Chapter 10

Syringe

By the time Yata and Sheena arrived back at the bar, she had calmed down a bit. He guided Sheena up the stairs and down the hall to their bedroom. He didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to explain. Yata stared at the floor while he contemplated what to do. He didn't want Sheena to know that the rest of the clan was on their way back to the bar, with that horrible man in tow. He sighed, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Slowly, she shook her head. From where he stood behind her, he could see how much she still shook. He reached out to her, but retracted when he remembered why she shook so badly. That man had done horrible things to her, and even with what Sheena had told him, she didn't tell him everything.

Finally, Yata decided that no matter how shaken she was from her earlier encounter, she needed him right now. So, he approached her cautiously, taking her hand before trying anything else. In response, she fell into his embrace and began to sob. He helped her out of her fancy clothes and into one of his t-shirts, then continued to hold her against his body. Her body shook with each cry. The louder she got, the tighter he held her. They stood in the middle of the bedroom for what seemed like hours, until she finally tired herself out enough for Yata to guide her to the bed.

After tucking her in and handing her a rag to wipe her make-up and tear stained cheeks, he shut off the lights and climbed in next to her. Immediately, she pressed herself up against him and he wrapped his arms around her. Her crying had ceased, but her shivering had not. Gently, he caressed her cheek and repeatedly pushed her long hair out of her face. Her red hair was beginning to peak through her roots. He wiped a stray tear from her cheek and kissed her forehead. She was asleep, finally.

Carefully, he climbed out of bed and tiptoed to the door. He grabbed his board and baseball bat and successfully made it out of the room without waking her and in the hall, Anna was waiting for him.

"He's in the basement," she whispered.

He nodded a response and together they took the stairs down to the bar. After crossing through the kitchen and to the back door, they stomped down the old, rickety staircase to the basement. In the middle of the room, the rest of the clan members surrounded the man, who was chained to an old, wooden chair.

"How is she?" asked Kusanagi.

"She's asleep now, but she was really shaken up."

There was a groan that came from the man in the chair and the reds all ceased any conversation they may have been having while they waited for him to come to. "Where am I?" he croaked.

Mikoto crouched down to his level and blew a mouth full of cigarette smoke in the man's face. "You're with HOMRA."

Immediately, he snapped his head upward to take a better look at the king. "H-how?"

"You see, we heard from some reliable sources that you've been heavily involved in a case we've been working on. Now we find out you've also been hunting one of our own for four months."

"Rose isn't one of you."

"She is," said Kusanagi, "the Slate's deemed her worthy of being the Red King's vesicle."

"Yata," whispered Kamamoto, "why does he keep calling her 'Rose'?"

"It's the name she went by when she was working for her father's…" he paused to think of the right word, "business."

"Try not to say her real name. We don't want him or anyone else to know her true identity in case they're searching for her using the Briar Rose alias." Tatara told the two.

They nodded in agreement.

"Where is she? I know she's here somewhere, I can sense her presence."

"She has nothing to do with this. Right now, you need to focus on me," ordered the king. "You need to answer all of our questions, truthfully, we'll know if you're lying," he glanced at Anna. "If she catches you in a lie, there's no telling what the guys in this room will do to you. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"What do we call you?" asked Kusanagi.

He contemplated his options for a moment, sighed, and then responded, "My name is Akiyama Hiro."

"And what is your business in the basement of the club downtown? Why are girls going in looking for work, and coming out dead?"

"They were failures."

"What does that mean?"

"Ask her." He looked past the members and to the door, where Sheena stood.

Yata ran to her and tried to push her out of the room, but she wouldn't budge. "Come on, let's go back to bed."

"No," she replied. "I need to know why he chose me."

"Sheena," he whispered so Akiyama wouldn't hear her real name. "Please go back up to bed and let the rest of us handle this."

"I'm not doing that." She pushed past him and stopped only a foot from where Akiyama was chained to the chair.

