And now for the climax of Akira's life as a human. Things are about to get ugly. This chapter will have serious connotations. And that is something that I hope you are prepared for. This is yet another chapter of sorrow before she becomes a Hollow. But, there may be a few more mentions of actual characters.

For the first week, I considered myself lucky to be alive. However, I was also terrified of the idea of Marcus coming back. I missed the day after Marcus left because I wanted a day to prepare myself for the questions that everyone was going to ask me. The night before I went back, I had nightmares. I don't remember much, but I was running from something... a creature of some kind. It was a horrible looking creature, with a white skull for a head and gleaming red eyes. Its claws grasped out for me, and I remember the pain as it tore through the flesh of my back. And I saw someone, a man weilding a sword who saved me. He didn't really look like much, but he managed to kill the creature. His glasses glinted in the light, and he extended his hand to me. He was so kind... almost too kind. I remember thanking my savior, and learning his name. Sousuke Aizen. That was the name of the man I would owe my life to. He reached out and patted me on the head, and then, I blacked out.

I awoke in my room. I was surprised, the dream had seemed so real at the time. My head hurt still, but so too did my back. I figured that I had managed to bruise my back when I had hit the ground after Marcus hit me. Thus, I shrugged the pain off and got up to go to class. I almost went back to bed when I made it to the bathroom mirror. I looked pale, and there was an awful bruise under my left eye. With sheer willpower, I managed to cover the bruise with concealer and found some clean clothes.

I made it to school and I hesitated before I entered the building. What was I doing here so soon after the event? I wasn't sure what I was going to do... but I knew that running would do me little good. I would have to face forward no matter what. No matter the fear that was gripping my heart.

My first class, Algebra II, went better than I had expected. I was left alone by everyone except my two best friends. While I was in pain, I couldn't help but feel that things might have taken a turn for the better. At least, it went well until someone brought HIM up. Maureen was the little bitch who brought him up- loud enough for the whole class to hear. "You know, Sarah, its such a pity that Marcus isn't here. He was such a nice guy before Akira got her dirty little claws into him."

I barely made it out of the classroom before I began to cry. I made my way to the bathroom and stayed there until the tears had stopped. Around that time, Mrs. Sandiaz came looking for me.

"Are you ok, Akira?"

I was so surprised that she wasn't yelling at me for disrupting her class. I imagine that my confusion must have showed on my face because she continued talking to me.

"I gave Maureen detention. She won't be bothering you while I'm around. You don't deserve treatment like that."

I couldn't help but feel grateful to this woman who had made a good deal of my Senior year hell. My other teachers would do the same. I was increadibly grateful towards them. They protected me until the event had died down.

Every night, I began to have the same nightmare over and over again. I was always being chased by these beings with the skull like masks and the gleaming red eyes. And every single time that I thought I was dead meat, I was saved by the same man- Sousuke Aizen came to my rescue without fail. Sometimes, I would black out right after he saved me, and others I would managed to stay long enough to have a chat with him. He was the kind of person who cared about me, who wanted to make sure that I was safe... no matter what. I think I began to heal emotionally from my ordeal with his help. Without him, I might have went back to Marcus when I saw him again- because despite all that he had done, I had loved him. I began to lose my fear of Marcus in Sousuke's gentle voice and eyes... even if he was just a dream.

However, things would stir up again as we heard that Marcus had been released a few weeks later. He was to come back to school in time for exams. I felt fear again, fear that I thought I had lost. Every night, Sousuke would be there to try to comfort me after saving my life... and I told him things that I had never told anyone. Whenever I would speak of the abuse that I had withstood, his eyes would flash in a way that told me that he would protect me. Whenever I would show fear, he would hold me in a way that made me feel safe.

Then the day of Marcus' return came. I remember having a bad feeling about that day. I knew that this would not be easy... but I also knew that I couldn't hide forever. I would have to face him, no matter what. Sometimes, I think that I should have just stayed home that day- and lived a little while longer. But, that was not in the hand that fate dealt me.

