Beautiful Insanity - Chapter Twenty-One
Title: Beautiful Insanity
Ratings: T/16+
Characters based upon: Inoo Kei, Arioka Daiki, Okamoto Keito, Yamada Ryosuke, Chinen Yuri
Inspired by : The Video Game "Alice Madness Returns" and a school test (weird?? it's a long story)
Setting : A small English Village (fictional), London, Umbria Home(fictional)
Time Line : The year is 2014
Genre: AU! Horror, mystery, angst, brotherhood
Disclaimer: Most things such as some themes, ideas, locations and music used does not belong to me but to the respective copyright holders...the new characters, OC's and the plot does. Alice Madness OST belongs to respected company.
Summary: Kurosaki Kei is a student of Psychiatry in an English University. During an attachment with his senior, he gets himself and two of his closest friends involved in the case of a young patient with an angelic face and a dark past that involves his tendency to kill those who are closest to him.
A/N: This chapter gave me a tough time, only because now I have to organize the way the pieces of the puzzle are being put together and to prosecute the climax and end. Hope you enjoyed the story so far and thank you so much for your patience and time.
Chapter 21 - Hearts Aflame
“What do you mean by that?”
Kei could see how much effort the boy was putting in order to not lose his composure but his eyes showed all that he was trying to hide; fear, guilt, sorrow.
“Listen here Yukimura-kun, whatever you did in the past will be undone if you help Ruka recover, don’t you want that?”
Yuri looks up at him, moisture lining his intense eyes.
“Why did they say…he was dead?”
Daisuke feels as if his stomach had plummeted a couple of feet at the sound of his father’s voice from the hallway. His grandma had probably panicked and called him on instinct. Somehow he felt that he would have to take Ruka and go someplace else. He turns away from the door, now knowing very well that both mother and son were now right outside it, listening.
“It was a conspiracy, to rid Ruka’s dad’s business empire of an heir,” he says bitterly. He feels some kind of strange satisfaction at the gasp from behind the door.
‘I want you to know...I want you to know all of this, dad.’
Yuri looks at Daisuke in complete disbelief and when no explanation comes he turns a desperate gaze to Kei. But it is Ken who speaks up, with a hint of impatience in his voice.
“Ruka was made to believe that he was insane. He was locked up, drugged and tortured all for the sake of business politics and a black market drug trial…being accused for such a horrendous crime that he did not remember committing, separated from loved ones, shifted off to a strange country, being feared and treated like a monster…tell me can it all be justified?”
“Ken…,” Daisuke mumbles, as the younger takes a deep breath to calm himself. Kei sighs and sit’s before Yuri, giving him an encouraging smile.
“Please Yukimura-kun, help us save him,”
Yuri leans back into the chair, looking exhausted at the sudden surge of information. He blinks, allowing restrained tears to finally break free before nodding. His lips are dry as he parts them, but his voice is steady as he begins to talk.
“I belong to an average family but I’ve always been very ambitious. It had been my dream to attend Akahana Gakuen but it wasn’t exactly in my family budget. Studying has never been too hard for me, so I managed to get into the school with a scholarship. People at the school were a little different than the kind of people I was used to and at the beginning it was tough. I was timid, easily pressured and could find no way to fit in. So I would just study or go hide within the branches of this large tree in the garden. I was bullied for being an overachiever, for being poor, for being small…anything they could find. That is until I met Ruka. It was the second half of first year in junior high. He was a familiar face to me mostly cause he was one of the trouble making hyper kids that was always getting scolded in class. He had literally gotten into a fist fight with three of his own friends because they had ripped my homework and were making fun of me crying over it. He got into detention for it, but stuck with me from that day onwards. Those boys left me alone since Ruka would never let me out of his sight. He was silly, cheerful and a little arrogant of his strength. People didn’t pick fights with him because he was the son of the biggest businessman around and that gave him this sort of immunity, protection…a very high status. But things started changing after that. With Ruka’s protection and renewed focus I flourished in my studies and sports. People used to talk behind our back, saying stuff like how I had made the ‘right friend’. As much as I got stronger, more confident, Ruka became more subdued, silent, uninterested with the world around him. I socialized, became popular while he would sit and read under that large tree. People started picking on him when they realized he would not fight back and that’s when I stepped up. It was like our roles had reversed. It was around second year of high school when he showed me a notebook. Instead of lecture notes, it was filled with riddles. There were all types of them, many beautiful, some haunting but all mindboggling. I surprised and intrigued at his talent and encouraged by my positive response he continued composing like one obsessed.
