Obediance
(By "What's with me and my obsession with Teishi lately?" Zarla)
(Note: I REALLY am not responsible fer any mental damage caused by readin this fic)

He could not remember much of his childhood. Normally, to faciliate ones memory, there had to be significant events, off of which other memories could be retrieved. However, Teishi's life was not as eventful in his opinion, although others would claim that his life was something that they personally would never forget.
He never had a mother or a father.
The earliest memory he had was when he was standing behind someone's legs, when he was around the age of three. He did not know who it was. All he could truly remember were snippets of the conversation.
"What do we do with him? I saved his life with the emitters...we can't just leave him alone."
"We do need a helping hand around here..."
"He's just a boy. He won't be able to help us."
"You know as well as I the power of reinforcement. If we raise him to follow what we tell him, he will do anything we want."
"Are you suggesting we raise him as a slave?"
"Not a slave. Simply someone who would follow every order without complaint."
He did not understand much of what they were saying, but he noted it in his mind for later reference, even at such a young age. He knew that this was important. So he tried to remember it as well as he could.
"Think of it as an experiment. Can we raise someone with no willpower, who does everything we tell him to? I know we can, it's a simple fact of human psychology."
"Do you realize what doing that would entail? We would have to be...he's so young. Could you handle that?"
"I could. I don't know about her, however."
More blurriness in the conversation at this point.
"He needs a name."
"A name would give him a feeling of importance and self-respect."
"You aren't serious."
"Very."
"Listen, we can't just call him 'boy' or 'slave'. He needs a name of some kind."
"Fine. Let me think..."
"I think I know of one that may work. It shouldn't give him a sense of importance, as far as I know."
"What?"
"Teishi. I believe it means 'servant' or 'student'. He would never know the difference. Neither would anyone else."
"Not that anyone would care."
More haziness.
"How could we make him into a servant?"
"Simple. Show him no kindness or compassion, and make it so it's in his best interests to obey orders."
"You mean through rewards?"
"No...I've found that punishments yield better results."
"I'll have no part in this. You can do this yourself."
"Fine. But when he helps you out, you'll thank me."
"Not when I know why."
That was as much as he could remember at that point.
The next memory that stood out within his mind was when he was five years old. At this point, he had already experienced to some degree the pain of being slapped, although this was as far as those around him would go. For now.
He didn't consider them as those who took care of him, because they obviously did not.
He remembered staring at himself in a mirror, touching one of the newer bruises on his face, underneath his eyes. He stared at himself, with his short blond hair and large green eyes, and marveled that that was what he looked like. He had never considered himself as having an appearance, of being a person. He was just Teishi. He never connected a visual aspect to that until he actually looked at himself.
It was a peculiar feeling and until he looked in a mirror again when he was seven, he always kept the image of himself at five, with the bruised face, as his thoughts of himself.
He also noticed at that point the metallic band that was around his neck. He had felt it, but never knew what it looked like. It blinked along with his heartbeat. He had heard it referred to as the emitter and had the vague impression that it was necessary, or else his heart would stop. He didn't know why his heart acted like this, but didn't touch the emitter out of fear of his life.
In truth, he was frightened for his life because he knew that if he did die, those he served would be angry at him. However, past this reason, he had no true desire to live.
At this point, he was also just learning to refer to others only as sir, miss, or ma'am. There were no alternatives, and even though he knew the names of those around him, he knew that if he called them that, they would hurt him. So he stopped calling them by their names, adjusting to the titles that had been burned into him.
One of his memories at five that he always kept, which was related to his present-day habit, was when he had been carrying a tray of food to some of those who were eating lunch in the cafeteria. He did this often. As he was walking up to the table, he could see one with small glasses and a beard looked at him.
"Thank you, Teishi."
The woman across from him glared at him. "Don't thank him, you idiot. This is the most important part of the whole procedure. You keep giving him self-confidence."
"I don't like this at all. I think we should just-"
"What else can we do with him, huh?" The woman glared at him. Teishi placed the tray on the table.
"Your welcome, Professor." His voice was quiet, as he had learned when he was little that unnecessary noise could cause him pain.
