Tainted
Chapter 1
The room was silent, save for the rhythmic clacking of keys. No one touched the keyboard, however; the keys pressed into themselves, as if invisible fingers caressed it. A young boy, only around fifteen years of age, sat stoically before the computer, his large, midnight blue eyes full of concentration.
At last, a barely audible sigh could be heard from the boy, before complete, deafening silence filled the room. There was a pause, as the boy waited, and finally a door behind him opened with a click.
"You're finished?" It was a rhetorical question, and its owner was already busy digging through a manila envelope, new bits of research just dying to be done. He handed a few pieces of paper to the boy, and ordered briskly, "These are to be done immediately. You're free afterwards."
His glasses glinted from the only source of light in the room, a dim bulb hanging from the ceiling, positioned over Nagi's head. Shadows had boldly crept up, circling the room and causing it to look as if this was the lair of Black. Which, when you thought about it, it was.
The man turned, and the glaring white suit he wore was visible. He slipped back out of the room, the door closing firmly behind him. Nagi didn't notice, for he was already busy on the next report, hacking through the city's data streams for the information needed. As his head turned slightly, his eyes were crystal clear for a moment, and you could see that though his face was undoubtedly one that girls would drool over, there was something else. Coldness in his gaze, the firm line of his mouth, something that showed darkness… for his eyes mirrored a past, his own haunting past…
~*~*~*~
"You used the wrong color," he'd pointed out one fated day. For indeed, the sky had been colored bright pink, and everyone knew that it was meant to be blue. He picked up the dark blue crayon he'd used and offered it to the other boy.
"Hey," the guy grinned. "That's the same color as those overlarge eyes you have."
Nagi paused, and tensed. He was often teased about those 'humongous' eyes he had, but he didn't understand. Other students had similar ones, but perhaps it was simply because they contrasted sharply with his pale skin tone that everyone seemed to only notice his. He withdrew his hand, and put the crayon back, turning to his own drawing and pointedly ignored the chuckling boy.
Clearly, he didn't get the message. "If they get any bigger, you'll turn into an owl-boy. Hey, I heard owls could twist their head around in a full circle. Do you wanna try?"
Nagi looked up and glared sharply at his offender. "Shut up."
"Is that all you can think of?"
By now, a small crowd had gathered around, as was Nagi's luck. They were whispering amongst themselves, and it was obvious from the looks they gave him that they expected him to come up with some witty comeback. But Nagi just wanted to continue the coloring, and for that guy to leave him alone. The grin on his face was frustrating him, and some of the things he was hearing was making him edgy.
"What a loser! He can't even think of anything."
"Coward."
"He'll probably just call the teacher."
"Hey, his eyes are really big…"
Nagi felt his cheeks start to heat up, and he flushed, completely humiliated. Why did he have to point out the color of the other boy's sky was wrong? If he'd left him alone, this wouldn't be happening…
"Ooh, he's getting all red." Clearly, the other boy was getting a kick out of this. His sadistic smile was spread all over his face, and his eyes twinkled in a twisted sort of way. "Are you embarrassed, Nagi? Because you know your eyes are so big?"
"Go away!" Nagi snapped. His emotions were quickly sliding towards anger and irritation. If the other didn't leave him alone, he was going to pay. Nagi would make it happen. He was frail even for his age, but he would somehow get the boy to stay away. He would…
"You can't even stand up for yourself? Geek! Why don't you—" There was a sudden, astonished pause, and Nagi realized through his clouded mind that the blue crayon he'd put back was floating in the air, poking the other boy again and again.
"Leave me alone!" he shouted, and the crayon picked up its pace. It was suddenly coloring all up and down the other boy's arm, who shrieked and leaned so far back he fell over backwards and awkwardly off his chair. The crayon relentlessly trailed him, and other crayons followed. Nagi chuckled in dry amusement, enjoying himself, as he began to color all over the boy, the humor of the situation rising…
He was deaf to the screams all around him until a teacher ran over, shaking him furiously. "Naoe! What is going on?" She paused as she looked down, her eyes widening as she saw crayons lying all over the floor around the fainted boy, his cheeks and arms covered with their color. "Goodness! What happened here?"
Nagi shrugged. "I don't know. I guess the crayons just don't like him."
The teacher looked up and blinked, before frowning. She leaned down and gently picked up the boy, heading off to clean him up. Looking back over her shoulder, she warned, "I'm going to get to the bottom of this afterwards."
Nagi laughed, and waved goodbye as she turned her attention on him. As she left the classroom, he finally became aware of his classmates, who were all staring at him in horror.
"That was mean. You're a meanie, Nagi."
Nagi blinked as he spotted the girl who'd said that. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and a strange pout was on her lips. He thought her name was Amaeru; she was with the popular sort, and usually didn't talk to him. "What was mean?" he finally asked, genuinely curious.