One day, a teacher approached me after class and advised me to keep a distance.
“He’s got it easy Yuri,” she said.
“He’s got an empire waiting, his father will keep paying him out of all troubles and failures but you are one who’s out to build his life on his own two feet, don’t let him influence you,”
It struck me as odd. Ruka had never talked about his family or their status, everything came from everyone around me and it was all so very negative. Yes, Ruka’s birthday gifts to me were extravagant and he always had the latest phone, but he never bragged about his money.
And then we had that fight just before our graduation trip to Okinawa. I said horrible things to him in my anger and he lashed back. The fight got so bad that our teacher separated us. Ruka…got the room with the three boys he used to be friends with before he fought them for me. The next morning…we woke up to police sirens…,”
Kei pours the shuddering boy a glass of water which he gulps down thankfully.
“Having a fight was no reason to kill you Yukimura-kun,”
“Kei, I think that should be enough,”
A sharp look from the doctor silenced Ken. Yukimura placed the glass down and stared at it, eyes bloodshot.
“That notebook…the one with all his riddles and poems…,”
“Yes?”
Yukimura takes a deep breath.
“I burnt it, in front of his eyes.”
~*~
Ruka scrunches up his nose at the sour reek coming from the center fountain, its mechanism continuously spewing crimson fluid. He takes one quick look behind and feels a chill up his spine as he spots the gatekeeper standing against the wall, watching him.
His eyes catch sight of a large tree with many branches and it makes him stare for a while. He hears voices in the distance but even with concentration he couldn’t tell who they were. Shaking his head he advances quickly, his feet climbing over the stone steps. Placing his hand upon the handle, he turns and pushes open the heavy door.
~*~
“Yukimura-kun, I’m sorry for this,”
Ken looks over at Saito sensei who, as stunned as he seemed was staring at Kei with much astonishment.
Yuri wiped his face with the back of his sleeves.
“There was a reason I asked you to speak of all of this within the same premises as Ruka,”
Yuri looks up at the young doctor, alert.
“And I need you to do another thing now…does anyone have a match or a lighter?”
Saito sensei withdraws a lighter from his coat pocket and watches with apprehension as Kei transfers it into Yuri’s hands. He then rips out a page from his notebook and proceeds into Daisuke’s room, beckoning Yuri to follow him.
“When I say so, light this paper,” he instructs and Yuri looks at him confused.
“May I ask what you’re planning young man?” asks the professor, his question sounding more like a confirmation.
“I remember a lecture I once took and I think it was for clinical pathology. Our lecturer had said that even though we have textbooks that dictate the methods of diagnosis and treatment for a certain disease, not every patient responds to the same treatment or presents with similar clinical features. In other words,”
Kei fixes a determined eye upon Ruka.
“I need to understand my patient completely and act accordingly,”
“Why do I have to light this paper?” asks Yuri still confused.
“Ruka…can he hear us?” Ken speaks up suddenly and there is a sudden tension in the room. Kei sighs.
“Yes Yukimura-kun, Ruka might have been listening…it might not be direct or clear…but what you were saying is reaching him somehow…now if we could give him some kind of stimulus that could jog the memories that had been hidden in his subconscious for so long…we could get closer to what actually happened in that room that night,”
As instructed, Daisuke reluctantly moves away from Ruka as Yuri clicks the lighter to life.
~*~
Ruka moves up the stairs, avoiding eye contact with the whispering shadows that lurked in the darkness. His eyes widen as he spots the Chihuahua cowering in fear as three faceless bodies surround it.
“No,” he gasps. He reaches for the shelf next to him and pulls out a book before hurling it towards the figures. It hits only one but the others back off to his surprise.
He kneels and opens his arms but frowns as the pup does naught but stare back at him.
“Why?” it asks.
“What do you mean?” Ruka asks confused.
“Why do you see me like this? Is this what I am to you? A dog on a leash? Did you purchase my loyalty? Do you really think you have the power to control me just because I am less fortunate than you?”
Ruka tilts his head to the side trying to make sense of the words.
“That’s the only reason you saved me, the only reason you gained my trust by going against your own friends…isn’t it? I’m just an underling to you am I not? My dignity, self-esteem…it means nothing to you! I mean nothing to you!”
“But…,”
“Remember what you said to me? That I should be thankful to have you as my friend…I’m tired of people thinking that my confidence and my will comes from your protection, I’m tired of them thinking that you pay the teachers to give me my grades! I worked so hard damn it! Why won’t you just tell them that it’s not true? Why won’t you stand up for me? Are you really so lost in your notebook to pay any heed? Is that book so important to you that you’d let me burn?”
