Crimso's Notes
Oh, how I love the weekend! I can stay up until 3 AM AND get writing done! That's a really good thing! Man, I spent all of Saturday night doing nothing, though. So it's 3:53 on a Sunday as I'm writing this. I was supposed to go and help out with the bake sale my mom and little sister organized… but I didn't feel like it. This chapter should be exciting for some of you, so get ready for some action! I hope that I can get a few chapters done this week. It's the start of the second quarter. We shouldn't have too much. But don't trust me on that one.
Note: As I said before, this chapter has some stuff happening in it. Quite a bit, actually. …Just wait and you'll see what I mean by that in a little bit.
~~~~X~~~~
Chapter Twenty-One: Love
"Huh, you said you SAW the kidnapper?" Keiichi spoke in disbelief. "But Satoko, how? Did he come after you?"
Satoko nodded. "He came after me, but that lame guy was no match for me! My old traps did the trick. I had a trip wire and a rope trap set up, and when those activated… boom! The guy fell behind. The rope trap did it mostly, though. Had him hanging down from the tree for an hour or two! Ohohohohoho!" She stuck her chest out with pride, folding her arms over it. "But it would have been nice if he had stayed there. When I came back, he had gotten down. Too bad. We could have turned him in or something."
It was a sunny day, and as soon as the whole group of friends had gathered at school, Satoko informed them that she had had an encounter with the child kidnapper. According to her, she had been walking home from the Furude demon storage when it had happened. The kidnapper had come out of nowhere and attacked her. But, fortunately, Satoko's traps were just too much for him. For that reason, Satoko was now standing in front of them, boasting about how she managed to outsmart a grown man. The whole group was glad to know that she was okay, but what they were most interested in was the identity of the man.
"It was too dark, I couldn't see," was all Satoko would say to anyone when they asked her about it. "He was a man, though. An adult man."
Because of that, the group was now trying to narrow down the people it could be. No longer could the suspect be a woman or a child. The person who had done it was an adult man who seemed to have a good amount of strength.
Rena began to scratch her head as she pondered what Satoko had been telling her. "No specific grown men come to mind when I think about it. I don't think there's any one man that would want to kidnap a child. They all seem to be nice to me…" She sighed as she shook her head. "I guess that's not the case though, huh? A grown man…"
"He was sort of a big man. He didn't have a scrawny figure or anything like that. I doubt it was an old man. He was too fast for that!" Satoko explained to all of them, trying to picture the man in her head. It had been so dark that night, and she was having a hard time trying to remember what the figure looked like.
That narrowed it down some more. Onigafuchi was crawling with old men, so that took out quite a few options. The culprit was a middle-aged man, who was rather large. There were still quite a few middle-aged men that were large, but it certainly narrowed things down and overall made thing easier for the group. Figuring out the culprit from that alone would be tough, so they figured that they would have to wait on the idea and think about it just a little more in their heads. For now, they would wait for more evidence.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Satoko," sighed Satoshi, patting the girl on the head, as he would always do to her. "I was worried when you told me about the whole thing…"
Satoko grinned at her older brother. "Who did you take me for, Nii-nii? I told you that I would be okay when the kidnapper came!" she cried out.
"You see, Satoshi? You had nothing to worry about!" replied Takeru, looking at the other make with a smile on his face. "You were really upset when Kimura Yoshio went missing, and I think that you have no reason to worry anymore. I'm sure that guy will think twice before he messes with Satoko again!"
Satoshi looked unsure, however. "But he may want to go back and get her, because he may be angry at her for getting away. Plus, she figured out what he looked like, for the most part, which could be crucial in revealing his identity." A look of worry plastered his face as he looked down at his shoes. "He may go after her again. I think this time, I won't let Satoko out by herself at night…"
Satoko frowned. "I can go outside by myself at night! I'm old enough to do that! Besides, I'll just set up some more traps! If he comes for me, I'll just activate them," she reassured, not feeling any worry at all.
"But he may be used to the traps, now that he knows what you used!" protested Satoshi, not one bit reassured by his sister's words. "Satoko, he knows that you're going to use the trip wires and the rope again. He knows about your smoke bombs. He'll be prepared this time!" he cried out, fear within his reddish-purple eyes. Despite his sister's words doing some good for him last time, it didn't seem to work at all this time. He was just too concerned for her sake, which was completely understandable. Satoshi had every right to worry for his sister.
But he was forgetting how strong Satoko could be at times. Sure, Satoshi's argument was plausible. He may or may not come knowing that Satoko was probably going to trick him with some kind of trip wire. However, Satoko had other traps up her sleeve. Satoko's list of traps didn't end at trip wires and rope traps, as it contained other things like falling rocks and tacks. There were many things that she could do to keep the man away from her. Satoshi was just too worried.
"Remember the time where you scared off those demons, Satoshi?" Keiichi reminded the boy as he turned to face him, a serious look on his face. "You could defend her, too, if things were to happen like that."
Satoshi thought back, though he still seemed unsure about the whole situation. That was the way he was, after all. He often worried, and doing such was just a part of his characterization. They couldn't change that part about him very easily.
"Just keep watch. Satoko, I think it's better that you don't go outside," Rena told her softly, bending down so that she was at the height of the yellow-haired girl. "I know you're a big girl, but it's better that you don't do that. You could be putting yourself in danger, and Satoshi-kun gets very scared every time you do such a thing." She reached out to ruffle the girl's head, smiling. "Rena will have to take you home if you don't listen!" she joked.
Satoko looked down, grumbling. "Fine, fine. If you don't want me to catch that guy, then fine."
Rena gave her another smile. "Don't worry. You've given us a good amount of information, and just from that, we can figure out the culprit if we think about it hard enough. You've done well!" she praised the girl, trying to cheer her up. She knew that Satoko had a great amount of pride, and doing things like not allowing her to be by herself would surely hurt it. But Satoko's safety was more important than her pride, so they had to ignore such a thing for now.
