He got the idea from Mr Joestar.

They had just arrived in India hours before, the stench of the sea and sweat coming from the five of them, all eager to get in the shower as fast as possible. The group had just been lost at sea for days. So, naturally, they booked into a hotel as fast as they could and, naturally, Polnareff sprinted to the shower first. He shoved Avdol and Mr Joestar aside on the way and left the rest of them waiting by the beds. Kakyoin was tempted to use Hierophant Green's long range to sabotage his companion's wash. He resisted, in the end. It wasn't worth the effort anyway.

It also gave the others time to talk.

Strangely, Jotaro initiated the conversation with a question on how his grandfather came to know Avdol. Kakyoin assumed that Jotaro was a man of few words, and while the rough-edged delinquent had proven him right so far on their journey, he always managed to surprise Kakyoin. He was certainly an interesting character. Not to say the Crusaders weren't all interesting in their own right - it was just that something drew him to Jotaro more than the others. More than their similar ages.

What started out as a simple question quickly spun into grandiose stories of incredible adventures and daring escapes. Mr Joestar boasted about how he saved the world from ancient vampires with nothing but his wits and a bit of luck (everyone could tell he had a lot of luck, but no one interjected). Kakyoin was fully engrossed in the entire tale. He appeared to be the most interested in it - he guessed Avdol had already heard it before, and Jotaro, despite being the one who asked in the first place, seemed rather bored.

As soon as the story was finished, Jotaro pointed out that Mr Joestar hadn't actually answered his question. Mr Joestar told Jotaro to shut up.

Kakyoin was beginning to see Joseph Joestar in a whole new light. It was hard to imagine the gruff and foolish old man sitting before them taking part in such a bizarre adventure. Then again, they were doing the same thing now. Going on some grand quest so they could defeat an immortal vampire and potentially save the world. There were parallels to be found in both journeys.

Polnareff finally came out of the shower smelling like soap and conditioner. Jotaro was the next person to take the wash, leaving his hat and coat behind on the bed. They would have to find somewhere to wash their clothes too. The group split off into their own corners of the room, all doing their own things. Kakyoin approached Mr Joestar, who was sitting by the window sill and gazing at a picture lovingly. Whatever was in the picture was obviously not Dio.

Kakyoin tilted his head to examine the photograph. A family in a sepia world smiled back at him; a young blonde woman with a dazzling gaze, a young dark-haired man posing cockily, one arm missing and a ribbon tied around his head, an older gentleman and an old woman looking serenely into the lens, and a brown-haired woman, shades covering her eyes and a long cigar in her hands.

"Is that…. Lisa Lisa?" Kakyoin asked, pointing to the brunette.

Mr Joestar nodded. "Lisa Lisa, Speedwagon, Granny Erina, Suzie Q - and me. You could probably tell which one is me. I haven't aged a day."

Kakyoin wasn't sure if the old man was joking or not.

"Did you ever think you weren't going to make it?" he asked. The question was much too personal for their relationship at the time, prodding Joseph Joestar to convey his deepest fears in his darkest hours. He thought about asking what it was like to lose a friend, but held his tongue in better judgement.

Mr Joestar chuckled, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Of course."

"What made you keep going?" What keeps us going now?

"There was a restaurant in Rome I wanted to take Suzie Q to." Mr Joestar beamed, crinkles forming on the corner of his eyes. Kakyoin was suddenly reminded of how old the man sitting before him was, how many more years he had suffered through than they had. "I couldn't die until I did that."

Kakyoin smiled back at him in understanding. To think about what he wanted to do afterwards, that could help him get along the journey. Whenever he thought of his doubts and fears, he could always turn to his future. He had heard about a bucket list before, a list of things you wanted to do before you died. It wasn't something he really considered until then.

He opened up his brown notebook, his only remnant of home, and wrote his list on the last page.

1. Travel somewhere I haven't been before

The first item on his list was easy to cross off. After all, he was already in a foreign country that he hadn't travelled to before with his parents, and he suspected that they were, unfortunately, going to be visiting a lot more countries before their battle in Egypt.

Still, he felt satisfaction crossing out that first line. The bustling streets of life and the humid weather just reminded him of where he was, and the experience he was having. Sure, there was the constant threat of death looming over them, but at least he got to see new places.

"Is that a diary?"

