The King of Hell
by Lamenting Fox

Chapter Two: Devil's Attack

"Thank you, come again!" Kotarou waved cheerfully to the woman exiting the store.

With no more customers waiting, he turned and went back to his previous task--restocking the merchandise behind the counter.

His mind wandered as he worked. He thought about his next basketball game, his date with Mio tomorrow, and his promise to play with Akira after work. He thought about other things, too. Like his last trip back home, and what Sono had said to him.

"After you touched me, I couldn't dodge my feelings anymore."

That still bothered Kotarou. Why did that one touch have such an affect on Sono? It wasn't any different from the way he touched anyone else. There was nothing special about it, really.

Maybe it just felt different to him somehow, he wondered. Maybe Tatsuki feels the same thing when I touch him.

Kotarou frowned. That would explain why he was always so angry with Kotarou. But what was it that he felt?

"So this is where you work, huh?"

Kotarou yelped and spun around. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Koutari. "Hey, Kazuma. What are you doing here?"

Koutari grinned. "I was just passing by--trying to get used to Tokyo, you know?--and I saw you in here so I thought I'd stop in and say hello." He dropped a bag of chips on the counter.

Kotarou rang the chips up.

"A couple of guys are getting together for a basketball game on Sunday. I know it's only a day after Konan's game against Takanichi High, but do you want to come? We could really use your help," Koutari said, handing him money for the chips.

"I can't. I promised my grampa I'd help him clean out his attic on Sunday," he explained. He handed Koutari his change. "Sorry."

Koutari shrugged. "Can't your cousin do it? I mean he doesn't have any friends, so it's not like he'll have anything better to do, right?"

"He wouldn't do it even if I begged him," Kotarou huffed angrily. "He'd probably not do it just to piss me off."

Koutari laughed. "Maybe next time then." He grabbed his chips and headed for the door. "See you around, Kotarou," he called over his shoulder.

"Yeah, see you," Kotarou responded absently. Something was nagging him, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

Shrugging to himself, Kotarou decided he would think about it later, and went back to work.

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Oh, man. This bites, Yuuto thought in annoyance. It's like all of the hot girls just disappeared.

He'd been walking around for at least an hour, and so far not one girl had really caught his interest.

Maybe I've been hanging around Tatsuki a little too much. His lack of interest in girls is wearing off on me, he mused as he meandered vaguely towards his bike. He snorted. Yeah, right. The day I lose interest in girls is the day I lose the will to live.

He turned down a narrow side street, picking up his pace a little. His bike was parked at the end, and with no girls about, he had no reason to stick around.

Just as he reached his motorcycle, Yuuto felt more than heard someone behind him. With one hand already on his bike, he glanced over his shoulder.

He didn't have time to dodge the bat aimed straight at his head. He was unconscious before his body even hit the ground.