Dear readers, if you thought I was done exploiting Kakyoin's heartbreak potential, let me assure you, I'm only getting started.

For Noriaki Kakyoin reality had always been a complicated concept.

Hierophant Green was as real to him as the air he breathed but clearly it was not the same for everyone else. When he was a child, he had tried desperately to convince his parents of his existence only to be reassured that he would start school soon and would not need to make up imaginary friends anymore. He had even come to believe that for a while, until his first day of school rolled around and he found himself being followed by the ghostly presence into every classroom. He had waited patiently for the stand to disappear, going as far as to ignore its presence but its green shadow always remained floating somewhere in the corner of his eye. His first weeks in class were spent furiously pretending that he didn't see it. After all, none of the other children seemed to be bothered by anything like that. For all he knew, they had shed their imaginary friends a long time ago and he was just being really slow about it.

When he actually mustered up the courage to ask his homeroom teacher for advice, he was met with the same reaction as his parents'.

He didn't understand much of what had happened next; only that he hadn't been particularly fond of it. There had been nervous whispers and awkward meetings and his mother staring at him with worried eyes while Hierophant's soft body coiled across the room like long green streamer as if mocking everyone who refused to acknowledge him. His teacher repeated words he had heard before like "overactive imagination" and "trouble socializing" and many other long winded expressions he wasn't old enough to understand but which tended to pop up disturbingly often, whenever the conversation veered towards him. Even back then, he suspected they could not mean anything good.

His parents had tried his best to help him or at least, that's what he kept hearing from his mother when she spoke to her friends on the phone, thinking him to be asleep. He remembered spending some time in a room with pale blue walls and lots of tattered toys talking to a young woman with gentle eyes and an even gentler voice. She spoke to him softly and condescendingly, asking if he was making friends at school and whether he liked it but he had never been sure what to tell her, so many times he just ended up sitting there in silence, watching his green companion hover impatiently over her shoulder. The woman was never interested in talking about Hierophant, only about him so as far as he was concerned, it was all pointless anyway. It took him about two months to figure out that if he gave her the answers she wanted to hear he would be free. That was also when he first began to suspect that reality had layers.

The children had been a whole other story. Some of them gladly accepted his stand and even described their own invisible companions in great detail. He had been really excited at first but he quickly realized that they were just playing along and got the same confused and disturbed look on their faces then they got bored of pretending. In a way, they were easier to deal with than the adults since most of them just chose not to speak to him again and he was fine with that. They existed on a different plane of reality, a loud, crowded plane that exhausted him and that he had no interest in. Their eyes stared right through Hierophant even when the stand's movements displaced the air as he floated by. Watching them dismiss that gentle breeze sometimes made his mind crackle with frustration. It felt like the entire world was playing a practical joke on him and was dead set on keeping it going. It was the fear of his own anger that drove him to drop that attitude eventually. If his stand was some sort of superpower, he had all the makings of a supervillain.

By the time he had reached middle school, he had learnt how to blend in, narrowly missing the dreaded "weirdo" label that other kids were burdened by. He learned how to participate in conversations, how to laugh at jokes and how to be polite and helpful when it mattered. He learned how to ignore the presence at the back of his mind when he didn't need it but in the meantime, his invisible companion had been developing and never too happy to be shoved aside. Kakyoin had been elated to find out that the stand could now interact with the physical world. That brought problems of a different kind since, when he got distracted, he would find Hierophant tearing up sheets of paper forcing him to start on his class assignments all over again. Those calls for attention were exasperating but he blamed them on the restlessness that overcame him from time to time as he pondered over his peculiar situation. If he was indeed, living on a different plane of existence, why hadn't he ever met anyone else there? What if there was no one else?

By that point Hierophant would usually coil around him like a bright green ribbon, his head hovering right above his shoulder. Kakyoin was never sure whether he was trying to comfort him or whether he was just afraid of being left behind. The thought usually made him feel incredibly guilty for even considering the possibility. After all, he had loving parents and the rest of the world to interact with while Hierophant only had him.