The yellow-haired girl grunted, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from the group, an annoyed scowl on her face. She knew that her words were hurting the girl, but she had to think of her safety before anything else.
"Thank you, Rena," Satoshi spoke as he turned to look at the orange-haired girl, a look of relief on his face. "I don't think I would have been able to convince her…"
Rena shook her head. "She would have listened to you, Satoshi. You need to think better of yourself…"
Satoshi shifted uncomfortably at that comment and said nothing.
It was true. Satoshi never thought highly of himself. He felt as if he couldn't protect Satoko, when that was clearly not true. He could do so easily. He had saved Satoko from an angry demon before, after all.
~~~~X~~~~
Keiichi sighed as he lay back on his futon, grumbling over how things had gone that day. They hadn't progressed on finding out anything about the murderer yet, and they had found some important details on the kidnapper, but both names were still unknown. How was he going to find out who the kidnapper was just by knowing that he was a middle-aged man? Meanwhile, there were no hints at all on the murderer. All that was known was that he could kill demons and humans easily, and that wasn't too much of a hint. He didn't know anyone who could do such a thing, after all. He doubted anyone knew.
The idea of killing demons seemed strange to all the villagers. Had it not happened before, besides the time where Koichi had killed Makoto? Well, there was the incident with Oryou, but it seemed as if most of the villagers didn't know about that. Rika did, as she was a Furude, but most people were unaware that there were only two Sonozaki demons remaining, as evident from what Takeru had been telling people. He was speaking as if there were more demons, and no one commented on the fact that he only had two.
Now, of course, the Sonozakis had no demons. Mion and Shion were both away from them now, and while they were in his care, he did not like to say that they belonged to him. They were friends that were staying in his place, not his pets. The villagers tended to treat the demons a little bit like dogs sometimes, as they forced them to wear collars and sometimes leashes. He never treated Mion and Shion that way, and saying that he was their owner sounded like they were his servants or something like that. He didn't like that idea at all.
So, in a sense, they were free demons.
Free demons didn't exist anymore. Koichi had captured all of the demons after he killed Makoto, and there were none roaming about anymore. Mion and Shion would be the only ones, then, though they weren't totally free, as they still couldn't be in public and go anywhere they wanted. He gulped as he thought about how terrible he felt for confining them. I shouldn't dwell on this much longer. I have to do it. It's not like I'm doing it to hurt them like the Sonozakis were. They had an option. I don't.
Mion and Shion were sitting in the corner of the room, playing a game of cards. He was originally going to do so, but he decided not to, as he found that he had a few things to think about right now. His parents had listened to his requests not to go into his room, but how long would that last for? Would they someday go in without asking? He gulped as he thought about what would happen if they were to open the door and see the demons there. What would they think?
His parents had somehow managed to avoid finding out about the existence of the demons, but Keiichi was now wondering how long that would last for.
He sat up in his futon, looking over to the two demons as he watched them play. They looked so happy. Shion, of course, seemed to be no match for Mion, as she had about twelve cards while Mion had two, but she didn't seem to care all that much. Shion was the type of person who would do that. She could accept her defeat quickly, as she knew that her sister would beat her no matter what. However, doing such a thing didn't stop her from having fun. She was enjoying the game, even though she knew that any chance of winning was now nonexistent.
Mion, on the other hand, was competitive and fiery. She loved competition, and she was very witty when it came to coming up with strategies for winning, as evident with the game of Clue they were playing before. She had never played that game before, and yet, she managed to come up with a way to win. She was incredibly smart in that way. Mion also spoke about how she was a great fighter, though he had never seen her in action before. He glanced over to the corner of the room, where the two, sheathed katanas lay unused against the wall. Could she really fight that well, or was she just boasting?
No. Mion wasn't the type of person to do that. She was honest, and had never lied to him before. There was no way she was lying about her skill in fighting. Judging by the fact that she was honest, and the fact that she was so competitive, it was safe to assume that she really did know how to fight.
Keiichi watched a little more, gazing as Mion cried out in victory as she placed her final card down. Her sister clapped for her as she did, having accepted her defeat long before it happened. She wore a huge smile on her face, one that for some reason made Keiichi's heart jump. She just looked so beautiful with that smile. He tried to ignore that thought as best as he could, though, but as soon as he took another good look at her, he found himself smiling as well.
"Good job, sis! You win again!" cried Shion, clapping her hands together.
"Thank you, sis! This demon here always does her best!" replied Mion with a great amount of pride in her voice.
"I wouldn't have expected any less from you," responded her sister, a sweet smile on her face.
Yes, Shion really was having fun, even though she knew she was going to lose. He realized that she could do such a thing, unlike him. He never was able to accept loss. Whether or not that was a bad thing hadn't been determined, however.
He finally got up from the futon. "I'm going to go talk to my parents for a little bit," he explained to the twins when they looked over at him, slightly confused. They just nodded as he walked out of his door, shutting it behind him. Every time he left them alone, he felt a little nervous. What if his parents were to go into his room without him saying anything? He gulped at the idea, but decided to move on from it. They were downstairs, and now that he was going to talk to them, he knew they weren't going to go upstairs and into his room without permission.
"Ah, Keiichi!" his mother greeted him as he went into the kitchen and began to pour himself a glass of cold milk. "How are you?"
"Fine, thank you," he responded as he placed the milk carton back into the fridge, then shutting it. "How are things now that you've come back?" he asked his mother before he took a sip of his cool milk.
She smiled. "Oh, they're wonderful. I was sad when I had to go to the city and leave it. It's nice to be back in this nice, peaceful, rural village. The city was too busy. Here, there's nothing going on and it's all quiet and nice. I think that we needed a time like this," she responded as she took a sip of the tea she had been drinking when Keiichi walked in.
