Chapter 21 – The Red Hole

Well here is the final flashback chapter. All other chapters after this one will be about what's happening in the present. Sorry this update took so long!

Special thanks to: Dominique, Nyarghh, Guest, TheDepraved, jasdevi's secret sissy, and Martha for the recent reviews!

Warning: Graphic depictions of gore

April 3rd 2014 – Buddhist Monk Temple

Genkaku's P.O.V

There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

The perfect day to lie around and do nothing. Which is exactly what I found my apprentice doing. It was his turn to retrieve water from the nearby well and here he was lying under the shade of a tall oak tree. That damn mutt was also lying beside him. The two were both lost in their own little dream land. The wind played with Jason's shaggy hair. It was definitely time for another haircut. He looked so peaceful and carefree. A light smile even touched his lips. If I hadn't been so aggravated with his laziness, I might've joined him. Regardless, I still wanted to reprimand his ass for skipping out on chores again. Just because spring was upon us did not give him the right to sleep the day away.

I grabbed the wooden bucket and went down to the well. This seemed like the perfect way to wake him up and teach him a lesson at the same time. I filled the bucket and quickly walked back to my snoring companion. Part of me knew this was slightly cruel, but another part was almost gleeful at this rude awakening. I held the bucket over his crotch and smirked as I dumped it on him. Jason roughly jerked out of his slumber. He sprung up immediately, eyes wide and frantic. The mutt jumped back from his flailing.

"W-what the fuck!" He yelled.

I had to bite back my laughter.

Jason looked up at me. His shock soon morphed into a grimace. His groin was soaked along with some of his shirt. I kept my face impassive though I was smirking on the inside. He sat up and flung his soaked clothes off until he stood bare in only his underthings. Nudity wasn't an uncommon thing in the temple, but considering this was my apprentice, I had to keep my true emotions under wrap. Jason's scrawny frame had worked up a tiny bit of muscle during his training. I quickly looked away from him. The last thing I wanted was to get all red-faced in front of Jason. The boy would never let me hear the end of it.

"Was that really necessary?" He asked.

This time I couldn't help but grin.

"Perhaps,"

His dark eyes narrowed.

"Great now everyone in the temple is gonna think I just pissed myself!" He growled, motioning towards his wet crotch.

He grumbled something in English, possibly another curse word, before twisting his wet clothes. He shook the last bit of water droplets from his hair, resembling a shaggy dog. His hair strands sprung up in a mess of snarls. I chuckled at Jason's disheveled state. He scowled at my amusement.

"Screw you," He mumbled.

He glanced down at the empty bucket with sagged shoulders.

"Do I still have to go down to the well?"

Jason peered up at me with dark puppy eyes. I did feel a little bad for him, especially after pouring a cold bucket of water on his privates. With a heavy sigh, I picked up the bucket and chucked it into the woods. Jason looked surprised before a cruel smirk crawled onto his lips.

I mimicked his own expression. "Let's just say we misplaced the bucket,"

Jason laughed and grabbed his wet shirt. He squeezed the droplets out of it before throwing the wet cloth over his shoulder. I noticed his eyes started to linger on my collar.

"What happened to your neck?"

My spine instantly straightened. A loud thumping resonated in my ears. The memories of last week came rushing back. The pain. The anguish. The humiliation. Everything that I tried to bury away in the furthest parts of my mind. I could still feel that man's rotten teeth on my neck. His foul breath on my face. I remember he smelled like moth-eaten grime.

"Azuma?" Jason touched my shoulder.

I flinched back from his hand. Jason looked worried now. It didn't even occur to me that I'd been shaking the entire time. I took deep, even breaths and forced the horrid thoughts away. Opening my eyes, I didn't see the old man. I saw my friend. Jason tilted his head, waiting for me to explain my odd behavior. I forced a smile to try and ease his worries.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I got into a…disagreement the other day."

He looked absolutely shocked. "You got into a fight?"

"Heh…" I sheepishly looked away, scratching at my arm.

"With who?" He asked.

I didn't want Jason to know about those three men. My tormentors. Jason would confront them in an instant if he found out what happened. I wouldn't be surprised if he even tried to kill them. If that happened, he would be kicked out permanently. No questions asked. I couldn't allow that to happen. Jason was the only thing keeping me somewhat together. If I lost him, I'd lose what was left of my sanity.