Polnareff stood next to him, drying his hair with a towel. A stupidly amused grin was etched onto his face. He was the last person to notice that Kakyoin carried his journal with him.

Kakyoin flipped back from his list to an earlier page. "In a way, yes," he answered.

"Wow, Kakyoin, you're such a nerd!" Polnareff announced a little too loudly for Kakyoin's liking. He leaned in closer and added in a hushed tone, "I got one too, but don't tell anyone, okay? It's our secret."

He walked off before Kakyoin could get the chance to tell him that everyone already knew anyway.

2. Learn how to play the piano

Well, he had been planning to learn an instrument for a while anyway. Although he would have picked a wind instrument, like a saxophone or a trumpet, he could certainly imagine Kakyoin's fingers dancing over the keys as a melody of whatever 80's synthpop they had been listening to beforehand.

Jotaro and Star Platinum both played a duet, a requiem for Kakyoin's soul, one that he had been practising for months now. His audience, consisting of the remaining Crusaders and Holly, listened as the song spoke of their journey, of the nights spent huddling over campfires in the desert, of a dog roughly playing with an old man, of a fortune teller roaring with laughter underneath the stars, and of a red-haired boy sitting by in the corner, quietly sketching in his notebook. No words were needed, only emotions.

Years later he would play the same tune for a group of teenagers in Morioh. They didn't understand why Joseph Joestar was crying.

He crossed out number two.

3. Get a jar of cherries and consume them all at once (preferably with someone watching so I can scare them)

Jotaro huffed. Of course, there just had to be one weird thing on this list. It wouldn't be Kakyoin if he wasn't trying to creep some poor guy out. This time, though, it was Jotaro who had to do the weird shit, and in front of an audience too.

He had half a mind to cross out the number, flashing back to that disturbing scene on the train, when he remembered that Kakyoin wrote it after the Yellow Temperance debacle, which meant that obviously didn't count. Lucky him.

So he stood in line at the grocery store, a rather large jar of cherries in his arms, and waiting patiently behind the costumer in front of him while trying not to think about what he was about to do. When the costumer finished their shopping and finally walked off, Jotaro stepped to the counter with a heavy sigh. He didn't have time for the check-out's fake smile and her overly cheerful greeting. Star Platinum's precise vision showed him the bags underneath her eyes hidden by makeup, and he could tell she was holding down a yawn. He handed her the yen she needed, and looked at his jar.

"Good grief," he muttered, tipping his hat to cover his eyes. "Oi, watch this."

The girl blinked, the large smile still etched on her lips.

In one swift move he removed the lid from the jar, tipped his head back, and poured the entire contents into his mouth. The juice dribbled down onto his shirt and dripped to the floor. As soon as the jar was empty he began chewing on the cherries with the speed of Star Platinum, carefully not swallowing any seeds. Once all the meat was gone he spat the pips back into the jar like a pistol.

The girl's jaw was dropped and her eyes were wide with fear. She wouldn't stop staring at Jotaro as he burped and walked out of the store quicker than he intended.

He crossed number three off the list when he reached outside.

4. Score 420,000 in R-Type

Jotaro wasn't a gamer.

He made that fairly clear in Dio's mansion, when his own fucking grandfather had to win for him.

Number four was going to be a tricky one.

When he voiced his concerns to Polnareff, the other man had pointed out he could just use Star Platinum to cheat and win easily. Jotaro considered it for a moment, but decided against it. It would be cheating, and if he was going to cross this off the list then damn it he was going to learn how to play video games.

First he had to learn what the hell R-Type was.

There was an arcade in his hometown that had it. Jotaro stood in front of the dread machine, as much yen as he hopefully needed in his bag, and ready to beat the high score in a day.

It took a month (and his yearly savings when he accidentally broke another game in one fit of rage), when he finally saw that beautiful high score reading 420,000 on the screen. He crossed number four out, and swore to never touch a video game again.

5. Show my friends the sketches I made of them after the trip

Flipping through Kakyoin's journal gave him a much better feeling than the one he got from Dio's diary. It had been on Kakyoin's body when the Speedwagon Foundation recovered it, and while the pages were damp and ever-so-slightly bloodied, the contents were as clear as day. Jotaro sat by Polnareff's side in the Cairo hospital, his eyes lingering on each curve of Kakyoin's calligraphy, on the way Kakyoin underlined his name whenever he signed it, on the small dates and locations at the top right of the pages. Sometimes he would come across a sketch of a scene he could just remember, or the transcript of a conversation the group once had while eating dinner under the desert stars. The brown notebook was something Kakyoin carried with him across the entire journey. It was just one of the many pieces that completed the puzzle of their quest.