"You're looking stunning as ever, my beautiful Rose. I remember when it was my t-shirt you wore to bed."

"Eyes up here," she ordered.

"How have you been feeling lately? You must be close to your limit."

"What is she talking about?" Chitose asked.

"I have no idea," responded the vanguard.

"I haven't slept an entire night in weeks," Sheena answered.

"I figured at much. I have it with me, all you have to do is unchain me, and make sure your bodyguards here don't harm me, and let me go."

"That's not happening, not until you tell me why me and not the others."

"That's easy. I loved you Rose, that's why. It was a great risk, considering that you were one of the firsts, but you were strong. Your father and I knew you could handle the injections, and we were right. So far, you've been the only one to survive."

She couldn't tell who, but one of the guys began to approach her side. She turned fast, waving her arm behind her and creating a barrier between herself and HOMRA. "Don't get involved."

"What the hell are you doing!?" Yata yelled at her, while pounding on the wall of the barrier.

"We can't go through," said Anna.

"This isn't the power of the Slates…" Mikoto's voice shook as he examined the wall they were all trapped behind.

"How's that possible?" Yata panicked.

"She…her powers are far greater than anything I've ever seen."

"What do you mean? Are you saying that she's had her own powers this whole time?" Tatara questioned.

"I think so. Yata, when you fought her, she burned you, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"But the red kings' power doesn't burn its vesicles."

"You're exactly right, Izumo."

"She's artificial." Anna answered, peering through her marble at Sheena.

They were all speechless.

"How long do I have?" Sheena asked her ex-lover.

"A few days, but that's only if you don't get the next injection. I can tell, you're struggling to hold yourself back. Now, let me go, and I'll give you the next dosage. Your life depends on it."

She turned to HOMRA, "I'm sorry Misaki." She was crying. Turning back to face Akiyama, she took hold of the chains holding him captive and instantly, they incinerated. The moment he was free, he pounced on her, slamming her into the floor. He took hold of her oversized t-shirt and pulled it up over her head and tossed it to the side. She was exposed for everyone to see.

Tatara took hold of Anna, spun her around and held her in place, against his chest, "don't watch."

Yata continuously slammed into the barrier with his shoulder, kicking it, attacking it with his board, or his baseball bat, anything to get through. He screamed, "Don't you fucking touch her!"

Akiyama ran his hand gently across Sheena's body. Everywhere he touched, black markings followed. He kissed her hard, she kissed back, but she was in a great amount of pain. The markings began to show on her face, her eyes glowed red, with every passing moment. She could hear Misaki yelling for her to stop from behind his barrier. But she couldn't, if she didn't do this, she'd die.

Akiyama had his face buried in the crook of Sheena's neck, continuously sucking, leaving behind ugly, little love bites. Her breath caught in her throat more and more the further south he went with his lips. He was grasping her hips so hard that she could already feel the bruises forming. He kissed her collar bone and travelled down to her breasts, giving each a kiss and taking her nipple into his mouth. He swirled his tongue around the soft piece of flesh until she cried out in pain.

He brought his head up, to kiss her on the mouth again. "Please," she begged, "I need it."

"Yes, you do, but not yet my love." He kissed her again, forcing his way into her mouth to battle with her own warm, wet organ. His fingers hooked around the elastic of her white, lacy panties. He slowly pulled them down her flawless, pale legs and discarded them the same way he threw her shirt. Akiyama hooked those beautiful legs over his shoulders and took in her scent. He kissed her mound, then trailed his tongue over her folds. He latched onto her clit and repeatedly abused it with his tongue, sucking and biting at her most sensitive area.

She couldn't breathe. "M-more," she moaned.

Yata heard her begging, and he felt his heart shatter into a million tiny pieces. He stopped attacking the barrier. He backed himself into the stone wall of the basement and slid down. He pulled his knees up to his chest and put his hands over his ears. He didn't want to hear anymore.

