Thanks to the people who reviewed. I figured out how this whole thing's going to end, although I really am not sure how many chapters are left. In answer to some reviews,

Sexyshonenbat: To be honest, I didn't put the braces thing in there intentionally. That one was a mistake. And, for the Maniwa thing, I spelt his name Manwa because that was how the actual paranoia agent website spelt his name as such. After checking my DVDs, I realized that I did spell it wrong, and I apologize. But, honestly, who would think the actual website would spell his name wrong? Thank you for reviewing, and pointing out my mistakes.

I also replaced chapter 6 so it was fixed. Thank you.

A woman who looked to be in her early twenties danced in a wild manner to the beat of techno music as it played throughout the club. Flashing strobe lights changing from blue to yellow made her red dress that ended just above the knee caps change from purple to brown. Her long black hair swayed opposite the way she moved, and her ankle-high boots made an inaudible clacking sound on the smooth floor.

"Hey Mari!" shouted another women, also roughly in her twenties. She danced right next to the woman in the red dress. "I'm getting a drink, want something?" Mari nodded.

"Get me something small and strong," Mari said, laughing. Then she stood still for a minute. "I have to go the bathroom. I'll meet you at the bar." Her friend nodded, and Mari made her way through the crowd of people towards the door with a stick figure wearing a dress. She pushed open the door, and checked her dirty surroundings for others before locking the door behind her.

She pulled a small vial filled with a white substance from her small handbag. Mari walked over to the sink, and after a little while, ducked down. As she went down, a few words written in lipstick on the mirror became visible.

INSUFFERABLE WITHDRAWEL

Mari stood up, rubbing her nose, and dropped the now empty vile in a toilet, and then flushed. Smiling, she walked over to the bathroom door, nearly tripping on the way, and tried pulling on the door three times before realizing it was locked. She laughed, and went back out to the club.

Tsukiko sat down in the corner of a room with padded walls. Her forehead was resting on her knees, which were being hugged close to her by her arms. How did she wind up in this place? She didn't do anything. It was only a few days ago that she had been thrown in here, but it felt like an eternity. The meals were cold, she was only let out of her room a few times a day to be escorted to the bathroom, and she was treated like she was retarded.

At least that damn dog hadn't shown up. If everything else had gone wrong, that at least had gone right. All she had to do was find out why she was being held here, and convince the people working here otherwise. Maybe things would work out.

Convincing herself that things would work out gave her a calm that lasted a matter of seconds. As soon as the clock had struck two AM, a gentle sound filled her ears. The sound of someone rollerblading.

The sound grew louder and louder. It was getting closer. He was coming to attack her. The noise sounded like it was only a few rooms away from her. Tsukiko slammed her eyes shut as the noise reached her door and-

And nothing happened. When Tsukiko looked up at the barred window attached to her door, there was nothing there. He hadn't shown up. Thank god. Maybe now she could sleep.

Tsukiko didn't fall asleep until the window way above her reach in her room showed that the sun was rising.

Mari sat up on her bed in the three-roomed apartment she lived in. The sun was blinding and made her head throb. Through squinting eyes, she found her way over to the window and pulled the blinds. What did she do last night?

A women who Mari acknowledged as a friend was staring at her. "Here you go!" exclaimed the other woman. "Small and strong!" She smiled. But then her face turned to one of concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked, as Mari managed to spill the drink as soon as she took it. "Are you alright?"

The memory started to fade as Mari's head throbbed. Maybe she needed something to drink. She stumbled into the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker. Thank god she ground the beans the night before. She remembered one time that she hadn't.

Mari pulled up a seat at the small kitchen island, and noticed her purse tossed carelessly on top of it. She reached over to it, and shuffled through the contents. After a little while, she realized it was gone.

"Time to get more," she said with a frown. Already? She'd only purchased the stuff a few nights ago. Oh well. It's not like she had a shortage of money.

Mari walked over to the couch only a few feet away, and turned on the TV. The sound of a newscaster giving a report filled the room. Groaning, Mari turned the volume down to its second lowest setting, and then listened to the morning report.

"The string of violent attacks on the city has suddenly come to a halt. The attacks, which had started occurring almost nightly, have stopped in the past two days with no suspect captured yet. Police had no comment on the matter,"

"And in local news, notorious drug dealer Moshitori Tiyoko was captured and brought in to custody."