He couldn't help but cringe when he heard what she said. Nothing happening, huh? How didn't they know about the murder of the village leader, and the kidnapping of all the children? Sure, they had been away when all of that came up, but that wasn't much an excuse. Everyone in the village was talking about it. They should have heard about it one way or another. Perhaps the villagers were trying to hide it, much like his friends had tried to do. However, their attempts to do so had failed, though it was mainly because of Satoko's little slip during the tour. Adults probably had a smaller chance of doing that.
He sipped his milk. Whenever the time was to come where his parents found out, they would be very shocked.
"I agree with your mother. We needed this time," his father added on as he scanned through the book that he was reading about famous artists. "I'm glad we decided to come here, and I'm glad you've settled in and forgotten about your fears from before…"
Sure, he wasn't all that scared of demons anymore, as he was now living with two, but his father was referring to the fact that he had given up on the idea of them existing, which was certainly not true. Demons did exist. He didn't want to say anything that suggested their existence to him, so he just nodded at his father and said nothing more on the subject. He continued to sip his milk as he thought about random things, such as his art project he had been working on that day.
Suddenly, a knocking was heard from the door. "I'll get it," Keiichi's mother said before anyone else could as she walked over to the door. Keiichi wondered who it could be, but he went back to thinking about his art project and the math homework he had been doing in class. His art project looked more like a lumpy potato than anything else…
"Who are you?" asked his mother.
The person in the doorway said nothing to answer that question. "Excuse me for intruding. I wish to speak to your son."
Keiichi's attention was caught. Who was there? It was a man's voice, and it was one that seemed strangely familiar to him, though he couldn't put a finger on it. Whoever it was, though, his voice seemed rather deep and too old to be one of his friends. He was probably a middle-aged man, if anything.
"…All right. By the way, I can't see your eyes with that hood," his mother commented.
He nodded. "I know," he responded, and then he walked over to Keiichi. Keiichi looked up from his cup of milk, his eyes widening as he looked at the figure that was approaching him. He was clothed in a long jacket, and he was wearing the hood over his eyes. It was impossible to make out who the figure was. He was sort of a big guy, and he looked as if he were around thirty.
He was about to say something, when the man spoke first.
"Give them to me," he said.
And at that moment, something clicked in his mind. The pieces all fit together. The middle-aged man, the search for the Sonozaki demons, the murderer… His eyes went wide. Before him was the guy who had been kidnapping children, and now, it was highly likely that he was also the one who had killed eight demons, Kimiyoshi, and stole forty-three of them. And now, he was asking for Shion and Mion.
He gulped. "I don't know what you're talking about…" he replied, as that was the first thing that came to his mind. A look of fear was clear on his face, and his parents became confused.
"Give what back, Keiichi? Have you taken something?" his father asked.
The man's frown was the only thing he could see of his face. "Don't play dumb, Maebara Keiichi. Where are they?" he asked again, his harsh tone the only way he knew how angry the man was.
"I-I-I-I…" He was stuttering, and he knew that wasn't doing him any good at all. "I-I-I didn't take anything…"
"Liar," hissed the man. He grabbed Keiichi roughly by the shoulder and pulled him up from his seat. He looked down upon the boy, his eyes able to see him, though Keiichi not being able to see his eyes. "Tell me where they are!" he demanded, his tone loud and rough. There was so much anger in his tone that it caused Keiichi to shudder, and a bead of sticky, hot sweat to trickle down from his forehead. If he could see his eyes, he was sure that they would be full with anger, and perhaps even intent to kill.
"Hey!" cried Keiichi's father as he stepped towards the man, an angry expression on his face. "What the hell do you think you're doing? If my son has done something wrong, ask him nicely. But don't grab him!"
The man did not let go of the grip in spite of that, causing Keiichi's father's temper to grow. He stepped even closer, rage in his eyes. "Hey—"
Before the sentence could be finished, the group of people in the room noticed the sound of scrambling and loud footsteps coming from upstairs. They could hear the footsteps begin to grow closer, and they then noticed the sound of their feet hitting the stairs. Both of Keiichi's parents grew horribly confused, but both the murderer and Keiichi knew who they were the moment they heard the footsteps.
Before anyone could react, the shiny blade of a katana came bursting through the room, almost slashing the concealed man's stomach open. He managed to jump out of the way before it hit, however, and landed close by.
Mion looked up at the man, rage filling her green eyes. "You! Don't you dare touch him!" she hissed at the man. She raised her katana at him, pointing the blade at his face threateningly. "I'll cut off your damn head!"
"Mion!" cried Keiichi. He had no time to be angry with her for revealing her figure in front of his parents. She had come to save him, after all.
Shion stood behind her, a katana also in one of her arms and the sheath on her back. She was growling at the man, fierceness in her green eyes that was unlike anything Keiichi had ever seen before.
Both of Keiichi's parents looked stunned as they observed the girls in front of them. They noted that they were both perfectly identical, save for the fact that one of them was wearing her hair up in a ponytail, though they also noted a pair of white horns on the top of both of their heads. They looked down to the collars around their necks, ones that were spiked. They instantly knew what they were when they saw those horns, and their fear suddenly grew high.
"Keiichi? What is this?" his father asked, his tone full of fear. "These are…"
Keiichi sighed as he looked at his parents. "I'm sorry, Mom, Dad. I was right about the demons," was all he could tell them. He didn't know how to explain that he had saved them from the clutches of the Sonozaki family, who had been treating them like a pile of dirt, so that's what he stuck with.
His parents were stunned. They didn't know what to say.
The man scoffed. "You didn't know about demons? How pathetic." He turned his gaze over to the boy in front of him, an evil smirk on his face. "This boy here, your son, stole these two demons from the great Sonozaki family. I've come to take both of them back, but it seems as if he has grown attached to these vile beasts. How disgusting."
