Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ A Different Man at Hinata ❯ Workings of a Fragile Mind ( Chapter 2 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: RPGer 
Almost two weeks have gone by. How's Sean holding up?
Anime/Manga: Love Hina Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai / Romance | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 06.02.2004 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.5K | Visits: 564 | Status: Completed
Almost two weeks have gone by. How's Sean holding up?
Anime/Manga: Love Hina Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai / Romance | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 06.02.2004 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.5K | Visits: 564 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of this story, except for myself.
* * * Chapter II: Workings of a Fragile Mind * * *
Sunday, 6/24 -- Journal Entry
Man, what a rough week I had! These girls have been putting me through hell and back. They have made clean the entire place inside and out--and that was just the second day. On top of that, I have been beaten up, mostly by Naru no doubt, at least once each day, sometimes--well most of the time, actually--upwards of three or four times. This is putting a strain not only on my body, but on my mind as well. Most of my mental anguish comes from the fact that most of the time, I’m in the bath wearing my blindfold when it happens--that being the case, I can’t be too sure of actually who’s hitting me--so I usually have no idea of what I’ve done to provoke such anger, or any chance of defending myself for that matter. Perhaps it’s just my presence there alone that causes it but I have no way of proving that. Also, Suu’s habit of kicking me in the head in lieu of a greeting and Motoko’s attempts to cut me in two haven’t helped. After every beating, when I get to my room, I use magic to heal my wounds, making sure to keep my bruises and cuts visible so I won’t cause suspicion. I should consider myself lucky I haven’t encountered any broken bones, mostly because I can’t be sure if my magic would work as well on that, but I can’t count on my good fortune to last indefinitely.
On a more positive note, I have so far hidden my talents from the others. Unfortunately, most of the spells that I am eager to try would blow my cover. Sometimes, Naru pokes her head in to see what’s going on, but I have strategically positioned myself with the screen of my laptop facing away from the gaping hole in the ceiling, so I don’t have to worry about her catching me in the act--at least for now. I just think that one of these days, I will have to tell the others what I have doing in my room all this time, but I hope that day doesn’t come soon.
* * *
Friday, 6/29
Over the course of Sean’s twelve days at Hinata, he has gotten thrashed at least two or three dozen times. This has proceeded to wear away at his self-confidence bit by bit until he had almost given up hope of a peaceful existence. However, on this day, Sean was determined to not do anything wrong the whole day. Sure, in the back of his mind, he knew his chances of escaping the day without bruises were slim to none, but he had strangely high optimism that day. He had planned on getting up early, bathing, and shutting himself up in his room the whole day, avoiding everyone if possible, and would not open the door for anything except for the meals Shinobu would bring in. Even though he doesn‘t actually need them, he would accept and consume them so as not to arouse suspicion.
At 6:30, he set out for the hot spring both to cleanse himself and to try to calm his shattered nerves. He had come to expect anything to come from anywhere, so he became overly cautious and paranoid over time. One thing that he had not realized, however, was that when you wear a blindfold, it is very easy to lose track of time. After what felt like half an hour (he had actually been there for two whole hours, partially due to the fact that he had unknowingly fallen asleep for an hour), he started hearing faint voices. Suddenly remembering his plans for the day, he rushed out of the spring and dashed for his room. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to remove his blindfold, so he didn’t get far before he ran headlong into something. That “something” ended up being Naru heading for the bath herself and Sean inadvertently ran right into her, knocking both of them down with Sean landing headfirst right between her breasts. Infuriated, she picked him up and delivered a blow that sent him flying into the kitchen where his back squarely hit the wall next to the refrigerator; so much for his plans for a peaceful, violence-free day. At the point of impact, Sean thought he heard something snap, but he didn’t think it was his back. No, this was something much worse, and magic would not be able to cure the injuries he had suffered this time around.
After hitting the wall, Sean landed lying face down. Shinobu was making breakfast at the time and when she heard the impact, she turned for a moment, then went back to her cooking. The Amazing Flying Sean has made many appearances before, so the girls didn’t drop whatever they were doing to see if he was alright after a while. Normally, he would just get up from his landing point (wherever that may be) and stagger back to his room. Sometimes, he had barely enough energy to get there before he passed out. This time however, he didn’t get up right away. In fact, he spent the better part of hour without moving an inch.
While eating breakfast, nobody, especially Naru, paid much attention to the injured man, assuming he was just trying to get attention or something. However, Shinobu, who had been there the entire time he was, couldn’t help but wonder about his condition. After the rest of the girls left, Shinobu began wondering if he was even conscious. She went over to him to see what was wrong. “Are you okay?” Sean didn’t even move, much less give a response. She knelt down, putting her hands on his shoulders, and repeated herself. “Are you alright?”
Feeling Shinobu’s hands on his shoulders must have sparked something within Sean’s brain, for he immediately sat up onto his knees, grabbed her by the waist and moved her head to within three inches from his, staring straight into his eyes (or at least she would be if he wasn’t still wearing the blindfold). After a moment of uneasy silence, Sean lifted his blindfold from his eyes and looked straight into hers. To Shinobu‘s, horror, his normally green eyes have turned a deep red. “Don’t… touch me,” was all he said before he stood up and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Shinobu kneeling on the floor; the shocked expression never left her face.
Finding the maintenance closet, he found some boards, a hammer and some nails. He carried them back to his room, being careful to avoid the girls whenever possible. After getting to his room, he changed, proceeded to bar the door shut and, using his table, plugged up the hole in the ceiling. “No one can see me like this.” he muttered to himself. Lunch was strangely solemn that afternoon. Shinobu’s cooking was delicious as always, but the others could tell something had taken away the joy of her art.
“Is something wrong, Shinobu?” Kitsune finally said.
“It’s about Sean,” Shinobu responded in a tone that did not suit her normally cheerful personality. “I think there is something very wrong about him.”
“There’s always something wrong about him,” Naru chimed in.
“No. I think something is REALLY wrong with him today. After breakfast, he was still lying there. He had been there for an hour without any movement whatsoever.”
“That does seem odd,” Kitsune said. “Now that I think about it, he usually gets up pretty quickly.”
“I know. That’s what got me worried. I asked him what was wrong, but he didn’t respond. As soon as I touched his shoulders, he grabbed me and after removing the blindfold, looked me straight in the eye. That’s when I knew something was really wrong.”
“So he looked at you weird and locked himself in his room,” Motoko said, without a hint a concern showing on her face. “So what?”
“It wasn’t how he looked at me. It was his eyes themselves that caught my attention. You see, his eyes changed. He used to have green eyes, right? When he looked at me earlier, they were blood red.”
This caused a collective gasp from the group. Even Naru and Motoko couldn’t help but react to this bit of news. “Naru, I think you may have crossed the line this time, and I think it would be best if we avoided him for a while until he gets back to normal.” Shinobu finally said. Nobody dared disagree, but they couldn’t help but wonder how Sean was doing.
