A Demon's Lapse

Nora lied in bed after showering. She was exhausted from all the work she did the last few days. She thought about Kiyohira. He was extremely good-looking on the outside but on the inside he was ugly. She grabbed the photo album that she took from the house from under the mattress and looked through it again. She still had trouble believing that someone like him had a family. There were a lot of photographs of Kiyohira and his mother, his father was noticeably absent save for a few of them. His mother had a gentle and joyful expression when it was just her and her son. One photo in particular warmed Nora's heart. It was of Haru wearing a beautiful white dress and a straw hat holding Kiyohira's hand as they walked on the beach, barefoot. Kiyohira looked about five or six years old with such a happy expression. After looking through the album she placed it back under the bed and decided to go to sleep.

THUMP! A loud sound and shouting came from outside her door. Jumping out of the bed, she ran to the door. Pound! Pound!

"Hello," she shouted but no one answered.

Whatever was happening outside sounded bad. Nora's attention went to the small window above her bed. Her eyes quickly scanned the room to see if there was something she could use to bust it open. Then she grabbed the metal lamp on the nightstand and used the base to break it. Climbing out, she frantically ran to the front door. It was ajar and Matsuda was collapsed beside it. She checked his pulse and it was faint but steady.

CRASH! Quickly running inside, she saw on the floor of the living room Kiyohira and a woman. A dagger lay beside Kiyohira. The woman stood up, shaking the glass off of herself and rushed toward it. Nora then realized what was happening and instinctively tackled the woman to prevent her from reaching it. The woman tried to throw her off her back but Nora held on tight. After a struggle, the woman elbowed Nora in the stomach, sending her backwards, landing on the glass coffee table in the center of the room. Shatter! The assassin walked over to pick up the dagger. Kiyohira groaned and struggled to move. The woman climbed on top of him, arms raised, aiming the dagger at his chest. Before the dagger could reach it, Kiyohira grabbed her arms and pushed her back with all his might.

Nora, air knocked out of her lungs and clutching her stomach, turned to see the struggle. She felt sharp pieces of glass underneath her. Kiyohira was a bad man but something inside told her this wasn't the way. She pushed herself up and looked over at the fireplace tool set. The dagger was inching closer as Kiyohira was losing his strength. Whack! The woman's face went blank as she fell to the ground, face first. Kiyohira looked up and saw Nora standing there, holding an iron poker.

She kneeled over to him, "Are you ok?"

He struggled to breathe, "Get my phone in my pocket and call for help."

Nora reached inside and took it. He grabbed her hand and guided her to call the right number. After calling, she dragged Kiyohira with all her might so he could be upright against the wall. Thankfully she was able to even though he was extremely heavy since he was pure muscle. He was in and out of consciousness. Something caught Nora's attention in the corner of her eye.

"Kyaaa," the woman screeched, rising up, dagger still in hand. Bang! A bullet hole appeared right between her eyes and this time she fell down for good.

Matsuda stumbled in, gun aimed at the woman. Nora, in shock of what she just witnessed, ran over to him and helped him walk over.

"Are you alright," she asked and he nodded.

She heard a loud whirring from outside, it must've been the rescue squad. They landed the helicopter out front and the team rushed in.

The medical team was able to stabilize Kiyohira by administering an antidote to the poison he was injected with. Nora had some cuts and bruises but thankfully nothing serious. She wondered who the attacker was. Of course, in Kiyohira's line of work it made sense that he had enemies. Whoever that woman was, it was dauntless to try to kill him in his own house.

She was too shaken to fall asleep. She wondered how Kiyohira was doing. Wait, what? Why would she care about that criminal? She shook her head. She just didn't feel it was right for him to die. She wanted him locked away, not dead. She was going to sleep on the couch in the living room since she broke the window in the room. That was if she was able to sleep since the event had shaken her up.

A few days later, Kiyohira woke up. Whatever he was injected with was extremely potent. He fumed at how an assassin was able to infiltrate the island. There had to be a mole. Was it the girl? No. She saved his life. Why did she save him? If it were him, he'd let himself die. He never thought that he'd owe his life to her. He felt conflicted now and that angered him. He was used to viewing things in terms of black and white. Now he was indebted to her.

Something else stirred inside him. Few people had ever risked their lives to save him. His bodyguards had to because it was their job and his mother. All his life he had to fight to survive with almost no one to help him. He was distrustful of everyone and just because Nora saved him didn't change the fact that she was just his captive. He still had to repay her actions though. Even he had a code of honor.

The doctor came in and saw Kiyohira sitting up, resting against the headboard.

"Good to see you're awake, sir," he said. "What did that bitch put in me," he demanded.

"From the blood sample we acquired from you, we were able to detect that the substance you were poisoned with was aglaophotis and some sort of corrosive agent designed to destroy your body from the inside," the doctor informed.

Aglaophotis? The doctor explained that such an item was a rare commodity in this day and age. Aglaophotis was a scarce flower that only grew somewhere in the Arabian desert. It was used to ward off or even kill demons. That is how the assassin was able to subdue him. Kiyohira closed his eyes and sighed. He may be a very powerful demon however that did not render him immortal. Now he knew that there was indeed a way to kill him. He ordered his doctor to maintain discretion over the matter. The last thing that he needed was for the world to know his weakness.

Someone already did, though, and that infuriated him.

Trying to get up from bed, he struggled as his strength hadn't been fully regained.

"Sir, you should stay in bed," the doctor cautioned. Kiyohira didn't listen and he tried to walk but was only able to get to the chair beside the bed. He groaned in frustration as he hated being incapacitated. He waved the doctor away and called for Matsuda.

"Yes, sir," asked Matsuda. "Bring me the girl," ordered Kiyohira.