Author – duncundog
Summary – Hiro is sick of being the DWMA's errand boy, and one day, he finally snaps. Lord Death is forced to lock him beneath the school, and there his insanity grows. When Hiro is led into another world by a mysterious voice in his head, will he find a place where he truly belongs? Or is it just his imagination driving him further into insanity?
Author's Notes
Normal Story
Character Thoughts
Memories
"_emphasis is a sentence_"
Chapter 3 – Leaving Sanity
Disclaimer – I own no rights to Soul Eater, otherwise Hiro would be in every episode.
Last Time On 'Sane' –
'You don't belong here, Hiro. This world is not the one for you.'
It was the truth. He had never truly belonged here. This world wasn't meant for him, and he knew it. 'But this is the only one I have.'
'What if I told you it wasn't? What if maybe, there was another world? One where you could live the life you've always wanted? The perfect world?'
'But there isn't,' he thought sourly. 'That would be impossible.'
'But what if it wasn't?'
He was silent for a moment, and then asked aloud, "What do you mean?"
He could almost hear the smirk in the voice as they replied in his head.
'There is a way to end your pain. A way to escape. And I know exactly how you can do it.'
A loud sigh sounded throughout the room, soon followed by the drumming of fingers on wood. Hand resting on his cheek, Death The Kid watched in boredom as his father rambled on about the difference between coffee and tea. How on earth the subject had even come up was beyond him, but now that it had, it appeared that his father would not be coming off of his tirade for some time. Turning his attention back to the large mirror that stood in the center of the Death Room, his golden eyes locked onto the scene it showed, gazing steadily at the image of a blond haired boy sitting on the stone floor of a cold, damp room. The mirror had been currently set to show one of the DWMA dungeons, the one that a student Hiro had been locked up in. Having recently killed a fellow student, they needed to keep him under constant surveillance, which of course was now his job. Well, his and his father's, but obviously the latter was too busy with is coffee and tea rant to care.
His eyes narrowing a fraction, he couldn't help but glare at the shaking boy who sat alone in the dungeon room. He'd always known that he was no good. Something about him had often put him off, giving him an odd feeling. He hadn't particularly disliked the boy per say, but he hadn't really liked him either. During the short period of time that he'd even interacted with the boy he had put all his feelings off as jealousy due to the fact that he had been dating his – at the time – ex-girlfriend. Honestly, when the girl, Hally, had broken up the blonde and come back to him, he had felt bad. He knew from the distant look in her eyes when she apologized to him for having slapped him and refusing to listen when he tried to talk to her that it was in fact Hiro who had convinced her it was a mistake. He understood immediately that it was the blonde who had made her realize that it was a misunderstanding, and who had convinced her to break up with him in order to come back to Kid. He'd been very grateful, but now all he felt was relief. This boy had killed another student, and although there were no witnesses to verify whether or not he had been provoked, he still did it in what appeared to be cold blood. He couldn't imagine what might have happened had Hally stayed with him. It gave him the chills to even think of the things that might have happened were he to grow angry with her, which knowing her attitude and the manner in which she held herself, it would have happened eventually.
Letting out a sigh, Kid pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers, rubbing it in exhaustion as a thought struck him. 'Now that I think about it, that girl is so stubborn she's probably already gone down to visit him, despite strict orders for no one to do so. She wouldn't care if he'd turned into a ravenous wolf, she'd still be the one to let him out of his cage. That girl… She'll be the end of me someday…'
"Kiddo? Are you alright?" Lord Death asked, tilting his masked head curiously, almost in the way a small puppy does when spoken to.
Snapped out of his daze, Kid sat up straight, turning to stare questioningly at his father. "What? Oh, uh- yes, yes I'm fine."
"Hmmm…" Lord Death hummed suspiciously, as if perfectly aware of his son's earlier thought. He seemed to shrug it off, though, as he turned back to look at the mirror Kid had been observing so carefully before. "I wonder what on earth could have gone through Hiro's mind to make him act so viciously. It's not like him to suddenly lash out at a fellow student, let alone kill them."
"I'm not sure," Kid agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully with his forefinger and thumb. "I don't know him particularly well, but from what I've seen this is completely out of character for him. He doesn't really seem to be the type for violence, especially on this degree."