From outside Sean’s room, all you could hear was incoherent mumbling. Occasionally, one of the girls would try to open the door or ask him what was going on, but there was wither no response or Sean yelling out, “Leave… me… ALONE!!!” This only deepened the concern the girls had for their troubled landlord.
Even Naru, who felt more animosity toward the supposedly-perverted man than anyone else, started to think she had gone too far with the way she was treating him, but she wouldn’t dare reveal this to the others for fear that they might mistaken her regret for possible adoration towards him which, she admitted to herself, was beginning to develop, but she had no idea why. When she got to her room, she noticed the hole had been covered from underneath with what appeared to be a table. She could see the nails sticking up through the floor and knew whatever he was doing down there, he did not anyone to know, especially her. She could only wonder what the ramblings coming up through the floor were about.
For the first couple of hours of his confinement, he just sat on his bed muttering to himself. After a while though, inspiration struck. He knew what he had to do. He grabbed the binder that he used to hold his spells, found a clean page and started jotting down strange symbols. To the untrained eye, it would seem he was just doodling, but what they would not know was that he was actually creating a spell from scratch, something he had never done before in his short time as a wizard.
I took until about 8:00 that night to finish the biggest spell he had ever written down. Satisfied with his work, he set down to perform the incantation, being careful not to make too much noise and draw attention to himself. He knew it would take a while, if the amount of paper he had used was any indication. All the while, he envisioned the reactions on the other girls’ faces, which made him all the more determined to complete the spell.
Sean finally finished the spell at 1:00 in the morning. He had used up a good portion of his energy to cast it, but he knew it would be worth it when the others woke up. Happy with what he did, he finally laid down to get some rest, the shocked faces of the girls accompanying him into a deep sleep.
* * *
Saturday, 6/30
Sean woke up well before everybody else and checked to see if his spell had taken hold. Satisfied, he magically removed the nails that held the boards in place against the door and the table against the hole in the ceiling, being as quiet as he possibly could so as not to wake up Naru and ruin his plans. After putting the boards, hammer and nails back into the storage closet, he set out for the bath with his blindfold and awaited eagerly for the screams of the others when they woke up.
Motoko was the first of the girls to wake up, which was almost always the case, and prepared to do her morning exercises. It took her a little while to realize she was completely nude. She thought this was strange, since she could have sworn she was clothed when she went to bed. She walked over to her closet to put on one of her outfits, but her jaw dropped when she saw that all her clothes were gone. She looked in her dresser as well, but all of the drawers were empty as well. She let out a scream that could have woken up the dead, or at least the other girls.
When Sean heard the scream, he knew his spell was a complete success. The spell he had spent so much time preparing and casting had one objective: make all of the clothes in Hinata vanish without a trace. He was aware that everyone would no doubt accuse him--makes sense, since he was the one who did it--so he included his own clothes in the vanishing act to cover his tracks. The blindfold would come in handy more than usual that morning what with the naked girls running around like chickens with their heads cut off and seeing them would probably make them angrier than they already would be. He also wanted to his eyes hidden, since they were still glowing red.
Motoko’s scream woke everyone with a start. When they realized that all of their clothes were gone, including the outfit they wore to bed the previous night, Hinata exploded with activity, trying to find the culprit. Naturally, Naru pointed the blame at Sean without giving it a second thought. “That no good pervert is always up to something,” she said to herself. “And just when I was starting to feel sorry for him, too.” Since he wasn’t in his room, Naru could only think of one other place he would be and she rushed out to the hot spring, dragging anyone she saw with her.
Sean knew what was going to happen, and he had spent the last couple hours rehearsing what he would say in his mind. He just had to wait until Naru…
“SEAN, YOU BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!”
Show time. Sean “looked” up in the direction of her ranting and heard footsteps as Naru started to run over to deliver the final blow. He had to speak up quickly. “What happened? Did your clothes vanish too?”
Upon hearing this Naru skidded to a halt and almost fell into the water. “You mean your clothes are gone too?”
Sean only responded by standing up in the water that had been almost up to his shoulders and revealed that he too was nude. He let the reality sink in before sitting down again. “You can turn my room inside and out if want to, but whoever took your clothes took mine too, but come right back when you’re done. I think I have an idea for how do deal with this.”
A thorough search of his room proved him right. There wasn’t a scrap of clothing in all of Hinata and everyone reconvened at the hot spring to hear Sean’s idea. “Listen. I know some of you don’t like me. I can think of one person who probably wants me dead.” Everyone knew he was talking about Naru. “This must be some kind of prank someone’s playing on us. Perhaps to get me in trouble with you again or something. I say we look at the positive side of this.”
“What positive sides are there?! All our clothes are gone!” Naru spoke the instant she heard it.
“I was getting to that.” Sean had to focus a bit to keep a tone of voice that wouldn‘t be considered demonic. “First, it’s a warm, sunny day. Second, did anyone have any plans that involved leaving Hinata?” He waited for a response.
After a moment of thought, everyone pretty much gave the same response. No one had anything big going on that day.
“See? We should just spend the day together enjoying each other’s company.” As an afterthought, Sean added, “And in case you’re wondering, I will be keeping the blindfold on, so you don’t have to worry about me seeing anything.”
His words seemed to calm the girls. Even Naru had to admit that his idea was a pretty good one. “He can actually be kind of a nice guy once in a while.” she thought.
Everyone then started to enjoy themselves, chatting with each other, wining and dining--Kisune was especially wining. Everyone, that is, except Sean. How could he enjoy himself with not only the guilt of his actions looming over him, but with the fact that he couldn’t do a whole lot while blindfolded and he figured if he did try to do something, he’d probably cause a scene. And so, after sitting silently for almost an hour listening to the girls’ conversations, he showed himself out, lifting his blindfold slightly so he see where he was going, but still keeping his eyes hidden from the others.
Naru saw Sean leave out of the corner of her eye. She abruptly cut off her conversation with Kitsune (who was already half-drunk) and left saying she had to get something from her room. She silently tailed Sean all the way to his room, but she was a bit reluctant to follow him in for fear of what he might do. If he turned Shinobu into the wreck she saw at lunch the previous day, who knows what he might do to her. What with the beatings she gave him in the past, he might try return the favor. Nervously, she knocked on the door, hoping to get a favorable response.
“Come in, Naru. I‘ve been expecting you,” said the voice on the other side of the door. This left Naru more nervous than ever. If he had known it was her the whole time, why did he seem so oblivious? Was it some sort of trap? Taking a chance, she opened the door and hoped for the best. What she saw was startling. Sean was sitting calmly on his bed, still wearing his blindfold, “staring” in her general direction. She had half-expected him to tear at her throat or something. Naru sat down next to him.
“How did you know it was me?” Naru asked.
“Wearing the blindfold for so long has helped out my listening skills. I heard you following me all the way back here and I figured you were the only one who with any need to sneak around behind my back.” Sean’s voice started to sound a bit irritated.
