Purgatory

Rated PG-13 for language.

Author's Notes: Beh, I know, I know. The time it took me to complete, revise (I actually do edit these things, even if you find it hard to believe) and post this chapter was ridiculously long. I just started my freshman year at high school, and all Honors classes midterms well, you get the idea.

So thanks for bearing with me, and I hope you enjoy.

---

What was that saying again? You know... that sound that so many people imposed for the sound of the heart beating violently, pulsing at an unnaturally fast speed. Ah, yes... he remembered now.

And that's certainly what was happening with him now... doki doki. Masao thought his heart was sure to throb right out of his chest.

Because she was there. That one woman, married or no, could make his internal organs go haywire just by her mere presence. It was... quite amazing, actually.

Through a pair of small binoculars, he could clearly see Kira Kashino limp up the steps of her apartment building, having just now returned home from a long hospital stay. Every curve, every strand of soft blond hair... it was so close, it was tempting to try to reach out and touch it. Yet at the only relatively safe distance of across the street, he couldn't risk being seen. Being seen meant being captured, and he would be thrown into juvie for sure this time... or worse, he might be sentenced as an adult. Shaking his head to clear them of such morbid thoughts, he leaned back in the plush seats of the Cadillac he had... borrowed from a very, very giving soul in a multi-story parking garage. He knew he couldn't stay in this one vehicle for long, because once they traced the plate, he'd be in trouble.

Get a hold of yourself, Masao. Right now, you've got to focus on your top priority.

That blasted Rei! He tilted the binoculars to the left, and saw Kira's husband carefully lead her up the fire escape, a shortcut they oftentimes would use to get into their home without going through the lobby. Masao watched with burning irises as the lucky bastard he was watching paused and scooped Kira up, legs beneath her knees, and cradled her the rest of the incline.

Masao moaned inwardly. How could he have been so stupid as to overlook him? Rei would probably not leave his wife's side for weeksor longer, with his luck. He would have to create some kind of diversion... something extremely urgent... to lure him away. Nevertheless, how was that to say that Kira wouldn't tag along?

Doubtful, his psyche reminded him. She's still hobbling around... she can't go anywhere without much trouble, right? Strike immediately.

He smiled impishly.

Things for Masao Kirishima were finally starting to look up.

---

Kurayami Kirishima was in a panic.

She rubbed a marble pentagram between her index finger and thumb feverishly, trying to ward whatever evil had transpired upon her residency away.

How could such a malicious aura hang above her home, with all of the symbols and figures to keep it at bay? Had she, Kurayami, slipped up somehow?

She paced back and forth, trying and failing at finding the origin of it all. It had begun about a week ago; fluctuating to different levels until eventually it reached a peak where it was nearly unbearable...

Kura stopped dead in her tracks. A week ago? That was when...

Before she could even finish the thought, the front door flew open. She shrieked, clenching the pentagram in fear of whatever just stepped into her foyer.

"Kura, are you there?"

Masao. Instead of feeling more comforted by the fact that her brother had come, however, she felt sickened; frightful of whatever he might drag into her apartment with him.

"I-I'm in the bedroom," Kura responded weakly, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"Good."

Kurayami hadn't expected to hear that. "W-What?"

"Stay where you are. I have company."

Masao's pitch didn't leave room for argument. Panicky yet curious at the same time, Kura cracked the door to her room open in the slightest, trying to get a glimpse of whomever Masao had brought home with him. What she saw caused her to recoil in fear. Masao's friend was in the hallway right outside!

They spoke in hushed tones. Kurayami had to strain her ears to hear.

"...must be done. I can't let them get away with this." That was not Masao, but his partner. He had a rough voice, somehow managing to sound fatigued, pained, and eager all at once.

Her brother spoke next. "I know that he did this to you."

The other man paused before replying. "...Yeah."

"Attacking him head-on will be pointless. Though an onslaught against the people he cares about most will be, well... much easier," Masao proposed, sounding as excited as a little child does during Christmas. "His wife, his father, his friends—any and all of them; they're easy targets. Sitting ducks, really. We just have to time this perfectly."

From her hiding spot in the other room, Kura felt like losing her lunch. What exactly was her brother speaking of? Was he this twisted? Tears pricked at her eyes. Oh, God, Masao, what are you going to do

Masao started up again. "But heed this: Rei's wife is mine, and mine alone. You take care of his best friend and his girlfriend for now."

"When do we begin?"

"Tonight. But first..." Kura teetered off-balance as the door to her room thrown open wide. She glanced up from where she lay on the floor, and into the hellish gaze of her closest sibling. Masao approached her slowly, as if he were unsure as to what he was going to do next.

"I'm sorry, Kura, that you had to hear that."

Kurayami had trouble finding her voice. When she did, though, it came out weakly and hoarse, as if she hadn't used it in days. "Why, Masao?"

He sighed, raking a hand through his dirty blonde hair. "Yes, why? Good question, wish I had thought of it myself. But I'm really sorry—you can't be allowed out of the house after hearing that. So stay put for awhile, 'mmkay?"

---

Yusuke Yoshioka was leaving the apartment when he heard a terrified, drawn-out scream, stuck on a single syllable... follow by silence. He paused, uttering a small prayer, hoping that Masao hadn't just done to his sister what he feared he had, and continued on. The concealed gun beneath his leather coat bumped against his pelvis bone as he left the building.

Who would have thought that Masao, some insane, scrawny little high-school kid would have an agenda against the same people he did?

Not that he was complaining or anything. Having an accomplice made his plans so much easier.

