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CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE,
purity

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༇ "KAORU—"

"I saw it."

Sakiko and Kaoru both freeze, watching.

Shirabi's brows furrow. Then he draws in a sharp breath, louder than any sound he's made in days.

Kaoru scrambles forward and drops to his knees beside him. "Shirabi. Hey. Can you hear me?"

Shirabi groans. His face twists and hody jerks suddenly, a defensive reaction.

"Don't move," Kaoru says. "You're safe. You're okay."

"Shirabi? Kaoru and I are here. It's Sakiko!"

He blinks. A whisper escapes, barely audible. "LC?"

Tears fill her eyes instantly. "I'm here!" she chokes out. "We're both here. You're alive."

Shirabi's gaze slides toward Kaoru. His expression gradually shifts. Recognition dawns. "...Kaoru?"

"Took you long enough."

Shirabi's mouth twitches at the corner. "How..." he starts, then stops, voice rough and dry. "Water..."

Kaoru grabs the bottle and lifts Shirabi's head with one hand, guiding the mouth of the bottle to his lips. "Small sips," he murmurs.

Shirabi drinks only a little before he turns his head away, wincing. "What happened?" he asks after a moment.

"They almost killed you," Sakiko whispers. "You fought them, but you got knocked out. You've been unconscious for two days."

Shirabi closes his eyes. "I remember bits." He reaches for her hand and tries to sit up, but immediately winces, collapsing back with a groan.

"Don't." Kaoru catches his shoulder. "You have broken ribs and a concussion. You're lucky. If you had stayed under much longer..."

"I would've been dead?"

"Yeah."

"Ah," he says. "Thanks for pulling me out, then."

Sakiko rests her chin on Shirabi's shoulder. "You scared me."

He turns his head just enough to press his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry, LC. I tried to stay awake."

"It's okay," she says. "We're going to escape. I can feel it!"

"You can feel it?" Shirabi repeats, chuckling and wincing at once.

"Yes. I bit Hotoke, did you know that? I think you do, 'cause her screams were so loud that you must've heard them even though you were unconscious."

"Really? Where'd you bite her?"

"Her wrist! But next time I'll go for her nose. My mom says the throat and face are the most effective," Sakiko explains. "And Hana says that if you want to fight a girl, you need to pull her hair. So we have to pull Hotoke's hair. Also, we have to knock our elbows into her chest. That hurts a lot, Shirabi. It's like being kicked in the balls— so if we combine all these things, we can defeat her."

"So... one of us should bite, the other should pull, and the other should knock?"

"Exactly. Kaoru also has this weird taser thing from a guard, and he made a spear from a blade and a chair leg. If we're quiet, we can make it out of here tonight, don't you think?"

"But Shirabi is the only one who can fight well, and he's too injured to do so, Koko," Kaoru insists. "Maybe we should wait a few more days until he can at least walk."

"I can walk, man. My ribs were cracked when I came here. Now they're broken. It's almost the same thing." Shirabi shrugs (and winces as he does so). "I'm with LC. We can make it."

"I'll bite everyone," Sakiko assures Kaoru. "I'll kick them in the balls and pull their hair. So... what if Shirabi distracts them, then I kick and pull, and you lastly stab them with your spear? Shirabi should carry the taser just in case."

Shirabi snaps his fingers. "I love your thinking. Let's do it."

Kaoru exhales. He rubs his eyes. "If it doesn't work—"

"It will work!" Sakiko yelps. "I can't last another day without seeing Papa!"

"Wow," Shirabi whispers. "I really wish I had a Dad sometimes."

Before Sakiko can responds, Kaoru nods. "Okay," he decides. "We'll give it our best shot. We do everything we can. Tonight."

●・○・●・○・●

"I'm sick of everyone acting like nothing is going on," Hana admits quietly. "It seems that everyone is either fully convinced Kaoru's alive or fully convinced he's dead. Kaede shows, like, zero concern about Shirabi— not because he doesn't care about him, but because he doesn't want to show how he feels, and I get physically sick at the thought of Koko being in danger, while no one else talks about the possibility of bad things happening to her."

Nozomi nods in agreement and takes a long, loud sip directly from the milk carton. "You're right. Reality is that they're all dead. At this point, Kaoru has a higher chance of being alive. Shirabi and Sakiko just... vanished."

