( The Capture. )
 

“Emi! Are you in there?!” Yuri cried out again, trying to peer through a window. Suddenly, a beam crashed to the ground in front of her, and she fell backwards in fright. She could hear a loud sobbing over the roar of the fire, and she knew someone was alive in there.

“Kimiko?” Yuri mumbled, trying to recognise whose voice she could hear. Her little sister was definitely the one making all the noise in there. Please don’t let that mean she’s the only one alive...

“Yuri!” came the voice of her older brother, Eri. She glanced to her right and saw him stumbling around the corner before collapsing to his knees in front of her.

“Eri!” she exclaimed, reaching over and pulling him into a tight hug. “Where are the others?”

“I... I don’t know,” he stammered. “I’ve been on the other side of the hut, trying to get a look inside, but it’s too smoky.”

“I can hear Kimiko crying in there, so there might still be survivors,” Yuri said hopefully. “We need to get in there, but the entry’s blocked off and we’ll be burned alive.”

Eri grabbed the wooden beam that had fallen, and began to shove it against the slab of wood that covered the window. “The wood should have weakened, so hopefully it’ll open for us!”

Sure enough, the beam broke through and smoke began pouring out of the window and into the night air.

“Stay here!” Eri demanded, hoisting himself up and scurrying through the window. Yuri nodded, but shielded her eyes from the heat, edging closer to the window to hear what was going on.

“Kimiko, you’re okay,” she heard Eri say, and breathed her first sigh of relief.

Yuri took her hand from her eyes just as Eri started to push Kimiko through the window. “Take her, Yuri. Take her far away.”

“What about Emi? And Naruhito?” she asked fearfully.

“Just go!” he yelled, and disappeared into the smoke.

Yuri took Kimiko firmly by the waist and began running for the river down a hill behind their hut. The soldiers hadn’t found them so far, and the area behind their hut had plenty of hiding places.

When she reached the river, Yuri took Kimiko behind a large rock and huddled on the ground.

“Don’t worry, Kimiko,” she soothed, stroking the child’s hair. “Eri will be back with the others soon.”

~~

An hour passed, and the cries of dying villagers faded. The smoke continued to rise, but the fires were fading, and the soldiers were slowly retreating from the now-empty village. And Eri hadn’t found them yet. Yuri hoped that he had rescued the others and brought them this way.

Yuri left a sleeping Kimiko by the boulder and crept towards the hut again. She lifted herself and peered through the window, only to gasp when she saw two badly-burned bodies draped over one another. She shoved a hand over her mouth to stop from screaming in case she drew attention. Naruhito and Emi both gazed upwards, their eyes glazed over, not blinking. Yuri stifled a sob, and was about to climb through the window when she heard a scream come from the direction of the river.

“Kimiko!” she whispered before dropping to the ground and sprinting for the river as quietly as she could. As the river came into view, Yuri stopped dead as she saw three enemy soldiers, their armour glinting in the moonlight, but their faces hidden by shadows. One was holding Kimiko by the hair, pulling harshly and laughing as she screamed repeatedly.

“Who do we have here?” the soldier asked, and they all cocked their heads slightly, their interest piqued.

“Let her go.” Yuri tried to make her voice as threatening as possible, but it only succeeded in making the soldiers laugh.

“Does this belong to you?” the soldier holding Kimiko asked, giving her hair another swift tug. Kimiko whimpered, wiping the tears from her eyes with balled fists.

“She’s not a dog,” Yuri snarled. “She’s my sister. Give her to me.”

“We have orders to take her to the palace.”

Everyone turned to look curiously at the soldier who had spoken. He looked around at them all and bowed his head, shadowing his face even further.

“She’s the prettiest woman I’ve seen in this village,” he added, and everyone slowly nodded their agreement. Suddenly, their eyes displayed realisation, as if they’d only just remembered something.

“That’s right,” the soldier holding Kimiko piped up. “The Emperor wants all the pretty women we find at the palace by dawn.”

“We should take her with us. She’s the only one we left alive,” the tall soldier explained. They all nodded again, but straightened up, on alert as Yuri made a sudden movement. Except she wasn’t on the attack, she had dropped to the ground.

“You killed... everyone?” she asked disbelievingly, though the tears in her eyes betrayed the idea that she didn’t believe it.

“We were told only to keep the pretty ones alive.”

Yuri didn’t look for the person who answered her question. She felt hands on either side of her arms and began to struggle, but a swift kick to the back stilled her. She yelped and went limp in their arms.

“Please, spare my sister. Let her come with me,” Yuri pleaded softly.

