I now present chapter 9 so let's hope that it doesn't bore you to death ^_^ And for the record, currency will shown as American dollars, as I don't know how to convert it to yen. So deal with it! (and no, I don't need anyone to tell me how to convert it, cuz I'll only confuse myself)

Red Rose

Chapter 9

Takuya, Zoe, and Kouichi made their way out of the grocery store, each of them carrying bags. Zoe had stopped eating her cookies, but was still looking at the package as though it was a block of gold.

"I swear, how did I end up spending so goddamn much?" Takuya grumbled.

"Well seeing how you like to buy a ton of already-made frozen pizza and stuff, it adds up pretty quickly. I mean, each pizza can be up to five dollars and you bought half a dozen," Kouichi pointed out.

Takuya rolled his eyes. "Still, it shouldn't come to over a hundred dollars."

"Let's see, you bought soda, chips, dip, pizza, cookies, more soda, and pretty much whatever else a normal person would only buy for a party," Kouichi said.

"Okay, I get it...." Takuya shifted his bags, then took one that Zoe was losing her grip on. "In a way I'm happy that J.P. is going to be gone for a few weeks. He eats fucking everything in sight...."

Kouichi shrugged. "Then take some money out of his wallet and leave a note saying, 'Took money for food, Fatass'. That's what Kouji would do."

"Yeah, no kidding. I wonder what the hell he's up to," the brunette said, before getting a cookie rammed into his mouth. "Ah!"

"Cookie," Zoe held up the open package, smiling.

Takuya ate the cookie, then chuckled. "No more cookies, okay?"

Zoe blinked, registering what he said, then nodded happily. "Okay!"

As they walked, Kouichi glanced at the game shop. "Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later, okay? I just wanna take a quick look in that store."

"Alright. I would go with you, but then I would be tempted to buy ten games. So I'll see you later," Takuya replied.

The raven-haired teen made his way into the game shop, then began to browse around.

"Wonder if they have anything good," he mused to himself.

As he looked from one display shelf to another, he heard an exasperated groan coming from a few feet away.

"Where the hell am I supposed to find her?"

Kouichi glanced back to see a girl standing nearby. Her back was turned to him, and long pink hair cascaded down past her shoulders.

"Uh, excuse me?" He tried to get her attention. "Do you need help?"

The girl spun around, annoyed. "No, I don't need help."

"Sorry, I just figured that I'd ask," he said sheepishly.

However, the girl's face softened. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just in a bad mood."

Kouichi smiled. "Looking for someone?"

"Uh, yeah. My cousin," she replied. "And um, who are you? Do you work here?"

"No, I'm just a customer. And my name is Kouichi," he told her.

The girl hesitated, then spoke again. "I'm Kanae."

"That's a pretty name," he commented.

Kanae felt her face heat up slightly and she quickly scanned the attractive young man. He had short black hair and sapphire eyes, and was carrying several grocery bags.

"Went shopping, I see," she said, trying to make a conversation.

"Yeah, but I decided to stop in here before I went home. But I should probably leave soon seeing how I have shit that needs to be put in the freezer." He held up the bags to show her the frozen pizzas sticking out.

"Oh, okay. Maybe I'll see you around," she said, fiddling with one of the white ribbons in her hair.

Kouichi nodded. "Bye."

With that he left the store, leaving Kanae behind with a suspicious expression on her face. There's something about him, she thought to herself. I just don't know what...

Twenty minutes later

Kouji glanced at the door as he heard it opening, then looked back at his video game. "Did you get anything good?"

Takuya entered the house, followed by Zoe. "Yes, I did. And make sure you give me some cash later. I spent over a hundred bucks and you eat just as much as I do."

"Is that all you ever complain about?" Kouji rolled his eyes. "Besides, you have plenty of money in your bank account to keep you pretty damn comfortable for the next fifty years."

"Asshole," Takuya muttered, making his way into the kitchen.

