Erase

Act 2: The Runaway

Music: "Runaway" by Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory; 2000)

Shocked, speechless and scared, Shino was devastated as she realized what she had just done. She held her hands over her head, only to see all the blood on them.

Startled by the sight of blood, Shino slowly backed away until she hit the door.

"I gotta run away... I gotta run away...!" Said Shino.

Shino grabbed the door and quickly ran way from her house, shedding tears of fear and anguish.

-Streets 7:10 PM-

As Shino was running away, the rain suddenly began to fall, as if to cry alongside her. Shino did not care. All she wanted at this point was to get away from it all.

Shino ran and ran, looking for a place without any people, so that she could hide away from everybody else. Soon, the rain began to intensify, prompting Shino to run much faster.

Shino eventually slipped on the wet road. She suffered a slight cut, but that was not enough to stop her from running away.

-Artificial Riverbank 7:25 PM-

After running for minutes straight, Shino eventually found a place to hide: the artificial riverbank.

As soon as she reached the riverbank, she proceeded to hide under the bridge until the rain stopped. She curled up beneath the bridge and eventually fell asleep.

[music fades]

-Artificial Riverbank 8:10 PM-

After an hour-long nap, Shino woke up. She saw the blood from her hands had been washed away from the rain. But this was not enough for her.

Shino walked closer to the riverbank, grabbed her scissors and pointed them towards her chest, in an attempt to commit suicide.

"I... I don't deserve to be here..." Said Shino, as tears run down her face. "A person like me... deserves to die..."

As she was about to stab herself, a voice suddenly called to stop her.

"Hey, you. What do you think you're doing?" Said a male voice.

Shino turned around to see who it was. As it turns out, it was a boy. 17 years of age. He had messy, shoulder-length hair, and wore an orange T-shirt with a white "U1" logo in front, as well as blue jeans and black shoes.

"If you know what's good for you, then stay calm and put those scissors down." Said the boy.

"You... what do you know about me?" Shino replied.

"I'm fully aware of what you're trying to do, so stop it." Said the boy. "You deserve better."

"How do you know? I don't even know who you are..." Shino replied.

"I'll introduce myself once you put down those scissors." Said the boy.

"No..." Shino replied.

"Put it down!" Said the boy.

"NO!" Shino replied.

"Don't make me go there and tackle you!" Said the boy.

"NO, GO AWAY!" Shino replied.

The boy then ran and proceeded to tackle Shino. She tried to run, but he was too fast for her. She eventually lost grip of the scissors.

"Gah! What are you trying to do, you sicko?!" Said Shino, as she pushes away the boy.

Both of them stand up.

"What am I trying to do, you say? Well, I was trying to save you from killing yourself!" Said the boy "And THAT is how you repay me? Pushing me away and calling me a sicko?!"

"I didn't need someone to save me! You were the one who forced yourself, thinking I'm some kind of damsel in distress." Shino replied.

"Well, if you weren't offing yourself here in the riverbank, then I wouldn't have interfered." Said the boy.

"Why would you interfere with my suicide anyway?!" Shino replied.

"Because I don't want to see a beautiful girl die in front of me!" Said the boy.

What the boy said caught both of them off-guard. A moment of awkward silence filled the riverbank.

"... What did you say?" Said Shino.

"N-Nothing..." The boy replied.

"No, really, what did you say?" Said Shino. "I didn't quite catch it."

"AH, FORGET IT! J-Just go home... wherever you came from." The boy replied.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a home now..." Said Shino.

"What do you mean, you-" The boy replied.

"I ran away from home. After... a scuffle with my father." Said Shino. "That's why I went to this riverbank... because I have nowhere else to go."

The boy's annoyance turned to pity in an instant, as he saw Shino's sad, teary eyes.

"Okay, you can stay with me." Said the boy.

"R-Really?" Shino replied.

"But for one night only, okay?" Said the boy.

"I-I don't know..." Shino replied.

"Look, you wanted a place to stay or not?" Said the boy.

"Okay, okay, I get it, I get it..." Shino replied. "There's just one thing before that though..."

"Oh, what now?!" Said the boy.

"You haven't introduced yourself... Like, when you said that I drop the scissors, you..." Shino replied.

The boy sighs.

"Yuichi Onodera." Said the boy. "How about you?"

"Shino... Shino Sato." Shino replied.

"Okay then, Shino. Let's go." Said Yuichi.

Shino and Yuichi then leave the riverbank to go to Yuichi's place, along the way,

"Y'know I'm usually wary about strangers like you." Said Shino. "But you're different. You're kind and understanding, if... a little bit rude."

"Yeah, yeah, just shut up already..." Yuichi replied.

-Void ?:??-

Meanwhile, in the dark void, Ezdeath was observing Shino and her actions.

"Hmm, this girl is quite interesting." Said Ezdeath. "A pure soul that's only recently corrupted. And she looks quite cute as well."

"Maybe I should put her in the game." Ezdeath added. "She'd make a great addition."

TO BE CONTINUED