Fuuka Mental Institution
Chapter 1
She was only fifteen when she was put into an asylum. She had been a good girl all of her life, but now, she didn't understand why she had to be locked away. Maybe it was because she liked to cut herself because the color of her bubbling blood was so interesting; perhaps she wasn't supposed to rock back and forth on the couch; she didn't know that yelling in church was bad; she thought that throwing plates on the floor was a good idea, because she loved to play with the shards of glass; she didn't think it was wrong to scream and kick in the groceries stores; she liked knocking over the shelves in jewelry stores; but, then, why was she sent here? She had been to a mental doctor many times, and even they couldn't seem to cure her. When her mother woke up with a a hairdo that was performed by her daughter, she took the girl to the asylum. All the child wanted to do was pet the hair on the couch, but the blue hair was connected to her mom, so she cut the hair, not waking her mother.
Her eyes were a deep emerald green, her cheekbones were high and pink, and her deep sea of blue hair waved in the wind while the doctors in the clean white coats helped her down from the truck that had carried her to Fuuka Mental Institution. She looked over to the black car that was following the ambulance, and her mother stepped out, wearing a hat that hid the disaster on her head. The teenager reached for her mom, but when the men held her back, she opened her mouth and screamed in agony. Quickly, the older woman ran to her daughter's side, and the doctors stepped away, allowing the woman access to her child. The poor girl latched around her mother and squeezed her tightly until the woman, who was considerably strong for herself, picked the child up and carried her into the asylum.
She saw a little piece of her mother's hair hanging out of the hat, and she reached up and caressed it with her fingers. Humming softly, she sat on her mother's lap in the waiting room while people prepared for her visit.
"Kuga?"
Her mother stood up and followed the female nurse into a hallway that led to a room at the end of the hall. It was carpeted, and some toys made by Fischer Price were on the floor; the nurse had the woman sit on the couch. She still held the child in her arms, but when the nurse handed the woman a clipboard, the child had to leave her mother's lap. She went directly to the toys, and found a small plush dog and cuddled it to her chest. She turned to look at her mother, who had tears dripping down her cheeks.
"Mama?"
No response.
"Mama?" The girl called again.
This time the mother went to kneel by the child. She placed her hands on the girl's shoulders and kissed her forehead.
"You be a good girl, okay?"
The woman wiped a tear from her cheek and reached into her pocket, pulling out a rabbit's foot made of her hair that her daughter had cut off. She looked to the emerald eyed girl and handed her the rabbit foot. The girl took it, and rubbed it on her cheek.
"I love you, and I'll come visit, I promise."
The woman stood up and took one last look at her daughter before leaving the room. The nurse smiled before she shut the door, and when it was sealed, she locked it, and went to sit back on the couch.
"Natsuki?"
The blue haired girl looked up to the nurse and cocked her head to the right. She clutched the little dog and the rabbit foot in her hand, and she looked to the door before pouting at it.
"Natsuki, do you understand me?" The nurse asked, earning a nod.
"Mama?"
Natsuki was at the door pulling down on the door handle. It wouldn't move. The girl frantically banged on the door, screaming for her mama.
"Natsuki, please calm down, she'll come back." the nurse said, pressing a button on her communicator.
"Mama! Mama!"
In a few minutes, Natsuki had fallen to her knees and was now banging her head on the door while crying deeply. The nurse had tried to stop her, but Natsuki was too strong. Finally, the nurse was accompanied by three other doctors. They grabbed the blue haired girl's arms and pulled her away from the door, making the rabbit foot slip out of her hand.
"No! No! Mama! Mama!" Natsuki screeched like she was stabbed. She struggled against the men while reaching for the rabbit foot, but they hadn't noticed, so they continued to pull Natsuki out of a different entrance to the room and into another hallway. The nurse stood in the room, sighing. She had noticed the little foot on the floor, and she picked it up, tucking it into a pocket of her apron.
Natsuki was still screaming when she was put into a room and locked in. A few female nurses were in the room, and they held some light brown clothing, and a pair of plain tennis shoes. One held Natsuki down, while the other two pulled the child's clothing off, replacing it with the clothing. She was let go when the clothes were on, and one of the nurses took Natsuki's arm, and led her to an elevator that went up to the third floor of the asylum. Gently, Natsuki was handed off to another nurse, who brought her to a small office room. A woman on the other side of the counter looked up at them with a smile, and Natsuki was released.
The secretary looked at Natsuki, and took a quick snapshot of her from a hidden camera that was wired to the computer. Apparently a copy of the girl's information was emailed to the secretary, and she pulled the picture out of the printer and stapled it to the documents that were connected to a clipboard.
"This way, Miss Kuga, I'll show you to your room."
The secretary stood and walked out of the office, motioning for Natsuki to follow. On the way to the patient's quarters, Natsuki noticed a large room with a book stand, a game shelf, a reception area, and a TV.
