Takeru's grip was firmly locked onto Akira's arm, and there was nothing Akira could do but follow along in a stumbling run.

Out of all the times to call him out.

Takeru was a clear violator of Igura's rules, a tag thief. It was only expected that the consequences, the Executioners, Kiriwar and Gunji, would eventually catch up to him.

Takeru was on the run, right then and there, from the insane duo, and by sheer luck, Takeru and Akira had come face to face.

"You!" He called out to Akira. "Come with me!"

Now, it wasn't just Takeru running from the Executioners. Akira was dragged into it.

Either way, it would be bad to get caught.

Akira yanked his arm out of Takeru's grip.

"Hey!"

Before Takeru could grab hold of him again, Akira sprinted down another alley. All he could think of was losing the Executioners.

He turned left. The alley continued straight ahead to meet a side street further down.

As breathing became painful and judging that the distance was enough, he slowed his pace and pressed his hand to the wall, but his relief was short-lived.

"Foooouuund ya..."

A distinctive and recognizable voice sounded over Akira's head, and someone dropped down to block the way. The body that landed in a crouch in front of him slowly rose, unfolding itself.

Rough blonde hair covering his eyes, that pink, open hoodie... One of the Executioners, Gunji, stood before him. Akira looked up to see the second-floor window of a vacant building missing its glass.

"Sooo gullible. Thought you could run away?" Gunji's mouth widened into a grin.

As Akira attempted a quick retreat, Gunji grabbed his arm.

"Let-!"

"Shut the fuck up."

A sharp wind whipped past him. Gunji held his claws to Akira's throat.

Akira immediately cut off his own protest.

"I'll kill ya if you scamper around too much, ya know."

He hurled the slighter man against the wall. As Akira's back rebounded against the concrete, his breathing came to a halt. A shadow fell over Akira as he curled up in agony. At the edge of his unstable vision, he saw Gunji hunkering down .

The tips of his claws lifted Akira's chin, and the Executioner's eyes flicked over him, "Ah... nice eyes... Not like the addicts takin' that Line shit."

"Makes me wanna see ya squirm around in pain."

Gunji's normally hidden eyes were visible through the gaps in his bangs. The Executioner's stare pierced him, but Akira didn't look away.

Then, Gunji roughly grabbed the front of Akira's bangs and forced his forehead up. He wore a brutal smile as he watched Akira gritting his teeth.

"Try singin' a little."

The tips of the claws strapped to his other hand glided down from Akira's chin to his throat, and then his collarbone. Leisurely, dextrously, without cutting a single scrap of skin. When they caught on the rim of Akira's shirt, he ripped right through it in one swift motion.

He laid the blades against Akira's bare skin and slowly began to lower them.

A red streak sprang forth, followed, after a short delay, by drops of blood swelling out at an irregular pace. Akira flinched at the stinging pain...

...but he was far more panicked by Gunji's unpredictability.

A second streak was drawn next to the first.

A third...

An irresistable impulse began to rise within Akira. Every fiber in his body screamed at him to run.

As if Gunji could sense his thoughts, he laughed under his breath and then shoved a knee between Akira's legs, effectively keeping him in place.

The blades retraced the three cuts.

One at a time. Meticulously.

Driven further and further into a corner by this gradual torment, Akira fought to shove Gunji's body away from him, regardless of the danger involved.

In response, he laughed under his breath, "Hey... Sing for me... Yell... Cry. Scream!"

Gunji delightedly broadened his grin.

Akira held his breath when a pain ran through his chest.

The tips of Gunji's claws had sunken into his skin, to control his writhing.

"'Cause I ain't got enough adrenaline... and I mean it."

His tone shifted, going from crazed to heated.

He yanked down Akira's jeans.

Akira tried to shift away, but he had no room to move. One of Gunji's claws nicked his back and tore through the jacket as Gunji shifted to pin Akira against the wall.

He went dizzy at the pain that shot through him.

Iron. His mind was being blotted out by red.

Gunji's laughter sounded in his ears. "... Ahahaha! So red... so warm... This is what ya call proof that you're alive! Ain't nothin' more of a treat than blood and screams!"

Akira's expression twisted as Gunji's tongue grazed his bloodied skin. Gunji's body temperature seeped into his freshly torn wounds.

He stayed as silent as he could and pressed his lips together in agony, hoping the Executioner would tire of him.

Even now, even with his body slowly going numb, Akira resisted. His very thoughts were becoming torpid, and he was losing strength as blood continued to flow out of him.

As he fought to maintain consciousness, suddenly, Gunji hoisted up his legs.

Although he was in a daze, Akira could feel the weight of his back and hips shift onto the concrete wall behind him.

"Sing real pretty for me, will ya? ... 'cause I'm gonna get bored." His maddened eyes looked straight into Akira's, and his smile filled Akira's misty field of sight.

Akira felt something pressing into the depths of his body. Before he could realize what it was, Gunji hauled up his knees.

Akira couldn't hold back an agonized scream.

A ripping pain tore him apart. Enough pain to make him forget the injuries on his chest. His throat convulsed, stifling his pained voice.

"... You gotta ease up a bit... or you're gonna tear me to shreds..." Breathing unevenly, Gunji laughed.

As Gunji moved in him against his will, his thoughts became so clouded, he no longer could tell what was happening to him.

"Does it hurt? Don't you want it to hurt? Nothin' fun about only feelin' good..." Gunji whispered in his ear as he continued the assault.

Even through Akira's gritted teeth, stifled cries slipped out.

The air had grown thick with the smell of iron. Gunji's cheeks, too, were splattered with red.

"Haa... Love that voice... Cry some more... more..." He muttered feverishly.

Red.

It hurts.

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts!

Akira's vision was going. He'd lost too much blood. From the way Gunji was forcing himself on him, he was probably bleeding down there, too.

Please let it be over. Quickly.

Akira lost track of time as he tried to escape the pain.

His consciousness was drifting, and his own voice had lowered down to pained gasps. Gunji was quiet, too. Even at the verge of unconsciousness, he thought it was strange not hearing the voice of the usually garrulous Executioner. All he could hear now was rough breathing coming from the both of them. One in pain and the other...

Against his hair, he felt a stifled breath. His legs were painfully pressed further apart, and he could feel blades biting against his thighs.

Finally, Gunji had stopped.

Akira's energy gone and his sight dark, he could just barely register Gunji's next words.

Nuzzling his face against Akira's hair, he murmured to himself in a low voice, "So pretty... Would be a waste..."