Keiichi felt rage grow within him. How dare he call Mion and Shion vile beasts? They were not vile beasts! "Mom, Dad! Don't listen to what he says!" he cried to the two of them. "It's true that I took them from the Sonozakis, but I had a reason to! They were trapped in their basement all their lives, and they weren't even getting fed or anything like that! They hadn't ever seen the outside world before… and I couldn't just leave them like that! So I… I…!" he didn't know what else to say.
"Oh, poor little beasts. Trapped underground and not fed! How horrible! A demon should definitely be treated like a human! Poor, poor little evil monsters!" mocked the man.
Keiichi clenched his fists and tried to resist the urge to strangle the guy right on the spot. If he tried, he would be crushed. The man was much stronger than he was.
Mion and Shion both looked enraged. "How dare you!" cried Mion as she slashed the katana against the man without any warning. The man saw this coming, however, and the blade missed him, slashing through air instead of flesh. Mion cursed as she pulled her blade back, though she held it close. Fighting him now wouldn't be a good idea. He saw all her attacks coming, and he seemed to be able to dodge easily.
"Keiichi…" was all his parents could say.
The man sighed. "Well then, brat, if you're going to behave like that…" Without warning, the man raised his fist and punched the demon across the stomach, sending her into a wall. She cried out in pain as she clutched it, small tears welling up in her eyes. Keiichi glanced at the man, shock in his eyes. He wasn't a normal human! He couldn't be!
He walked over to Mion, his fists clenched and an evil smirk on his face. He rose his fist high in the air as he prepared to attack Mion once again. She looked at him with fierce eyes, challenging him to do it again. The punch had only worked for a little bit. It wasn't enough to keep the girl down.
And even so, Keiichi found himself running towards the scene, jumping in front of Mion and shielding her with his body. He pressed his body against hers, wrapping her arms around her tightly as he looked at the man. "Don't you touch her!" he cried out as he grasped the girl tighter. He knew that Mion was stronger than him, and that trying to protect her would just be hurting him and not her, but something inside of him made him want to shield her, even if that wouldn't do any good. The demons had been bullied enough. They didn't need this pain!
"I was right," grumbled the man. "You really do have a strange affection for demons…"
Keiichi said nothing. He clenched his teeth and glared at him, determination in his eyes. And yet, there was fear in them, too. If that man were to punch him… would he fall down? He was strong enough to punch Mion into a wall, after all.
And yet, he did nothing of that sort. He just sighed. "Well, since the Sonozaki Head wants you alive so that she can kill you herself, I can't do anything about that. However…" He smiled at the boy. His smile, however, was not one that a person would wear if they were happy. It was sadistic and evil. "If you don't hand the demons over in sixty seconds, I will be forced to take action, and you will regret your decision."
Keiichi became confused. "What will you do?" he asked him.
The man's smile did not fade. "I won't tell you that. It's better if you don't find out, so hand over those demons and you won't find out."
Keiichi clenched his teeth. If he handed over Mion and Shion, they would be sent back to the demon storage, and the head of the Sonozaki family would murder him, as the man had mentioned. However, if he didn't, he would do something that would make him regret not handing the demons over. What did that mean? It could mean anything. He wasn't going to kill him, as he said before, so what other options were there? Shit. This guy is trying to make me all confused on purpose by not telling me what he's going to do if I don't hand the demons over! …But if I hand them over, then I'm going to die, and Mion and Shion will be put back! They won't be fed, they won't have a warm futon to sleep in, and they won't have an outside to play in! I can't give them!
"Sixty seconds…" the man said as he looked at his watch. "I suppose that the fact that you haven't taken any action means that you are choosing not to hand them over?"
Keiichi nodded. This decision was final. He would not hand those demons over.
"Don't do that, Kei-chan!" cried Shion from the other side of the room. "I don't mind going back! I'll just go with him and—"
"Stop, Shion!" yelled Keiichi. "I am not handing you over! Do not lie to yourself! You do not want to go back there!"
Shion said nothing more. It was true. She would hate to go back there and be locked in a cell for the rest of her life. She may even be punished for escaping and seeing the outside world.
The man let out a sigh. "You leave me no choice, then. Fine. You'll regret this decision," he spoke. Then, he pulled a large knife out from the sleeve of his jacket. How he managed to keep it in there and not cut himself, he didn't know, but that wasn't what mattered. He began to clean off the dust on his knife with a small part of his jacket, and when he was done, he turned around with the knife.
Keiichi had no time to react. The man ran forward and lunged for his parents with the knife. Within a matter of seconds, he had impaled his father with the sharp blade and pulled it out, leaving him to die on the floor. Blood leaked out from the wound, and Keiichi realized that it wouldn't be much longer before he died. He lunged for his mother, but before he could get to her, Shion ran at the man with a katana, blocking off his path and defending Keiichi's mother.
"DAD!" screeched Keiichi as he ran towards his father. Now, Keiichi didn't know what to think. All along, he had been choosing between the twins and his parents. And he had left his parents to die. But… that's too cruel. I couldn't… I couldn't let him kill either…
His father coughed as he looked up at his son, his eyes tired. All Keiichi could think about was how he was dead because of what he had done. If only he had stopped the man…! "…I'm proud of you, Keiichi," his father managed to speak.
Keiichi blinked. "H-Huh?" he responded. He didn't know what else to say.
"You know… that demon you were defending… Mion, was it? I could tell. Keiichi… I'm glad I got to meet her…" he rasped out.
"W-Wha…" was all Keiichi could find to say.
