Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Asylum ❯ ARC1: Day7 ( Chapter 5 )

ARC 1: Day 7

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Characters. The buy-impulse is from Georgina Verbaan, said in `Ranking the Stars'.

Thanks: To my wonderful beta-er, Susan. RESPECT for working eight hours on it!!!

 

 

It was my second group therapy, and I was not looking forward to it. I just wanted to stay in my bed today, because I felt a bit dizzy again this morning; sometimes I really hated the stupid medicine I had to take.

 

But my personal `coach' (as Asuma-sensei said I could call him) made it clear that I had to attend those sessions, for they were effective.

 

Right.

 

So here I sat again (this time not too late), waiting for the stupid session to begin. Almost everyone was there. The only two empty chairs were the one next to my retarded roommate, and the Doctor's chair. It made me feel more content that I didn't spot the trash-talking girl today. I hoped she was gone.

 

Today I had chosen a seat between two very silent boys: I thought it was a safe choice, though it crept me out that red-haired kid next to me was sitting in a very strange and rigid position and stayed that way, even when someone repeatedly poked him, and told him to move.

 

Suddenly the door opened, but instead of the doctor walking in, it was a guy who I hadn't seen before. Though I wasn't the least interested in people's names or interests, I did remember faces around here: and this face was very new to me.

 

I saw some of the people from my group look at each other, probably silently demanding others to tell them who this guy was. They hadn't seen him before either.

 

Brown hair, brown eyes, brown clothes, brown bag. He looked so very normal. So very.. Boring.

 

“Hey, WHO are you, mystery man!?” It was Lee who spoke up first, and being him, he was being very dramatic about the whole ordeal. Like he wanted people to look over to him whenever he acted silly.

 

The brown man eyed Lee for a moment, and suddenly, he smiled. Then he closed the door, and immediately walked up to an empty seat.

 

He put his brown bag on the ground and dropped his brown jacket on the chair before he walked up to the blackboard and grabbed a piece of chalk.

 

“Hello everyone! My name is Umino Iruka, and I'm really excited about being here today!” He wrote down his name on the blackboard in quick but straight lines, “You guys all look like you're wonderful people, so I really hope we'll be friends in no time. You know, you can never have too much friends. Oh, and I'm 26 years old. I see that a lot of you are younger than me, but I don't mind. It's really great that the secretary put me in such a great group as yours, and it's also really educative to have a lot of different people from different ages in one group, because that way a group can be very productive. Oh, and I know all this because I'm a teacher... well, I was a teacher. I quit my last job. But I'll be a teacher again in no time, because I really like teaching.”

 

..We all stared at him in wonder.

 

Wasn't this supposed to be a loony bin? You know, where only crazy and dark people went to?

 

This guy, who looked like he came from the sunniest place on the planet, who looked like the prototype nice-guy, and who just kept on smiling, wasn't exactly the type of person who I expected to arrive in a place like this.

 

“Ehh sir? Are you in the right building?” Some boy finally asked him, but instead of being offended the guy smiled even more energetic and bright.

 

“Yes, of course I am! This is room 1.7A, isn't it? Well, then I'm definitely right! I checked my timetable, and this morning I have a session with you guys, and this afternoon I'm free but that's a good thing because I need some spare time, because I need some spare time to work on my latest project.”

 

“I think brown is a dull and boring color. But it's not red and black, so New Guy isn't corrupted.” Some dark-haired kid mentioned, and once again, I was amazed by the sheer non-logic some people here possessed. Wasn't New Guy talking about projects earlier?

 

“Sasuke, we're not having this conversation again, un! I don't want to hear anything about it!”

 

“Deidara is right. You are not welcome here,” The red-head next to Un-rapist said with a hollow and empty voice. I immediately concluded I didn't like said read-head at all. But then again, I pretty much disliked everyone in this shitty building.