With surprising speed, the woman had slapped him across the face, knocking him to the ground.
Even at this point, he had learned that fighting back had made things even worse then they were originally, so he simply kept his eyes to the ground, staying in the position he had fallen in.
"Dr. Kagakusha, he's only five years old!" The Professor sounded aghast. She ignored him.
"Don't ever call us by our names! You don't deserve to use them. Only call us by what I told you. And never, ever say 'your welcome' again. You do what we want because we want you to, not because of some favor you're doing us. You do it or else. You have no right to use such words. Remember that."
"Yes, Ma'am." Teishi waited silently, hoping that the abuse had stopped for the moment. The woman sat down again, noting that Teishi did not stand.
"Look at that. He's so submissive he won't even stand unless I tell him to."
"I'm not hungry." Prof. Denka stood and left the room. He touched Teishi's back as he walked by, looking at him with sad eyes. "You can leave, Teishi."
"Thank you...sir." Teishi stood slowly, keeping his eyes on the Dr. Kagakusha. She did not move, although she seemed furious. He slowly stumbled out of the room, his face stinging terribly.
He remembered the incident for some reason he did not understand. That kind of thing happened all the time, but he wasn't sure why he had chosen to remember that time out of the others.
Another thing he remembered around the age of five was when the woman scientist had found him staring in the mirror, studying the bruises under his eyes. She had walked up to him and stared at him silently, as if waiting for him to do something. Teishi had turned away from the mirror and sat, staring directly into the eyes of the woman. She looked down at him.
"Do you like what you see?"
Teishi wasn't sure how to answer. His language skills weren't fully developed other then simple "yes, sir", "no, sir", and "thank you, sir", with variations on the pronouns. No one generally asked anything else of him. So this question was strange and he wasn't sure how to respond. So he stared at her in confusion, answering in the way he thought would cause him the least pain. "You want me like, ma'am?"
She stared at him quietly for a while, then her voice was cold and precise. "No. You're a bad person, Teishi. Am I correct?"
Teishi couldn't argue with her. He knew what would happen if he did. He would simply be hit until he did agree with her. So why inflict pain on himself when he could simply agree? He paused before speaking, not sure of what he was saying. "Yes, ma'am."
The woman seemed to be thinking, wondering how far she could abuse Teishi's fear of pain. "That's why we hit you, isn't it? Because you're a bad person."
Teishi couldn't disagree, not without danger to himself. "Yes, ma'am."
"I want you to think about that." She had walked away at that point.
Teishi turned back to the mirror, raising one of his tiny hands towards one of the bruises on his face. His fingers hovered over it, not touching it. They were shaking. Now that he thought about what he had agreed to, he found himself speaking against his will, whispering underneath his breath.
"Teishi no good." He didn't like the sound of his own name coming from him. It sounded clumsy. He could see tears forming in his eyes and didn't understand why. "Teishi bad."
He turned and stared at the retreating back of Dr. Kagakusha, then turned back to the reflection. "Good that people hit bad Teishi."
Although he inwardly didn't recognize that this did reflect what he truly felt, he still felt sadness and desperation when the statement came from him. At his confused age of five, he cried while he said words that he unconsciously understood, but consciously could not comprehend.
He spent much of his early life serving the two scientists that he barely knew. He identified with them slightly, but never enough to particularly care about them. It wasn't until he was around ten years old that he would be given his first master, a person that would demand his attention and service constantly. As it was, he spent much of his time during the earlier ages of five to nine wandering the hallways, memorizing his way around the facility. It never particularly bothered him that he never saw the outside world for any great deal of time. He did catch glimpses of it, but it never fully interested him. The only meaning of his life was to serve those he was under the command of. The thought of escape, of freedom, was totally foreign and alien to him.
Whenever he was needed, the emitter around his neck would quicken, causing his heart beat to increase accordingly. At this point, he only knew one place where he was supposed to go when this happened and always headed there at the highest speed possible when he was summoned. The reason behind this was the artificial speeding of his heart was an incredibly odd feeling for him, one he did not enjoy, therefore he wanted to make the duration of the quickening as short as possible. Also, if he was late, he would often be hit.
