Linkinparkfan9799 Stories

T

The Day of Rain

Kids screaming…Blood flowing…Innocents crying…Dirt infecting…Adults beating…No love…No love…No love…NO love…NO LOVE…

HATE.

HATE.

HATE.

"Takano-san. It's time for your walk." Ugh…Too much light. It's hard to see the face with all of this damn light blinding me…A firm grip around the strait-jacket strap and a tight yank up off of my feet. "Hurry up and follow the guards before I change my mind."

Air…Sun…They deprive me of it. J-Just because I was trying to prove my grandfather's work, no less! Occasionally they have enough sensibility to let me wander around for a bit to stretch my muscles and get some Vitamin D. Ah well…I guess every genius goes through some form of punishment for breaking another wall between the present and progression. Yet, isn't this punishment…I don't know…sort of cruel? Here in the asylum, they feed me mush for breakfast and dinner, give me countless therapy sessions, and keep me locked up in a padded cell with nothing but a strait-jacket and my own skin.

Well, my hair is still there, and my eyes to. They actually pulled out my nails though, due to the suspicion that I'd magically break out of my oh-so-lovely crazy's jacket and claw my throat out. Skin's paler than it used to be, due to the previously mentioned lack of Vitamin D…Other than that, same old me I was a year ago when I was put here.

The closer I stumble towards the door, the louder the sound of rain becomes. Oh great, they're planning to give me pneumonia now. How wonderful. The guards open the door and shove me out to splash into the mud. "You have an hour." Slam goes the door and out I am left in the rain.

Each drop is a bit of ice against my person. Getting up is literal Hell due to the only usable limbs being my legs and my head is not a good support for the rest of my body. So, covered in ice-mud and drenched in salt-water, I trudge forward to find somewhere to sit and let the pneumonia seep in. Eh, might as well make those idiot doctors at the asylum worth something, right?

Hinamizawa looks no different than it did from the last walk I had two months ago. The buildings are still wooden and occupied with very few people. The mud is still on the streets where it's usually plain dirt. Trees still surround the area. I see the school is a bit close to me. Students are staring at the rain through the window. I recognize Keiichi Maebara, Mion and Shion Sonozaki, and Rena Ryugu. They seem happy…Even after a year of screwing my rights as a human.

Sure, I thought I was God back then, but a couple of months of malnutrition really changes your perspective on things. I'm human; I am 100% sure about that. If I was some damned god, I wouldn't be bone-thin right now with a stomach that roars like a lion. Well, reality is harsh upon the hallucinogenic, huh?

I would like to keep my will, but…It's sort of hard. Shock therapy, malnutrition, lack of sun or rain or air…It's just too much, you know? Too similar to the orphanage I swear it. "Watch out." Oh, there's a rock in the road. Guess I shouldn't…Wait, who talked? On a bench to my right is a girl with a cap worn low and pink hair…Interesting. Guess I should start up a conversation so I don't die out of boredom before the pneumonia hits.

I walk over and bow my head. "Thanks…Guess I should've caught that myself."

"Yes, you really should have." Huh, she's glaring…Though it's down at the ground, so I guess I'm free to keep chatting.

Will chuckling lighten the tense atmosphere? Maybe. I chuckle for a bit of an experiment. "I see…" I'll sit down slowly, as for any other speed would send me toppling…Yeesh, how old is this bench? The groan it makes is awful loud even though I'm somewhere around ninety pounds. "So, what're you doing out in the rain?"

She blinks a little before turning her scowl at me. Guess she's not in such a happy mood. "I'm sitting. What does it look like?"

"…Well, looks like you're glaring at the mud in all honesty…"

Her eyes trail up and down my jacket. No surprise; I always get looks during my walks. She bites her lip; a sign that she doesn't know what to say yet. "…Are you a crazy person?" Oh, like I haven't heard that before.

"According to the government, yes." Hey, it's the truth. "Tried to kill every living soul in this town."

"Really?!" Why does she sound more happy than sad at that? "Wow, you must've had some power, lady!"

Should I be proud or startled? Not sure…Well, I'm already locked up in the nut-house; who cares what I say anymore? "Meh, I had connections." It's hard to shrug with this thing on, but I manage. "So, do you have any parents? 'Cause I doubt anyone would just leave their kid on a bench during this downpour."

