Feature Writer: april_gemini
Feature Title: A DEMON’S LAPSE 4 TO 6
Published: 10.05.2026
Story Codes: Demonic, Transgender
Synopsis: Nora and Kiyohira clash; he punishes her audacity.
A Demon’s Lapse
CHAPTER FOUR
Nora was able to get some sleep. After showering and getting ready for the day she noticed a change of clothes left on the bureau. It was a long-sleeved beige coverall, one typically used by gardeners or anyone who worked outside, and a pair of black work boots. Matsuda knocked and said he had brought her breakfast: strawberries, oatmeal, and a glass of water. She wanted to call Rosie just to let her know that she was okay. Now was her chance to get chummy with him to hopefully get her phone back. Speaking softly Nora said, “I was wondering if I could get my phone back.” Matsuda stared at her.
“The boss doesn’t allow any unauthorized contact,” he said plainly. “Please? I mean, I’m not asking for much,” pleaded Nora with her hands together. She made sad eyes and pursed her lips. Again, he just stared at her but then he sighed, “I’ll see what I can do.” Nora smiled widely and said, “Thank you, Mr. Matsuda!” He gave her a frown and exited the room.
When she heard the door open again, it was Kiyohira who stood in the doorway. Her heart dropped and eyes widened. “Listen little girl, you don’t make any special requests to my men! You are not a guest here,” he lectured. Nora stepped back a little as he began to inch closer to her. “Please sir, I-I was just wondering if I could have my phone back, I only want to let my sister know that I’m okay after that you can take it back,” she said as her back bumped against the wall. Kiyohira exhaled in frustration, “No. Need I remind you that you are here on a probationary basis. You don’t speak at all unless I say so, understand?” He was now face-to-face with Nora. She felt so small in his presence. This was the first time she saw him standing. He must’ve been five eleven or so.
She gulped and tried her best not to show fear, “I just want to tell her that I’m fine.” Their eyes were locked in a cold war. Suddenly, Kiyohira grabbed Nora by the collar and pulled her toward him. She winced as he examined her face closely. It took so much strength for Nora to hold in her tears. For a moment, it seemed as if he wanted to say something but instead let her go and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Nora, trembling, fell onto the bed.
Who did that girl think she was, Kiyohira thought. Hmph! He exhaled sharply as he thought about her audacious conduct. She was in his house, not some resort! No one had ever done that to him before. She was getting under his skin and he didn’t know why. He should’ve just gotten rid of her but he couldn’t go back on his word. She certainly wasn’t a looker but she wasn’t ugly either. She wasn’t his type like the supermodels he goes for. He shook his head. Damn brat!
Entering his office, he pressed the buzzer on his desk. “Yes, sir,” answered Matsuda. “Tell the girl to clear the brush around the island and to chop firewood by the shed, I want it perfect,” he ordered. “Sir, that’s quite a lot of work for a young woman. You’d need an entire crew,” he said. “This is the second time that you’ve questioned me Matsuda, don’t ever do it again,” Kiyohira gritted his teeth. “Yes sir, I apologize,” he backed down. Kiyohira smirked, we’ll see if she still has the nerve to make demands.
Nora calmed down. What a cruel man! She did her best in life not to harbor negative sentiments towards anyone but he sure was a piece of work. Matsuda entered the room. “The boss wants you to maintain the premises, come with me,” he said. Exiting the house and walking several yards away, Nora looked around and took in the scenery. It was an island and it was beautiful. The conifer trees and ocean air made a wonderful bouquet of scents. They arrived at a large garden shed where Matsuda showed the tools for her to use and told her what needed to be done. Nora was overwhelmed with all her new responsibilities, she worked hard before but never did super intensive labor. She thought that Kiyohira obviously wanted to punish her for earlier. “I’m supposed to do all this work by myself,” Nora asked, wide-eyed. Matsuda remained silent and walked away. Nora stood there with her mouth agape. That jerk!
