A/N: Here we are for what I thought was going to be the final chapter. That was my original plan, but then it started stretching out again, and I had a nice stopping point in the middle so yeah... Here we are with chapter two.
Also, thank you to Insanity Ignited and Corina O for your reviews. Hope you enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: Again, I own absolutely nothing.

Stain the Stage

The once wild storm was now dying to an eery calm, leaving the entire island in a lull as though it was holding an aching breath.

A long sigh penetrated the silence, indicating there was indeed life on the bleak island. A figure twisted in the black night, attempting to secure a more comfortable position to ease their stinging ankle. The hissed through their teeth but refused to cry out.

"Are you okay, Nagisa-kun?" came the concerned voice of the young man beside him. "Be careful not to move around so much."

"I'm okay, Rei-chan," Nagisa responded shakily, feeling a cool bead of sweat trickle off his chin. "I'm tired, that's all. As soon as Mako-chan and Haru-chan find us, we can get out of here, yeah?"

Rei forced an uneasy smile and nodded. The two fell into a dead silence, listening as the trees scraped against one another in the gentle wind. They'd already discovered their cries for help were lost in the darkness, and Rei didn't dare leave Nagisa to track down Makoto or Haru. Their only option, frightening as it was, was to hold tight until their friends found them.

Rei felt his stomach twist in dread. Or until that monster finds us instead...

-/-\-|-/-\-

Makoto's legs turned to lead, stubbornly refusing all wishes he made for them to move, to carry him far away from the psychotic man before him. His lungs weren't filling with air and as a result, he could feel himself going lightheaded.

"Rize-san has been nagging me for some time now," the white-haired stranger murmured, covering his haunting, red eye with long fingers. "She's been telling me to keep up my strength, to eat my protein like a good little boy." He grinned happily. "Mother would always say things like that when she had the time."

Makoto's lips trembled and he managed to drag his leg through the mud, taking a single step backwards. His opponent frowned at the action, eyes widening manically.

"No, no, no," he hummed in a soothing voice, extending black fingernails towards Makoto. "I'm tired of running. Please don't run."

Someone cried out and Makoto's heart almost tore itself from his chest at the sudden outburst. Looking over the shoulder of the haunting man, the green-eyed teen gave a sob of relief upon seeing a familiar figure racing towards them.

Haru ducked to avoid a low hanging tree branch and slowed to a stop just behind the strange man clad in black. His eyebrows pinched together over suspicious blue eyes as he murmured, "Who are you?"

This invoked another laugh from the stranger, though not like the one from earlier. This bout of noise was shorter, less intense, and had an air of sorrow about it. It wasn't until the man twisted his gaze over one shoulder to peer at Haru that the dark-haired boy realized just how melancholy the mysterious individual looked.

"Who am I?" Long fingers entangled themselves into the mess of snowy hair. "I'm not anything. I'm not—I'm..."

With his attention locked on the trembling figure, Haru began inching around the stranger towards Makoto. His bare feet moved quietly, brushing over damp leaves and avoiding loose twigs. He glanced over to his friend who was also making to retreat, backtracking one hesitant footfall after another.

Snap!

The two boys froze, terrified gazes meeting before both set their sights on Makoto's left foot and the limber tree branch that had cracked beneath it. Both held their breath as the pulsing, crimson eye of their opponent rolled in its socket to peer at them through the darkness.

"Run," Haru breathed, taking a wobbling step back. "Makoto, run!"

Both swimmers disappeared into the darkened void, leaving nothing but the thunderous breaks of discarded tree limbs and thin branches that impeded their progress.

Behind them, still as the grave, stood their pursuer, mouth contorting into a troubled frown.

"What am I?" he mused to himself, shaking his head. "I am a parasite, nothing more. I'm... a centipede."

-/-\-|-/-\-

Over decaying logs and through murky puddles they fled, shoulder to shoulder and showing no signs of slowing. Both Makoto and Haru's minds raced as quickly as their legs, searching for answers, escape routes, basically anything that could help their hellish situation.

Their surroundings grew thicker and more intolerable, sending them stumbling blindly. As Haru broke through a course net of twisting shrubbery, his heart rammed into his ribs and every clear notion abandoned him, making way for the new sensation that spread throughout him. His heel met the jagged edge of the cliff face while his momentum carried him forward into the cruel wind and merciless night sky.