When Masao had countered Yoshioka in the parking lot of the hospital just as he'd been prepared to leave, he had barely recognized him beneath the over-sized trench coat he was swimming in. Yusuke had heard of him before: the crazy teenager who had tried to kill Rei Kashino and Kira Aso both on separate occasions, for reasons so inane no one could really seem to get their minds around them.

A kindred spirit.He liked the thought of that.

The drunkard wasn't even sure why he was so adamant about doing what he was about to do, really, but he felt it was necessary all the same. He glanced down at the sheet of paper where Masao had scribbled the address of a restaurant Tatsuya Kida and Harumi Sugihara were supposed to be dining at tonight. He wasn't sure how his cohort had figured this out.

"I have connections," was all he would tell.

Yoshioka shrugged it off. Not like he cared, as long as he could take someone down with him, guns blazing.

---

"What? Father called?"

"Well... Miss Shina did," Rei corrected his wife gently, kissing her on the forehead. "She called from a payphone somewhere near dad's building, and sounded pretty urgent... she was all choked up or something. She told me that it was involving Dad, but we were cut off before we had a chance." He stopped for a moment. "Are you sure you'll be all right by yourself, Kira?"

She managed a small smile, knowing how Rei was having troubles choosing between staying here with Kira in this fragile state of hers and going to check on her father. She would be fine on her own, she knew, so she reassured him. "Go on, Rei. I'm sure Father needs you more than I do."

"...If you're sure..."

"Positive. I'll probably just be sleeping the whole time, anyway."

At last, Rei nodded. "Okay. Love you." After slinging his favorite leather jacket over his shoulder, he was off.

And so Kira was left alone for the first time in days; left alone to her thoughts. She had been recuperating at home ever since her release from the hospital, but the persistent ache in her side barred her from moving about freely. Sometimes she was so desperate to leave her sickbed, though; she disobeyed her body's protests and did housework. Harumi and Tatsuya were constantly in and out, checking up on her when Rei was at work or running errands.

Kira sighed, snuggling deeper beneath her covers contentedly. She couldn't wait to get better. Just lying around beneath the quilts like this... she was deadweight. And with the constant plague of nightmares about her attack and attacker that refused to give her a good night's rest, recovering might be a trifle harder than it should be.

A wave of drowsiness swept over her, and before she knew it, she was drifting out of consciousness once more.

---

Masao smiled to himself as he saw the tall young man make his way hurriedly to his motorcycle and peel away from the curb. He watched eagerly until Rei was securely around the corner and even for a few moments after that, just to be completely sure. He'd waited too long for this, and if he screwed it up foolishly, he'd never have this perfect chance again.

Rei, I overestimated you. Daddy would be disappointed that you couldn't tell the difference between the voices of some voluptuous secretary and my dear little sister.

The smirk fell from his face. Practically leaping from the cement he sat upon, he realized that his time had finally come—finally, after this excruciating period of wait, he could reap the reward of his grueling patience.

In plain view, as wearing a disguise in a part of town like this was hardly feasible, Masao strode up to the apartment building and made his way inside, his excitement putting an extra boyish bounce in his step.

---

Kira had only been asleep for twenty-some minutes when a she was awoken by a sudden noise and draft. Shivering as she still hazed in and out of consciousness, she wondered why she had completely forgotten to shut the window.

Then she realized that it hadn't been merely a slip of her mind, and sat bolt upright in her bed.

Before she had time to inspect anything further, before she had time to even cry out, she felt a hand clamp tightly about her mouth from behind, the touch of cold steel to her throat. Her mind whirled with the familiarity of it all, thoughts and confusion all entwining so fast, so tightly, that she was almost kept from the imminent fear threatening to completely overtake her.

While Kira looked ready to faint, he was chuckling with emancipated mirth and hysteria. "My beautiful, dear Kira! Darling, I fear it's been much too long!"

Wanting to hear her striking voice again, he released his grip on her, the knife ever steady. His legs folded at the knees, he straddled her from behind, enjoying her spicy scent invading his nasal passages.

There came a choked sputter, and a single, disgusted word. "Masao."

"Isn't it grand?" He grinned toothily, knowing fully well that she couldn't see him and not really caring. "I missed you, my beautiful little honey."

"L-Leave me alone."

Masao recoiled at this, surprise overtaking him. She didn't sound afraid, she sounded... expectant. Had she seen him watching her somehow? Had she known? For the first time in a long while, his was at a loss for words, dread clawing at the pit of his stomach. So instead, he simply made his way around the bed—knife never straying from the gaunt-faced girl's delicate skin—until he was kneeling before her.

He was greeted by hatred, pure and simple. Nothing else shone in those brilliant eyes of hers. Only disgust, distaste, and contempt.

She doesn't see it. She doesn't see how much we're alike, how we're kindred spirits of a sort. Such a dense little girl; dense and stupid...

Masao leaned in dangerously close, closer and closer until Kira could retreat back towards the headboard no more. He bit her ear gently, and he felt her shiver in displeasure beneath him, squirming in vain to get away. She knew that he would use his weapon if necessary, so there was no real attempt in her struggle.

My carving knife says it for me. You can't argue with steel.

---

He's late. Harumi mused worriedly, peeking at her small, silver watch for the umpteenth time. Listlessly she folded and unfolded her legs beneath the booth's table, having been waiting her for well over an hour. Tatsuya could be a flake sometimes, but he would have taken the consideration to call if he was going to be this tardy.

Normally she wouldn't have bothered to be so apprehensive in a situation like this. Maybe he was just stuck in traffic or something, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Kira's rubbing off on you, Harumi, she thought dryly. Pretty soon you'll have an ulcer if I keep panicking like this!

She glanced out the thick pane of the restaurant's window, straining her eyes to get a glimpse of her boyfriend. Nothing was wrong, nothing at all.

Just traffic...