"…The girl… that you love…"
Those were his final words. Within the next second, his father's heart had stopped beating. He didn't even get to say anything other than a "huh" and a "what?" to him before he died. He didn't give him a goodbye or anything. He had been too dumbstruck by what he was saying. …Did his father mistake Keiichi protecting her as love? It's not like that, Dad… we're… just friends…
His attention was quickly taken away by a yelp coming out from the man. He whipped around to find that man was struggling to fight Shion, and that she was having quite a hard time as well. The man had several cuts in his jacket, and there was some red blood seeping from it. She had managed to get small slashes at the man, though she hadn't quite dug into his flesh yet. No serious wounds were on him.
His mother was watching the whole scene with horrified eyes. Her husband had just been killed right before his eyes, and now, she was seeing what she thought could only be seen in horror movies. Demons were real.
"Mom!" screamed Keiichi. He didn't know what else to do. "Mom! Don't let him kill you!"
Mion ran at the man from behind with her katana, causing him to cry out as she slashed him across the back, digging into his flesh as she did so. It caused a huge wound in his back, and more blood yet began to seep out. Frustrated, the man ran forward and pushed the younger twin out of the way with his brutal strength, knocking her out of his path. As fast as he could, he lunged for Keiichi's mother, driving the knife into her stomach before removing it as fast as he could.
"M-Mom! No!" screamed Keiichi. Mion and Shion both looked horrified as they stared at the scene before them. They had failed to protect his mother.
"Keiichi…" choked his mother. "Goodbye… I love you…"
Keiichi didn't know what to say at first, but then he remembered how he didn't even get to say goodbye to his father before he passed. "Goodbye, Mom. …I-I love you too…" he managed to get out.
She nodded once before her life faded away as well.
Mion and Shion looked at each other. He had just lost his mother, and he seemed so sad. They couldn't understand why, as they had never experienced the affection of a mother. They had never been close to her, after all.
Keiichi looked at the man, who now wore an evil smirk on his face. He wondered why he didn't just try to kill Mion and Shion when he had run over to his mother, and when they were watching her. "Well, I said I'd make you regret your decision," was all he said. "Now, I'm going to be taking those two…"
He lunged forward and grabbed onto Shion as fast as he could, wrestling her down to the ground and pinning her underneath his weight. She cried out and began to kick and scream as she tried to break away from his grip, but she found that the man was just too strong. He had to be twice her size and weight! She yelled curses at the top of her lungs when she realized she couldn't break free of his grip.
Keiichi felt tears well in his eyes. The man had just taken away his mother and father, and now, he was going to take away Mion and Shion, too. I've worked… so hard to get to this point. And now… it's all gone…
Was his effort to teach them for nothing? After all, they would now be taken back and thrown back in their cells. They would surely forget about what happiness was, as they would no longer have a way to experience it. They wouldn't be fed ever again, and they would never be able to play in the sunlight and experience what the world was. The Sonozaki family would once again strip them of their names, and they would return to being Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight. Everything would return to how things were when he found them. It would be like he had never come into their lives.
Images ran through his head. He remembered their first meeting, and then how happy they were when they saw him again. He remembered their reaction when they looked in the mirror for the first time, and then he pictured their smiles when they saw the meat that he had brought them. He could easily remember how Mion's personality changed the moment they began to play cards, and how she had explained to him that she didn't have emotions. The questions that she had asked him flooded back to him, and the sorrowful look in her eye whens he had spoke them. He could recall how they looked when they first escaped from that room, and their first moments outside. Playing tag, playing Clue, the time where Mion comforted him when he thought they were going to be taken away, and then how happy they had been when they were playing cards with each other just minutes ago… all the moments came back to him at once.
He couldn't give up. This man would not take Mion and Shion away from him!
"Mion!" he screeched. "Get him! Now!"
Mion, who had previously just been standing there with a look of horror on her face, nodded and ran at the man. She slammed the blade of the katana into his back, causing the man to shriek. Shion saw this as an opportunity, and she rammed her whole body into the man and pushed him right off of her. She stood up, brushing off her kimono and then looking at Keiichi.
"Yes! Mion! Shion! Good!" he cried out, excitement filling his tone. He looked down, seeing that the man was slowly getting up with his fists clenched. An alarm went off in his brain the moment he saw it, and he knew that he was going to attack him. "Quick! Run!" he ordered both of them, seeing the man's fist begin to rise up.
Mion and Shion nodded as they jumped away from the man. Keiichi glanced towards the front door, which was still wide open. Looking back to Mion and Shion, and then to the man, and then to the door, he knew what he had to do. "It doesn't matter if you're seen anymore! Let's get the hell out of here! Follow me!" he yelled to the both of them.
He dashed out into the night, leaving behind the bloody mess in the kitchen. Mion and Shion followed him close behind as he dashed for the trees. He had no idea where he was going, but all he wanted to do right now was to get away from the man. After that, they could return home and report the whole incident to the police. He glanced behind him, realizing that the man was close behind, despite his wound. He had a look of annoyance on his face as he clutched the bloody knife in his hand. How he could run with that wound, he would never know, but that's not what mattered right now.
The three of them went deeper into the woods. A trail of blood was following behind them from the man. Surely someone would see and come after them. But that doesn't matter, Maebara Keiichi! Just run for your life! He picked up his pace and gestured for the two demon twins to do the same. They were still holding onto their bloodstained katanas, which was hindering them a little bit.
He heard a yelp coming from behind him as the man caught up. The next thing Keiichi knew, Shion was staggering forward, the knife having slashed her back pretty deeply. There was fear in her eyes as she looked behind her, realizing that the man had caught up. He smirked as he held the knife against Shion once again, threatening to stab her right through the back.
"Who… ha… cares about what the Sonozaki family said about you two. I'm going to… kill you here… demon!" he cried out as he plunged the knife into Shion's back, causing another shriek to sound out from her.
"SIS!" screamed Mion. Before anyone could say anything, Mion began to slash at the man with her katana, not even thinking about her moves. There were tears in her eyes as she continued to slash the man in every place she could think of. She couldn't stand the fact that someone had just hurt her sister like that.