"It was just with some of the younger monks. You wouldn't know them," I shrugged it off as if it were nothing.

Jason stared at me without saying a word. As if trying to see past my lie. Whether Jason believed it or not, he still flashed me a reassuring smile and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. The small gesture meant the world to me. I eased into Jason's embrace, not wanting to leave his touch. His warmth felt like the sun. Perfect and full of love. Jason squeezed me tighter.

"Come on, let's go check on that little kitten of yers. He's probably waiting for his precious daddy to come back,"

I snorted at that last remark. Jason whistled and called that mutt along as we walked back to the temple. When his arm fell from my shoulder, I almost groaned out loud. My skin felt cold without his touch. I already missed that loving warmth. There were times during the winter when I would even fake hypothermia just so Jason would share his body heat with me. I loved having him in my arms like that. It was like he belonged there.

My Jason.

When we arrived at the temple, the kitten was still in the same spot I'd left it. Her broken paw was doing a little better, but she still couldn't walk on it. The tiny thing mewled up at us in a cute greeting. Jason went to go fetch her some milk while I waited under the shade of the tree beside her. The kitten was doing a lot better in terms of personality. When I first found her, she hardly made any sound. She just curled in on herself, as if waiting for death to finally consume her. At the moment, she was a sprightly, young tabby. Just as any kitten should be. It made me feel good knowing I saved her life.

"Hey Genkaku! Yer box still taking donations?"

I froze upon hearing that cackle.

A trio of footsteps approached me from behind. Those three bastards. A sickening chill ran through me. Their tall shadows fell over my body. I felt so small. So helpless. My skin crawled from the feeling of seedy eyes raking over me. It was like they were inspecting a piece of meat. I hunched over and closed my eyes, hoping they'd just go away. Praying for the universe to take pity and spare me from any further humiliation.

The universe might as well have been the one fucking me.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" A rock came and hit me in the shoulder.

I flinched, remaining completely silent. They were standing directly behind me now. One of them kicked at my side, trying to get some sort of reaction. It didn't work. I kept my head low and my shoulders hunched. This was my only defense mechanism. When kicking me didn't work they each resorted to heckling.

"Get up you little cocksucker!"

"You want us to drag you back to the shrines again?"

"Maybe he'd like that. The little fag was just beggin for it last time,"

"Is that it Genkaku? You hungry for some fat cock? Ha!"

Inside me, a rage slowly grew. A white noise filled my ears. I was so sick of these monsters always tormenting me. I never did anything to them. Yet they constantly tortured me for their own amusement. I didn't deserve this. Compared to everyone else, I was the most devote monk here. Buddha should be praising me himself for how hard I've worked. My whole life I devoted myself to the temple and the great Buddha and for what? To become the plaything for three disgusting pedophiles? Even the elders didn't believe when I tried to tell them what was happening. They all thought it was my fault.

I wish I could just get rid of them all…

Who says you can't?

My eyes focused on the sleeping kitten. So small and pure. She didn't deserve to suffer either. To be thrown away like a piece of trash and left for the wolves to tear apart. The tiny kitten reminded me that there was still good in the world. There were things worth living for. I thought of Jason and his kind warmth. That alone was enough to get me through any storm. Just picturing his smile took some of the pain away. My tormenters were now a million miles from me. I could no longer hear their cackling voices or snide remarks.

The kitten purred rather loudly to which I smiled in return.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"That's better," I said slipping on a dry shirt.

After changing into some dry clothes, I snuck into the kitchen and stole some milk for Genkaku's kitten. I wasn't exactly a cat person, but my sempai adored the little fur-ball so I made sure it was happy. And whatever made Genkaku happy was perfectly fine with me. Genkaku seemed to be in better spirits after finding the broken kitten too. Lately he's been more reclusive and jumpy. He also refuses to tell me why. I knew something was up, I just didn't know what exactly.

Then I found my answer.

It was those three monks who moved here just last month. They stood around Genkaku who looked ready to bolt. They were pushing him. One got in his face and pursed his lips mockingly. The bald one grabbed Genkaku by the hair and shouted at him. When he got no response the monk slapped him across the cheek.