Now that she was alone, Nora decided to scout the island to see if there was a way to get out of here. She carefully surveyed making sure that no one was around. She came across a hanger with several private jets. That wouldn’t do, she didn’t know how to fly! She kept scanning and she found a docking area with some boats. Jackpot! How hard was it to drive a boat? It couldn’t have been that different from driving a car, except with all the water. All she needed was to find the keys and the right time to execute the break. Before returning to the shed, she noticed a seemingly abandoned ramshackle house in the woods. Seeing it made her feel a certain type of way, she couldn’t explain. She wanted to go in and explore but she didn’t want to risk being caught away from her duties so she didn’t.
Matsuda reported back to Kiyohira, informing him that the girl was put to work. He wanted to see her expression right now. That ought to knock her down a peg. Matsuda felt a little guilty but he didn’t dare to share that.
“I’m going to the capital for a few days, I want you to keep an eye on the girl. Make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid,” Kiyohira said as he gathered some things in his office. Matsuda bowed, “Yes sir, have a safe journey.”
Matsuda came to fetch Nora at nightfall. She managed to clear much of the surrounding area and put the green refuse in garbage bags. She also chopped several logs for firewood. Matsuda was impressed, he thought the girl would give up but she actually did it. Nora was covered in dust and filth. She was exhausted and just wanted to shower and go to bed. “What do you think,” she asked. “You sure talk informally, you should know your place unless you want the master to be angry,” Matsuda scolded her. “Come on, cut me some slack, Mr. Matsuda,” she said. She sensed that under his exterior there was a softy. He just grumbled.
She knew she had to get on his good side in order to find those keys. The sooner the better.
“Master, she actually did it and very well, I might add,” Matsuda told Kiyohira over the phone. Kiyohira looked out the window of his office overlooking the Tokyo skyline. He was a little upset that she managed to actually pull through, making him feel like a fool. He also wanted to respect her tenacity. He didn’t answer Matsuda, just thanked him for the update.
CHAPTER FIVE
For the next few days, Nora spent her time clearing much of the brush on the island. She was glad that Kiyohira was away so she didn’t have to deal with him. This was the perfect moment to plan an escape. However, on one occasion, Nora sneaked back to the abandoned house to quell her curiosity. Walking closer to it, she saw how it was actually a nice house. It looked like it had once been a cozy and inviting place. She wondered what happened to make that change. In another timeline, she would have liked to live there. It just needed some serious repairs.
The furniture had been covered with sheets. Most of the destruction was caused simply by neglect. She explored the intact parts of the house. Ivy was growing along the walls and mold had taken over along the windows. There was a large hole in the ceiling above the foyer and below was extensive water damage presumably because of rain. She approached a staircase with broken railing and climbed it. Entering one of the bedrooms, she came across a photo album. It was tattered but some pictures were still visible. It was of a family. There was a picture of a man and a woman holding an infant. The man had a stoic expression and looked similar to Kiyohira. The woman was beautiful and had a faint smile. Nora felt a pang of sadness in her expression. She pulled the photo out of the album and looked at the back. It read, “Kimura Family: Takeshi, Haru, and Kiyohira.”
This cute little baby is that horrible man? She wondered what happened to this family. Why did Kiyohira become who he was now? She put the photo back, feeling a little guilty for snooping around. She didn’t want to throw it out though so she decided to keep it. Maybe she could salvage it. It didn’t feel right to get rid of it.
The next day she finally finished chopping all the wood. She stood in the shed, admiring her hard work. It made her feel capable and independent even though it was at the behest of that man.
One of Matsuda’s underlings came to fetch Nora instead that night. This was the moment. Matsuda stood at the doorway. Before being ushered into her room she abruptly stopped and turned to ask him something. She whispered to Matsuda, “Mr. Matsuda, this is embarrassing to ask but I’m having my time of the month.” His eyes widened and his cheeks blushed. “I need some ‘things’ if you know what I mean,” she continued. Stunned and grumbling, he told her to wait there as he was going to fetch one of the maids to deal with her “issue”. Nora made sure he was out of sight before venturing about the house in search for the keys. She was finally alone in the foyer when she booked it up the stairs. She ran by the room where she first met Kiyohira. Where could the keys be placed?