Lastly, Suzume speaks. "I don't think any of them are dead. Hotoke must have something to do with this. Ever since we ended up in the Borderlands, she's been... desperate to find your group. She didn't mention it directly, but now that I know you all live in this street, I realize she did keep heading for this direction before we got separated."

"Do you think she could go against Shirabi and win?"

"Not on her own, but if she has pawns, then maybe. Either she noticed that Shirabi and Sakiko were alone and abducted them, or they fell into her trap."

"You know your sister better than anyone," Hana says. She gently touches Suzume's arm. "Tell us everything we should know about her. What's her biggest weakness? Biggest fear? What's her goal in life? Things she likes?"

Suzume looks down at her hands, fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweater. "She was always the golden child. Polite, pretty, excellent grades. Meanwhile, I was the clingy, emotional little sister. If I ever tried to say anything, they said I was jealous."

Suzume smiles bitterly. "She used to whisper things to me at night. If you died, I'd make everyone think you ran away. Or: Do you think they'd love you more if you bled all over the bathroom floor?"

Nozomi looks stunned. "What the hell."

"And she believes in strange things. Like... ideologies. She creates rules for the world in her head and then lives by them no matter how twisted they are."

"Like what?"

"She believes that purity only exists in violence. That people are never more honest than when they're screaming. She thinks innocence is a weakness. She once said to me, A child who hasn't been touched or beaten is unfinished. That was her actual phrasing."

Hana recoils, a hand over her mouth.

Suzume continues, voice emotionless now. "She thinks love is possession. And consent is fake. She calls it 'a tool of the weak'— something made up to make powerless people feel like they're in control. She says if someone can't protect themselves, they deserve to be broken. She actively supports this. She thinks it reveals the truth about people. That it's the purest way to 'mark' someone."

"She romanticizes pain. Every kind of it. Physical, emotional, psychological. But she doesn't feel it herself, because she's numb. It's all theory to her. She's obsessed with corruption. If someone is kind, she wants to make them cruel. If someone is brave, she wants to break them until they're afraid of themselves. And if someone is innocent, she wants to ruin them. That's the ultimate goal for her. It's just about proving to herself that no one is really good. That deep down, everyone is ugly and cruel and willing to hurt if they're given the chance."

"And her weakness? Everyone has one."

"She can't stand being known. She wears so many masks that being truly exposed is like death to her. She cannot tolerate genuine intimacy. If someone sees her fully, it terrifies her. She must always be in control."

"Anything else?"

Suzume shakes her head. "No. Just not being in control. If we would try to make her lose control, it wouldn't immediately work, though. She likes to pretend. If I got a higher grade than her, she would just pretend to be proud."

"What else should we know?"

"She supports everything people are afraid to talk about. Rape. Torture. Slavery. She thinks those things are natural and deserves. She believes that people are either born to be owned or to own. And she says the ones who struggle the most are the most entertaining to break— which she does. She doesn't even get satisfaction from the act itself. It's the aftermath she's addicted to. The moment someone realizes they can't go back to the way they were. She sees that as beautiful."

Suzume shakes her head slowly. "And what's worse is that she doesn't always need to be the one hurting someone. She'd rather watch. She's like a director, setting up the scene, choosing the victim, handing the knife to someone else and watching it all play out. If she can make someone hurt the person they love... that's her favorite thing in the world."

"Does she feel anything for anyone at all?"

"At first, no. But... this whole Kaoru thing doesn't sit right with me. A while ago, Kaoru talked to me about how she assaulted him. He said she kept saying things like 'you like this', as if she was convincing herself."

"So... she wanted to convince herself that she wasn't assaulting him?"

"No. She doesn't care about that. I think she wanted to convince him that he liked it. And if Hotoke is the reason Kaoru disappeared— then I know for sure that she does feel something for him. It will never be real love. Just pure obsession. The same way she's obsessed with breaking people."

"Do you think that if Kaoru got hurt, she would care?"

"I'm not sure," Suzume murmurs. "Maybe. It depends on what would happen to him. I can't say anything for sure unless either of them inform me about the entire situation."

Hana steals the milk from Nozomi and also takes a big sip. "This is the worst conversation I've ever had in the middle of the night," she groans. "At the damn kitchen table."