“I suppose,” the tall soldier granted, and then yelled out that they were departing. They all retreated to the area where their horses were tied and waiting. The tall soldier summoned the men holding Yuri to his side, and pulled her onto his horse in front of him.

“Kimiko!” Yuri screamed, holding out her arms for her younger sister.

“She’ll ride behind us,” the tall soldier explained. “Be still, or I’ll tie you by the neck and make you walk all the way to the Imperial Palace.”

The tall soldier glanced behind him, and gave a furtive nod of the head before roaring out another command. The horses all began moving in unison, following the river downstream, and towards the exit of the village.

As they reached the gates, the man holding Kimiko swiftly landed a blow on her neck, causing her to let out a strangled cry and fall unconscious. Suddenly, he let her slip from the horse.

Over the sound of the army of horses, Yuri didn’t hear her sister fall, and was too shell-shocked to turn around and check on her. She was thinking about the disappearance of Eri. Where had he gone? Why had he run off?

Yuri couldn’t understand it. Emi was his twin sister; they had been closer than anybody else could have been. He couldn’t have just left her there to die.  He’d saved Kimiko, why couldn’t he save the others?

Yuri refused to let her confusion turn to hatred. She would never, ever turn her back on a sibling. She wasn’t entirely sure that that’s what Eri had done.

“Please, let me find you again,” she whispered to herself, clasping her hands together in prayer. “So you can explain what you did.”

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Here we go, final chapter of The Diary XD Please enjoy, I hope it's been a pleasurable reading experience for anyone who read this!

 

( If they'd been earlier... )

Yuya came running forward until she reached the tape they’d placed around the perimeter of the house. She gasped as she saw one of the boys being covered with a sheet.

“Sachi...” she whispered, her lip quivering. So they hadn’t done anything with him. They just left him in there to suffer and die.

Akihito stood near the tape, watching the smallest body come towards them. This one wasn’t covered from head to toe with a sheet. A pale, shaking face looked up towards them.

“Daddy...” she whimpered, coughing hoarsely.

Akihito breathed a deep sigh of relief, and ducked under the tape to throw himself lightly over his daughter. He stroked her hair and rained kissed down on her cheeks and forehead.

“My baby... I’ve finally found you.”

She tried to raise her arm, but the paramedic forced it back down gently. “You need to rest. Don’t try and exert yourself.”

Akihito watched as Kiyoko was placed in an ambulance. He glanced behind him to see his family rushing in her direction. Mayumi was crying and sobbing loudly as she jumped into the ambulance and took her daughter’s hands in her own. Her siblings followed suit, and the doors closed.

Akihito desperately wanted to go with her, but he wanted to find out everything that had happened here, first. He gazed down at Yuya and saw her face turning white, tears frozen in her eyes. Her lips were trembling still. Eichi’s body was wheeled past her, and she could only stare down at his lifeless eyes before they were quickly covered over and put into another ambulance.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Akihito muttered, though he knew he truly wasn’t sorry for Eichi’s death. He knew that Yuya had had a relationship with this boy, as crazy as that seemed to him.

“I’m not mourning for him,” she whispered back, and headed towards the ambulance which occupied Sachi’s body.

Hitoshi and Junzo came towards Akihito, carrying a worn, leather book. Hitoshi was placing it in a plastic, zip-lock bag.

“What’s that?” Akihito asked.

“It contains the rest of the diary entries that Kiyoko wrote while she was down in the basement,” Hitoshi explained. “But I can’t let you read it. Some of it... it’s horrific.”

Akihito nodded in understanding, and let them both pass. As they walked away, Akihito called out and ran to catch up to them.

“Was my daughter hurt when you found her?”

Hitoshi glanced at Junzo quickly before nodding solemnly. “I’m afraid so. She’d been shot in both legs, her left arm, and her torso.”

Akihito nearly passed out, but he fought the urge to collapse. “When I heard her scream, I thought... I thought we were too late.”

“We thought so too,” Hitoshi admitted. “But luckily, we were able to take Eichi down and Kiyoko is expected to survive her wounds.”

Akihito sighed deeply, relief sweeping over him. “Thank you both for all of your help.”

Both detectives bowed their heads in reply and walked away.

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“He’s only died recently,” the coroner explained to Hitoshi and Junzo. The coroner was referring to Sachi’s body, and Yuya gasped. If they’d been earlier, maybe they could have saved him.

Hitoshi’s attention turned on Yuya, and he gave her an apologetic look. “Were you close to this boy?”

