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═══ DEMONS OF
THE PAST ═══

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WHEN SUNDAY EVENING ROLLED AROUND and Akiko had been cooped up in an apartment with Chifuyu, reading manga after manga and getting to know the boy better, the tension began to rise at a slow, steady pace.

What unsettled Akiko most was the lack of phone calls from her parents. She had expected them to overheat her phone with a thousand calls a day, leaving angry messages on her voicemail. Nothing. Not a single call, not even a text message reached her. Akiko kept stealing glances at the device as though it would magically begin to ring, but to no avail. She wasn't even sure what she was expecting at that point.

Quite frankly, she was disappointed.

Adding to that, she couldn't help feeling like an intruder. No matter how many times Mrs. Matsuno and Chifuyu assured the girl that her presence was more than welcome, she felt as though she was taking advantage of their hospitality and was interrupting their family life.

As a result, Akiko was curled up into a ball on the far end of the sofa as a movie played on TV. Chifuyu's eyes were glued to the screen, every now and again catching a glimpse at Akiko to find her staring at the phone lying on the coffee table. He sighed. His mind began to wander, weighing his options, and finding them as limited as ever. How could he possibly help this girl?

Maybe Baji could help him come up with a plan? Or would it be wiser to head straight to Mikey, seeing as the two were family? After all, if there was one thing Mikey valued above all, it was his family and the close friends he considered as such.

Aside from that, there was still the conflict between Toman and Moebius. Hanma's sudden interest in Akiko, and the fact that he knew of her full name and family, made a knot form in the pit of his stomach. Yet Chifuyu couldn't ignore the irony. The daughter of a man who hated gangs to the very core of their existence, was now caught up in the business of two gangs at once.

Suddenly, someone hammered against the front door. Akiko flinched, assuming the worst, and she jumped up. Eyes glued to the door, she backed away until she hit the wall. Chifuyu immediately rushed forward to lock the door.

The hammering repeated, until even Mrs. Matsuno emerged from her room to check out what all the noise was about.

"What is going on here?" she demanded to know.

Hands on her hips, the woman glanced at the two teenagers, finding them both on edge. A sigh left her mouth, followed by a shake of her head. When she made a move to open the door, Chifuyu latched onto her arm with pleading eyes and shook his head.

"You are going to explain what the hell is going on or you will be grounded for as long as you live under this roof, Chifuyu!"

The boy swallowed. "You see ... uh, Akiko ran away from home. Her family treats her terribly and she had nowhere else to go!"

"Then why are you so anxious? I can handle the parents."

This time, it was Akiko's turn to speak up. "You don't know my father. His temper is something you do not want to witness. I'm deeply sorry for causing you trouble, obasan."

Prying her arm from Chifuyu's grip, Mrs. Matsuno unlocked the front door and pulled it open.

"Can I help you?"

"Where is my daughter?"

Akiko felt the blood in her veins freezing solid. Cold shivers ran through her whole body. Out of all people who could have found her, it had to be Mr. Hoshino. Police officers would have been more gentle than him. But this time, Akiko was not the only one threatened by his temper.

She had allowed for Chifuyu and Mrs. Matsuno to get close to her. She could only hope Mr. Hoshino would leave them be.

"I'm sorry. Who did you say you were?"

"Who I am doesn't matter," growled Mr. Hohsino. "Step aside or god help me, I will use brute force to get what I came here for."

Both Chifuyu and Akiko noticed how Mrs. Matsuno visibly tensed up and tightened her grip on the door. They exchanged worried glances. Then, Chifuyu grabbed his phone, dialed a number and shortly disappeared into his room. Akiko could only guess who was on the other end of the line — Baji, since he lived in the same building, or Mikey. Whoever it was, Akiko hoped desperately they would get there fast.

"I beg you pardon? You cannot disturb the peace in my home and threaten me! The audacity —"

Before Mrs. Matsuno finished her sentence, the door was kicked in, ripped off its hinges and slid across the floor. Akiko flinched again, a short yell escaped her lips from pure shock. Luckily, Mrs. Matsuno had moved out of the way just in time or else the blow would have hit her. A hand pressed onto her chest, the woman stared in horror at the open doorway.

To Akiko's surprise, Mr. Hoshino hadn't come alone. Standing next to him was a giant of a man dressed in all black. Silver hair and void grey eyes, with a tattoo of a clawed, demonic hand wrapped around his throat.

A single word crossed Akiko's mind.

Pandemonium

In situations of danger, Akiko's fight or flight instinct kicked in. Her brain told her to grab Mrs. Matsuno and make a run for it, but they were stuck with the only escape route being blocked by Mr. Hohsino and his partner. Her conscience prevented her from allowing any harm to come to the Matsunos.

Running toward Mrs. Matsuno in a moment of desperation and fear, Akiko shielded the woman from the two men towering threateningly in the doorway. Amber eyes met black bottomless pits.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!" hissed Akiko.

