Ding. Yui pulled out his phone and saw that he got a message from a new patient, who requested an appointment for 8pm Monday night, if possible. Before he replied, he reviewed the attached forms. First, he looked at the patient’s personal information, to make sure that it fit the requirements. Her name was Rose. She was twenty-five years of age and single, so there was no problem there. Then, Yui looked at the depression chart and saw that she was very much in need of his help. Lastly, he looked at the sex chart, to make sure he was prepared to give his patient the kind of treatment she preferred. Most importantly, he made sure that every patient checked off the box for allowing the use of condoms, if they wanted penile penetration. After confirming that Rose did in fact check the box, he continued to read her preferences. He saw that she preferred to be dominant and liked to put her partner in light bondage.

Yui was glad he had a day to prepare. He wasn’t super well-versed in BDSM, but he didn’t have a problem with it either. He just needed to know beforehand if he was going to be tied up. He made a mental note to pack his red shibari rope.

The night of the appointment soon arrived. They rode Yui’s red and black Harley Davidson for the first time since they arrived in the city. Al was shocked by how cold the air felt against his fingertips as they whizzed through the autumn streets. When Yui parked his motorcycle, Al realized he had his fingers interlocked so tightly around Yui’s waist that he had trouble pulling them apart. He wondered if they were frozen. Yui laughed when he tried to get out of his seat and realized that Al was weighing him down. He looked down and noticed Al’s fingers on his stomach. He gently plucked Al’s thick fingers apart.

“Sorry,” Al said. He retracted his hands and hid them timidly under the long sleeves of his black trenchcoat.

“You’re fine,” Yui said with a laugh. “I’m glad you were holding on tightly.” He shivered. “It’s cold, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, winter will be here soon, huh?” Al pondered. 

“Man, I want summer back,” Yui complained, as he rubbed his arms.

 Al felt a strange desire to make an attempt to warm him, but he stopped himself.

 “My patient is in this building,” Yui said, as they faced a wide, many-storied brick apartment complex. Al shuddered as he looked at it, and something told him it wasn’t from the cold. They walked up the concrete steps through the front door. There was an eerie silence in the lobby. They walked past the one person at the front desk and went into a dingy little elevator. There was chipped gold trim around the interior, which gave the impression that this place was once fancy, before it became dilapidated with age and neglect. 

Yui pressed the button to go to the seventh floor. The doors opened, and the men walked down a narrow hallway with chipped and faded wallpaper. Al could feel the painful emotions of the inhabitants swarming around him like flies. It made him feel like the walls were closing in on him.

Yui could see that Al was uncomfortable. “A lot of people here need my help, huh?” Yui surmised, as he looked up and to the side at the face of his bodyguard.

“Yeah,” Al said in a strained voice, as though the pain was weighing down his vocal chords. 

“Well, we’ll just have to help them, won’t we?” Yui smiled innocently.

“You are not having sex with everyone in this apartment,” Al protested.

“You sound like a dad,” Yui said while laughing. “Or at least, what I imagine a dad would sound like.”

Al tried laughing with him, but he suddenly felt a pang in his head. The emotional pressure in the apartment building was giving him a headache. He knew it would get worse the closer he got, but he promised he would be strong and be there for Yui. 

Yui patted him on the back. “You’ll be okay, buddy,” he said, comfortingly.

Al smiled at the term of endearment. “Thanks, kid,” he replied. Unknown to Yui, that little tap gave him the motivation he needed. 

Yui smiled as well at the nickname. Normally, he would have complained if someone called him a kid, but coming from Al, it sounded sweet.

After a short walk down the hall, which felt to Al like an eternity, they arrived at the door to the client’s apartment. As expected, the negative emotions in the air got much stronger. Al took a step back, as he felt severe anguish radiate from the door, like he did when they first arrived at Anabelle’s house. He wished Yui’s hand was still on his back, but he held himself together. Yui knocked on the door.

The inhabitant didn’t answer immediately. She looked through the little peep-hole in the door to survey her visitors. Al was standing back a bit, so she only saw Yui from her vantage point. Since she trusted Yui, she didn’t think to look around further to check if he had brought company, so she unlocked the door without further hesitation.

 The door opened and revealed a young woman with long, straight, bubble-gum pink hair and warm brown eyes. She wore a modest gray hoodie and black sweatpants over her curvy physique. “You must be Yui,” she said, sweetly, as she opened the door wider to admit his entrance. 

“That’s me,” he said, as he walked into the cute little apartment. “And you must be Rose?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t get dressed up,” she added, “I wasn’t sure whether to dress for a doctor’s appointment or a date, and… well, I haven’t really had the motivation to…” Suddenly, she jumped in fear and hid behind Yui, who was noticeably shorter than her. 