“He was the kindest boy I’d ever met,” Yuya replied quietly, fresh tears spilling down her face. “He gave Kiyoko hope... and he gave me hope too.”

“It’s sad to think that boys like him could get involved in such messes,” the coroner mumbled. She climbed into the back of the ambulance and closed the doors behind her.

Yuya gazed up at Hitoshi, her eyes filled with uncertainty. She was the only survivor of this: would it all fall on her shoulders?

Junzo whispered something in Hitoshi’s ear and he nodded.

“Detective Ishibashi will take you home, Miss Nakasawa,” Hitoshi explained. “We won’t be calling on you anytime soon.”

Yuya nodded thankfully at him, and bowed her head. “Thank you so much, detectives.”

“Thank you for helping us save that girl’s life,” Junzo replied, and motioned for her to follow him to his car.

Yuya looked back at the scene before she got into the car. She won’t forget what happened there... I am truly sorry for the pain I caused you, Kiyoko. It hurts so much I want to die.

Her thoughts turned to Sachi, and she couldn’t help but cry again. Please don’t forget the sacrifice he made for you... but I have faith that you won’t.

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Kiyoko lay in her hospital room, staring out the window. It had been three days, and she hadn’t stopped crying while she was awake, and having nightmares when she slept. One day, her mother had promised, she’ll be able to move on and lead the normal life she deserved.

But Kiyoko hadn’t been crying for herself, she’d been crying for Yuya, and for Sachi. She hadn’t seen them since she’d escaped. She’d offered Yuya a weak smile, and Yuya had stroked her hand, flashing a courageous smile right back at her. And as she’d been lifted into an ambulance, she’d seen Sachi’s body being wheeled away.

Maybe when we’re both better, we’ll see each other again. We can visit each other, and remain close. But we’ll forget how we came to meet. That would just bring too much pain to us both.

Kiyoko thought he was fine. She thought that one day he’d walk through that door. And he’d kiss her, hold her, and make her forget.

She prayed that she wasn’t wrong. She vowed to wait for the day they’d meet again. She hoped it was soon.

She didn’t expect her hope would have to last forever.

The End.

“Yeah, her parents say she went on a school trip,” he replied, shaking his head as if knowing it wasn’t the truth.

“They’re protecting her. The police are protecting her,” Eichi murmured, his eyes growing wide, a maddening glint in them.

Naoya shrunk back. “Eichi, man, we’ve pushed this thing too far. I told you this would...”

Suddenly, an explosion filled the room and Heiji hit the floor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Naoya fall as well, but his eyes widened when he saw the blood spilling from his head. His eyes darted up towards Eichi, who was still standing, a gun pointed at the spot where Naoya had been standing.

“Eichi, are you fucking crazy?!” Heiji exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

Eichi silently turned to face Heiji, the gun now pointed at him. Heiji’s hands flew up in the air. “What the fuck has gotten into you?” he stuttered. “Don’t be stupid, don’t panic. We can figure this out.”

The gun went off again, and Heiji fell to the floor. His eyes were lifeless. Not many people survive a shot to the head.

“All gone,” Eichi mumbled. “Sachi, Heiji, Naoya, Yuya...” his words trailed off as his eyes fell to the floor, glazing over as if he was seeing right through the floor.

“One to go.”

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“Can’t this thing go any faster?!” Akihito roared as Hitoshi tried to weave the car between the traffic, the siren piercing the otherwise calm night air.

“Take a left down here,” Yuya directed, a hint of panic rising in her voice. “She was in the back with Akihito, and Junzo was riding up front with Hitoshi. As Hitoshi followed her directions, Junzo was busy trying to call for backup.

“You said there would definitely be three boys at the house?” Hitoshi asked as he swerved around a corner, almost causing another accident. He’d done that three times since they’d left the precinct.

“Yes. I have a bad feeling that one of the boys is dead,” Yuya replied sombrely.

“Which one?” Junzo asked, hanging up his phone and turning his head to look at her.

“Eichi’s younger brother, Sachi,” she explained. “He tried to help Kiyoko escape, and then Eichi and Heiji began to beat him. I never saw him again.”

“His own brother,” Akihito muttered disdainfully under his breath. “What a monster.”

“This right turn coming up,” Yuya directed, anxiety growing in her voice. “We’ll be there very soon.”

“Hold on, baby,” Akihito whispered to himself.

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Eichi slowly descended the stairs towards the basement. He could hear faint sobbing coming from the inside, making him smile as he took the key from his pocket and turned it in the lock. The door opened, and this time he didn’t bother to lock it. She would have no chance of escape this time.