“Well, I just wanted to know…”
“Yes?”
“Um… why did you leave the party? It was your idea, after all. You should at least stay and have fun.”
“When you’re at a party and you don’t do anything for what seems like an hour, what point is there in staying? Besides, none of you seemed exactly eager to talk to me.”
“Well, you didn’t have to just walk out like that. Why didn’t you at least try to have fun?”
“Being blindfolded has the drawback of being unable to see where you’re going. If I had tried to enjoy myself, I would probably end up bumping into somebody’s breasts or something--with my luck, it would end up being yours--and end up waking up in about a week.”
“If that’s such a problem, why not take off the blindfold?”
“And get called a pervert again and get attacked? I think I’ll pass.” Naru was about to ask another question, but got cut off. “It may not seem apparent from your point of view, but I actually have morals.” Anger was starting to appear in his tone. “I have gone out of my way to not see any of you naked. I have only seen any of you nude once. Once! You remember when that was? You should; it was that first day when you found me in the bath; and I wasn’t exactly the one who removed the blindfold, remember? You think this blindfold is just for decoration? No, my intention was to wear this thing almost wherever I go so I wouldn’t see anything I might regret later and to try to prevent personal injury. Lot of good that did me, huh?”
“I guess not.” Naru’s voice was starting to tremble before Sean’s assertiveness.
“I guess not. I made every attempt to protect your privacy and modesty and what do I get in return? Cuts, bruises and an inferiority complex! Have you no idea of the personal hell I have gone through the last two weeks?” Naru just stared in silence. “Apparently not. I have always tried to be a nice guy. I tried to be a friend and not just a landlord. Yet, I get treated like I’m just some guy who came by just to peek at you in the bath and look under your skirts! You know how that makes me feel? Like it doesn’t matter whether I lived or died! I just don‘t know how I can change things for the better right now. No matter what I do, things only get worse. I don‘t know how much more abuse I can take.”
Naru could swear she saw tears appear from beneath the blindfold. “I didn’t know that was how you felt.”
“No, I don’t suppose you would considering you’re too busy knocking me halfway across town everyday.”
Naru was speechless. Sean had never talked to her this way before. In the past, there was always a hint of fear in his voice. Now, it seems he had just given up on life. Perhaps her beatings have gone a bit too far after all. “Do you think you will be able to get back to the party any time soon?”
“I doubt it. Lately, I’ve been thinking that I have no right to be around you all. Why would a bunch of nines and tens like you want to hang around with a five like me anyway?”
“Well, I don’t think you’re a…”
“Don’t even try it. It’s not going to work. You know what, I think it’s high time you left. The others might start looking for you.”
“You’re right. I hope you reconsider and come back to the party.” She started to get up to leave.
“Why would I want to go out there just to see a whole lot of nothing? I could just as easily do that right here.”
Now it was Naru who started to get irritated. “Well, you could leave the blindfold here, you know.”
“Are you just looking for an excuse to beat me again?”
Naru was startled by his response. “I guess it would turn out that way, huh? Hey, do you even want to see us naked?”
He suddenly snapped his head to face her. “What are you implying? Do you think I’m gay or something?” He then slumped back down and mumbled to himself, “Geez, it’s like I’m in the eighth grade all over again.”
“No, I don‘t, I just…”
“To answer your implied question, no, I’m not gay. And to answer your direct question, I don’t want to see any of you naked for fear that I would die thirty seconds later either by you breaking my skull open or Motoko cleaving me in half with that sword of hers.”
“I see. I guess I’ll see you later, then”
“I guess.”
While walking back to the party, Naru thought about the conversation she just had. It was nothing like she had expected. Who knew he was in such turmoil? She had to think of some way to cheer him up, but nothing came to mind. She reached the bath earlier than she expected to find that the party had died down quite a bit since she left. Kitsune approached her with a curious look on her face.
“Well, where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
“That thing you said you had to get from your room. That seemed to bit too long for you to just go to your room and back. What’s up?”
Suddenly she remembered that was the excuse she had used to leave the party. Apparently, Kitsune had spread the word, since the other girls were wondering as well. She knew she had to come clean. “Actually, that’s not why I left. I left because… because…”
“You were with Sean, weren‘t you?” Suu interrupted.
Naru could feel her face turning red. “Um, well…”
“What did you do to him?” Shinobu asked, a look of concern on her young face.
“Nothing!” Naru replied instinctively. “We just talked, that‘s all.”
“Yeah, right.” Motoko said accusingly. “He probably saw you, said something stupid and you knocked him out, didn’t you?”
“No, nothing like that happened. In fact, he was still wearing that blindfold of his, so he couldn’t see anything if he wanted to.”
“If what you say is true,” Kitsune said, still not convinced, “what was your little ‘talk’ about, then?”
Naru began talking about the conversation she had to the others, who were hanging on her every word. They didn’t want to miss any of the details.
“I told you there was something wrong with him,” Shinobu said. “Now do you believe me?” All everyone else could do was nod their heads.
“Is he really that scared to see us naked?” Motoko said.
“Yeah,” Naru responded. “It seems he fears the two of us the most because of what we would probably do to him if he did see us. He says he only saw any of us naked once, which was me on his first day here. He came to three hours later.”
“Wow,” Suu chimed in, “No wonder he’s scared.”
“Did he really call us nines and tens?” Kitsune said with a slight grin. As an afterthought, the grin vanished. “And did he actually call himself a five?”
“I don’t think he’s a…” Shinobu objected.
“I said that too,” Naru interjected. “It didn’t help any.”
“But you didn’t let me finish.”
“Neither did he.”
“Did you actually ask if he was gay?” Suu asked.
“No, I didn’t, but he apparently found it implied in our conversation, and then muttered something about the eighth grade.”
Motoko’s eyes flashed with realization. “Ah, it all makes sense now.”
“Maybe you could elaborate a bit for the rest of us?” Kitsune said.
“I should have known he couldn’t have picked up self-hatred in two weeks. This must have been going on for years. The events of the last couple weeks must have resurfaced some old memories that he didn’t want see again.”
“In any case,” Naru said, “I think we need to cheer him up somehow. Anybody have any ideas?”
“I think I do,” Kitsune said with a smile on her face. “If he won’t come back to the party, why don’t we take the party to him?”
“Are you saying we suddenly appear through his door unannounced?” Shinobu said, seemingly appalled at the idea.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. If he won’t enjoy himself on his own, we’ll force him to.” No one knew exactly what that would entail, but they had a pretty good idea.
At first, Kitsune’s idea was rejected, but a better idea could not be found, so somewhat reluctantly, her idea ended up being put into action. As they started toward Sean’s room, Naru gave them a warning.
“We have to be very careful. Sean has gotten a heightened sense of hearing as of late. Despite my efforts, he heard me following him to his room. And expected my arrival at his door.”
