Chapter 20
She awoke in a start to heavy banging on her door. Eyes, heavy with sleep, darted to the alarm clock that rested on a nightstand. The red digits that blared back at her read 3:47. Aya groaned, sliding out of bed as she yawned. The pounding continued. How obnoxious. Who the hell was visiting at 3:47 in the morning? Crossing the living room, she pulled the door open.
“Hey beautiful.” Koori smiled at her, and she instantly began to close the door, but he reached his arm out to stop the motion, pushing the door back, shoving her backwards. He grabbed her by the wrists and pushed her back, closing the door behind him. Aya scrambled away from him.
“What the hell are you doing? Get out of my apartment.” She glared at him, her voice heavy with anger.
“Aw, what’s wrong? Not happy to see me?”
“Koori, look, I know we have a lot to talk about, but it’s almost four in the morning, and I’m really tired. I have a lot of plans tomorrow.”
“Well, you’re just going to have to cancel them aren’t you?”
Aya suddenly realized how vulnerable she was. Crossing her arms over her chest she glanced from Koori to the door. “I think you should leave, Koori.”
“I don’t think you have a say in that, Aya.” Koori began advancing on her, but she quickly eluded him and moved the door, beginning to open it. His hand closed about her wrist painfully, and she slapped him.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Get out of my apartment!” Suddenly, she was dealt a strong blow to the cheek and she fell down.
“I will go when I decide to go. I told you that would have my dues, and I will have them now.” Koori grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up. She gasped in pain and punched his knee. He winced, but his leg didn’t give way as she had hoped.
“You little slut!” Koori brought his knee up into her face and Aya fell backwards in an explosion of pain. Her eyesight was blurred, and she could feel herself being dragged on the floor away from the door. She kicked at him, but he hit her again, then punched her in the stomach, causing her to curl up, gasping for air. Koori grabbed her and pushed her back, straddling her as he pinned her arms down on the floor, over her head.
“NO!” Aya began to squirm, trying to bring a leg up, but he dealt another hard blow to her face with his free hand, causing her to see stars. Tears sprang to her eyes as he hit her again, and she tasted blood in her mouth. He was tearing the silk negligee off of her and he was touching her. She squirmed again and he hit her, even harder, and she let out a cry of pain. Suddenly, he was gone. Turning to her side, she began to crawl, dragging herself to the door.
“And where the FUCK do you think you’re going?” Koori was on her again, grabbing her ankles and dragging her back. He produced a roll of duct tape that he must have procured from her kitchen drawers and a knife. Grabbing hold of her hands, he pushed her arms up over her head again and using the duct tape, he bound her hands, then turned her on her back again. Aya screamed and tried to kick him, and he dropped the knife and backhanded her. She couldn’t breathe, blood was dripping from her nose, and she could feel it running down her chin. Koori pulled off her flimsy underwear, and unzipped his pants. She tried to move backwards, but he slapped her again, and forced her legs open, and suddenly with a burning rage he was inside of her, impaling her again and again. Aya cried, helpless as he took her, his filthy hands roaming her body. I’m so sorry, Kaoru. I’m so sorry…