Dio's diary had filled Jotaro's heart with dread. Kakyoin's journal gave him bittersweet memories and an empty hole in his chest.

Polnareff was out-cold, his body attached to IVs and wires that were the only things keeping him alive. Somewhere else in the hospital Joseph was in a similar situation - although Joseph had demanded Jotaro to stay by their french companion's side were he to wake up. Jotaro tried not to dwell on the fact that Polnareff thought all of them were dead. He also tried not to think of his grandfather choking on his own blood, of Avdol's dismembered arms, of Iggy's mangled remains, of the crushing pressure of a steam roller upon him, of Dio's smug fucking smirk. He just wanted to feel numb, but the world was only serving him pain.

The journal was a welcome distraction. For a short while Jotaro was able to remember the times before Cairo fondly, mostly thanks to Kakyoin's own commentary on the events. He wrote in his own quips to their conversations, remarks that he never said aloud yet immortalised on the page. Jotaro found the corner of his lips tugging upwards a few times and almost imagined that Kakyoin was right by his side, making some sassy comment about the state he was in.

Just as he reached the final page, a slip of paper fell from the book and drifted slowly to the floor. He picked it up gently. An edge of the paper was lined with dried blood (which he ignored as best he could), and like the other pages in the journal it was slightly damaged by the water. Quickly scanning the page, he recognised Kakyoin's handwriting in a heartbeat. Finally he read the words atop the page.

Ten Things I Would Like To Do Before I Die

His heart was in his throat.

This had to be some kind of sick joke.

There was no way this was actually Kakyoin's bucket list in his hands. That just had to be some disgusting, ironic prank that some shitty God was playing on him. And - only having two things on his list crossed out? Kakyoin must have done more than that, surely. Kakyoin must have done most of what he wanted to do before he died.

Jotaro kept reading with shaking hands. His chest felt heavier with every entry he read, until his heart finally shrivelled black and was clawing its way out of his mouth.

This was really it. The evidence that Noriaki Kakyoin died young, and it was Dio's fault for driving a fist through his stomach. It was Dio's fault for infesting him with that fucking fleshbud.

It was Jotaro's fault for bringing Kakyoin with him.

He stared at the paper blankly. Kakyoin would never get to finish this now. The last eight items on his list would remain forever unfulfilled, wasted away just like he was. Jotaro couldn't tear his eyes away from the paper, rereading every line save for the last one that hurt him too much to even consider. He finally settled his gaze on one line in particular - number five.

"Show my friends my sketches..." he read softly. With trembling fingers he flicked back the pages of the journal, back to drawings of the group he remembered seeing, and traced the lines with his finger.

Without a second thought he stood up and paced to the door, gripping the journal in one hand and the bucket list in the other. He paused for a moment, looking back at Polnareff's body. "I'll be back in a bit," he said. Polnareff did nothing in return. With a heavy heart, Jotaro made his way to Joseph's room. He didn't knock when he entered unannounced.

The old geezer was awake, thankfully.

"Jotaro! Is Polnareff awake?" he asked.

Jotaro shook his head. "He's still under. I'm actually here about - this." He held out the list and the journal and Joseph took them. "Read number five."

Joseph's eyes scanned the list before he opened up the journal, flicking through the pages. Jotaro watched under dark shadows as his grandfather froze at a sketch of himself and Avdol huddling over a campfire, before the old man's hands began shaking uncontrollably, and drops of water fell onto the paper. He couldn't say anything when Joseph forced a smile through his tears, a chuckle and a sob escaping his grandfather's throat all at once. With a trembling grip, Joseph held the journal and list back out to Jotaro.

"He got my nose wrong," he choked.

As soon as Jotaro grabbed the journal back, Joseph wiped the corner of his eyes with his sleeves. A moment of silence washed over both of them.

"I'm going back to Polnareff's room," Jotaro announced. "Call me if you need anything."

Although the frenchman had woken up hours later, Jotaro still had to wait another day to show the sketches to Polnareff. It wouldn't have been fair to Polnareff to unload such a heavy subject just after he'd woken from his coma. Hell, the first thing Polnareff thought when he woke up was that he was the only survivor - something Jotaro had unfortunate empathy with.

