Chapter 3
It's been about six months now since I found the notebook. On my way home from school, a girl from my class rushed passed me with tears in her eyes. I didn't take too much notice of it until 5 guys knocked me over as they chased each other down the road. I raised myself up from the gravel as blood started dripping from my nose. Of course, no one asked if I was ok. No one even took any notice of what just happened. I wondered what the hell those pricks were running like that for in the first place. It wasn't until I picked up my books that I noticed that they weren't chasing each other, they were chasing….. Her…
I got on my feet and paced towards their direction. What could they possibly be doing to make her run off like that? What did they do? And… What do they plan to do?
I clutched my books and ran after them. I took a right at the bottom of the road, ran through a narrow footpath covered in thorns, cutting my legs and arms in the process.
I slowed down, saw a wall in front of me and stopped to catch a breath.
I found myself with a choice to turn left back into the housing area, or right, going deeper into the woods. I had no idea where they could have ran to. I paused for a moment to examine the lacerations on my skin, I placed my backpack on the ground in front of me, opened the front pocket and reached for something to cover up my leg, the only thing close enough to a bandage was a scarf made from polyester. I ripped the scarf in half, tied one piece around my left leg and the other around my right arm, guess there wasn't enough scarf to go around. I thought now would be the perfect opportunity to put my coursework in my bag so I opened the other zip, picked up my books and….. The notebook. Why is it in my school bag?
I stared at it for a moment and just as I was about to zip up my bag and turn back, I heard a scream coming from the right. I gasped and snatched the notebook.
"That has to be her." I stuttered.
I couldn't bear to think what could have happened to her so I zipped my bag and whipped it over my shoulder. I pelted down through the bushes and trees following the echo of that distraught scream only to find 4 of the guys standing around something. I hid behind the nearest tree trunk and peaked towards them.
"Shut up you little bitch!"
The sound of a loud smack came from within the group, followed by a high pitched cry. I looked closer between the legs of the 4 students and saw the girl faced up, tackled to the ground. The fifth member of the group was crouching above her. His left hand was holding her wrists together above her head while his other was throttling her neck. She shuffled, trying to escape his grip but he dug his right leg into her stomach, impeding her.
She closed her eyes tight and tried to escape again.
"P-please! Stop!" she screamed out while looking around the group.
The guy placed his forefinger on her quivering lips and leaned closer to her right ear.
"Shhhh, don't be afraid. I'm here to save you…. Save you from…"
He paused for a moment, glared at her and chuckled.
"Yourself." He ran his finger down her lips and down across her neck.
He looked down to her chest and reached for the top button of her shirt.
She whipped her head to the left to look away. But before I could move she was looking straight at me. Our eyes were locked as he loosened her shirt.
I reached for the notebook, opened a new page and grabbed a pencil from my pocket. I placed the pencil on the paper and paused in realisation.
"I- I don't know his name." I looked back at her, her eyes still locked on to mine.
Tears began running down her face as the group of guys began sniggering to themselves.
I was stuck, there was nothing I could do to help her. I panicked and lost my balance, snapping a twig in the process. I froze, held my breath and tried to move myself further behind the tree… But it was no good. The group looked straight at my direction, including the fifth.
He stared straight into my eyes and rushed over to me, I tried to get up and run but my legs were cramped due to crouching too long. I fell to the ground, turned around and before I could see what was happening he dug his foot into my chest.
"Who the Fu-…" he paused himself and slithered his gaze towards the notebook.
"Been taking notes kid?" he snarled at me.
He reached down and grabbed the notebook. I gripped to it tighter, but he forced it from my hands. He opened the cover and flipped through the pages.
"Nothing but stupid names!" He threw it at me and squeezed his foot harder in my chest.
I could barely breathe but I just managed to force the words from my mouth.
"G-Get off of M-me!"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folding knife. He looked back towards the other guys and the girl and grinned. He leaned down and faced me. He pointed the blade at my throat and just as he was about to impale the blade into my neck he turned his attention to just above my head. His eyes were fixed on something as he began looking up as if he was examining a tall object. He shot back and began shaking. I sat up, confused to what was going on. I looked around and everyone else was just looking at him, they seemed as confused as I was. He got up on his feet and pointed straight forward.
"You idiots! Can't you see it!?"
I looked back behind me and saw two long black feet floating in the air. I guided my eyes upwards and saw who it was. The Shinigami, Ryuk. Was he really here this whole time? Why didn't he do anything?
Ryuk looked at him puzzled.
"You can see me?" He sounded like it was the first time anyone noticed or even saw him.
"It talks! It fucking talks!"
One of the other group members walked towards him.
"Hisashi… You ok?"
I gasped and grabbed the notebook. I couldn't believe it, His first name. I knew his first name. All I needed next was his last name. He stared at Ryuk.