"I HATE YOU!" she screamed as she continued to slash at the man. "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY SISTER? ! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
The man growled as he used all his strength to push the girl out of the way, causing her to ram into a tree and yell out. She ignored the wound, though, and went straight back at the man, screaming as she tried to slash him once again. However, the man just punched her right back into the tree.
Blood began to trickle down Mion's mouth. And the first thing he noticed that Mion's blood was not the color of black like the book said. It was a crimson red.
Koichi lied! He realized. He had already suspected such a thing, but now it was confirmed. A demon's blood did not flow black because they had no emotions. A demon's blood flowed red, because they had emotions. Just like a human.
Shion's back was also slick with crimson blood as she clutched at the wound. Her eyes were wide, and she was trembling. Normally, a girl like her would be dead, but since she was a demon, she was alive. He glanced over to Mion, who was struggling to go forward. The impact being slammed so many times had finally taken in, and Keiichi could see frustration in her eyes. Her pride must have been wounded far more than she was. She was such a competitive person who never lost. And now, here she was, wounded and struggling to move. She breathed heavily as she leaned against the tree, trying to rest.
After a while, she staggered towards the man once again, having gained a little more strength from waiting a bit. Demons recover quickly… Keiichi thought as stared at her. She was clutching the hilt of her katana further, ready to slash that man right open. However, it looked as if she was just going to get punched back into a tree.
The man was beginning to show signs, too. More crimson blood began to stain his back and the other wounds he had gotten from Mion, and he looked as if he too was suffering from pain. Glancing from Mion to Shion, who had recovered quite a little bit, he realized he still had a chance to get out of here if he were to take it now.
"Guys! RUN!"
Without even thinking, he ran into the trees and far away. He didn't even look behind him as he ran further and further into the woods. Even though he wasn't wounded, he still felt as if he had been stabbed right through the heart. His parents were dead, Mion and Shion were injured, and he was slowly losing them. How was he going to treat their wounds? Sure, they were recovering, but they should still be looked at. Doctor Hayashi would know who they were from the collars, and he would be put to death. Those collars were impossible to remove. They had some kind of lock that required a key, and any other method, like tearing, was impossible since the collar was made of metal.
I suppose the only method is to let them self-recover. They're demons. They shouldn't die all that easily…
He ran further into the woods, his teeth clenched and tears running down his face. Such a beautiful day had changed into a bloodstained night. He could now officially call it the worst day ever. He noticed that his legs were beginning to grow tired, and that his breaths were growing heavier, but he didn't stop.
And then he noticed that there were no other footsteps aside from his own. And shortly afterwards, he noticed that no one was behind him.
He looked about. Mion and Shion were nowhere to be found. He gritted his teeth as he ran back into the woods, thinking that they had perhaps fallen behind. When he dashed backwards some more, beginning to look frantically around, he realized that he still couldn't find any trace of either twin. Had they even followed him the first place? Were they still behind with that man?
His felt his heart rate begin to escalate as he began to look some more, running about the whole forest like a madman. Where were they? He couldn't find them! He looked behind trees, in some bushes, and yet, they weren't there. He panicked as he dashed off in a random direction, not even knowing where he was going.
"MION! SHION!" he screamed out as he ran. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
He stopped when he thought he heard a voice. So he tried calling again.
"MION! SHION!"
"Right here…!" a voice called out.
Relief flooded over him as he ran in the direction in the voice. It was a little far away, but he could tell where it came from. His feet hit the forest floor as he ran as fast as he could, worried about how badly injured she could be. He stopped as he came to the spot where he had heard the voice come from. He looked about. "Mion? Shion?" he called out again.
"…Behind… the tree!"
Keiichi was about to ask which tree, but when he noticed a rather large tree standing right there, he no longer needed to. He circled around the tree, finding the source of the voice within seconds. His eyes began to tear up as he spotted Mion standing there, her back pressed tightly against the tree. She had some blood on her, and seemed rather worn, but it looked as if she had recovered mostly. She smiled at him when she spotted him.
"…Mion!" he cried out, rushing towards her. Without thinking, he pulled her into a tight embrace, his arms wrapping around her tightly. "Mion!" he cried again, pulling her closer. "Mion, Mion, oh Mion! I'm so glad I found you!"
Mion was stunned by his actions, not expecting to be hugged once again. She stood there as stiff as a statue as Keiichi held onto her tightly. She didn't know what to do.
Eventually he pulled away from her, a smile on his face. "Where's Shion?" he asked the girl.
Mion shook her head. "I was hoping you saw her…"
Silence. What if that man had caught Shion? Her wound was pretty bad, and it was likely that she didn't even run when he had screamed out to do so. However, the man's wounds were pretty terrible too, so it was likely that wasn't the case. What if she was still there, lying there with the injured man? "I think she may still be back there. Let's try to get back."
He didn't know how he was going to do that, though. He was in the middle of the woods, and he had no idea how to get to his house from the place he was. He sighed as he turned back to the place where he had came running from, where he had been when he heard Mion's cry. Mion followed him behind, a look of clear worry on her face as she thought about her sister.
Keiichi felt his heart begin to throb as he remembered how protective Mion had been of her sister when that man had stabbed her. She had gone berserk on him. She hadn't even bothered thinking about her moves. She had just slashed and slashed… It just went to show how close the two of them were. Now, as he saw the worry in his eyes, he could understand how she felt.
"W-What if he caught her?" Mion asked as she followed him through the endless amounts of trees. "What if she's back in the cell…?"
Keiichi shook his head. "Don't think like that…"
Keiichi stopped. He was sure he had been here when he heard Mion speak at first, as it wasn't too far away and the small amount of flowers that were there were the same. He changed his direction, now going back down the forest. If he went down some more, he would be at the place where Mion and Shion had been attacked.