This was also part of the reason he associated himself with the hallways and doors of the facility. He knew most of the codes to the doors, having been required to fetch one thing or another at points, but rarely ever found a reason to enter a room on his own willpower. Besides, they told him that he wasn't allowed to snoop about in the rooms, so he simply walked own the hall, listening to his own heartbeat, breath, and the soft sounds of his footsteps.
They never gave him shoes. In fact, the only kindness they had truly shown him was providing him with basic clothes, clothes that were rarely mended or fixed. Or washed. Teishi had to do that himself, if he felt that he was too dirty. He felt that way often, sometimes compulsively washing his clothes in a sink in the bathroom repeatedly, even if they were clean, because it gave him some sense of comfort. The clothes they had given him were too big for him at five years old, which was when he had first seen himself. For all he knew, he could have been running about naked before then, but he doubted that. As he matured, they delegated all responsibilities including his clothes to him, meaning he had to fix them or adjust them when he aged to fit his new frame. The black shirt he had originally been given was fading slowly to grey, the dark blue pants fading to an almost purple. At seven years old, he no longer was able to trip over the edge of his pants and his shirt no longer listed over one shoulder, but the clothes were still loose. Sometimes he was punished for this when the woman scientist, who was the only one who ever struck him at this point, was in a particularly bad mood. It was one of her reasons for hitting him that would never have made sense to other people, but made sense to Teishi, as he was taught that he should only believe what he was told and follow what was commanded.
At the age of seven or eight, Teishi was unsure, Prof. Denka called him to his office.
"Teishi, my boy, how have you been?"
Teishi viewed Prof. Denka's momentary kindness as some kind of oddity within his day and never knew how to respond. He did not have a response to kindness, as it was so rare for him to receieve. He stood silently. Prof. Denka sighed at his silence.
"What are we doing to you..."
"What do you wish of me, sir?" Teishi had adopted the formal tones he had heard others speak in at times, in order to prevent offending someone and in response having pain inflicted on him. Prof. Denka studied the collar around his neck.
"Teishi, I've updated the emitter you're wearing. There's a new model out that may be more efficient then this bulky thing."
Teishi wondered how he could respond without sounding positive or negative. In the end, he couldn't figure it out and remained silent. Prof. Denka took two small bracelets from his desk. They were joined by a small wire.
"Look at this, Teishi. See? This is a joint emitter. They need to be close to one another on your wrist, but should be able to regulate your heart easier and take some weight off your neck. I made another pair for your other wrist, okay?"
"How will you remove my other emitter, sir?" Teishi was frightened at the prospect of the one thing that kept him alive being taken off of him. He knew that if he died now, they would all be angry at him. Prof. Denka took his wrist and fastened the small emitters onto it at the same time.
"I don't have to take it off yet, you see? I can just fasten them now, then remove the large one. Don't worry."
Teishi remained silent, moving his hand up and down slowly to adjust to the strange weight on his wrist. Soon his other wrist was also affected. He continued moving his hands, studying the adjustments the devices made on his movements. These wouldn't be much of a hamperance.
"Stay still now, okay Teishi? I'm going to remove the main emitter."
Prof. Denka took what seemed to be a small key from his desk. Teishi closed his eyes, letting his inner obediance take over his fear. He was told to stay still, he would stay still. Doubt and fear still were within him, but he managed to mask it. At this point, his inner sense of obediance had not developed to the extreme it would in his later years, but he was trying to use it the best he could. As soon as Prof. Denka touched him, he flinched. He had expected pain from someone's touch and was surprised not to find it. He heard Prof. Denka sigh again as there was a click from the emitter on his neck. He felt the weight fall from it and made a slight noise of surprise. His neck felt cold and bare. It slightly frightened him.
"There. Nothing to it. Chah..." Prof. Denka made a noise of disapproval as Teishi opened his eyes again. "Look at that. There's a line going around your neck from where it was. I don't understand how they can do this to someone so young...and why Hana is letting Namida do it is beyond me..."