“What’s wrong?” Yui asked, confused. He looked at the girl behind his shoulder and then followed where her eyes were widely looking in terror. All he could see was Al.

Al looked positively horrified. His eyes were wide and his expression was full of panic. He had backed up a bit, so that his one foot was halfway out the doorway. Yui saw Al shaking as he felt Rose’s hand tremble on his shoulder. “What’s up with you two?”

“Who is that and what is he doing here?” The frightened Rose whispered into Yui’s ear.

“That’s just Al,” Yui said, calmly. He rested a hand on her thin, trembling fingers on his shoulder. “He’s my friend and my bodyguard.”

“Oh.”

“What’s up?” Yui asked. His confusion hadn’t abated in the slightest. “You two know each other?”

“No, that’s not it,” she said, while trying to keep her breathing in check. “He just reminds me of someone, that’s all.” Her legs were barely holding her up. 

Yui turned to look Rose in the eyes. “He’s just here to make sure I get to and from my appointments safely,” he explained. “A chaperone, if you will.”

“He doesn’t have to stay in my apartment, does he?” 

“Not at all,” Yui said softly. He turned to ask his friend if he could wait in the hall, but before he could say anything, the door closed, and Al was on the other side. Yui wondered if he was okay… but he had to focus on his patient now. He felt her calm down as she let go of his shoulder. “He won’t bother us,” he added. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, timidly. “Um… I don’t know how you usually do this,” as she spoke, she fiddled nervously with her fingers, “but I’d prefer not to talk about myself, if that’s okay? I’d rather keep things private.”

Yui nodded and smiled. “I understand,” he said. She led him to the bedroom, and the two commenced their business. Yui let the woman take control. She tied him up and played with him.

Meanwhile, Al was sitting on the floor of the hallway, with his back against the wall. Even though the girl had calmed down, and her mood was improving through her activities with Yui, Al still felt awful. Not only did he feel the fear that Rose felt of himself, but there was something else too. A lot of other things, in fact. A mixture of hatred, disgust, despair, sadness, and anger… and maybe betrayal? Al was used to feeling a lot of varying emotions that he couldn’t pinpoint, but they were usually coming from multiple sources. This one young woman had so many painful emotions swirling around inside her. They twisted and turned in the pit of Al’s stomach, threatening to rip him apart. He hugged his knees tightly to his chest and forced himself not to cry. The feelings were getting worse by the second. He slipped his hands into his sleeves and dug his nails into his flesh. He felt like he wanted to rip his skin off. He felt filthy and violated. He bit his lip to stop it from quivering.

“Damn,” he cursed to himself, as he got up. He knew these disgusting feelings wouldn’t go away, even after the girl was “cured”. He knew that there was only one way for him to get rid of this curse. So he stomped down the hallway. He felt like a bomb that might go off at the first person he sees. He felt like he wanted to kill someone. Someone who did something unforgivable to him. But he didn’t know who. He knew that if he didn’t do something quickly, he could lash out and hurt someone. He nervously averted the gaze of a resident as they passed him in the hall. He felt like he was boiling over, and one little word could make him snap. He found a men’s restroom in the lobby and hid himself in a stall. He threw his coat over the convenient little hook on the door, then he took out the pocket knife that he always carried with him, pulled up the sleeve on his right arm, and eagerly cut into his sensitive flesh.

“Agh!” He inadvertently cried out in pain. He hoped that no one was in one of the stalls to hear him. He looked down and saw the blood gushing out. “Shit,” he hissed, “I might’ve gone a bit overboard.” He grabbed the flimsy toilet paper and tried to wrap it up, but it just soaked right through. I should’ve thought this through, he thought bitterly to himself. He nervously left the stall, after peeking out to make sure that no one was at the urinals or the sinks, and ran to the paper towel dispenser. He grabbed a liberal amount and wrapped it around his wrist about a dozen times. He held his arm tightly to apply pressure to the wound. Shit, shit, shit, he repeated. After various redressing, the bleeding seemed to calm down a bit. He felt a little dizzy, both from the emotional overload and the blood loss, so he closed his eyes as he rested his back against the sink. When he opened them again, He noticed he left a trail of blood on the tile flooring from the stall to the sink. That looks bad, he thought to himself. He grabbed some more paper towels and cleaned it up. He retrieved his coat and put it back on. Once he made sure he was presentable and that the surrounding area was blood-free, he left the bathroom and took a deep, refreshing breath. You’re okay, see? He told himself, as the breath reminded him that he was still alive.