Chapter 2: We All Fall Down
The second he said that the boy grew a twisted smile. Aoba flinched and quickly tried to get away, stumbling to get up as the boy pursued him, walking, slowly, mocking him. But just as the blue haired boy thought he got away he felt a strong piercing through his chest.
"Ah…"
He looked down, a massive sewing needle had stabbed straight through him. However, there was no blood, instead there was… cotton. He looked back to the other boy who was laughing at him, the laugh was distorted and eerie, like a scary clown. Then another needle jabbed into him… And another, another, another! He cried out in pain as he finally collapsed, coughing and wheezing. The rabbit eared boy stared down at him, still holding that creepy smile on his face as he grabbed one of the needles and yanked it out, stabbing him again.
The pain was too much for him to bare, it was just as painful as death, only it never ended. He couldn't die for some reason. He blacked out.
His passing out bored the boy away, when he woke up he was gone. He sighed with relief and tried to get up, wincing as he felt the needles still stabbing into him. He panted and grabbed them by the ends sticking out of his chest, pushing the backwards to get them to pop out. As they left his body he would seem to heal up instantly. Every time he felt his body fixing itself he got a weird shiver that went up and down his spine.
Once he finally got them all out he continued on his way, walking cautiously. He was still standing on the large doll, the fabrics and cottons that made it up squishing under his feet then puffing back out as he moved. He finally climbed down and stood on normal earth finally. He looked about and spotted a small marionette stand. He leant his head to the side and approached it, sitting down in front of it. Almost as if it knew he was there the curtains opened and revealed two marionettes. One was Noiz, the other seemed to be a rabbit. The Noiz marionette looked like it was sitting alone, weeping. The rabbit came and comforted him, leading him away.
As Aoba let that sink in and stood, two large marionettes surrounded him, the same ones from the little performance he just watched. He let out a frightened scream and covered his head, ducking down as he trembled. They laughed at him, their wooden legs kicking him roughly in the sides. He pushed one aside and ran. He ran for his life, for his sanity. He heard loud wails from back behind him and stopped, looking back.
Fire.
The marionettes were burning. One crawled to him, wailing loud enough to break one's eardrums. It was the Noiz marionette. What frightened him the most was that it was crying out, 'Aoba! Aoba, save me! AOBA!'. The blue haired boy could do nothing but sniffle and back away as he trembled fearfully. Eventually the screaming stopped and the marionette's burned remains were left, nothing more.
Aoba swallowed and went on his way, to any slight noise he would jump and start crying, so was his childish nature. The scenery was much like a forest, many large trees, but no other forms of life. Not even bugs were active in this forest. It was so quiet, nothing made a sound unless it was the gentle cracking of leaves and sticks under his small feet. Occasionally he thought he heard someone else, but it was just his imagination in the end.
He finally decided to set up camp and rest, growing tired and sick of walking. However he wasn't safe even in his sleep.
There was a large door, claw marks decorating it, a paper on it. It read, ' H'. Aoba looked behind him and found the exact same door, only its paper read, 'L I E S'. He swallowed nervously and looked back and forth between the doors. Naturally he turned to the one that said truth. He went to grab the door knob but the door fell over and suddenly burst into flames. He gasped and stumbled back, falling into the door behind him. It fell open so willingly and he fell. It was pitch black, he couldn't see anything.
"Aoba!" Noiz's voice called out suddenly, and he heard him leap down into the darkness with him. He was just falling, continuously deeper into the dark, but then he felt the warmth of Noiz's body as he held him. He didn't say anything, just hugged onto him tightly and cried softly. Then he heard it.
That damned laugh.
He flinched and stared at Noiz with his twisted, crooked smile. Then he felt a knife stab him in the back, only there was blood this time. He coughed and pushed the other away, trying to force them apart as he screamed, "NO!"
Aoba woke up with a startled scream then looked around. He was in the forest again. The sun was shining through the leaves, almost pleasantly. He sighed and brushed his hair back, sweat on his forehead. The small boy stood again, still feeling utterly exhausted, but continued on his travel.
He walked until he reached the edge of the forest. From there he looked out into what seemed to be nothing. It was literally the edge of the world. He stared in awe then looked back, but an unknown shadow stood there. A giggle was heard then he felt a shove. He went flying off the edge.