"That's the room you will hang out in during the day unless we take you outside with the other patients." The secretary said, stopping at a door.
She pulled out a marker before hanging the clipboard on a hook above a whiteboard. Then, she used the marker to write out Natsuki's name, labeling that this room was her new room. The woman took a key out of her pocket and slid it into the lock, opening the room. She held the door open for Natsuki, and the girl looked into the room to see a small area, that was carpeted with fluffy black fabric; a bed was in the corner, and a bathroom that was hid by a curtain as a door contained a toilet, and a sink. Natsuki had a window, but it was barred, so the girl wouldn't be able to escape if she tried.
"This is yours. You have to stay in here at night, and we made sure the bed is comfortable enough. Your mother told us that you don't like hard things, so we had a memory foamed bed imported for you. The blankets are woolen, so you can stay warm, but the sheets are made of silk. Over in that bin, you can put your toys. I see you found a puppy animal, so you could put him in there if you wanted him to give you some alone time. Unfortunately," the secretary continued, "I have to lock you in, but it's only for your safety. If you need anything, just call, alright?"
"Natsuki is hungry."
The secretary smiled, "You'll get food in the morning, okay? Tomorrow is going to be a big day, so get some rest."
The woman cautiously stepped out of the room, closing the giant metal door, securing it so nothing could get in or out.
Natsuki sat in the dark, but when she hit the bed, she felt right down on it, and drifted into a deep sleep.
Natsuki was awakened by a new doctor, and this woman had bright orange hair, and wore a blue shirt with a black skirt.
"Good morning!" The girl said cheerfully. "Time to get up! Miss Yohko told me that you were hungry last night, so let's get some food in your belly."
Natsuki groaned and rolled over, placing her bare feet onto the fluffy carpet. She yawned before she stood up, stretching her body.
"Come on, let's go."
Natsuki followed the girl into the hallway, and they crossed diagonally through the entertainment room, and into another that was the cafeteria.
"I'm Mai, by the way. I'm not an official doctor yet, I'm a doctor in training, so you could call me a nurse."
Natsuki smelled sausage and pancakes from the service window at the end of the room, all other things, the tables, the chairs, the other patients, were unnoticed. Mai brought Natsuki to the window, and handed her a plate and a fork. Then, she noticed that Natsuki just stood there, looking at the food.
"Go on, take some food and eat." Mai said, smiling warmly.
Natsuki grabbed at the food, taking one of everything. Mai had to stop her, but Natsuki wasn't ready to stop, so she pushed at Mai.
"Natsuki, you can get more, just finish what you have."
"No! Mama needs food, I have to get food for mama."
Mai sighed, and pulled a metal cage over the window issuing the cooks a break. This made Natsuki furious, and she was about to lunge at Mai when she realized that her mother wasn't in the room.
"Where's my mama?"
"You mama is at home, she already has food."
"Oh, so mommy doesn't want any?"
Mai chuckled, happy she avoided a problem with the new patient on her first day. "Your mama doesn't want any, but she wants you to calm down and eat."
Natsuki moved closer to Mai, and rubbed her cheek on the orange haired girl's shoulder. "I sorry."
"It's okay, I forgive you. how about this, you come over here to where everyone else is, and you can eat with some company, okay?"
Natsuki nodded and followed Mai to the lone table in the middle of the room that held five other girls. Mai patted a seat next to a girl with braids.
"Girls, this is Natsuki, she's new, so be nice." Mai said, patting Natsuki's shoulders when she was seated.
"Hi!" the girl next to Natsuki yelled, making the teenager jump.
"Arika, don't yell." Mai scolded.
"Sorry." the girl said sheepishly, turning back to her food.
"Natsuki, talk to Arika, she's very much like you, but she's a bit more outgoing. I'll be leaving now, I'll come back in an hour to take you girls to the showers."
Mai left, leaving Natsuki with the girls. It was a few minutes before Arika turned back to Natsuki.
"I'm Arika Yumemiya, and you're Natsuki. You live in room four next to Nao and Haruka."
Natsuki looked at the girl, realizing that she was only about thirteen. Natsuki smiled back at the girl, and she began to make a new friend.
"Why are you here, kid?"
"Nao Yuuki, age seventeen, in the Fuuka Mental Institution for stealing, and inflicting self-harm."
"Arika! Shut your mouth. You really shouldn't go around telling that to people." The girl with the curly blonde hair was loud, and she hissed at Arika.
"Haruka Suzushiro, age sixteen. In the Fuuka Mental Institution for over-reactions, extreme anger issues, and self inflicted harm."
"Arika!"
Before the two girl's could fight, Natsuki had let her face droop while she rested her head in her hands.
"Natsuki, huh?" Another girl, with bright red-orange hair came to sit next to Natsuki, distracting her from the fray between Haruka and Arika.