"What the hell are you?" he quivered.
I looked behind me and mumbled,
"Ryuk, I need your help."
He looked down at me. He noticed I was holding the notebook open with a pencil in my hand.
"I need… His last name…"
He smiled and burst out laughing. He flew towards Hisashi and began circling around him.
"You're in luck kid, you're the only one who can see me. Which…. It's not really too good for you as, you see… I'm a Shinigami."
"Shinigami?" Hisashi whispered to himself. His face went white. He began shaking.
"You got it, kid. Now, Hisashi. That's an interesting name you got there. Care to tell me what it means?"
"Umm, it means…." He looked down to the floor and shook harder.
"It means…. What?" Ryuk floated closer towards him and gazed into his eyes.
"It means… Long-Lived…."
Ryuk floated away from him and started to chuckle.
"Well then, isn't that ironic."
I looked at them both and began to notice a strange sound coming from Hisashi's feet. It sounded like water dripping onto a pile of leaves.
Ryuk looked down to Hisashi's crotch and saw a patch of wet expand onto his trousers.
"He's… He's…." Ryuk made a slight snorting sound and began bursting out laughing.
"He's pissed himself!" his laughing only got louder as he pointed at the patch.
Then all of a sudden as if nothing happened, Ryuk shot back forward and stared into the Hisashi's eyes.
"Tell you what kid. I'm willing to do a deal. It's a simple request, really. I will let you walk away and never bother you again. But only if you tell me your last name."
"My last name?"
"BINGO! It's that simple. I need your full name in order to set myself free." He swung himself behind Hisashi and looked at me and grinned.
"My last name…."
"Yeeeesss?"
"My last name…. Is ….. Nakajima…."
Ryuk looked at me and flew between us both.
"That wasn't so tough now, was it?"
"Wh-Why are you still here?"
Ryuk turned towards him.
"I'm a Shinigami, my purpose is to kill. I wouldn't call myself a liar. I just like to play dirty."
I got up on my feet and began jotting down on the paper.
"Hisashi….. N-A-K-A-J-I-M-A."
I looked to Hisashi and cleared my throat.
"All done." I smiled as I closed the notebook.
He stared at me with great concern. Ryuk flew right at him, raised his right arm and whispered,
"Don't be afraid Kid. I'm here to save you." He leaned right into Hisashi's face and grumbled,
"From yourself."
All of a sudden, Hisashi lunged down to the ground clutching his chest. He started shaking frantically until finally…. He stopped.
The 4 other members of the group gasped in shock.
"H-Hisashi?" one of the members whispered as they gathered around his body.
As they began to come to realisation, I ran over to the girl, removed my jacket and placed it over her.
"I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but we really have to get you out of here."
She looked up at me with tears still running down her face.
"Thank you." She breathed.
We got on our feet and ran. Ryuk stayed behind, I turned round at him and stopped.
"What's wrong?" the girl asked me, clinging on to my arm.
Ryuk reached for something in his pouch. It was another Notebook. He looked at me and called out,
"You're lucky I have a spare." He opened the notebook, examined the group of guys around the body and placed his quiver on an empty page.
"You should get out of here!" He called.
He looked at each member of the group and smiled.
"Now then. Where to begin. I think I'll start with….." He looked towards one of them.
"You."
I felt a nudge on my arm, turned round to the girl as she asked,
"What is it?"
I smiled.
"Nothing. We should get you home."
She smiled back to me, wiping the final tear from her right eye.
"Yeah. I'll show you the way!" She then started running still holding onto me and dragging me along. It was hard to keep up the pace.
Sometime later we got to what seemed to be her street. Strangely enough it looked exactly the same as mine. As we were walking down the sidewalk I couldn't help but notice more and more similar things about the area.
Luckily for me, the girl decided to walk at a steady pace, she looked around, gave out a little breath and turned her attention to me.
"Just to let you know, I'm actually going to a friend's house."
I looked at her, puzzled.
"After what just happened… After what COULD have happened to you? Shouldn't you go back to your family?"
"I… I don't have a family…"
I didn't know how to respond. Was she being serious? Did she just have a fallout with them recently? I couldn't think of anything to say, other than,
"How?"
She turned her focus to the ground.
"I don't know… I've never had a family. You see, When I was a little girl I never felt like I belonged with anyone. As long as I can remember, my mother was always in a hospital bed. The doctors would never tell me what was wrong with her, they always just patted my head and walked away… When I looked at her, no matter how pale she was, no matter how sick she was, no matter how tired she was…. She'd always smile at me. Even as a kid, I knew she wasn't happy. So… Why was she smiling? Sometimes she'd reach out her hand and say 'Mummies going to be okay'. I wanted to believe her but her hand was always so cold… On her Birthday, I thought I'd go in to surprise her. I drew her a picture of her and me standing together in a field on a sunny day, it was terrible but I was only 5… I ran down the corridor as fast as I could but when I got to the room she was in I was unable to move…"
I noticed a tear drop to the ground. She looked at me with tears running down her face.