She scowled, her face scrunching up. "You colored him with those crayons. I dunno how you made them float and stuff, but that was definitely you. Just because he said your eyes were big, and that's the truth anyway, you picked on him."
"I agree with Amaeru," one of the other popular girls said. "You apologize, Nagi. Or we'll tell the teacher what you did."
"I didn't do anything!" Nagi shouted in frustration. All he'd done was… well, that was the thing. He didn't really do anything, he'd just… wanted to wipe the smirk off the guy… and he'd willed the crayons, but that didn't mean… that didn't mean he was really the one responsible, did it?
Amaeru grinned triumphantly as a flicker of doubt crossed Nagi's face. "See? We've caught you red-handed, Naoe Nagi."
She stopped talking as the door opened, and the teacher returned. "Can anyone tell me what happened?" Amaeru waved her hand eagerly, and the teacher beamed, thrilled to see someone so enthusiastic and helpful. "Amaeru, what did you see?"
"I'm not sure," Amaeru said, playing the nervous child. She twiddled her fingers and an uncertain look crossed her face. "I was just over there coloring, like you asked—" She was quick to prove she wasn't involved—"When I suddenly heard this, like, shriek. It was kind of loud and stuff, so I headed over to find out what happened." She paused there, for a dramatic effect. "And I saw… him!" Here, she pointed straight at Nagi.
The whole class turned to look at him, the teacher included. Amaeru smiled toothily. "He was laughing or something, and there were these crayons in the air, and I think they were coloring that guy. But what really caught my attention was that Nagi was watching, and he was really happy. He'd look over at another crayon and it'd join in on the fun—I mean, it was horrible."
The teacher looked skeptical. She obviously didn't think crayons could float in the air, and Nagi latched onto this fact like a lifesaver. "Nagi, what do you have to say?"
"I honestly don't know what she's talking about," he said innocently. "I thought that guy looked funny at the moment, with the crayons and all, but I didn't really do anything. And whoever heard of flying crayons? I mean, if they can fly, then why can't humans?"
The teacher almost chuckled despite herself in relief. "Yes, that's true. Amaeru, I think you were just imagining things."
"But she's telling the truth!" one of the guys butted in. "Nagi was mad at that boy cause he said he had big eyes, and then he got really mad, and the crayons started…" He demonstrated with his hands, for a lack of something to fill in. "…flying."
"No, objects can't fly," the teacher scolded. "Don't make up things that'll hurt your friends. I'm sure Nagi is your friend, right?"
Everyone nodded, but when the teacher told them to go back to coloring, and turned, he saw the distrustful looks they sent his way. Amaeru, her friend, and the boy who'd stuck up for her all glared daggers at him, and Nagi noted with displeasure that the boy was one of the bullies during recess. He swallowed, and started coloring in his picture again, though worry filled him.
Had he really been the one who'd made the crayons fly?
~*~*~*~
'How naïve I was back then,' Nagi mused, finishing up his report. He knew Crawford wouldn't be pleased that he'd taken longer than necessary… his mind had wandered off and he'd soon found himself too preoccupied with the past. That wasn't something a member of Schwartz should do. The past was to be forgotten. The only thing relevant was the future, the future…
'What is in store in the future for one of the damned like me?' Nagi thought wryly to himself.
'Ah, and little Prodigy is wondering whether or not he'll fit in the future.' Nagi gathered up his report and headed out to deliver it, ignoring the intruder's voice in his head. 'That hurts, Prodigy. Listen to me… hey, stop ignoring me! I am your conscience…'
Nagi almost chuckled at the thought of Schuldich, the Guilty One, being a conscience. 'Go away or…' He sent a vivid picture in his mind, adding gory details just to amuse Schuldich.
'Wah, you wouldn't do that,' Schuldich laughed.
Nagi knocked onto the office door, and waited patiently. As it turned out, the door opened not a second afterwards, and the printed document in his hands was taken without a second glance, the door closing in his face. He turned and left, pondering how he would spend the rest of his day.
'You could go with Farfello and burn up a church,' Schuldich suggested.
'He's locked up,' Nagi reminded him.
'You could walk around, talk to absolutely no one, and see how long it takes before you bore yourself out.'
Nagi chose to ignore that, and carefully slid up a wall that shielded his mind, hearing a squeaky 'Hey!' before Schuldich was blocked. Satisfied, he thought about all of his choices, and one stuck out. It wouldn't hurt… Crawford had basically given him the rest of the day off, after all.
And as he walked, his mind slipped back to his past, and he remembered those young, childish days of innocence, before he'd become tainted, with such clarity it was as if he was reliving them.
…before… he'd become tainted…
Amaeru means 'acting like a spoiled child' in Japanese. Don't ask why I named her that.