She quickly scanned the hallways in search of an office or supply closet of some kind. Then she found it. The sleek office had a large window overlooking the ocean. The sun was just setting. Her eyes focused on the desk. Opening drawers one after the other and rummaging through them, she found nothing. Where could they be? She looked around the room and noticed cabinets across the room. When she opened them her eyes lit up. Found them! She took all the keys because she wasn’t sure which one it was. She just hoped to god it was one of them! After putting them in her pocket she darted back to the foyer, hoping Matsuda hadn’t returned.
Thankfully he hadn’t. Matsuda returned with one of the maids. “Miss, come with me please,” she kindly beckoned. Nora let out a yell and grabbed her stomach. “Ouch, it hurts so much,” she said, faking her cramps. She knelt on the floor. She told them that she couldn’t move so they had to bring her some medication. The maid tried to help her up but Nora told her that the pain was too great. She begged for them to go find it and so they did. As soon as they left she ran through the front door.
It was dark but Nora could still make out some of the landscape. She ran for her life to the docks and quickly untied the boat she saw from earlier and jumped in. It was a nice vehicle. Now wasn’t the time to admire nautical vessels! She climbed up to the cockpit and tried every single key. So far they weren’t working. “Come on,” she cried. She was down to the last one. Please work, please work! It went in and she turned the ignition. The successful try made her squeal with joy. She turned around to see flashlights approaching the boat. It was Kiyohira’s henchmen. With that, she stepped on the accelerator and left the dock.
Kiyohira sat at his desk in his gigantic office, with marble floors and walls, reviewing reports on his desktop. He was interrupted when his phone vibrated and saw it was Matsuda. “Yes,” he asked, facing the window. “Boss, I have bad news,” Matsuda answered. Kiyohira furrowed his eyebrows as he listened to him, “The girl has escaped!” “What,” Kiyohira turned shades of red. He quickly stood up. Matsuda explained how Nora faked having her monthly time and that she managed to snag keys to one of the boats. Kiyohira yelled, “You fool, how could you let this happen!” Matsuda apologized incessantly. Kiyohira angrily hung up. That girl was nothing but trouble. Now he would make her and her sister pay!
He grabbed his leather coat and stormed out of the office.
CHAPTER SIX
According to the GPS system, Nora was somewhere off the coast of Southern Japan. There was no way she’d be able to make it back to San Francisco on this boat. She had to go to the mainland and find a way home from there. It was dark so she couldn’t where she was going because the marine layer was so thick but the computer was her guide. Putting the system on autopilot, she went down below to the cabin to see if there was anything to eat since she was starving. The only things in the pantry were some ramen packets and canned fruit. Better than nothing.
After eating she sat on the bed, thinking. Now, Rosie and her were fugitives. There was no end in sight for this nightmare. Her anxiety slowly combined with fatigue from all the energy she spent earlier in the day. Drowsiness began to overtake her. Trying to stay awake became a struggle that she eventually lost.
Thump! Thump! Nora woke up to the sound. Someone was here. She quickly ran for cover under the table in the saloon. A man shouted, “Look for anything valuable!” The cabin door creaked opened. Nora put her hand over her mouth. The intruder walked past her, wearing dirty rubber boots, and then turned back. They exited the cabin but Nora waited. After a while, everything was quiet. Slowly creeping up from under the table, someone grabbed her by her collar. He was a greasy-looking pasty middle-aged man. “Crikey, look what we have here,” he said gleefully as he licked his lips. Nora screamed and struggled to escape his grasp. He dragged her out onto the deck. “Look what I found, cap’n,” he shouted. Beside the boat, was a medium-sized fishing ship that was old and rusted.
The captain approached Nora. He, too, looked dirty and raggedy. The stories about pirates were true. The man grabbed Nora’s face, “We have a Sheila for tonight boys, of course she’s mine first!” Absolutely repulsed by the man, she spat on him and was met with a slap in the face. She felt her cheek stinging, red, as she was dragged onto the boat. “No, let me go!!! Somebody help,” she screamed but the men gagged her with a dirty rag. She should’ve just stayed on the gangster island.