Suzume chuckles lightly. "Enough about Hotoke. Maybe if we—"

"Actually," Nozomi interjects, "I'd like to know more about you. Your mother. Your childhood. Your age and hobbies. Everything."

"Oh." She seems dazzled at the sudden question, blinking a few times. "Well, I'm twenty-nine—"

Hana chokes on the milk. "What?" She blurts out as the drink spills down her chin. "Twenty-nine?"

Suzume's cheeks grow a blush. "Yeah."

"Rewind." Nozomi slams her hands on the table. "So you were born before the meteorite!"

"Yes. Two years before it hit."

"Oh, damn— and your mother got raped by Niragi, right?"

She nods. "Yes."

"I knew it!" Hana somewhat starts applauding. "I never knew the guy—thank God—but I knew he was a rapist even before the Borderlands! He just gave me those vibes."

"Oh my gosh," Nozomi peeps. "Does Kaoru even know this? Wow, I didn't know he was into older women. What how many years is that... five years! How dare Shirabi make me feel bad about a four year gap?"

Hana's jaw drops even lower. "What? You and Shirabi? No way— hold up... when? How? What?"

"Just once or twice. Or... thrice." Nozomi waves it off. "We're not in a relationship. We just mess around a bit, I guess."

"You're supposed to tell me these things, Nozomi!"

"Sorry." Nozomi grins.

"Give me all the details, or I'll ask Kaede, and I'll hear it from a man's perspective."

A devilish little smile curls on her lips. "Okay. So the first time, it was when we were all drunk, right? We ended up in my bedroom.

"Was he like... nice? Or was it more like... chaos?"

"Both," Nozomi says. "Like, one minute he's calling you 'darling' like you've been married twenty years, and the next minute he's whispering the most deranged compliments you've ever heard. He once stopped in the middle of everything and asked, 'Do you think your father has figured out we're doing this?' I told him to shut up and focus. And he went, 'Sorry. I just love imagining his face when he finds out.'"

"I can hear him saying that," Hana groans. "Like, perfectly."

"Same," Suzume mutters. She puts her chin on her palms. "Tell us more. What was it like?"

"We were halfway off the bed at one point. He kept yelling instructions like, 'Left leg up— other left! No, my left!' Oh, and he talks non-stop. I knew he talked a lot, but this proved it."

"Does your father know?" Hana asks. "Does anyone know apart from—I assume—Kaede?"

"Sakiko caught us leaving the house and interrogated me until I admitted it, but no, my father doesn't know. I don't know if Kaede knows, but like you said, assuming, he definitely knows."

"Was it your first?"

Nozomi slowly shakes her head. "No," she admits.

"What?" Hana gulps. "When? Who? Where? How old?"

"At a party. A year ago or something. I knew him from high school." She shrugs. "I was... curious. And beforehand, I asked if he wanted a relationship, and he didn't, so I saw it as the perfect opportunity, I guess."

Hana snorts. "I didn't know you were a partier like that."

She grins widely. "That's the point. Nobody has to know."

"What about Shirabi?" Suzume wonders. "Was he nervous? Was it his first?"

"It wasn't," Hana blurts. "He told me about his first experience."

"Shirabi told you about his first time?"

"Yup. We got separated, right? And he asked me some crazy shit about Seika and I, and I admitted I was kind of scared of, um, doing anything intimate. I asked if it was scary for a man, too, and so he began talking about his experience." Her voice softens, almost sheepish. "I know it's dumb."

"What's dumb?"

"That I'm scared. Like, really scared."

"Of what part exactly?"

"The... actual part," Hana mumbles. "The part where things go in. I don't know, it just sounds... horrible. I'm fine with the rest. I'm just afraid it'll hurt, and that I'll mess it up."

Suzume immediately sobers. "It's not dumb."

"Thank you." Hana sighs. "I always hear people talk about awkwardness or embarrassment or whether the person was nice. But like... pain? That never seems to come up unless someone had a bad experience. So am I just supposed to assume it'll hurt unless I get lucky?"

Nozomi hums thoughtfully. "The first time can hurt. Especially if your body's tense or if you're scared to begin with."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Hana says. "Like... what if I panic halfway through? What if it hurts and I start crying or something and then I ruin everything? I don't want my first time to be a horrible memory."

