Locked In Your Memories

Truth Behind the Mask - Akutagawa's POV

⚠️TW: child abuse⚠️

The room shifted again, this time to an orphanage. But it did not look like an orphanage. The room we were in denned different? A jail cell? A cage? It looked like anything but a room for orphans.

There, sitting against the wall with a shackle around his ankle, was Jinko. His knees were to his chest, and his head was buried in his knees. His hair was messy and his clothes were ripped at the ends of the sleeves and bottom of the pants.

We heard the cell door open, at least I think it was a cell based off of how it looked, and a tall man with brown hair stepped through the threshold. Atsushi stared at the man, terrified.

The young Atsushi finally easier his head from his knees. I was shocked at the kid's condition. He had clearly been beaten up, and he looked severely underweight. But why? And where are the other orphans?

The man started talking, his voice quite intimidating. "Hello, Atsushi  Nakajima." the man's voice sounded like fierce thunder. The young child flinches slightly, while Atsushi just stood there in fear. What could this man have done to hurt him?

The young boy hesitated before speaking in a quiet voice. "Hello, headmaster." His voice was barely audible, but just enough for us to hear. "What's with the whisper? Aren't you happy to see the only person keeping you alive?" He asked with a harsh tone.

The young Atsushi mumbled something that none of us could hear, which clearly pissed off the headmaster. He grabbed Atsushi by the collar and lifted him up off the ground until the chain on the shackle could not go any further.

"What was that you little brat?" He was definitely pissed off now. Atsushi just stayed silent. This made the headmaster even more furious. He slapped him across the face, leaving a red mark. This is when Jinko just stopped caring. His scared expression turned into a neutral one. It even looked like a cold stare.

The younger Atsushi had a similar look on his face, except he looked angrier than Jinko did. He looked at the headmaster, not daring to make eye contact with him. "No wonder your parents threw away such an ungrateful brat like you. You're so stubborn." The headmaster pointed out with a nasty tone in his voice.

"So tell me, Atsushi, why do you think I do this to you? Why do you think I hurt you and shackle you up to a wall?" The headmaster suddenly asked. This threw the young boy slightly off guard, but Jinko stood there with a cold and distant glare, looking as if he was about to send daggers down onto the headmaster like Chuuya-San does to his enemies.

There was silence for a couple of seconds until the boy finally decided to give an answer. "It's because you hate me." He replied, sounding cold and harsh. But this time, the headmaster did not punch or kick the kid. Instead, in contrast to practically everything he's done to him so far, he smirked.

"I understand that. You have your reasons to think that. But of course, this can barely count as abuse compared to what your parents did to you." He was very nonchalant about his comment, but what he said made both Atsushi and Jinko pissed. "Don't you dare talk about them!" Atsushi screamed. The grin on the headmaster's face grew wider.

"Alright, let's not get off track here." He said. "Now, a little birdie told me you stole candy from the cafeteria." He stated. "I didn't steal it if that's what you're trying to imply." He sounded a lot harsher than before. "Oh please. Don't lie." The headmaster was becoming more irritated. "I didn't steal the candy. I haven't even been in the cafeteria for a few days now."

It was clear that Atsushi was having troubles breathing. "Alright then. If you won't tell me, I guess you'll have to be punished." He sounded like a maniac. He dropped Atsushi to the ground, who ended up hitting his head on the ground very hard. He sat up looking dizzy as the psychotic headmaster pulled out a nail and a hammer.

"Why would he need a hammer?" I turned to Jinko in curiosity, only to be met with a face of harshness. "You'll find out." Those were the only words he said as he turned his gaze back to the scene in front of him. I did the same, knowing that whatever I was wondering was about to happen.

And it did. The headmaster gave the hammer to Atsushi and put the nail on his foot. "Hit the nail through your foot." He said with a strict tone. I was in shock. Why would a headmaster, someone who should take care of you, hurt a child. Atsushi was hesitant, and finally made a move. With one swift movement, he threw the hammer to the side.

"I'm not putting a nail through my foot!" He screamed, tears rolling down his face. The marking where he was slapped became more flushed with red by the second. The headmaster now had a more neutral look on his face. "You're such a stubborn piece of shit." He stated before grabbing the hammer, placing the nail on his foot, and striking the head of the nail with the hammer.

I was more shocked than before. I knew he wasn't treated nicely in the orphanage, but I didn't realize the extent. He was a kid for crying out loud! He's still a kid! He shouldn't have gone through that! Then a thought crossed my mind. Why am I caring so much for Jinko? We're enemies, so why do I feel as if I need to protect him with my life?

I was brought back to reality when I heard the piercing scream coming from Atsushi. Jinko covered his ears. I had just recently learned that because of his ability, he can hear things better than a normal human, hence why he had to cover his ears. The screams eventually died down, followed with sobs coming from Atsushi.

"This is what happens when you disrespect me." Claimed the headmaster. "Now for the mumbling you gave me earlier, I have a special treat for you." He grinned as he pulled out a syringe filled with a clear type liquid. He injected it into Atsushi, and before long, another piercing scream. The headmaster smiled, locked the cell door, and walked away from the child.

"So this is why you never tell anyone about your past." This was when I realized everything. Why he never wanted to talk about his past. The truth behind the mask. "It's exactly why I never say anything abo  it my past." His voice cracked. It almost broke my heart. These feelings were starting to take over again, but I quickly shook them off.

The room changed again tot he black setting we were used to. "One more to go!" Stated the cheerful ability user. I wanted to beat him so bad because of him exposing us. As I was about to use Rashomon to attack the invisible ability user, Jinko stopped me. "There's not use on fighting something you can't see." He claimed.

I understood what he was saying and led Rashomon back to my coat. He sighed. "We only have one more memory of mine and then we will be fine" he stated. I sounded sad. I had the feeling of hugging him tight and never letting go, but I never did that. I just nodded my head and waited for the last of this bell to end

1,283 words. I had no motivation to write this but I must please my readers! Also, thank you so much for 131 reads! I never thought I'd make it this far! Also not prepared for tomorrow's episode, but let's hope it isn't a shitty ending for the season! But anyways, thanks for reading!