The captain ordered his men to tie the other yacht to theirs to salvage it for parts. After tying Nora up, she was thrown into a storage room below deck where she fell on the wet and grimy floor. A light bulb hanged in the middle of the ceiling, revealing a room full of rubbish. Abject horror flowed through her body and apart from that she felt so foolish. She shouldn’t have tried to escape. Now she was going to be tortured and most likely murdered when the pirates would find out that she’s trans. No! I can’t go out this way! I’ve already come this far! She looked around to see if she could find anything to cut her loose. In the corner of the room, she found a broken mirror with some pieces scattered across the floor. Wriggling over towards it, she managed to grab a shard.
Nora started cutting her hands free and felt a sharp pain on her palm. Slice! She let a scream and winced in pain as blood began to run from her hand. Desperately trying to hold back tears, she managed to keep cutting the rope. She was almost finished when the captain entered the room. Quickly, she lay on her back so he wouldn’t see, hoping the blood wouldn’t form a puddle underneath her. He began to unbutton his shirt. “I’m going to take my time with you, I haven’t seen such an exotic lass in a while,” he said, dropping his shirt to the floor and rubbing his hands together. Nora wanted to throw up. She tried to protest but it was no use. He kicked off his boots and unzipped his pants. Thankfully, Nora finally got her hands free. The man got on top of her and as he leaned in to kiss her, she swung at his face with the glass shard, cutting his cheek. Slice! “You bitch,” he yelled, holding his bleeding face. She quickly untied her feet before he lunged at her and kicked him in the groin. With the man down, she ran out of the room, tossing the disgusting rag aside and holding her bleeding hand.
It was pouring out and the waves rocked the ship violently, crashing over the sides of the boat, inundating everything with seawater. Nora had to get back on the boat. The captain stumbled out of the storage room and yelled, “Get that fucking bitch!” With all the men on alert, Nora ran to the stern. Maintaining her balance was a struggle as the waves kept slamming the boat.
Approaching the back of the boat, the man who initially captured her stood there, holding a machete. All she had was the glass shard and it was no match. Swinging it at her forcefully, Nora quickly threw herself back, dodging the blade. Thud! She fell back onto the floor and anxiously scooted back from the assailant. Then, in the blink of an eye, the man vanished. A dark blur had swept him away. Then there was screaming as the man fell down and colliding onto the deck. He lay there dead. The other men were frantically searching for the culprit as was Nora. One by one, the men were being picked off the deck like they were marionette puppets. Some were dropped onto the deck and some were hurled against the sides of the boat. The second to last man was firing a shotgun randomly in the dark. Nora covered her ears and crouched along the railing of the stern.
The captain, angry that Nora still hadn’t been apprehended ran over towards her and pinned her to the ground. Suddenly a bright and red ray of light penetrated through the darkness and landed on the crewmate holding the shotgun. In an instant he was vaporized. The beam caused the boat to catch fire. The captain, consumed with rage, put his hands around Nora’s neck and crushed it. Having dropped the shard in the midst of the assault and couldn’t defend herself. She tried fighting back with her bare hands by slapping him and digging her fingers into his wound but he clutched on tighter. She began to lose oxygen and went weak.
The flames cast a bright orange light in the middle of the dark night. Then a figure slowly descended aboard. A large figure of a winged man. The captain released Nora and looked at the newcomer in fear. Nora quickly sat up, holding her neck, trying to catch her breath. She, too, gazed at the mysterious entity in horror.
The captain picked up the machete on the floor that was brandished by the deceased crewmate. “Who the fuck are you,” he shouted. It didn’t say anything. Lightning struck, illuminating everything for a second, and Nora was able to see who the demon was. Kiyohira. She fainted instantly from fright. The captain then yelled and swung his machete at him. He glared at him and shot the red beam from his eyes, disintegrating the captain.
Kiyohira approached Nora’s senseless body and picked her up. With the ship had been completely engulfed in flames, he rose up into the sky with Nora in tow before the boat finally exploded, setting the black ocean ablaze.
THE END OF CHAPTER SIX