Asylum

Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for the care of mentally ill, aged, or poor people: a term now rarely used (Definition taken from Webster's New Compact Desk Dictionary and Style Guide)

A Brief Lapse in Sanity

Hiei stared after the child for a few moments before turning and heading for the stairs, never having a backwards thought about Isabella's words; it was none of his business. Ayana was nothing to him and he was only biding his time until he could convince these pathetic people that he was fine and he didn't need to stay here.

Up the stairs and down the hall, Hiei entered his bedroom and looked around. It still held that angst feeling in the walls, as if something was being harboured within them. For some reason it felt something akin to a long dormant spell. It made his skin crawl but he wasn't fond of being around other people at the moment, so this was the best place to get away from everything. Hiei walked to sit on the edge of his bare mattress and stared out the window, his sights set on the oak tree that was clearly visible from where he sat. He wanted to be sitting in a high branch of that tree but it was daytime, which meant that other patients would surely be out in the garden. They would want to engage him in conversation or want to know why he was sitting himself in the tree; that was something he was going to avoid.

But now there was nothing to do.

It didn't take Hiei long to slip into a blank dreamlike state within himself. At first it wasn't anything except a mindless peace; no thought, no emotion, just a peacefully empty cavity, vacant of everything. But it was only a few moments later that his suppressed memories of the past inched their way into the void. Hiei instantly put up resistance, not wanting to deal with those raw emotions again. Hiei continued to fight it to the best of his ability but was oddly saved from them when a scream rang in his ears and brought him painfully back into reality.

As the scream kept up, it seemed to drawn nearer, until it suddenly reached an almost unbearable decibel just outside Hiei's open door. The scream's final ending was abrupt and brought about a momentary relief, but the torture was yet to end. Led by her scream, a young teenage girl came barreling into Hiei's room. Her wild black brown curls bouncing and swirling unabated about her face. Hiei watched with slight amusement as the girl turned her sprint into a tumultous jump, soaring toward Hiei.

As the demon swiftly moved off the bed and halfway across the room, Hiei recognized the girl as the one who had attempted to nail him with a hand full of mashed potatoes the night before ... and for the second time, the girl met the wall head on with a loud thud.

"TASHA!"

The girl thrashed around on the floor, making strange gurgling sounds. It took Hiei a few seconds before he deciphered the sound as laughter.

"Bad room! Bad room! Ahahaha!" She sat up and stared out the door until Ayana suddenly stood there, framed by the open doorway, breathing heavily.

"Tasha! Get out of there, it isn't your room!"

"No, no! BAD ROOM!" Tasha cried with load cackles. "Precious, we're in bad room!"

Fingers twitching as they gripped her hips, Ayana snapped, "Yes, you brat, you're in the bad room, now come out!"

"Never! You can't make me!" Tasha gave another bought of gurgling laughter. "Precious we have stumped Ayana once again!"

"Tasha, I'll say it one more time; get your crazy ass out of there, now!"

"Come and get me then!" the young girl shot back, suddenly leveling Ayana with a glare.

Ayana gave an infuriated huff then hissed, "Tasha, either you come out or I'll go and get someone to drag your stupid ass out of there."

"Go ahead then," Tasha hissed back, sticking out her tongue. "Ms. Isabella likes me better anyway!"

Ayana hesitated in the doorway for but a split second before finally storming off as she muttered to herself, "Damn girl, making me get someone. I hope Isabella punishes her ass to hell."

As Ayana tromped off Tasha giggled again, bouncing to her feet as she happily sang in an off-tone voice, "Bad room, bad room, Ayana can't get us!"

Suddenly the girl whipped a glass sphere from somewhere in the folds of her grungy clothing and began to stroke it lovingly as she intoned, "Yes precious gem, we're in bad room where meany Ayana can't get us with her dirty tricks."

Snickering, Tasha was silent for a few brief seconds before replying to the silence, "No, she wouldn't dare step in here. She's probably getting a nurse or even Isabella. Bah, going and getting someone else to do her work for her. She's stupid, that's what she is."

Brief silence.

"I know! I can't believe I called her a sister, either!"

Brief silence once more.

"Well she did get me ice cream that one time. Remember when I lathered you in it, precious?"

Another period of silence ensues.

"I never did like those pink sprinkles very much. They told me bad secrets and they were bubbly and stupid, just like Ayana. The sprinkles and Ayana should get married and move to America where they'll leave us alone!"

That strange silence began again and soon after, Tasha opened her mouth to form a reply, but Hiei's lips were quicker.

"Shut up."

"Huh?" Tasha's head shot up at the sudden intrusion upon her seemingly one-ended conversation, her eyes round as she stared at Hiei's profile. "Hey mister! Did you know my precious likes you?" She lifted the sphere up so Hiei could see it and then said, "Precious likes weird people like you."

Hiei didn't answer, which made Tasha angry. She took a step toward Hiei, prepared to do something, although what couldn't be told, but was suddenly halted when Isabella appeared before her in a wisp of mist.

"What are you doing out of your area, Tasha?" the small woman inquired brusquely.

"Precious and I were tired of the area so we wanted to take a walk, but stupid Ayana told us no so we excaped, but she chased us so we ran into mister's room because his door was open."

"Escaped, Tasha. Now why don't you go back to the area."

"No! Then Ayana will be able to get us! We're in bad room where she can't reach! Let me stay here with Mister!" Tasha turned round pleading eyes to Hiei who had since turned to give them a perfect view of his backside.

"Hiei," Isabella intoned, "do you wish to have Tasha in your company?"

"No."

"MISTER HIEI!" Tasha began to wail. "Please let me stay and play with you! Precious likes you and you are much better than Ayana!"

"No."

Tasha's face flushed a deep scarlet and then she screamed, "I HATE YOU!"

Storming out of the room, the girl continued to vent, muttering curses and something akin to "evil Hiei meanness".

Isabella turned to face Hiei's back as she said, "I apologize for the intrusion. Tasha usually stays in her area but she's prone to strange tendencies and wanting to disobey me. Good bye."

Isabella headed for the door when Hiei suddenly asked, "What did the girl mean by 'bad room'?"

The question gave Isabella pause as her hand touched the handle to the door. She slowly turned back to the demon who had now faced her and answered evasively, "You will learn soon enough."

Yes! The breaks finally cooperate.

Well this chapter was more of a filler and a way for me to briefly let you all get a taste of Tasha, the derranged girl living at the Tokyo Health Institute. You probably won't meet her again for at least another full story has past, but keep her in mind. The next chapters will be much more eventful so bear with me as I struggle to keep my school work, extra-curricular activities, and writing balanced as best I can; lets just hope I don't get grounded from the computer any time soon then, ne?

Tata, luvs.
.Bloodrunner.

PS. please make me aware of any spacing mistakes or spelling/grammatical errors; I'm trying to get this fixed up but this damn headache gets in the way of things.