Mikoto, Kusanagi and the rest of HOMRA didn't know what to do. None of them could get through the barrier Sheena had created to keep them away. Neither of them even knew what was going on. She kept begging for something only Akiyama could give her, they all knew that his mouth on her core was not what she was referring to.

"Please, no more…just give it to me," she forced out between moans.

He looked up from his position to look Sheena in the eyes. "You remember why this is necessary, correct?"

She nodded, tears streaming down her face. He sat back on his knees and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a syringe filled with a fluid so red it was almost black. He put the syringe in his mouth and pulled the cover off of the needle. Akiyama unzipped his pants and pulled them down just enough to reveal himself to her. He forced himself into her heat and immediately began thrusting in and out of her. He hoisted her up on his lap and wrapped her legs around his waist. He paused his movements momentarily to grasp her long hair, and rest her forehead on his shoulder to reveal her jugular vein. He took the syringe from his mouth and quickly stabbed it into the exposed vein, injecting her with the liquid.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed backwards onto the floor. He caught her before her head could hit the ground. He held the side of her neck that hadn't been punctured by the needle and felt for her heartbeat. It was gone, then all of a sudden back, racing so hard that a doctor would think that her blood was boiling. On some level, it was.

HOMRA watched the scene play in front of them. Yata was sure that Akiyama was killing her, and there was nothing he could do but cry.

Akiyama began to plunge in and out of her once again, waiting for her to respond to the stimulation. Her eyes snapped open and she screamed. The black marks appeared on Sheena's body again, this time they release a black smoke. She attempted to claw the liquid out of her body, anything to stop the pain. Akiyama forced her hands above her head, and he continued to make love to her. "Rose, focus!" he screamed at her.

His voice snapped her out of the reality she was facing while her body fought off the drug in her system. She honed her focus back to the pleasure Akiyama was giving her and she relaxed into the cold floor. "H-harder," she gasped.

He obliged until she was screaming his name in orgasmic euphoria and he too reached his peak. She fell back into the floor, this time he didn't catch her fall. He zipped up his pants, grabbed the forgotten syringe, and turned for the exit.

She struggled to catch her breath. She could hardly move. She managed to roll herself onto her side and take down the barrier before passing out completely. Kusanagi and Tatara were the first to run to her, "Someone, go get a blanket," the lieutenant ordered.

Kamamoto, Chitose and Eric all ran up the stairs to find anything that could help their comrade. Once they returned to the basement, Kusanagi wrapped Sheena in the blanket and picked up her limp body, carefully.

Yata was completely frozen, he couldn't even take himself off the floor to go to her. He just watched the girl he loved with all his heart, willingly fuck a man that had done horrible things to her, right in front of him and all their friends.

Kusanagi carried Sheena up the stairs to the bar and barked orders at the other members. Anna and Tatara went to Yata, where the young girl extended her hand to him. "Please come upstairs with us, Misaki."

He looked up to meet her eyes. "I want to be alone."

"Yata, please," Tatara begged, getting down to his level on the floor. "Sheena needs you right now."

He mentally fought with himself over what he should do. What was right? Or what his anger was telling him to do? The look in both Tatara and Anna's eyes told him not to go with the latter. He got to his feet, and dragged himself up the stairs behind his two friends.

In the bar, HOMRA was surrounding Sheena, who was still unconscious on the couch. They parted to allow the vanguard in. Yata stared at her. Black marks still littered her body from head to toe. He reached out to touch her face, but Mikoto stopped him.

"Don't touch her," he recommended, then looked to Kusanagi, whose sleeves were singed black, "those marks on her burn."

"I have to…I have to know that she's still alive."

"She's breathing, don't worry about that," answered the bar owner.

Nobody moved after that. They all just stared at her. Even when the sun came up, not one person left Sheena's side that entire night.

A/N: Please review! I'm extremely proud of how this chapter turned out!