Teishi touched his neck. The skin beneath the emitter felt soft and cold. Looking at the new emitters on his hands, he noted how frail his wrists and fingers looked. It had never occured to him before. Staring at Prof. Denka's hands, he noticed that they were stronger then his own. Wondering why they were different, he tried to turn his attention away from himself. Looking at the beeping lights on all four of his new emitters, he found they tracked his heart-beat just as steadily as the previous one had.
"I'll set it up so that it can be used to signal you like the previous one. You can go now, Teishi."
"Thank you, sir." Teishi walked out of the room, feeling the new weights on his hands. Although they were smaller and more compact, he could still feel the difference. It would take him a while before he could get used to it.
During his years at the facility, the various emitters he wore would change back and forth as Prof. Denka experimented with different styles. Sometimes they were smaller or larger or on different parts of his body, such as his ankles. He didn't mind. As long as they remained constant.
Prof. Denka kept showing kindness towards him, which he didn't understand. He taught him how to read and write, although Teishi never found a true use for such things. He would also try and tell him stories, perhaps in some effort to give Teishi some aspect of a normal childhood. It was always before he would be sent to bed by the woman scientist. This was before his sleeping patterns were determined by his masters, who would eventually dictate how long and when and even if Teishi could sleep.
None of the stories that he heard had any particular meaning to them. They were very obscure to him and he never could fully understand the meaning behind the protaganist's actions.
However, there were one kind of story that Teishi did enjoy.
Fairy tales.
Even so, there was only one aspect of the stories that truly appealed to him. The other aspects, such as magic and happy endings, were far beyond the grasp of his mind, but one thing stood out to him for some reason.
The prince.
The idea of someone who would go through trials, terrible battles, curses, and various physical debilitations all for the person they loved fascinated and amazed Teishi. He never believed in the happy endings, but rather in the pure determination and heroism of the handsome prince. He secretly wished that there was some kind of prince for him. That he was some kind of prisoner that would eventually be rescued by someone who would give everything for him, even die for him, just because they loved him. The idea made Teishi feel guilty for wishing for his freedom, but it tantalized him for some reason he couldn't understand.
He would often fantasize about his phantom prince. The phantom prince never had a face. In his daydreams, he would always imagine what it would feel like to be able to be rescued from his life of servitude rather then how his prince would appear to him. Appearance had never been the utmost concern to him.
Because he did not dream at night, these daydreams were a great joy to him, as a release of the feelings that he kept within him. Also, during times of great pain, he would often try and block out everything around him and simply think of his prince, who must have been looking for him that very moment, to come and rescue and love and take care of him.
That was the kind of story he had loved and was the moral that he had learned.
His first master came when he was around the age of ten. The concept was explained to him briefly by Dr. Kagakusha as she led him down the hall.
"It is your job, Teishi, to take care of this person. You are to do everything, I mean EVERYTHING they tell you too. Never make them angry, never say anything. They will be your master until we release you or assign you a new one. Do you understand?"
"I understand, miss." Teishi didn't really at all, but knew answering in the affirmative in most situations was benefitial. She opened the door to the room where his master stayed, shoving him inside roughly.
"This is your servant. Feel free to do whatever you want to him." Those were the words she had left Teishi with in the room as the door closed. They were the words that she would always leave him with, words that he would eventually memorize and believe summed up his entire life.
The room was a sharp contrast to what he was used to. There was actual bedding here and there and Teishi was reminded for some reason of the living rooms in the stories he always heard.
His master was old, laying on the bed. It was made clear fairly soon that he was not asleep.
"You...you're only a young one. What do you think you can do for me, eh?"
Teishi walked closer, closing his eyes submissively as he planned his words. "Anything you wish of me, sir, I will try and do."
The old man stared at him hatefully. He apparently resented having to have a small boy wait on him. Teishi simply stood quietly, awaiting his order.
"Get me that cane."
Teishi noted the silver-topped cane that was lying near the bed. He placed it near his new master's hand, stepping back slightly to watch how he would respond.
