More Precious than Gold

by Arekkusu-89

Eiri receives various threats demanding him to quit his career as a writer. At first the threats are minor, but eventually escalate into worse things. How will he deal with it since it's also seriously affecting his relationship with Shuichi?

11. Behind 24 lay Rafael Bashkir

oO--oOo--Oo

Episode 11: Behind 24 lay Rafael Bashkir

"My name is Rafael Bashkir. I am 35 years old, married for 8 years, and have two 7-year-old daughters. My home country is Russia. My field of profession is-"

"That is enough for now, Mr. Bashkir. At the sound of my voice, you will come back to full consciousness You are returning to consciousness You are waking up."

Rafael Bashkir could hear the voice of his psychologist somewhere off in the distance. He couldn t quite pinpoint it, but it was forcing its way into his subconscious mind and slowly pulling him into awareness. Very slowly, he opened his eyes.

"Wha-"

"You did well, sir. All you talked about while in the subconscious state was merely basic information about yourself. I believe that if you continue taking your medication and completing your daily meditation sessions, the frequency of your mad desires will continue to decrease." The psychologist played back the tape-recorded ramblings. Rafael sighed in relief.

"Can you explain again what happens after you put me in a subconscious state?"

The doctor folded his arms and sat on the corner of his desk. "While under my hypnosis, your mind goes into a deep subconscious state, similar to the state you are in while sleeping. In this state, the mind is very open to suggestion. That is why a sleepwalker who is told to return to bed will generally obey without hesitation. Anyway, I switch on this tape-recorder and ask you to talk about yourself; who you are, where you are from, and how you occupy your time. When you first started seeing me, you displayed confusion over your identity, and would speak passionately about killing while giving the most horrendous details, which I am sure I need not repeat. I had never seen such a case as yours in all my years of work. I realized your crazed desires were the root of your psychotic state. After prescribing you medicine and a daily meditative routine of clearing the mind, I periodically checked on your progress using the hypnosis method. The first few days offered no change, but eventually I began to see a gradual reduction of the identity confusion and violent tendencies. Now I believe you have improved enough to begin living quite the normal life. However, you must never neglect taking your medication. Do you have any more questions?"

"Yes I do. Will I ever be able to get off this medication?"

"Unfortunately, the answer to that is more likely a no. he sighed. It is very rare for patients with delusional disorder to ever fully recover, but many who are consistent with taking their medication or psychotherapy will experience near full relief from the symptoms, such as with you. I suggest to never cease taking your medication or your twice-monthly visits, and try to avoid very stressful, dangerous, or otherwise unhealthy situations. I do not care how good you feel, or how much you think you have recovered, because if you stop with your treatments than your symptoms might come back full-force."

"That is all right. As long as I can function normally and not be a hazard towards my family, then I am content."

"Okay, Mr. Bashkir," Said the doctor as he led him out of the room. "I will be seeing you exactly two weeks from today. Take care until then."

"Thank you, Doctor Hamasaki."

o---OoO---o

"Good evening Manami."

"Hello honey! How was work?"

"It went good as usual."

Rafael hated lying to his wife, but he was too ashamed of his condition to admit to her that twice a month he would take a day off from work to see his psychiatrist. He made a vow that those would be the only lies he ever told her. She was the most important person in his life, besides their daughters, and he wanted nothing more than to be her everything. He sat down at the kitchen table after removing his coat and washing his hands, and watched his beautiful petite wife as she prepared the evening meal. He let his mind wander as the sound of the kitchen knife tapped the counter as she cut carrots and potatoes for the stew. He remembered when he began courting her. She was the sweetest and most charming woman he had ever met. They had originally met while working together in a factory, and their friendship soon grew into love. She was a transfer student from Japan, and worked part time to pay for her schooling. He married her three years later, and not long afterwards they had a set of twins. He remembered that up until a few months ago, his secret life had been hell, and he marveled at how well he was able to hide it. If Manami ever knew what he obsessed about in his spare time, she might have turned her back years ago and he would never have seen her again. His obsessions were like an inner-demon, constantly plaguing his thoughts. He never spoke about them, because from a very young age he learned that killing was wrong, and the way he obsessed about it would be viewed as insane.