"There were so many doctors around her bed, I walked over to the bed 'M-Mummy?' I called out to her. The doctors turned around and began to lead me out of the building. I heard my mother's voice, 'Honey, is that you?' she called out. I ran over to her, still holding the drawing. She took my hand and rubbed her thumb over my fingers. She said to me 'Sweetie, Mummy might be going away for a while… And if she does I want you to be a good girl, okay?' I had no idea what she meant at the time but I just nodded. She saw the drawing in my hand, she asked if she could see it, so I reached out and gave it to her. She smiled and told me 'Oh honey, it's beautiful'. She closed her eyes and whispered 'so very beautiful.' I didn't know why, but…. She just stopped talking. Her eyes were closed so I thought she was just sleeping. I nudged her arm. 'Mummy…. Are you sleeping?' I kept calling her but she just wouldn't open her eyes. One of the nurses checked her pulse then called for a doctor. I was so confused on to what was going on that I began to panic, she just wouldn't wake up… After the doctor explained to me in the easiest way he could of what happened, I began to understand why she wouldn't wake up. I kissed her hand and whispered 'H-Happy Birthday Mummy…' Sometime after the funeral, my father started drinking again. No matter how much I begged him, he just wouldn't stop. Soon after that, people started complaining about shouting coming from our home. It was around that time when two women in fitted suits came to our door and removed me from my home. I've been in foster care ever since. The worst thing about it is that everyone there hates me. They treat me as if I'm some kind of freak, I don't think I've ever had any friends until I started high school. That being said, I only have the one friend. But, I can't complain because that's one more than I've ever had. If there's ever anything troubling me or if anyone bullying me, she's always there to cheer me up and make me smile."
"She sounds pretty cool, then."
She whipped her eyes to mine with a grin on her face.
"She's more than just cool, she's AMAZING!" Her grin became a large smile as the sunset was glowing threw her eyes.
"Although, she doesn't seem very happy sometimes. She can be really down for days."
"How come?"
"She says it's because of her brother. Apparently he's always really depressed all the time. This one time, she found a razor in his bedroom with blood on it. She's always worried about him but I just think he sounds like a bit of an asshole."
Wow, maybe I should meet this guy sometime. Sounds like we've got a lot in common. I wanted to say something to her about respecting others, but I couldn't face telling her that I'm like that two.
"Well then, friend's house it is then."
She looked at me amazed.
"Really?" She smiled.
"After all you've just told me? Of course! But I insist in escorting you there, I've taken you this far and I'm not going to take that chance of letting anything happen to you."
She laughed, turned round and started walking.
"Let's go then!"
I quickly started walking, catching up to her. Funny, I thought I was supposed to be escorting HER.
As we carried on walking down past the houses, I suddenly saw mine coming up and before I knew it….. She was walking up to my door.
"Umm, I think this is the wrong house." I stuttered.
"Don't be silly, I know my BFF's house when I see it."
Thoughts were rushing through my brain when I asked,
"So, uhh… What's your friend's name?"
"Huh? Oh. It's Karin"
Oh… My…. GOD…..!
What the hell is going on? Why is she at my front door? Why did she say my sister's name? And why did she talk about her as if she's cool and stuff? Wait a second… Did she call me an asshole just now!?
I wonder if Karin really is that worried about me… Hold on… If she knows about my cutting, why hasn't she said anything to me? AND WHY WOULD SHE TALK ABOUT IT TO HER FRIENDS!?
ARGH! I don't know whether I should hug her or shout at her, if not both!
Ah well, I should probably unlock the door, seeing as I've got a freaking key.
"Let me get that for you." I sighed as I approached the door.
"W-what?"
I stepped in front of her and insert the key into the keyhole. But just before I can turn it, the door opens. It was Karin, she must have heard her from her bedroom window at the top left.
"Couldn't you have just let me open it myself?" I mumbled.
"Huh? But I thought I heard…" She looks behind me and notices the girl behind me.
"SAKURA!" She shouts out while nocking me out of the way to approach her.
"Where have you been?"
"Oh, umm. Those guys chased after me again…"
"What!?"
"But it's okay! He was there. I guess he kinda saved my life."
I'd like to take that in and be proud about it, but I just couldn't help notice Karin staring at me in disbelief.
"You know, you could at least close your mouth if you're going to stare at me like that… Don't want you to start drooling."
She quickly snapped out of her daze, closed her mouth and walked over to me.
She wouldn't stop looking at me with that face… Until it slowly formed into a smile when she said,
"You know what? I'm proud of you bro."
I was about to smile until she started hugging me.
