I hate to say it but, this is the final chapter of "Phantom Stalker". I'd like to say thanks to all of my readers; you guys are great. Thank you for reading my story and sending in reviews. I really appreciate it. As a matter of fact, you guys have been so great, that I've decided to make more PA fanfictions. But they'll be gruesome and weird.

Be sure to read my Full Metal Alchemist fic, "A Stray Child".

Please enjoy!

Strike 5- The Golden Bat of False Salvation

…Shina trembled as her friend, Minoru, lay there motionless in her lap. "No…no…nooo!" she cried, shoving her face onto Minoru's chest. She sobbed loudly, while the perpetrator stood there, watching. Shina looked up at him and shouted, "WHY! Why did you- he was my best friend!"

"I had to" he answered with no sign of remorse in his voice. "You had to? YOU HAD TO! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DOESN'T CARE ABOUT MY FEELINGS!" she yelled.

"Quit your bawling and stand up; stand strong. You humans are so pitiful…You live your lives based on emotions."

"I thought you loved me…and I…how could I be so…?"

"He's not dead" Lil Slugger said plainly. Shina looked up at him; her eyes were watery and red. "What?" she mumbled. Without another word, Lil Slugger skated away. Shina watched him go, unsure as to where he was going. Shina whipped her face and gently laid Minoru's head down. She rose to her feet, stared at him for a moment then ran back inside. She retrieved the policemen and they contacted an ambulance. Minoru was rushed to the E.R. while Shina sat in the waiting room. She held her head down, entranced by the marble floor, and how clean it was. Her head was filled with worry. A tear rolled down her cheek and onto the side of her lips. She licked the salty tear and sniffed. She saw a pair of brown shoes walk in front of her, along with a pair of black shoes, which were scuffed a bit. Shina raised her head and found Detectives Ikari and Maniwa standing there. Maniwa reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Here" he said, handing it to her. "Thanks" she replied, wiping her face. The two detectives sat in a chair on each side of the girl.

"How's your friend?" asked Maniwa.

"I think he'll be okay…but, I'm not sure…" Shina tried her best to hold back the tears.

"There, there" he rubbed her back.

"So, you were there when Little Slugger attacked him, right?" came Ikari's voice.

Shina's head turned from facing the brown-haired man, to the black-haired one. "Um, yes…I'm sorry, but I don't know your name…" she answered shyly.

Ikari stuck his hand out in front of her, "Detective Keichi Ikari. I'm Maniwa's partner."

"Pleased to meet you, sir! My name is Shina Yamamoto" she clasped her hand in his.

"Well, I hope this time you don't run away on us."

"Huh?"

Maniwa noted, "You left that classroom when we were going to come back to talk with you."

"Oh, that's right. I'm very sorry, that was rude of me!"

"Don't worry about it" Maniwa smiled. "Now, are you ready to talk with us?"

Shina lightly nodded her head. She didn't know what kind of questions they were going to ask; but she went along with it anyway.

Ikari shifted in his seat into a comfortable position, "Okay, now, earlier in the courtyard where the incident happened…Can you tell me how all of this started?"

"Well…" Shina started, but couldn't finish. Was she really going to tell them the truth behind her and Lil Slugger? Or would she lie? If she told them the truth, would they try to use her as bait to capture Lil Slugger? Millions of questions buzzed around in her head. After gathering most of her thoughts, she finally managed to say, "Lil Slugger and I…are…friends…" Maniwa and Ikari's eyes grew wide in shock.

"What, but how?" Maniwa questioned.

"We just started talking to each other whenever we met, and became friends…sort of…Well, you see, he…he likes me, so he hasn't hit me. He's done some bad things, but it was to help me. And today, we met up in the courtyard to talk. That's when Minoru-kun found us. He wanted to keep me away from Lil Slugger; to protect me, like a good friend is supposed to do. And then they started fighting. Lil Slugger was only defending himself, and he hit Minoru-kun…"

Ikari found himself to be a bit dumbstruck, while Maniwa stared intensely.