He did not have much difficulty keeping it a secret from people in general, but his parents began suspecting something was not right about their son after unintentionally stumbling across the skinned carcasses of various animals, including some pets that had gone missing in the neighborhood recently. Rafael fervently denied any involvement, but his parents still suspected. Since then Rafael was extremely careful about when and where he did these things, and got better at hiding the evidence. No one knew, and eventually his parents forgot their suspicions altogether. Even though he had the outward appearance of a perfectly normal boy, albeit one with abnormally calm, calculating demeaner and very high grades, his inner demons would still plague his mind. Sometimes he would imagine himself doing it to a classmate, and had almost ended up believing that this one particular boy completely deserved it. Instead he took it out on a stray dog he found. As he skinned the animal alive, its screams piercing the still surroundings, it almost felt therapeutic, as if he was engaged in a perfectly normal and calming activity such as sewing or taking a stroll. All this changed after he met Manami. Right from the get-go he was sure that she at least had a crush on him, and after she expressed some interest after their initial meeting, he knew his thoughts were confirmed, and he decided to get into a relationship with her. Sometimes as they would sit side-by-side on one of the rooftops while watching the sunset, and he would think about what it would be like to skin her. How would her screams sound? She needed to be skinned, didn't she? No I want her alive. He would tell himself. I love her and she loves me, so I must protect her.

After marrying her, thoughts of skinning her would plague his mind, and even though he felt that it would almost be good for her, the thoughts began to scare him and he went to a psychiatrist for help. At first he was skeptical and thought that all he would do is put him on some heavy medications that would keep him from thinking straight, but decided to give it a shot anyway. Afterall, could his situation get any worse? The treatment ended up working, slowly, but surely, and he realized for the first time just how delusional he really was. It was like seeing things clearly for the first time, and his urges to engage in such acts diminished greatly as a result. For the first time in his life, he was truly happy, and he wanted to make the most out of it. Rafael was snapped out of his revere by the sound of his daughters running into the kitchen.

"Daddy! Daddy!" They both shouted in unison. Their mother found it amusing to dress them up to look exactly the same, so when they stood on either side of their father, it was like looking at a mirror image of one of them. "Come play daddy! See my dolly!" Rafael gently pulled their heads close to his and kissed their foreheads. "Daddy is tired right now, okay? But I will play with you tomorrow since I am off from work."

"Yay!" The girls shouted and took off back to their room.

Rafael smiled as his daughters ran off. His gaze turned back to his wife, and from the corner of his eye he noticed a book on the table, a red ribbon used as a bookmark hung over the side. He picked it up and read the title "Running Rivers" by Eiri Yuki. "Another book, honey? I thought you just bought one last week?"

Manami giggled, "I know, but I simple couldn't pass this one up! It's by my favorite author from my home country! I've been waiting months for it to be released here."

Rafael chuckled and put the book back down. His wife's thirst for romance novels was really unquenchable.

o---OoO---o

"But Barbie doesn't like that dress Tami!"

"Yes she does, if you don't like it then give it to me!"

"Svetlana, Tamiko," Rafael scolded his daughters. It was the following morning, and he was reading the morning paper with some coffee while watching his daughters play. "Play nicely with each other or your mother will take away your dolls."

"We're sorry daddy."

"That's alright. Perhaps you should play with your mother some time - afterall she used to make clothes when she was younger, and might even be able to show you how to make clothes for your dolls!"

"No." Answered Svetlana simply, and resumed her play.

The answer surprised Rafael - he was expecting them both to show at least a little excitement. "Why the lack of interest? I thought you wanted more doll clothes?"

"Mommy doesn't have lots of time... mommy likes the traveler."

Rafael put his paper down. "What traveler?"

"A man who travels everywhere. Mommy says he visits a lot because he needs stuff." Said Svetlana matter-of-factly while continuing to play. Rafael was confused. His wife generally made a brief mention of any visitors that happened to stop by, but never once has she mentioned a traveler before... so what were his daughters talking about?

"Tell me more about this traveler, honey." He asked.

"The girls continued playing, and didn't appear concerned. "He visits sometimes," Said Svetlana. "But mommy makes us play outside," Said Tamiko. "Mommy says we will bother him if we play inside." Interrupted Svetlana.

Deeply curious, he went into the house to ask his wife about it.

o---OoO---o

"A traveler? Oh they must be referring to James. He's an American tourist who stopped by once to ask for directions to the bank."

"Oh, so you are already on first-name terms with him?"

"N-no he just introduced himself as James and I never bothered to ask for his last name." She answered flustered.