Chapter 1
The room was silent, save for the rhythmic clacking of keys. No one touched the keyboard, however; the keys pressed into themselves, as if invisible fingers caressed it. A young boy, only around fifteen years of age, sat stoically before the computer, his large, midnight blue eyes full of concentration.
At last, a barely audible sigh could be heard from the boy, before complete, deafening silence filled the room. There was a pause, as the boy waited, and finally a door behind him opened with a click.
"You're finished?" It was a rhetorical question, and its owner was already busy digging through a manila envelope, new bits of research just dying to be done. He handed a few pieces of paper to the boy, and ordered briskly, "These are to be done immediately. You're free afterwards."
His glasses glinted from the only source of light in the room, a dim bulb hanging from the ceiling, positioned over Nagi's head. Shadows had boldly crept up, circling the room and causing it to look as if this was the lair of Black. Which, when you thought about it, it was.
The man turned, and the glaring white suit he wore was visible. He slipped back out of the room, the door closing firmly behind him. Nagi didn't notice, for he was already busy on the next report, hacking through the city's data streams for the information needed. As his head turned slightly, his eyes were crystal clear for a moment, and you could see that though his face was undoubtedly one that girls would drool over, there was something else. Coldness in his gaze, the firm line of his mouth, something that showed darkness… for his eyes mirrored a past, his own haunting past…
~*~*~*~
"You used the wrong color," he'd pointed out one fated day. For indeed, the sky had been colored bright pink, and everyone knew that it was meant to be blue. He picked up the dark blue crayon he'd used and offered it to the other boy.
"Hey," the guy grinned. "That's the same color as those overlarge eyes you have."
Nagi paused, and tensed. He was often teased about those 'humongous' eyes he had, but he didn't understand. Other students had similar ones, but perhaps it was simply because they contrasted sharply with his pale skin tone that everyone seemed to only notice his. He withdrew his hand, and put the crayon back, turning to his own drawing and pointedly ignored the chuckling boy.
Clearly, he didn't get the message. "If they get any bigger, you'll turn into an owl-boy. Hey, I heard owls could twist their head around in a full circle. Do you wanna try?"
Nagi looked up and glared sharply at his offender. "Shut up."
"Is that all you can think of?"
By now, a small crowd had gathered around, as was Nagi's luck. They were whispering amongst themselves, and it was obvious from the looks they gave him that they expected him to come up with some witty comeback. But Nagi just wanted to continue the coloring, and for that guy to leave him alone. The grin on his face was frustrating him, and some of the things he was hearing was making him edgy.
"What a loser! He can't even think of anything."
"Coward."
"He'll probably just call the teacher."
"Hey, his eyes are really big…"
Nagi felt his cheeks start to heat up, and he flushed, completely humiliated. Why did he have to point out the color of the other boy's sky was wrong? If he'd left him alone, this wouldn't be happening…
"Ooh, he's getting all red." Clearly, the other boy was getting a kick out of this. His sadistic smile was spread all over his face, and his eyes twinkled in a twisted sort of way. "Are you embarrassed, Nagi? Because you know your eyes are so big?"
"Go away!" Nagi snapped. His emotions were quickly sliding towards anger and irritation. If the other didn't leave him alone, he was going to pay. Nagi would make it happen. He was frail even for his age, but he would somehow get the boy to stay away. He would…
"You can't even stand up for yourself? Geek! Why don't you—" There was a sudden, astonished pause, and Nagi realized through his clouded mind that the blue crayon he'd put back was floating in the air, poking the other boy again and again.
"Leave me alone!" he shouted, and the crayon picked up its pace. It was suddenly coloring all up and down the other boy's arm, who shrieked and leaned so far back he fell over backwards and awkwardly off his chair. The crayon relentlessly trailed him, and other crayons followed. Nagi chuckled in dry amusement, enjoying himself, as he began to color all over the boy, the humor of the situation rising…
He was deaf to the screams all around him until a teacher ran over, shaking him furiously. "Naoe! What is going on?" She paused as she looked down, her eyes widening as she saw crayons lying all over the floor around the fainted boy, his cheeks and arms covered with their color. "Goodness! What happened here?"
Nagi shrugged. "I don't know. I guess the crayons just don't like him."
The teacher looked up and blinked, before frowning. She leaned down and gently picked up the boy, heading off to clean him up. Looking back over her shoulder, she warned, "I'm going to get to the bottom of this afterwards."
Nagi laughed, and waved goodbye as she turned her attention on him. As she left the classroom, he finally became aware of his classmates, who were all staring at him in horror.
"That was mean. You're a meanie, Nagi."
Nagi blinked as he spotted the girl who'd said that. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and a strange pout was on her lips. He thought her name was Amaeru; she was with the popular sort, and usually didn't talk to him. "What was mean?" he finally asked, genuinely curious.