Ikari managed to speak, "I didn't think Little Slugger had any intimate feelings for people…Hmm…So has he told you anything about himself? Like, where he resides at, or who his next victim will be?" Shina shook her head "no". One of the doctors came out from the E.R. and beamed. "Your friend is fine, he suffered quite a blow to the head, but it's not too bad. Luckily you got him here in time or he would've most likely bled to death. You may come see him now." Shina jumped to her feet and dashed into the room. She cringed at the sight of an IV in Minoru's arm. Shina pulled up a chair and sat next to his bed side. She placed a hand on the boy's bandaged head and smiled weakly. The two detectives stood in the doorway, watching them, while exchanging a few whispered words. "Do you think he'll remember anything when he wakes up?" Maniwa asked Inkari. "I'm not sure" he responded, "But if he does, then Little Slugger's assault would be in vain. Heh, little punk…Going around hitting people. I can't wait till we get a hold of him…" Ikari stalked off to the bathroom. Shina grasped Minoru's hand tight, hoping that he would wake soon. And then, his eyes slowly opened. There was a dazed expression on his face as he turned his head towards Shina. She smiled brightly and embraced him. "Minoru-kun, I'm so glad you're okay! You remember right? It's me, Shina!" Minoru gazed upon her for a moment, then he said weakly, "..Shi-na?...I'm sorry, do I know you?" Shina's smiled flickered, "Ah-silly boy, don't tease! You know it's me, right? And Yumi-chan, remember her?" Minoru squinted his eyes as he tried to conjure up lost memories; Maniwa watched closely. "No…I'm sorry, I can't remember. Are you with the volunteer group who visits sick children in hospitals?" Shina's smile still remained but her eyes were wide in horror. While trying to recover her happiness, she reached into her blouse and pulled out a gold-chained necklace that had a butterfly metal sculpture on it. "You see this? You gave it to me for Christmas. Don't you remember?" Minoru shook his head, "No. Besides, I don't buy girly things for anyone." Shina gripped Minoru's shoulders tightly and cried, "Please Minoru-kun! You have to remember!" "Don't touch me!" he pushed her away, "You crazy girl…!" Shina's expression melted away and all that was left was a solid face, staring blankly at the person before her. "Oh, I see…Okay…Bye." She walked out of the room. Maniwa stared after her, with the most sorrowful look in his eyes.

Shina ran down the hallway in tears. She nearly crashed into Ikari as she passed him. Maniwa followed her. As he came across his partner, he asked, "What's going on?" "He lost his memory" Maniwa replied. Ikari cursed under his breath as he made his way to sit in a chair. Shina burst through the glass double doors and went around to the corner of the building. She banged her fists on a vending machine and cried loudly. She bent down into a crouch and cried, holding her legs. "No…Nooo! Mino-kuuuun!" She sat there for about three minutes, when she heard a familiar scraping sound. She quickly looked around and saw Lil Slugger approaching her, his bat scraping on the concrete to get her attention. "You…" she began as she stood up, a fire burned in her eyes. "How could you!" she yelled at him. Lil Slugger stopped a few feet away from her.

"Still angry are we?" he said, smiling. "You'll get over him soon."

"Damn you! Go to hell!" Shina ran up to him, but quickly stopped when he came to her. He nearly knocked her down when he grabbed hold of her. "Let go!" she yelled.

Detective Maniwa spied from around the corner. "Shina, don't worry about it anymore. Everything will be fine. I'll save you" said Lil Slugger.

"No, you've ruined my life. I give up. I can't trust you anymore!"

"Yes you can. Just forget all that's happened. I can still make things right for you, if you just trust me."

"How can I after what you've just done!"

Lil Slugger didn't respond. Shina lowered her head a bit, "I'm sorry Lil Slugger, but you can't do anything else for me. I'm at the end of my rope…Please, give me salvation; give me freedom. I don't want to deal with this anymore. Please…"

"What about your family? Should I save them too?"

"…Yes…"

Lil Slugger nodded, "Alright…But this is the last time you'll see me."

"I understand."

"I love you."

"I love you too" Shina replied, almost on the verge of crying again.