Suzume reaches out and squeezes Hana's wrist gently. "You won't ruin anything. And whoever you're with, if they're worth anything, they won't want to rush you. They'll want you to feel safe."

Nozomi lifts her cup and takes a slow sip. "Shirabi once said something kind of stupid but also kind of true."

"Oh, God."

"No, seriously," Nozomi says, smiling. "He said, 'If someone's scared, that's not a problem. That's just a sign they care about what happens next.' He told me that afterward. And I was like, damn. It was deep for someone who keeps his socks on during it."

Suzume lets out a laugh. "He does not."

"He did once!" Nozomi insists. "He said his feet were cold."

Hana shakes her head with a tiny smile. "Anyway... I guess the real fear is that I'll feel trapped in the moment. Like, I'll want to stop, but I'll be too embarrassed to say so."

"It should be whatever you need it to be. If you want to stop halfway through, you stop. If you want to cuddle and just talk, then do that. If you want to go slow or fast or not at all, then that's the standard," Nozomi says sharply.

"And if it hurts," Suzume adds, "you say something. Immediately. And you don't push past it just to get it over with."

Hana bites her lip. "You make it sound so... respectful. I mean, I want that. But what if I get someone like—"

Nozomi suddenly coughs very, very loudly. "We already know who you'll get, Hana. And I don't think you have to worry about anything with him."

"Hm," Hana huffs, looking away. "I have no idea who you're talking about."

"Oh, really?"

"Yup. No clue."

Nozomi raises her voice. "I have a clue. IT IS—"

"Nozomi!" Hana slaps a hand on the girl's mouth. "You're gonna wake him up!"

"Him?" Suzume teases. "Who's 'him'? I thought you had 'no clue'?"

Hana slumps back in her chair, red to the tip of her ears. "Okay, fine."

"Fine what?" Nozomi snorts. "Tell us everything. Are you dating yet? Have you kissed yet?"

"What? No! No, none of that! I don't even like him—"

"Yes, you do, though."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

"You so do."

"I don't! Well, okay, maybe a little bit— but it's unfair. I think I like the idea of him. Like, he's... he's perfect, isn't he? He's everything a woman could wish for. But I feel like I don't know him well enough to actually like him."

"You've known each other since birth," Nozomi says dryly.

"And it's only been like two months since I returned after not seeing him for six years. He has changed. I've changed. And we haven't had as many deep talks as I'd like. So, as I said, I'd like to get to know him better. He's not very open, you know?"

"He's like an open book. He is very open."

"Nope. He barely talks about how he feels. If something bothers him, he doesn't just tell everyone."

"Okay, true." Nozomi nods. "But he's very... what do you call it? Demonstrative? I don't know. Either way, his body language says a lot about how he feels."

Hana nods along. "Also true."

"I love analyzing people," Suzume sighs out, resting her head and arms on the table.

"Go ahead," Nozomi says triumphantly. "Analyze your boyfriend for us."

"He's not my boyfriend—"

"Yet."

"I've known him for three weeks!"

"So? That's long enough. Not everything has to move slowly. You clearly like each other."

"I thought he was dead for several days. Now he's likely been kidnapped by my sister."

"So?" Nozomi repeats. "You still like each other."

"Whatever. You two have known him longer than I have. I think you're better at analyzing him."

"No, no," Hana insists. "Now we want to hear it. Go tell us what you've noticed and we'll tell you if you're correct."

Suzume crosses her arms. "Uh... he doesn't show how he feels unless he's actually angry or sad or something else?"

Nozomi makes a pleased sound. "Continue."

"I don't know," she murmurs. "Ask me something."

"What's his love language?"

"From the five languages? Or one he just has?"

"Both."

"From the five languages... words of affirmation? Maybe quality time? And one he just has... well, performing card tricks for someone, obviously."

Nozomi begins applauding. "Very well, very well—"

Avoice from down the hall, groggy and mildly annoyed. "Why are you all screaming at four in the morning?"

Hana gasps and claps a hand over her mouth.

Nozomi hisses, "Abort mission!"

They scramble, Hana diving onto the couch and pretending to sleep, Suzume hiding behind the fridge door, and Nozomi innocently placing a dish in the sink.

Footsteps approach. Kiyoshi appears in the doorway, shirtless, hair a mess, eyes barely open. He squints. "...Why is Suzume inside the refrigerator?"

