A Torn Journal - Noriaki Kakyoin - Status: Alive

Leaving Home

     There was no point in hiding it. Kanna was calm, clever, and trustworthy. So I explained to her everything about my journey, starting with our family's trip to Cairo, and ending with me coming down the staircase just minutes prior. Everything. I knew that most of what I was saying didn't make any sense at all, but then again, neither does seeing your dead brother in your house early in the morning. There was no reason for her not to believe me. So I tried explaining as best I could.
     "Can you explain Stands again?" Kanna questioned after I'd finished my story, pouring herself a glass of water and taking a sip. "I don't quite get what you're trying to say. Is it like some kind of supernatural ability?" We were sitting in the living room towards the front of the house. It was about 4:00 now, and I was keeping a close eye on the time. I personally didn't want my parents to know about my adventure. Kanna could keep her head in situations like this. She had the same kind of mental resolve I did, possibly even before I had it. I knew she would be able to handle the truth. My parents, however, probably wouldn't believe me, no matter how convincing my story was. And if they did, they'd never let me out of their sight again. It'd be better if they just didn't know.
     "Stands are a sort of spirit," I explained, though I'm not even sure myself what they are exactly. "They have different looks and abilities and try to protect their users. If I die, my Stand would die, and vice-versa. Those who have Stands can summon them at will. Those who don't have them can't see them or touch them." I sighed. "So it'd be impossible to show you..."
     "Noriaki, how am I supposed to believe you?" My sister queried a little scoldingly, although I don't think it was a real question, and I'm pretty sure she already did believe me- she just wanted a demonstration. "I want to. I really do. But can't you show me somehow? Isn't there anything you can do?"
     I thought on this for a moment. I'd never successfully shown my Stand to a normal person. Then again, I have to take into consideration that the last time I actually tried was many years ago. If I remember correctly, I was only six or seven. That was when I first discovered that nobody could, under any circumstances, see Hierophant like I could. However, I hadn't actually tried to physically demonstrate him in the past.
"My Stand," I began a little quietly. "It's called Hierophant Green. It can touch objects, but not people, just like nearly every other Stand I can think of. So if I use him to pick something up, you shouldn't be able to see what's holding it."
     Hypothetically, I guess I could've touched her shirt, but I didn't think of that at the time. I looked to my left and had Hierophant grab the first object I saw, which was Kanna's glass of water from earlier. I lifted it a couple feet above our heads and swished it around a little. My sister stared up at it bewilderedly. After a few moments, she laughed a little, although the sound was empty and dark.
"So I was always right about you," she sighed, and looked down as if not wanting to meet my eyes. Right about me? About what? I didn't even know what to think.
"Wh- What?"
"Noriaki," she said, still looking away. "You've always been independent. Introverted, I guess. Just... distant. But if I'm honest, I really did feel connected with you throughout my life. You were my brother, after all. But I knew there was something missing. Something you weren't telling me." Kanna reluctantly turned her gaze back towards me. "Through all this time you were gone, I had my mind set on finding out where you were. Where you disappeared to. I found some of your old drawings in your room. Most of them were just random illustrations- practice scribbles, sketches of your room, a quick picture of a flower or a video game character or something. But there was one that just kept recurring. Some of the drawings were many years old, some were recent, but there was one particular character who kept reappearing. He always looked the same. Green, white highlights, bright yellow eyes... I knew he wasn't from any game or manga or something like that. The drawing was always so precise. I knew there was something I wasn't seeing. It's him, isn't it?"
I nodded. But I was still trying to determine in my mind how she could grasp everything so well. She's so clever. So openminded... Most people wouldn't even begin to believe any of this. Why does Kanna? How can she be so calm about all this? I guess there's only one way I can find the answer.
"How can you believe all this? It's all so crazy," I noted, looking deep into her eyes. She stared at me with a smirk, as if what I was saying didn't make any sense. "If I were to try telling anyone else, there's no way they'd believe me. People would think I'm just saying nonsense. Stands? Vampires? Humanity has always regarded things like that as fantasies." Her smile grew, but her eyes were calm and distant.
"Humanity would like to think they know everything," she began, shifting a little where she sat. "The honest truth is that we don't. And we never will. People would like to say that they're not gullible enough to believe 'impossible' stories that are actually true. They won't accept something they don't understand. It's not real to them. But can we really ever know what's real or not?" I was speechless, but she had a point. If people aren't open to new possibilities, we can never advance. Some hundred years ago, everyone said that building an electric light was impossible. Yet Thomas Edison kept his beliefs, and look how far we've come since then. "Besides, how can I argue after you've shown me?"
"I'll give you that," I commented with a small chuckle. I wasn't laughing at her statement, but at the fact that my mind just couldn't comprehend how well she was taking this. I knew for a fact that Kanna had never encountered anything like this. But she simply 'accepts' that her brother has supernatural abilities. I should've told her earlier than this. I should've told her about Hierophant years ago. I dismissed the thoughts. She knows now- that's what matters.
"Now another thing," she continued, readying another question. "How did Dio become a vampire, and do I have to worry about vampires?"
"I don't really know how," I told her. I tried to remember any time it was mentioned, but nothing came to mind. "The people at the Speedwagon Foundation are probably the only ones who hold that information. And no, you most likely won't have to worry about vampires. Although they're still unlikely, Stand users are a little more common. If you see someone who you think has a Stand, you'd do well to avoid them," I finished, though I didn't think Kanna would ever encounter another Stand user.
"And now, the last thing I want to ask about." A dark expression crossed her face. I already knew what she was going to say, but I honestly didn't want to answer. "You came back to kill the Void. After he's gone, you have to go back, don't you? You can't really stay?"
I nodded. "That much is true," I said gravely. "But I have twenty-one days until then. I'm sorry I can't stay here. I'd want that more than anything, but I can't stay with you guys." My eyes were watering, but I wiped it away. I didn't want Kanna to cry again, so I wouldn't either. I wanted to make up for all the time I hadn't spent with my sister. I wanted to live out my life- longer than just seventeen years. The world is cruel, I said to myself. Life can be unfair.
     "Noriaki," Kanna murmured. "It's 4:25 right now. It won't be long before Mom and Dad wake up. I think... It'd be best if you left before then."
     Although my heart ached to see my parents one last time, I knew my sister was right. To see them for one day and then leave again would be torture. They wouldn't understand. If I was thought dead and somehow miraculously came back to life, only to be gone once again the next day? That would break their hearts even more. It'd be better to leave things the way they are, I decided reluctantly.
     "I won't tell them I saw you. I won't tell anyone," Kanna promised. "Call me if you need anything. I don't know how much help I could be, but I'll do whatever you need me to." She gave me another a loving hug- a gesture I was going to miss when I was gone. I held tightly to the last bits of warmth when she let go. "Be careful, Noriaki... I believe in you."
     "I'll miss you, Kanna," I told her as I opened the front door. "I'll never forget you. Thank you for a wonderful life."
     As I walked into the cool darkness of the morning, leaving my home behind, my heart felt the sting of grief. It would be many years until the next time I saw my family. But they had to continue their lives without me.