 

“Of course your danna agrees with you, Deidara.” Dark-haired kid was getting angrier and angrier, and I wondered if things would escalate into a fight, “Don't believe that I'm not watching you. You two are up to something, and I'm getting closer and closer to the truth.”

 

“Sasuke, shut up. I hate you,” Red-head replied, and looked purposely to the other side of the room. One hand touched the sleeve of his baggy sweater briefly, before settling down in his lap again.

 

“Yeah, Sasuke, shut up, un. I hate you too. You're so stupid and irritating, it's no surprise your brother doesn't like visiting you.”

 

“Say what!? Dare saying that again! DARE saying that again!” Dark-haird kid screamed, and not a moment later he was standing in front of Un-Rapist in a very defensive posture.

 

“You heard what I said just fine the first time I said it, un! Go back to your seat, un, because I don't like you at all!” Un-rapist got off his chair as well, and stood tall dangerously close to the dark-haired kid.

 

“I don't care whether or not you like me! Don't talk about my brother! You all are No Good!” Dark-haired kid scowled ugly.

 

“Well, you're crazy, un,” Un-rapist scowled back just as nasty, “It's not normal to draw circles and triangles, un!”

 

“I don't care what you think! You're retarded and-“

 

“I'm sorry I'm late, but..” On cue, a rather familiar face appeared in the doorway: Doc.

 

Our doctor stopped his excuse halfway when he saw New Guy standing next to the blackboard, and the dark-haired kid and Un-rapist about to throw a fist at one another. Un-Rapist took this as his cue to stop making a ruckus, and sat down on his chair once more.

 

Doctor looked at the scene for a moment, and then smiled.

 

“Ah, I see you met Iruka already. Group, I'd like you to meet a new patient, Umino Iruka.”

 

No word said about the almost-fight. Was the Doctor really used to this kind of behavior?

 

“Umino Iruka, you can sit down with the rest of your new group.” Doctor said amiable, and Iruka did as he was told.

 

“Now, perhaps Umino Iruka would like to introduce himself.” Jiraiya smiled at the man, and he received in return the brightest and sunniest smile ever made. Not a word was said to the dark-haired kid, or Un-rapist.

 

“Like I said, my name is Umino Iruka, and I'm-”

 

“Definitely not dull and boring! I've got brown hair too, so he's cool!” came the very much exuberant cheer from some hyper retard suddenly.

 

“Yeah, I bet it's crack, un!” Un-rapist seemed to have forgotten he was angry a minute ago, because he was smiling again.

 

.. But were they at it again? Did they play the same game over and over when someone new arrived? Couldn't they be a little bit more.. original?

 

“He must be in the wrong building! He smiles and he's cool, so I bet nothing is wrong with him!” Some boy yelled happily, his narrowed and bored-looking eyes widening as he talked.

 

“You stupid! He just told us he was supposed to be here! No, he must have a personality disorder.” The pink-haired girl next to the boy hissed.

 

“No, no, no! He must have OCD!”

 

“Gai, not everyone here has OCD.”

 

“Then what do you, my Eternal Rival, think he has?”

 

“I'll say.. bipolar.”

 

And the originality went down another notch. Didn't they have the exact same conversation when I first arrived?

 

“He must be schizo!”

 

“Na-ah! He's nice!”

 

“Yeah! He must have ADD!”

 

“Yeah!”

 

“He must be like me!” Lee screamed, “He is awesome and really cool, just like I am!”

 

“Dissociative personality disorder!”

 

And so it went on. Even the silent ones placed bets (though it took a whole 5 minutes to pry an answer out of the weird red-haired kid next to me, which was very creepy). When everyone had said something, a few of them looked at me expectantly. I shot back a sneer, indicating that I wasn't interested in playing their dumb game.

 

They got the hint pretty quick.

 

“Iruka,” Doctor eyed me a last time, but even that didn't cause me to place a stupid bet, “Your new group likes to play their so-called `guessing game'. They don't mean any harm whatsoever: in fact, in nine out of ten times it even lightens the mood, and gets new people to talk about themselves.”