"Urgh, Karin. Could you get off of me? Like, right now…."
"Why?" she sniggered.
"You're… You're squeezing my arm…"
She opened her eyes and looked over at my arm.
Remembering my "habit" and seeing the damage from earlier, she quickly let go.
"OH! I'm… I'm…. I'm very sorry!" She burst out as she bowed.
I sighed,
"I'm your brother, not a teacher. Stop bowing."
She immediately raised herself up straight.
"Right! Umm, yeah. Sorry."
"Stop apologising…"
"Sorry…"
"Karin!"
"What!?"
"….. Just… let me inside already…"
She suddenly noticed that she was blocking the door so she hopped aside and let me through the door.
"You can let her in you know." I said to Karin as I took off my shoes and walked up the stairs.
"And take off your shoes!"
Just before I reached the top of the stair case, I turned around and looked at Sakura.
"Oh, and Sakura. Don't worry about calling me an asshole. I've called myself a hell lot worse."
She looked up at me in realisation.
"I umm..." she stuttered.
"I said not to worry about it." I smiled.
"Welcome to our home. It was nice meeting you."
"Oh! Umm, Yeah! It was nice meeting you too!"
I turned towards my room, walked in and closed the door.
"Are they dead?" I asked in what seemed to be an empty room.
Ryuk emerged from the shadows.
"Not yet."
I gasped.
"What do you mean not yet!?"
"I mean, I've wrote their deaths to be a little more fun than just a boring old heart attack. Something YOU should learn to do more."
"Hmph, whatever. As long as they'll be dealt with soon."
I didn't realise it at the time. But Ryuk was right.
In the time of only one day, all four students were dead.
Guy number one was riding his bike home from the woods. As he was riding down a steep hill, he noticed a truck speeding in his direction. The boy tried to apply the brakes.
The chain came loose and the brake wouldn't work. He smashed into the front of the truck.
Witnesses say he had earphones in and wasn't aware of the traffic ahead.
Deceased.
Guy number two:
While practising his favourite sport (which just so happened to be parkour), He thought he'd try a further jump than usual. As he was running up and preparing to jump, his foot got caught up in maintenance wire, missed the jump and fell off the edge. Although the fall wouldn't have killed him if he were to fall on his front, He landed on his shoulder causing his neck to snap and his spine to fracture.
His body wasn't found until the next day.
Records state it was a "simple" accident.
Deceased.
Guy number three:
While trying to fit in with a new group of "friends", he decided he would do everything he could to impress them to fit in. Unfortunately for him, these people really put him on the edge… And not the edge he'd expect. Although standing on the edge of a really high building with your eyes closed might seem like a worthy enough trial for others, these guys were all about a completely different "high". I suppose for anyone else, a little joint wouldn't be so bad. Unless like this guy, you had asthma.
Certainly not the same Class C he was used to at school.
Addicts are never the best people to get assistance from, He had a large asthma attack and rather than giving him his EpiPen, they injected a rusty needle of smack instead.
He shortly died of a drug overdose and lack of oxygen.
Deceased.
And Finally, Guy number four:
From what I could tell back at the woods. This guy seemed like Hisashi's best pal. Seeing as he seemed the most upset when Hisashi died. So I suppose it only makes sense what happened to him.
Later in the evening of the same day Sakura was attacked, the guy wondered home, intoxicated.
After sitting on the ground in a pitch black room, he shortly decided to run a bath.
As his mind started to implode with images of Hisashi's dead body, he began to weep.
Noticing one of his father's razor blades on the side of this sink, he reached out and grabbed it.
After taking a deep breath, he dipped his right arm into the water, placed the razor above his wrist and ripped it threw his veins, up to the antecubital space.
Before he knew it, the bath water was a dark, thick red.
To block out his screaming, he leaned back and placed his head into the water.
Minutes later, he died from a combination of blood loss and drowning.
His mother found him as he died hours later.
Classic suicide.
Deceased.
It sure was nice for Ryuk to give me the details as he watched.
I just wished I could have been there to see it all.
I now know my purpose in this shitheap of a world.
It's up to me to not only rid the world from bad people, criminals and thugs, but to protect the ones around me.
All my life I've been looking for someone to care for me when I should have been looking out for the ones who look up to me.
I never realised how shit of a job I was doing at being an older brother. I just hope it's not too late for me to change that…
One step at a time, of course.
So for now, I think I'll try giving up cutting…
I think….. Things might just be going my way for once.
For now though, I'll just try finishing this book Karin got me for my birthday.
Who knew that a story about four clans of wild cats could be so interesting?
I'm sure my friend back in England would love it. I should tell him about it sometime.
But I suppose I should probably plan ahead for tomorrow.
No doubt the school will point out that 5 of their students are dead…
….
OH FUCK!