That moment was one of the few moments that Teishi was surprised at the blow that came at him. Although the woman would strike him occasionally, he was never struck with the actual intent of disabling or perhaps killing him. And such a vicious action from someone that acted so feeble startled him.
The cane connected with a "thuk" noise to his side, knocking him to the ground easily. Teishi had learned long ago to hide his cries of pain and simply gasped softly in surprise. He had never experienced pain to this extent before. It frightened him. Staring at where he had been struck, he could see a vague red stain spreading from underneath his shirt.
The old man was visibly surprised by the fact that he had both hit Teishi with such force and the fact that Teishi did not even try to move out of the way. "I don't need some little kid to take care of me! I'm fully capable of taking care of myself! How dare they treat me with this kind of disrespect! By all rights, I should..."
The man stared in surprise as Teishi staggered to his feet, not placing a hand near his injury. The ten year old boy then stood silently, as if awaiting another strike from the irate old man.
"What's wrong with you, boy? Didn't that hurt?"
"It did hurt, sir." Teishi tried to keep all emotion from his voice. The man stared at him critically.
"Well, aren't you going to cry? Scream? Bet I broke some of your ribs."
"If you want me too, I will."
The old man prodded him in the chest with the cane, noting the slight flinch that betrayed the pain Teishi was feeling.
"Christ, boy, don't you care? How can you stand there and not say a thing?"
Teishi kept his face passive. "I have simply obeyed orders all my life, sir. If you want me to scream, then I will. If you don't, then I will remain silent. That is my life."
The old man shook his head back and forth slowly. "Boy, you don't know what life is. You've already lost your soul and you aren't even close to my age."
"If you think I have, sir, then I have." Teishi didn't let the doubt and concern he was feeling slip into his voice.
Pity seemed to flash in the old man's eyes for a few moments, but then it was gone. He pointed at Teishi with the cane. "Boy, I want you to go to wherever there's an infirmiary around here and get that side fixed up, you hear me? Then I want you to come back here."
"Yes, sir." Teishi had found that while he was standing, he was able to ignore the pain. However, trying to walk brought it back in force. Limping badly and fighting his own emotions that threatened to betray him, he stumbled out of the room, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
Prof. Denka was horrified to find him in the state he was in. He didn't remember much after that clearly. He supposed he must have fallen unconscious.
At any rate, when he did remember he remember his side being bandaged for a few weeks and his shirt, which was usually his concern, had been washed when he had awoken. He wasn't sure by who.
He had stumbled back into the old man's room. The man seemed surprised to see him so quickly.
"You back already, boy? Your side fixed up?"
"As best as it could be, sir." Teishi noted the man seemed frailer and more exhausted then he had before.
The old man sighed. "Listen, boy, I'm sorry for hitting you like I did. That was cruel of me. It's just sometimes, I feel so useless around here. I hope you can forgive me."
Teishi had never heard words like this from anyone. He knew what they meant at some level, but no one had ever spoken them to him. He never considered himself worthy of such words that he always secretly held in such high respect. "Sorry?"
The old man could see the confusion in his eyes and sighed. "Boy, what have they been doing to you...bet no one's ever said sorry to you in your life, eh? I can see those bruises on your face."
"What do you wish of me, sir?" Teishi wanted to avoid the conversation. Apparently the old man was talking more to himself then Teishi at this point.
"Name's Jeffries. Paul Jeffries. Used to work here, you know, until they kicked me out 'cause I got too old. So here I am again, on special request by my own grandson who apparently runs the place, just because he didn't want his old grand-dad to die somewhere where he couldn't gloat about it. What's yours, boy?"
"Teishi, sir."
"Well, nice to meet you, Teishi." The way he said his name made it sound as if there was something wrong with it. Teishi's face betrayed no emotion, although this did bother him at some level. The old man held a hand out to Teishi. Teishi wasn't sure how to respond. Sensing that he didn't, Paul retreated the offered hand. "Could you get me something to eat?"
Teishi complied with his natural speed and obediance, fetching what he could find without complaint. While Paul ate, he studied Teishi carefully.