He went further and further down, and eventually, he noticed he began to run once again. Mion was following him behind, now having sheathed her katana, though it still weighed her down. It reminded him of the time where they ran across the open when they had first escaped. She had had the same sheath on her back, which had been weighing her down. He gritted his teeth together as he remembered it. It was possible that the other twin he had been with at the time was caught, or maybe even dead, though he doubted it, since she was a demon, and demons could usually survive wounds like a stab to the back. Usually.
He had killed the other demons with that knife, after all.
He tried to get rid of that thought. No… Shion wouldn't die…
After a ton of running, they reached a spot where blood covered the floor, and where there was a sign of a struggle. Glancing over to the tree Mion had been leaning against, he confirmed that this was the place where they had been attacked. However, both the man and Shion were gone. He looked about the trees nearby, hoping that Shion was there, but as hard as he looked, he found that she just wasn't there.
"SIS!" screamed Mion at the top of her lungs, a look of worry and panic on her face. "WHERE ARE YOU!"
"Don't worry, Mion… We'll find her. Here, maybe she went—"
Before Keiichi could even finish what he was saying, Mion had dashed off into the trees. A look of alarm painted Keiichi's face for a few seconds before he too dashed after her. She did not stop running, even when he shouted at her to stop. She began to run everywhere throughout the forest, searching behind every tree she could find as she screamed for her sister.
"SIS! SIS! SIS! SIS!" cried Mion as she ran deeper into the forest, her eyes wide with fear. "TELL ME IF YOU'RE HERE! TELL ME! SIS!"
Keiichi followed her as she ran about the forest. He wasn't even sure where she was going, but wherever it was, he was sure that it didn't have a better chance of having Shion there than anywhere else she had looked. This forest was huge. She could be anywhere in the forest.
The search continued on. Mion screamed more and more for her sister as she ran throughout the forest, but she still couldn't find her, no matter how hard she looked. She wasn't even thinking straight anymore. She was just running in random places, sometimes to places she had already been before, and screaming out for her sister. It was clear that she had no idea where she was going or where or sister could be. She was just desperate for her at this point.
It became more obvious when the two of them ended right back up at where they started. She had been running in circles the whole time. Mion's eyes were wide as she realized this, and before he knew it, she had collapsed to the ground, exhausted from having run so much. There were tears visible in her eyes, and they were beginning to hit the grass as she lay on it, trembling. Her eyes were widened with worry and fear, something Keiichi thought he would never see on the girl. She was so strong.
"Mion," Keiichi told her gently. "You're… you're tired. Let's get back to the house… we'll find Shion tomorrow…" It was a tough decision, but he couldn't allow Mion to be like this anymore. She was worn. All she needed now was a good rest and a good sleep, and then in the morning, they could find her. It was night, and it was hard to find anything in the darkness. Besides, they could perhaps ask Rena to help look for her later. She was probably asleep now. She had mentioned liking to sleep early before….
"NO! HELL NO! I'M NOT GOING TO!" screamed Mion as she struggled to stand up, though she just ended up collapsing on the floor again. "I NEED HER! I NEED MY SIS!" She began to punch the floor in frustration as she began to bawl, large teardrops hitting the grass. "I can't! I can't be without my sis! How… how I am I going to sleep without her?"
Then it hit him. Mion and Shion had been together for their entire lives. Never had they been away from each other. They spent every single day in that dreaded cell together, and they spent every single night snuggled close together. This was the first time Mion had been away from her sister, and the other way around, too. Being away from her sister must be scary for her, and not to mention heartbreakingly different. She had always had her sister's warmth to depend on. Now, it was gone.
"D-Don't worry… you… you can sleep one night without her…" he tried to reassure. "…So come home… let's… sleep…"
She shook her head as she continued to cry. "I'm not going home without her!"
Keiichi bent down besides her, gently touching her back with his hand. "Mion… please. I promise you we'll find her in the morning," he told her gently.
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, which was still brimming with tears. "Do you promise we'll find her tomorrow? First thing tomorrow?" she asked, showing a sign of giving into the idea of going home. Sure, she was still forcing Keiichi to make a promise to find her as soon as possible, but she was now listing to her, at least.
"I promise," replied Keiichi. "Now, come."
She got up from her spot and nodded. Keiichi sighed and began to walk back to the house. It would be a mess when they got back. He needed to tell someone about the incident, tell someone that the man had come in and killed his parents. But he didn't know how to explain it all. How was he going to explain why the man had done so? He couldn't mention Mion and Shion, and it wouldn't make sense if he were to say the person who had killed Kimiyoshi came in and killed his parents for no reason when he was known for stealing and killing demons.
He ended up back at the house and wandered up the stairs, a sniffling Mion behind him as he made his way to his room. He didn't know how he was going to explain anything to anyone, so he decided he'd sleep on it. It was a silly idea, but there was nothing he could do for now. He opened the door to his room, leading Mion inside of it.
The first thing Mion did was collapse on her futon and snuggle up in it, trying to get some sleep. He could tell she looked upset and uncomfortable, though. It was different from being cuddled up against the warmth of her sister. With a sigh, Keiichi turned the lights off, and after getting changed very quickly so that Mion didn't see him, he made his way towards his own futon. He needed to get some sleep. He was dead tired with all that had happened that day.
He was finding it hard to sleep. His parents were dead, and Shion had possibly been captured, and maybe even dead. He had lost so many things in one day. He felt as if he had lost everything, and that he was alone. His parents had been with him forever, and had taken care of him forever. They had supported him after he had confessed about the incidents with the gun, and they had taken him to a village where he had met the best friends he could ever have. His father was a little eccentric and crazy at times, but he had loved him anyways. His mother was nice and kind, and would never hesitate to help him. And now, they were both gone. They would never return.
