I know everyone wants to get to the actual story, so I'll be brief. I mean, it's not like that many of you guys actually read this section right? But, if you guys do, I love you forever.
BTW, this story surpassed half a thousand reads today, with a record breaking 257 in two days... Yeah, that's how many. I added it up. What are you guys doing with your lives? Lol I appreciate the love you're giving the story. You're making my friends think I'm gonna get famous as a writer. I call bullshit, though.
So, Here's Part Two of the Book of Fear.
Enjoy.
Chapter 11: Book of Fear, Part Two
The bullet slammed into Rika, blood spurting from her small chest as she fell.
However, Rena had somehow read Rika's intentions and had grabbed her just as the bullet went off. When Rena moved, so did everyone else.
"Satoshi, get the girls out of here! I got Takano!" Keiichi yelled. He quickly tackled Takano, gripping the hand with the gun tightly as the two struggled on the ground, wrestling for dominance.
Mion started to rush to help Keiichi, but Shion grabbed her. "Not now, you idiot! Run!" The group quickly ran outside, following Satoshi towards where they would meet up with Takao, with Shion carrying Rika.
"Keiichi's all by himself back there!" Mion cried.
"Yeah, he is!" Satoshi said. "But that's what he wanted! He came all this way just for you guys, and he'd rather let himself die than let you die! So get moving, because I'm not about to get chewed out by him!"
Mion forced herself to resist the urges to run back and help, and focused instead on Rika's wounds. She gasped as she felt the bullet hole.
"How is she?" her sister asked.
"Not good." Mion said, applying pressure to Rika's chest. The blood just kept flowing.
"Damn it." Mion said. She'd never felt so useless before. Keiichi was fighting a bat-crazy woman with a gun, and one of her closest friends was bleeding to death right before her.
"Where are we even going?" Hanyuu called ahead.
"There's a van up the hill that should be waiting to get us." Satoshi called back. "That is, if Mr. Sonozaki kept up his end of the plan and got there in time!"
"Wait, Dad is here?" Mion asked. "You guys actually got him to help out?"
Satoshi grinned back at her, despite the fear coursing through him. "Yeah, he's pretty awesome."
"How did you guys even get him to listen to your plans?" Shion said. "Dad doesn't let anyone order him around. He's that intimidating!"
"Apparently Keiichi was the more intimidating of the two. He took one look at your dad and he made him back up!"
Whoa, Mion thought. Keiichi really knew how to get to people. She flushed with loving pride for a moment, which was promptly shattered by worry.
Keiichi, you better not die on me. Not this time.
The girls continued to follow Satoshi up the ridge line, constantly looking over their shoulders to make sure Takano wasn't behind them. They half expected bullets to begin flying after them, attempting to end their lives.
"Keep moving, Shion!" Rena cried. "Don't be looking back like that!"
Shion had turned around and was looking behind her in a daze. As Rena called her name, she shook her head out of whatever daze she'd been in and continued running. She'd long since taken the responsibility from Mion to apply pressure to Rika's wound, but it wasn't working well. Blood continued to slowly oooze out between her fingers, despite the pressure. Shion shed tears as she began to fear for the life of her friend.
Satoko stumbled next to her and fell over. "This is too much... I can't go anymore... just kill me now..."
"Snap out of it, Satoko!" Her big brother called, running back to grab her. "I'm not letting you die! You're coming with me, damn it!"
"Nii-nii...!" She sobbed. Strong as she tried to be, she was still a little girl. She struggled to her feet and held her brother's hand as they ran.
When they reached the top of the hill, Satoshi let go of his sister's hand and rushed forward. He looked around, then began to pull at his hair, cursing loudly. "No, no, no, NO! He was supposed to be here! We left it right here! Where did it go?"
"Nii-nii." Satoko said, running to her brother's side. ""What did you leave here?"
"The van, Satoko." Satoshi said, "The van was parked right here, and it was supposed to be running so we could just leave!"
"Looking for something?" A deep voice echoed through the night. Satoshi turned around just in time to see a giant fist flying towards his face.
Satoshi went down like a sack of bricks, blood flowing from his shattered nose like a river. Shion screamed as his body fell, almost forgetting that she was still holding Rika in her arms.
Kirei stood over his body, shaking his fist slightly. In the other hand, he was holding Takao Sonozaki's limp body by the neck of his shirt.
"Dad!" The twins cried.
"Damn, that kid's got a bony nose." He turned and smiled at Rena. "You're next, little girl."
Rena glared at the man and brandished her cleaver. "I knew I should have killed you instead of knocking you out." She smiled. "My fault."
