Revenge on my profile.
-=-oOo-=-
Noriaki "Tenmei" Kakyoin
Wielder of the Stand Heirophant Green
Born 1971Died 1989
His memory lives on in his friends' hearts.
-=-oOo-=-
Everything hurt.
His back felt like it had been broken in several places, his lungs ached as if he'd held his breath for an hour, and his head was splitting open with a migraine. What had happened to him? Where was he?
I died, didn't I? Am I in heaven?
Heaven was supposed to be a shining golden paradise above the clouds, filled with the ethereal songs of an angelic choir. What did Mom say when jiji had a heart attack…there's no pain in heaven, no suffering. Everyone is healthy and happy.
Then why do I feel like I was run over by an elephant?
If this was heaven, Noriaki was supremely disappointed in it. Instead of angelic harmonies, he heard rustles and moans, like a group of tortured souls. He cracked an eyelid open, letting out a tiny groan. Noriaki's eyes saw a dim stone room with a high ceiling. So not heaven then. With a sigh, he closed his eyes. I don't think I did enough bad stuff to end up in hell…?
Something rustled in the darkness. "The young master! Yes! The young master is awake!" a thin, raspy voice exclaimed, cutting through the quiet rustles like a rusty knife. "Come! The young master awakes!" Noriaki heard many feet shuffling towards him. He felt someone bend over his body – someone who obviously cared very little for personal hygiene.
"Young master!" the putrid being cried. Noriaki painfully pulled his eyes open again. They adjusted to the darkness quickly, allowing him to make out a lumpy, misshapen face. Shriveled eyes rolled in wide and sunken sockets. Great green boils pocked the skin.
Yep, this was definitely not heaven.
"Young master!" the toothless zombie hissed again.
Noriaki tried moving his cracked lips. His mouth was dryer than the Egyptian desert he'd crossed, but he managed to force out, "Who…are…you?" Even the three words had required massive effort to make.
"Save uuuus…." another creature gurgled. A crowd of the horrid zombies had formed around Noriaki's prone body, jostling forward as the rank smell of their bodies swept over the room. Painfully turning his head, Noriaki noticed that he was lying in some kind of ritual circle painted in… oh God, is that blood? Whatever that rusty-red line was, it kept the zombies from coming any further. Come to think of it, most of the ones outside the bloody circle were more deformed than the one "tending" to him. Is this one special?
"We are the servants of the Most Exalted One…" the zombie leader rasped. "As his chosen favorite, you will be the one to save us from this cursed fate!" He leaned closer, rancid breath spilling from his toothless mouth. "We serve DIO and DIO alone!"
Servants of Dio? Noriaki gritted his teeth. There is no rest from him, even in death! So, they will serve him from beyond the grave? Truly the accursed loyalty of the fleshbuds is absolute.
"Our Lord has fallen, but with his blood you are reborn!" the zombie continued ecstatically. "You are his reincarnation, the chosen one! You were chosen to redeem us from these rotting bodies! It was fate that led us to find you! We will strengthen your body with our own blood. Then we shall take our revenge on those who unjustly slew our Lord! We will wipe the accursed Joestar bloodline from the face of the earth."
"Kill…Joe..stars?" Noriaki forced three more syllables out. These zombies were dimwitted indeed if they thought he'd be convinced to do that. He owed the Joestars. They had saved him from a lifetime of being brainwashed by Dio; all of them had loyal and loving hearts. If he could move, he would kill the zombie right then and there for saying such traitorous things.
"Yes…" The disgusting zombie grinned toothlessly. "You will be the hand of justice. You will restore our glory."
Never, Noriaki thought woozily. Black clouds were starting to gather at the corners of his vision, and he fought to stay awake. "Never…join…you…" he managed to rasp defiantly. The clouds crowded closer; his eyelids fluttered. The zombie's figure loomed over him like a decaying colossus, laughing grotesquely.
"In time you will, Kakyoin Noriaki. In time you will."
-=-oOo-=-
The next time he gained consciousness, he was lying on a dusty four-poster bed which had sheets stained with blood. His shredded green school uniform had been taken away and replaced with a dingy black robe that he really hoped hadn't been Dio's. He felt more alert and awake. The overarching pain was gone. He didn't feel like everything was burning off anymore.
Noriaki sat up, groaning as he remembered. Joestar-san! JoJo…Polnareff-san…Did they get my message? Dio can stop time…wait. He's not here. The zombies said – those who slew our Lord…that means that Joestar-san got my message! Dio died…and Holly-san is safe.
She had such a kind heart…she reminded me of my own mom. I hope she did get better.
Experimentally, Noriaki twitched his fingers. They were sore, but not unbearable. He tried moving his elbow. It was no more painful than a strained muscle. Perhaps he'd just been dreaming about the zombies and Dio and everything.