“Your time’s run out, pretty thing,” Eichi whispered into the darkness. He could hear the sobbing stop, but her breathing was raspy and shaky. She was in the far left corner of the room. He pointed his gun in that direction.

“Not going to bother speaking?” he taunted. “Come here.”

Silence.

“I said come here, pretty thing.”

Still nothing.

Eichi let out a roar of frustration and pulled the trigger. A bullet ripped through the wall near the boarded up window on the opposite side of the room. He could hear a squeal ring out from near the impact.

“If you still won’t obey me, I’ll just have to come to you. But you won’t like it that way, pretty thing. I’m not quite finished with you.”

Suddenly, he saw a dark, tiny frame moving towards him. She was tripping over her own feet, she was that afraid. When she was within his range, he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her closer to him. His lips crushed down on hers, and he was ready to defend himself if she struggled. But she didn’t resist. She just gazed up at him with lifeless eyes.

“You’re no fun when you don’t struggle,” Eichi spat angrily. “You look dead already. Have I finally broken you?”

Kiyoko shook her head, but continued not to struggle as he grabbed at her behind and planted another vicious kiss on her mouth.

“No matter, I’ll still have my fun,” he said to himself. As he leant his head down to kiss her neck, the gun went off and Kiyoko screamed. She fell to the floor, sobbing ferociously and grabbing at her bleeding leg.

“I will shoot your arms, your legs, your stomach, and then maybe that pretty head of yours. We’ll see how long you last, pretty thing.”

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“There!” Yuya cried, pointing towards a run-down house at the far end of an empty road.

“No one would have heard her screaming, and there would have been hardly any chance of witnesses,” Junzo whispered. “They were clever.”

Hitoshi, who had turned his siren off earlier to avoid any panic from inside the house, slowed to a stop and everyone jumped out of the car.

“Mr Hisamatsu, please stay here with Ms Nakasawa,” Hitoshi ordered, and both he and Junzo drew their guns. “As soon as we signal that the coast is clear, you may enter.”

“You better not be lying,” Akihito growled at Yuya, but she merely shook her head.

“I hated myself for not coming to the police sooner. I’m not lying... this was the hardest thing to do. I could be killed for this.”

Hitoshi and Junzo made their way up to the front door. Hitoshi pressed his ear to the wall, hearing silence from inside.

Suddenly, they heard a gunshot coming from below, and the scream of a girl.

“Kiyoko!” Akihito cried out, running for the door. Hitoshi grabbed him by the waist and forced him back down the front stairs.

“Mr Hisamatsu! Stay there!” Hitoshi yelled. He and Junzo didn’t hesitate in throwing open the door and running in. The sight of two dead bodies greeted them, and Hitoshi noticed Junzo’s legs looking as if they were about to buckle.

“It’s your first real crime scene, isn’t it, Ishibashi?”

“Yes, sir.”

“No time to act like that now,” Hitoshi explained, pointing his gun into the kitchen before stepping in. They crept through the kitchen and stuck to opposite sides of the wall. They heard another gunshot and ducked, keeping their guns at the ready. The piercing scream of a girl reached them.

Hitoshi cautiously poked his head around the corner, and he caught side of stairs and an open door.

“The basement,” he mouthed to Junzo, who seemed to understand. They took deep breaths before making their way down. They saw two figures struggling at the far end of the room.

“Drop the gun, Mr Kuramoto!” Hitoshi cried, pointing his gun into the room. “You’re surrounded, and we won’t hesitate to shoot you if you don’t drop your gun!”

Suddenly, Eichi dropped Kiyoko, and began laughing. The strangeness of the way he was cackling chilled both detectives.

“Mr Kuramoto!” Junzo prompted. “Drop your weapon or we’ll be forced to shoot!”

Eichi laughed louder, before aiming the gun and pulling the trigger one final time.

The ear-splitting sound of a gunshot filled the room, as did the final scream that Kiyoko uttered. It was like the sound of a wounded animal. A sound that neither detective would ever forget.

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Outside the house, Akihito heard the whole commotion. The gunshot, his daughter’s scream, and then silence. He had never cried before, but he wasn’t surprised when he felt tears stinging his eyes as they broke free.

He dropped to his knees and let out a pained cry.

Yuya did the same.

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II'm hoping to post one chapter a night. I have assignments and stuff, but I'm multi-tasking and working hard to keep the chapters coming XD By the way, on a random note, I recommend Breaking Benjamin - Dance with the Devil. I listened to this song throughout the writing of this chapter. And overall it's just a great song. Most of their stuff is actually.
Anyway, onto Chapter 11