A frown forms. Guess I shouldn't have mentioned that. "I have parents…somewhere." Oh, an orphan. Something we have in common. "And you're right, they wouldn't. They would, however, leave me in the middle of some forest." Better than being orphaned in a morgue, right? "That's where I started to go through Hell. Not that you would know what that's like?"

I laugh. It's cold and filled to the brim with bitterness, but I don't care. I've been through Hell and Heaven both; nobody can tell me I haven't. "Sorry girlie, but I was beaten in an orphanage and abused in an asylum. I've been back-stabbed and stripped of every little thing I took pride of having. What have you been though? Abandonment and bullying, is that it?" She seems shocked, but I refuse to stop there. "You're how old? Eleven?...Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm thirty-six now, and you have yet to go through Hell!"

Silence washes over in the form of a bucket-rain-drop. (That's what I like to call sudden bursts of rain). The girl snickers and takes off her cap. There are two white horns sticking out the sides of her skull; no wonder why she wore it so low. "Have yet to go through Hell, huh?" I don't particularly like the dark giggle that follows. "That's what all humans say…But I guess I'll give your story a listen; why's your life Hell?"

Probably just as bored as I am. So, I tell her about my parent's death in the bus, the orphanage, the attempted escape, my grandfather, his humiliation, my wish, my work and slavery to get to the top, my plans, and finally my failure and its consequences. The girl listens with content and earnest, which I appreciate. When I wrap it up with my abuse in the asylum, she nods slowly and proceeds to tell me her short little tale.

Her name is Kaede. Both mother and father abandoned her, so an orphanage took her in. Kaede was treated like a freak, called an ox, and told to sleep outside on numerous occasions. One time she met a dog and gave her half of her meals, but it wasn't enough. After the bullies spilled milk on her bag, she met a girl her age who promised to keep the secret of the dog and give some of her food too. Unfortunately, she spilled the secret and the dog was beaten to death right in front of her eyes. She killed both the bullies and the girl that day, in that very room.

On the run, she kept killing and taking houses as shelter. Kaede met a boy named Kota who wanted to be friends, but only met up with her four times. The first time was their meeting, when he wanted to draw the scenery. The second was on a rainy day where he gave her the cap she's holding. The third was their best; they went on a zoo and played in the water. On their last day, the fourth, she killed his sister and his father because he had lied to her about his cousin's gender after he told her he was going to a festival with them. Right in front of him, no less!

So here she is, on the run and hating humans for their treachery, wickedness, and cruelty. "…But I like you." Again, proud or startled? "You and I are alike…Both discarded and out-casted…" Something rips my strait-jacket apart and blood rushes to my arms. "So. Either you run, or you go back to the asylum." Kaede stands and smiles at me. "Trust me on this: freedom is everything." With that, she walks off. "Bye~ I won't forget you, Takano-san."

I sit there for the rest of the hour. My body is cold, but no pneumonia so far as I know. My feet are caked in mud when I go back to the asylum. Meh, with enough good behavior and improvement, I'll be out by next year. They ask about the jacket, and I fib and say that I fell and it ripped. Before they strap me up, I go right into my cell and sit in the corner like I usually do. They don't come in with the jacket any time soon, so I guess that release will come sooner than I hope.

An hour after my return. An hour after my talk with the girl. I feel so good just sitting here to my own thoughts…I can finally enjoy the sense of privacy. A knock…Ugh, ruin the Heaven I am in right now. "What?"

Two men in suits walk in. Oh how classy; is it time for Asylum Speed Dating already? "Takano, Miyo?" That tall one sounds awfully high-pitched to be male.

"Yes?"

"Have you seen this girl?" Mr. Glasses gives me a photo of Kaede standing amongst various children. This must've been the orphanage she talked about. "Well?"

"The girl…She ratted out on my secret. They used that to my disadvantage."

"-you have yet to go through Hell!"

"…Haven't seen her." They take the photo back. "Check the school; where else would kids go?"

With that, they leave me to my privacy. The room seems lighter somehow…"Thank you, Takano-san…" Ugh, I swear I'm going crazy all over again.