Three Worlds Insane Asylum
Ch. 2 If he starts talking to himself, I QUIT.
Ch. 2 If he starts talking to himself, I QUIT.
The next morning, all the facility inmates were woken up at seven a.m. In the worker’s room, they were playing rock, paper, scissors to see who was the unlucky b*****d that had to take the new inmate his food for the morning. One of the lesser men lost and was forced to fetch breakfast from the cooks. All of the inmates were out of their cells by now and roaming the large facility inside and outside. The guard stopped before the cell of the new inhabitant, rapping on the bars when he noticed the person was lying on their side on their bed. “Oi! Fresh meat, get up. Wake up call sounded already.” When the figure remained unmoving, the guard grit his teeth, rapping on the bars loudly. “HEY. Get the ******** up! I’m talking to you!”
“There isn’t a need for all the noise; I could hear you fine the first time.” The soft tenor intoned one again, sending deep shivers down the spine of the guard. How could he be so... calm? It was disconcerting how... at ease this new one was. Whenever they brought in new ones, they were always frantic and on edge the first couple of days. They also normally went stir crazy through the night yet he didn’t make a peep. The young man shifted his body, rotating his feet around to the ground and propelling himself upwards while shifting his weight on his heels and arching his body. “The straight jacket allows little movement as is. I apologize if I am slow to respond.” He stepped backward from the barred, caged door and stood silently, honey brown eyes staring tiredly at the guard.
The guard took out his keys cautiously, eyeing in the tangerine haired young man who couldn’t have been more that seventeen or eighteen by the look of him. He opened the door and slipped inside the cell, shutting it behind him. He set the plate of food and a fork on the bed. He frowned at the young man, motioning with his hand for the other to turn. The young man slowly turned around. The guard quickly undid the bindings for the sleeves of his straight jacket, rending his arms free, backing away to the bars at the speed of light and pressing to them.
The young tangerine haired man barely registered the guard, moving languidly over to his bed, sitting down on the edge. After moving the sleeves of the straight jacket, he began to eat. While the food wasn’t the greatest in the world, it was alright enough to eat. He completed the meal in less than ten minutes, setting the empty plate on the floor and scooting it over to the guard. He slowly rose from his bed, crossing his arms over his stomach in the position they were in before to allow the guard to retie the straightjacket.
The guard tired the young man’s arms back into place, watching as he smiled tiredly in response and went to lay down again on his side on his bed, facing the wall. The guard picked up the plate hurriedly and exited the cell, locking it behind him and hurriedly running back to the break room. After dropping off the plate, he entered the break room and shut the door quickly. “I am NOT going back there!” He was breathing heavily, a terror stricken look in his eyes. “Don’t ******** make me go back there with that… thing.”
One of the other guards snickered and sneered at the man. “What, are you scared of some patient?”
The man slowly sat down in a nearby chair, shaking violently. “Th-that kid… He can’t be human!” A lot of the other guards surrounded him, asking him questions. “His eyes... they’re so damned empty. And he’s too calm. NO ONE here is that calm.” His shaking increased. “It’s like that thing wants to be here... Like he wants to be locked away.”
The man who had put the boy in the cell the previous night frowned lightly. That was the exact thing he had thought upon seeing the boy. Those lifeless, tired eyes, that soft spoken voice, and his calm state while being at ease in the facility. Something wasn’t right about that one. Not a lot was said about the boy as he was coming in, except he was going to be one of the cases going to trial at a later date. The kid showed no outward tendencies of violence or aggression, so why was he here?
--
Sode no Shirayuki moved the food around on her plate with her fork, face scrunched up in disgust. She often wondered why they served such crap here. Oh, that was right, no one cared about the mental patients here. They just wanted them locked away in solitude so they wouldn’t disturb precious society with their existence. God those outside people made her want to puke. Self centered assholes. She took another bite of food and curled her lip. What did they serve everyone, ground up slump? She took a look around the cafeteria, frowning at the fact no one that she remotely got along with was there. Freaking jackasses. She knew Zabimaru had counseling before lunch, but where was everyone else? As she looked around, her eyes locked on to a certain kind, white haired doctor with a terrible cough. She grinned and waved at the man, a bright smile on her face.
The older man smiled softly, gliding over to the raven haired girl he’d been helping for about five years now. She was a spunky little ball of energy and packed a very mean punch when she was pissed. A lot of guards never went near her when she had a violent fit. He stepped up beside the deceptively young looking woman, a gentle smile on his face. He was one of the few in this facility that cared enough to help all the patients to get better, often engaging in contact with everyone and always giving therapeutic tips to help them any way possible. “Shirayuki-san, how nice to see you today. Is your day going well?”
The girl grinned brightly, violet eyes lighting up as the doctor spoke. He was always the nicest there and the most genuine. He was very much like a father figure to everyone in the facility. This man was the only one she could feel that she could rely on, besides her older brother of course. “It’s going good! Besides NO ONE seeming to be around.” She crossed her arms over her chest with a pout. “Zabi’s probably still with Ms. Yoruichi, Wabisuke said he would get food later, but where’s Hyourinmaru and Tobiume? I haven’t seen them all morning!”
