A Demon's Lapse

Takeshi ascended into the skyline with Nora in his clutches. The rush of wind was deafening. Adrenaline coursed through Nora's veins. If she didn't think of something to get out of this mess quick, she'd be a goner. The cyborg held her by the neck up above the city center. Her legs dangled in the air as she struggled to breathe. There had to be something she could do and then she remembered. Reaching into her purse with one hand, she pulled out her pepper spray. His face was still organic and therefore still vulnerable. Hiss! He let out a pained yell as he loosened his grip on her. Feeling the force of gravity pull her down, Nora desperately grasped at a nearby ledge. She heard Takeshi yell out a curse followed by her name as he still levitated in the sky. Her fingers were clawing into the hard surface. Not this again! She felt her grip weaken as one hand slipped, letting out a scream in frustration. This time she didn't have the strength to hold on. Unable to hold on any longer she let go.

"Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

The cold air rushed around her body, in free fall. If she closed her eyes tightly then her death wouldn't hurt as much, she thought. Whoosh! Everything stopped. Nora felt her body being held tightly by somebody. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Kiyohira holding her, with horns sticking out of his head. His fingers had become sharp claws. His skin was a deep shade of red. His teeth became fangs. She called out his name softly. He looked at her with his bright red irises. Slowly reaching out, she gently stroked his face, unafraid of his demonic appearance.

The moment was interrupted when someone launched the both of them with such unimaginable force into the nearby skyscraper. Crash! Kiyohira hugged Nora tightly, wrapping his wings around her to soften the impact. Everything went black. Kiyohira's strength only went so far, unable to keep holding on, Nora slid towards the edge of the space. Cough! Cough! The air was opaque. She landed face first. Looking around, she saw that she was thrown into an office building, surrounded by knocked-over cubicles and chairs. She slowly got up, reeling from the pain. She coughed so much because of all the debris in the air. She heard struggling and realized that the men were still fighting. The dust settled somewhat and she saw the two men battling it out in the middle of a large hall. Takeshi delivered a powerful blow to Kirohiya's abdomen sending him rearward.

Tired of feeling helpless, Nora quickly searched for anything to aid Kirohiya. A metal pipe stuck out from one of the crumbling walls and she quickly grabbed it. Takeshi stood over Kirohiya, his weaponized arm pointed at him. Before he could deliver the final blow, Nora swung the pipe with all her might at his head, causing Takeshi to fall over. She quickly ran over to Kirohiya.

"Hey! Hey! Are you alright," she asked anxiously. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Even though they gave a fiery red glow, she still saw the same gentle expression she had seen in him before.

Everything quickly changed when Nora felt a pain like never before. Without even realizing it, she was flung across the room and she collided against a wall. She heard Kirohiya cry out her name. Her vision got blurry and she faded out of consciousness.

Kirohiya felt rage as he saw Takeshi brutally strike Nora, sending her sideways. He quickly rose and decided to end this battle once and for all. The demonic aura in him had increased and he began to quickly lose his humanity. The rage had turned him into a full monster and he began to violently assault Takeshi. Using demonic strength, he tore off Takeshi's robotic arm and struck his face with it. Unsatisfied, Kirohiya threw the extremity aside and held up a barely conscious Takeshi by the neck. His face was badly beaten as he struggled to breathe.

In a deep and unnerving voice, Kirohiya, "It's time for you to die once and for all you fucking bastard! I hate you!"

Takeshi dangled helplessly in his son's grasp. With his other arm still intact, he tapped Kirohiya's shoulder, begging for mercy. He ignored his pathetic request.

A gentle voice then spoke, sending shivers down Kirohiya's spine. It was Nora.

Nora opened her eyes and saw Kirohiya about to kill his father. Despite the circumstances, she didn't want to see him continue the cycle of violence that permeated his life. She noticed a change in him. His appearance was more demonic and terrifying. This wasn't the Kirohiya she knew. She was afraid and her chest was filled with pain and sadness for what was unfolding.

Slowly getting up, she brushed off the pain and the debris on her. She was covered in bruises and her dress was torn. She slowly approached Kirohiya with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Kirohiya," she said, whimpering. He slowly turned to look at her. His eyes were unrecognizable. She approached him, touching his back.

"Please stop," she pleaded, sobbing. A faint light reappeared in his gaze. He relaxed his grip on Takeshi's neck, dropping him to the ground. Kirohiya turned to face her. Still scared, she stared at him.

Kirohiya, plagued with guilt, wanted to assuage Nora's disposition. He slowly reached out to her. Ambivalent, she looked at his claw-like hand. She slowly took it in hers and rubbed it gently against her face. Kirohiya began to look more and more familiar. He took Nora in his arms and kissed her. She felt his warm mouth and lips against hers. She desperately missed this feeling. She slightly retreated and smiled up at him.

"I love you, Kirohiya," she giggled, and for the first time he smiled back at her. He rested his forehead on hers.

A door burst opened by Matsuda, his men followed behind. Accompanying them was Hideyoshi. Nora and Kiyohira looked over, Kiyohira glaring at his half-brother. He held his hands up as if defeated. Nora turned his focus back to her, not wanting to ruin this moment.

A loud and condescending chuckle disturbed the scene.

Takeshi, lying face up, said, "You may think you have bested me, my son, but I want you to know that I will always have the last word!" He lifted a hatch in the center of his chest, exposing a bright light.

"This body is powered by sapphirium, enough to wipe out everything within a thirty-kilometre radius," he said. Nora looked at Kirohiya, eyebrows raised. Takeshi set up the process for self-destruction.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you have to destroy millions of lives! Please don't do this," Nora cried.

"It's too late, once you start the process, it can't be stopped," Kirohiya said, cutting in. Nora protested and looked at everyone else.

"So now what," she asked. Everyone was silent. The silence was broken by Kirohiya,

"Matsuda and Hideyoshi, take care of Nora." Nora looked at him confused.

He squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead, then whispered, "Nora, I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for everything."

"What," she said, bewildered. He let her go and went over to Takeshi. Her eyes widened at the realization.

"No! No! There has to be another way," she yelled. Kirohiya shook his head. She knew deep down that there wasn't.

With tears falling down her face once more, she said out loud, "I love you, Kirohiya Kimura. You're the only man I've ever loved." Kirohiya looked at her and smiled. He picked up Takeshi as he clamoured. Kirohiya turned around once more to give Nora a final look. With that, he flew into the horizon, away from the city. Nora wanted to run to the opening where she and Kiyohira were first thrown into but Matsuda held on tightly, not letting her potentially be injured by the impending destruction.

Kirohiya became smaller and smaller and then suddenly a bright light overtook the horizon. The light grew so bright that everyone had no choice but to cover their vision. Boom! As everyone crouched down and covered their ears, Matsuda quickly pulled Nora to the ground and shielded her gaze from the light. A powerful shock wave engulfed the entire city, shaking everything to the core. All the windows in the building shattered, sending shards of glass everywhere. Everyone was knocked down to the floor by the powerful force. After the wave had passed, everyone got up. Running to the opening once more, she saw the explosion begin to disintegrate into particles of light that radiated through the sky. Tears ran down her face as she stood there alone, coming to the realization that she had lost Kiyohira again. This time, forever.