She scowled, her face scrunching up. "You colored him with those crayons. I dunno how you made them float and stuff, but that was definitely you. Just because he said your eyes were big, and that's the truth anyway, you picked on him."
"I agree with Amaeru," one of the other popular girls said. "You apologize, Nagi. Or we'll tell the teacher what you did."
"I didn't do anything!" Nagi shouted in frustration. All he'd done was… well, that was the thing. He didn't really do anything, he'd just… wanted to wipe the smirk off the guy… and he'd willed the crayons, but that didn't mean… that didn't mean he was really the one responsible, did it?
Amaeru grinned triumphantly as a flicker of doubt crossed Nagi's face. "See? We've caught you red-handed, Naoe Nagi."
She stopped talking as the door opened, and the teacher returned. "Can anyone tell me what happened?" Amaeru waved her hand eagerly, and the teacher beamed, thrilled to see someone so enthusiastic and helpful. "Amaeru, what did you see?"
"I'm not sure," Amaeru said, playing the nervous child. She twiddled her fingers and an uncertain look crossed her face. "I was just over there coloring, like you asked—" She was quick to prove she wasn't involved—"When I suddenly heard this, like, shriek. It was kind of loud and stuff, so I headed over to find out what happened." She paused there, for a dramatic effect. "And I saw… him!" Here, she pointed straight at Nagi.
The whole class turned to look at him, the teacher included. Amaeru smiled toothily. "He was laughing or something, and there were these crayons in the air, and I think they were coloring that guy. But what really caught my attention was that Nagi was watching, and he was really happy. He'd look over at another crayon and it'd join in on the fun—I mean, it was horrible."
The teacher looked skeptical. She obviously didn't think crayons could float in the air, and Nagi latched onto this fact like a lifesaver. "Nagi, what do you have to say?"
"I honestly don't know what she's talking about," he said innocently. "I thought that guy looked funny at the moment, with the crayons and all, but I didn't really do anything. And whoever heard of flying crayons? I mean, if they can fly, then why can't humans?"
The teacher almost chuckled despite herself in relief. "Yes, that's true. Amaeru, I think you were just imagining things."
"But she's telling the truth!" one of the guys butted in. "Nagi was mad at that boy cause he said he had big eyes, and then he got really mad, and the crayons started…" He demonstrated with his hands, for a lack of something to fill in. "…flying."
"No, objects can't fly," the teacher scolded. "Don't make up things that'll hurt your friends. I'm sure Nagi is your friend, right?"
Everyone nodded, but when the teacher told them to go back to coloring, and turned, he saw the distrustful looks they sent his way. Amaeru, her friend, and the boy who'd stuck up for her all glared daggers at him, and Nagi noted with displeasure that the boy was one of the bullies during recess. He swallowed, and started coloring in his picture again, though worry filled him.
Had he really been the one who'd made the crayons fly?
~*~*~*~
'How naïve I was back then,' Nagi mused, finishing up his report. He knew Crawford wouldn't be pleased that he'd taken longer than necessary… his mind had wandered off and he'd soon found himself too preoccupied with the past. That wasn't something a member of Schwartz should do. The past was to be forgotten. The only thing relevant was the future, the future…
'What is in store in the future for one of the damned like me?' Nagi thought wryly to himself.
'Ah, and little Prodigy is wondering whether or not he'll fit in the future.' Nagi gathered up his report and headed out to deliver it, ignoring the intruder's voice in his head. 'That hurts, Prodigy. Listen to me… hey, stop ignoring me! I am your conscience…'
Nagi almost chuckled at the thought of Schuldich, the Guilty One, being a conscience. 'Go away or…' He sent a vivid picture in his mind, adding gory details just to amuse Schuldich.
'Wah, you wouldn't do that,' Schuldich laughed.
Nagi knocked onto the office door, and waited patiently. As it turned out, the door opened not a second afterwards, and the printed document in his hands was taken without a second glance, the door closing in his face. He turned and left, pondering how he would spend the rest of his day.
'You could go with Farfello and burn up a church,' Schuldich suggested.
'He's locked up,' Nagi reminded him.
'You could walk around, talk to absolutely no one, and see how long it takes before you bore yourself out.'
Nagi chose to ignore that, and carefully slid up a wall that shielded his mind, hearing a squeaky 'Hey!' before Schuldich was blocked. Satisfied, he thought about all of his choices, and one stuck out. It wouldn't hurt… Crawford had basically given him the rest of the day off, after all.
And as he walked, his mind slipped back to his past, and he remembered those young, childish days of innocence, before he'd become tainted, with such clarity it was as if he was reliving them.
…before… he'd become tainted…
Amaeru means 'acting like a spoiled child' in Japanese. Don't ask why I named her that.