Write date: 09-17; 10-15
Inspiration: Kindred- sinner, Pt. 2;
Placebo- fuck you;
Here's the continuation of the last chapter.
- X-X-X-
- More than a year ago-
Regardless of the annoying alarm clock, she woke up in a good mood. Yune had an instant smile on her face, because she had plans to meet with her boyfriend. How she wanted to see his shinning face...
Soon Yune's thoughts drifted to a relating topic and she blushed remembering the now empty spot on her head. The sixteen year old even jumped out of her bed to peek at the mirror. The same result greeted her, no more cat ears and no more signs of the short puffy tail.
She stretched her arms, overlooking the quiet corridor, leading from her room. Her parents hadn't came back from the meeting yet? If It was otherwise, then footfalls would echo and sounds of boiling coffee would be evident.
They usually didn't sleep in, Yune recounted. Maybe the meeting was still ongoing? That would suck. She pouted her lips, while leisurely walking to the kitchen, to fetch some food for herself. Scouting the fridge, that was what she usually did, today was no different. The girl wasn't that interested to cook.
Actually Yune was really glad, that she broke the law and skipped the kinsfolk's gathering. That was a smart thing to do. Even though the girl knew well, that she'll be punished by the leader and her parents will be in huge trouble later on... That always happened, if someone objected the law of the leaders... But Yune had been tired and besides she had got her parents permission to disappear from the main hall, so why not.
Yune was wondering, why hadn't nobody else escaped? Did they had such a strong faith in their officials, or had they seen the meeting as a huge importance?
To tell the truth, Yune was grateful to have such laid-back parents, who let her do what she wanted. That's why Yune loved them dearly. However the girl had been told stories of really strict guardians. In so she pitied the teenagers and children here, their lives were probably really narrow.
The outside was too quiet, considering it was pretty late in the morning. The streets used to be full by that time around: cars roaring, shops opening and people going by...
Right now it seemed like a ghost town... Not a single soul. Nobody answered her calls, no one peeked out through the doors, when she knocked... Yune was getting a little agitated, when her tenth knock was granted with silence.
'Where were they?' The teenager wondered, speedily striding over the bridge, that covered the Chie river. She emitted a worried sigh, whilst gazing into the silent water for a minute. Soon her eyes caught something laying by the edge of the opposite shore... She couldn't tell quite well, what that dark thing was... In so, driven by curiosity she crossed the bridge, running toward it.
X X X
Ritsu's eyes parted slowly. And a purge of pain paralyzed him, when he tried to turn to the side in his laying position. Why was he sleeping on the floor in the first place? The man grumbled, abandoning the idea pretty quickly, in hopes, that the ache will lessen.
His breathing was deep and sweat scurried down his face. Though that wasn't what interested the silver-haired man. His eyes jumped from one side to the other, noticing concrete ceiling high above him it seemed like a dome. Also when the man shifted his gaze lower, he spotted, that he was under a bridge on a side platform. That's what terrified him. The headmaster didn't knew where exactly was he, he didn't recognize the place
In so the uneasiness settled in. Ritsu slowly pulled the heavy covers from himself, noticing his coat on top. Once he was done with the pile of layers, he moved his feet away from the box, that they had been set on for some reason.
"Hey, you have to lay down." A sad voice instructed, as the blankets were draped back on Ritsu. What a pity, it took quite some time to move them away. He gave a lazy glimpse at the white-haired girl, who was tending him. He didn't recall her.
"There you go..." A pitiful whisper was mustered, when Yune laid his feet on the paper box." It would be better if you wouldn't move around too much. You'll irritate the wound further. You lost enough blood already."
The headmaster gazed down tiredly. The blade was still sticking out of his abdomen it seemed.
"Don't worry about it... You must rest now." Yune muttered, while tucking the man in.
Ritsu thought she was too kind for some unknown reason. Last time the man checked, he wasn't a toddler... In so he glared at her. Upon further inspection, he saw, that tears grazed the girl's skin, her eyes were colored in a shade of red from crying. Ritsu had a hunch, who was she... However that guess was closed off from his fatigued mind.
"Ah... Who are you...?"
"Yune. Hinazuki Yune..."
