Asylum

Asylum(n.) - 1. A place of safety; refuge 2. An institution for te 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)

Past Revealed

Seated on the tree branch, Hiei tried his hardest not to think about what had just conspired in his room. He would rather lapse, once more, into a mindless peaceful state, but it eluded him with fervor. Not only that, but he couldn't help but want to understand all that had just happened. He didn't expect answers and he sure as hell wasn't going to open his mouth and make them. He knew that he was going to leave soon so he didn't want to be involved. It would only hurt him in the end when their callous and devious plans were finally revealed. The people here didn't really care for him and he didn't want them to. Getting involved would only mean being caught off guard.

Still fidgeting over everything, thoughts still circling on themselves, Hiei felt Ayana's aura coming nearer. She probably came to tell him to forget all about what had happened and that she hated him for being alive, so Hiei didn't think to get away as she finally came to stand underneath the tree.

She didn't immediately say anything. She instead, sat herself at the base of the tree and stared at the brick pathway. Thankfully, with night descending around Tokyo, most of the patients had already found refuge inside, and the ones that were still lingering stayed closer to the building and didn't wander out to the tree. The two of them were alone in there silence; Hiei trying to ignore his thoughts and Ayana while the woman contemplated how to breach upon the subject that hovered over them both.

Finally she said, "I owe you an explanation for all this."

Hiei didn't speak. The statement didn't make any sense to him so he stayed silent.

Ayana had expected this and continued on with difficulty. "I ... also apologize for getting you involved in this. Isabella must have thought that through you, she could get me to "confront" my problem. She told me she saw a similar past in you, as is in me. I know you probably doubt that, but I've come to believe that it may very well be true.

"I'm not expecting you to tell your past to me, but I'm going to explain mine to you, just so you understand what just recently happened to me."

She took a moment's pause to think everything over in her head, straighten herself out, and regain her composure a bit. Finally she spoke again. "I'm an elf, which I'm sure is something you've been wondering about. The decor in my house comes from my need to be with nature. My kind is less known of than demons are only because we keep ourselves well hidden away from normal society. I used to live an elven life, just like the rest, but I wandered into the city out of curiosity and was found out by someone. They employed me as an assassin and I agreed, young and naive, thinking that this would be an adventure and that it wouldn't provoke hatred from my elders.

"I started ... k-killing people that my employer wanted dead. It was difficult at times, but I pushed away the code that bound me not to harm people, my greed winning over my morals. What I didn't at first realize was that ever time I infringed upon the code, its magick was attacking my mind, making me slowly lose it. Isabella, as part of her job, found me in a weak state. I was sick and tortured but when she tried to bring me here, I fought. I was afraid of being confined to a building and in my half-crazed state, I though that they would kill me for my faults. At the same time, I had gotten used to the torture in my mind and I was reluctant to give it up at first.

"She finally got me here, but not without trouble. I killed a few of her employees in my fury and wounded a great deal others; Pablo was one of them. They ... sedated me and finally got me into my room where—the room your in now was the one they confined me to. I was mad then and I attempted to kill myself on numerous occasions. I thought that the only way to make up for what I had done was to die. I hated myself and didn't want to live anymore."

Ayana laughed a dry laugh as she said, "I know it probably sounds so ... cliche but it was what I went through, despite all that. Unlike most of the patients, who were allowed into the garden or around the rest of the building, I was never allowed out of my room. I was the first case that Isabella had where the patient was a danger to everyone. I was also the one who made Isabella create the rule that weapons were to be secured and never to leave the training hall. Not many people here now, know what I used to be like, and some who do had there brains swiped clean because I asked Isabella that there be few people who knew about it.

"I was here for a good year or so before I finally pushed myself inside. I asked Isabella if I could work for her in payment for what I had done in the past. I gave up weapons, afraid that if I held one again, I would be tempted to fall back into the same state I had just escaped. I now hate the sight of blood and people in pain and I tried to forget what I used to be. I didn't ... get past it, I just pushed it away, thinking that making a new personality for myself and working for Isabella would erase everything else.

"As you can tell, it didn't."

Ayana finally fell silent. Hiei mulled over everything she had just told him and finally had to ask a question. "What happened to you in the room?"

"My 'transformation'?" Ayana thought about it. "I think when I left that room, I also tried to leave behind that past. Isabella knew what I had done, that I didn't accept everything completely, so she bound a spell to the room that kept the memories there and would also force me to revert back to my elvish form if I ever entered. I had already feared the room and fought to keep away from it, but when I realized there was a spell there too, I immediately made sure that no one would get that room ... until you came."

Ayana paused again before saying, "You're the first person to every stay in that room in five years. Doesn't that make you feel special."

Hiei didn't answer. He was too busy making sense of it all. Finally, Ayana stood up and stretched, saying, "Well, now that you know, I'll leave you. Oh, and you can should be released in a few days time."

She then walked away, leaving Hiei to his own thoughts.

Yes, this was a short chapter. I just felt that Ayana's explanation was enough for you to digest. Chapter twelve will soon come next and I think that then, this fic will be finished. So what did you think about Ayana's confession, hm? It's interesting enough, I'm sure.

Tata, luvs.
.Bloodrunner.