“How did he know it was you?” Shinobu asked.
“He said he figured I was the only one who would need to sneak around behind his back.”
“It seems he may have you figured out.” Kitsune said leering at her.
“In some ways, yeah, but I’m sure there are some things about me he doesn’t know about yet.”
“I wonder what she’s referring to.” Suu whispered to Shinobu and they shared a chuckle. Naru heard what she said, but she ignored it.
When the group made it to Sean’s door, they noticed it was strangely quiet inside.
“Maybe he’s asleep.” Shinobu said.
“I doubt it,” Naru said. “I have never seen Sean asleep this time of day. Unconscious, yes, but asleep, no.”
“Maybe he knows we’re here,” Kitsune said.
“Well, if he didn’t before, he does now,” Motoko responded. “He can probably hear us out here.”
“Not if he’s asleep,” Shinobu said, “or unconscious.”
The girls opened the door quickly to give Sean a surprise, but oddly enough, he wasn’t there.
“Where did he go?” Suu asked.
“Upstairs, most likely,” Motoko answered, pointing to a small stepladder under the hole in the ceiling.
“Darn,” Kitsune said, disappointed that her plan fell apart. “We have to find him. Spread out and search the house! Yell if you find him.” With that, everyone left in separate directions in search of their missing manager.
Suu eventually found Sean sitting on the roof looking over the hot spring, still wearing the blindfold. She wondered if he heard them planning their surprise. Suddenly remembering, she yelled out, “If found him! He’s on the roof!” This apparently caught Sean by surprise, since he turned his head so fast he almost fell on his side.
Suu, ran over to hug him, but he stopped her. “Stay back! I have something to say, but I’ll wait for the others because I’m NOT going to repeat myself.”
By the time the others got there, Suu was growing very impatient. “All right, everyone’s here. Start speaking already!”
“Okay, okay,” Sean started. He paused a bit before continuing. “When I first arrived at Hinata, I had no idea what I was in for. My mind became so cluttered with thoughts of you girls--especially Naru and Motoko beating me up--that I could barely think straight.”
“I’m sorry for all the bad times I put you through,” Naru said, her face starting to turn red again.
“No. I probably deserved everything I got. At least that’s what I started thinking a few days ago. My self-confidence has been all but destroyed during my stay. The only thing keeping me sane was the thought that the beatings might die down after a while, but I now know that will probably never happen.”
“What if I start trying to control my temper?” Naru offered.
“After you hear all I have to say, you will probably want to beat me more than ever.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Shinobu said, eyeing Naru.
“I beg to differ, for I know who stole everyone’s clothes. I’ve always known.”
“What?!” Everyone said in unison.
“Then why didn’t you tell us?!” Naru exclaimed.
“Because that person,” Sean answered, “was me.”
“But then why did you steal your own clothes?” Shinobu asked.
“So you wouldn‘t think it was me. I knew Naru would come looking for me so she could punch my lights out, so I started preparing my response two hours in advance. Ever since that last beating you gave me, Naru, something changed inside me. Something that craved vengeance for the actions done to me. I think my sanity had finally left me altogether that day. I have recovered somewhat today, but I am still affected. Here, see for yourself.” With that, he removed the blindfold and tossed it into the hot spring below.
A look of shock befell the girls when they saw Sean’s glowing red eyes. “That’s one reason why I kept the blindfold on this whole time and also why I barricaded my door yesterday. I didn’t want you to see the change that had come over me.”
“See? I told you his eyes turned red!” Shinobu said.
“Yeah,” Kitsune said. “At first, I thought you were just seeing things, but now…”
“Hold on,” Suu interjected. “There’s still something that bugs me. How did you steal all of our clothes without us knowing? We searched through your whole room and didn’t find anything.”
Sean sighed. He had hoped it would not come to this. “Well, if you must know, I’ll show you.”
He started moving his arms in a peculiar manner, the girls staring in wonder. All of a sudden, small fireworks explosions started appearing out of nowhere in front of him. The others just stared in shocked silence.
“I have been able to use magic for almost three months now. The time in my room, aside from recovering from my injuries, has been used researching spells. When my sanity left me, new energy started to flow through me. After trying to think of a suitable way to get back at those who have done me wrong, I made a spell from scratch--something I have never done before--and made everyone’s clothes vanish as soon as you fell asleep. I’m sorry I had to include everyone in this. I know some of you have done nothing against me, but I had to be thorough. If I left anyone out, some of you would start wondering why.”
“Why didn’t you tell us before you could use magic spells?” Naru asked.
“How would you have reacted?” It was a rhetorical question. “I know Naru told you all about the conversation we had. I just want to tell you it was all true. Over the course of the last two weeks, I have feared for my life. Everyday, I kept thinking that might be the day I would do something stupid and my stay here at Hinata would come to an end--one way or another. That’s why I either stay in my room or wear a blindfold, but somehow, the beatings still find me. Eventually, my hope for a peaceful existence here fell apart. I try to be good, I really do. For example, I have been trying my best to not see… that,” gesturing towards the girls. “trying to keep your feelings in consideration. I now know I should have kept my own safety top priority, but it’s a bit late for that now.”
Naru could barely keep her emotions in check. “No. It’s not too late. We can start things over the right way…”
“No! There can be no starting over. Only an end. And I intend to make that end arrive pretty soon.” There was a wave of confused expressions. Sean stood up and started walking to the edge of the roof. Suddenly, Naru realized what he was going to do.
“Wait, don’t jump!”
“No. It’s better this way. Before, my mind was all cloudy. Now, it’s clear and I know this is my only option left, but first, I want to say one last thing to each of you. Shinobu, thank you for all the wonderful meals, but I will no longer be needing them. Also, I really need to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. To be honest, I would have done the exact same thing if it was anyone else. Suu, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with your inventions. It was something I was actually looking forward to, but I guess it wasn’t meant to happen. Kitsune, I guess all I have to say to you is try to stay out of trouble, especially if you’ve had a few too many. Motoko, my only regret is that I haven’t been able to take lessons from you. I would have needed all the help I could get to get in shape. Last but not least, Naru. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to help you out in your studies, but the thing I should feel the most sorry for is taking away the best punching bag you probably ever had.”
The girls’ emotions started to get the better of them as tears started pouring down cheeks. Even Motoko couldn’t keep herself from crying after Sean’s big speech.
As he started to step off the roof, he suddenly realized something. “Oh, I almost forgot.” With a motion of his hand, everyone became engulfed in a strange fog. When the fog lifted, the girls were shocked to find themselves in the same outfit they had on when they went to bed the night before.
“There. All the clothes in Hinata are back as though they were never gone. I have nothing left to do now except step off this roof and finally end my tortured existence.” He said as he took that final step.