No. Ritsu narrowed his eyes in thought, he didn't recognize her. Soon the girl gripped the blankets tightly, unable to hold the ache inside anymore. Her voice went high-pitched suddenly.
"Why did it happen? Kch. Why did they have to die? Uh... Why..."
So she saw the gruesome event... Ritsu turned his probing head away. He abruptly emitted a shivering wail.
A string of cruel bitterness struck him, as he took in the teenager's cries. It overwhelmed Ritsu whole, making him want to vomit all of his immoral insides out, if only...
The man felt so dirty, his pale agitating hands looked so worthless to him. They had been smeared in that horrid substance not so long ago. Ritsu was certain, he could still smell other people's blood on his flesh. Disgusting. How he wanted to clean it, to scrape the flesh till he found a sinless spot.
"I want them back... I want mom and dad back..." The teenager sobbed, clutching the covers in the meantime. All of a sudden she laid herself on Ritsu's chest. Yune's cries didn't lessen, and the man was left to listen to his shallow breathing and her sniveling, until darkness covered him. Loss of consciousness was his only escape from the endlessly pulsing pain.
'I loved them... They were so kind and understanding. My parents seemed rather like best friends to me than my guardians. My mother had been a paramedic, and father worked as a dentist... Seeing them help others without asking anything in return, was what sparked my love for medicine... They seemed like angels fallen from heaven. And I wished to be like them. I wanted for them to be proud of me and continue to trust me like before. Before I lost my virgin ears... That's why I took courses of first aid. I wished to prove to my parents, that I was still their little girl and not some sinful being ... With them gone what's the meaning of my hard work?'
Yune pouted her lips at the sad thoughts, that flooded her mind. Her attention once again turned to the unconscious man under her, she felt the irregular rising of his chest. She touched his sweaty forehead soon, only to exhale sadly. The fever will not go down... If he won't get help soon, it will be all over...
The bleeding won't stop. She cleaned the wound as best as she could without pulling out the knife. Yune didn't know how to take it out without damaging his bowel further, she didn't had anything to stop a major blood flow either. The teenager couldn't do anything more... He needed urgent help. But from where? The village was practically slaughtered...
Yune pinched her lips, releasing a sob, she hadn't had a clue how to help him further. She didn't knew, who that person was. The teenager had never seen him before. So it would be safe to assume, that the silverette wasn't a Hinazuki. Regardless, Yune refused to let him die... She couldn't let him die. She was a doctor now, a pathetic one, but still a doctor and this man's life was in her hands.
Yune's shoulders shuddered, as she clung to the man's chest. That mere thought terrified her. Soon a groan evoke next to her ear.
"S-stop that..."
She flinched away, noting Ritsu to be awake. He emitted a scream, trying to turn to the side again. A severe spasm wrecked his body. Yune swiftly got a hold of his shoulders then, positioning him in place. The girl ordered lightly after.
"I-I told you not to move."
"Damn... I... Agh, w-wasn't hoping to wake up in this place..."
"Then where?" Yune gazed at him questioningly, as she cleaned his face with a wet cloth. Ritsu allowed his lips to tense in defeat. Then he grunted quietly, setting his head back on the concrete.
The headmaster didn't knew, what was worse the excruciating ache, or the rotting guilt. It never used to bother him before. But now it seemed, that the huge forming stone of shame finally crashed, destroying the man's beliefs and finding flaws in all those years of his life. It was unbearable... And he couldn't run away from those dreadful, accusing thoughts, they were his own.
Yune muttered soon, putting the rag away.
"Don't say stuff like that. Have hope."
"There is no hope."
"Hope lives in God, you-"
"There is no god." The silver-haired man snarled, overtaking the girl's statement. Yune's eyes flickered unsavory at that moment. In the meantime Ritsu smirked weakly at her reaction, his breaths became rapid and shallow. He couldn't help, but remember his twelfth year of life, when the same sparkling hope had been burnt out.
"We... Control our lives, Hinazuki-chan... Our future is built upon our actions. And... T-there are always consequences leading after... The-"
He wanted to finish, but was interrupted by a wail, as he shivered. Yune watched his suffering in fright, before a snapping of tree branches evoke and echoing voices accompanied it...