Rafael pretended not to notice her reddened face, and didn t push the matter. That night however, his dreams were plagued with nightmares of Minami leaving him. Minami with some stranger. Minami taking the girls and running away. Minami openly kissing another man in front of him even after he awoke, those thoughts wouldn t leave his head. He tried to ignore them, but they wouldn t leave. Plus, he felt his urges begin to return it was as if his fear of Minami's infidelity was fueling his urges to kill. He almost went straight to his psychiatrist to tell him of the problem, but thought that perhaps his fears were valid. Afterall, was it not natural to wonder if your spouse was being true to you after something like this? He didn't ask her about it anymore, and felt that doing so would be futile. Instead, he felt that taking care of things himself was the best course of action. It was perfectly natural... right?

One morning he woke up and was preparing his coffee before work when he heard the family dog whine at his feet to fill his food bowl. The rest of the family was still asleep... He closed his eyes and tried to imagine a blank space. He could not. The fear of his wife's infidelity was throwing gasoline onto his desire to kill... it was only natural, wasn't it? Humans and animals will all die eventually, and this was merely helping them. It was good. No, it wasn't... yes, it was.

He couldn t take it anymore.

He grabbed the dog by its scruff, grabbed a random kitchen knife and tossed the dog into his car. Instead of driving to work, he took a detour and drove deep into the forest where he was sure no one would see or hear anything. He looked back and saw the dog cowering in the corner, as if able to sense the insanity contained within his master. Rafael grabbed the dog and the knife, and walked a little ways until he was in a small clearing. He held the poor, struggling animal on the ground, and gently ran the edge along its neck. Almost immediately, that same therapeutic feeling of having complete power over a life and killing it in this manner was coming back to him. It was very peaceful. It was almost like he was doing a favor to humanity by killing one of its creatures. This dog is living miserably anyway, so it is okay to kill it, isn't it? The dog whimpered and struggled pointlessly. Then Rafael slipped the blade into its skin and began slicing away, skinning the dog alive. The dog screamed and yelped until it was too weak to do so anymore. By the time Rafael was done, he was covered in blood. All of a sudden he was afraid. Oh my god, what have I done?! But he began slipping back into his killer state of mind. No, I was doing a good thing. This dog is better off. I'm better off. Everyone is better off. I am a good person for doing this. Rafael grabbed his head and fell to the ground, unable to fight his urges. Then, he suddenly got up, the very picture of composure, and buried the body of his dog and its skin. The dog was still alive (just barely), but would be dead soon anyway from blood-loss and shock. He then returned to his vehicle and started driving. He did not know where to go. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized there would be trouble if he was seen with a bloodstained shirt. He drove to his house, and felt a distant feeling of relief after seeing that his wife and daughters were not home. They had probably gone into town for groceries and errands. He quickly threw his ruined clothing into the trash and took a shower. During his shower, he felt more and more at ease with himself. In the back of his mind, he knew he needed to see his psychologist immediately, but the part of his mind that was in control was saying no. I am perfectly ok there is absolutely nothing wrong with me, and therefore no reason to see that man. Why was I seeing him in the first place anyway? Why? I was mistaken. I am okay.

As he was towling off, he bumped into the bathroom shelf and knocked several items onto the floor. He cursed, and began picking them up. One of them was the book from the kitchen. It had landed on it's front, and a profile picture of the handsome author looked back at him from the rear cover. Flaxen hair, golden eyes, flawless skin... suddenly the urge to run a knife through this skin ran through his mind. He recalled his wife mentioning this Yuki person as being her favorite author. The way she giggled when she said it bothered him. His jealousy of a man he had previously never even heard of coursed through his veins. No, Manami is mine. She will love no one but ME!

When he finished in the bathroom he went to the secret place where he stored his medication, and threw it all away.

o---OoO---o

The week passed without incident. He was feeling like his old self again (his old killer self), and would satisfy his urges by finding random animals and repeating what he did to his dog. This time, he secretly bought a plastic coverall for his clothing, and kept water and rags stored in his vehicle to take care of any bloodstains that made it past the cover. He felt like he was in control again. He was still plagued by thoughts of killing his wife, but that last bit of sanity in the corners of his mind was begging his irrational side not to kill her. However, after that week, the girls mentioned the traveler once more. This was the last straw. Rafael made the decision to take care of this supposed traveler once and for all. His wife belonged to him and only him, and this traveler needed to die. It would be a good thing. He knew that for a fact. A good thing...

o---OoO---o

"Boss, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a week off from work. I have some important family matters to take care of which require a huge part of my time."

