JUNJOU EGOIST

x

UNLUCKY

Hiroki felt something hard and cold hitting his cheek, he tried to move his head and open his eyes, but the light was too bright, and the world was spinning, his last meal threatening to come back out. So he let his cheek fall and his eyes close, darkness swallowing everything again.

The next time he woke up there were noises, a small part of his brain said they were "words" but he recognized none, it was like trying to hear underwater with plugged ears, and his ears were ringing, the nausea had subsided only a bit, he didn't try to open his eyes, he just let whatever outside force pushed him to the side; there was something cold, and something prickly, more "words" he couldn't decipher. He was considering opening his eyes when his mind lost focus and a deeper darkness enveloped his whole self, like a weight ten times his own, dragged him literally down, he might have even slumped, Hiroki didn't know, there was just no consciousness anymore.

Some say "third time is the charm" and maybe, Hiroki thought, they were right since he was finally awake enough to think about such things, of course, there was a good chance he had woken up multiple other times but he was too drugged to notice or even remember them, he wouldn't dwell on it, it wouldn't help, instead he focused on the state of his body. His breathing was not erratic, he wasn't nauseated anymore, and nothing around him made any noises, so, he was flushing out the drugs and maybe, somehow safe?, for now?.

Hiroki tentatively moved his fingers, one by one, making sure he had full control of them, when they all worked well he moved to check on his toes, when he moved to check his arms thou, he found they were bounded. Tight.

"Shit"

So, not really safe.

"Fine, it's fine, I'm fine", he rotated his arms and then rotated his knees as much as he could, it all seemed to work, so he opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the bright light coming from a "lab light" that his mind recalled from the few visits to the dentist he went to. So he turned his head to the left in order to stop seeing the light directly and fully absorb his surroundings. It was distressing, and he had to close them again to keep from crying out, the place had sterile white walls, a metal door, a board and a light panel fixed to the wall and no windows.

Looking down at himself again he noticed there was an iv connected to his arm, the bag was empty, whatever contents it had had were already inside his body. There was also a metal table beside the drip pole, with generic "doctor" items, an electronic thermometer, gloves, alcohol, quite innocent on their own.

Suddenly something, a noise, called his attention, he focused on it and when it didn't seem to work he closed his eyes and focused harder. It was a voice, no, they were voices, agitated? No, excited, one was excited, the other one, deeper, maybe, older? Was not as excited, maybe even annoyed, it remind him of a professor who was famous for failing 60% of his students.

Finally the voices were close enough.

"Haruto and Hideki were in charge of the pick up" said the excited one, although not as excited anymore

"Why didn't they follow instructions?"

"2245's chip stopped signaling on July 22nd, they informed me and I gave them the order to pick up 5332 and 58263" Hiroki could almost visualize excited one preening, as if waiting for a pat in the head.

"And they took a FUCKING human with them!" Yeah, Hiroki never liked that professor, "Because they didn't follow protocol" Pissed pants seemed near blowing a casket, "they took them from a PUBLIC parking lot, in the middle of the day! in the presence of a human BY-STAN-DARD that has a PROMINENT position at the fucking university"

"He's not famous, he's just an assistant professor"

"… they knew me"

"He's not a fucking janitor, he will be noticed!" Pissed pants sounded closer, almost at the door

"They didn't leave any marks, there's no cameras in that parking lot, the were no other people around and non of them were able to call for help" not so excited one gritted his teeth, no longer waiting for a pat in the head either.

"… they don't know…"

"yeah, but they fucking gave him WOLPHORM, that's a pet's sedative! It could have damage the fetus"

"They didn't know…" no longer excited one's voice was low enough to make Hiroki strain to hear him

"OF COURSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW" Pissed pant's voice boomed, maybe he had finally ripped an artery, "because they didn't follow the protocol, didn't fully observe 2245's movements and didn't' report back in time"

"but we got them! And he's fucking carrying!" back again excited, Hiroki felt a cold shiver running through his back, looking down at his arm he bit his lip and pulled as hard as he could against the band restraining him, and it gave away. Maybe it was a miracle, maybe they hadn't expected him to try to break free, or maybe the leather was just THAT used, but it ripped on one side and he was able to drag his wrist and squeeze it out. Then he used his free hand to open the belts on his other arm and legs.