 

“Oh, I didn't mind. In fact, it was really interesting to listen to. Though I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint a lot of you people, because you all kind of guessed wrong.”

 

A few looked at him with some kind of creepy fascination, and Doctor scribbled down something.

 

“Iruka, please continue your introduction.” As soon as Doctor said those words, the New Guy began smiling brightly again.

 

“I guess you already know my name by now. And like I just said, I'm 26 years old, and I believe you guys are a really great group. We must do something together sometimes! I already have a few ideas in mind, it'll be fun!”

 

“You're so happy. Why are you here?” Some boy obviously couldn't wait to hear who was right this time.

 

“Well, you see, nothing is really wrong with me,” New Guy answered, and gave us another blinding smile, “I'm feeling so good lately, it's like nothing can get better! Every morning I wake up really early and I feel so refreshed and energetic, it feels so great and good, and I can't wait to get up and work on my awesome plans.”

 

“You have awesome plans?” Instead of asking him why the hell he was here, claiming nothing was wrong with him, someone asked about his plans.

 

How stupid could people be?

 

“Oh, are you interested in my plans? That's really great! You are a great person, you know! We'll be really good friends! Hey, how about we have lunch together? I saw the cafeteria this morning, and they sure had a lot to choose from! I wonder if they have noodles..”

 

“Iruka,” Doctor suddenly interrupted New Guy, “I believe we are all interested in your plans, but we don't have enough time right now to talk about that. I'm very sorry about that, and I hope you understand.”

 

“Oh, that's okay. Yeah, you're right, I mean, I really talk a lot.. and quick, but that's because of my mind, because my mind, it's going so quick, and I process things really fast, you see. It's a wonderful feeling, to be able to think as fast as I can.”

 

“Iruka, we were talking about why you came to this place.” The Doctor continued talking to New Guy, as if he hadn't just been interrupted by him.

 

“Yes.. sorry! I'm just excited, you know, because I still have a lot to do today.”

 

“But why are you here? You said nothing is wrong with you. Are you really not in the wrong building?” The boy who placed the `wrong building - nothing wrong' bet spoke up. New Guy looked very eager to reply, which made me think less and less of him.

 

I really hated enthusiastic people.

 

“Oh, well, to be honest, my grandfather is the head of this building.” When New Guy said this, a few looked at him in wonder, “And Grandfather really adores me, and he told me he would be really happy if I stayed here for a while. And well, he isn't getting any younger, and I always love doing him favors, so I said yes. He promised me I could leave anytime I wanted, but he would be really happy if I stayed here for a few weeks, and if I would talk about myself and my brilliant plans a bit.”

 

“So you're staying here for a few weeks?” Doctor asked him, and when New Guy nodded, Doc scribbled something down on his ever-present note-book.

 

“Yeah! Well, that is, until I complete my plans. You see, I'm only developing my ideas right now, and I need a lot of time to put them all down on paper. Oh, and I looked at my time-table this morning, like I just told you, and I saw I'd be attending classes and all when I'm here - I think grandpa didn't want me to get bored here. Though that would be a silly thought, because you know, I have my project I can work on.”

 

“You will have art-class with us too, yes? Then I will help you! I know a lot about classes here, so if you want to know something, I am your man!” Lee jumped up as he spoke, looking enthusiastic the entire time.

 

“But why would your grandfather want you to stay here?” Another girl asked New Guy.

 

“Oh, I don't know really. It's probably because we don't see each other often, and this way he can see me more. Grandfather said he would be grateful if I just worked on my plans or something while I'm here, and not act on my impulses while I'm at it. I think he's just a little bit jealous and doesn't want me to become famous so quick, because I'm going to be so great and well-known once I start teaching. So that's probably why he keeps me here.”

 

“I have impulses too, un! But I just..” And halfway down the line, Un-rapist suddenly grew quiet. He quickly resumed talking though, “You have impulses? Like, that you love someone, and then they hate you, and that you want to hurt him really badly because of that?”