He wasn't sure if he screamed, but as his terrified gaze fell upon the hungry waves of the ocean and the chilling plummet awaiting him, he felt the bite of fingernails in his forearm. Before he could fall victim to the unforgiving wrath of the ocean, a sudden force yanked him back. His shoulder wailed in protest from the instant change in direction, but he barely had time to comprehend the pain when his back slammed into the cool ground. His vision faded in and out, creating an array of spinning lights behind his tired eyelids.

"Haru? Haru, are you okay?"

Someone was shaking him with a gentle urgency and his vision cleared, revealing Makoto's troubled expression that quickly morphed into relief.

"I was for sure you were about to go off the cliff," the green-eyed teen breathed, falling back into a seated position and gasping for air. "Are you alright?"

Haru nodded, struggling upright despite Makoto's protests. The cliff's edge lay a few yards away, sending Haru's insides into knots, but he forced away the image of what dropping into the icy blackness felt like.

"Where are Nagisa and Rei?" he demanded after a few hasty glances at their surroundings. "Weren't they with you?"

"Nagisa went down a steep incline and Rei fell after him," Makoto explained, turning back in the direction they'd just arrived. "I couldn't go after them because I couldn't tell how steep it was, plus I noticed you were gone. I heard Nagisa and Rei calling for me before that strange man appeared."

"If we return to that location, we should find Nagisa and Rei, right?" Haru inquired, struggling to his feet. The thought of going back to the place of their mysterious follower was troubling, but the idea of Nagisa and Rei being left alone, maybe injured, incited a bigger worry.

"Do you think he chased us this far?" Makoto murmured, moving to stand beside his friend as they both peered into the tangled forest before them. "You don't think he found...?"

"Rei and Nagisa will be fine," Haru responded firmly. "We'll find them, return to the rest house and retrace our steps until we're back to the beach. I don't think we'll have much luck getting to shore if we wander around aimlessly."

Makoto cast a fearful glance over his shoulder at the jagged edge behind them and the severe drop accompanying it.

"Probably not," he mumbled.

-/-\-|-/-\-

Despite the blood chilling situation they'd been ensnared by, Nagisa hadn't realized he'd successfully dozed off until the sound of footsteps could be heard descending to their location.

Rei straightened like a metal rod, craning his neck as an attempt to see past the multiple tree trunks and foliage. He cursed the fact he was without his glasses and continued to curse every other unfortunate event that had occurred. For just a moment, he feebly begged, for just a moment could they have a shot of good luck? Where were those gods they'd been discussing earlier that evening, before everything had gone wrong?

Before the nightmare had started?

The footsteps drawing closer were slow and hesitant, almost as though the owner was aware of the uneven terrain they walked upon.

Rei swallowed painfully. Or they don't want us to hear them coming. Please let it be Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai. We can't call out or we'll give away our position, just in case it's...

Beside him, Nagisa was unnervingly still, eyeing the forest with wide, terrified eyes. He twitched suddenly, causing Rei to flinch as well, and raised a quivering finger to the darkness ahead.

"Rei-chan," he whispered, voice breaking slightly. "That's not Mako-chan or Haru-chan."

Damn gods and misfortune. Rei mentally screamed in despair, shooting a quick look to Nagisa's ankle and sending his mind into overdrive as he searched for possible solutions to their predicament. Nagisa can't run. I could carry him, but we probably couldn't cover much ground. If we sit tight, will we be found by whoever is approaching?

The sound of careful footfalls came to an abrupt halt, and Rei's brainstorming followed in pursuit, clearing his mind to make way for a sudden bout of panic. The entire world had gone silent, causing Rei to think of the way haunting music fades away in horror films before the monster attacks. For one split second, the fear of dying took hold of his frantic heart.

In the blink of an eye, something shot through the darkness, quick as a viper joined by the shredding of bark and branches from nearby trees. The mysterious thing sped past Nagisa and plunged into the ground inches from his feet, shooting mud everywhere.

Nagisa screamed and threw himself to the side, knocking into Rei just as the speeding object ripped itself from the ground. It slithered away from them and slunk behind a young man who was emerging from the blackness, mouth set in a grim line of disappointment.