"Hey now listen Bashkir. I like you you are a good worker, and that is something we cannot do without. But times are tough and the company cannot afford to be giving employees time off right now... even I am working overtime in order to make sure things keep running smoothly. But since you are such a good guy, I will make you a deal if you agree to work 4 hours overtime every day for a month after you get back, AND I think the reason for your leave is good enough, then I will give you the time off."

"My reasons are personal..."

"Well, my business is personal and you are a part of it. So let's hear it. How bad could it be?"

"You see, my wife is pregnant again and just got the flu - I need to take care of her and the girls until her aunt comes over next week to take over."

"Ok say no more - I understand. Just be sure you get back when you say you will. I will have one of the other guys take over part of your shift while you are gone he will be the one you relieve when you get back."

"Thank you for your understanding, sir."

Rafael walked out of his boss's office with a feeling of satisfaction. With that out of the way, he could go about his plans much easier. What he had not told his boss, however, was that he would not be returning to work...

o---OoO---o

It had been six and a half uneventful days since Rafael had made the arrangement with his boss. His wife still had no idea that the place he went every morning was not work, but instead was watching the house intently. Every morning he drove 5 miles away and parked his car in the lot of an old hotel no one would notice a vehicle parked there for hours. Then he would jog back to a place near the house where no one could see him, but gave him a perfect view. No one would be able to approach the house without him seeing... unless they jumped over the back fence, but he figured the traveler would not go through that much trouble if he was certain the husband of his current affair was busy at work. Rafael remained very patient somehow, it was very easy to do so. He rarely moved from his position, and when he did it was only to take a piss or keep from getting cramped up. Though he was normally very calm, he was beginning to get worried if this traveler guy didn t show up by the time his days off were up, he would not get another chance to catch him for at least a month! He just HAD to come by today!

Just then, as if luck finally decided to side with him, he saw a man approach the house. He was a tall man, about his height, and wore a non-descript khakis pants and a white shirt. Rafael crouched down, waiting in anticipation. However, the man continued walking past the house... Rafael sighed apparently his luck had run out for the day. Just then, his wife cracked open the door! She stepped outside and re-arranged her flower pots, but he could see that she was discreetly checking to make sure no one was watching. After seeing the coast was clear, she ran down the steps and into the arms of the stranger! Rafael froze. He had imagined his wife cheating on him, but actually seeing it was a completely different matter. He wanted to rush down right then, but used all his self-control to stay still. It was not yet the time his wife could still claim this man was simply a distant relative of hers or a family friend... which was a bit odd since she was from Japan and not here. Regardless, he stayed where he was and watched as Manami quickly rushed the stranger into the house. But before that, he saw his daughters go out to play in the back yard. He waited 15 minutes, and then he snuck up to the house and walked to the side, careful not to let his daughters see him. He peered into the bedroom window only to see the shade was down, so he pressed his ear against the window and heard the unmistakable sounds of love making. He felt himself freeze again, but this time out of sheer feral fury. He felt his blood boil and it rushed to his head. His whole body began to quiver, and he felt his hand reach into his pockets for his house keys. Just as suddenly though, he calmed down completely. Not even he could understand it. He walked casually to the front of the house and in through the front door it was not locked. He could hear his wife moaning from the entry way. Her voice getting louder as he approached their bedroom. He went into his study which was down the hall from the bedroom, and crouched down near his desk to pop open a secret compartment underneath it. Inside was a long, expensive knife with an ornately designed handle. He admired the sharp, steel blade for a few seconds, thoughts of how much his wife needed to die flooding his mind. It completely took him over, and clouded his mind. His vision was no longer clear - his head rushed with blood and anger. He walked slowly to the bedroom, the door slightly ajar. He waited there a few seconds, and then slowly opened it so that he would not alert them too easily.

He rushed in, letting the anger and craziness drive him. He roared and plunged the knife into the travelers head, pulled it out, and viciously shoved the body away. His wife froze in terror, not even able to scream. She raised her arm in defense when she saw her husband go towards her. He grabbed her arm and got behind her, putting her in a choke hold. She struggled, but he was very strong. He took a belt from his drawer and firmly fastened her arms behind her back. Then he held her firmly, and gently brushed the tip of the blade against her chest. She screamed. Then he put the blade near flush with her skin, and began to cut. He started with her arms, and then continued down her chest and stomach. Her legs came next. He listened to her scream, letting it fill him with the greatest sense of peace he ever felt. This was perfect she had needed to be skinned for years, and now he was finally doing it. By the time he was done, she had lost most of her blood, but was still conscious and moaning. He did not feel like stopping though and began stabbing her. Twenty-four times he counted. Once he was done, he let her limp body fall to the floor. Just then the light rustle of clothing broke the silence. Rafael turned around and saw his two daughters each holding each other in sheer terror. Neither could quite understand what had happened, but knew it was something horrible.