The white haired man smiled sadly down at the raven haired young woman. “Tobiume-chan had a very violent seizure this morning. Hyourinmaru’s staying with her to take care of her. She’s been shaken up since the incident. She aligned with reality when she was walking down the halls. According to Hyou-kun, she had run on ahead, blissful and happy, when he rounded the corner, she was staring, terror stricken at the end of the hallway saying, ‘He’s here. He’s here. Get him away, get him away.’ Then she her body gave way and started convulsing. Katen found them and got the staff to help carry her to the infirmary.”
Sode no Shirayuki’s eyes widened before growing sad, a sigh passing through her lips. “She’s been through so much, the poor thing. It sucks she has to constantly go through this all. I don’t understand how Hyourinmaru can stand it. If it were me in his place, I’d be in total distress and at a loss for what to do.” Tobiume and Hyourinmaru’s case and circumstance was the only case in the facility everyone knew who it belonged to. The young girl had been through one of the most traumatizing events for a young woman and barely lived through it. She’d developed psychosis from the mental strain and currently stayed in her own inner world most of the time, yet still interacted with everyone in the facility. She didn’t see a mental institution, but rather a large home for all kinds of people with no place to go.
The older white haired man nodded with a soft sigh. “I feel bad for her. I don’t think she’ll ever recover from her ordeal. If she does, it will be a miracle.” He looked off to the side with a stricken face. He was attached to all of the patients and was happy and sad when they all made breakthroughs and had downfalls. Tobiume’s case was one of the saddest he had ever had. He looked over at the raven haired girl with a small smile. “May I sit with you, Shirayuki-san?”
The raven haired girl grinned brightly. “Of course you can. You know you can! But, only if you call me Yuki, Ukitake-san!” She placed her hands on her hips, pouting up at the doctor. “You promised me you would!”
The older man just laughed heartily, sitting down beside the young woman. “Sorry, Yuki-chan, force of habit, you know? And if I call you Yuki, you have to call me Juushiro.” She smiled lightly, a teasing smile. The girl constantly told him to just call her Yuki to shorten her name she went by here. He in turn asked her to call him by his first name, but she insisted that it was rude to do so. The young woman was so well mannered sometimes.
Sode no Shirayuki sighed softly. “Fine, Juushiro-san.” She pouted lightly, staring up at the white haired doctor. “So, what did you come in here for? Just visiting, or finding someone in specific?” She tipped her head to the side curiously. Normally Juushiro wouldn’t come to the cafeteria to find someone, especially at lunch, so why was he there?
Juushiro smiled down at the girl fondly, a kind glint in his eyes. He really did care for the girl. He wanted to help her in any way possible to get better so she could live out in the normal world again like she did before the whole mess with her got started. “Actually, Yuki-chan, I was looking for you. I need you to do me a favor.” He was hoping she would say yes. He needed someone he could trust to do this job.
The raven haired girl nodded with a frown. A favor? What did he mean by ‘a favor’? “What do you need me to do, Juushiro-san?” She had a feeling she knew what it was, but wanted to wait and see if that was what he asked of her.
Juushiro sighed softly as he went through his own words in his head. “You know the new one was taken in last night before bed... Well, all of the guards are too scared to go near his cell. They don’t want anything to do with him. The one who took him breakfast this morning almost had a psychotic break himself out of fright. He kept saying, ‘He can’t be human, he can’t be human’ and collapsed. Now all the rest are too frightened to go anywhere near him.” He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was thinking, perhaps another patient here could bring him his food for the next few days so he’ll adjust easier. And I was wondering if you could take him food every meal time.”
Sode no Shirayuki looked down at her tray, lips pulled into a frown, mulling this over. She wanted to help Juushiro-san. Did she want to do this though? She looked over at the white haired doctor with a straight face. “Is he schizophrenic?”
Juushiro raised an eyebrow at the question. “We don’t know yet, Yuki-chan... He hasn’t gone to Yoruichi-san for evaluation. But from past records, a lot of psychiatrists don’t think he is, if that helps.” They really had no clue. In the boy’s records, there were puzzling notes, as if the psychiatrists themselves didn’t even know. In the possible cases they had written down for his condition, schizophrenia had been named but very unsurely. He was an anomaly to doctors.
Sode no Shirayuki frowned, her cheeks puffing up as she crossed her arms across her chest, making it look like a petulant pout. “Well, is he schizophrenic like Shinji? Because if he is, I’m not doing it!”
Juushiro couldn’t help but smile, but shook his head at her all the same. “That’s not very nice to say, Yuki-chan.”
“What?! Shinji’s creepy when he talks to himseeeellffff!” She was whining now, flailing her arms about. The blonde haired man was already weird enough with his short cropped hair and crooked smile, but he also talked to himself a lot. It was WEIRD. She wasn’t the only one who found it creepy though, a lot of others did too. Still, the blonde irritated them when he could, talking to himself when around them.