Kaoru stood outside the door of Aya’s apartment. Glancing down at his watch, he sighed. He was fifteen minutes late. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be irritated. Reaching his hand up he knocked on the wooden door twice. Shifting from one leg to the other he sighed, letting his eyes take in his surroundings. After several minutes passed, he frowned, and knocked again. After a moment of silence, he heard a little shuffling.
“Please…go away.” Aya’s voice was muffled through the door.
“Aya? It’s me… Kaoru.” Kaoru ran his tongue over dried lips, his eyebrows drawing together in worry.
“Please, just… just go away…” He could hear her voice trembling with fear and pain.
“Aya? What’s wrong? Please, just let me in, let me talk to you.”
“Please…Kaoru… please go away… You can’t…see me like this. Please…” Desperation. Kaoru could feel his heart breaking.
“Aya, let me in. What’s wrong? I don’t care what you look like. I care about you, not about how you look. Don’t push me away, not like this. Please. Let me talk to you. Let me in.”
Kaoru heard her sob, then he heard the locks on the door being turned, but the door didn’t open. He tried the doorknob, it was unlocked, so he let himself in. Aya was nowhere to be seen. The living room was a mess. The table was turned over, paper was strewn on the floor. A dark stain was on the ground, along with a knife that lay haphazardly. A roll of duct tape lay a foot before him. The scene before him was a far cry from the immaculate apartment he had been accustomed to.
“Aya?” Kaoru saw that the door of her room was slightly ajar and he pushed it open. Aya was sitting in the corner of her room, a blanket tightly wrapped around her. Her face was swollen and bruised, caked with dried blood. Tears were flowing silently down her marred cheeks.
“My…God. Who the fuck did this to you?” Kaoru was instantly at her side. He tried to touch her, but she winced, pulling away from him.
“Don’t touch me, he made me dirty. I’ll make you dirty. No, don’t touch me.” Aya’s lower lip trembled.
Kaoru slowly pulled her into his arms, although she kept trying to push him away, shaking her head as she said ‘no’, but finally she acquiesced and sank against him, sobbing. He picked her up, and in the process, the blanket fell away from her, exposing marred, bloodied skin.
“I have to get you to the hospital.”
“You can’t! You can’t do that!” She became hysterical, pushing at him, screaming. “Please, don’t take me there, wherever you take me, don’t take me there. Just, just get me out of here. Please. But don’t take me to the fucking hospital if you want to see me alive.”

He took her to his apartment, swaddled in the blanket he found her huddled in. He instantly ran a bath for her and gently placed her in the tub. Using a piece of cloth, he gently bathed her, washing away the filth on her body. Aya sank into the water, grateful for the warm water, grateful for the warm cloth that was running down her back, grateful for Kaoru. He gently turned her face to him and cleansed it, then picked her up out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel, bringing her to his room. Setting her down on the bed, he went back to the bathroom and returned with a first aid kit. Tears flowed silently down his face as he dressed her wounds silently, wrapping her wrists where the tape had cut into her flesh gently with gauze. His actions were suddenly halted when she brought her hand up to his cheek and touched his face.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m sorry.” Kaoru cursed himself for his weakness. How could anyone harm her? Who would do such a heinous thing? How could anyone bring themselves to mar such beauty? To defile this wonderful being, this girl that he loved?
“No, don’t be sorry. If it’s anyone who’s sorry, it’s me. For involving you in this.” Aya averted her eyes from him, and he turned her face to face him, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“Never, never think that. I care about you more than I can ever comprehend, and I cannot believe anyone could do such a thing to you. When I find the bastard who did this to you, I’m going to kill him with my bare hands.” Kaoru’s eyes darkened, but Aya shook her head sadly.
“It’s over, just… just leave it like this. Please. I’m begging you. He won’t touch me again. I deserved this. I… I deserved this.” Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to cry.
“Don’t ever say that you deserved this. You did not deserve such a horrible thing! He raped you! He-”
“-had his dues paid. Kaoru, there is a lot about me that you don’t know…you see, I’m not what I appear to be…”
“I know what you are,” he said. “A very strong person for whom any admission of need is a terrible thing.”
Silence. She nodded. “If only that were all of it,” she said. Tears overflowing.
“Talk to me, tell me the story.”
She slipped out of his arms, bringing her knees to her chest. It came so fast, so many long delicate phrases pouring out with such speed, he strained to listen. To separate the meaning from the beguiling beauty of her voice. And in the end, she was shaking, her tears coming like a pour of rain, her voice trembling, then coming to a silence. There was nothing more to tell, and she feared that he hated her, she feared that he would be disgusted. But now he knew, now he knew and there was nothing she could say that could take it back. She closed her eyes, tears overtaking her.
“So, I suppose this is it. You hate me now and there’s nothing more to say.” Warmth suddenly surrounded her, and the smell of him, and he was kissing her so gently she burst into a wave of sobs. Never, had anyone touched her so softly, so gently. Never, had anyone kissed her with such soft abandon.
“Perhaps there is nothing more for you to say,” he was kissing her again, softly. “And perhaps I find it hard to find words. But there is one thing I do have to say, and that you should know. Aisheteru.”

eternal@twilighthush.com

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