Ruka holds his chest, a strange heat exploding within his chest. A million constraints seem to tighten around his heart and he shields his eyes as the walls of the dark corridor bursts into flames.
~*~
“Ruka!”
The boy was screaming, eyes closed, back pressing against the wall and nails scratching the floor. Ken snatches the burning piece of paper from Yuri’s hand and flings it into the bamboo fountain. Yuri clutches onto Kei, eyes wide in fright as Saito sensei lunges towards the screaming boy. Ruka flails his arms, wailing and launches into offense as Saito sensei does as little as touch him. The man backs off as Ruka leaves a large scratch mark on his face.
“We need to calm him before he hurts himself!” he shouts and frowns as Kei stares back at him dumbstruck. Ken reaches for Kei’s bag and searches blindly for sedatives as Ruka starts to get hysterical, shouting ‘leave me alone’ between gasps and sobs.
The noise alarms the servants and it takes less than a minute for the entire house to appear at the door. The servants, Daisuke’s father and grandmother all watch in shock and panic as Ken and Saito sensei struggle to bring the boy under control as Kei loads up a syringe. Daisuke stares at the boy in alarm, his heart racing and mind struggling to decide whether his involvement would help or make things worse.
Ken stumbles and falls back as Ruka’s foot smacks him squarely on the chest and Saito sensei releases him on reflex. Daisuke feels his eyes sting as Ruka’s cheeks glisten with his tears.
“What the hell is going on here? I’m going to call the police!” shouts Kato-san but his eyes widen as Daisuke lunges forward and grabs both of Ruka’s hands in a strong grip.
“YAMA-CHAN!”
There is a sudden silence as Ruka’s watery eyes stare back at Daisuke’s, ones that were similarly brimming with moisture.
“It’s alright,” he says softly, swallowing the bitterness in his throat.
“Everything is over, you’re safe,”
Kei packs away the medicine as Ruka clambers into Daisuke’s arms, his sobs soft and muffled against the fabric of the older boy’s shirt. Daisuke holds the younger close, lulling him like a father to his child after arising from a bad dream.
“This was…unexpected,” says Saito sensei and Kei sighs.
“It would have been, if this hadn’t happened.”
Ratings: T/16+
Characters based upon: Inoo Kei, Arioka Daiki, Okamoto Keito, Yamada Ryosuke, Chinen Yuri
Inspired by : The Video Game "Alice Madness Returns" and a school test (weird?? it's a long story)
Setting : A small English Village (fictional), London, Umbria Home(fictional)
Time Line : The year is 2014
Genre: AU! Horror, mystery, angst, brotherhood
Disclaimer: Most things such as some themes, ideas, locations and music used does not belong to me but to the respective copyright holders...the new characters, OC's and the plot does. Alice Madness OST belongs to respected company.
Summary: Kurosaki Kei is a student of Psychiatry in an English University. During an attachment with his senior, he gets himself and two of his closest friends involved in the case of a young patient with an angelic face and a dark past that involves his tendency to kill those who are closest to him.
A/N: This chapter gave me a tough time, only because now I have to organize the way the pieces of the puzzle are being put together and to prosecute the climax and end. Hope you enjoyed the story so far and thank you so much for your patience and time.
Chapter 21 - Hearts Aflame
“What do you mean by that?”
Kei could see how much effort the boy was putting in order to not lose his composure but his eyes showed all that he was trying to hide; fear, guilt, sorrow.
“Listen here Yukimura-kun, whatever you did in the past will be undone if you help Ruka recover, don’t you want that?”
Yuri looks up at him, moisture lining his intense eyes.
“Why did they say…he was dead?”
Daisuke feels as if his stomach had plummeted a couple of feet at the sound of his father’s voice from the hallway. His grandma had probably panicked and called him on instinct. Somehow he felt that he would have to take Ruka and go someplace else. He turns away from the door, now knowing very well that both mother and son were now right outside it, listening.
“It was a conspiracy, to rid Ruka’s dad’s business empire of an heir,” he says bitterly. He feels some kind of strange satisfaction at the gasp from behind the door.
‘I want you to know...I want you to know all of this, dad.’
Yuri looks at Daisuke in complete disbelief and when no explanation comes he turns a desperate gaze to Kei. But it is Ken who speaks up, with a hint of impatience in his voice.