"I have to say I agree. Other than his brief time with Excalibur, this boy's never really seemed to be much of the stand-outish type. He always seemed to blend in so well, you'd hardly recognize him in a crowd. Whatever caused him to snap, I fear that this won't be the last we'll see of it," Lord Death said, lifting a small teacup between his massive hands and taking a sip through the non-existent hole in his mask. That never really did make much sense to any who had observed him drinking.
"Hmmm… They say lightening never strikes twice, but unfortunately, that's been proven wrong," Kid hummed in agreement, his golden eyes fixed on the boy who sat silently in the dungeon room.
Both went silent as they observed the blond-haired boy. He was still dressed in the same clothes he'd worn to school that day, tight red plaid jeans, a mostly unbuttoned white collared shirt, a loose black tie, a matching choker, and more piercings, rings, and other accessories than either of them cared to count. He had his knees pulled up in front of him, arms wrapped tightly around his legs in an effort to comfort himself, and he seemed to be staring off into space, his light blue eyes soulless and empty as his gaze attempted to burn through the stone wall opposite of him. He hardly blinked, and very rarely did he move. Overall, he was doing nothing more than sitting there, lost in his own thoughts as the world passed him by, just an empty shell whose soul had been locked away within his own mind.
"Hmm… he doesn't appear to be doing anything," Lord Death commented, feeling the need to state the obvious.
Sighing, Kid again began to impatiently rub the bridge of his nose, resisting the urge to mumble the words passing through his mind as he knew his father would only ask him to repeat himself in a louder voice. 'Can't he be quiet for even a moment…?'
A sob suddenly escaped Hiro's throat, catching the attention of the two reapers who were tasked with watching him. They watched intently as the boy burrowed his head into his arms, blond strands of hair crisscrossing over the white fabric of his shirt as they moved to brush against his shoulder.
"Why me…?" he choked out, his voice hoarse from the tears he'd already cried.
Kid stared thoughtfully at the quivering boy, listening to the choked sobs that escaped his lips. 'I wonder what he's feeling right now? Obviously he's not pleased with himself over what he did, but exactly to what extent has this driven him? Is he simply upset, or is this really devastating for him? As a meister, it is expected of him to kill, but looking back, he's never actually had a weapon, so therefore never killed. Not to mention that what he had extracted was an innocent human soul, and therefore he has technically started himself on the path to becoming a kishin. That thought alone is terrifying to anyone who enters the academy. As students of the DWMA, it is our sworn duty to protect innocent people and prevent things such as this from happening. To him, it must be as if his life has just ended.'
There was sudden movement on the screen, and snapping out of his thoughts, Kid looked up just in time to see Hiro's own head shoot up from its position in his arms. "W-who's there?"
Shocked at the statement made by the boy, Kid leaned forward in his chair, carefully examining the image for any sign of a second person.
"Father, there's no one else in the room with him, is there?" he asked, furrowing his brows as he examined the mirror, not seeing any hint as to clue him in on a second presence being there.
"No, not that I know of," his father replied, a touch of confusion lacing his own tone.
Thoroughly confused, the two watched as Hiro chewed his lip nervously, his eyes frantically searching the room as if trying to find an invisible killer who might be lurking in the shadows.
"What is he…?" Kid murmured, trailing off a bit as he watched the scene in confusion. Something was going on, but whatever is was, he couldn't tell.
The blond haired boy's eyes suddenly narrowed as he seemed to carefully examine the corners of the room, inspecting each shadow with what appeared to be a surprisingly sharp gaze. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice quivering slightly, despite his obvious effort to keep calm.
'What in death's name is going on? He's acting as if someone had spoken to him, and yet there's no one there. Has someone – a witch perhaps – cast a spell so that we couldn't hear them? Although, it's very unlikely considering he's only been locked up for such a short amount of time. They would've had to have already been inside of the school in order to have heard the news of him so quickly. Perhaps he's only imagining it? It's likely, yes, but still unbelievable as well.'
"How?" Hiro asked, slightly startling both reapers.
"How, what?" Lord Death asked, genuinely curious as to what the boy was thinking.
Hiro's eyes widened, and his voice slightly quivered with a mixture of excitement and fear as he spoke again. "A way out…?"