All Mr. Hoshino did was smirk evily. "Don't try to play the hero, Akiko. I can see you're shaking from a mile away."

"I'm not trying to be a hero. I'm just doing what's right."

Mr. Hohsino shook his head. "You always make things harder on yourself than they need to be. Come with me willingly and there won't be any harm done. Refuse, and I'll make sure you will never leave the house again. I'm serious, Akiko."

Tears had pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision. Her heart clenched painfully.

"So am I! All you do is shout at me and criticize me! I'm never good enough for you, no matter how hard I try! And now you threaten innocent people! What happened to our family?"

Mr. Hoshino huffed angrily. "You are really trying my patience, Akiko. I've had it with you and your troublesome tendencies. I will ask nicely one last time. Take your things and let's go."

Years upon years of shrinking under his gaze, Akiko decided now was the time to stand up for herself. After all this time, she had gotten a taste of happiness through Chifuyu and Baji, a taste of what life could be like, and she was yearning for more. There was no way she would return to the life this family was forcing upon her.

"No."

The man next to Mr. Hoshino cracked his knuckles, the corner of his mouth slowly lifted up into a smirk. He took a step forward, forcing Akiko to push herself and Mrs. Matsuno backward.

"Just remember you have brought this upon yourself," stated Mr. Hoshino before he turned his back on his daughter. "Kurayami, you know what to do. No witnesses. No evidence."

"Yes, president. It is my pleasure, as always," the man, Kurayami, responded slyly.

As Mr. Hoshino left the scene, Kurayami stepped into the apartment.

"Go and lock yourself in your room," Akiko spoke over her shoulder, eyes never leaving Kurayami's approaching figure.

"What?"

"NOW!"

The sudden raise in voice made Mrs. Matsuno flinch back and watch the girl in shock. "Are you crazy, girl? Are you planning to get yourself killed?"

"I don't care what happens to me. Please, just do as I say and hide. You have a family. Don't risk that on my account, obasan." Akiko gave her a closed-eyed smile as a tear escaped, leaving a wet trail down her cheek. "You have a wonderful son. Protect him."

With that, Akiko pushed the woman down the hallway before she faced Kurayami.

"You little shrimp think you can take me?" He laughed. "I'll snap you in half."

"No. Fighting has never been my strong suite. But I've persevered in this life for over a decade. I think I can hold on a little longer."

"Too bad Kenny said not to harm you," Kurayami said, a shadow looming over his features. "Says he wants to be the punisher."

Akiko shuddered at the thought.

"Why did you call him president?" Akiko dared to question as she slowly moved toward the kitchen, racking her brain for the memory of where the Matsunos kept their knives. "I thought Pandemonium disbanded over a decade ago."

"To the public eye, it sure as hell had to look like it," retorted Kurayami. "Guess Ken just couldn't abandon all that power."

'Second drawer on the right,' Akiko suddenly remembered and made a dash toward to kitchen.

She threw open said drawer and was able to grab one of the larger knives before two humongous hands grabbed her from behind. One arm wrapped around her middle and a hand around her neck. He was cutting off her air supply with how hard he was pressing down on her throat.

Akiko gasped, clawing at Kurayami's arm. She raised the knife and ran the blade through his arm, accidently piercing her own shoulder.

"AAAHHH" Kurayami yelled out in pain, snatching his arm away.

The adrenaline pumping through her veins gave Akiko enough strength to slip out of his grasp, kick Kurayami in his crown jewels and rush out of the kitchen. Her scream ripped through the air as her body collided with someone else. She squeezed her eyes shut, fists flying through the air, until the other person caught them and a familiar voice reached her ears.

"It's me."

Ripping her eyes open, Akiko sighed in relief. "Chifuyu"

From the kitchen they heard grunting. Akiko shook in fear as Kurayami followed her. Chifuyu acted fast, pulled Akiko toward the front door and urged her to run faster.

"Where are we going? What about your mother?" Her heart was racing.

"She's downstairs, waiting in the car."

"But — "

Seemingly out of nowhere, a mop of long dark hair appeared in front of them. Wearing his signature grin, excited to be dealing out some punches, Baji Keisuke was walking toward them before they had reached the stairs.

"A bird told me there was trouble," Baji said. "I love trouble."

Loud humming of motorcycle engines travelled up from the parking lot. Akiko glanced down and caught sight of three motorcycles stopping just outside the building. While Baji was keen on taking Kurayami on his own, Chifuyu grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Going up against him is suicide," he told his friend.

"Make sure I get a nice gravestone then."

Baji pushed Chifuyu away, rolled up his sleeves and charged at Kurayami.

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Author's note:

Two chapters in one day! Good, right? Anyways, I finally want to get to the good parts of the story and they are coming in the next chapters (at least I hope you'll find them good)! Let me know what you think in the comments!

See ya!