The miracle ended when he tried to stand, the world twisted to one side, turned away from him and his body tumbled to the left, the only purchase the metal table. All went down with him with a loud bang, the alcohol splashing everywhere, and a folder opening and letting hundreds of pages strew all over the floor. Hiroki moved to stand up but stopped, frozen in place, in front of him was a photo, a clear picture of a young boy, between 5 or 10, scrawny, tall, with short blue hair, tufty triangular, long ears, and a bushy yet scraggly blue tail. Hiroki could make in the grainy photo the beautiful set of ocean blue eyes.

In the back of his mind he heard the door open, he heard the people talking, at some point someone, or maybe more than one lifted him up and returned him to the bed, he just kept seeing the photo, and all the others that had been clipped together. Nowaki, in various states of undress, with lacerations, chains, photos filled with annotations and arrows and signs that meant nothing and everything… everything his beloved Nowaki had suffered.

They even had him with a muzzle…

He felt a prick on his arm, so far away it might have been part of his imagination, after who knows how long the edges of his vision started to blur, the noises became even more distant, the color became rich yet loosing it's contrast, and finally all turned black.

When Kamijou woke up, again, pissed pants was no longer as annoyed, "it is true we never considered 2245 would mate with a human, or that it could alter human biology"

"But it did! and it's responding well"

"This is different"

"Do you really think so? There's no way to continue without problems, or we do it or we get rid of him"

Hiroki opened his eyes, his shirt had been cut open, and something glistened on his belly, almost at the end of the bed there was a machine he recognized as an ultrasound. He looked up from the machine to the arguing people, both giving their backs to him. But soon they turned, as if knowing he had woken up, Pissed pants stared for almost a minute, Hiroki thought somehow maybe he was still sedated, because he didn't care much, the man's eyes traveled to his uncovered belly, then back at his eyes

"Sorry professor, you mixed yourself with the wrong pet" he turned towards the door and walked out, only looking back to see with the corner of his eye as he talked to the other, "do as you please"

Soon the door opened and closed, Hiroki breathed in once, and the other was beside him, a smile stretching from one ear to the other. "I think congratulations are in order!"

"what?"

"Congratulations, you're pregnant!"

Hiroki opened his eyes and looked around, there was a light in a corner of the room, and another light outside on the opposite direction, none illuminate enough, but he was able to at least determine his immediate surroundings, the cage he was in. It was taller than the ones on the other side, but he still had to crouch, the cement floor was cold and humid, in another situation he might have debated about the reason for it, right now his brain was slowly processing other things.

He didn't know how long he had been asleep, after excited-one declared him pregnant… leaving aside how improbable and impossible that was, he had proceeded to vomit and faint, the vomiting could be the sudden lack of adrenaline mixed with the drugs still coursing through his body, or maybe, the possibility of the words being actually true. Whatever the case a loud noise, like a waterfall, had drowned all other sounds in his ears, he had soiled his shoes, the floor and someone else, who?, he didn't care, well deserved if you asked him.

It seemed someone, maybe not the person he vomited on, had cleaned him, since he had a t-shirt and pants that didn't belong to him, he had no shoes unfortunately, and whatever they used to wash him had been coarse, drying out his skin, but it made no sense to worry about such trifles.

Maybe enough time had passed, because someone he hadn't seeing before, came, wearing a lab coat and caring a bag, he was accompanied by 2 big, burly dudes, their faces scrunched up as if they were having trouble passing gas, Hiroki decided to keep that thought to himself. Gassy-twins opened the cage and proceeded to lift him up, barely caring if he hit his head against the bars, he shouldn't have fought, but his reaction was natural; he kicked them, bite one of them and tried to run away, but something pricked him in the arm, and he didn't reach the entrance before all went black.

Loosing consciousness and waking up was a tiring game that should have ended, but Kamijou was nothing shorter than mule-stubborn, so the text time, when they subdued him, he squirmed, bit down hard till he tasted blood and run the other direction, unfortunately there were guards on that area and soon he was again, tranquilized. Black-out seemed to be his constant status.

The forth time he woke up he tried to scape before the group came to check on him, fuming, twisting and kicking the door as much as he could, alas, fortune was not on his side anymore.

"This is not a game" Lab-coat growled at him, or at least it sounded pretty similar to a growl, "and maybe you don't care, but in case you just don't know or haven't really accept it" the guy moved towards his cage and threw papers through the space between the bars. "you're pregnant, wether you wanted to or not, and that's your wolf's pup" Hiroki picked up the papers, he had planned to throw them back but a clear ultrasound image drew his attention, "if our records are correct, you had an abnormal relationship with it, so you DO care" Hiroki's eyes scanned the paper, staying each time on highlighted words, "if you keep forcing our hand we will have to keep using sedatives, if the fetus is no longer viable because of the sedatives you WILL be put down, the fetus will be removed to be studied, and that's it."

