Nine Tales [BL]

1.13

Life in the asylum was very...controlled. You were always monitored, always told what to eat, when to return to your room, when to go to therapy. Pills seemed to be distributed every second, never a free moment of clarity.

Sitting at the bolted-down plastic white table, Renshu focused on coloring in the tulips with the red crayon. The few people around him weren't talking, most also coloring though a few were eating the crayons.

Renshu didn't bother telling them they all tasted the same.

Every muscle in the fox's body wanted to run, run away from this empty happy room. However, Renshu had long figured out escape was impossible. During the rare outside time, wandered as close to the front gate as possible and started cussing at the yellow paths never went beyond the asylum, stopping five feet away from the gates and walls. Even some rooms weren't permitting entrance.

Granted, there were employees only signs, but the fact was, even if Renshu muscled his way out, there was nowhere to go.

So, life was this now.

[Ding! Host, your Task has been completed! $40,000 were wired to your aunts. For finishing your task, your Rank will go up by one. Current Rank: 3.]

Sighing, Renshu grabbed the green crayon and admitted. "I'm never going to leave this world, am I?"

[....]

Renshu scoffed, "Can't even lie?"

[....I believe in you, host.]

"Yeah, right." Coloring in the stem of the tulips, Renshu focused on the new task at hand: coloring.

"How is Idan?"

[Host, the Protagonist will be killing the last victim within a few days. With the protagonist halo and without the heroine's interference, he will most likely succeed without being caught.]

"Even though in the plot, he did."

[In the plot, he didn't have a mentor in the ways of killing, Host. Thanks to you, he became much more skilled.]

Renshu smashed his head against the table, releasing a torrent of kindergarten level curses.

"Renshu, language."

Looking up, Renshu saw Lydia's cold smile. Over the last thirty-odd visits, it was easy to realize while her looks were cold, she actually did her job to the fullest extent and was never cruel.

"We have gotten your cussing to a more suitable manner, now let's just get rid of it entirely."

The fox splayed on the table, ignoring the blank stares of his tablemates and grunted, "What do you want?"

"It's time for your therapy session. You know that." She gestured to stand up.

Renshu ignored her.

Before, he tried different methods to Rank higher until he realized a shocking truth that ended up with him throwing plastic chairs and trying to shove crayons down people's throats.

Turned out, the Rank was only influenced by the Protagonist, not Renshu.

 In other words, doesn't matter if Renshu saw and interacted with the FL. The gods didn't pay attention to that. They were solely focused on the Protagonist. It was as if they only saw what he saw. So, to them, the FL still didn't exist in their eyes even though she was right here!

Open your eyes! Look somewhere else besides Idan!

"Renshu." Her voice sharp, Renshu finally stood.

It's that or be locked up in his room.

Sitting down in the therapy room, the fox quickly lied on the couch. Discontent, he flipped onto his stomach and hugged the itchy pillow.

"I heard the Crimson Tear Killer is still on the loose."

"We are here to talk about you, Renshu." Opening her laptop, she clicked a few times. "Now, how have you felt the past few days? It was reported you tried to eat crayons? Did this urge start after the adjustments of your medicine?"

Renshu ignored her. "People thought I was him. So it does have something to do with me. Do you ever think about treating that person? Fantasize about him?"

Lydia sighed. "If we are going to talk about him again then let's focus on you."

She always did this. With her personality, Renshu was not surprised she didn't care about him. It was only through Idan being caught and sent here that she was forced to spend so much time with him.

At this rate, turning him in would be the best move.

But let's wait until he finished his goal. That way, in the end, he did win. He killed those pieces of trash. It would be a win for people like them.

"How do you feel about him?" Ms.Violet prompted.

Idan? He was a giant murderous puppy. Shy most of the time before turning violent. He was sticky and made good food. A fun source of a mean to the end. A fellow villain riding the world of waste.

"I relate."

Making note, Ms. Violent continued, "Are you upset to be misidentified as him?"

Snorting, Renshu answered, "No." After all, he was Idan's accomplice.

"How do you relate to him?"

A heart sigh escaped and Renshu rested his head on the pillow.

Here they go again.