Puppet

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CHAPTER 38:


The hotel room began to grow warmer since the heater turned itself on. The television was set on some action movie. Within the comfortable gray cushioned recliner sat a tired Officer Wakehiko. He’s been staying up to hear of news from either Kiyoshi or Luke. Neither has visited him since given the hotel room. Kiyoshi had told him to not leave the room. Officer Wakehiko had promised Kiyoshi he would not, but now he had second thoughts. Though there were a million channels to choose from on the television, nothing interested him at that moment. Not with all that was happening.

It all seemed too fast; too impossible to even be happening. Officer Wakehiko thought he was surprised to discover his greatest friend was a homosexual, but now he discovers Kiyoshi is in a relationship with a homosexual immortal! Plus, on a side note, this deadly immortal known as Ra were after them; after Luke and Kiyoshi. Nothing made sense anymore.

Turning to stare at the alarm clock beside his bed, Officer Wakehiko sighed. It read 8:52 PM. He’s been here a long time. Hours have passed! Just that morning he had lost three dear officers, and he didn’t even know if their bodies had been discovered yet by the other officers who patrolled Tokyo. “Damn it,” Officer Wakehiko scratches at his few gray hairs, “I need fucking answers!”

There was a silent knock on the door. Officer Wakehiko quickly stands to his feet and rushes over to answer it. He peaks through the peephole and sees it is Kiyoshi. He gives out a thankful sigh and opens the door; “Finally,” Officer Wakehiko lets Kiyoshi pass, “What took you so long?”

“I’m sorry,” Kiyoshi sighs while sitting on the bed, “But Luke was pretty beaten up. He demanded he was fine, but I knew otherwise.” Silence fell over the room. Kiyoshi was humiliated with himself. He was sure, now, that Officer Wakehiko, Topper, and Akina all hated his guts. “Sir,” Kiyoshi whispers, “I’m so—so sorry for all of this.”

“Please do not apologize,” Officer Wakehiko sighs, “But I would love to hear how exactly you met Luke, Kiyoshi. No more lying, please.”

“But,” Kiyoshi said, “That might take a while.”

“Hell I ain’t going nowhere,” Officer Wakehiko jokes as he sits beside Kiyoshi, “And neither is anybody else. Now, spill the beans.”

So Kiyoshi spilt is heart out. He told Officer Wakehiko everything: how he met Luke, how he was Luke’s puppet, how Ra had been the man who murdered his parents. Kiyoshi even showed off his P shaped mark to Officer Wakehiko. Astoundingly, Officer Wakehiko believed every word that Kiyoshi spoke.

“So that’s why you have that mark,” Officer Wakehiko snorts, “Hah, and all this time we had assumed it was some weird birthmark.”

“Well in a way it is,” Kiyoshi sighs, “But now my entire life has flipped upside down. I never wanted to drag you, nor Topper, nor Akina into this whole mess. Everything happening is my fault.”

“Oh come now,” Officer Wakehiko smiles, “You know that isn’t true.”

Kiyoshi never saw the hug coming. He hugged his dear boss in return, thankful for such a great friend.

“Now then buck up,” Officer Wakehiko gets to his feet, “And please let me at least get something to drink! I promise I’ll come straight back to my room.”

“Promise,” Kiyoshi asks, “You’ll come right back?”

“Yes,” Officer Wakehiko nods, “I promise.”

Kiyoshi gives a smile, and nods his head.

The two men head out into the well-decorated cream colored hallways of the hotel. Kiyoshi turns his head down the empty hall. “I’m going to go check on Topper and Akina.”

--

Giving three silent knocks, Kiyoshi was greeted by Topper. Topper puts his finger to his lips. “Akina is still sleeping,” Topper sighs, “I think she’s still shocked by those deaths.”

“Yeah,” Kiyoshi frowns, “Akina…”

“Hey now don’t you worry Kiyoshi,” Topper gives a wink, “Your job is to keep an eye on Luke. I’ll watch over Akina. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”
Kiyoshi gives a nod. “Thank you Topper,” Kiyoshi waves goodbye, “I’ll come by again to check on you!” Topper waves, and shuts the door.

As he leans against the door, Topper moves his hands through his brown hair, not yet noticing that Akina was awake, and sitting up. “Topper?”
“Oh,” Topper smiles, “Akina, you’re awake!”

Akina glanced around the room, and frowns. “Where are we?”

“Uh, a hotel room,” Topper smiles, “Remember?”

Akina remembered, but she wished to forget. When would this nightmare end? Wrapping her arms around her, Akina gave off a shiver, and went to stand.