Kirei brandished a long Bowie knife, and lunged at Mion. But Rena was there in an instant, swinging her blade and deflecting the killing blow away from her friend. Mion quickly backed up and pushed her friends back, having nowhere else to go.
Kirei growled, and lunged at her, swinging the blade. Rena moved to deflect, but Kirei twisted at the last second and slid the knife across her leg. Rena screamed in pain, and backpedaled.
"You may know how to use that cleaver to a certain extent," Kirei said. "But in the end, it's just a clumsy weapon."
Rena smiled. "Yeah, well I'm going to kill you with this clumsy weapon. You can count on it, you can!"
"We'll see about that." Kirei said. "I've trained with people from the SAS and the KGB. Do you really think you stand a chance against me?"
"Yes, I do." Rena winked.
Kirei growled. "Well, lets put that big mouth of yours to the test then, brat!"
The two clashed once more.
"Let... GO OF ME!" Takano screeched as she struggled with Keiichi. She tried pushing him off, but Keiichi kept hold of her somehow.
Reaching over, he was able to get the gun out of her hand and tossed it across the room. He then began laying into her, and the experiences from the last couple of days added strength to his blows. He punched her, over and over and over brutally, but she still looked at him with a crazed expression on her face.
She brought her legs up, braced her feet against Keiichi's chest, and kicked him off of her. Keiichi fell backwards, knocking over several of the candles and torture instruments. One candle landed on the couch and quickly caught fire.
Takano went for the gun, but Keiichi came to his senses and tackled her again. He landed on her back, and wrapped his arms around her neck. He began pulling backwards, tightening his grip on her throat. She began to choke and gasp for air. She rolled over, attempting to throw him off.
They rolled across the floor, even into the still-drying pool of blood in the corner. He felt the blood coating him as they rolled over and over in the liquid, but he managed to hold on the entire time.
She struggled to her feet, with Keiichi still hanging onto her. She turned to the fall, and began smashing him against the wall.
Pain racked him as his head slammed repeatedly into the wall. His limbs felt weak, and he almost let go, but the faces of his friends kept flashing through his head, and it cemented his resolve to hold her off while they made their escape.
Then... he would kill her for sure. So nobody would feel the pain he felt.
The memories haunted him, even while he was awake. Her laughing face was always on the forefront of his mind. How she electrocuted him, how she scarred him. How she whipped him over and over, how she shot him, how she burned him... She'd done so many things to him, and he knew that he would never forget the pain. He would never know peace, not until she was dead and buried.
She slammed him into the wall again, and this time a stray nail buried itself in his shoulder. Keiichi screamed in pain, and his grip loosened. Takano took this moment to grab Keiichi's arms, brace him against her hip, and swing him off of her back.
Keiichi was thrown into the wall at a wrong angle, and his eyes glazed over. His ears rang loudly, and his head felt dizzy. Next thing he knew, Takano was on top of him and began to brutally beat him. Keiichi could see stars as she landed blow after blinding blow into his face.
The couch was in full blaze now, with flames spreading to the curtains and licking the ceiling. The heat was intense, and Keiichi felt like his skin was being burned off just from being close to the fire.
"I thought you were gonna kill me, Maebara-kun!" Takano purred, her eyes dancing with the flames. "I'm still waiting on that promise." She continued punching him, until finally she reached over and grabbed her gun.
Takano brought the butt of her gun on his head once, twice, and a third time. Keiichi felt his eyes start tearing up. He could taste blood in his mouth. The pain was consuming him to where he couldn't even think. Finally, she chambered a round, and trained the gun on him.
Shit... I'm sorry, Mion... In the end, I guess I really wasn't good enough...for you... Keiichi thought, just as she pulled the trigger and shot him.
Rena dodged as Kirei delivered a high-handed chop, and slid the blade of her cleaver across the back of his legs. He howled in pain as blood ran down his cargo pants. He stumbled forward a few steps and then turned around, his eyes burning in rage.
But he was running on fumes, he was just about dead on his feet. He couldn't do anymore. Rena had worn him out. She'd cut him so many times, he had to be bleeding out.
"Damn you..." Kirei said.
Rena just smiled. "Time to die."
All of a sudden, a gun shot rang out through the woods, and everyone's eyes turned towards the sound. It sounded like it came from the cabin.
Rena felt an awful tug in her heart. It felt like something that wasn't supposed to happen had just happened.
Mion felt it too, because her eyes became as large as dinner plates. "Keiichi...?" Then, a look of absolute rage and determination overcame her, and she rushed towards Kirei.