Hiroki looked at the page, no longer caring to read, the words were not making sense, lab-coat was not making sense, nothing made sense anymore. He saw movement and reacted without thinking, pushing his back against the wall, protecting the papers in his hand against his chest, his breathing labored.

"Will you behave?"

It did not matter if he believed it or not.

For hours Hiroki moved from one side of his cage to the other, reading a few paragraphs from the papers and mulling them over, staring at the ultrasound images one by one, comparing the pointers to the written results. It didn't matter if he believed them or not, the papers could be fabricated easily, he had no way of testing, and honestly, who would believe something so outlandish? But, it didn't matter if he believed, because if there was any chance for any of what they said to be true, he couldn't risk not behaving.

Sitting down Hiroki let a loud sigh escape his lips, letting his head hang over his knees and hands, was that what Nowaki was so desperate to tell him? How would he have known? Why did he take so long to tell him?

Thinking of his beloved Nowaki made his body shiver, tears clouding his vision. He hadn't thought about him, even when he had seeing the photos, his brain had not focused on them, he had just filed them out of shock, and later nothing beyond escaping mattered, well, escaping was still number one on the list but… Was he expecting Nowaki's child? Hiroki looked down at his belly, "of course I'm filling out, I'm eating better and caring for my health, sleeping more" hadn't he thought something along those lines just a few days ago? He pulled his eyes away, setting them on a muddy corner of his cage, maybe the place flooded sometimes?

He was moving closer to examine the mud when a soft sound called his attention, his brows furrowed a bit, he listened, nothing, he furrowed his brows more, bending his head to his left and turning his head for his ear to face the direction of the noise. "There!" someone was crying, the soft cries ending in mewls, accompanied by a loud distressed purr. "Pet, has to be a Pet"

"Usagi-san"

It was enough of a whisper, a clear whine that pulled on Kamijou's heart. "Hey! Hey! It's o… it's going to be fine, are you hurt?" he called out, he tried to enunciate each word, but keeping his voice almost a whisper too.

"Professor Kamijou?" Hiroki's gasp was rather loud for what he had being trying, his body moving immediately to push and pull against the metal bars without any success, his student! His student had being kidnapped! what had they done to him?! He had to protect his student! "Misaki-kun I'm trapped too, I can't get out, are you hurt? Can you move?"

"Kamijou-sensei I'm also trapped in a cage!" Misaki's voice trembled, hiccups remnants of his pitiful cries, "I can move a bit, but I can't stand up, the cage is too short"

"Yes, mine too, do you know where we are? Could you see anything outside?"

There was a pause, silence, for a moment Kamijou feared something had silenced the poor youngster but he heard a troubled mewl followed by his student's whispered answer, "Yes, I saw a bit but my body was weak and limp, Shinobu-kun tried to protect me he…" Misaki's voice croaked, the hiccups worsening as he tried to control the incoming misery, "he tried so hard to fight them" Hiroki had never in his live desired to move a wall, but he needed to pull the cat towards him, console him, "they put him in detention, I don't know what that is, where that is, Shinobu was so afraid, he reeked of terror!" finally Misaki reached his limit and yowled, his cries dying down, muffled, Hiroki let him cry, it was the only thing he could do, trapped inside his own cage.

Eventually Misaki cleared his throat, breathing hard and long, "we're in some woods, they didn't care to blindfold us, you were unconscious so someone carry you in, they left with you to the right, they forced us to walk through a corridor, then a guy took Shinobu away, turning right and disappearing, I kept walking trough a corridor, there were many doors, metal doors, and finally we entered this room and they put me in the cage"

Hiroki breathed in and out, looking out towards the direction of Misaki's voice he could see the silhouette of cages, "I'm alone here, are there others with you?"

Misaki's pained cry was somehow shocking, but before Hiroki could say anything Misaki answered, "I don't know, I see other Pets, but they are not moving… Professor I don't know if they're dead or not" The youngster's distress was palpable, again Hiroki pushed his body against the bars, if only he could bent one, just one. "It's okay Misaki-kun, breath, it's going to be fine"

"How?"