Juuoshiro only shook his head at her. “All you have to do is take him his food and go fetch his plate later. It’s not too terribly troublesome. You don’t have to stay with him if you don’t want to. Just tell the cooks you need a plate for the new inmate and tell them Juushiro sent you.” He smiled as she opened her mouth again. “His cell is the one at the end of the Vizard hall. And just ask someone to open up his cell. Anymore questions?”
Shirayuki closed her mouth and crossed her arms over her chest before standing and walking away. Whatever, she may as well since he was asking so nicely. “FINE. BUT IF HE STARTS TALKING TO HIMSELF, I QUIT!” Juushiro just laughed heartily in response.
--
Sode no Shirayuki reached up with one hand, rapping her knuckles on the bars. “Hey, food time. I brought you something to eat.” When the figure lying on the cot in there didn’t move, she scowled, rapping her knuckles on the bars again louder, with more aggravation. “Can you hear me in there?” When the person still didn’t move, she beat her knuckles on the bars with an annoyed growl. “HEY. I SAID GET THE ******** UP. STOP IGNORING ME DAMMIT!”
“Beating on the bars does little more than make your hand hurt. And there’s no need to shout, I can hear you just fine.” The figure remained still, the soft tenor floating through the air. He soon shifted, arching his back and slowly getting up. His honey brown eyes stared out of the bars curiously, not understanding who this girl was. “You aren’t a doctor or guard.”
“Oh look, the new one has a brain.” Sarcasm was evident in the young woman’s voice. She scowled as he still continued to stare. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer. Anyways, I’m a patient here, just like you. One of the doctors asked me to take you your food, since the guards are too much of pussies to come near here. So, for the next two days, I’ll be taking you your food. Don’t like it? Get over it.”
The young male only tipped his head to the side, no expression on his face. He was still back in the shadows of the cell, not stepping into the light just yet. He’d asked earlier for the light in his cell to be turned off so no one would have to see him. He knew very well people were afraid of him, and rightly so. He was in there for a very good reason, even if people think he was there by mistake. “Are you not afraid?”
Sode no Shirayuki frowned lightly at that question. Afraid? Of him? He was just like any other idiot in here. “ Uhh, no? Why would I be?” At the confused glance she was given, she snorted lightly. “In here, newbie, the guards might be afraid, but the rest of us generally don't give a ********. We're all here for different reasons, and we're all here to get 'better'. The people who work here are ******** idiots that don't get it, besides the one guard and one doctor who have both lived through this s**t, reformed, and got better. They both dedicate their lives to helping us too. No one judges each other for what they've done in the past. Everyone has skeletons in their closets they don't want anyone knowing about.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
The young male in the cell stared curiously at her before slowly bringing himself up off the bed, walking towards the bars and into the light, the artificial lighting making his tangerine colored hair glow like a beckon. His chocolate eyes stared down at the short, raven haired girl. His head tipped to the side lightly, just staring at her for a good few moments. “What should I call you, then?”
The raven haired woman grinned broadly at the young man. “Here, I go by Sode no Shirayuki, or Shirayuki, or Yuki for short.” At the confused glance she received yet again, she smirked lightly. “Here, we don't go by our given, legal names. When we arrive, we choose a name that reflects our inner soul. It's a name that our hearts tell us when our names are asked. It's also to help so no one knows who you really are or the story behind why you came here. They ******** up our sense of time and never let us know the real date. I think we're like... three to four months off of outside world time. So, the news we hear gets scrambled up anyways. What was the date when you arrived?”
The tangerine haired male thought for a moment. “The twenty-first of May, I think. I'm not sure. I wasn't exactly... given the date where I was before.” He frowned lightly, before shrugging and his face going neutral again. “They kept me in solitary confinement for about a week. But I believe that was the date I saw on a calendar I passed.”
“See, the dates of the news we're getting right now is stuff from March. IF it's even FROM March, anyways. Who knows. They probably tamper with crap and mix it all around on us too.” Sode no Shirayuki shrugged lightly to herself. “Who knows.” She placed one hand on her hip, other hand holding the plate of food up. “So, what's YOUR name, redhead?”
The tangerine haired teen thought for a moment, closing his eyes in the process. He calmly waited for a moment before a name was whispered in his mind softly in the duel toned voice he'd become used to hearing over time. A slight giggle followed the whispered name. The young man opened his eyes and looked over at the raven haired girl, meeting her violet irises with his own chocolate brown ones. “Zangetsu. Tensa Zangetsu.”
Sode no Shirayuki grinned lightly, nodding her head at the other. “Nice to meet you, Zangetsu! Now, let's get you untied so you can eat properly, because I am NOT feeding you, thank you very much!” She turned and started yelling out down at hallway. “HEY! p***y GUARDS! GET YER ASSES DOWN HERE AND OPEN THE NEWBIE'S CAGE AND UNTIE HIM! I'M NOT GOING TO FEED HIM THROUGH THE BARS, DAMMIT!”
A smile pulled at the corners of Zangetsu's lips. He was beginning to like this girl. She was spunky, and didn't give a damn what people thought of her. She was loud, proud, and didn't care if she offended anyone with what she said. He was starting to believe he might get along with at least a few people here. He hoped so; it might make his very long stay there fly by all the quicker if he at least had people to keep him company.