"I'm sorry…"
Aoba gasped and looked up, the wind ripping past him so quickly his ears popped. There stood the real Noiz. He was but a child himself, tears in his pretty eyes. He looked rather beat up. Aoba's eyes widened and he reached out to him, shouting with a determined fire burning in him that only grew stronger once he saw Noiz.
"Noiz! I'll find you! I promise!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Noiz gasped and stared at him, obviously surprised by his response. He buried his face into his palms and sobbed. Aoba just stared at him and weakly smiled. That was his Noiz, he still wouldn't let him see him cry.
Aoba turned and looked down, free falling now. He held his arms out to his sides and stared down at what as waiting below him. There was another mass of earth, A giant stuffed rabbit standing there with its paws held out. The blue haired boy gasped as he landed in his hands, looking around. Without wasting any time he climbed down and hurried around. He didn't know where he was going or what he was looking for but he had to find a way back to Noiz.
What stood in front of him was Noiz's mansion. He blinked and looked around, hesitantly approaching the door. He went to knock but the door opened on its own. He swallowed and entered, the door quickly slamming shut and locking behind him. Aoba flinched and looked back, furrowing his brows before continuing inside. He heard snickers and giggles, the air felt so heavy it seemed to threaten his life. He cringed when he heard something scratching behind him.
The boy looked back and read what was scratched into the door. 'B Y E – B Y E'.
Aoba turned around and was suddenly hit, hard enough to knock him over. He coughed and struggled up, only to be kicked down again. He could smell alcohol in the air. He whimpered and gently grabbed at the floor as his right ankle was grasped by a large, cold hand. He was so dazed he couldn't properly try to struggle. The next thing he knew he was being thrown into the basement, tumbling down the short flight of stairs.
When the door slammed shut it was pitch black. Aoba couldn't see a single thing. He was in the dark, alone. Afraid of staying inactive for too long, he got up and wobbled around. He stumbled into things, heard some things fall and hit the ground. When a chain hit his face he squeaked, startled, then hesitantly reached up and grabbed it, tugging it. A light bulb flickered on and lit the gloomy, creepy basement. There were rabbit dolls placed on shelves and scattered on the floor, all in different conditions. Some had missing limbs, others sloppily sewn back together. Aoba took a step back, swallowing nervously; afraid they might get up and attack him.
"…Go… Ao… ba…" A faint voice whispered into the blue haired boy's ear. He got a chill down his back but nodded slowly and stepped towards the dolls. Then he got on his hands and knees, looking into the cluttered mass of them. He furrowed his brows, squinting a bit. Maybe it was his imagination but he thought he saw a light, like a candle light. The boy squinted and reached for it, right through the dolls. But as he did he felt two larger hands grab his arm and yank him in. He fell into what seemed to be a hideaway. A young boy, like himself, wearing a rabbit mask and covering himself in a green blanket which he wrapped around himself, was sitting there. He hushed Aoba before he could say anything, and the creaks were heard above them, the man was coming towards the stairs to the basement.
The light outside clicked on and the man looked around, grumbling before throwing a fit, throwing dolls left and right as he destroyed things then stormed upstairs, believing Aoba had escaped somehow. The blue hair boy looks back to the rabbit masked boy who simply crawled out and held a hand to Aoba. He hesitantly complied, his hand grasping onto the other boy's. The masked boy then took his hand, holding it gently, Aoba blinking at him. It seemed he finally had a friend in this crazy world.
"W-What's your name?" He asked hesitantly but the boy didn't answer vocally. He just shook his head at him. Aoba gave a weak smile and spoke up again, "Can I call you Usagi, then?" He asked, the boy simply nodded to him, not seeming to care. Aoba smiled happily and they walked upstairs together. They camped out in hideaways whenever the man started getting close and they were finally lost in the dining room. They hadn't let their hands go since they first met and it's had to have been over four hours of wandering in this house. They were both getting tired but as they went to grab the door handle, it was locked, as was the door that led them in there. The blue haired boy swallowed nervously, looking around as Usagi also seemed to get nervous and squirmy.
…creak… CRASH.
Both the boys have a started jump as an axe came tearing through the door., they both ran under the table and hid. There were no hideaways here, if they were caught they would both die.
…creak…. Thud… creaaaakk…
The door was kicked aside, the man was walking in, the eerie sound of the old wood screaming under the man's boots making the two boys terrified. They were both shaking, even the masked boy. If anything he was even worse than Aoba at this point. What would become of them? Were they doomed to die here, in this room? In this house? Aoba would never see his Noiz again…?