Zoe walked up to Kouji and smiled. Just as Kouji opened his mouth to say 'hi', Zoe had stuffed a cookie in it.

"Cookie," she said, holding up the package.

Kouji coughed, caught off guard by the treat. He then ate it and gave her a confused look.

"What was that for?" He asked.

Zoe simply went into the kitchen, leaving a puzzled Kouji behind. She saw Takuya and immediately ran up to him, jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Takuya!"

"Whoa!" He regained his balance and held onto her, just as Kouji came in.

Kouji raised an eyebrow. "What's up with her? Why is she acting like this again?"

"Long story," Takuya said, blushing as the blond girl snuggled up against him. "Okay, Zoe. I need to put these things away. Do you want to help?"

Zoe nodded, climbing off of him. She then proceeded to put one of the frozen pizzas in the cabinet, then put a bag of chips in the fridge.

"Good try, but these go in here," he said, correcting her.

"Dude, just tell me what happened," Kouji demanded.

Takuya put the pizza in the freezer. "Well, your brother took my wallet so I chased after him."

"Figures," Kouji muttered, rolling his eyes. "Then what?"

"As we were running, we were too stupid to notice that a group of guys were cutting a tree down. The tree fell, right where Kouichi and I were standing. Just as we were about to be crushed, we were shoved out of the way," Takuya explained.

Kouji glanced at the blond. "By Zoe?"

"Yeah, but she was too far away to push us away with her arms. I think she somehow was able to use her vectors," the brunette told him.

"But...haven't those been disabled ever since her horns broke off?" Kouji asked, surprised.

"I guess seeing that we were about to be killed triggered something in her head." Takuya looked at Zoe, who was taking everything out of the bags and placing them on the table. "She didn't get hurt too badly, but I think a branch might've come down and hit her in the head."

"Dammit," Kouji groaned. "Do you think she'll snap out of this?"

Takuya continued to put things away. "I think she'll snap out of it within a few hours like she used to do."

"Well, that's good I guess," Kouji said, then smirked. "You'll just have to deal with her jumping on you for the next few hours until she does."

"Never said I didn't like that," Takuya replied, glancing at Zoe.

Kouji rolled his eyes, then grabbed the bag of chips. "Whatever."

Just as he walked away, Takuya yelled after him. "Hey, don't eat all of those again!"

"Who, me?" Kouji glanced back at him.

"Yeah, you! Last bag we had was gone and I think you friggen ate them all without telling us," Takuya accused him.

The bandana-wearing boy snorted. "You idiot. You're the one who finished them off the other night. You were eating a burger, drinking a six-pack, and then ate the entire bag of chips."

Takuya turned red. "Uh, I did?"

"Yeah, stupid." Kouji shook his head in disbelief, getting back to his video game. "You did."

"Oh."

A bit later

Masaki stepped out of the bathroom, drying himself off with a towel. He glanced at the bed, where Christie was laying. The girl's blood was dripping from the ceiling and pooling around the bed. Bits of her intestines clung to the ceiling as well, where the chunks gradually plopped down next to her on the blood-soaked bed. Her vacant eyes stared upward, and her naked disemboweled body was sliced in half. The lower half hung off the bed slightly.

Masaki smirked, relishing the memory that had only happened less than an hour ago.

"We're here," Christie said proudly, leading him inside her vast apartment.

The apartment was a light pink shade, with several pieces of furniture and three rooms. Everything was either pink or close to the color, and there were several posters of celebrities hanging on the walls. Upon speculation, the nearby kitchen seemed messy, as there were dirty dishes piling up in the sink. The stove looked as though it had never been used before.

Masaki looked around, pretending to be impressed. "Nice. Your father treats you very well, I see."

"Yup, I'll say. And he pays for my rent too, so I have everything going on for me," she proudly told him.

The young man nodded. "Yes, I can tell."