"No," whispered Mari.

"He still refuses to talk, but police believe they can get him to by nightfall."

Mari breathed in a couple of times before seeming to make a decision. It's alright. Al she had to do was find another dealer. Then everything would be alright. Tonight she would go looking.

Tsukiko sat in a small and dark room. A single beam of light coming from a tabletop lamp was the only thing that let her see. Sitting across from her was a doctor with a nametag and glasses. Both of which were difficult to see and it would have been an impossible feat to read the tag.

"So, Tsukiko," said the doctor. "Why do you think the world would be better without you?" Tsukiko just stared.

"Excuse me?" she asked. The doctor went on as if she hadn't spoken.

"Let me tell you something," he started, leaning towards her. "It wouldn't be. You have a great job, no shortage of money, and the world is never rainy in your prospective. So…why?"

"Excuse me, but why what?" asked Tsukiko. She was getting aggravated. This time, surprisingly enough, the doctor answered her.

"You know what. Why do you want to kill yourself?" asked the man sitting across from her. Tsukiko stood up.

"You think I'm suicidal?" exclaimed Tsukiko.

"You are," said the doctor, his tone remaining the same. "The sooner you admit your problems, the sooner we can begin treatment."

"I'm not trying to commit suicide!" Tsukiko said in her defense. "Why would I? You said it yourself, I have no reason to!"

"Which is why we need to find that reason," said the doctor. He had started an annoying habit of letting a pen drop on a table and then picking it up again. Tsukiko didn't much care.

"Why would you say I'm suicidal?" she asked, sitting back down.

"Well," began the doctor. "Aside from the two accounts reported by your neighbor, we saw that you had cut yourself on the wrist,"

"No I didn't!" exclaimed Tsukiko. "I slipped and fell while holding a knife!" Even as she said the words, Tsukiko realized how stupid they sounded. What kind of idiot fell holding a knife? And who would believe her if she said she was chasing a stuffed dog? Even if it was true?

"I can see were not making any progress today," said the doctor. "Someone will take you back to your room shortly,"

"No!" shrieked Tsukiko, remembering Little Slugger. "I'm not suicidal!" Two men had appeared in the doorway, and began to gently push her out of the room. Tsukiko stopped yelling. There was no point. According to everyone here, she was a nut case. Tsukiko's shoulders slumped, and she went back to the corner of the room as the door was closed behind her.

Mari drove around one of the worst parts of her town as she looked for something. They had to be somewhere. If she could just find them- There!

Mari pulled her car to the side of the road next to a couple of teens who were laughing and standing next to each other in a dark alley. She ran towards the alley, and stopped in front of the kids.

"Where did you get your stuff?" she asked. The kids laughed a little more, and then stared.

"What?" one asked.

"Where did you get your damn fix?" she screeched.

"Whoa, calm down," said the other one. "How do you even know we like that stuff?"

Mari stared at the one who just said that. A few drops of rain began to fall on the scene. She grabbed one of them by the caller as it started to rain even harder. "Where did you get it?" she yelled, shaking him. Fear crossed the teen's face.

"J-just down the street!" he gasped. "The dealer already left, but he'll be back tomorrow!" Mari dropped the kid and got back in her car. The tires squealed as she floored the car to get it started, and she left the two teens staring in shock.

Tsukiko sat in silence in her padded room. Night had fallen only a few hours ago, but Tsukiko had barely noticed. She wasn't suicidal. What neighbor had it been, anyway? Tsukiko lived in a small apartment with only one window in the living room and one in her bedroom.

It had to be the window. Someone saw her battling Maromi at all of the wrong times. But if someone had been watching her, they would have had to see Maromi. The pink think isn't exactly discrete. Even from another apartment building.

But there was only one apartment building across the street that was in visibility of her window. Maybe it was her. Maybe it was that over-happy nutcase who Tsukiko could see dancing by herself in her apartment. What was wrong with her? She was the one who belonged here, not Tsukiko.

Tsukiko's eyes narrowed as her mind circled every aspect of her situation. It was so wrapped up in thoughts that she didn't notice the sound at first. Tsukiko was so absorbed in trying to blame her that she didn't notice anything until a gentle banging sounded. Tsukiko looked up to see Lil' Slugger hanging up on the window of the door.

Tsukiko screamed as loud as she could.