"… I don't know" Hiroki couldn't tell if Misaki heard him, really, what else could he say?

They didn't talk much after that, a guard entered to deliver food, Hiroki followed the sound as he placed metal plates from one corner of the other room to the next, 16 times he counted till he heard Misaki's weary "thank you" Hiroki thought the guard's silence was better than a harsh response, but he also wished the youngster had said nothing, that guard deserved no courtesy.

After another 5 metal clanks the guard entered Hiroki's room and he placed a rectangular plate in front of his cage, leaving through another door with many more plates in a plastic bin, Hiroki counted at least 10 more.

When he couldn't hear the guard's footsteps he took some minutes to inspect the tray, it had bread that was definitely stale, some watery beans, something mashed that was far too dark to determine any color on it, or what it was made of, and some liquid that had no smell, but seemed thicker than water.

"Professor" called Misaki from the other room, "do you think they're gonna poison us with the food?"

Hiroki almost smiled, maybe Misaki-kun had watched some spy movies, "No Misaki-kun, I believe they want us alive…" at least they said they wanted HIM alive, for the fetus. "Don't worry about the food, eat a few bites, wait for 15 minutes, if you don't feel sick eat it all, we will need our strength to leave this place."

"Do you really think we can run away?" there was so much hope in the cat's voice Kamijou didn't dare to think through the possibilities, it made no sense to panic or cave in to fear. "I'm sure, so eat, don't fight them, try to keep yourself good, okay?"

"Yes, Sensei" Hiroki smiled bitterly, taking the tray as best he could, dragging it trough the short distance between the floor and the bars, he took one bite of the bread, chewed it well, swallowed, then ate a spoon full of the beans and mash. The taste was awful but he could eat it, thought it only made him think of Nowaki, so he rubbed the tears away and tapped his fingers to count 15 minutes.

They didn't come to pick him up till many days had passed. He counted the days by feedings, he noticed unfortunately that not everyone received 3 feedings a day, only 3 of them did, he asked Misaki and the kit said he received 3, that meant there was another one who was voiceless, somehow that did not comfort him, but he chose to focus on eating well, moving around and trying to memorize any kind of information that would be useful in a possible… WHEN they escaped.

"So how's our guest star?"

It was a statement to his situation, how fast he had grown use to the clinical area, as he decided to call it. It wasn't the same room in which he woke up the first time, this one had many more items on the table, some he didn't recognize at all, some machines, three shelves units with vials, boxes, files and other tools.

"Well, he's doing fine" responded Lab-coat handing a file to Pissed-pants, "for carrying pets"

"Blood pressure and vitals?"

"Stable, there were 3 episodes of anxiety, but we talk about how this benefits him and he has calmed down" Lab-coat turned to look at him, his voice stressing the words, "and cooperating" Hiroki wanted to insult them, but what use could that have?

"Fantastic!" Pissed-pants was horribly excited and read through the documents humming an unrecognizable tune, while Lab-coat turned on the ultrasound machine. Hiroki didn't want to lift his garment, but he hated the idea of them doing it, so he lifted it and turned his face away.

"So, how far are we?" There was some silence, as they probably checked the machine, "he should be in his 2nd month"

"6 weeks give or take"

"Is it moving yet?"

"Too early for that, the progression is very close to a human time-line and there's not enough development" Suddenly a loud sound startled Hiroki, it took him a few seconds, maybe even a minute to realize it was a beating heart, it was his baby's heartbeat. Hiroki turned to see the machine, unable to keep himself from doing so, the screen showing clumps of black and gray, he couldn't know what part was the baby, "Nowaki would know" Hiroki immediately looked away, biting the inside of his mouth to stop himself from crying.

"Pet status?" they continued on as if he wasn't there, "the human gen is not that strong in him anymore. I have notice a constant change of hormone levels as well"

"Perfect, that will help the fetus develop, any chances?"

"not sure, its too early to say"

"Anemic state?"

"No need of sedative or mood regulators"

"And the litter is?" Hiroki again held his breath to avoid insulting, screaming or growling at the lumps of shit with legs. Seriously, in his situation he should get used to the way they describe him and his baby, at least they didn't tend to talk about Nowaki, "3 doctor, that we have accounted for" Hiroki gasped, this time he didn't turn to look at the machine, even thought he fiercely wanted to. "three babies, we're having three babies!" There was fear, horror, his body shook trying to hold back the shock. "it's real, it's real, I'm having babies, I have three babies in me!"

