Feature Writer: april_gemini
Feature Title: A DEMON’S LAPSE 7 TO 10
Published: 13.05.2026
Story Codes: Demonic, Transgender
Synopsis: Kiyohira’s night of pleasure takes an unexpected turn.
A Demon’s Lapse
CHAPTER SEVEN
Nora woke up screaming. She sat on the floor with her hands were chained against a pipe on the wall. Realizing that she wasn’t in immediate danger she looked around to see where she was. The room was windowless and was made of concrete. The fluorescent tubes overhead gave it a dreary feel. She looked at her hand she had cut with the glass shard and saw a bandage on it. Then she remembered what happened. The pirates and the boat. And, Kiyohira. She was terrified to even remember the sight. Did he save her? He probably only did so to torture her later. Nora’s head fell down in sadness and defeat. Everything had gone wrong. Why was this happening? She would never see her sister again. Now that literal demon would surely kill her. She sobbed in silence.
The door opened and she quickly scooted away, in fear, from whomever had entered. She was met with Kiyohira once more. He was wearing a gray dress shirt, a black vest, and black slacks. Nora looked up at him nervously. He gave her his usual stare.
“You stupid girl, did you really believe you were going to escape,” he said.
Nora gulped and then spoke, “What are you?”
He kneeled down and glared at her. “I’m the one asking the questions here,” he quickly replied.
“If you’re going to kill me just do it then but please leave my sister alone,” she said quietly.
“Kill you? That would be too easy. I will find your sister and make you watch as I destroy her and then you will be next,” he retorted.
Nora began to sob again.
“Your tears won’t work on me. From now on, I’ll work you to the bone until I find her. You are not to go anywhere unless I allow it,” Kiyohira declared.
All Nora did was look down. She didn’t have the strength to say anything anymore. Kiyohira walked out of the room and left her alone. He surely was a heartless man. She was so sorry for the fate that had befallen Rosie and her because of her actions.
In the following days, Nora was made to do more intensive labor around the island than before, with supervision of course. She was still fed and allowed basic amenities. Her days consisted of working and being locked up in her room. She was glad that she was still allowed outside even though it was only for work. Matsuda noticed that she wasn’t her usual self.
While he was accompanying Nora to her assignment he abruptly spoke, “Ahem, I hope you’ve learned your lesson, young lady. The boss is a dangerous man.”
She looked at him and responded, “What’s his problem? Wouldn’t he also try to get away if he were held prisoner?”
“If you had only obeyed his orders you wouldn’t find yourself in this situation, Miss,” he said. He was right. She acted rashly and made things worse.
“Isn’t there any way to change his mind? He can do whatever he wants to me but I want him to leave my sister out of all this,” she pleaded.
“I’m afraid that once the boss sets his mind on something, nothing can change it,” he said.
Nora sighed in defeat. Maybe if she just kept playing nice it would change something but as of right now the situation wasn’t looking good.
“If you keep working hard though, it might redeem you in his eyes,” said Matsuda. Nora looked at him with a glimmer of hope. “It’s not a guarantee, just don’t do anything foolish anymore, understood,” he told her.
She nodded.
“Mr. Matsuda,” Nora asked, “what is he? I saw him. He was a devil, literally!”
“He’s not a devil! He has powers that I don’t understand. I’m sorry but I cannot disclose anything about it,” he said curtly. Kiyohira being a devil was fitting, she thought.
Later that evening Matsuda told Kiyohira that Nora had done well completing all her assigned tasks.
“She has done a very thorough job, sir,” he added. Kiyohira seemed unmoved. He was too proud to admit that she was able to exceed his expectations.
“Sir, if I may say, I think the girl acted out of fear and perhaps you can go a bit easier on her. She’s doing very well–,” Matsuda said but was cut off.