"You're awake, Kakyoin." Someone walked out of the shadows confidently, not possessing the shambling gait of a zombie. A beehive hairstyle perched on the man's head, and he was wearing gaudy golden earrings emblazoned with the initials T.D. Kakyoin knew this man.
"D'arby-san," he coughed angrily.
"A pleasure to see you again, Noriaki Kakyoin." Telence D'arby pulled an old rickety chair from the corner and drew it up to the bed. "You're thinking about attacking me, aren't you?" He paused. Kakyoin said nothing. "I thought so. Well, don't bother. You're not in a good enough state to do anything."
"You bastard. You did something to me, didn't you?"
"I?" Telence smirked. "No, not I. Kakyoin, you were brought back to life by the fleshlings, as you might suspect. When Dio died, the fleshbuds he implanted in his underlings grew out of control, warping and twisting their bodies and minds. Some of them, in their distorted madness, found your corpse on the Cairo rooftop; they brought you to the bridge where Dio's blood was scattered in the hopes that his blood would somehow revive you with Dio's vengeful spirit. You'd be as strong as their old master."
"Then they were wrong."
D'arby sneered, crossing his legs. "Kakyoin, do you know how vampires are created?"
"Joestar-san spoke of ancient masks, crafted by a lost civilization. They were activated by blood, transforming the wearer into a powerful vampire, but vampires could also create other vampires…how is this relevant to the conversation?" Noriaki asked suspiciously.
"Oh, come, Kakyoin!" D'arby scoffed. "You mean you still haven't guessed what I've been hinting at?!" He leaned closer, showing pearly white teeth. "No Stand has the power to revive people from the dead! You're alive, right?" he asked mockingly.
A cold shudder ran down the back of Noriaki's neck, the paralyzing realization flooding over him like icy fire. "No." He pushed himself upright, probing his teeth with his tongue, feeling the sharp points of extended canines. "No. No. No!" With trembling fingers, he tore off the robe, staring down at his stomach. The only trace of his fatal wound was a large, pink starburst-shaped scar across his abdomen. "It's not…I can't be!"
"I believe the answer to the question was yes," D'arby said.
"No!" Noriaki clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug deeply into his palms. He began to hyperventilate, kicking off the bedsheets and desperately searching for something…anything to prove him otherwise. Dim light filtering through a cracked window high above gleamed off a silver pitcher. Struggling to his feet, he stumbled towards it. His fingers brushed the handle and wrapped around it, lifting it close to his face as blood dripped from his palms. Frantically, he peered into the dark reflection.
A pair of cold crimson orbs stared back at him, glowing mockingly. The pitcher slipped from Noriaki's grasp and clattered against the floor. He lifted his hands only to see that the marks his nails had made were barely bleeding; the wounds closed before his eyes. The world had slipped away and only he was there in the blackness, the unknown hollow land of horror.
He felt complete revulsion towards what he had become. "I should've died… why was I resurrected? Anything is better than this monstrosity – this demonic existence!" Noriaki stumbled backwards, collapsing onto the bed. "D'arby-san! Why do this? Haven't you tormented me enough?"
"Kakyoin, I was in the hospital for two days after Star Platinum threw me into the ceiling. The fleshlings took your body almost immediately after you died. Why do you think you're here now? Kujo and Joestar wouldn't have left you behind; they'd have taken you back to Japan for a proper burial. I was horrified that they did this!" D'arby stood up. "I should go. I'll send up a fleshling later with food for you."
"No blood," Noriaki mumbled, trying to wrap his head around the situation. I'm not ready to reject my humanity yet. He felt nauseous even thinking about consuming blood; it was like siphoning away the life of another being.
D'arby opened the door, becoming a silhouette against a rectangle of blinding white. "You must have blood eventually or you'll die, Kakyoin. Don't foolishly shun it; you'll only crave it more and eventually end up doing something you'll regret. I'll ask you again: shall I tell them to send you any blood?"
"No blood," Noriaki repeated numbly.
"Very well." The door closed with a final sounding click, like the lid being lowered onto a coffin. D'arby's rhythmic footsteps receded away as Noriaki stared up at the ceiling. He watched motes of dust swirl in the single beam of light, making mesmerizing constellations.
"No blood," he whispered again. "D'arby, do you hear me? I wager my soul that I won't take blood."
-=-oOo-=-
A/N: Hi. I've been interested in this concept for a while. However, when I looked for Vampire!Kak stories (both here and on AO3, though I generally dislike that site – it confuses me) the majority of what I found was JotaKak yaoi smut.
I don't ship JotaKak.
I definitely don't enjoy reading smut.
So, ta-dah! Here's a story that's safe for work and is about Kakyoin reborn. As always, drop a review if you liked it!