I dropped the small tin of milk.

My hands shook I was so fucking angry. Every bone in my body wanted to beat the living shit out of them. Hell, I wanted to kill them. Nobody touched my sempai. Not while I was alive and breathing. Fozz bared his teeth beside me like a wild dog. I imagine I looked the same. That how I felt anyway. Like a rabid dog that just got very pissed off. I didn't care if the elders kicked me out this time. It would be worth it to see those fuckers face down in their own blood.

I moved fast so they'd have zero time to defend themselves. The one on the far right noticed me first, but he wasn't quick enough. One kick to the face broke his nose and sent him to the ground. With a circling movement, I used my other leg to roundhouse kick the monk next to him. He doubled over in pain. I saved baldy for last. Cracking my knuckles, I aimed for his collarbone, intent on breaking it.

Two strong arms encircled me in a chokehold.

"That's enough Jason-san,"

Daichi

I struggled fruitlessly in his grip. Fozz barked and growled at the one I wanted to kill. His fur stood on end as his jaw snapped at the three monks. Daichi tightened his hold around my arms while using his larger bodyweight to keep me still. There was no point in me trying to break free. My sensei was a master at defense holds. He knew precisely how to keep someone immobilized. Still, I wanted to pummel that bald monk for laying a hand on Genkaku.

"Let me go sensei!"

I could just hear the disapproval in his voice.

"No—you are not in the right state of mind,"

My struggling ceased when I realized how disappointed my sensei was with me. He strictly told me never to attack someone in hate and here I was blatantly disobeying his orders. My body went limp in defeat. I snapped my fingers at Fozz who promptly quieted down. There was still a vengeful need to finish off that last monk, but I held myself back for Daichi's sake. When it was clear I'd calmed down, my sensei released his hold. Genkaku had watched the entire spectacle with wide eyes. When I glanced at him though, he looked away as if ashamed of himself. The bald monk helped up his other two friends before taking their leave. He scowled at me while whispering under his breath.

"Typical American,"

I tried to make a move, but Daichi stopped me with a firm grip on my shoulder.

"Jason-san," He scolded.

I exhaled, hands tightly clenched.

Daichi gave me a look that told me we were gonna have a talk about this later. When it was just me and Genkaku I tried to say something, but the other began to walk away. He picked up the sleeping kitten and cradled it in his arms. I noticed that his shoulders were shaking slightly. I couldn't tell if he was crying or just as angry as I was. It hurt to see him like this. My sempai didn't deserve such cruel treatment, especially from those pathetic excuses for monks. Genkaku was a good person and he deserved the best life had to offer.

"You alright?" I asked.

Genkaku didn't turn around. "I'm fine,"

He left after that.

I tried calling out to him. He just kept walking. I watched him head back to where our room was, probably to be alone. A strong part of me wanted to chase after him. To hold him in my arms and make sure he was really ok. If those three were the ones harassing Genkaku then he's probably been coping with it all by himself. My guess was that he was ashamed of being picked on. That he didn't stand up for himself. Genkaku was a pacifist so I'd never expect him to hurt anyone. Even if they were hurting him.

I was about to go after him when I stopped myself. If Genkaku wanted to be alone then I could at least give him that. Maybe some alone time was all he needed right now. It's not like he was going to go crazy or anything like that. By tomorrow this whole thing will hopefully blow over as just a bad memory.

I looked up at the bright blue sky.

Tomorrow will be better.

August 4th 2014 – Buddhist Monk Temple

"This sucks ass,"

As punishment for my little outburst yesterday, Daichi had me scrubbing the temple floors. It was already well past noon and I was still working on the first temple shrine room. It certainly didn't help when my only cleaning supplies consisted of a tattered rag and a small pale of water. Washing floorboards was a bitch to boot too. I had to stop and sit up every few minutes just to crack my back and relieve the tension. I wasn't allowed to have any help either. That meant no Genkaku. He spoke to me a little this morning, but I could tell he was still upset about yesterday. I didn't question him about it. Better to leave it be and let him get over it on his own.

