CRYSTAL TEARS

Chapter 6

The days gradually turned into weeks and Y/N was getting more and more used to the view outside his window. His toys sat untouched in the corner--Well, all except one--and that was the stuffed toy gifted to him by the estate staff.

He clutched it tightly in his arms, his eyes dulled from his former innocent joy. The air around the room was still and almost stale, a perfect backdrop for how gloomy his room felt now. There was a layer of dust on his meager bookshelf, and the books too resting there untouched. They no longer soothed him to sleep.

There was no excitement, nothing new to look forward to. Just the same four walls surrounding him, that mahogany door remaining shut unless it was to feed or bathe him. It was obvious Shishido was trying her best to make these new conditions sufferable, but she only had so much power in such a constricting household.

A sudden knock at the door wasn't enough to get him to look over anymore. After all, it was made very clear his parents were never going to let him leave his confined space, not unless it was under their careful supervision. They even went as far as to monitor Shishido and ensure she performed her assigned tasks as they instructed her to do them.

His gaze stayed glued to the view outside, unfocused and as though he didn't have a genuine interest in what he saw. He remained that way even when Shishido walked into the room with a tray of food in her hands.

"Y/N," she called out to him softly. "I brought another one of your favorites."

The boy was stuck in his mindless daze, not even acknowledging Shishido's words or her presence in the room. She noticed and carried the tray over to his nightstand before joining him by his seat at his window sill. Her gaze was immediately drawn to his disconnection from the world, staring outside but not actually focusing on what was there.

"Y/N," she called again, reaching out to place her hand on his shoulder in a subtle nudge.

This time, Y/N's attention came back to reality and he looked over at her, the stuffed toy still in his arms. "Aren't you hungry? You should eat."

The boy shook his head at her words. "I'm not hungry..." he replied, his voice almost fully drained of joy.

A look of worry and concern crossed Shishido's features at his answer. Y/N hadn't eaten well the past few days, having lost all motivation to even make the effort to eat something. His face was gloomy and almost sickly. Being stuck all day in the same space was doing little to stimulate his mind in the way it needed to be.

"Why don't I take you outside then? You could use some fresh air," Shishido suggested, wanting to help the young master of the estate improve his mental state.

At that, a flicker of something crossed Y/N's face, not quite clear what it was. But it seemed to get his attention nonetheless. "Don't worry," she reassured him. "Your parents stepped out not too long ago on urgent business, so you need not worry about them."

As those words left her mouth, she studied his expression again and saw that earlier flicker of emotion more clearly this time; hesitance. There were many reasons he likely felt that way but Shishido was determined to let him stand under the sun again after being stuck inside for weeks.

So, after a bit more convincing, Shishido finally managed to get him in the outdoors again. Of course, the rest of the staff served as either watch guards for the impending arrival of the Master and Mistress or joined in to play with Y/N and give his mind the stimulation it needed to both further develop itself and to take a break from the gloominess of his room.

It did take a while to get Y/N in a good enough mood to want to play, but when he finally recovered his laugh and expression of enjoyment, he indulged in playing catch, hide-and-seek, and tag with the estate staff. "Where could the young master be hiding, hmm?" One of the butlers said aloud as he took a casual stroll around the courtyard, hearing Y/N's faint laughter in the vicinity.

He checked in the bushes and shook his head. "Nope, not there," he noted, hearing a slight rustle nearby. "Perhaps behind the tree?"

The butler checked there too, but also nothing. He chuckled and continued looking around, eventually walking over to search behind one of the bigger statues in the courtyard garden. "Time's up!" Shishido called out, Y/N peeking out from behind the statue with a victorious smile on his face.

"Well done, Young Master," the butler said with a hearty laugh. "You've outsmarted me again."

Y/N laughed with him and ran out from behind the statue and toward where the other staff were. "He found all of you," he noted, seeing all the staff that had participated in the round standing there waiting.

"Good job, Young Master," they said, clapping for him.

He took pride in their praises, receiving all their smiles with happiness. Unfortunately, this illusion of momentary joy was quickly shattered by the sound of a car approaching the front of the house. The staff quickly hurried to get Y/N back inside before the Master and Mistress found out he was outside of his room.

Y/N ran between the maids as they guided him back to the staircase that led up to his room. But as they reached the bottom of the said staircase, the front doors of the estate opened up. Shishido immediately moved to cover him with her taller stature. Fear ran cold through his veins, recalling the moment that had started this entire incarceration period.

If his parents saw him, the staff involved would all be punished in some form. While he didn't know exactly what punishment that would be, just the thought of them being in harm's way for his sake made his blood run ice cold.

"Shishido?" his father called out, raising an eyebrow at why she and another maid stood at the foot of the staircase. "Where's Y/N?"

Y/N's heart beat wildly in his chest, his small hand holding onto Shishido's apron, still hidden behind her. "He's upstairs in his room," Shishido replied, her lie coming out flawlessly, her expression completely composed.

He jolted as he heard his mother's scoff followed by his father's heavy footsteps approaching the three of them. Each step closer made his heartbeat echo louder in his ears. Finally, as his father was about to reach for Shishido's shoulder to pull her aside, he heard a quiet yet powerful whisper.

"Go away..."

In the snap of a finger, Y/N's father retracted his hand back to his side and turned on his heel to walk away from them. [M/R]'s eyes widened for a moment before narrowing on her husband, watching as he moved to walk back outside. "[F/R]," she said firmly. "What's wrong?"

Her gaze then turned to Shishido who was also mindlessly walking away from the staircase and living room, the other maid with her leaving too. She was confused by the sight until she saw Y/N standing there, a look of fear on his face.

"You..." she whispered, her gaze narrowing harshly. "You did it again."

As if hit by a rush of adrenaline, Y/N quickly dashed up the stairs, followed by the heartless shouts coming from his mother. "You monster of a child! Controlling people as you please!"

He slipped past the doors of his room and made a mad dash to hide under his bed, in the farthest corner. His heart was beating loudly in his ears, making it difficult to pinpoint whether his mother had come up the stairs, and whether or not she was going to open the doors and find him.

The seconds that went by without anything were hell. It was ominously silent. That was, until, he finally heard her heels clicking outside the door, making him jolt and curl into a ball under his bed. But as he waited, he only heard the familiar click of a lock and angered murmurs before the footsteps faded away again.

Gradually, the scare of the moment faded, his mind echoing the heartless insults his mother had shouted at him earlier. He curled further into a ball, muffling his cries with his arms. But his cries of pain and fear were left unheard.