She swiftly tucked the fallen blankets around the headmaster, ready to go check, from where was that sound. Yune's heart struck immensely, as she peeked her head out from under the bridge with hope. She was standing on a platform next to the Chie river, where they were hiding.
"You better not be dead, Ritsu..." An anxious tone reached her ears. And she saw a brown-haired man striding closer, on the mount. Another man... Yune thought her eyes were deceiving her. Even a lump formed in her throat, disallowing her to call the person.
Fortunately he saw the girl first. And after a brief hesitation, Utura Hisho hurriedly slid down the scarp to join her.
"Hey, are you alright? Can you speak to me?" Hisho put his palms on the small girl's shoulders abruptly, uttering with a frantic voice. Yune parted her mouth to answer, while tears welled up in her eyes. Though her dry throat mustered only one word.
"Help."
She motioned her head back, getting Hisho's attention. His eyes shot wide open suddenly.
"Ritsu? Damn you!" He practically jumped with joy, running to his friend. He quickly grasped the headmaster's face, before burying his own on his friend's cheek.
"You and your stupid stunts, Ritsu... How many times had I told to not scare me like that?"
The headmaster just exhaled stammeringly to Hisho's sobs. The pain eradicated any other feeling.
Yune blinked feeling dumbfounded, as the scene unfolded before her eyes. Ritsu? That name sounded strangely familiar... Wasn't that the head of Seven Voices? Minami Ritsu... It would fit then.
Yune's observations were cut short, when someone grasped her palm. She glanced back up again, seeing Hisho clasping her hand with his both. The brown-haired man bowed his head to touch her fragile palm in gratitude.
"I can't thank you enough for what you've done... If it wasn't for you, Ritsu might have been dead by now."
The ivory-haired girl smiled kindly at him. A string of confidence and pride erupted inside of her. Yune could't believe, that she actually managed to save a person. Soon the teenager spotted more people rush through them. They were ready to carry the injured man. In the meantime of the girl's inspection, Hisho murmured with a hurt expression, while clenching her fragile palm forcefully.
"You poor child..."
X X X
- a year ago -
A knock collided with the door. The sound instantly broke Ritsu's concentration. He sighed, laying the papers before him on the office desk, before the man called out.
"Come in."
Yune bashfully peeked her head into the office after a moment. Ritsu blinked at the girl, who stood in the middle of the unfamiliar room. She smiled at him like every time they met after she saved his life. Something was different about this smile though, as if it was forced upon that face.
"Ah, I'm glad I found you, Minami-san."
"Call me, Ritsu-sensei. What do you need?" He exhaled, tapping the pen on the wooden surface.
Now that everything was over and scars were the only reminders of the Hinazuki incident, the silver-haired man wished to distance himself from Yune. She had done her part. Ritsu had done his - that meant, that the man granted her a dorm to stay in and enrolled her as a student. There, page was closed on the hideous past...
If only that was the case though... Yune's presence brought back memories of people long dead. But most importantly every time, that the headmaster saw her face, the guilt engulfed him like a plague. He tried to close off those polluting thoughts by occupying himself with work, or other activities, like learning to play piano, whenever he had a spare hour. With time the guilt lessened.
In the beginning, Ritsu was positive, that the atrocious blaming ended just like that. The silver-haired man believed, that he killed off those memories from ever reaching his mind... He was wrong. And how he wished he would have noticed it sooner...
Since the knowledge of the Hinazuki incident was shoved off of Ritsu's conscious mind. It found another, more sensitive place to nest in - subconsciousness. In so the nightmares poisoned the headmaster's sleep.
"Could you explain me something?" Yune finally cleared her throat, while fidgeting with her fingers, that were entwined below her chest. She was anxious about something, that Ritsu confirmed from watching her flimsy movements. After a moment, he nodded, leaning back in the creaking chair.
"Yes. But make it quick. I don't have time, Yune-chan."
"What exactly happened.. That night..."
The silver-haired man kept the cold posture, although scarcely, as he wanted to snap at her to leave him alone. Ritsu wasn't in the mood to remember that night. His dreams did enough damage, while being guided by the man's imagination... Besides her endless question was getting irritating.