“Ruka was made to believe that he was insane. He was locked up, drugged and tortured all for the sake of business politics and a black market drug trial…being accused for such a horrendous crime that he did not remember committing, separated from loved ones, shifted off to a strange country, being feared and treated like a monster…tell me can it all be justified?”
“Ken…,” Daisuke mumbles, as the younger takes a deep breath to calm himself. Kei sighs and sit’s before Yuri, giving him an encouraging smile.
“Please Yukimura-kun, help us save him,”
Yuri leans back into the chair, looking exhausted at the sudden surge of information. He blinks, allowing restrained tears to finally break free before nodding. His lips are dry as he parts them, but his voice is steady as he begins to talk.
“I belong to an average family but I’ve always been very ambitious. It had been my dream to attend Akahana Gakuen but it wasn’t exactly in my family budget. Studying has never been too hard for me, so I managed to get into the school with a scholarship. People at the school were a little different than the kind of people I was used to and at the beginning it was tough. I was timid, easily pressured and could find no way to fit in. So I would just study or go hide within the branches of this large tree in the garden. I was bullied for being an overachiever, for being poor, for being small…anything they could find. That is until I met Ruka. It was the second half of first year in junior high. He was a familiar face to me mostly cause he was one of the trouble making hyper kids that was always getting scolded in class. He had literally gotten into a fist fight with three of his own friends because they had ripped my homework and were making fun of me crying over it. He got into detention for it, but stuck with me from that day onwards. Those boys left me alone since Ruka would never let me out of his sight. He was silly, cheerful and a little arrogant of his strength. People didn’t pick fights with him because he was the son of the biggest businessman around and that gave him this sort of immunity, protection…a very high status. But things started changing after that. With Ruka’s protection and renewed focus I flourished in my studies and sports. People used to talk behind our back, saying stuff like how I had made the ‘right friend’. As much as I got stronger, more confident, Ruka became more subdued, silent, uninterested with the world around him. I socialized, became popular while he would sit and read under that large tree. People started picking on him when they realized he would not fight back and that’s when I stepped up. It was like our roles had reversed. It was around second year of high school when he showed me a notebook. Instead of lecture notes, it was filled with riddles. There were all types of them, many beautiful, some haunting but all mindboggling. I surprised and intrigued at his talent and encouraged by my positive response he continued composing like one obsessed.
One day, a teacher approached me after class and advised me to keep a distance.
“He’s got it easy Yuri,” she said.
“He’s got an empire waiting, his father will keep paying him out of all troubles and failures but you are one who’s out to build his life on his own two feet, don’t let him influence you,”
It struck me as odd. Ruka had never talked about his family or their status, everything came from everyone around me and it was all so very negative. Yes, Ruka’s birthday gifts to me were extravagant and he always had the latest phone, but he never bragged about his money.
And then we had that fight just before our graduation trip to Okinawa. I said horrible things to him in my anger and he lashed back. The fight got so bad that our teacher separated us. Ruka…got the room with the three boys he used to be friends with before he fought them for me. The next morning…we woke up to police sirens…,”
Kei pours the shuddering boy a glass of water which he gulps down thankfully.
“Having a fight was no reason to kill you Yukimura-kun,”
“Kei, I think that should be enough,”
A sharp look from the doctor silenced Ken. Yukimura placed the glass down and stared at it, eyes bloodshot.
“That notebook…the one with all his riddles and poems…,”
“Yes?”
Yukimura takes a deep breath.
“I burnt it, in front of his eyes.”
~*~
Ruka scrunches up his nose at the sour reek coming from the center fountain, its mechanism continuously spewing crimson fluid. He takes one quick look behind and feels a chill up his spine as he spots the gatekeeper standing against the wall, watching him.
His eyes catch sight of a large tree with many branches and it makes him stare for a while. He hears voices in the distance but even with concentration he couldn’t tell who they were. Shaking his head he advances quickly, his feet climbing over the stone steps. Placing his hand upon the handle, he turns and pushes open the heavy door.
~*~
“Yukimura-kun, I’m sorry for this,”
Ken looks over at Saito sensei who, as stunned as he seemed was staring at Kei with much astonishment.
Yuri wiped his face with the back of his sleeves.
“There was a reason I asked you to speak of all of this within the same premises as Ruka,”
Yuri looks up at the young doctor, alert.
“And I need you to do another thing now…does anyone have a match or a lighter?”
Saito sensei withdraws a lighter from his coat pocket and watches with apprehension as Kei transfers it into Yuri’s hands. He then rips out a page from his notebook and proceeds into Daisuke’s room, beckoning Yuri to follow him.