“NO! I DON’T WANT YOU TO GO!” one of the girls screamed, but Sean could not tell which one it was by voice and he had shut his eyes in preparation for impact with the ground below, so he couldn’t tell by sight either. As his body went horizontal in the process of freefall, he opened his eyes to see a hand reaching out to him, but he couldn’t tell who the hand was connected to. This would be the last thing he would see before his head hit, sending his world into darkness.
* * * End of Chapter II * * *
* * * Chapter II: Workings of a Fragile Mind * * *
Sunday, 6/24 -- Journal Entry
Man, what a rough week I had! These girls have been putting me through hell and back. They have made clean the entire place inside and out--and that was just the second day. On top of that, I have been beaten up, mostly by Naru no doubt, at least once each day, sometimes--well most of the time, actually--upwards of three or four times. This is putting a strain not only on my body, but on my mind as well. Most of my mental anguish comes from the fact that most of the time, I’m in the bath wearing my blindfold when it happens--that being the case, I can’t be too sure of actually who’s hitting me--so I usually have no idea of what I’ve done to provoke such anger, or any chance of defending myself for that matter. Perhaps it’s just my presence there alone that causes it but I have no way of proving that. Also, Suu’s habit of kicking me in the head in lieu of a greeting and Motoko’s attempts to cut me in two haven’t helped. After every beating, when I get to my room, I use magic to heal my wounds, making sure to keep my bruises and cuts visible so I won’t cause suspicion. I should consider myself lucky I haven’t encountered any broken bones, mostly because I can’t be sure if my magic would work as well on that, but I can’t count on my good fortune to last indefinitely.
On a more positive note, I have so far hidden my talents from the others. Unfortunately, most of the spells that I am eager to try would blow my cover. Sometimes, Naru pokes her head in to see what’s going on, but I have strategically positioned myself with the screen of my laptop facing away from the gaping hole in the ceiling, so I don’t have to worry about her catching me in the act--at least for now. I just think that one of these days, I will have to tell the others what I have doing in my room all this time, but I hope that day doesn’t come soon.
* * *
Friday, 6/29
Over the course of Sean’s twelve days at Hinata, he has gotten thrashed at least two or three dozen times. This has proceeded to wear away at his self-confidence bit by bit until he had almost given up hope of a peaceful existence. However, on this day, Sean was determined to not do anything wrong the whole day. Sure, in the back of his mind, he knew his chances of escaping the day without bruises were slim to none, but he had strangely high optimism that day. He had planned on getting up early, bathing, and shutting himself up in his room the whole day, avoiding everyone if possible, and would not open the door for anything except for the meals Shinobu would bring in. Even though he doesn‘t actually need them, he would accept and consume them so as not to arouse suspicion.
At 6:30, he set out for the hot spring both to cleanse himself and to try to calm his shattered nerves. He had come to expect anything to come from anywhere, so he became overly cautious and paranoid over time. One thing that he had not realized, however, was that when you wear a blindfold, it is very easy to lose track of time. After what felt like half an hour (he had actually been there for two whole hours, partially due to the fact that he had unknowingly fallen asleep for an hour), he started hearing faint voices. Suddenly remembering his plans for the day, he rushed out of the spring and dashed for his room. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to remove his blindfold, so he didn’t get far before he ran headlong into something. That “something” ended up being Naru heading for the bath herself and Sean inadvertently ran right into her, knocking both of them down with Sean landing headfirst right between her breasts. Infuriated, she picked him up and delivered a blow that sent him flying into the kitchen where his back squarely hit the wall next to the refrigerator; so much for his plans for a peaceful, violence-free day. At the point of impact, Sean thought he heard something snap, but he didn’t think it was his back. No, this was something much worse, and magic would not be able to cure the injuries he had suffered this time around.
After hitting the wall, Sean landed lying face down. Shinobu was making breakfast at the time and when she heard the impact, she turned for a moment, then went back to her cooking. The Amazing Flying Sean has made many appearances before, so the girls didn’t drop whatever they were doing to see if he was alright after a while. Normally, he would just get up from his landing point (wherever that may be) and stagger back to his room. Sometimes, he had barely enough energy to get there before he passed out. This time however, he didn’t get up right away. In fact, he spent the better part of hour without moving an inch.
While eating breakfast, nobody, especially Naru, paid much attention to the injured man, assuming he was just trying to get attention or something. However, Shinobu, who had been there the entire time he was, couldn’t help but wonder about his condition. After the rest of the girls left, Shinobu began wondering if he was even conscious. She went over to him to see what was wrong. “Are you okay?” Sean didn’t even move, much less give a response. She knelt down, putting her hands on his shoulders, and repeated herself. “Are you alright?”
Feeling Shinobu’s hands on his shoulders must have sparked something within Sean’s brain, for he immediately sat up onto his knees, grabbed her by the waist and moved her head to within three inches from his, staring straight into his eyes (or at least she would be if he wasn’t still wearing the blindfold). After a moment of uneasy silence, Sean lifted his blindfold from his eyes and looked straight into hers. To Shinobu‘s, horror, his normally green eyes have turned a deep red. “Don’t… touch me,” was all he said before he stood up and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Shinobu kneeling on the floor; the shocked expression never left her face.
Finding the maintenance closet, he found some boards, a hammer and some nails. He carried them back to his room, being careful to avoid the girls whenever possible. After getting to his room, he changed, proceeded to bar the door shut and, using his table, plugged up the hole in the ceiling. “No one can see me like this.” he muttered to himself. Lunch was strangely solemn that afternoon. Shinobu’s cooking was delicious as always, but the others could tell something had taken away the joy of her art.
“Is something wrong, Shinobu?” Kitsune finally said.
“It’s about Sean,” Shinobu responded in a tone that did not suit her normally cheerful personality. “I think there is something very wrong about him.”
“There’s always something wrong about him,” Naru chimed in.
“No. I think something is REALLY wrong with him today. After breakfast, he was still lying there. He had been there for an hour without any movement whatsoever.”
“That does seem odd,” Kitsune said. “Now that I think about it, he usually gets up pretty quickly.”
“I know. That’s what got me worried. I asked him what was wrong, but he didn’t respond. As soon as I touched his shoulders, he grabbed me and after removing the blindfold, looked me straight in the eye. That’s when I knew something was really wrong.”
“So he looked at you weird and locked himself in his room,” Motoko said, without a hint a concern showing on her face. “So what?”
“It wasn’t how he looked at me. It was his eyes themselves that caught my attention. You see, his eyes changed. He used to have green eyes, right? When he looked at me earlier, they were blood red.”
This caused a collective gasp from the group. Even Naru and Motoko couldn’t help but react to this bit of news. “Naru, I think you may have crossed the line this time, and I think it would be best if we avoided him for a while until he gets back to normal.” Shinobu finally said. Nobody dared disagree, but they couldn’t help but wonder how Sean was doing.
From outside Sean’s room, all you could hear was incoherent mumbling. Occasionally, one of the girls would try to open the door or ask him what was going on, but there was wither no response or Sean yelling out, “Leave… me… ALONE!!!” This only deepened the concern the girls had for their troubled landlord.