"Please... Tell me, I need to know the truth!" Yune exclaimed in a cry, as her fingers clenched tighter." Why were you there, Minami? What were you doing that night?"
"Ritsu-sensei." He bud in suddenly, then slid his spectacles away from his eyes to clean the lenses with a soft piece of cloth. This act was just to stall and get some time to analyse the person before him. And as the silverette suspected, the teenager quieted down after being scolded. Either this was because Yune had been well behaved, doubtful. Or she already knew something, and so was waiting for Ritsu to speak.
The man closed the glasses case. Then Ritsu gave Yune another piercing glance, taking his guess, that the latter observation could be the right one.
"Yune-chan, why are you asking me this?"
Yune cocked an eyebrow, the teenager probably hadn't expected that comeback. She wanted for him to answer first. Although Ritsu played with hidden cards, he didn't want to let more unnecessary information seep out. And if all that Yune heard had been some rumors from the students it would be better to keep it that way.
"Y-you... You had ordered to kill them... " The girl stammered out after a minute. Her eyes betrayed boiling hatred and confusion. It ran down not in flames though, but in cold tears. "You said to kill my parents, the whole kinsfolk Why?! What had they ever done to you?!"
Ritsu blinked tiredly, as he massaged his temples. Migraine was coming along. No wonder, Yune did carry around a shrill voice... Stupid and hot-headed like every other Hinazuki... Why did he hoped for her to be different?
"Who told you that, Yune-chan?"
"Utura-sensei. Utura Hisho..."
That should have been expected though. Hisho deeply cared for others, although was pathetic at holding secrets much to his own misfortune...The whole ordeal seemingly struck the brown-haired psychologist hard. For some reason that fact just shortened Ritsu's nerves.
"Oh? And he failed to mention, that your family attacked us first? Honestly, that's a pity..."
"I don't care, who started it! You still killed them! How could you?" Yune exclaimed, shaking her head.
"I didn't. I just watched them die." The silver-haired man hissed out, getting a little pissed off." Hinazuki's are a sin. They were unneeded. Actually you should be grateful, that you were cleaned off. You carry a different surname now, my surname. Your bonds are severed and it will remain like that."
A few silent minutes passed. And Yune shook her head, with a parted mouth, probably thinking how to escape the situation, that she sank in. Yes, Ritsu adopted her, but that didn't meant, that she had to bow to him. A grumble broke out.
" You are freak..."
"Pardon?" Ritsu raised his voice, watching as Yune's malicious eyes jabbed at him. He withstood the glance, prompting his arms on the table. "Listen, this discussion is closed and if I ever hear you reopening this, I'll have you join them. Do I make myself clear?"
"Join who?"
"It's your choice, Yune-chan, either you live a new promising life by abandoning your past, or be killed. I don't need another Hinazuki."
With that said, Ritsu went back to his papers, ignoring Yune's presence, like she wasn't even there.
The girl desired to oppose, to think of something to spit back at him. Yune despised being looked down on after all. However instead of forming sentences, her head released a hurtful buzz, as the realization of the words struck. She couldn't stand in that man's presence anymore. Seeing Ritsu's uncaring, blank face made her feel sick and weak...
What disgusted Yune the most, was the fact, that the headmaster seemed like he didn't regret the murder. An apology, an explanation or comfort, that was, what the girl expected of the silver-haired man.
Of course Ritsu couldn't bring her parents back, as heavenly as it sounded. It was impossible and the teenager understood. Even though Ritsu didn't had to be a magician to say he's sorry. He didn't had to be a saint to wipe away tears...
As odd as it sounded, the headmaster was the only person, which she had left now... Well, certainly Yune had just known a few trivial facts about him, due to lack of conversations... Despite that, the teenager wanted to have a stronger bond with Ritsu. The girl had helped him survive after all, they both had to go through that horror hand in hand. So Yune had wished, that the event brought them closer...
The teenager's eyes were suddenly forced open - her longing for a close friend was just a childish dream. And now she saw the true beast behind that beautiful mask, that was named Minami Ritsu... He was a monster...