“Uh,” Topper walks towards her, “Are you alright?”

Akina pushes Topper away. He stumbles back a bit, but keeps his balance. “I’m fine,” Akina groans, “I just—I just…” Akina could not control her body. She gave off a whimper and let her body fall to sit her on her knees. “Oh God,” Akina pounds the floor, “Why’d this have to happen?”

Topper kneels beside Akina. He understands where she’s coming from, but he wished to settle her down. “Akina,” Topper moves his hand to touch her shoulders, “I know it’s tough, but we cannot let this Ra guy mess with our heads. For now we should just do as Kiyoshi and Luke say, and stay here where we’ll be safe.”

“I know that,” Akina rubs her hand over her head, and covers her teary left eye. Her hair is a mess, and falls over her face. “I only wish—I do…”

“I know,” Topper hugs Akina, “I do too.”

Topper held Akina for a few minutes more. He began to grow nervous holding her the way he was, but she never removed his arms. He began to wonder if she fell asleep again, but looking down he could see her eyelids were halfway open.

“Well,” Topper whispers, “I should get going to my room. It’s getting pretty late and…” Topper goes to stand, and makes his way for the door.

“No don’t go,” Akina stands to, and runs to Topper, “Please Topper!”

Topper was in a strange trance as soon as Akina’s soft arms wrapped around his chest. He held still, though his body was shaking, and he could feel sweat forming over his forehead.

“Please…” Akina whispers, resting her cheek on Topper’s back, “Stay with me…”

Without his brain’s guidance, Topper moved his own arms to take hold of Akina’s. He slowly turns to face her and the greatest of smiles formed on his lips to see Akina’s robe had slightly fallen down her now bare shoulders.

Topper moves closer to Akina. He slowly reaches his hands out to her, hoping she won’t slap them away. She did not, and let him do as he wished. Topper smiles, and slowly unties the loosened strands on the white robe. “Don’t worry…” He pushes the robe slowly, and lets it fall to the floor.

Akina shivers slightly once her robe was lost. She kept from covering her body, allowing Topper to take every part of her in. Topper’s smile widens. “…I’ll stay…”

--

“Luke,” Kiyoshi walks into the room he shares with his love, “Should you be sitting up?”

“I’ll be fine,” Luke speaks softly, “How are your friends?”

Kiyoshi smiles at Luke and sighs. “They’re doing just fine,” Kiyoshi answers, “But I think Akina is resurrecting from the drama slower then Sir Wakehiko and Topper.”

Luke only nodded. He wore no shirt, and knew Kiyoshi was staring. Luke suddenly found that he was snickering. “Kiyoshi, do you like what you see?”

Kiyoshi found himself blushing. He’s seen Luke with his shirt off many times before. This was not the time to do—that! Kiyoshi blushed deeper, and headed for the bathroom. “I—I need to use the restroom!”

Luke smiles until Kiyoshi is locked inside the bathroom. Then, Luke’s smile disappears as he stares down at his hands.

He hardly remembers what he had done. He does not know how he had acted. He’s relieved that he did not injure Kiyoshi or his friends. This power—Luke was sure it was the only way to fight Ra, but Luke was unsure if he wanted to use it. It scared him, and what scared him even more was the thought of hurting Kiyoshi. Luke didn’t know what to do. For now, he leaned back, and rested his head on the comfortable white pillow the hotel provided.

--

“Wow…” Topper holds Akina close to his sweaty chest. He’s never looked happier then now, “That was amazing.”

“Yeah,” Akina pushes herself to a sitting position, “Thank you, Topper…”

Topper sits up to, wondering what Akina meant. “Thank me? For what?”

Akina stands, and moves over to her robe. She grabs it and slips it over her nude body, covering her breasts lastly. She gives Topper a smile as he, too, dresses, “For staying here with me. I really needed someone close…”

“Oh that’s no problem,” Topper moves back over to Akina; his shirt kept off, “I love being there for you.”

Leaning in, Topper gives Akina a sweet kiss. She kisses him in return. Their kiss was soon interrupted by a dark, familiar voice.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important,” Ra snickers from the open window, “Hello again, dear mortals. Remember me?”

Topper and Akina backed away from the evil man. The window was wide open. Ra sat there on his feet and hands. He looked like a deadly vampire searching for his next victim.

“You,” Topper protectively set Akina behind him, “How did you find us?”

“A little birdie told me,” Ra jokes, “So I came to finish what I had started.”

Akina backs further away as Ra steps closer. She gasps as Topper literally places his arms out, ready to protect her. “You bastard,” Topper shouts, “Why are you doing this? We did nothing to you!”

