The world did not look as it should have. The sky was purple with charcoal colored clouds that, for a split second, glowed bright orange. The shore that was once a rich brown was now white. This served as a contrast against the blood red water that splashed against the shore in small waves. Withered trees surrounded the road with their thin, bone branches stretching out to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the place. The sound of agony could be heard from time to time, but from what creature was impossible to tell. As the wailing got louder and louder, it took a moment of clarity to realize that it was not a creature that was making that sound.

It was him.

He could not decide as to what made him finally stop screaming to look at himself rather than his surroundings. Could it have been what had occurred that was preventing him from thinking straight? Brief wished that he stayed ignorant to his own existence a moment later however. As he looked at himself he realized that his chest, from his belly button to his collar, was sliced open. He could see his organs hum in working order, and found himself repressing the urge to throw up at the sight. His chest took on a pale hue that did not look right on him at all, though whether this was due to blood loss or a special ability of Kneesocks' weapon he did not know.

Kneesocks. The name of his lover brought on so many conflicting emotions to him. Was it truly her that killed him? Could it have been a copy of her, or a fake Ghost like the ones they mass produced once before? Why would she do this to him if it, in fact, was her? Was everything that they had a lie she created for her to take advantage of him? Something did not make sense to him. He knew Kneesocks without a doubt. He knew that she loved him. So what made her, if it was her, do this to him?

"I see you are awake." Brief turned around to see Kneesocks sitting behind a black table that was not there moments before. The chairs were made of bones that he did not recognize, though the cushion where he would sit looked normal enough. The table itself seemed to be made of ebony wood with two quills resting in the center.

"Kneesocks."

"Sit down Brief. We do not have much time." The cold, calculating tone she spoke in drove knives into his heart. Why was she talking to him in such a way? What did he do to deserve this from his girlfriend? She waved her hand at him, causing for his chair to stretch out a pair of fleshy arms and grabbed him by the throat. He gasped as the fleshy, rotten arms forced him into the chair without hesitation. When he was released he coughed, spitting up green...something. Was that his blood, or something he swallowed from the arms?

"What is going on here?" Kneesocks brought out a brown folder and slid it across the table. With a flick of her wrist the contents were revealed. What laid before him was a contract that he did not understand. This contract only related to Kneesocks and her father. So why bring it to his attention?

"My sister made a deal with Corest without either of us knowing. In exchange for making him the owner of the Rock Foundation, she would get to marry you. Scanty could not keep this to herself however, and decided to brag about it the day we got separated at school. As much as I want to kill them both, I cannot. I do love my sister, and Corset made it clear that if anything was to happen to him without certain actions being set, then everyone in Daten City would die without failure. The first of them being you before my very eyes." Brief stood up and slammed his hands on the table, scattering the contract across its glossy form. He found himself restricted by the arms once more, and squirmed as hard as his injury could allow. This was not right! How could Scanty do that to them!

"We could fight against him Kneesocks! We could run away and never look back!"

"Do you realize how childish you sound?" Kneesocks replied with a shake of her head.

"Says the one who agreed to running away with me!" Kneesocks straightened out the contract and placed it before him once more. He looked down at it, noticing that she flipped some pages to a red, highlighted section with his name underlined. As he read the contents his eyes became wide in shock and confusion. What in the name of...

"I see that you are confused. Let me make it short." She pulled the contents away and turned it towards her. With a small cough to clear her throat, she began to speak. "Briefers Rock, the human boyfriend of Kneesocks, may fight against this contract if he knows about it. In order for him to do so requires for him to find an authorized copy of the contract and counter it with one of his own creation. If the contract is acceptable, then this one shall be made null with no chance of creating one of the same terms or final conditions." Brief watched as she flipped over to the next page, though this page took a drastic change in writing. Where the previous page looked like a contract one might see for official paperwork, this page reminded him of a grocery list.

"Surviving the rules?" He muttered to himself as he watched the page flip over to Kneesocks.

"In order for Briefers Rock, heir to the Rock Foundation, to be able to be free of this contract without filing a counter contract, he must do the following. He must break up with Kneesocks Akuma. If she breaks up with him, then the condition is met. This cannot be faked, and any hidden affairs will nullify any chance of breaking free of the contract. Following this condition, Mr. Rock cannot communicate to Kneesocks Akuma in person, through letters, proxy, messengers, online communication, or code for personal bonding. This also applies for Kneesocks Akuma, which will be explained within her section of the contract. If communication through any of these actions occur, then he will be stripped of his rights of escaping the contract, and might be punished by death."

'This is stacked against me. Wait, no, this is against us. She let it slip that she also has conditions to ruin the contract. Can she not tell me her conditions though?' How was she able to communicate with him if they were not supposed to due to the contract?

"If Mr. Rock dates Scanty for one month and does not fall for her on his own, then he can break up with her, thus nullifying the contract. Breaks are not allowed in this span of time, and if she breaks up with him, then he can be punished by death. If anyone is told by either party to break them up through any means, then both will watch as their friends die in order to remove any distractions from their relationship. Any means of trying to leave Daten City without proper authorization will be instantly met with breaking of the legs and personal guards to ensure that Mr. Rock does not leave. If proper authorization is met, then he can leave for however long the task requests."

"Why are you telling me all of this!" Brief could not take it any longer. The fact that she was tormenting him with being so close to him, yet acted so coldly to him. It was as if she never knew him at all, and that blackened his heart with each word she spoke to him. "Why not let me read this on my own through an agent or something of the sort?"

"Because I want to tell you as best as I could okay?" Kneesocks, as she shouted, made the world around them shake in terror. Her eyes, as they formed into a chilly glare that made his eyes water, yet through his tears he saw that she was crying. The sight made him fight against his restraints even more to hold her in his arms. Despite how much he fought against the chair, he could not move, and it infuriated him beyond belief. "Do you think this is easy for me to do? To look at the injury I gave you and read off on how you can live on without me!"

"Then why did you not bring me to Corset and talk to him myself? I am allowed to defend myself without you making the decision for me!"

"And let him KILL YOU!"

"IF I AM SO VALUABLE TO HIM HE WILL NOT KILL ME!"

"WE ARE ALL EXPENDABLE TO HIM!" For whatever reason the chair broke away, allowing Brief to grab the table and flip it to the side. Despite the pain that gripped at his chest he grabbed Kneesocks by her shoulders and kissed her. Everything melted away to him the moment their lips made contact. All of the pain. The knowledge that he learned moments ago. Everything that led up to this moment became swept by the tide that was the sensation of this kiss between them. He refused to close his eyes however. He wanted to etch this moment into his memory so he could never forget how it felt to have her in his arms. Her body went limp in his arms as her warmth ran throughout his frame.

This moment was pure bliss to him, yet she wanted to throw it all away without a fight? Ironically she fought against their kiss by kicking him in the knee. The sudden strike brought him to the ground, allowing her to jump away from him. As he looked up to see where she was, he suddenly found himself alone with green liquid surrounding him. It seemed fresh, but the chairs were nowhere in sight to create more of this sludge. What did it mean?

"When you wake up you will find the original contract Scanty created underneath your pillow. Do not let anyone see it, especially the Angels and Garterbelt. You have nothing you can offer Corset that Scanty's contract did not mention. So survive Brief. Survive and we might have a chance again." Brief knew that Kneesocks leave him from the way the area darkened, and suddenly pain unlike anything he ever felt made itself known to him. His flesh seemed to peel away from his body, revealing his innermost feelings to the corrupted world he found himself in. As he felt his consciousness slip away, a single thought came to being.

He did not like how black his body seemed.