It wasn't even just that. Shion could be captured or dead, and it would be his fault as well. He hadn't been able to do anything besides stand in front of Mion when they had been attacked. It was all his fault. Everything was his fault. His parents died because of what he did, and Shion had gone missing because of what he did as well. Even if his parents had lived, that would mean that he would have to have given up Mion and Shion. Then, they would be sent back, and he would die. That would have also been his fault.
I hate myself. He buried his head into his pillow as he thought about this. These thoughts caused him to think about the little girl who was now probably half-blind. She probably was missing half of the world because of his silly actions. And what about the people he had injured? He had probably left a big impact on them as well. And it was his fault.
Keiichi heard footsteps. He looked up to find Mion looking down at him, tears in her eyes. She also couldn't sleep. Even if she wanted to sleep, she couldn't, simply because she didn't have the warmth of her sister next to her. Her eyes were filled with pain, and Keiichi noticed that her tears had returned. He was about to say something to her, but before he could take action, she did. She had pulled off the covers of the futon, and the next thing he knew, she had placed herself down beside him.
"M-Mion?" he spoke, disbelief in his voice.
"…I need someone," was all she said. She pulled the covers over the both of them before she closed her eyes, and then Keiichi felt her warm body press against his. He blushed at the touch, wondering if Mion knew what the implications of a man sleeping next to a woman were. She seemed to not know, though, as she was now snuggling her body against his. This action caused his face to turn a deep shade of tomato red. Now, he was pretty sure she didn't understand the implications. Her arms wrapped around his body as she pulled her body as close as she could against his.
And then, her eyes shot open, revealing shock in them.
"M-Mion?" he stuttered.
"…You're warm, too," she said. He felt her grip on him grow tighter as she pressed herself closer to him, if that was even possible in the first place. "But it's kind of funny. It's like a different kind of warm."
Keiichi blinked at her. "A different kind of warm?" he repeated.
Mion nodded. "Yeah. It's a similar warm feeling… but yet, it's different. For some strange reason, my heart is beating really fast…" she whispered. She pressed her chest close to his, causing the boy to blush redder than he had been before. Nope, she definitely didn't understand how intimate her actions were. "Can you feel it? It's beating really fast. My cheeks are feeling kind of hot too…" She sighed happily. " I feel happy being with you. You're so warm. It makes me want to be with you… always…"
Keiichi felt his heart nearly stop. Warmth, a beating heart, heat in cheeks… he had only heard about it from books, but he knew that emotion.
Love…
But it was a different love than the one Mion talked about when she held Shion close. No. This was a romantic love. She was in love with him. The thought made Keiichi freeze. She was… in love with him? But how did she fall in love with him? He wasn't sure what to think. No one had ever fallen in love with him before. The thought was strange.
Mion, the strong, tomboy demon, was in love with him.
She sighed again as she allowed herself to relax, finally feeling some comfort. She wasn't crying anymore. She was happy, relaxed.
What was he going to do, now that she was in love with him? This situation was kind of… strange. Especially since her body was pressed so close against his. With a sigh, and without thinking, he wrapped his own arms around her and snuggled against her as well, seeking some form of comfort.
And that's when he noticed it.
His heart was beating fast, too.
He felt his cheeks heat up as she looked at the girl in front of her. She was a strong girl, who, despite having lived in a basement all her life, was still able to be happy when she played games. She wasn't completely broken, and she had somehow managed to stay strong throughout the time she was in the basement. He pictured the smile on her face when she had first mentioned cards. She had looked so happy when she mentioned it, despite the fact that it had been filled with mischievousness.
She had made him feel better when he thought she was going to die, she had played so many games with him and made him feel like the happiest person in the world, and she had given him a reason to live. She had set his goal in life.
And, now, knowing that she was in love with him, he didn't feel totally worthless anymore.
He sighed as he snuggled against her, too. She was so warm… just like Mion had said he was. He felt his heart thump wildly in his chest as he relaxed, feeling her own heartbeat against his own. She shifted slightly, adjusting to his position against her, and then returned to being still. There was a strangely large smile on his face as he looked at her, observing how strong and beautiful the girl before him truly was.
…Never mind, Dad. You were right. …I'm in love with her…
~~~~X~~~~
Crimso's Corner V.2
The fact that the Mirai Nikki opening just came on my iTunes must be a sign, as I told myself I absolutely cannot watch the episode until I'm finished. And I just finished. Well, this was a long chapter. And it took quite a long time to write! It's 10,000 words! I only have one more chapter in this fanfiction that's this long. And that is, of course, chapter thirteen. I hope that this chapter wasn't too bad. For some reason, I'm not feeling so strong about it.
So, a lot happened. I hope that you will share what you thought about what happened and any predictions you have when you write a review! You should, by the way. And I'm glad I got 100 reviews. I FEEL SO EPIC NOW! Yesss! And your reward is a KeiMi oneshot. I'll see when that gets up. Maybe I'll write it after BFB, maybe in the middle when I feel like writing fluff. Although I don't know when that will be, seeing as I just wrote a pretty fluffy scene there. Did you guys like the fluff? Let me know when you leave a review.
And speaking of reviews, please do it! Reviewers can get a Keiichi AND Mion plushie. I've given them out before, but this time, it's a set~. People who point out typos can get a plushie of Shion! Oh, and please add predictions. Where do you think Shion is now? Do you think she's alive? Has she been captured? What will Mion and Keiichi do now that she's gone? Will they ever find her? What's going to happen now that Keiichi knows he loves Mion? …I'm just giving you a few things I'd like to hear from you guys. I don't want to be greedy, even though I am and greed is my favorite of the Seven Deadly Sins, so you don't have to answer that. I just would LIKE to. That's all. And, my document uploader still isn't working 100%. I can't fix typos or paragraph scrunches at the moment. I HOPE that changes :|.
I hope I'm not coming off as greedy or anything like that… D:.
~Crimso
P.S: A day later, Doc Editor has been fixed. YESSSS.