Polnareff's reaction to the bucket list was about the same as his own. A moment of shock as the realization that Noriaki Kakyoin's life was cut short finally settled in, his mouth setting into a thin grim line as he processed the thought, and finally another glance at the list.

"Number five," Jotaro said, and watched when Polnareff looked through the pages of Kakyoin's journal.

He settled on a sketch of himself and Jotaro smirking at each other, sharing some joke that had been lost in the sands of the desert. Jotaro sucked in a breath. Just like his grandfather, Polnareff's hands were trembling, the shivers running up his arms and soon his entire body was shaking. Perhaps showing him this so soon was a mistake -

"C'est magnifique!" Polnareff cried out.

Jotaro blinked.

"This is simply marvelous art! Kakyoin has captured our liking quite nicely, Jotaro!" the frenchman continued, holding up the art. "Look at my refined jawline, look how perfectly he represents your pissed off face! It's incredible!"

"I'm not pissed off there," Jotaro said. The corners of his lips tugged upwards. "See? I'm smiling there."

Polnareff squinted at the page. "Are you sure? You look - no wait. You're smiling, and you look amazing! And - oh look! He's drawn my chest quite generously, hasn't he?" He grinned broadly.

Jotaro took the journal back, saying nothing about the sheen on Polnareff's eyes. "Want some lunch? I'm about to go down and get something."

Polnareff shook his head. "Have fun, Jotaro," he said. Jotaro gave a curt nod back and began making his way to a cafe on the same street as the hospital.

At the table of a cafe in Egypt, Jotaro crossed out number five.

6. Get a doctorate

He wondered if Kakyoin always wanted a doctorate, or if he decided to while they were travelling to Egypt together. After all, Jotaro did discuss his plans for the future with his friends during the trip. He always wanted to be a marine biologist since he was young. Kakyoin, on the other hand, always seemed a bit more unsure on what he wanted as a career. He seemed lost when it came to the future, and Jotaro could hardly blame him. The future was a scary prospect, and there was a whole world out there waiting after Dio.

(They were far too optimistic, back then, to assume they would all come back alive.)

So it surprised him to see Kakyoin had written getting a doctorate on his bucket list.

Crossing this off the list was just killing two birds with one stone. He was glad that they shared a common goal outside of 'kill Dio', and although he wished the person sitting next to him in the graduation ceremony was Kakyoin instead of some random guy he never spoke to before, he felt proud that he - that they - had finally made it.

He accepted the doctorate for Kakyoin more than himself, and he crossed number six off once he sat back down on his chair.

7. Visit my friends' hometowns

The french countryside was as picturesque as Polnareff described it. There was just something about the green hills and cool European breeze that filled Jotaro with a sense of serenity when the plane had finally landed in the country. Polnareff picked him up from the airport in Paris, the pair hugging each other as soon as they saw the other person and catching up on old times. Jotaro couldn't help but smile as Polnareff told him about the bakeries they were going to visit and the sights they were going to see while Jotaro was there. It felt good to be with a friend.

On the final day of their trip, they visited his sister's gravestone underneath a sessile oak tree. Jotaro held three bouquets in his hands and stood back while Polnareff paid his respects to the dead. He had no words to speak as he set the flowers down on the three gravestones, solemnly gazing upon the names etched on the stones.

The trip back to Polnareff's house began with a melancholic silence and ended with shared laughter over the times they recalled fondly.

He debated with Joseph on whether the old man's hometown was in America or Britain for a while. It wasn't until Holly pointed out that he could just go to both that he remembered his grandfather was rich, and soon he had tickets to both countries in his hands.

Britain wasn't anything special. It was apparently clear that Joseph hadn't been to his childhood town for years, as evident by the older man's constant complaining that everything had changed. What really made that trip worthwhile was getting to visit his great-grandmother (who apparently hated when he called her that), who didn't look a day older than his grandfather, and tending to the cherry orchard she had in her backyard. The two of them bonded over the garden, something calming and nice for both to enjoy together. She even handed him the first ripe cherry of the season. Jotaro bit into the juicy contents and savoured the sweet taste.

America was... interesting. At least he got to visit his grandmother.