Unable to control her emotions any longer Yune suddenly bolted out of the office in tears.
X X X
- Two days before Minami Ritsu's death -
Ritsu's legs carried him beyond his will. Out of fear, he hobbled further into the garden, which was covered with at least a thousand golden leaves. They continued to fall gently. In his vision the leaves twirled into greedy hands, trying to grab him. The bushes near mingled into distorted faces.
Ritsu just breathed out, quickening his pace. However the tiles, that he was walking on, suddenly cracked beneath his limping feet. The rubble rose upwards, ascending into the sky, as shinning lights. Despite that he kept hobbling toward his destination. Even though he barely saw, because of the fog concealing his surroundings.
Not once did the man glimpse backwards. Not once did he pause, not even when he heard echoing voices call behind him. Ritsu didn't recognize them. And he cared very little about analyzing them.
His mind was filled with only one desire - escape. And he failed, he won't run away from those menacing figures, because they always seemed to loom wherever the man went. Even now they stood next to the arbor in the far end, chuckling out of the man's slow limping.
"Shut up... Shut up..." A weak scolding rolled out with the headmaster's slow breaths. Although the laughter increased, making Ritsu's head hurt. Why did nobody listen to him anymore? He gave the order, didn't he? So why weren't they ceasing?
"S-stop mocking me... Shut up... Shut up..."
The silver-haired man overlooked the dark appearances for a moment, whilst biting his lip from the pain. They were making fun of him indeed, if only Ritsu could order them to get away, or make them flee using physical means. The man contemplated every possibility, no matter how absurd it seemed, or how horribly it would damage his reputation. he just wanted them to disappear... Alas he continued walking. his schemes remained not materialized.
And so the wide smiles followed him, gliding along. With every step he took, their crooked smirks widened and the figures started to point their dirty long fingers at the man. Suddenly the teacher was forced to stop in his tracks, as a pair of apparitions decided to stand in front him. They swayed around their axes blocking Ritsu's path.
He grumbled dissatisfied with the ridicule. Honestly, who did they thought they were? He grappled his teeth at the arising frustration in his mind. In the meantime the tiles disappeared completely. Also the trees wrapped their long branches around the man's throat, all the while shedding their leaves, so they could color the world anew. Ritsu was the only one, who was cursed to listen to their vain protests.
"No. You're not real..." The headmaster recounted a phrase, without much thought about it. Déjà vu... Someone said it to him. Someone in a similar setting... Ritsu racked his empty, buzzing brain to remember, though nothing arose. Maybe it was his imagination? Perhaps...
Then... He heaved out, shivering. If he should believe this odd arisen sentence, what was true. Was this whole a lucid dream?
Ristu gazed around the ridiculing apparitions, the swirling bushes, with distorted images, the falling leaves, that kept weeping loudly, his dangling feet above an abyss and of course a mingling figure in the far distance, who desperately called the headmaster's name... Now, then... How was he suppose to tell, which parts were reality?
He grumbled, reaching for his swollen inner elbow. It was itching again. The annoying constant tickling was getting on the man's nerves. Besides the arm ached like hell too.
"Ritsu-sensei!" A voice cleared through the fog of incoherent noises. A sharp tug on the shoulder forced the silver-haired man to turn around.
Soubi instantly jerked his arm away, as Ritsu's dull, contracted pupils made contact.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed? How did you got out anyway?" The blonde bombarded the other with questions.
"Work..."
"Wha... Ritsu-sensei, you're not the principal anymore. Kunugi-sensei took your post for the time being, remember? Do you remember, Sensei?!"
The silver-haired man's eye twitched. He embraced himself after, clutching his gaunt form through the hospital gown. Soubi gazed at him for a minute expecting an answer. It didn't came, leaving the matter unsolved and buried somewhere far away in Ritsu's mind.
"Come on, you're going to get cold if you stay here. You already have a fever." Soubi frowned then, prying the teacher's arms apart. Still Ritsu's eager and curious fingers attempted to rub the rash."Stop scratching your wounds and take my coat."
The headmaster gazed off into space, before the blonde shoved a dark cloth his way.