'What?' Kid frowned, wondering how concerned he should be. From the sounds of what he was saying, someone was telling him how to escape. 'Should this be taken seriously? As far as I know, there is no possible way out of the DWMA dungeon cells. There is also no one else in that room as far as I can tell, so he's obviously delirious. Still, is his sanity something to be taken so lightly, or should we consider this statement as something more serious?'
They continued to watch through the mirror as the blond haired boy's face contorted in sadness, disgust, and guilt all mixed in one. He seemed to be thinking, no, listening rather intently to what? They weren't sure. They still heard nothing but his somewhat raspy and broken breathing that had resulted from the non-stop crying he'd done.
There was complete silence for a moment as Hiro seemed to listen to the silent voice, his facial expressions the only hint of what could possibly be going through his brain. A sour look crossed his face, and then a thoughtful one. He seemed to think for a moment before asking aloud, "What do you mean?"
Frowning, Kid watched the screen with intense observation. It was seriously beginning to worry him what the blonde was thinking. It was already quite clear that he wasn't exactly in his right mind, but just how far exactly was he out of it?
There was another sudden movement on the mirror as Hiro slowly stood, an almost empty look on his tear-stained face. Slowly staggering across the room, he then knelt to the dirty floor, seemingly searching the ground for something.
"Hmm, wonder what he's looking for?" Lord Death murmured curiously, his soulless black eyes gazing intently at the image displayed to them. Kid himself was nearly falling out of his chair with how far he was leaned forward, hoping to catch a better glimpse of what the imprisoned teen was doing.
Hiro seemed to have found what he was searching for as his eyes suddenly glinted in the dull, dim lighting of the dungeon. Taking something from off the ground, he held it between his forefinger and thumb, bringing it his face to examine it, revealing the object for the first time to the observing shinigamis.
"A nail?" Kid thought aloud, his brows furrowing in confusion. "What could he possibly need an old nail for?"
Standing up once again, the imprisoned blonde held the nail for a moment, simply staring at it. Then, walking to the center of the room, he sat on the ground, legs crossed before him as he led out a wrist, palm up. Taking the nail, he slowly dragged it across the wrist, the cut running deeply. Both shinigamis then watched in absolute horror and shock as he dragged another deep gash running up along his arms, severing the main vein. He then continued to do this with his other wrist, the blood flowing freely from the open wounds and pouring over the ground around him.
"He's going to kill himself!" Kid exclaimed in shock, shoouting immediately from his seat and staring only a moment longer at the gory sight before running out the room, his feet carrying him as quickly as possible towards the dungeons. All he could hope was that he'd be there in enough time. That he wasn't too late.
Feet pounding against the solid flooring of the school, he sped along halls and down stairwells, coming quickly to the dimly lit stone hall of the dungeons. Breathing heavily, he forced himself back into a running pace, pushing forward as fast as he could as he headed straight for Hiro's cell. 'Please don't let me be too late.'
Grabbing hold of the wall to spin himself to halt directly in front of huge cell, he laced his hand against it, muttering a quick spell to unlock the door and listening with impatience as the lock clicked out of place. Shoving open the door, he then ran across the threshold only to stop once he saw what was inside.
"What...?"
The room was completely empty all but for a pool of crimson blood spilt over the stone flooring. The blood had somehow moved, drizzling slowly into the shape of some sort of a magic circle, and now Hiro's body was nowhere to be seen.
"H-he's gone..."
aA/N - Ugh, I suck, I know. This should have been up forever ago, but I've been having some major computer problems as well as author's block. I've fixed it all, though, so it should be good! Hopefully I will be able to actually update this from now on! I do not plan on giving this story up, though, nor have I ever planned on that. I love this story, I just haven't had must availability to work on it. I'll try my best to update from now on though, so yay~! Oh, and sorry about the crappy chapter, but it was kind of needed. Now, I'm busy tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday morning, but I should be able to work on it more on Saturday night and maybe update on Sunday, hopefully. Well, bye! Thanks for reading and please remember to leave a review! Love yah, bye!
NOTE: To those of you who left a review last chapter, I did not forget you. I just didn't have much time to include that stuff this time since I'm kind of trying to push it out, I shall acknowledge you all next chapter, okay? Sorry again!