"Any possibilities of more?"

"No doctor, if there was, it has being absorbed already"

A shadow obscured his face and Hiroki looked up to the doctor looking down at him, "Any vomiting or nausea?" it was the first time the man had talked directly to him, it was so strange Hiroki forgot himself and shook his head. "Sexual desire?" Hiroki's body moved back, but Lab-coat moved closer to them, reminding him. "three" so he shook his head yet again.

"you don't desire your pet? Don't dream or have a wet-dream about him?" the question caught him by surprise, no, he didn't feel any desire for Nowaki, but he had indeed dreamed about him. He shook his head, hating how warm and surely red his face became. "Interesting"

"do date?" Doctor Pissed-pants moved away and Hiroki scooted back, trying to create more distance between them and him, "Hard to say, we're still managing…"

"When was it conceived?"

"Depends"

"I see" Again Hiroki felt the movement close to him and the doctor pierced him with his stare, "when did you start intercourse with it?"

"what?!" Hiroki's lips became a thin line

"Remember for who you're doing this" gritted Lab-coat, Hiroki grope his rumpled clothes, "he started living with…"

"I don't want to know when you got him, I want to know when he started to fuck you" the Doctor might as well had screamed, for how strongly his words attacked Hiroki's body, his hold on his clothes tightened, his knuckles turning white, "on Christmas" his voice was barely a whisper but they still heard it, Lab-coat writing it down and pulling a cellphone, to calculate most probably. Hiroki remembered Nowaki's sweet voice, the last time they had joined, how much tenderness, but then it clicked, so many weeks before, when Nowaki seemed wild. Hiroki's body felt feverish.

"Ahh, heat period" Lab-coat's voice seemed cheerful, greedy, Hiroki finally felt nauseous, specially when he forced his head to nod, the doctor's disgusting tone seemed to latch onto his memories, so he closed his eyes and breathed them out, he could return to them later, when he was far away from this room, or as far away as he could in his cold cage.

"When?"

"Once in spring, another in summer" no need to give them exact dates, let them think he couldn't remember.

"Cats enter heat every 2 months, it has being with you for 6 months already, he should have mated at least 3 times" Hiroki stared at the Doctor with nothing to say, Nowaki had only experienced two heat cycles, that seemed to anger Pissed-pants greatly, his eyebrows furrowing, his forehead and cheeks turning red with fury, "DAMN IT! we'll have to work on the mating traits again!" Lab-coat jumped out of the way of the doctor, while the other slammed the file on the nearest table, "he didn't fucking change, that gives us 2 mating seasons, 2 litters, max 3-4 pups, that's too low!"

Hiroki felt smug for a second, his Nowaki was not making it easier for these assholes.

"We need to find his other mates" Lab-coat mentioned typing something on his phone, but Hiroki talked back, mortified, "He would never do that!". It was the wrong thing to do, both, doctor and Lab-coat turned to see him, different expressions, same unnerving feeling.

"Ehhhhh…" Lab-coat had almost pity in his eyes, "its okay, we programmed it to be like a cat, fucking whatever… or whoever, it found in its way"

Pissed-pants on the other hand threw the file to the table and grabbed Hiroki by the shoulder, "did he promise?!"

Hiroki's body jerked backwards, pressing his head against the hard plastic bed frame, and closed his eyes, "DID HE?!" the hand around his shoulder closed in, painfully, nails digging on skin, so he nodded. "FUCK" Pissed-pants seemed to rip his hands away from Hiroki, stomping away, wheels screeching against the uneven floor, Hiroki kept his eyes closed, "THE STUPID FUCKING DOG! THAT'S WHY I DON'T WORK WITH WOLVES ANYMORE!" Pissed-pants seemed ready to bust another fuse, but Hiroki didn't feel smug anymore, "Stupid one mate for life deal, lowers down the incomes!"

"But if it comes we can force it" Hiroki's breath hitched

"It wont work, with the human gen its taking almost the complete 9 months…" the doctor grumbled, his ire dying down, Hiroki's heart wouldn't slow down though, "but maybe, if we use it's mate's essence, maybe.." Hiroki's fingers grope the border of the plastic table, quickly burning with the pressure, "we'll have to wait until it comes, there's the mating drug…" Hiroki felt eyes on him and opened his eyes against his will, the doctor's were on him, unmoving, seeing numbers and charts and who knows what else beyond the body that Hiroki knew meant nothing to him.