"Onee, no!" Shion cried, but Mion was done listening. Years of technique and martial arts training ran through her mind. She ran up to Kirei and executed a perfect high kick to the side of his face, effectively knocking him down. She then grabbed Kirei under each of his arms, picked him up and held him in place.
"Kill him, Rena!" Mion shouted. "Do it, now!"
Rena nodded, ran forward and with a cry, she ran her cleaver across the man's throat.
A horrible, gaping smile opened on his neck. Kirei gasped and gagged as he tried to draw in breath, but was unable to. Instead, he grabbed at his throat as both his mouth and the hole in his neck began to overflow with blood. Then, he fell forward, dead.
"Good riddance." Mion said. "Now, I'm going back to check on Keiichi. That gunshot didn't feel right." Rena nodded in agreement.
"It didn't feel right?" Shion asked. "What does that mean?"
A groggy voice behind them answered. "She means that it feels like maybe Keiichi got shot."
Everyone turned around and saw Mr. Sonozaki rising shakily to his feet.
"I'm sorry, you guys. That man got the drop on me when I was being stupid. I didn't even consider watching my back." Takao turned to Rena. "Am I right in guessing that something went wrong, and Keiichi ended up staying behind?"
Rena nodded. "Takano appeared out of nowhere, and he held her off so we could run away."
"Sounds like something the damn fool would do." Takao grunted. "Not saying that I wouldn't do that myself."
He looked at his eldest daughter. "But, Mion, if Keiichi did get shot, that will mean you're just going to run into Takano down there. It's tantamount to suicide."
"I know, Dad," Mion said. "But I still need to go down there! It's just..."
Her dad walked over to her and embraced her. "I know how you feel. But right now, if you really care about him, you need to ask yourself: What would Keiichi want right now?"
Mion sighed. She knew exactly what the idiot would want. "He'd want me to be safe."
"Exactly." Takao said. "Now, let's get you to safety, and I promise-"
"You're not going anywhere." Takano walked out of the tree line, with her gun trained right on the group.
Immediately, Takao gathered the girls behind him, placing himself instinctively between the group and the shooter.
"Oh, no need to do that, dear." Takano said. "It really just gets in the way." She scratched at her neck, which Mion noted was already spattered with blood. In fact, she was covered in it.
"Where is Keiichi?!" Mion cried, and Satoko and Hanyuu had to try and hold her back. "What did you do to him!"
"Keiichi...?" Takano seemed confused. "Oh, Maebara-kun? Oh, yeah, he's dead."
Mion's heart sunk. Keiichi's... dead? No... that can't be true... Her limbs went limp, and she could feel the tears begin to flow. Her heart ached...
"It was really quite sweet." Takano said, still aiming at Takao. "He almost got me, too. But, in the end, you shouldn't send a child to play an adult's game, right?" She asked Takao.
"Damn you..." Shion said.
"That's not a very ladylike thing to say." Takano said.
"Fuck you, then!" Mion shot back. "Try that out!"
Takano smiled. "This is why I hate teenagers. You are so... Rebellious. Sticking noses where they never belong..."
She aimed the gun at Shion. "Maybe I should kill you first."
Shion turned herself to protect Rika, but Mion stepped in front of her sister. Hanyuu grabbed Satoko and stood behind Shion, sensing Mion's intent.
Takano grinned. "Are we going to play this song and dance again, Mion? I won't miss this time."
Mion just glared at her. "Keiichi risked his life to protect us. I'm not going to let his wish die. So go ahead and shoot me... But just you try and hit someone else! Just you try and hurt one of my friend! I swear you'll wish you were dead!"
"Well, someone else just promised to kill me, Mion." Takano chuckled. "And we all know what just happened to him." She began grabbing at her throat with her other hand, squeezing in with her nails.
"He's dead, Mion!" She laughed. "He's dead and we all know where he is right now!"
"Yeah," A familiar voice said. "I'm right here."
Takano turned, her eyes wide in shock.
"But...I killed you!" She cried in fear. "I shot you in the head! You... you can't be alive!"
"Well, you missed big time." Keiichi said, holding his shoulder. He brought his gun up to her head and shot her.
Point Blank.
Takano's head jerked backward, blood spraying out from her as the bullet entered her head and killed her. Her body collapsed, and Keiichi looked at it in disgust.
"I'm also a man of my word. I told you I'd kill you." Keiichi spat.
Then, he looked over at Mion, smiled and gave her a thumbs up. She looked at him in utter disbelief, but happiness was the only emotion in her mind. Hanyuu and Satoko hugged each other and cheered. Shion actually shed a tear.