It was during one of those moments, watching the stand play absentmindedly with a rubber ball, when he got what at the time he thought was the cleverest idea he'd ever had. No matter how blind everyone around him was, they could not argue with cold, hard evidence.

The next day had come too slowly for his liking. He had spent the night tossing and turning, planning the revelation meticulously, only to find his plans in disarray when the morning came. By the time he woke up, his father was usually gone and his mother had a thousand things to attend to so getting her attention was like getting a pre-programmed robot to stop and smell the flowers. He had walked into the school in a daze, his mind nearly bursting with different scenarios of triumph and acknowledgment. He pictured the shock on his classmate's faces and a choir of profuse apologies. There was a part of him, a calm, rational part that told him this was highly unlikely but for the first time ever, it was drowned out by giddiness and excitement. By the time recess was coming to an end, he was so sure of his impending victory that the little voice of reason had all but disappeared.

That was when Himiko had lagged behind to look for her missing cap.

Kakyoin had spotted the bright red cloth under one of the benches ten minutes ago but had refrained from telling her. He had felt a stab of guilt when he saw her turn every pocket in her bag inside out, her lower lip quivering a bit. Seeing her sad always made him feel funny inside. They had talked on occasion and even shared a quick milk tea on a particularly hot April day. He did know much about her, only that she was a kind soul who liked budgies, got along with everyone and always had a bright smile on her face. Her brown eyes looked right through Hierophant as well but unlike with other people, they looked directly at him and when he spoke, she listened to every word. Before walking into the classroom that day, he had already decided that he would tell her first. He had told himself that it was because she would be one most likely to understand but even his naïve twelve-year-old self knew that was a lie. Himiko was the person he wanted the most to impress. If she believed him, the rest of the school could fade away for all he cared.

He sat on the bench watching the rest of the crowd disappear behind school doors. Hierophant floated behind him, swaying impatiently, clutching the red cap like it was a wild animal struggling to run away. Kakyoin had to stop him from tearing it up in his nervous twitches but he did not have the heart to blame his stand. Most of his own feelings ended up affecting his behavior as well and if Hierophant was jittery it was undeniably his fault. He watched Himiko gradually approach his bench, his mouth going drier by the second. He had no idea what to say, every clever phrase he had crafted during class seemed to have vanished from his head and the ones that didn't sounded ridiculous. He was still deliberating when he saw her eyes meet his across the playground. The girl stopped her frantic search and waved a quick greeting at him.

Her smile froze on her face as Hierophant slithered towards her, holding the cap in his extended hand.

For a few moments she stood still, her stare fixed on the cap floating in the stand's invisible grasp. Her right arm twitched as if trying to reach for her treasure but the rest of her body jerked, holding her back. Her gaze, wide and unblinking, drifted away as if looking for a logical explanation to what she was witnessing and focused on him. Her mouth twisted in a futile attempt to speak but all that came out was the beginning of a scream.

Kakyoin's heart dropped to his feet. He jumped up from the bench, his mind yelling at his stand to return to him but the gesture just made Himiko stagger backwards and trip over her feet. Another scream threatened to escape her throat and became a whimper instead as her eyes continued to dart madly from the cap to him. Her terrified face bore a look of helpless confusion, tears streaming in rivulets over her pale cheeks. When Hierophant left the cap on the ground and slithered back, she did not make a single attempt to reach for it. Her lips quivered again, no coherent words passed them.

Still hoping to calm her down, Kakyoin took another step forward, only to see her scramble to her feet, shaking like a leaf. Slowly, she backed away towards the monkey bars, not daring to take her eyes off him, dangerously close to tripping at every step she took. He watched her in a numb state, as reality around him frayed at the edges. The perfect scenario he had built up had collapsed like a house of cards and he had absolutely no idea how to fix it. He tried to tell her not to be afraid, that Hierophant would not harm her but the words had become stuck in his throat, just like in that room with pale blue walls. In the end, his words did not, could not matter. His actions spoke much louder than his thoughtless childhood self could ever hope to.

He had just made a horrible mistake.