Rafael stood up, and walked slowly towards them. His footsteps echoed almost eerily in the room. The girls whimpered and cowered, too afraid to move. He grabbed them, yanked them all the way inside the room, shut the door, and sat down in front of it. There was no escape for them now. He grabbed Tamiko and began skinning her. Svetlana screamed as she saw the horrible thing being done to her sister. The poor girl did not know what to do - her mother was covered in blood and not moving, and her sister was screaming her lungs out. Despite her young age, she understood that it was her father who was causing their suffering.

As Rafael admired his daughter's perfect, flawless skin as the blood streaked down over it. The little girl screamed and screamed until her voice began to grow weaker. Tamiko was losing too much blood, and was beginning to feel faint. Finally, she fainted before Rafael could finish the job, but he did not care - he wanted to continue. He was so caught up in his work that he forgot Svetlana was still in the room. She knew she was in danger and that she had to get away. Svetlana looked around - the door was blocked by her father, but the window was available... She glanced at her father, and saw he seemed completely unaware of her existence. By then Tamiko had stopped screaming, but was now drenched in blood. Svetlana ran to the window and tried to lift it it would not budge. So she banged on it, fearfully glancing back at her father, but he was too engrossed to notice. So she grabbed a small vase, and using both hands, pounded it against the window it broke, and she used the remaining parts of the vase to break the hole big enough to climb out of. She cut herself quite badly in the process, but kept going out of sheer terror. Finally a jagged hole was created and she went through.

After several more minutes, Rafael finished. His daughter was still no longer moving or screaming. Not even a whimper escaped her lips. He put his bloody hand on her wrist no pulse. He gently lifted her off his leg and set her on the floor. Then he went to his wife and checked her pulse it was still too. He felt a rush of peace and satisfaction at what he did. He did the right thing he killed them! It was what he had longed for so long, wasn't it? A tiny, almost non-existent voice in the back of his mind was screaming in agony at the destruction of his family, but Rafael hardly noticed it. As far as he was concerned, he did a good thing. Tamiko and Manami Bashkir were dead. Then he remembered that he had another daughter... where was she? A quick glance at the window showed she had escaped, but he did not care. His daughters were not his primary targets anyway. It was mainly his wife. Then it occurred to him that if Svetlana had escaped, she might have alerted the police. A pity, he though, I would have loved to skin this traveler fellow. As he rinsed off his hands and knife in the bathroom, he again caught glimps of the book "Running Rivers". On a whim, he picked it up and examined the author on the rear. Eiri Yuki. Japan. A deranged smirk twisted his lips. I suppose I know where my next trip will be. And that was the last time anyone saw Rafael Bashkir, until now.

END EPISODE 11

(In the next episode of "More Precious than Gold": THE FINALE!!!! YES - THE FINAL CHAPTER!!! Is Shuichi rescued on time? What about Yuki's writing career? Is K really of any help at all? You MUST stay tuned for the next episode if you want to find out!!!)

Author's Notes:
In my original version I did not have this chapter, but instead had 24 give a brief (but lame) explanation behind his madness. It wasn't done very well, and I did not like it. I guess an explanation this long wasn't exactly necessary, and you would probably rather find out what happens to Shu and Yuki instead of reading about 24's past, but all in good time :) My next chapter WILL be my last chapter because it finalizes the story. However, in my original version I wrote 2 bonus chapters that are kind of like an extension of the story (but not necessary to read), so if you're interested in that then you can stick around after the finale is posted. Again I apologize for the extreme amount of time in-between my updates, but I'm in college now and it's taking up most of my time :P I hope to revise and post the finale before the break ends though! As always, thank you for having interest in my story, and keep those reviews coming! I really do love reading what you have to say!!! Oh, and let me know if you think this chapter was even necessary... maybe I'll just summarize it instead of making it an entire chapter.

More Author's Notes:
Just in case it wasn't clear, the setting for this story takes place in Russia (Rafael's home country). Also, "Svetlana" is a Russian name, and "Tamiko" is a Japanese name. Rafael and Manami agreed upon this since Manami herself is from Japan, and Rafael is from Russia. The names were meant to reflect upon their parents' home countries.