Even Naru, who felt more animosity toward the supposedly-perverted man than anyone else, started to think she had gone too far with the way she was treating him, but she wouldn’t dare reveal this to the others for fear that they might mistaken her regret for possible adoration towards him which, she admitted to herself, was beginning to develop, but she had no idea why. When she got to her room, she noticed the hole had been covered from underneath with what appeared to be a table. She could see the nails sticking up through the floor and knew whatever he was doing down there, he did not anyone to know, especially her. She could only wonder what the ramblings coming up through the floor were about.
For the first couple of hours of his confinement, he just sat on his bed muttering to himself. After a while though, inspiration struck. He knew what he had to do. He grabbed the binder that he used to hold his spells, found a clean page and started jotting down strange symbols. To the untrained eye, it would seem he was just doodling, but what they would not know was that he was actually creating a spell from scratch, something he had never done before in his short time as a wizard.
I took until about 8:00 that night to finish the biggest spell he had ever written down. Satisfied with his work, he set down to perform the incantation, being careful not to make too much noise and draw attention to himself. He knew it would take a while, if the amount of paper he had used was any indication. All the while, he envisioned the reactions on the other girls’ faces, which made him all the more determined to complete the spell.
Sean finally finished the spell at 1:00 in the morning. He had used up a good portion of his energy to cast it, but he knew it would be worth it when the others woke up. Happy with what he did, he finally laid down to get some rest, the shocked faces of the girls accompanying him into a deep sleep.
* * *
Saturday, 6/30
Sean woke up well before everybody else and checked to see if his spell had taken hold. Satisfied, he magically removed the nails that held the boards in place against the door and the table against the hole in the ceiling, being as quiet as he possibly could so as not to wake up Naru and ruin his plans. After putting the boards, hammer and nails back into the storage closet, he set out for the bath with his blindfold and awaited eagerly for the screams of the others when they woke up.
Motoko was the first of the girls to wake up, which was almost always the case, and prepared to do her morning exercises. It took her a little while to realize she was completely nude. She thought this was strange, since she could have sworn she was clothed when she went to bed. She walked over to her closet to put on one of her outfits, but her jaw dropped when she saw that all her clothes were gone. She looked in her dresser as well, but all of the drawers were empty as well. She let out a scream that could have woken up the dead, or at least the other girls.
When Sean heard the scream, he knew his spell was a complete success. The spell he had spent so much time preparing and casting had one objective: make all of the clothes in Hinata vanish without a trace. He was aware that everyone would no doubt accuse him--makes sense, since he was the one who did it--so he included his own clothes in the vanishing act to cover his tracks. The blindfold would come in handy more than usual that morning what with the naked girls running around like chickens with their heads cut off and seeing them would probably make them angrier than they already would be. He also wanted to his eyes hidden, since they were still glowing red.
Motoko’s scream woke everyone with a start. When they realized that all of their clothes were gone, including the outfit they wore to bed the previous night, Hinata exploded with activity, trying to find the culprit. Naturally, Naru pointed the blame at Sean without giving it a second thought. “That no good pervert is always up to something,” she said to herself. “And just when I was starting to feel sorry for him, too.” Since he wasn’t in his room, Naru could only think of one other place he would be and she rushed out to the hot spring, dragging anyone she saw with her.
Sean knew what was going to happen, and he had spent the last couple hours rehearsing what he would say in his mind. He just had to wait until Naru…
“SEAN, YOU BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!”
Show time. Sean “looked” up in the direction of her ranting and heard footsteps as Naru started to run over to deliver the final blow. He had to speak up quickly. “What happened? Did your clothes vanish too?”
Upon hearing this Naru skidded to a halt and almost fell into the water. “You mean your clothes are gone too?”
Sean only responded by standing up in the water that had been almost up to his shoulders and revealed that he too was nude. He let the reality sink in before sitting down again. “You can turn my room inside and out if want to, but whoever took your clothes took mine too, but come right back when you’re done. I think I have an idea for how do deal with this.”
A thorough search of his room proved him right. There wasn’t a scrap of clothing in all of Hinata and everyone reconvened at the hot spring to hear Sean’s idea. “Listen. I know some of you don’t like me. I can think of one person who probably wants me dead.” Everyone knew he was talking about Naru. “This must be some kind of prank someone’s playing on us. Perhaps to get me in trouble with you again or something. I say we look at the positive side of this.”
“What positive sides are there?! All our clothes are gone!” Naru spoke the instant she heard it.
“I was getting to that.” Sean had to focus a bit to keep a tone of voice that wouldn‘t be considered demonic. “First, it’s a warm, sunny day. Second, did anyone have any plans that involved leaving Hinata?” He waited for a response.
After a moment of thought, everyone pretty much gave the same response. No one had anything big going on that day.
“See? We should just spend the day together enjoying each other’s company.” As an afterthought, Sean added, “And in case you’re wondering, I will be keeping the blindfold on, so you don’t have to worry about me seeing anything.”
His words seemed to calm the girls. Even Naru had to admit that his idea was a pretty good one. “He can actually be kind of a nice guy once in a while.” she thought.
Everyone then started to enjoy themselves, chatting with each other, wining and dining--Kisune was especially wining. Everyone, that is, except Sean. How could he enjoy himself with not only the guilt of his actions looming over him, but with the fact that he couldn’t do a whole lot while blindfolded and he figured if he did try to do something, he’d probably cause a scene. And so, after sitting silently for almost an hour listening to the girls’ conversations, he showed himself out, lifting his blindfold slightly so he see where he was going, but still keeping his eyes hidden from the others.
Naru saw Sean leave out of the corner of her eye. She abruptly cut off her conversation with Kitsune (who was already half-drunk) and left saying she had to get something from her room. She silently tailed Sean all the way to his room, but she was a bit reluctant to follow him in for fear of what he might do. If he turned Shinobu into the wreck she saw at lunch the previous day, who knows what he might do to her. What with the beatings she gave him in the past, he might try return the favor. Nervously, she knocked on the door, hoping to get a favorable response.
“Come in, Naru. I‘ve been expecting you,” said the voice on the other side of the door. This left Naru more nervous than ever. If he had known it was her the whole time, why did he seem so oblivious? Was it some sort of trap? Taking a chance, she opened the door and hoped for the best. What she saw was startling. Sean was sitting calmly on his bed, still wearing his blindfold, “staring” in her general direction. She had half-expected him to tear at her throat or something. Naru sat down next to him.
“How did you know it was me?” Naru asked.
“Wearing the blindfold for so long has helped out my listening skills. I heard you following me all the way back here and I figured you were the only one who with any need to sneak around behind my back.” Sean’s voice started to sound a bit irritated.
“Well, I just wanted to know…”
“Yes?”
“Um… why did you leave the party? It was your idea, after all. You should at least stay and have fun.”