 

I had the unwelcome feeling that Un-rapist was talking from experience, but I didn't care enough to speak up.

 

“Oh no, nothing like that! I just buy things on impulse sometimes -like a house- but.. I mean, everyone does these kind of things sometimes, don't they?” And the guy smiled some more. Meanwhile, I was amazed by the guy more and more. He bought houses on a whim!?

 

“A house! Why would you buy a house?” Some boy asked the New Guy.

 

“Because I'm going to start a school! You see, it's a huge and beautiful old building I saw the other day, and suddenly I visualized it completely renovated, with tons of happy little children playing in the garden. Sure, I need to work a lot on it, because I want to renovate most of it myself, but when it's done, it's going to be the best school in the whole country. You should all come and see it when it's done! YEAH!” And the guy got up in one quick motion and pumped his fist in the air.

 

Immediately, Lee imitated him, probably because no-one was paying attention to him anymore. Not that it helped much, because we were all captivated by the new guy's enthusiasm.

 

Why was this guy so horribly happy?

 

And why did he say nothing was wrong with him? If he believed that buying houses and renovating things completely on his own were normal, then there was something seriously wrong with him.

 

“So you don't have a problem?” Some retarded girl asked the guy again. He just said there was nothing wrong with him, so why repeat the question?

 

“Basically it comes down to that. I'm sorry I had to disappoint you all with your game.” New Guy answered, and the previously mentioned girl was shut up.

 

Unfortunately, others were not completely satisfied yet.

 

“Doc, tell us what he has got,” did the read-head with the hollow voice demand. He was ignored.

 

“Group, if you could all calm down,” Doctor scribbled something in his notebook, “I believe that this time, no one has won the game. Though Ino wasn't far off. She said that `there is nothing wrong but he is in the wrong building'.” Doc said, and I immediately thought the man needed a check-up.

 

Did he just refer the `wrong-building-nothing wrong' boy in the back as a `she'? And why didn't anyone correct his mistake?

 

.. Figures.

 

Even the doctors here must be kind of crazy, to actually go and work in a place like this.

 

“Well then, group, shall we begin today's assignment?” Doc continued talking, but I ignored him for the time being, and eyed New Guy again.

 

Something wasn't right here.

 

New Guy obviously had issues, but what could they be? Did he really think he was just doing his stupid grandfather a favor by staying here, or did he simply not want to tell us how crazy he actually was?

 

“OCD-kid, pay attention!” I snapped out of my thoughts as the boy next to me (who wasn't making creepy movements) elbowed me in the side sharply. I gave him a sour look, but turned my attention back to the doctor eventually.

 

I really hated these sessions.

 

The rest of the stupid and silly hour we did the boring assignments again. Because the New Guy said he had crazy impulses, we talked a lot about that. We talked about whom of us had impulses, and what they did when they experienced such a thing.

 

Surely, I even had to talk in the end, because one retard thought that having obsessions were the same as having impulses.

 

So I had to explain what I felt when I repeated something, and that no, they weren't impulses. I did not have impulses, I had compulsions.

 

All in all, it was a really, really boring morning.

 

 

That afternoon I was sitting on the dusty old couch in the recreation room again. I was reading Real Literature again.

 

And Lee was bothering me. Again.

 

“Neji, I have not heard you saying my name so far. Come on, you can do that. Say it; Lee, Rock Lee. But you, my dearest friend, can call me Lee for short. It is good to be on first-name basis, because that means we are really good friends.”

 

And just like the other days, I knew it would be a lost cause to ask Lee to shut up.

 

“Nee~ji! Talk to me! I would love it if you would talk to me for once! Emm.. how about you tell me about your hobbies.. or you family! I am sure you must have wonderful parents, because you are such a wonderful person!”

 

“They're dead.” I said with indifference, but otherwise ignored him.