I peeked through one of the sliding doors and spotted Genkaku trimming the hedges. There had to be something I could do to cheer him up. Something to help brighten his day. A few things crossed my mind like ice-cream or a chocolate bar, but those things were too trivial. I wanted to get him something really special. A gift that would show him how much I really care without saying it outright.

A light bulb went off in my head.

During our last trip to the city Genkaku spotted this little skull charm at a vendor's shop. From the way his eyes lit up, I knew he wanted it. That skull was the perfect gift for my sempai. I've been meaning to go back to that vendor and get it for him myself. Now was the perfect chance. Genkaku would be thrilled to see what I bought for him. He might be a little ticked that I used the donation money again, but I'm sure he'd get over it.

I threw my rag back into the grimy bucket and quietly slipped out the back door. Fozz, who'd been napping next to the shrines, wagged his tail and made to follow me. I stopped in the doorway and patted his head with a smile.

"You stay here boy. I'll only be gone a few minutes,"

He whined at first, but soon flopped back down and drifted back to sleep. I chuckled at his lazy state, shutting the door behind me. I made sure to avoid the other monks while I made my escape. After breaking into the donation box, I took everything inside and ran down to the market. I wanted to get back to cleaning as quickly as possible before Daichi realized I was missing.

But this shouldn't take very long.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Genkaku's P.O.V.

A group of crows cawed overhead.

I worked steadily on the hedges, making sure the shrubberies looked nice. The work was tedious and repetitive, just what I needed to take my mind off of everything. The snipping of the clippers made for a fine distraction. It helped when I imagined certain people as the ones I was cutting. The images put a smile on my face. The temple Jason was supposed to be cleaning caught my eye. I felt guilty that he got in trouble on my account. Though it was very enjoyable to see those men cower in fear from a scrawny adolescent.

"Where's yer bodyguard today Genkaku?" A gruff voice spoke from behind.

I froze.

"Not here huh? Maybe this means we'll get to have some fun later,"

'Snap'

I sliced a rather large portion of shrub.

"Too bad yer little fuck buddy can't join us. I can only imagine the fight he'd put up, not like your lifeless ass,"

'Snap'

My fingers twitched.

"The least you could do was moan or something. Not lie there like a dead fish,"

'Snap'

His hot breath crept down my neck.

"I bet that little friend of yers could get you to moan,"

'Snap'

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

I dangled the tiny skull charm from my fingertips.

Holding it up to the light, the red crystal eyes twinkled. Almost like the skull was winking at me. It looked awesome. The charm was surprisingly cheap too. Or maybe the vender just got sick of me bumming around his shop and wanted me to leave. Either way, I didn't care. I now had the perfect gift for Genkaku to cheer him up. Maybe this charm will bring him good luck too. Putting it safely in my pocket, I counted the rest of the money. There was enough to buy myself a snack or something.

And after all the cleaning I did, I deserve a little treat.

Before I could take two steps, the ground started to move.

The sidewalk seemed to vibrate. The people around me all stopped, some even got out of their cars. A flock of birds suddenly darted across the sky. To me it looked like they were running away from something. We all waited for the tremors to be over. The vibrations shook me down to the bone. Almost like a freight train passing by. The sounds were like that of a giant waking up from its slumber. It scared me.

And then it stopped.

The world became quiet. The creaking of buildings came to an abrupt halt. My heart raced. Some people stood dazed while others started to run. I looked up at the clear sky. It mirrored the ocean to a tee. I could still feel the vibrations in my feet. There were tremors happening in my own body. The air tasted dry. My thoughts became blank. I could sense this weird tickle in my head. Like a warning.

And then the ground plummeted.

The earth knocked me over. Everything shook with tremendous power. Car alarms all went off at once. People screamed. Splits of road literally cracked open. My teeth chattered. It was like trying to walk on the Tilt-O-Whirl. Every time I tried to get up, the earth threw me off balance. The roaring sounds only grew in volume. Buildings toppled over. More screams. People yelling. Glass shattering. Cement cracking open. It was chaos. The end of the world. Another force knocked me back. This one felt almost magnetic. A burst of red shot up into the sky. I tried crawling to safety.