Lil Slugger tightened his grip on Shina's waist, still holding the golden bat and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips met in a passionate kiss…A final kiss. Maniwa was about to interrupt them, but continued to watch quietly. Their tongues danced in each other's mouths, as they made slight moaning sounds of enjoyment. When the kiss was broken, Shina hugged him. She gripped tightly onto his shirt, not wanting to let go of him. Deep down, she really did love him, no matter what horrible things he did. Lil Slugger gently pushed her away from him. He tightened his hand on the baseball bat. Shina stood there with her head down, waiting for the blow. Lil Slugger raised the bat and whispered, "Rest now" bringing the metal object down hard onto the girl's skull. A loud whoosh sound was heard, followed by a thump. Maniwa watched Shina's shadowed body fall limp onto the ground. Then there came a second bone-crushing whack…Then silence…Lil Slugger stood in place for a while, to reminisce on what he had just done, then quietly skated away. Once the sound of rollerblades faded out, Maniwa ran onto the scene to examine Shina. Her head had been bashed twice, and it was bloody. He checked for her pulse…there was nothing…Maniwa lowered his head and said a prayer…

…The doorbell rang at the Yamamoto household that evening…Mrs. Yamamoto answered it…there stood Lil Slugger, grinning evilly. "Hi" he whispered. A woman's scream filled the room, but was silenced by a loud whack and a ruffle of clothes followed by a thump. "Mom, what's wrong!" Keitaro came running into the room.

WHOOSH CLUNK…THUMP …The teenager was out cold.

CLICK…The assailant switched on the lights. Both of his victims were lying on the ground, unconscious. Lil Slugger laughed to himself and said, "My mission is complete." He flicked the lights off and exited the house; disappearing into the dark night.

…………..…..…………………….…Two days later……………………………………..

"There has been two more attacks on students from Hyomura High School…A boy by the name of Minoru Sonji was attacked by Little Slugger and as a result, lost his memory. His parents are troubled by this, but they are trying their best to live with this occurrence…One girl is dead by the hands of Little Slugger who was beaten twice in the head. She was killed outside of Komonaru Hospital, where Detective Mitsuhiro Maniwa discovered her. The girl's name was Shina Yamamoto. Unfortunately, we could not get in contact with her parents, because they had recently moved. One other student at the high school is undergoing therapy. The two victims were friends of Yumi Mao; who is currently seeking help with her getting over the loss of her friends. The principle at Hyomura says that the school will be closed until further notice. Police are still trying very hard to capture Shounen Bat, but they said that families should take extra care and keep a close eye on the ones they love. There's also news that-" click, the television was turned off.

Keitaro placed the remote down, got up from the sofa and walked over to his mother. "Mom, did we know someone by the name of 'Shina'?"

"No, I don't think so…"

"Hm…So, how long are we going to stay in this apartment? Aren't we going to buy a house?"

"Yes, soon. Don't worry yourself, my son."

"…Do you know why we moved? I can't recall…"

"We had to…After all, Little Slugger is attacking people around our old neighborhood. I don't want him coming after you…"

"…Yeah…Love you, g'night." Keitaro kissed his mother on the cheek and went off to his new bedroom. As he lay there in bed, someone watched him from afar. A smile stretched across the person's shadowed face. "Looks like you guys are doing fine" the boy muttered. He stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the apartment complex. He leaned his golden baseball bat on his right shoulder and skated down the dark streets. All was quiet, with the exception of the boy's golden rollerblades gliding along the concrete. He came across a graveyard and decided to pass through it. He went around searching for a particular tomb, and then he spotted it. Shina's name was inscribed on it, along with the date of her death. Lil Slugger brushed his fingers along the smooth top of the tomb and bowed his head. "She's sleeping well now" he muttered. He straightened himself and continued to skate along the sidewalk. He heard a man shouting, "Someone please help me! I can't take it anymore!" from around a corner. Lil Slugger smiled widely as he neared the area. "Ah, my next victim!" he thought. He sped up, the skates making loud clicking and rolling noises on the ground. He turned the corner and stopped, facing the deranged man. Lil Slugger waved his bat and said, "You called?"

The End

…Little Slugger appears from out of the shadows and whispers, "Or is it?"…

---

Ah yes, that's the end…I suppose. Little Slugger is egging me on to make another story. Here's a look at our conversation:

LS: So is there going to be a sequel?

Me: Um, no.

LS: Well make another story about me.

Me: Erm, I'm tired right now. Remind me in two weeks.

LS: No, write one NOW! (raises his bat)

Me: (Napoleon Dynamite impression) I'll write it whenever I feel like it, GOSH!

LS: (eyes her weirdly)

Me: Now DANCE WITH ME YOU FOOL! bumps up a techno version of the PA theme

Little Slugger and Rabbit dance happily and stoopidly under the evening sun.

La de flippin' do!

Ha ha, okay you guys, thank you so much for reading! Sayonara and Aloha!

Yours truly,

/Ai-White-Rabbit\