Inside Your Mind

19 - Stain

You don't know what's in my head

It wasn't easy to take care of the wound in the dark storage building. He couldn't risk drawing attention to himself, though. That one police guy had gotten way too close. Things were getting risky. Maybe it was time to lay low for a while...

He knew he couldn't. He needed to kill. He needed to finish up with Hosu and he needed to do it quickly, before they managed to sort out all their bureaucracy and be on his ass. But not too quickly.

He couldn't risk it while this wound was still fresh. It had been a few days since he had left that police officer to bleed out. Since he had gotten hurt himself. It really was unfortunate he didn't get to finish the job back then. He would have bled out if it wasn't for those two other guys patrolling. Both quite young.

He huffed. What the hell were they even doing in a job like that? Probably grinding their way up to the top. Doing overtime to get that promotion. More cash and more authority. That's what it was all about. Disgusting. Fucking rotten. Like this whole society. There were very few exceptions.

He was in a good mind to get the girl as his next victim, just because it was her and her partner that forced him to do a sloppy and hurried job. He didn't like that. He was really fucking pissed about that.

But he was above that kind of killing. He was Stain. He didn't kill out of selfish motives. He killed for the greater good. Ridding the world of all those good-for-nothing hypocrites. All those people only after profit, money, power, fame. They all needed to go and then maybe... maybe things would get better. A better society. He was ready to play the bad guy to make that happen.

One day they would realize, he knew it. They'd realize he was right all along. They would understand his message and that's when things would turn around for the better. His next target had to be chosen well, however. Maybe it would be wise to plant a few distractions that night as well.

He looked down at the wound on his leg. It wasn't deep, but it burned when he was moving. He could ignore the pain, but it was terribly distracting if he had to fight or make a quick escape again. And the chances of that were high, especially with the police seemingly working quicker all of a sudden.

He grabbed the bottle of rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball. He soaked the cotton ball in alcohol and carefully dabbed it on the wound. It was looking much better than just a few days ago. Soon he'd be ready. One or two more days.

When he was done cleaning the wound he picked up the clean bandage beside him and started wrapping it neatly around his leg. One layer over the other, tight, clean, neat - like a true professional. Not that he was one, but he had tended to so many of his wounds, he was getting good at it.

It was time to pick out a new victim soon. And this time he had to go in for the kill. There was no way he could return to Hosu City a third time, if this didn't go according to plan. It had to work, there was no other way. Even though it would be risky. He needed to take his time and focus this time.

There were a few targets he had in mind - that health inspector that was regularly taking bribes to keep restaurants in business that were merely fronts, the police officer who liked to put some drugs from the evidence bags into his own pockets, the doctor not treating a dying patient, because their family couldn't pay for the operation... He'd take his pick from one of them.

Maybe the police officer, since he wanted to get back at them for making him do a sloppy job with this Iida guy. Attacking Iida at all was a bad move. It had been impulsive. He had realized that this guy was suspicious of him, so he decided to do away with him. It wasn't a good enough background. It was petty, nothing else. And that's why he had the wound. That's why he had to punish himself.

He couldn't give in and be selfish. That's what he was fighting against after all. That was his reason to kill. Tensei Iida had been a mistake and he was convinced that was why he had gotten so close to being caught that night.

He would make things right the next time. He would choose the right target, he would set distractions and kill silently. Efficiently, doing a precise job, only leaving the traces behind he wanted to leave behind. And then he would send off his letters and move on. To the next place.

Maybe he'd head into Naruhata after that. He had a good mind to show that annoying profiler that he had nothing on him. That Stain wouldn't be caught that easily with some sort of mind trick. And he'd show him by killing someone right on his doorstep. He knew he could pull it off.

He was better than all of them. He wouldn't have been able to kill for that long otherwise. He wouldn't have been able to carry out his mission this thoroughly. And he kept telling them in his letters and the little messages he left at the scene. It was laughable that they hadn't caught him yet.

But he wouldn't get ahead of himself. Hosu City was first. Once he had finished that job, it was time to plan his next move. Things had to be in order and he couldn't break that order. Not when he had been so close to being apprehended. Something like that shouldn't be happening again.

He wrapped up his bandage and tied it together. He got up and grabbed his katana and his knife and daggers. He needed to clean and sharpen them. Prepare them for what lay ahead. It will happen tomorrow night.

He still had a good amount of the poison left. It was a simple paralyzing agent. He wouldn't use poison to kill - that was the coward's way out. It wouldn't mean anything. But he could use it to make things easier. He hadn't gotten to Iida soon enough, that's why he got in trouble last time.

He smiled as he slowly paced back and forth in the empty and cold storage house. Crisp, silver moonlight was shining through the hole in the roof. Looked like the clouds had slowly dissipated.

The plan was getting clearer. Only one more day and he would go in for the kill. And then he would be able to eat again. Then the fasting would be over. Whatever mistakes he made, they would finally be atoned for.

He started laughing. It was beautiful!

He laughed and laughed and laughed, until the laughter died down to a satisfied smile. It was time to kill again.