"Midori, that's my name. It can get pretty hectic in here."
The girl placed a hand on Natsuki's shoulder.
"If you need anything, come on over and talk to me, I'll be here for you."
"Natsuki is hungry." Natsuki said in third person, picking up her fork and eating the fresh strawberries that were in her bowl of fruit.
"You'll meet the others in the meeting with the doctors." Midori said, earning a confused look from Natsuki. "Oh, we have a meeting every other day, and we talk about what has been going on and we share our thoughts with the doctors."
"Is it fun?"
"Alright everyone, breakfast is over, head to the showers and then come out to the entertainment room for the meeting."
Natsuki followed Midori, seeing as she was the only one who seemed sane. Midori was always the one that everyone liked, she was kind, she was informant, and she had some influence on a few of the doctors. Natsuki was clutching midori's arm in the shower, like she had never seen water before. Midori had to take a shower with Natsuki clinging on to her, and she was fine with the fact that Natsuki was there, but she would've liked her space. Luckily for Natsuki, she didn't have to let go of Midori, for she was getting soap and water dropped on her from Midori's hair and body.
"Midori lllllll, age twenty-one, in for chronic medical depression." Arika's voice was heard from across the room.
"That's obvious, Arika."
"Arika Yumemiya, age thirteen, in for symptoms of autism, self inflicted harm, and minor medical depression."
"Why does she do that?" Natsuki asked, looking up at Midori.
"She does that to remind her that she isn't the only one that's different. It comforts her, and it somehow reminds her of her friends."
"Nina Wang, age fourteen, in boarding school for extreme smarts, reference, and memory." Arika rambled on. "Erstin Ho, age twenty-three, in America at the University of Harvard for extreme smarts, memory, business association, and excelled social skills."
"Girls, time to go! Time's up... Where's Natsuki?"
"She's with me, Mai-sensei."
Mai waved her way through the steam to see that Natsuki was curled around midori's leg. She smiled, and sighed before grabbing a towel for Natsuki.
"What do you think, Midori? Is she good?"
"She's got some problems, I know that."
Mai was surprised when Natsuki came to her and repeated the motion of rubbing her cheek on the elder's shoulder. Mai wrapped the towel around Natsuki and lead her into a locker room where new sets of clothing stood at the side of each locker. Names above the lockers showed ownership, and Natsuki's was the one at the very end. This time, she was to wear a blue outfit, and she was helped by Midori, who noticed that the bluenette was having trouble pulling the t-shirt over her head.
When that was over, Natsuki was able to brush her teeth and comb her hair, but she had a bit of resistance when Mai tried to clean her mouth, which still had crumbs from the cinnamon muffin that the girl had sloppily eaten. Natsuki pushed Mai away, and fell down to the tiled floor, sitting like a puppy. Mai bent down with a rag and touched Natsuki's cheek, but she screamed loud, making all of the other patients who were grooming themselves stop and look. Midori was the first to come over and help, and Arika came too, but she thought she was helping by standing there to observe the situation.
Midori went behind Natsuki and restrained her so Mai could clean her face. The task was still difficult, however, Natsuki was uncomfortable with a rag covering one of her ways of breathing, so she bit at the rag, making Mai very frustrated. After a while, Mai reached her limit, so she grabbed Natsuki's chin roughly and ignored the screams and tears from the kid. Mai swiped the rag across Natsuki's face until she was clean, then she threw the rag back into the sink and sighed, saying, "That wasn't so bad, was it, Natsuki?"
Midori helped Natsuki up and wiped the tears away from her face. Natsuki was still shivering, but when they left the bathroom to go to the entertainment center, Midori draped a blue coat around Natsuki's frightened form.
In the room, a few chairs were moved into a circle, and a couple of women stood in the corner with clipboards.
Mai smiled at the women and waved to them before making sure everyone was seated. When all was settled, Mai told the women and left, but the others in the room came to sit in the circle of patients. One was tall, and she had tawny hair. She wore a bright green business suit and bootleg jeans. The other had short spiky brown hair and wore a small jump suit. She had glasses, and she studied the patients closely. The took their seats at the head of the circle. The tall one crossed her legs, and the other, her ankles.
"Hello everybody," the short one began, "We have a new member with us today, and for her sake, I'm Yukino Kikukawa, one of the head doctors here, and the other," she gestured to the other woman, "Is Shizuru Fujino."
Natsuki didn't pay attention at them, she just curled up into her chair and buried her head in her knees.
"First we will start off with role call, because one of you, ehem, Arika, was roaming around in the halls last time." Yukino said. "Okay, let's see-"
"Arika is here!" Arika barked waving her hands in the air.
"Arika, what did we talk about?" Yukino asked, re-adjusting her glasses.
"Sorry, Yukino-sensei."
"Well, let's continue. Um, Midori?"