A women carrying a pot of flowers ran out of the building in front of me. We made eye contact for a split second before a chunk of building fell and crushed her body. I was close enough to hear the bones cracks and her guts squirt out. Twisted limbs jutted out from under the rubble. Blood pooled out onto the sidewalk. The flowers were the only thing to survive. I couldn't smell them, but they looked pretty enough. Shock quickly overcame me. That could have been me under those rocks. Lying there dead and broken. A thundering crack came from above followed by a large shadow encasing my body.

I curled up and braced for the impact.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Genkaku's P.O.V.

When I opened my eyes, the temple was gone.

The buildings were all in ruins. Nothing had been spared. Splintered wood and debris littered the ground everywhere. Dirt and sulfur assaulted my airway. The monks were all thrown in a state of panic. Some ran off to get help. Others tried digging people out from under the fallen buildings. I watched as two monks pulled out a limp carcass covered in blood. I felt dizzy. Unbalanced. Glancing down, there was barely a scratch on me. I stood on shaky legs. My head hurt.

I gasped when I caught sight of the building Jason had been in. It was gone. The temple had caved in on itself and sunk into the ground. There was almost nothing left of it. No person could've survived something like that. I darted up to the hole, looking for any signs of life. There was nothing. Nothing but darkness. My feet stumbled back from the gaping rubble. None of this felt real. It all happened so fast. To the left of me, I heard a faint cry. It was the kitten. Trapped under a piece of rock. There was blood on her muzzle. I moved quickly. The rock was immensely heavy, I could barely move it by myself. The tiny thing gave one last cry before going still. The light slowly departed from her green eyes.

I sat there watching her.

She looked at peace.

Her suffering was over.

No more pain.

No more sorrow.

She had found salvation.

Just like Jason.

Farewell…

I laughed.

I laughed until it hurt.

"Why didn't I see it before? The answer was always right in front of me!"

The veil was gone.

I could now see the world for what it truly was.

Suffering just waiting to be over.

Another cry came out from the wreckage. It was one of my tormentors. The bald one. He was trapped under a crumpled wall. The pain in his voice was unmistakable. He was suffering. And very badly. I had it in my power to take that pain away from him. I could make it all go away. All it would take was a pair of hedge clippers.

When he spotted me, he reached out and begged for help. He had no idea that I was going to free him from this suffering. Permanently. This time I was the one casting a shadow over him. His crying ceased when he saw the smile on my face. For a second, he actually thought I was going to pull him out from under the rubble. What a fool.

I lifted the clippers and stabbed them into the back of his neck. He screamed and thrashed, making my job a bit more difficult. Cutting through the bone was going to be harder than I thought. That was alright though. I had faith in my hedge cutting abilities. The skin and muscle were easy to cut thankfully. It was just the spinal cord that put up a fight. It helped when his thrashing finally ceased. The bones cracked and popped as I hacked away at them. With one final twist, I severed his head. The clippers were absolutely sullied with his blood. Bits of tendon stuck to the metal. I lifted his head and inspected the face. The eyes were now black and devoid of any life. They looked so at peace.

I brought his head to one of the shrine rooms that was still intact. Using a fallen nail, I jabbed the blunt part into the wall so the pointy end stuck out. It took a minute to puncture the bone, but I eventually got his head jammed to the wall. The sickening wet noises his skull made as I slid it onto the nail were positively musical. My pale hands were now stained with red. Using his blood I drew a circle to mimic the Buddha shrine. A macabre sun made out of blood. It was beautiful. But there was still so much I had left to do. There were two more people I had to find.

To my luck, one of them wasn't far off. He had his leg trapped under a fallen tree. The monk cried out for help. I helped him with removing his leg. I then took to removing the bottom half of his torso. I never realized how much stuff we had inside us. His intestines were practically spilling out like gooey taffy. The arms came off after that. This made him much lighter. I was getting quite good at severing limbs now that I was getting the hang of it. I dragged what was left back to the shrine and nailed his mangled corpse beside the severed head. Their droopy faces actually looked quite comical. With their tongues hanging out and their eyes unfocused, they appeared very silly. I tried mimicking their faces and found myself laughing again.

I didn't have to find the last one. He found me. A deafening scream came from the entryway. He tried to run, but ended up tripping over his own feet. I plunged the hedge clippers straight into his back. He struggled unsuccessfully of course. I twisted the blades in a circle motion, loving the screams it erupted. The clippers dug deep into his spinal nerves, eliciting tremendous amounts of pain.