It was not easy to go back to Egypt. There were too many nightmares associated with the country, and Jotaro had debated with himself for months before he finally got on a plane and landed in what he had once considered hell. He had no idea where Avdol's old house was, so instead he strolled aimlessly around the streets of Cairo, avoiding certain areas that would trigger certain memories.

He buried a box of tarot cards in the sand, the magician card face-up on the front, with the hierophant right behind it. The world was ripped up and scattered to the wind.

Number seven was done.

8. Buy a sleek pair of sunglasses and make a cool entrance in front of my friends

As soon as he saw the shades in a magazine, Kakyoin was in love. They were undoubtedly the coolest sunglasses he ever laid his eyes on.

One day, they would be his.

And so, when the Speedwagon Foundation came to him one day in the hospital with the news that he would have to wear something to cover his vision while his sight was recovering, a wide grin quickly spread across his face. He was absolutely delighted when he told them to pull a page of the magazine out of his coat and described the item he wanted. The members of the foundation, while confused about Kakyoin's sudden excitement, placed an order in immediately. Kakyoin sat giddy at his hospital bed.

Thanks to the efficiency of the Speedwagon Foundation, the sunglasses arrived only a couple days after they had been ordered. Kakyoin had admired himself in the hospital mirror, thankful that his sight had returned at last and that looking at things didn't hurt as much anymore. Plus, he just looked cool. He was definitely keeping these.

The journey back to the others was peaceful compared to what they had surely been to. There were no stand attacks or toilet misadventures, though at one point Kakyoin saw a horse kick its owner. The calm was welcome but foreboding - the deadline was approaching quickly, and countdown to Holly Joestar's death was weighing heavily on his mind. He felt for Jotaro and Mr Joestar, both of whom were undoubtedly suffering much more than he was.

Cairo had come with its fair share of problems as soon as he set foot in the city. Well, by 'fair share', he meant one - Iggy, severely wounded and bleeding profusely, held by a sobbing little boy. The Speedwagon Foundation officer with Kakyoin had rushed to the boy as soon as he saw the dog and listened to the boy explain his story, while Kakyoin walked cooly behind him. Iggy glanced up when he saw Kakyoin and squinted at the new figure.

"Hey Iggy," Kakyoin greeted, raising his shades. "Remember me? It's been a while."

Something reminiscent of a smile reached Iggy and he barked happily in reply, wagging his tail with great effort.

The Speedwagon Foundation had taken care of Iggy's wounds as best they could before both he and Kakyoin set out for their friends. Kakyoin quickly found himself in conversation with Iggy, and although it was really only one-sided he still felt warm when Iggy responded in his own way.

Of course, the others were ecstatic when they returned.

Kakyoin knew it was the shades. They were truly the coolest accessories anyone in the party had - until that point he would have said Jotaro's chain was the best, but these shades were on a different level entirely. He smirked to himself as they made their way to Dio's mansion.

He discreetly crossed number eight off his list before the battle within the mansion.

9. Paint a mural

Holly was absolutely ecstatic when Jotaro came home from a shopping trip one day, carrying bags with cans of paint and an empty cherry jar. She had been wanting to do something artistic ever since she survived the 50-day nightmare, and she always wanted to spend more time with her son, so the opportunity presented itself to her on a silver platter.

Then she took one glance at the paper sticking out of Jotaro's pocket and closed her mouth. She knew enough about the list to know how much it meant to her son.

The subject of Egypt was still a sore spot for both of them.

She left him to his peace in his room, where the walls were an empty white and the posters that had once adorned it were torn down after his return. All character was lost from that room, all evidence that Kujo Jotaro lived there. She was glad he was, at least, bringing himself back to his home. They had been picking up the pieces he lost in those fifty days. It was a struggle - there were times she noticed, when the blood would drain from his face so suddenly and he stared into nothing blankly, when he gripped something so tightly that his nails bled into his palm, when he looked at a kitchen knife and couldn't breath. She didn't know what to do, and it pained her to see her son in such a state. And it hurt even more when Jotaro noticed she was in pain, and he held her in his embrace with more love than she ever felt before Egypt.

An hour had passed. Holly brewed tea for the both of them, the aroma of jasmine blending with the smell of paint that escaped from Jotaro's room. She walked towards his room to tell him that she made him a drink, when a sudden loud noise from inside, along with the unmistakable sound of Jotaro swearing, caused her to bolt to the room instead and slide the door open.