“When you’re at a party and you don’t do anything for what seems like an hour, what point is there in staying? Besides, none of you seemed exactly eager to talk to me.”
“Well, you didn’t have to just walk out like that. Why didn’t you at least try to have fun?”
“Being blindfolded has the drawback of being unable to see where you’re going. If I had tried to enjoy myself, I would probably end up bumping into somebody’s breasts or something--with my luck, it would end up being yours--and end up waking up in about a week.”
“If that’s such a problem, why not take off the blindfold?”
“And get called a pervert again and get attacked? I think I’ll pass.” Naru was about to ask another question, but got cut off. “It may not seem apparent from your point of view, but I actually have morals.” Anger was starting to appear in his tone. “I have gone out of my way to not see any of you naked. I have only seen any of you nude once. Once! You remember when that was? You should; it was that first day when you found me in the bath; and I wasn’t exactly the one who removed the blindfold, remember? You think this blindfold is just for decoration? No, my intention was to wear this thing almost wherever I go so I wouldn’t see anything I might regret later and to try to prevent personal injury. Lot of good that did me, huh?”
“I guess not.” Naru’s voice was starting to tremble before Sean’s assertiveness.
“I guess not. I made every attempt to protect your privacy and modesty and what do I get in return? Cuts, bruises and an inferiority complex! Have you no idea of the personal hell I have gone through the last two weeks?” Naru just stared in silence. “Apparently not. I have always tried to be a nice guy. I tried to be a friend and not just a landlord. Yet, I get treated like I’m just some guy who came by just to peek at you in the bath and look under your skirts! You know how that makes me feel? Like it doesn’t matter whether I lived or died! I just don‘t know how I can change things for the better right now. No matter what I do, things only get worse. I don‘t know how much more abuse I can take.”
Naru could swear she saw tears appear from beneath the blindfold. “I didn’t know that was how you felt.”
“No, I don’t suppose you would considering you’re too busy knocking me halfway across town everyday.”
Naru was speechless. Sean had never talked to her this way before. In the past, there was always a hint of fear in his voice. Now, it seems he had just given up on life. Perhaps her beatings have gone a bit too far after all. “Do you think you will be able to get back to the party any time soon?”
“I doubt it. Lately, I’ve been thinking that I have no right to be around you all. Why would a bunch of nines and tens like you want to hang around with a five like me anyway?”
“Well, I don’t think you’re a…”
“Don’t even try it. It’s not going to work. You know what, I think it’s high time you left. The others might start looking for you.”
“You’re right. I hope you reconsider and come back to the party.” She started to get up to leave.
“Why would I want to go out there just to see a whole lot of nothing? I could just as easily do that right here.”
Now it was Naru who started to get irritated. “Well, you could leave the blindfold here, you know.”
“Are you just looking for an excuse to beat me again?”
Naru was startled by his response. “I guess it would turn out that way, huh? Hey, do you even want to see us naked?”
He suddenly snapped his head to face her. “What are you implying? Do you think I’m gay or something?” He then slumped back down and mumbled to himself, “Geez, it’s like I’m in the eighth grade all over again.”
“No, I don‘t, I just…”
“To answer your implied question, no, I’m not gay. And to answer your direct question, I don’t want to see any of you naked for fear that I would die thirty seconds later either by you breaking my skull open or Motoko cleaving me in half with that sword of hers.”
“I see. I guess I’ll see you later, then”
“I guess.”
While walking back to the party, Naru thought about the conversation she just had. It was nothing like she had expected. Who knew he was in such turmoil? She had to think of some way to cheer him up, but nothing came to mind. She reached the bath earlier than she expected to find that the party had died down quite a bit since she left. Kitsune approached her with a curious look on her face.
“Well, where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
“That thing you said you had to get from your room. That seemed to bit too long for you to just go to your room and back. What’s up?”
Suddenly she remembered that was the excuse she had used to leave the party. Apparently, Kitsune had spread the word, since the other girls were wondering as well. She knew she had to come clean. “Actually, that’s not why I left. I left because… because…”
“You were with Sean, weren‘t you?” Suu interrupted.
Naru could feel her face turning red. “Um, well…”
“What did you do to him?” Shinobu asked, a look of concern on her young face.
“Nothing!” Naru replied instinctively. “We just talked, that‘s all.”
“Yeah, right.” Motoko said accusingly. “He probably saw you, said something stupid and you knocked him out, didn’t you?”
“No, nothing like that happened. In fact, he was still wearing that blindfold of his, so he couldn’t see anything if he wanted to.”
“If what you say is true,” Kitsune said, still not convinced, “what was your little ‘talk’ about, then?”
Naru began talking about the conversation she had to the others, who were hanging on her every word. They didn’t want to miss any of the details.
“I told you there was something wrong with him,” Shinobu said. “Now do you believe me?” All everyone else could do was nod their heads.
“Is he really that scared to see us naked?” Motoko said.
“Yeah,” Naru responded. “It seems he fears the two of us the most because of what we would probably do to him if he did see us. He says he only saw any of us naked once, which was me on his first day here. He came to three hours later.”
“Wow,” Suu chimed in, “No wonder he’s scared.”
“Did he really call us nines and tens?” Kitsune said with a slight grin. As an afterthought, the grin vanished. “And did he actually call himself a five?”
“I don’t think he’s a…” Shinobu objected.
“I said that too,” Naru interjected. “It didn’t help any.”
“But you didn’t let me finish.”
“Neither did he.”
“Did you actually ask if he was gay?” Suu asked.
“No, I didn’t, but he apparently found it implied in our conversation, and then muttered something about the eighth grade.”
Motoko’s eyes flashed with realization. “Ah, it all makes sense now.”
“Maybe you could elaborate a bit for the rest of us?” Kitsune said.
“I should have known he couldn’t have picked up self-hatred in two weeks. This must have been going on for years. The events of the last couple weeks must have resurfaced some old memories that he didn’t want see again.”
“In any case,” Naru said, “I think we need to cheer him up somehow. Anybody have any ideas?”
“I think I do,” Kitsune said with a smile on her face. “If he won’t come back to the party, why don’t we take the party to him?”
“Are you saying we suddenly appear through his door unannounced?” Shinobu said, seemingly appalled at the idea.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. If he won’t enjoy himself on his own, we’ll force him to.” No one knew exactly what that would entail, but they had a pretty good idea.
At first, Kitsune’s idea was rejected, but a better idea could not be found, so somewhat reluctantly, her idea ended up being put into action. As they started toward Sean’s room, Naru gave them a warning.
“We have to be very careful. Sean has gotten a heightened sense of hearing as of late. Despite my efforts, he heard me following him to his room. And expected my arrival at his door.”
“How did he know it was you?” Shinobu asked.
“He said he figured I was the only one who would need to sneak around behind his back.”
“It seems he may have you figured out.” Kitsune said leering at her.
“In some ways, yeah, but I’m sure there are some things about me he doesn’t know about yet.”