 

“Oh! How horrible! Neji, I am truly sorry that I have asked you in the first place! Could you please forgive me for my rudeness?”

 

Ugh.

 

“Go away.” I muttered, ignoring the fact that he apologized for his stupid question. Even though Lee had quite some manners under all those layers of `look-at-me, he still was annoying and loud.

 

And I hated annoying and loud people.

 

“But Neji! I want to spend a lot of time together with you! I mean, I am leaving in five days! Five days! Do you realize how short of a period that is?!” Lee cried out with his loud and annoying voice, while he moved closer to me on the couch, probably wanting to that I would miss him and that I loved spending time with him

 

This was about how much I could take.

 

I really wanted to start yelling obscenities at the retarded boy, but as I looked up into his face, I saw he was crying.

 

But unlike yesterday, Lee's tears didn't look fake right now.

 

“My dearest, dearest Neji! I am leaving so very soon, and all you can do is ignore me, and tell me to go away! Do you not want our time together to be awesome? I really like you, you know!”

 

Lee sniffed dramatically, while my eyes stayed on him the entire time.

 

“Neji, my sweet friend. I will miss you a lot when I am gone. And you will miss me too, will you not!? Surely you will miss me! But we will write! Every day! I would love to get letters from you. I will give you my address, and then we can write each other very long and awesome letters!”

 

And suddenly, he was smiling again. His teeth even went `ping!' again.

 

.. Were the tears an act again?

 

“Eh..” For the first time in what seemed like forever, I found myself baffled. I didn't have a snappy comeback, nor did I have an ugly reply.

 

This boy, Lee, was different from the people I had met so far.

 

How come he always went so far to get a little bit of attention from me? Did he really..

 

Did Lee really like the little bit of attention I gave him?

 

“Great! I take your silence as a `Yes, Lee, I would love to spend awesome time with you!' Oh! I know what we can do! I heard from Shika that you do not really know your way yet, and you have not really seen our lovely building yet, so I might as well give you an awesome tour! I will show you the gardens! Because you see, I happen to know the greatest story about them..”

 

And as Lee practically dragged me outside, he just kept on talking. About how wonderful he thought I was, and about how he liked it that we were all alone, and that I really had no reason to ignore him.

 

It was a creepy kind of logic, but it was true nonetheless.

 

Lee dragged me outside to the most boring gardens ever. There were only a few trees and some bushes to look at. The ground was a combination of sand and rocks, which made the gardens appear kind of dull to me.

 

I believe that Lee knew this all along.

 

Lee knew that the gardens were really boring, and Lee knew I would pay him more attention because of that fact.

 

“Neji! Look at this! I just happen to know the most wonderful story about it!”

 

“Hmm.” was my usual reply, because I felt quite dazed because of his behavior.

 

And every time Lee made the assumption I was ignoring him, he proceeded to catch my attention again by telling the strangest and most obscure things ever, like how utterly stupid he acted when he was drunk, or how he loved the light which reflected in my eyes whenever I looked at him.

 

And I? The number one, the Boy Genius, the Master in Thinking of Plans to Escape Fate?

 

I let myself be dragged.

 

And I paid an awful lot of attention to Lee.

 

Because even though Lee sounded even more retarded than my roommate at times, his eccentric ways of doing things strangely intrigued me.

 

“Neji, were you listening to what I said?” Came the melodramatic wail as Lee waved his arms up and down in a wide gesture.

 

“Yeah.. go on with your story, Lee.”

 

“Oh Neji, I love it when you say my name like that! And I will gladly continue! Now, where was I..” Lee smiled again, and I smiled back, though a bit hesitant.

 

This boy- I mean Lee, he really liked being with me.

 

Even though I had ignored him, called him names, and talked rudely to him; he kept on coming back.

 

.. Perhaps Lee wasn't bothered at all by my behavior. Perhaps Lee really didn't mind spending time with me. Perhaps Lee would really miss me when he went home. Perhaps Lee..

 

Did Lee like me?