Topper stands his ground as Ra closes in on him. Ra steps closer, and closer, until finally his body is a few inches from Topper’s. “You are just a stupid-hearted mortal,” Ra cackles, “You think you can protect her?”

“I’ll try,” Topper yells, “I’ll protect Akina!”

Ra lets out a snicker. He shakes his head with his eyes closed. “Foolish…”

It was so sudden; so fast. Akina barely had time to scream at the sight. Ra’s hand swiftly shot through Topper’s chest. Akina shook with fear as she watched Topper’s no longer beating heart drop to the carpet below. His body soon followed.

“Pitiful,” Ra snickers, “Now my darling. Akina, is it? It’s time to finish what I was going to do to that pretty little face of yours.”

Akina turned, ready to run. She reached for the door, but then she felt this strange force. Something was not right with her body. Akina’s vision became doubled. She saw two doorknobs, and felt dizzy. She soon knew what had just happened. Her own head had begun to split apart. She tried to speak, but no words came out. She was soon gone, and her body also fell to the carpet below.

Ra gave out a victorious cackle. His victory soon ceased when knocks were heard at the door. The door opened wide. “Akina, Topper,” Officer Wakehiko walks in, “I thought I heard—you!”

“Glad to see you, old man,” Ra laughs, “This makes my time here easier! You walked straight to your doom!”

“How dare you,” Officer Wakehiko stares with tears at his fallen friends, “What did you do?”

“This old man,” Ra cackles, “Is my way of telling Kiyoshi to be ready for me. He’s going to need every ounce of anger he has cooped up in that fragile body of his. He’ll need this courage to face me—I am unstoppable!”

“You sick bastard,” Officer Wakehiko points his finger towards the evil, “You damn immortal assholes should never have come into existence! Each and every one of you, you will not succeed at winning over this planet! Go to hell, where you belong!”

Ra sighs. He reopens his dark eyes. “I’m sick of hearing you…”

Officer Wakehiko could feel his throat tightening. He struggles to breath. He could only think of one thing, of one person. “Kiyoshi…” The final victim falls by Ra’s power. Once his head blows, the dead corpse of a great Chief falls back and goes limp.

“See this Luke,” Ra cackles, “You see this Kiyoshi! This is exactly what I will do to you! You will not escape! When you’re ready, I will be too!”

--

Kiyoshi swiftly turns his head. He had gone to get a drink for him and Luke. It may have been a fancy hotel, but sadly they had no tiny refrigerators, but they did have a nice bar. This bad feeling sweeps over Kiyoshi. His fists tighten. He promised to check on them, so that’s what he decides to do.

With the bottles of water in his hands, Kiyoshi walks towards Akina’s apartment. He walks closer to the door and steps up to it. He goes to knock, but feels his shoe step on something—wet. Looking down, Kiyoshi’s mind begins to panic. A red stain oozed out from the opposite side of the door.

Dropping the bottles of water, Kiyoshi grabbed hold of the doorknob and pulled it open. He entered too fast, and found himself tripping. Kiyoshi’s mind grows dizzy. He stares at his surroundings. Blood everywhere—and not just blood.

“Ah…” Kiyoshi tries to scream, but can’t. He looks up to see a dead Topper with a missing heart, “Ah…ahh…” He looks down to see he had tripped over what he thought to be Officer Wakehiko’s body—with a missing head, “No—ah—no,” then looking forward again, he knew he saw a dead Akina with a head split open, “no—no…” Kiyoshi jumped to his feet, and circled his dead friends. Dead, they were all dead. The stench, the blood, the horrific images. Kiyoshi could not control his body. He swiftly turned to a stainless carpet spot, but only to stain it with a fresh amount of vomit that made its way up his throat and out his mouth. Dead—they were all dead!

--

Luke looked up to find the door smashing open. He stared terrified to see his puppet stained with blood. “Kiyoshi…”

Kiyoshi flings onto Luke, and cradles his head into Luke’s bare chest. Kiyoshi’s crying was uncontrollable. He was shivering, panicking, and couldn’t control his arms or legs. He was sucking in huge amounts of air for breathing, only to release some drool from his mouth.

“Dead…” Kiyoshi chokes out.

Though Kiyoshi was crying deeply, Luke understood the word. Luke stared down at his shaking puppet. His eyes widened from shock. “What…?”

“Dead,” Kiyoshi cries, “Dead! They’re dead! They’re all dead! My friends—are—are gone—they’re gone forever!”

*End of Chapter 38*