"Do you feel that?" I whispered.

The monk only cried in response.

I smiled. "That's the feeling of life. There's nothing but pain everywhere you turn. And there's no escape from it!"

I twisted the blades some more.

"AAAHH!" He clawed at the bloodied floor.

I began to laugh again.

"The only way out is through death,"

Soon his thrashing came to a stop. The screams quieted to just a few useless whimpers. I may have paralyzed him. With a gentle smile, I removed the blades from his spine and swiftly stabbed them into his skull. A gurgle of blood spurted out from his mouth. He did not move after that. Chunks of blood mixed with brain oozed out from the hole in his head. I severed his neck and stuck the skull beside his two friends. My finished work stood before me in all its glory. I'd never felt so accomplished in my life. Helping these poor souls find salvation felt wonderful. I wanted to do it again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

"Ekishen? Genkaku? Is anyone injured?"

My master's voice rang out from the darkness.

I turned to him to show off my hard work.

His eyes widened in shock.

"Master…I have saved them,"

The shock turned into horror.

"They are free from the veil…"

The widest of smiles dawned my face.

"…from evil,"

August 7th 2014 – Somewhere just outside Tokyo

I awoke next to a screaming child.

Turning my head, I saw what he was screaming about. His left leg below the kneecap was missing and blood poured out from one eye socket. His body was a horrid mess of cuts and bruises. Two people had brought him in via stretcher and placed him beside me. A nurse came by right after to try and tend to his wounds.

She stroked his head. "Shhh it's ok. You're going to be just fine,"

Considering he's missing a fucking leg, I highly doubt that.

I sat up and looked around the room. It kind of looked like I was in a classroom. A very fucked up classroom. There were screaming people everywhere. Some with missing limbs and severe burns. Others desperately seeking their family members. Nurses ran back and forth while paramedics hauled in bodies by the dozen. This place was a circus tent of disarray. It smelled like rotting flesh too. My own body seemed ok for the most part. My head hurt like a bitch, but other than that I felt fine. I must've been pretty damn lucky to survive something like that with only a head injury. No one stopped me as I walked out of the nearest exit. They were probably waiting for me to wake up so they could give my cot to some other poor bastard.

Outside, things weren't any better. It was like the entire city of Tokyo was turned upside down. Toppled buildings and hazardous debris everywhere you looked. Nothing was spared from the destruction. Except maybe the sky. It still looked as clear and blue as ever. Sirens and yelling were a constant background noise walking down the street. The damage done to the city was staggering. I've never seen anything like it. I hauled my ass down the streets and back to the temple.

When I got there, I just stood outside the entrance. The entire place was utterly demolished. It looked like maybe two buildings had survived and that was it. Everything else was gone. The place looked like a tornado had gone through it. Roofs were missing and shrines were sucked into the ground. Broken wreckage was everywhere. Tiny pieces of my short-term home. And now it was all gone. I bolted over to the temple I'd left Fozz at. The building had caved into a sinkhole. Next to the wreckage, I spotted a mangled piece of orange fur. Someone had pulled him out. Or at least what was left of him. I could already feel the fresh row of tears running down my face.

"Jason-san?"

Master stood over me.

I jumped to my feet. "Master! Where's Daichi? And Genkaku? Are they alright? Where are they?"

Master shook his head with a solemn frown. "Daichi was crushed under a temple roof,"

The news struck me deep.

"…and Genkaku?" I almost didn't want to ask.

Master recoiled at the mention of his name.

"Genkaku…h-he…"

Master trailed off, looking away.

"…I'm sorry Jason-san," He touched my shoulder before turning to leave.

He's gone?

I looked around at my surroundings. There was nothing left to call home. The only people I cared about were dead. Everything gone in an instant.

A single crow cawed above me.

That was a pretty brutal ending. I wasn't sure whether to add the gory scene with Genkaku where he's chopping those monks up. Then I thought, what the hell? It does fit with the story. How did this chapter turn out? Did the parts with Genkaku go over well enough? I tried to make his snapped reality as realistic as possible so I hope it sounded good.

Until next time

mcpidy