The voice of reason that he had been suppressing all day came back, screaming at him to stop. He had not spent all those years trying to appear normal to throw it all away in twenty seconds. He closed his eyes and stepped back feeling Hierophant's presence melt away. As if on cue, Himiko finally snapped out of her paralyzed state, sniffed back her tears and broke into a run. She slammed into the school door, forcing it open so hard it wobbled on its hinges and disappeared in the dark hallway. When it swung shut with a loud clatter, Kakyoin finally allowed himself to breathe again. Only then he realized there were tears streaming down his face as well.

Himiko never came near him again.

In fact, he did not see her the following day or the day after that. When they finally passed each other in a hallway, he found out she had changed classes. She had been walking with a group of friends and had huddled close to one of them immediately after spotting him. He watched her disappear with a hollow heart, not sure how to react or how to explain himself. He had tried approaching her only to be blocked by a classmate or a friend; he had even tried waiting for her outside of school but she was never alone and her eyes acquired that glassy, unfocused tinge whenever she looked at him. She never spoke of what had happened to anyone, probably to avoid sounding crazy but in a way, that only made matters worse. Rumors spread like wildfire and there was a time when the entire school was giving him weird looks and conversations ground to a halt when he walked into a room. He tried to play the oblivious fool, trapped between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't let them think whatever they wanted but even if someone confronted him about it, there was no explanation he could give them that would not get him institutionalized.

High school had been a welcome change of scenery as well as a new beginning. In the end, he never got to talk to Himiko again, though she seemed to regain her usual cheerful demeanor after a while. Sometimes he wondered if she would ever be able to forget the entire incident and the thought filled him with guilt and shame. He had been an impulsive idiot to try proving Hierophant's existence when he was still a kid but the idea grew less and less appealing after every birthday. Blood-curdling terror was not the reaction he had expected back then, but with time, it started making perfect sense. Of course she had freaked out, any twelve-year old would have, as would any adult for that matter. If being raised on comic books and television had taught him anything is that superpowers were not meant to be shared and with good reason. Even with physical proof there was no way to do that without risking being feared, thought insane or, in the worst case scenario, dissected for science.

Eventually, he did the only thing he could. He moved on. No one would ever see the green stand and that was okay. His solitary plane of existence was enough and he would get used to living in it. People with invisible companions simply did not fit in the sensible, logical world outside, no matter how warm Hierophant's arms felt around him or how comfortable his head felt on his shoulder while the yellow eyes followed the lines of a book in his hands.

It was half past seven in the morning and the airport bustled with life. A voice heavily charged with static was announcing something loudly through the speakers but Kakyoin was barely listening. The warm styrofoam coffee cup between his palms held his whole attention as he breathed in the strong aroma. Somewhere deep in his mind a warm glow began to spread.

He raised his hands to his forehead and scratched at the spot below his hairline where the fleshbud had been not twenty four hours ago. It was still tender, even though the memories associated with it were slowly beginning to fade. He wondered whether that was part of Dio's plan in case some of his victims managed to survive its removal. He tried to recall the events of the previous day, with the possessed nurse and Jotaro's fall down the high school stairs but they seemed vague and foggy, like they had happened in a dream. The first clear memory that popped into his mind was that of impassive green eyes staring at him from above in quiet concentration.

The same green eyes were looking at him now from under a wide brimmed cap. Jotaro shifted on the plastic seat next to him and muttered, "Stop that; it's only going to make it worse."

Kakyoin shrugged but pulled his hand away before replying, "I think it was already as bad as it could get."

Jotaro did not answer, instead choosing to bury his face in a crumpled Sea Life magazine and ignore him completely. Taking the hint, Kakyoin looked away and sipped his drink letting the caffeine rush dissipate his clouded thoughts. He had not known Jotaro for long but he already had a feeling that he was not the type that would engage in small talk to pass the time. He did not mind that at all, especially when the same person had just saved his life at the risk of his own and he still had no idea how to deal with that. He had not been lying when he said that he was not sure why he decided to join them in their dangerous adventure. He only knew that he had no regrets about it.