"Here."
"Of course you are, you always are." Yukino chuckled, and scribbled on her clipboard. "Haruka- Where's Haruka?"
"I'm here." Yukino looked down at her feet to see the girl smiling up at her.
"Okay, Tomoe is here, Nao is here, and the new one, Natsuki Kuga, is here."
Shizuru leaned over and whispered something into Yukino's ear. Yukino nodded and then returned her attention to the patients.
"First of all, I want to say good morning, and second, I want you all to feel free to say anything in this room. Shizuru and I are here to help."
"Ara, we aren't all paying attention." Shizuru spoke to the crowd, indirectly at Natsuki who was bent over her chair on her stomach trying to grab an ant that scuttled across the floor.
"Kuga-san?" Shizuru called.
Natsuki was oblivious, she was focused on the ant and the ant only. Once she was able to get it to crawl on her finger, she returned to a normal seating position and watched the ant crawl about her hand.
"Kuga-san, Shizuru is talking to you." Yukino informed.
"Yukino! Can we play that game, the one with the music and the dots?" Asked Haruka, earning a nod.
The other patients issued a happy cry, and Yukino called them over to herself. They sat at her feet, and all of them were there except Natsuki.
"I'll get her attention, you begin." Shizuru said.
Natsuki was unaware that Shizuru had wheeled her chair closer. "Natsuki." Shizuru called, using the girl's given name.
Natsuki jumped a little, startled, but she didn't even look up, she was distracted, the ant was gone. Shizuru was getting tired of being ignored, so she placed a hand on Natsuki's knee. This got the girl's attention. Natsuki's head snapped up, and she recoiled from Shizuru with a whine.
While Shizuru was giving Natsuki a second to relax, the patient noticed the odd eye color that beheld the woman. They were red, and red was a color that Natsuki liked. Shizuru smiled at Natsuki when she had assumed that the girl was calm, and Fujino noticed what Natsuki was taking interest in.
"That is their real color."
Natsuki leaned in closer to Shizuru, and she looked into those deep crimson eyes. Natsuki wanted that color, she wanted the eyes. Natsuki lifted her hands to Shizuru's face and grabbed at her eyes, but Shizuru moved out of the way.
"You can look, but no touching."
Natsuki pouted, and tried to reach for the eyes again, but she leaned a little far out from her chair, making her lose her balance. Natsuki felt herself falling, but before she could hit the ground, she fell into Shizuru's lap.
Shizuru helped Natsuki up, saying, "Better watch yourself, we wouldn't want you to get hurt."
Natsuki crawled back in her chair, but Shizuru was standing now, which made Natsuki nervous. Natsuki waved a hand at Shizuru like she was swatting her away. "Natsuki, will you come with me, I want you to play a game with the others. It would be good for you to show some interaction."
Natsuki frowned and crawled around her chair, so she wasn't looking at Shizuru.
"Natsuki, I want you to respect me." Shizuru said, making her way around the chair. Natsuki scooted away from Shizuru, but the doctor wasn't ready to give up yet.
Shizuru sat back down in her chair, and pulled out something that Natsuki longed for. Shizuru placed it in her lap and pretended to ignore Natsuki, but she was watching the girl out of the corner of her eye.
Natsuki lunged at Shizuru, but before she could grab the object, Shizuru picked it up and held it away from Natsuki.
"Mine!" Natsuki yelped, leaning over Shizuru's lap.
"Come to my office with me, and I'll give it back." Shizuru said, but Natsuki thought different, she grabbed Shizuru's wrist and pulled her into the small room that the teenager slept in. Slamming the door, Natsuki pushed Shizuru to the the bed and made her sit down. Falling to the floor, Natsuki held out her hand for the object and looked up at Shizuru with pleading eyes.
"If I give, this to you, will you talk to me?"
Natsuki nodded and smiled happily when it was placed in her hands. She pulled the object up to her cheek and rubbed it on her skin. The scent of her mother was all around, and Natsuki placed the rabbit's foot in the bin that held her puppy before crawling onto the bed next to Shizuru.
As thanks to the doctor, Natsuki leaned down and rubbed her cheek against Shizuru's breasts. Shizuru smiled, knowing that Natsuki meant nothing improper, and placed her hand on Natsuki's head, stroking her hair.
"I'm going to be your doctor. Yukino and I split the patients, so I have you, Nao, Tomoe, and Arika." Shizuru murmured. "Yukino takes care of Haruka and Midori, plus a bunch of other children from the minor level."
Natsuki crawled into Shizuru's lap then, and she wrapped her arms around the woman's waist. Shizuru rested her head on Natsuki's and she continued to murmur things that Natsuki may have liked.
Natsuki moved to sit by herself, but a scream slipped from her lips. Shizuru was startled, and she moved sharply to see if Natsuki was alright. Natsuki was bleeding...from her eyes.