Her son was at the other side of the room, standing over a bucket of black paint that was dripping down the walls, the only paint that had been opened. His chest was heaving violently and he made no effort to acknowledge her entrance.

"Jotaro?" she asked, slowly approaching. "Honey, what's wrong?"

He clenched his jaw, kicking the bucket again. The black stained the floor. "This fucking mural," he said. "This fucking mural. This is fucking stupid."

"How so?"

"I don't know! It's just - it's worthless, okay!" Jotaro snapped, glaring at her. "What fucking use is this gonna be? This isn't doing anything helpful! This isn't going to bring him back!" He gestured to the cans of paint. "Why the hell should I just remind myself of him? Why don't I just leave him behind? Why can't I just forget about fucking everything? Wouldn't that be easier? I'm just torturing myself with this stupid - fucking - shit!"

He slammed his foot down on the can with each word of his last sentence, before finally the paint exploded with his final cry. Silence fell between the two of them, Jotaro visibly shaking and glaring at the paint tainting his shoes while Holly stared at her son with sad eyes.

With paint staining her hands, she picked up a brush and dipped it into the red paint. Jotaro ignored her.

A long stroke of red followed her hand on the wall. She created flowers in her son's life, cherries and fire and whatever else came to her mind. She painted a dusk scene, a desert that bustled with stories and love that would go untold within the sands of time. It was when she painted a star that Jotaro finally looked up and gazed upon her work in progress.

Another brush joined hers, a purple hue outlining it, and his arm danced with hers while the rest of his body trembled. He made a silhouette of green, white and red, that posed in front of the sun's glare.

They painted well into the night. After they were finished, Jotaro let himself fall into his mother's arms and poured out his heart for her for the first time since his nightmare.

Mother and son both crossed number nine off the list together.

10

He told himself he wouldn't check this off the bucket list until all the others were done. This was the finality of Kakyoin, the last thread between him and Jotaro, the moment he had been anxiously awaiting all this time. After this, there would be nothing left tying Noriaki Kakyoin to this world anymore.

The sun was beginning to set when he made his trek to the gravestone, the list in his hand and his chest swirling with indescribable emotion. An orange sky hung above him, the first signs of stars and the moon shining through with the final moments of the day. The grass felt foreign under his shoes. He half-expected himself to walk on sand with every step he took, and each one was a reminder that he was no longer in Egypt but in the Japanese countryside. It was where he guessed Kakyoin would like to have been buried - somewhere as green as his stand, where his spirit could walk amongst the native plantation and rest for eternity.

The orange sky had turned into a dark purple when Jotaro finally stood in front of the stone. Red and white flowers adorned the area, ones he was careful not to step on. Kakyoin would have said something about disturbing the peace if he did. Instead he set the paper down gently by the grave, holding it down with a rock the covered all but the last line.

With a shaky breath, he took a lighter and cigarette out of his pocket. He cupped his hand as he tried to light it. It wouldn't catch. He tried again and again, frustration rising with each failure. The lighter must be have almost been dead, or it was too windy. Finally a puff of smoke rose in the air, and he could shove the lighter back in his pocket. A cloud of smoke entered his lungs and escaped with his breath. It eased him, at a moment where he felt overwhelmed by everything.

"It's been a while, Kakyoin," he started. The stars were shining especially bright tonight. He wondered if Kakyoin could hear him. "A lot's happened."

The wind was his only reply.

"I'm almost finished with your bucket list. Only one thing left." He tapped the cigarette and a speck of ash fell to the ground. The taste was suddenly too bitter in his mouth, and he put the light out.

He thought about what he would do for this last one for a while. The final item that had been haunting him for years, that was always at the back of his mind, that hurt him more than a hundred knives ever could. Ever since that day in the hospital, he had been planning this moment.

Any plan he had was thrown out once he reached Kakyoin.

Jotaro knelt down, bowing his head before the grave. The leaves around him escaped their branches and drifted with the wind. There were no words he could say, no apology or long-winded reply that could ever repay Kakyoin for all he gave Jotaro. It was all lost, lost along with the boy's spirit in the Egyptian sands.

He placed a hand on the stone and, without a moment's hesitation, kissed the dirt. It didn't taste nearly as bitter as he already was.

"I knew."

He spent the better part of the night standing by the grave in silence before finally turning back to home. The list lay by Kakyoin's body, the final line not crossed yet - but fulfilled, in its own way.