"Are you... Real?" The silverette muttered warily, as his vision fogged Soubi's face. The flesh suddenly began running down, like some colorful liquid, that abandoned a painting. Ritsu's lips parted from the shock, while his trembling hands tried grasping air below Soubi's chin and putting it on the face. His attempts proved to be fruitless, as the flesh escaped through his fingers then dripped down to the abyss shinning through the cracked tiles... How was Ritsu suppose to get them now? Was it deep down there?
"What's happening to you? Don't disappear... P-please don't disappear..." Ritsu's voice quivered, as he covered his lips with fear, hopping for Soubi's expression to magically restore. He couldn't lose another person like this... The man's ears picked up dry snickering in the distance like a response to his anxiousness." Stop laughing!"
"Ritsu-sensei, stop talking to yourself. I am real. I won't leave you." The blonde hissed out, tucking at his teacher's hands to uncover the mouth. He pinched the older man's cheek suddenly.
"Ou..."
"See? I can hurt you, an illusion can't do that. Now let's go." Soubi draped the coat on his sensei's shoulders swiftly, before he laced his palm on the man's bandaged forehead. He smirked bitterly soon, while whispering to himself." I knew you had a fever... A high one at that."
"Why do you do this?"
"Huh?"
"They left, hadn't they? I've become troublesome... Unneeded... Isn't that so?"
"Ritsu-sensei... That's not true." The blonde smiled reassuringly. Although that hadn't brought any relief on the silverette's frightened face. Soon Ritsu's body gave in, when his knees bent, falling as if into quicksand, the imaginary arms dragged the weary body downwards.
"I've got you. Are you alright?" Soubi kneeled next to the teacher, getting a hold of the other's shoulders, while Ritsu just leaned at his student's chest in defeat.
"Tired... So tired... And you, stranger, tell them to stop laughing. The humiliation from Nana and Nagisa is... As much as I can handle..."
"Sensei..." Soubi muttered, unable to finish. He didn't knew what to answer, he couldn't erase Ritsu's hallucinations nor could the blonde fix the cruel words, that abandoned Nana's lips... Honestly, no one want's to deal with an addict... So silence and loneliness had been granted to the former headmaster along with the temporary removal from Septimal Moon. Unneeded, god damn it, Ritsu, what an accurate word...
"I-It'll be alright. Trust me, sensei, it will be."
"No..." The headmaster shook his head, before burying his face in the other's chest. The giggling persisted. And Ritsu's hands keenly searched the tiles, gliding on their made up path. He could swear, he saw the abyss below. But where was that hole again? Ritsu's movements paused, while he locked his eyes with Soubi's.
"They'll come back. They always do... No matter where I'll hide, they'll get me. It's pointless."
The headmaster suddenly slumped his shivering side at the other's chest without any strength. Soubi silently looped his hands around Ritsu, trying to hold the man in place, because he was certain, that otherwise, sensei would fall.
"Oh, what am I to do?... I don't. Want to. S-suffer like this. Hm... Oh. I'm pretty. Sure... Something pinched my elbow. Twice. No. Several times." The silver-haired man paused, weakly shaking his head. Meanwhile his vision trees flew up into the sky, pulling their heavy roots along." Stop leading me there... I-It's dark, I'm scared to go there. It hurts, it should hurt. Stranger, don't leave my side. If I'll be alone, then..."
A side of Soubi wished to smile at the phrases his teacher was shooting without awareness, but the blonde just tightened his grip, bringing the older man closer. By the state Ritsu was in, Soubi could tell, that his time was running short.
"Who am I, really? What's my name? They've never mentioned it. Am I actually that worthless for them to laugh in my face? To spit at me, make fun of me? Am I that guilty of something? But how can I remember it? What do you think, stranger?" Ritsu turned to his student, lacing a hand on his cheek. Suddenly the silverette's eyes widened. Suddenly the trees landed in their rightful place, the figures faded, along with their mocking sounds and the garden finally became clear.
"Soubi-kun?... Is. That you? " Ritsu exhaled hardly, pausing with a parted mouth. Soon he released a groan, before he pried the student's hands away. Soubi continued to sit in confusion, while the former headmaster barked, standing up.
"Leave me alone, Soubi-kun... I'm tired..."