"I'm not inside the fridge," she says stiffly.

He stares at her. Then looks to the couch, where Hana is 'sleeping' with her body completely stiff like a plank. Then to Nozomi, who waves. "Go to sleep," he mumbles. "All of you are insane— WHAT, what the fuck—!"

Hana opens her eyes just in time to see a bloody hand slam into Kiyoshi's face from behind, painting it red. She gasps. The dish falls from
Nozomi's hands and shatters. Suzume stands up, alert. "Kiyoshi!"

"It's just me!" Yelps a voice, unrecognizable at first. "It's just us!"

Kiyoshi continues blindly fighting the hands off his body, half-screaming— which leads to Kaede sprinting down the stairs in his boxers, followed by Arisu and Aguni.

"It's just us!" The voice screams again. "Shirabi! And Sakiko! And Kaoru!"

Kiyoshi freezes, just like everyone else in the room.

Then slowly, he turns around, and indeed, the three of them stand there, all covered in a big amount of blood, holding several weapons.

"Kaoru! Sakiko!" Hana runs forward and catches her two siblings in her arms. "Oh my gosh." She squeezes them tightly, so tightly that Sakiko groans as her face gets demolished.

Kaede attacks Shirabi with a hug that leaves Shirabi screaming from pain. "My ribs are broken, you little fuck," he peeps. "Stop squeezing."

Kaede squeezes even harder. "It's your own fault for leaving."

"I didn't mean to get captured by some crazy bitch." Shirabi winces and pulls away. He gives Nozomi a sheepish wave, then drops onto the couch with closed eyes.

"Where's Papa? And Mama?" Sakiko wonders.

"They're in the other house. Are you okay? Can you walk? No wounds?" Concerned, Hana runs her hands over Sakiko's body, then looks at Kaoru. "And you? Are you hurt?"

"We're not hurt," Sakiko responds. "Maybe a few bruises, but that's it. Hana, I think I've gained the world record of biting people. I bit so many! And Kaoru was poking at everyone with his spear while Shirabi pulled everyone's hair. It was so funny. You should've seen it."

"Come, Koko. Let's go see Mom and Dad," Kaoru says quietly.

Sakiko blinks a few times. "Too overwhelming?" She eventually whispers.

Kaoru nods. "The entire escape was already overwhelming. It's a bit loud and touchy here. We'll greet the others later, okay? Mom and Dad first."

She nods and grips Kaoru's hand. "Alright."

Hana follows them outside into their own house. "Why did you have to give Kiyoshi a heart attack?"

"Shirabi said it would be funny." Sakiko shrugs. The second she spots the stairs, she begins running up. "Papa!" She screams. "Mama! I'm home!"

Sakiko sprints into their bedroom and jumps onto the bed, waking them both. "I'm home!" She slaps her father's cheek a few times. "Mama, I bit them all, like you said!"

Baya groans, opening her eyes slowly. Once she recognizes Sakiko, she lets out a loud scream and hugs her with such force that they roll off the bed. "Koko!" She cries. "You're back!"

"And I brought Shirabi and Kaoru!" Sakiko smirks widely. "You won't believe it—"

"KAORU?!" Baya crosses the room in just a second, embracing her son, gasping. "Oh my God, Kaoru. You're alive. You're— you're alive. Are you okay?"

At first, Kaoru nods, composed, but then he bursts into quiet sobs. "I'm okay," he whispers, gripping her tightly.

"Papa." Sakiko slaps his cheek a few more times. "Wake up, you lazy ass—"

"Language."

"Sorry," she says. "Hug?"

Chishiya opens his arms—still half-asleep—and allows Sakiko to fall into them. "You bit them?"

"At first, I wanted to set them on fire, but they wouldn't give me a lighter," Sakiko explains. "Then I bit. Are you proud?"

"Very." He pats her back. "Did I dream that you said Kaoru is here?"

"No, he's actually here! There." Sakiko nods towards the doorway, where Baya is still cradling Kaoru, both of them sobbing by now.

"Kaoru." Chishiya finally climbs out of bed. He makes his way to his son, staring for a moment. "You're back."

Kaoru buries his face into the crook of Chishiya's neck. "Yeah," he whispers. "I'm back."