“You seem to be very close to her. What did I tell you about second guessing me,” snapped Kiyohira. “That insolent little brat must pay for her insubordination! I’m very close to reprimanding you too Matsuda! This will be the last time you will ever bring up this matter because next time I will not allow it to be said,” he said. Matsuda just bowed his head.
Kiyohira wanted to unwind. “Send me a girl for tonight,” he ordered. Matsuda nodded and left the room and Kiyohira walked toward the window with the ocean view. He lit up a cigarette and stood there. He could’ve left the girl on that boat but he didn’t. Every time he saw her he had this gnawing feeling inside him that drove him crazy. It must’ve been because of her reckless behavior. Now Matsuda was defending her? What was going on? He closed his eyes as smoke escaped through his nostrils.
After dinner, Kiyohira retired to the parlor where he had a glass of brandy. The girl he requested had arrived. She was a brunette with a beautiful and curvaceous body. She had pale ivory skin and bright blue eyes. Her hair was all parted to the side. He sat in a chair and beckoned her to come closer. She smiled and happily sat on his lap. He cracked a smile as he began to caress her voluptuous body. She put her hands on his neck, massaging it. Suddenly, Kiyohira felt a sharp pain in his neck. The woman had injected him with something she pulled out of her gloves.
He tried to throw her off him, but she had incredible strength and began to strangle him. He started to feel off due to whatever she had put in him. He didn’t give up, grabbing her by the neck, he threw her across the room. She had quick reflexes and got right back up. She lifted her dress and took out a knife from her garter. She lunged at him, but he dodged it. The reaction was starting to get worse. He didn’t know how much longer he had. He yelled to get his men’s attention, but they didn’t show up. Something was wrong.
The woman kept lunging at him, but all he could do was try to stay away from her since his strength was dissipating. She did a flip, jumping on top of him, and he grabbed her tightly and threw himself over, crashing through the glass railing, landing on the living room floor below.
CHAPTER EIGHT
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.
CHAPTER NINE
Nora couldn’t help but worry about Kiyohira. Not because she liked him or anything. It was morning and after getting ready, Nora made the bed. Matsuda didn’t want her to be on the couch the night of the attack so he told the maid to allow her to stay in her quarters.
Matsuda entered the room, “The boss wants to see you.”
She wondered what Kiyohira wanted. Was he going to yell at her about breaking things in his house? Or maybe about something else. It didn’t matter since she felt queasy at the thought of seeing him. Nora followed Matsuda upstairs where she had never been before. He stopped outside a door and gestured toward it.
Nora entered the master bedroom and saw Kiyohira, sitting upright against the headboard. He was shirtless and she saw his muscular chest and was covered in scars. He had a big scar that went across his pectorals. She wondered what kinds of things this man had gone through in life.
Shaking those thoughts away, she spoke shyly, “You wanted to see me?”
“What were you thinking? You could’ve gotten yourself killed,” Kiyohira barked. “I had everything under control,” he continued, “and not just that you destroyed my property!”
Nora could not believe what she was hearing. Here he was scolding her. The least he could do was thank her.
She was never one to back down from unfair treatment so she said, “You know what? You’re welcome! I saw you on the verge of death, you didn’t have anything under control! I’m sorry I destroyed your things but I did it to save you!”
Nora then covered her mouth with both hands, realizing she just flew off the handle. Kiyohira’s expression widened. She was right. He didn’t know how to be grateful. It was quiet for a while, neither of them looked at each other.
“Why did you help me,” he asked.
Yes, why? Nora struggled to come up with the words but realized she just needed to be sincere.
“I can’t let someone die if there’s something that I could do about it. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hadn’t because the guilt would always haunt me. It had nothing to do with you,” she said.
Those last words tugged on Kiyohira’s heart. He was no one to save.
“I will let your sister go, you may contact her” he told her.
Nora looked at him, with justified skepticism.
“Really,” she asked. Her eyes lit up with joy.
He nodded, “I could also accept another request as long as it’s within reason.”