Both Nagisa and Rei gazed up at the stranger, taking in the sickening, crimson eye that throbbed unnaturally and the red, tentacle-like appendage that wove in and out of the forest around them. It took both swimmers a minute to realize there was more than one, and it wasn't until the attacker knelt down to their level that they discovered the mysterious extremities were attached to him.

"Two birds haven't left the nest yet," the young man murmured, brushing alabaster bangs from his forehead and sighing glumly. Suddenly, his eyes brightened and he squinted at Nagisa. "And one has a leg troubling them. What unfortunate prey this is, Rize-san. However..." He broke into a wide grin. "I believe they'll still taste good, won't they?"

-/-\-|-/-\-

Something cried out within the blank void that was his mind, beating against invisible barriers and fighting to grasp sanity once more.

Kaneki tore at his suffocating cage, begging Rize to stop, pleading for his senses to return and relinquish all control to him, Ken Kaneki. Not Rize's hunger, merciless and sadistic, and not the centipede he could feel wriggling about with every crack of his forefinger, but him.

Kaneki grasped his forehead, groaning softly. Since when had it become so crowded within his mind?

The two before him—the prey, as Rize called them—were not much younger than himself. They looked like they were on vacation or something, all four of them had when they'd been together. He briefly wondered where the previous two friends had gone, if they'd abandoned the ones before him to the wrath of his irrational self.

Kaneki shook his head. Friends couldn't leave each other in a scenario like this. No way would they leave them to such horrors.

He realized the mistake in his words just as the giggling started. He felt Rize's hands on his shoulders and felt her lips brush his ear as she whispered, "But Kaneki... If that's the case, why are you here on this island?"

He shook himself, breaking away from the ghoul's hold and realized he was lunging for the smallest of the two boys he'd trapped. His lean fingers took hold of the blonde's throat, squeezing tightly until a pulse jutted against his skin. His kagune lashed out against the other boy, throwing him aside as though he was a mere feather pillow.

That's it, Kaneki-kun! Rize cheered, clasping her hands together and grinning happily. Can you feel his life at your disposal, the light in his eyes that's about to be extinguished like a candle's flame? Savor the moment, Kaneki-kun. Enjoy it.

A small part of him was, a tiny, truly wretched piece of his soul that had given into the binge eater and centipede long ago. Horrified, he felt himself grin, feeling the heartbeat beneath his fingertips grow fainter and fainter—

—when something rammed into him with such a force, it unearthed the memory of pure helplessness from Touka's furious training sessions.

Kaneki stumbled to the side but did not lose his balance, incredulity staining every part of his face as he looked up. In front of him stood the two from earlier, the bird trying to evaluate its wings and the one who'd come to his aid. The brown-haired one had his arms extended, painting the blunt picture of having been the one who'd sent Kaneki askew.

Please, stop this! Kaneki screamed to himself, straining against his restraints and reaching a desperate hand towards his sanity. Don't make me do this anymore!

To his horror, he felt his fingers rise automatically, reaching for his prey as he snapped his forefinger. He was disappearing, he realized. The presence of Rize was fading into the background, leaving him to the torment of the thrashing centipede. Farther and farther he plunged into the emptiness that granted no control over his body, leaving him lost to the wishes of the bitter presence residing deep within his mind.

Kaneki's hands smothered any short sobs threatening to break him, and he bowed his head to the nothingness.

Please, no more of this.

-/-\-|-/-\-

Their attacker was laughing again, the same grating cacophony as earlier. They cracked their fingers and spread their arms wide, almost as though planning to embrace all four swimmers.

"The curtain is drawing to a close," the younger man sighed, letting bored eyes graze over pale faces. "Each of these little birds have been stripped of their will to fly and one has lost the ability to walk. The rest of you can but you won't. Perhaps that doesn't make you birds, then." White bangs drifted in front of the figure's calculating stare with the aid of a soft breeze, creating an almost peaceful scene if not for the thrashing of scared hearts and pulsing of icy blood.

The trees went still as the quiet wind died down, but it was quickly followed by a deafening crack that resembled a whip making an opening through the shrubs and branches. The alarming disturbance filled everyone's ears before the origin of the noise made its home deep within its unsuspecting target.

It all happened in an instant, the harsh sound, the bloodcurdling scream that ensued, and finally, the continuous laughter that was starting to become a symphony none of the four Iwatobi students would soon forget.