Jotaro's feet tapped an irregular rhythm on the tiled floor. Kakyoin had the feeling that he had been stuck on the same page for minutes but maybe he was just restless. He knew better not to press him about it but before he could even try, a deep, familiar voice called his name from somewhere up ahead. He looked up to see Abdul and Joseph Joestar walking towards them bearing identical puzzled expressions. He nodded back politely, only to see the tall Egyptian's eyebrows rise even higher when he stopped in front of him.

"Is everything all right?"

Abdul's voice dropped to a low tone as his dark eyes narrowed. Surprised by the unexpected shift in his demeanor, Kakyoin blinked and nodded carefully again. "Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"

"Well…"

This time it was Joseph who spoke in the same low, inconspicuous tone. Jotaro lowered the magazine, focusing on something behind his back. A familiar green shadow floated in the corner or Kakyoin's vision.

"What…?"

He felt Hierophant coalesce into being before he finished turning around. The stand was floating in the air, partially uncoiled but keeping still, looking at the rest of the group with mild curiosity. A white hand rested on his shoulder and Kakyoin had to stop himself from meeting its touch by sheer force of habit.

He frowned as he looked into the slatted eyes, unreadable for the first time in his life. He did not remember summoning Hierophant, in fact, he did not remember doing so since the previous morning. Occasionally, he would just let the stand float around him like an invisible extension of his physical self but this time it had to be different. There were eyes that did not look through him anymore and ironically, that meant they both had to learn to be discreet.

He shook his head and mentally ordered Hierophant away but his invisible companion did not obey immediately. For a few moments, it remained hovering in place, yellow eyes slowly addressing every member of the group with a long appraising look. Eventually, it caved in to his master's words and vanished from sight.

Kakyoin sighed and turned back towards Joseph and Abdul, "Sorry about that, he's never done that before."

Jotaro's grandfather nodded quietly, staring at the spot there Hierophant had been floating a second ago. Kakyoin could not help but notice that both his daughter and grandson shared the same green eyes.

"Never done that before, you say…" Joseph paused, glancing around the busy airport. "You should pay more attention to that, maybe your stand is trying to tell you something."

Kakyoin did not reply, still focused on Hierophant's last protesting echoes as he melted back into his mind. Regardless of how much he respected Joseph, the man had only known his stand for a couple of months while he had been aware of his before he had been aware of himself. He shook his head and sipped his rapidly growing cold coffee, "Hierophant doesn't keep anything from me, Mr. Joestar. If he had sensed something, I'd know."

Joseph muttered a quiet agreement, still scanning the crowd. Kakyoin followed his gaze, feeling paranoia setting in. Maybe he was right, maybe there was someone on their track already. Dio seemed to have minions everywhere after all. He had been one of them not a day ago.

"Maybe Hierophant just likes company."

Abdul's words carried a slight hint of amusement, enough to make the gears in Kakyoin's head clash to a stop. He turned to face the dark-skinned man, who took notice of his unspoken bewilderment and continued, "Think about it, have you been around other stand users before?"

Kakyoin shook his head as he felt Hierophant stir nervously in his mind. "No, never."

Abdul gave him a small smile and shrugged, "Then it's probably just that. Your stand has had you all to itself until now. Give it time to get used to other people and it'll be fine."

Kakyoin assented politely and looked away trying to prevent embarrassment from creeping into his carefully blank expression. It had only now occurred to him that Hierophant's unusual restlessness might have been due to actual joy and the thought only made the gears in his head jam hopelessly again. He remained quiet for a while, nursing the cold coffee in his hands until Jotaro's hand tapped him on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's go."

He nodded and finished his drink in one long gulp. A soft, glowing sensation spread through him, warmer and brighter than any caffeine rush. Somewhere in the immaterial realm, where only his stand could venture safely, he felt a thin layer of reality shatter like a glass pane. His solitary plane of existence had just collapsed around him and he was not sure how to react to that, only that there was nothing in the world that could stop him from following Jotaro Kujo through the crowd towards the airport gate.

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