"But there's the possibility" Lab-coat suddenly reminded him of excited one, and Hiroki almost gagged with revulsion.

"What?"

"Well, you see, at the rate the gen is working, it seems with every litter the body gets readier for pet-carrying, that said…"

"Every time he gets knocked off, the litters progresses faster" Hiroki breathed the bile down, he looked at the men and the closed door, he looked at the walls and table.

"Exactly, it's a theory but if 2245 comes back, we could definitely try, he wont resist if it's it's own mate" as Lab-coat explained the doctor shoulders relaxed, and he turned to look at Kamijou, as if remembering he was still there, "the drug will block it's primitive mind, and you have seeing the data, the percentage of resilient gens is lowering, if we really mix the breeds, we could get stronger litters, healthier packs".

Lab-coat's smile was broad, it seemed to open his mouth from ear to ear, like a broken doll, a monstrous thing, Hiroki's body went rigid, adrenaline flooding his system, a path clearing in his mind, he looked through the corner of his eyes the table again, the assortment of needles, the vials, looking back at the men they were now looking at papers, "that would be a starting point in the return of my money, but you're talking of getting more subjects."

"I have already found some candidates, there's nothing to loose."

Kamijou breathed in and out slowly, readying his body, sure he had put on weight, but he could certainly run, he could still lift…"

"We need to verify that 5332 didn't bond" Kamijou started counting from 10... 9… 8, "the information said it was a writer's pet" 7... 6...

"Usami Akihiko, yes" Hiroki's heart pumped once, so hard it felt as if pushing his ribcage, fully stopping, 5... 6 "5332 has not cooperated about it's status but analysis confirmed the author has fucked it more than once, there is a chance it's carrying too, but it's too early in the pregnancy"

"Misaki-kun!"

"If 2245 forgo it's programming it is possible that 5332 did so as well, we will need to verify and rectify the issue, I payed triple the usual amount because it was untouched" Pissed pants was building a hissy fit again, Hiroki's body refused to drop, frozen in that moment, close to freedom, well, at least the intention of freedom. "Misaki-kun is Akihiko's pet, he could be pregnant!"

"58263's job was to trigger their programming not over-run it!"

"There was no guarantee that it would work, and it is because he did it that we have been able to have some returns, imagine what he could do for all the other lost units?"

Kamijou wasn't looking at them anymore, so he felt more than heard Pissed pants huff, "enough! send the professor back, these will damage the litter, better let him rest, I'll check on him in a month"

"Yes doctor" Kamijou wondered why Lab-coat didn't address doctor Pissed pants as a doctor all the time, it seemed quite a peculiar attitude, he focused on the set of memories he had accumulated, counting every time the man had called his, most probably, superior by that tittle. "Is he a doctor? Doctor in what?"

Some hands pulled and maybe even helped him get up from the table and move, to not say dragged, back to his cage. He entered almost tripping on the bar that was lowest to the floor, using his arms to balance himself and avoid smashing his face against the other side of his cage.

There was no sound, the knowledge that there was many other people… pets on the room next to him only highlighted how awfully quiet it was, as if they were already dead, just husks of whatever they had being. Hiroki knelt down, pulled the sheets and straw that formed his bed, then lay gingerly on his side, his face turned towards the greenish wall.

Silence swallowed everything, and at the same time it magnified the terror and agony of his soul.

Hiroki moved his hand slowly, stopping multiple times, letting his hand fall then lifting it up again, to finally rest over his lower belly, pressing so softly it was the ghost of a caress. "Nowaki... Nowaki…" his hand rubbed circles over his skin, hot tears running through his face and pooling on the damp straw, "Nowaki... I don't know what to do"

Hiroki closed his eyes and let his body shake violently, the murderous silence taking away his cries and clamor too. "How can I save them? Where can I run? Nowaki PLEASE, Nowaki!"

Author's note: And the climax is on it's way. We still have some chapters, I'm sorry to say that Misaki's situation is not better, but at least it's not as bad as Shinobu's. Hope you can forgive me for making them undergo such horrible trials. Also, I'm sorry for taking so long, I'm trying to keep up with college and work and life, but I'm still writing, I have promised myself that I will finish the fanfic this year and I'll will, so follow the story, if you wanna know how it ends. As always, liking, kudos, comments, all of those things are terribly appreciated and do help my heart recover from typing such horrid scenes. Thank you for reading.