The Hierophant's March

The Suite Life of Noriaki Kakyoin

The void was all Noriaki could see, until the piercing sound of a baby crying forced him to open his eyes. He found himself in what seemed to be a cave. "Where am I..." he thought. He started walking around the place, avoiding rocks that could pierce him from all angles if he wasn't careful enough. The cave became darker & darker the further he walked inside it. When he could no longer see, he called out his stand, Hierophant Green to light his way, & the green light of his spirit reflected on the water inside the cave. In the depth of the water, there was something that called Noriaki's attention, so he unraveled his stand to reach for it. It was something thin & rectangular. He grabbed it & pulled it towards him. It was a... Tarot card. He turned it around...

-... Oh, you've got to be kidding me...- Noriaki mumbled under his breath. He found his way towards the exit of the cave, only to find he was in some sort of amusements park. He turned around to see the exit of the cave was the door to a "Grim Reaper's Haunted Mansion". A mischievous laugh could be heard all around the park.

-Kakyoin Noriaki... You have always been quite the lone wolf, haven't you? Probably if you had died back there in the cave, no one would've tried to look for you... Hehehe, Lali Ho...- That high pitched voice reached Kakyoin from everywhere & nowhere at the same time.

-What do you want, you annoying little abortion? -Kakyoin sounded like this was the millionth time this happened. He had lost count, but they weren't that many times.

-Oh, come on! What's so wrong with having a little fun? Besides, you already know exactly why I'm here...

-Yeah, yeah, I'll be there in a minute, just...- Noriaki stretched & yawned- ... Give me five more minutes...

-... Kakyoin, you know I can't do that.

-Oh yeah? & who's gonna stop me? Not you, 'cause you're just a defenseless little- Before e could finish that phrase he felt something cold on his neck. From the dark depths from back inside the attraction, someone was holding some kind of blade to his neck. & before that person could do anything, Noriaki woke up.

-Ugh... I will strangle that baby when I get the chance. I swear to Him...- But he just sighed. If he did that, he would get in as much trouble with "Him" as that baby would if they killed him. His death would be certain. He sat up on his bed, the Egyptian cotton blanket sliding down his body, & rubbed his eyes. His life had completely changed in ways he couldn't have expected, all since that trip to Egypt with his parents three years ago. He still got chills from just thinking about how he met Him. He hated himself for being such a coward... But there was nothing to be done about it. He who recruited him had more power over him than himself, there was nothing he could do about that.

He dressed up & walked out of his room into the hallway. A lot of people lived in that giant mansion. His charisma was so strong most people wanted to stay as close to Him as possible. Though Noriaki didn't fall smoothly into any of these categories. There was a room next to his with the seventh tarot card on it. "'The Chariot', huh? They barely even use this room since they're always travelling. At least that's what Dan always says." he thought. He walked up to the end of the hallway, where there was a door with no signaling on it, & opened it.

-Mr. Pucci? It's daytime already. –Noriaki said into the darkness inside the room.

-Kakyoin? -The priest's deep voice didn't come from inside the room, but from Noriaki's back. He turned around surprised.

-Oh. Sorry, I didn't know you were awake already...

-It's fine. I'm a bit of an early bird anyways.

-Uh huh...- Noriaki was always taken aback from Pucci's behavior. He spent a lot of time with Him, though no one knows what they really do or talk about. Rumors spread fast between the mansion's walls: "Maybe they're together", "maybe Pucci will try to betray Him at some point. Not like he'll succeed though", "maybe they're just good friends", "maybe He is just manipulating him", "maybe they fuck or something, as if He didn't have enough of that already". "Maybe, maybe, maybe. As mere servants it's not our place to say. Put bluntly, it's none of our damn business anyways" was all Noriaki could think.