“When I say so, light this paper,” he instructs and Yuri looks at him confused.
“May I ask what you’re planning young man?” asks the professor, his question sounding more like a confirmation.
“I remember a lecture I once took and I think it was for clinical pathology. Our lecturer had said that even though we have textbooks that dictate the methods of diagnosis and treatment for a certain disease, not every patient responds to the same treatment or presents with similar clinical features. In other words,”
Kei fixes a determined eye upon Ruka.
“I need to understand my patient completely and act accordingly,”
“Why do I have to light this paper?” asks Yuri still confused.
“Ruka…can he hear us?” Ken speaks up suddenly and there is a sudden tension in the room. Kei sighs.
“Yes Yukimura-kun, Ruka might have been listening…it might not be direct or clear…but what you were saying is reaching him somehow…now if we could give him some kind of stimulus that could jog the memories that had been hidden in his subconscious for so long…we could get closer to what actually happened in that room that night,”
As instructed, Daisuke reluctantly moves away from Ruka as Yuri clicks the lighter to life.
~*~
Ruka moves up the stairs, avoiding eye contact with the whispering shadows that lurked in the darkness. His eyes widen as he spots the Chihuahua cowering in fear as three faceless bodies surround it.
“No,” he gasps. He reaches for the shelf next to him and pulls out a book before hurling it towards the figures. It hits only one but the others back off to his surprise.
He kneels and opens his arms but frowns as the pup does naught but stare back at him.
“Why?” it asks.
“What do you mean?” Ruka asks confused.
“Why do you see me like this? Is this what I am to you? A dog on a leash? Did you purchase my loyalty? Do you really think you have the power to control me just because I am less fortunate than you?”
Ruka tilts his head to the side trying to make sense of the words.
“That’s the only reason you saved me, the only reason you gained my trust by going against your own friends…isn’t it? I’m just an underling to you am I not? My dignity, self-esteem…it means nothing to you! I mean nothing to you!”
“But…,”
“Remember what you said to me? That I should be thankful to have you as my friend…I’m tired of people thinking that my confidence and my will comes from your protection, I’m tired of them thinking that you pay the teachers to give me my grades! I worked so hard damn it! Why won’t you just tell them that it’s not true? Why won’t you stand up for me? Are you really so lost in your notebook to pay any heed? Is that book so important to you that you’d let me burn?”
Ruka holds his chest, a strange heat exploding within his chest. A million constraints seem to tighten around his heart and he shields his eyes as the walls of the dark corridor bursts into flames.
~*~
“Ruka!”
The boy was screaming, eyes closed, back pressing against the wall and nails scratching the floor. Ken snatches the burning piece of paper from Yuri’s hand and flings it into the bamboo fountain. Yuri clutches onto Kei, eyes wide in fright as Saito sensei lunges towards the screaming boy. Ruka flails his arms, wailing and launches into offense as Saito sensei does as little as touch him. The man backs off as Ruka leaves a large scratch mark on his face.
“We need to calm him before he hurts himself!” he shouts and frowns as Kei stares back at him dumbstruck. Ken reaches for Kei’s bag and searches blindly for sedatives as Ruka starts to get hysterical, shouting ‘leave me alone’ between gasps and sobs.
The noise alarms the servants and it takes less than a minute for the entire house to appear at the door. The servants, Daisuke’s father and grandmother all watch in shock and panic as Ken and Saito sensei struggle to bring the boy under control as Kei loads up a syringe. Daisuke stares at the boy in alarm, his heart racing and mind struggling to decide whether his involvement would help or make things worse.
Ken stumbles and falls back as Ruka’s foot smacks him squarely on the chest and Saito sensei releases him on reflex. Daisuke feels his eyes sting as Ruka’s cheeks glisten with his tears.
“What the hell is going on here? I’m going to call the police!” shouts Kato-san but his eyes widen as Daisuke lunges forward and grabs both of Ruka’s hands in a strong grip.
“YAMA-CHAN!”
There is a sudden silence as Ruka’s watery eyes stare back at Daisuke’s, ones that were similarly brimming with moisture.
“It’s alright,” he says softly, swallowing the bitterness in his throat.
“Everything is over, you’re safe,”
Kei packs away the medicine as Ruka clambers into Daisuke’s arms, his sobs soft and muffled against the fabric of the older boy’s shirt. Daisuke holds the younger close, lulling him like a father to his child after arising from a bad dream.
“This was…unexpected,” says Saito sensei and Kei sighs.
“It would have been, if this hadn’t happened.”