Takao chuckled and walked over to Keiichi. "You sure can take one hell of a beating, huh, Keiichi? You're damn near unstoppable." He had gained an entirely new respect towards the young man.
"Well, she was going to hurt her." He said. "I couldn't stay still. Even if I..."
Keiichi coughed, and spat out blood. He staggered, suddenly uneasy on his feet. He fell forward with a confused look on his face, and Takao rushed forward and caught him before his body could hit the ground.
"Keiichi!" Mion cried as she rushed forward and knelt next to him and her dad. Keiichi looked over at her and smiled weakly. She took her boyfriend from her dad and laid his head in her lap, cradling him gently. He didn't look anywhere else. For some reason, it was like all he could see was her.
"Hey there, beautiful." He said hoarsely.
She smiled, feeling like she was about to cry. "Hi there."
"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" he asked, his eyes searching her urgently. His hand reached up and touched her cheek gently.
She shook her head. "No, Keiichi... I'm fine. She didn't even touch me."
He chuckled, and put his hand down. "That's good." He then looked her in the eyes. "You just can't keep yourself out of trouble, can you?"
She remembered saying the exact same words just hours ago. "Well played, my little champion. Well played." She said.
He smiled, then closed his eyes. "I'm kinda tired... mind if I take a quick nap here? I won't be long and... this feels nice..."
Mion smiled, and instead of answering, she simply ran her hand through his long, shaggy brown hair. Keiichi sighed, and within moments, he was fast asleep in her lap, snoring lightly.
Rena sighed. "Hauuuu~ It's like you two were meant for each other..." For once, she didn't want to try and take anyone home.
Mion placed a hand on his chest, and lovingly drew circles around his chest. "Yeah, it does seem that way, doesn't it? It's like he's already a Sonozaki in all but name..."
"You know... he can be a Sonozaki in name..." Her father teased.
"DAD!" Mion shouted. "It's a little early to talk about that, don't you think?"
"Hey, just saying that I wouldn't mind him being my son-in-law." Takao shrugged. "He'd make a fine addition to the Sonozaki family." He shook his head. "That's one hell of a guy you've got yourself there. Unbelievable..."
"No argument there..." Shion said. "But I would argue that we need to hurry up and get Rika to the hospital."
Mion felt something wet, and held her hand up to the moonlight. It glistened with fresh blood. "I think I agree, Sis. Keiichi's not doing too well, either."
Takao leaned in and took a closer look at the wound. He grinned. "He'll be fine, sweetheart. He just got shot in the shoulder. Shouldn't take him too long to get over." He looked at Rika as well. "It's the same with her, but it's a little closer to the inside of her arm. That explains all the blood. But, enough talk." He grunted as he stood.
"I think I hid the van over here." Takao said. He picked up Keiichi's sleeping form in his arms, and guided everyone to where the van was located. He slid the side door open, and guided everyone inside. Finally, Mion went last and Takao handed Keiichi to her, and she laid his head in her lap again.
She smiled and continued where she left off, running her fingers gently through his hair and massaging his head. Keiichi sighed again in his sleep, and he mumbled her name sleepily.
She smiled. "I'm right here, Keiichi. I'll always be here, just like you've always been there for me."She whispered in his ear, inaudible to anyone else that might've tried to listen.
The van started up, and began the long drive back into town. Behind them, smoke and fire from the burning cabin rose into the air, adding a little bit of light to the dark night.
Hope you guys enjoyed my story. I have one last update planned and that is the epilogue, and that should be going up tonight.
You guys have been awesome. I really appreciate all the help you guys have given me, all the support, all the feedback, everything. And I'm sorry if it seemed short to a lot of people. I never intended for it to be a long running thing. I just wanted to write a story and have fun doing it, which I did. And the response from you all was amazing. I'll have to keep writing more stuff like this for you guys. That is, if you haven't gotten sick of me already.
A couple shout outs to people who followed the story and gave me support and suggestions. You guys are the real MVP's here.
Cathari Sarad
NeNe Clawz
Issae
kk2320
You guys deserve a round of applause. You really do.
Hope you guys will look forward to my next fanfic, which is a Rosario + Vampire fic, called Fury of Kings. The name is subject to change, of course. But if you are interested in that show, definitely follow me there. BTW, if you wanna check out Rosario + Vampire, I recommend reading the manga and not watch the anime. The manga is SO BADASS and AWESOME and provides the whole story, while the anime cut off half the story and just focused on being really hentai-ish and goofy. Not worth the trade-off, in my opinion. And I think everyone will agree with me.
This has been an awesome first experience for me, and I won't easily forget it.
As always. Thank you, you wonderful people. Until Next Time.