“I also want to be in another room, with a bigger window,”
Kiyohira bit his tongue and nodded.
“Can I go outside for walks?”
He grumbled, “I’ve already honored your first request, that’s enough.”
“Please and I swear I won’t ask for more, please,” Nora put her hands together.
He gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes, “Fine.”
Nora was overjoyed.
“Thank you,” she smiled at him.
She quickly looked down because she felt awkward being giddy around him. Kiyohira blushed and looked away. He called for Matsuda to show her to her new room.
The new room was also on the second floor and had two windows. One showed the forest and the other the ocean. It was huge with a queen bed, a bureau, an armoire, and a desk. It also had its own bathroom with a jacuzzi and separate shower. She felt better here, not claustrophobic like the last one she was in. She immediately went over to the phone on the nightstand.
“Hello,” Rosario picked up. It was wonderful to hear her big sister’s voice again.
“Hey sis, it’s me,” Nora answered, crying. Rosario cried too. She was relieved to hear from her. The past week had been torture for them both. Nora told her everything.
“Rosie, I need you to explain what happened,” asked Nora.
Rosie was silent. She felt so ashamed.
Rosie had met this Nakano fellow at a gala that she was catering at a few weeks ago. He had told her that he was just an international businessman. After that they went out on a few dates but nothing serious came about it. However, Rosie caught feelings. The day that Nora was kidnapped she got a threatening phone call asking for Nakano’s whereabouts. Confused as to what was happening, she tried to get in touch with him but his phone was disconnected. She didn’t even know where he lived. It was as if he never existed.
“So you haven’t heard from him since,” asked Nora.
“No, he just abandoned me and then you went missing. I eventually came back to our place. Gorland told me that some guys were after you. I was so worried,” Rosie began to cry again.
She continuously apologized for putting Nora through all of this.
“Stop it,” said Nora, “you’re my sister and I love you. You raised me and helped me all my life. I’ll never accept your apologies, okay?”
Rosario wiped her tears away, “You’re too good for this world, Nora, I’m blessed to have you as my sister.”
Before they knew it, hours had gone by.
Rosario asked, “What do we do now?”
“I don’t know. Just take care of yourself okay? I will keep in touch with you even if I don’t leave this place,” Nora replied with tears welling up in her eyes.
They ended their conversation in relief but also sadness because they weren’t together. Nora just sat on the bed and watched the sun sink into the ocean, just like how she felt her heart do.
Kiyohira worked on his laptop in bed. Putting it aside, he gently massaged his eyes and thought about Nora and the way she smiled at him. It had been a long time since he saw such a lively expression on someone. All he knew in life was anger and hatred so having such a display irritated him to his core. The last time he saw someone smile like that was his mother. She had a beautiful voice.
CHAPTER TEN
Nora went for a walk the next day. It was nice to be out in the sunshine. The fresh ocean air cleansed all the bad auras off of her. She walked along the beach and looked out into the sea. Rosie would love it here.
Matsuda had escorted her. She gently asked how long he had been working with Kiyohira. Although he wasn’t the most sociable person, Matsuda opened up slightly and told her how he had been with Kimura Group since he was young and witnessed Kiyohira’s ascension.
“Why is Mr. Kimura such a grump,” Nora asked. She thought back to the photograph of him as a baby and the stark contrast.
“Young lady, you will watch your mouth,” Matsuda scolded.
Nora giggled, “Okay sorry!”
Matsuda grumbled and continued, “Master Kiyohira’s family has had a troubled history. Master’s father was very strict so to speak. He also lost his mother when he was a boy. I can’t say too much about it,” he said.
Nora felt her heart sink at the revelation that Mr. Kimura had lost one of his parents. The conversation triggered a faint memory. She remembered that a few years ago there was some sort of reorganization of Kimura Group that she heard about in the news. The former president, Takeshi Kimura, had been succeeded by his son.
Her curiosity about Mr. Kimura’s demonic side couldn’t be extinguished so she asked Matsuda once more about it.