The source of the anguished cry was coming from Makoto, and Haru spun just in time to see the long, wicked appendage of their attacker withdraw from deep within Makoto's calf. The monstrous attack left a ragged hole that expelled blood like a sliced water balloon. Within seconds, Makoto lay in a pool of it, shivering violently and keeping a firm hold on the wound as an attempt to quell the crimson gushing from it.

Regardless of their attacker's movements, Haru dove to Makoto's side, applying further pressure to the wound and frantically trying to think up alternative ways to stop the bleeding. Rei, with cautious eyes on Makoto's assailant, helped Nagisa reach their friend's side. They exchanged desperate looks, winced at Makoto's every cry, until finally, with a sense of inevitable defeat, turned to the man who'd caused it all.

The centipede blinked and raised a palm to the side of his head, beating it against his ear and appearing unsettlingly thoughtful. "If not birds, you're fish," he mumbled after a moment. "Each one of you, a lost, helpless fish, trapped in a tiny bowl with nowhere to hide and the big, snarling ocean to return to. Do you think you can leave this bowl?"

"Why are you doing this?"

Haru flinched at Naigisa's frantic inquiry, looking at his friend with wide, horrified eyes. He'd wanted to know the same thing, yet he hadn't dared speak out against the insane stranger. Makoto had physically fought back and in return...

The blue-eyed teen shook his head, gazing back at the ghastly puncture defacing his friend's leg. Makoto's swim pants were torn through from both the attack prior and the chase throughout the dense forest. His arms and legs were covered in blemishes as well, ranging from developing bruises to multiple gashes, some of which still oozed blood.

Haru stole a quick glance to his own arms, realizing he looked just as bad, only he still had two legs to walk on. He could still manage an escape from the infernal fishbowl, him and Rei both.

"Why am I doing this?" came a cool voice. "Because I'm a predator, a centipede in need of sustenance to provide strength and energy. You are the prey, the fish that I call helpless food."

"How can you say that?" Nagisa yelled, leaning forward to place a protective hand over Makoto's cold shoulder. "How can a single person come to be this way? Why can't you leave us alone!"

The young man produced a bittersweet smile and the tentacle-like extremities curled around him before flexing into the darkness, creating an eery glow. He exhaled long and thoughtful before raising his shoulders helplessly. "I've been hiding on this island," he responded quietly. "I've run away from everything that's caused me trouble, yet despite that, I still find myself in these tragic circumstances. I'm sorry for having to be the danger within the fishbowl, but that is life, and this is my harsh burden."

The lashing appendages crept towards Haru, Nagisa, Rei, and a sickly pale Makoto. They twisted themselves unnaturally, inching closer and closer while the members of Iwatobi grew more tense from the daunting approach. The same thought wrapped each of them in a nauseating, horror-stricken cocoon: Was this truly the end? Were they all to die here?

A tentacle snuck around Haru's leg, ripping him from his friends and towards their attacker. Nagisa screamed, making to leap after him, but he collapsed with an anguished cry as his ankle crumpled painfully. Rei jumped to his feet and lunged after Haru, but one of the unoccupied appendages rushed towards him for a second time like an iron spike.

From where he sat, holding tightly onto an unresponsive Makoto and watching the impending doom of his friends, Nagisa opened his mouth and released a shrill, desperate cry for everything to stop. He pleaded for mercy, sobbed through feeble requests, and begged for his friends not to be harmed any more.

"This was just an innocent training exercise!" the blonde exclaimed, shaking his head in bewilderment. "I can't believe this is how it's all supposed to end! I won't believe it! We have too much waiting for us back home." Nagisa gazed up at the white-haired individual who had gone entirely motionless. "So please stop hurting my friends!"

What followed were the longest two seconds Nagisa was sure he'd ever experience, accompanied only by ragged gasps of breath and the gut-stabbing sensation of pure horror. It was only by the somber confession of their assailant that the quiet was interrupted.

"I am a ghoul," the younger man whispered and closed his eyes.

-/-\-|-/-\-

A/N: So... if I'm plotting this all out correctly, the next chapter should be the last one. Sorry for the wait. Since this is kind of the middle of what I'd planned to be the last chapter, the third chapter is partially done, so yay for that. Reviews are appreciated. See you all for the next chapter. (I'm too scared to put 'final'. Who knows what ideas my mind will dig up...)