Beautiful Insanity - Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten - Rude Awakening
Inoue rubs his swollen eyes and holds himself close, the mere thought sending shivers down his spine. He had always managed to keep his cool, in front of his friends, colleagues, family. He had always been regarded as the calm and collected one, someone with a firm control over his emotions and a stable disposition.
He had forever been the leader, the peacemaker, the advisor…and he was so damn tired of it all. So tired of people setting the
expectation bar higher each time he displayed his remarkable patience, as if the world liked challenging him, mocking him behind polite smiles, belittling his very existence, sneering at him that all effort he placed in putting up that cool façade everyday would one day crumble. Nobody could be that good now could they.
He watched as Kei gently banged his head against the wall continuously, muttering some unintelligible words under his breath. He then
focused a bleary gaze on the limp body of his friend lying motionless on the bed, his subtle heart beat displayed in the monitor for them to see.
“What are you going to do now Kei?”
“I don’t know,” came the muffled reply.
“Give up,”
“What?”
Inoue locked a desperate gaze with the elder’s weary ones.
“Please just give up on this case and let’s leave this place,”
“Inoue…you know I can’t do that…they’re going to kill him,”
“HE ALMOST KILLED DAISUKE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
Kei gaped at the sudden outburst. He had never seen the younger boy in this state. He was sobbing hysterically, fists clenched, jaw
tight. His soft eyes were overflowing with tears.
“We almost lost him Kei…we almost lost our Dai-chan,”
Kei bit his lip and glared at the ground, his eyes stinging as moisture began accumulating in them.
“I know,” he replied weakly.
“I so want to just forget this never happened, take Daisuke and leave for home…I really do Ken…but I…I’m so confused,”
Ken sighed guiltily as he watched Kei crumble onto the floor looking absolutely defeated.
“You guys are too loud,”
Their heads snapped in the direction of the weak, throaty voice. In a second both had rushed to Daisuke’s side.
“How are you feeling?” Kei asks, placing a gentle hand on the pale boy’s forehead.
“Like I’ve been impaled with a pocketknife, it’s an interesting feeling; you should try it sometimes,”
Inoue smiled in relief at the sarcastic reply while Kei shook his head.
“Idiot,” he muttered as Daisuke twisted a corner of his lips into a weak grin.
“How’s Ruka?”
Kei frowned.
“Locked up in the confinement room, their preparing for…his next procedure,” he replies pretending to sound nonchalant.
“Procedure?” Daisuke asks confused. Inoue looks disturbed and turns away, staring at the whitewashed wall of the little room with his
hands in his pockets.
“They’re going to execute him Dai-chan,” he then speaks, missing the glare Kei throws at him. Daisuke’s eyes widen as he sits up with a
start. Kei reaches out to grab him as he doubles over, hand pressing onto the bandaged wound on his abdomen.
“Don’t be so careless, you’re wounded!”
“Kei, it was a pocketknife, I’m sure it didn’t penetrate through any of my vital organs,” the other groans increasing the pressure with
his hands.
“Lie back down,”
“Why?” Daisuke protests.
“Why are they going to kill Ruka, what part of the law is this?”
“I don’t understand it either Daisuke, but that boy is dangerous!” Kei argued. Daisuke stared back at him calmly.
“What?”
“I know in your heart your as against this as I am…why are you…?”
They all stared at the door as a series of low knocks resounded in the sudden silence.
“Come in,” Kei called out.
Dr Ferguson peeks in, relief on his face as he finds Daisuke looking at him anxiously.
“How are you Kato?”
“I’m going to be fine sir,” he replies quietly. Dr Ferguson gives him a small smile.
“Look, Kei…I have an idea…instead of…the execution…why don’t we just opt for surgery?”
Daisuke pushes himself up into a sitting position with Inoue’s help. Kei seems perturbed by the suggestion.
“A Lo…Lobotomy?” he stutters.
The man nods his head, expressions a bit grave. Daisuke feels confused at the disturbed look on Kei’s face.
“I mean, if there is an institution willing to house him back in his home country, and we can find somebody to pay for him…then a surgery
would be better don’t you think?”
“You do know Dr Ferguson, if this surgery fails…the boy could possibly fall in a catatonic state,”
“What is Catatonic?” Daisuke asks bewildered.
“Vegetative state of mind, he would be like an emotionless doll,” Inoue explains and he sees Daisuke blanch.
“It’s frightening sir, the aspect of this boy’s state…he would just live in an asylum for the rest of his life? Who would pay for his
rehabilitation and further treatment? He’s so young,” Kei speaks in a pained whisper.
“I would,”
Dr Ferguson arches an eyebrow as Inoue and Kei stare at Daisuke, stunned.
“What? I have the money, I could become his guardian or whatever…will this surgery help him doctor?”
“It is the final alternative since he’s not responding to treatment…furthermore, Dr Radcliffe volunteered to do the surgery, apparently
he’s done one before …and this suggestion was brought up by Dr Radcliffe himself,”
“He’s back?” asks Kei surprised.
“Well, yes…he called me from the village this morning and after I gave him my report…he came up with this idea,”
“Ruka thought somebody was trying to kill us, me and him…that’s why he took my pocketknife…,” Daisuke says placing a hand on the
dressing over his abdomen.
“Paranoia…sir…we don’t even understand the true nature of his disease…how can we be sure that such a controversial surgery would help him?”
“That’s the thing Kei, we don’t know,” replied Dr Ferguson gravely.
“All we can do is trust Dr Radcliffe,”
~*~
Ruka stares up at the dark ceiling, at the splatters of red on its surface and the many eyes staring down at him. He grimaces as they
continue to blink.
“How long will you just sit there?” they chorus.
He sighs and rubs his teary eyes. His vision sharpens as he spots a man walking in through the door and standing before him. The man had no face, and his hands dangled a pocket watch.
“It’s been a while Ruka, how’ve you been?”
Ruka glares back at the faceless man and hears him chuckle.
“Poor poor Ruka, like an abandoned pup on a rainy night…,”
A nurse walks in and comes to stand next to the man, Ruka blinks as the features of the man appear but frowns as he could place no name on him. His eyes widen as he spots the instruments on the tray the nurse was carrying. It was a sleek steel hammer and a strange instrument with a sharp tip.
“It would have been fine if that new young doctor hadn’t messed with my drugs,”
Ruka shakes off a growing headache…seeing flashes of many images in his mind.
“You need to be silenced my boy…I will help you rid of all those painful memories, all those confusing thoughts…all your horrible
nightmares…,”
Ruka shuts his ears as the many eyes start screaming.
Dr Radcliffe smirks at the boy and gives his head nurse a look.
“Bind him.”
NOTE: A Lobotomy is a form of Pshycosurgery, performed by a team of neurosurgeon and pschychiatrist. A part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex is distroyed using a pick and a hammer inserted through the eye sockets. That part of the brain is mainly used for functions of higher intellect including long term memory. This surgery is used for mood disorder and ailments of the emotional nature but not for schizophrenia which is a diorder of thought.
Although still used in certain asian, european countries and the United States...it is still considered a most controversial type of treatment for the mentally ill as it has resulted in more failures than successes. Also, personally I find it really brutal and am against it :( .
Psychosurgery isn't part of my course, but I stumbled upon it as I was doing some furthur reading and it was also mentioned in Alice Madness.