Ted hated his job. All he ever did was lock the cells, and then go back to his office and monitor them by camera. At least he had a system. He'd never forget to lock one of these nutcase's cells because he kept the keys in his pocket. The cells he locked he kept in his right pocket, and the cells he didn't he kept in his left. It was a foul-proof system.

That was what he thought until a patient screamed. His automatic reflex was to check his left pocket. He felt one key held tightly by the fabric. Whoops. He turned around and ran back down a hall he thought he locked an hour ago.

Tsukiko screamed again as Lil' Slugger pushed open her door and raised his bat. She slammed her eyes shut and hoped for the best. A few seconds passed, and she felt something cold clutched in her hands. She opened her eyes, and saw Lil' Slugger's bat in her grip.

One of the doctors and the security guards came into her room.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed the doctor. "With a baseball bat, now?" He grabbed the bat from Tsukiko's grips, and handed it to the guard. Surprised, the guard ripped his hand out of his pocket, and grabbed the object being handed to him.

"I don't know why you are trying to do this, but I'm not going to let you," said the doctor. The guard had left with the bat. He was probably returning to the security desk. "Tomorrow, we're going to talk about this."

The doctor turned and walked out of the room. He closed it, and pulled out a key from his pocket, and locked the door behind him. Tsukiko glanced at a faint glimmer she saw on the carpet. Crawling over to it, Tsukiko felt herself smile. The guard's key was sitting on the ground.

Mari had waited for what seemed like an eternity for night to fall again. She had thrown up twice that day, and another time quite recently. She felt extremely tired and lines had formed under her eyes. That was why when she saw the man in a long coat appear on the street corner, she was ecstatic.

At least she was, until the man had told her his price.

"I can't afford that!" Mari exclaimed. She had searched through her purse several times for money. "This is all I have!"

"Not enough," the man said. "Pay in full, or you get nothing,"

This argument went on for a little while, before Mari screamed.

"I need it!" she shouted.

"Well, you ain't gettin' it," the man walked away, and Mari screamed again. She ran back to her car, and started it again. She'd get what she needed if it took her all night.

After a very long day, and an impossible conversation with the doctor, Tsukiko was back in her cell. She waited a half-hour before pulling the silver object out of her pocket.

Tsukiko walked over to the barred window on the top of her door, and forced her small arm out of one of the gaps between the bars, and managed to feel around with the key to find the lock. She forced it in, and awkwardly turned away from the door frame.

A gentle click met her ears, and she smiled. Tsukiko was getting out of the hospital. No sooner had she gently closed the door behind her when she heard it again. Roller blades. Tsukiko turned around to see Lil' Slugger racing towards her.

Tsukiko turned and ran. She ran as fast as she could down the unlit hall, and even noticed the empty guard office. Upon closer inspection, Tsukiko noticed that he didn't have his bat, which was why she wasn't surprised at all when he turned into the room only to come out with it a few seconds later.

Tsukiko had broken out in a sweat. She saw a door a few feet ahead and practically slammed into it. Praying there was no lock; Tsukiko turned the handle, and breathed a sigh of relief as it popped open. Behind her, Lil' Slugger was getting closer.

A little ways ahead, Tsukiko saw the front door, and had to stop for a minute for it to open automatically. She felt the cold night air on her face as she ran, and immediately recognized where she was. Her apartment complex was only a few blocks away.

The rain that was falling made it difficult for her to round corners. She didn't even bother to look behind her anymore.

As she came up another street, she saw a pair of lights racing towards her. The driver didn't even seem to notice her, and kept going, despite the fact that Tsukiko was directly in front of her.

Tsukiko made a last minute leap as the car crashed into a telephone pole. She lifted her head and looked behind her as smoke rose from the scene of the accident. Tsukiko's vision blurred, and she blacked out.

Mari pushed the airbag out of her way, and fumbled with the handle. She didn't even notice the blood that was trickling down her forehead. She needed her stuff.

Mari managed to open the door, and dropped to the ground. She crawled a few paces. Rain poured down on her, and a few drops hit her eyes.

There was a scraping noise. She looked to her left. In the darkness, all she saw was a glint of gold before she felt sharp pain, and then knew nothing.

Okay, I guarantee there are a lot of parts that are confusing, or at least some parts. I assure readers that, like the series, everything will make sense by the last chapter or sooner. Thank you, and please review.