I walked into Algebra class that morning with my head held high. I would not let that bastard see fear in me. I was the last person in class to arrive before the bell, and Marcus was not there. I was vaguely surprised, but none the less grateful. As I took my seat between Jessica and Lauren, I could hear Maureen whispering behind my back.

"Akira must be an idiot if she's here today... Marcus will probably try to kill her. He's crazy after all."

Nichole answered her, "I wanted to stay home today, but my parents wouldn't let me."

"Your probably right, he won't go after just Akira, he'll kill everyone in the school." Sarah whimpered.

I did my best to ignore them, but I couldn't help the fact that their voices were echoing in my mind. I felt fear again, but this time- Sousuke was not there to save me. The bell rang and class began without a hitch. About 15 minutes into the lesson, the door opened. Standing there, holding a gun was Marcus.

"Don't move or I'll shoot. Don't scream either, or you'll be the first to die!" Marcus' voice was cold, not the same as the man I had known. He shut the door quietly behind him and moved towards the whiteboard where Mrs. Sandiaz stood. "Get over there with the rest of them... and sit down" He ordered her.

Slowly, Mrs. Sandiaz obeyed him. She kept her eyes on him, begging him to make a single mistake so that she could take the gun from him. She came and sat beside of Lauren in the empty seat.

"Now, I'm going to make this simple. Either you all die here and now, or Akira will come with me and I'll spare your pathetic lives." His statement was met with silence as all eyes in the classroom turned towards me. "No rush to make a decision, Akira, you have 10 minutes to decide."

I remember hoping that this would be a dream and that Sousuke would come along and save me as he always did. Minutes slipped slowly by in silence. The only sounds were the sobs of the preps behind me and the ticking of the clock. I kept hoping that something would happen to distract Marcus so that we might get away. It would not be so. After the ninth minute, I nodded my head slowly. I heard Mrs. Sandiaz's voice, "Akira, you don't have to do this."

"So, you've made your choice, have you, Akira?" Marcus' voice, the voice of a former friend, was now that of my most bitter enemy.

I expected my voice to shake. I expected to burst into tears at any second.... but my voice was calm. Too calm. "Yes, I've chosen." I took a deep breath before continuing. "If you will not hurt them, I will go with you."

I could hear the intake of breath from my friends. I guess they weren't expecting me to do anything so heroic. I couldn't believe that I was doing it either. But I knew that I had no choice.

Marcus grinned, an evil smile unlike that which he had shown to me before. "Good. I'm glad to hear that you are so reasonable. I had thought that you wouldn't like to belong to me once again and that I might have to kill someone to make you change your mind. Akira, stand up slowly and come towards me with your hands outstretched."

I didn't want to look him in the eye, but I would not show fear infront of him. I would be brave for my friends... no matter what it would cost me. I obeyed him despite my hope that someone would kill him. I was a few feet in front of him when he commanded me to stop. "Raise your hands above your head and turn around."

I kept my face blank as I turned back towards my classmates. I could see the fear in their eyes. My soul echoed their fear, but I knew that I had to be strong for them. I felt Marcus' hands on my right wrist and then I heard the snap of a handcuff as he tightened it on me. Then, pressing the gun against my back, he pulled my cuffed wrist down and I heard the snap as he hooked it to my belt loop. He repeated the process with my left wrist and then with a third pair of cuffs, he bound my wrists together. His gun was still against my back as he glared at the class. "Leave this room before the bell rings, and she dies. Tell anyone what has happened, and rest assured that she will be dead before you could even begin to search for her. Akira is mine. Understand that. I will never give her up."

He kept one hand on the cuffs and moved his gun to my head. "Now, Akira and I will leave here without any further ado."

As we left the room, he shut the door behind him. I could feel his foul breath against my cheek, but I refused to let my discomfot show. I would say nothing to him. And I would cooperate only until we were away from the school. We made it to the parking lot before he knocked me out.