Surprisingly, this time he didn’t pivot away from the subject and answered her.
“When the boss was in his early twenties, he traveled the world and got into many fights in underground fight matches. He did it as a way to rebel against and also get away from his late father. One time, I accompanied him to a match that he had in Kazakhstan. He fought against a ruthless brute of a man. The man ended up killing the Master,” Matsuda told her.
Nora’s eyes widened in shock.
He continued, “I remember seeing the Master lying on the floor. I went over to him to check and surely, he was dead. Something happened though, something unexplainable. His body had transformed from that of a human into a demonic creature like you have seen before. He got up and wiped the blood off of his face and killed his opponent. There was a fury and red glow in his eyes that I had never seen before. He was never the same afterward. Later on, I asked him what happened. He told me that he went to hell, but his hatred against his father was so great that he fought his way back to life.”
Nora was stunned and in disbelief but at the same time she knew it was the truth. She couldn’t imagine the amount of hatred one had to have in order to cheat death. Her chest hurt faintly for him. She couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, despite his behavior towards Rosie and her.
Nora asked Matsuda if she could speak with Mr. Kimura but he refused, saying that he did not want to be disturbed. She made her puppy-eyes and convinced him.
Nora entered the gym. A shirtless Kiyohira was throwing hits and kicks at a punching bag. He finally regained strength to move about the house. He wore black gym shorts and had bandages wrapped around his hands and feet. His hair was messy covering his face. Nora had only seen him with his hair perfectly styled until now. She couldn’t help but notice his rippling muscles moving every time he punched the bag.
“What do you want,” he asked without even looking up at her.
“Hello Mr. Kimura, I just wanted to know if you had any books I could read,” she twiddled her thumbs nervously.
She couldn’t resist seeing Kiyohira in a new light with the information that Matsuda had just shared with her. He finally looked at her with an annoyed expression, wiping sweat off his brow, “You have television in your room, that should be enough.”
“I don’t like watching TV. I’d rather much read, and since you took my phone away I can’t really do that.”
He grumbled.
“Please, I swear this will be the last thing I ask of you. Promise,” she smiled weakly.
Kiyohira groaned and grabbed a towel to put around his neck. He went over to put his uwabaki, or slippers, and robe on and proceeded to walk out of the room.
“What are you doing? Follow me,” he ordered her.
She quickly leapt over toward him and pursued him. They walked downstairs into the hallway opposite of where Nora’s old quarters were. At the end, there was a spiral staircase that went down into a library. The walls were covered in shelves of so many books. Her eyes widened in awe. She slowly spun around taking it all in.
“Is this enough for you,” Kiyohira rudely interrupted.
With her mouth agape, she looked at him and nodded slowly.
“Are all of these yours,” she asked him. He blinked at her. She rolled her eyes with her eyes closed but nonetheless appreciated the silent admission. Tracing the book spines, she walked along the shelves.
“It’s nice to know that we can have a book club then,” she giggled. She looked at Kiyohira but he was unamused. “I’m joking,” she said.
He let out a faint chuckle while he had his arms crossed over his defined chest.
She climbed up a ladder on the shelf to see the books that were higher up. A collection of works by Pablo Neruda, one of her favorite writers of all time, caught her eye but it was a bit far from her reach. She thought if she just stretched out her arm enough she’d be able to get it but she miscalculated and fell off the ladder. Closing her eyes, she yelped, expecting the landing to hurt but nothing happened. Her body was suspended horizontally and she realized that Kiyohira caught her. They looked each other in the eyes for what felt like an eternity. Nora blushed. He put her down, clearing his throat.
“What were you thinking? You could’ve hurt yourself,” he scolded.
She was too flustered to say anything.
“I have to go now, I can’t be babysitting, don’t do anything stupid,” he said, leaving the room.
Nora placed her hand on her heart and felt it beat.
THE END