"Um, if you need to use the restroom, I can make you sandwich and get you a cup of soda," she offered.

"That would be great," he told her, making his way into the pink-painted bathroom.

Christie smiled. "Alright, I should have it ready by the time you're done."

She went off into the adjoining kitchen and began to rummage through the fridge. Masaki went into the bathroom, splashing cold water into his face. He glanced around the messy bathroom and made a disgusted face. The tiny trash barrel was overfilled with make-up stained tissues and there was dried lipstick smeared on the sink and counter. Blush and specks of eyeshadow littered the floor and the mirror was grimy with caked on mascara.

After another minute, he emerged from the bathroom, only to find Christie standing there, completely naked. Masaki raised an eyebrow, not even remotely surprised that she had pulled such a stunt.

"I decided to give you something better than the sandwich," she said in a sultry voice, twirling her hair in her fingers.

".....No, I'll take the sandwich, thank you," he replied dryly.

Christie pouted, walking over to him. "Oh, come on. It'll be fun. I promise....."

"Alright, if you say so," he gave in.

"Oh good!" She grabbed his wrist and hurried into her bedroom, slamming the door shut.

Masaki had just enough time to look around the pink room and the adjoining bathroom inside before she jumped onto him. He did not fall, but cupped his hands beneath her ass, while she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Christie leaned in to kiss him, only to be thrown onto the bed a moment later. She looked up at him, excited.

"Oh, you like it rough, huh?" She patted the bed, gesturing for him to join her.

Masaki smirked, then turned his back to her. He undressed from the waist down first, making sure to keep his hood up as long as possible.

Christie gazed at him lustfully, staring at his bare legs and butt. Finally, he turned around to face her again.

The girl smiled, but then her eyes narrowed as she noticed his horns. "What...what are those on your head?"

"Something that I don't normally allow other people to see," he replied.

"No, seriously. What are those? They're fucking weird," she told him uneasily. "Are they part of a costume or something?

Masaki slowly drew closer. "No, they are very real..."

"I think you should go." She looked afraid and was backing up on the bed.

His eyes glinted. "But I already have my clothes off, so it's too late to go back now."

"No, I'm not having sex with you," she told him in a disgusted voice. "Why the fuck do you have those sticking out of your head?"

"I didn't undress to have sex with you," he said in an icy voice. "No offense, but I prefer not to sleep with girls who look like they've slept with everyone else within a five mile radius."

Christie's face heated up and her heart quickened. "Then why the hell did you undress?"

Unbeknownst to her, he released his four vectors. "I took my clothes off so that I wouldn't get them stained."

"Stained? Stained with wha-" Before she could finish, his vectors sliced through her abdomen.

She screamed in agony, feeling her body being ripped in half. After a few seconds, her blood and intestines exploded out of her and sprayed onto the ceiling. She gasped, her eyes wide with terror. Soon, they glazed over and she laid there lifeless, cut in half. Her left leg hung over the bed, where blood dribbled down it and rained onto the floor.

Masaki smirked. "Told you I'd rather have the sandwich."

With that, he had entered her bathroom to take a shower, leaving her mutilated corpse behind.

The male Diclonius chuckled to himself and finished drying off, satisfied with his work.

"She had it coming from the second she bothered me," he said quietly as he pulled his shirt on.

Masaki pulled on his jeans and sneakers, then covered his head with his black hood. He spent the next ten minutes fixing himself a sandwich, then washed it down with a glass of root beer. Once he was finished, he opened the door to her apartment and scanned his surroundings. The coast was clear, so he quickly left the apartment building and headed back to town. Luckily, the girl only live a few minutes away from where she had picked him up, so he did not have a long distance ahead of him.

"Now to find Zoe," he muttered to himself. "Wonder if Kanae was able to find anything out about her..."

Alright that is the end up the chapter. Read, review, and get a pizza ^_^ Yeah, I ran out of cookies and brownies so it looks like you're stuck with pizza =3