“I wonder what she’s referring to.” Suu whispered to Shinobu and they shared a chuckle. Naru heard what she said, but she ignored it.
When the group made it to Sean’s door, they noticed it was strangely quiet inside.
“Maybe he’s asleep.” Shinobu said.
“I doubt it,” Naru said. “I have never seen Sean asleep this time of day. Unconscious, yes, but asleep, no.”
“Maybe he knows we’re here,” Kitsune said.
“Well, if he didn’t before, he does now,” Motoko responded. “He can probably hear us out here.”
“Not if he’s asleep,” Shinobu said, “or unconscious.”
The girls opened the door quickly to give Sean a surprise, but oddly enough, he wasn’t there.
“Where did he go?” Suu asked.
“Upstairs, most likely,” Motoko answered, pointing to a small stepladder under the hole in the ceiling.
“Darn,” Kitsune said, disappointed that her plan fell apart. “We have to find him. Spread out and search the house! Yell if you find him.” With that, everyone left in separate directions in search of their missing manager.
Suu eventually found Sean sitting on the roof looking over the hot spring, still wearing the blindfold. She wondered if he heard them planning their surprise. Suddenly remembering, she yelled out, “If found him! He’s on the roof!” This apparently caught Sean by surprise, since he turned his head so fast he almost fell on his side.
Suu, ran over to hug him, but he stopped her. “Stay back! I have something to say, but I’ll wait for the others because I’m NOT going to repeat myself.”
By the time the others got there, Suu was growing very impatient. “All right, everyone’s here. Start speaking already!”
“Okay, okay,” Sean started. He paused a bit before continuing. “When I first arrived at Hinata, I had no idea what I was in for. My mind became so cluttered with thoughts of you girls--especially Naru and Motoko beating me up--that I could barely think straight.”
“I’m sorry for all the bad times I put you through,” Naru said, her face starting to turn red again.
“No. I probably deserved everything I got. At least that’s what I started thinking a few days ago. My self-confidence has been all but destroyed during my stay. The only thing keeping me sane was the thought that the beatings might die down after a while, but I now know that will probably never happen.”
“What if I start trying to control my temper?” Naru offered.
“After you hear all I have to say, you will probably want to beat me more than ever.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Shinobu said, eyeing Naru.
“I beg to differ, for I know who stole everyone’s clothes. I’ve always known.”
“What?!” Everyone said in unison.
“Then why didn’t you tell us?!” Naru exclaimed.
“Because that person,” Sean answered, “was me.”
“But then why did you steal your own clothes?” Shinobu asked.
“So you wouldn‘t think it was me. I knew Naru would come looking for me so she could punch my lights out, so I started preparing my response two hours in advance. Ever since that last beating you gave me, Naru, something changed inside me. Something that craved vengeance for the actions done to me. I think my sanity had finally left me altogether that day. I have recovered somewhat today, but I am still affected. Here, see for yourself.” With that, he removed the blindfold and tossed it into the hot spring below.
A look of shock befell the girls when they saw Sean’s glowing red eyes. “That’s one reason why I kept the blindfold on this whole time and also why I barricaded my door yesterday. I didn’t want you to see the change that had come over me.”
“See? I told you his eyes turned red!” Shinobu said.
“Yeah,” Kitsune said. “At first, I thought you were just seeing things, but now…”
“Hold on,” Suu interjected. “There’s still something that bugs me. How did you steal all of our clothes without us knowing? We searched through your whole room and didn’t find anything.”
Sean sighed. He had hoped it would not come to this. “Well, if you must know, I’ll show you.”
He started moving his arms in a peculiar manner, the girls staring in wonder. All of a sudden, small fireworks explosions started appearing out of nowhere in front of him. The others just stared in shocked silence.
“I have been able to use magic for almost three months now. The time in my room, aside from recovering from my injuries, has been used researching spells. When my sanity left me, new energy started to flow through me. After trying to think of a suitable way to get back at those who have done me wrong, I made a spell from scratch--something I have never done before--and made everyone’s clothes vanish as soon as you fell asleep. I’m sorry I had to include everyone in this. I know some of you have done nothing against me, but I had to be thorough. If I left anyone out, some of you would start wondering why.”
“Why didn’t you tell us before you could use magic spells?” Naru asked.
“How would you have reacted?” It was a rhetorical question. “I know Naru told you all about the conversation we had. I just want to tell you it was all true. Over the course of the last two weeks, I have feared for my life. Everyday, I kept thinking that might be the day I would do something stupid and my stay here at Hinata would come to an end--one way or another. That’s why I either stay in my room or wear a blindfold, but somehow, the beatings still find me. Eventually, my hope for a peaceful existence here fell apart. I try to be good, I really do. For example, I have been trying my best to not see… that,” gesturing towards the girls. “trying to keep your feelings in consideration. I now know I should have kept my own safety top priority, but it’s a bit late for that now.”
Naru could barely keep her emotions in check. “No. It’s not too late. We can start things over the right way…”
“No! There can be no starting over. Only an end. And I intend to make that end arrive pretty soon.” There was a wave of confused expressions. Sean stood up and started walking to the edge of the roof. Suddenly, Naru realized what he was going to do.
“Wait, don’t jump!”
“No. It’s better this way. Before, my mind was all cloudy. Now, it’s clear and I know this is my only option left, but first, I want to say one last thing to each of you. Shinobu, thank you for all the wonderful meals, but I will no longer be needing them. Also, I really need to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. To be honest, I would have done the exact same thing if it was anyone else. Suu, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with your inventions. It was something I was actually looking forward to, but I guess it wasn’t meant to happen. Kitsune, I guess all I have to say to you is try to stay out of trouble, especially if you’ve had a few too many. Motoko, my only regret is that I haven’t been able to take lessons from you. I would have needed all the help I could get to get in shape. Last but not least, Naru. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to help you out in your studies, but the thing I should feel the most sorry for is taking away the best punching bag you probably ever had.”
The girls’ emotions started to get the better of them as tears started pouring down cheeks. Even Motoko couldn’t keep herself from crying after Sean’s big speech.
As he started to step off the roof, he suddenly realized something. “Oh, I almost forgot.” With a motion of his hand, everyone became engulfed in a strange fog. When the fog lifted, the girls were shocked to find themselves in the same outfit they had on when they went to bed the night before.
“There. All the clothes in Hinata are back as though they were never gone. I have nothing left to do now except step off this roof and finally end my tortured existence.” He said as he took that final step.
“NO! I DON’T WANT YOU TO GO!” one of the girls screamed, but Sean could not tell which one it was by voice and he had shut his eyes in preparation for impact with the ground below, so he couldn’t tell by sight either. As his body went horizontal in the process of freefall, he opened his eyes to see a hand reaching out to him, but he couldn’t tell who the hand was connected to. This would be the last thing he would see before his head hit, sending his world into darkness.
* * * End of Chapter II * * *