"Boy, have you ever heard of something called independence?"
"No, sir."
Paul didn't expect this, but shrugged anyway. "Well, it's something we both don't got. So we're stuck together in this god-forsaken place."
"If you say so, sir."
"I can see talking with you isn't going to be very interesting." Paul laughed to himself. Teishi just remained silent. "But anyone'll do when you're old and alone, I suppose..."
Over the course of three weeks Teishi catered to Paul's needs, bringing him food and water, telling him stories that he could remember from Prof. Denka, helping him when he couldn't walk. One time he was telling a story that he had created himself, one that he particularly enjoyed because of the prince he had created, the prince of his dreams. Near the end, Paul had interrupted him.
"Boy, you want to get out of here."
Teishi was scared that someone would hear him. "Oh no, sir, I like it here. This is my home."
Paul ignored him. "You want some prince to come and steal you away and give you a happy ending, right boy?"
Teishi shook his head, fearful of revealing how he felt. In a fit of anger, Paul again jabbed him harshly in the chest with the cane he always had around him. Teishi fell to the floor, guessing that that was the reaction that Paul desired from his strike.
"There aren't any such thing as princes, boy." Paul's voice was laden with hatred and frustration. "There aren't any happy endings, either. Not for people like us. You might as well give it up right now. Happy endings are rare and only go to those who can afford them."
Teishi was saddened by this revelation of how Paul felt about the one thing that he believed in. Not that he was going to show it. He stood silently, his face remaining passive.
"Yes, sir."
Paul stared at him. "Don't 'Yes, sir' me. I know you still think that someone's going to come and rescue you. Well, give it up, boy. You're wrong. No one'll come to rescue you when the time comes, just like they won't come for me."
Paul, realizing that he had struck the small boy once again, threw his cane to the ground in frustration at himself. "Just go. Leave me alone."
Teishi complied wordlessly. Rubbing his chest, he was worried more about the damage to what it protected.
He could never lose his hope for a prince, because that was all he had. He had to keep believing that there was some way out of this prison, some way that this whole terrible experience was only temporary...
Or else he had nothing. And if he had nothing...
What did he have to live for?
Without his hope for escape, even the fear of his master's anger at his death would not stop him from ending his life somehow. His secret hope for someone to come and rescue and love him, because no one ever did.
As the weeks progressed, Paul began to make less and less sense. His sentences often ran together or he didn't form words at all. Teishi was never sure how to respond to this, as he wasn't sure whether or not Paul could understand him, so he simply nodded whenever he seemed to ask a question. Sometimes this made the aged man angry, sometimes it made him happy, but Teishi could think of no other response.
Near the end of the third week, Paul was wheezing painfully as Teishi came in as he usually did. Teishi wasn't concerned, as he wheezed most of the time these days.
Paul gestured for him to come closer. He did so until Teishi was sitting on his bed, staring at him. Paul seized his arm in a death-grip and began to babble to him. Teishi simply nodded as he always did.
Then Paul leaned back and for one moment regained the old spark his eyes had. "There's no happy endings for us."
That was the last true sentence he heard from the man. He closed his eyes soon after and never opened them again.
Teishi knew he was dead. This didn't bother him, as he didn't particularly care about Paul. Paul was not his prince. Paul had tried to convince him that there was no such thing. So he was not overly concerned when he returned to Paul's room later and found his body to be gone.
He was not his prince. He would have to keep waiting until his prince came and freed him from his life of servitude.
After this experience, he had a week before he was assigned a new master. Dr. Kagakusha had hit him repeatedly afterwards, blaming him for the old man's death which was clearly not his fault. Teishi did not protest nor resist. He simply took the blows as he always did. When he glanced in a mirror, he found the remnants of bruises always about his cheeks and angry red marks around his wrists.
During this week, Teishi would often go to where he slept on his free time. The place where he slept was merely the nearest corner. While he was alone, he would often hug his arms in an effort to hug himself. He would imagine it was his prince hugging him. He also would rock back and forth occasionally, dreaming that someday he would be free from all this.
He wanted so badly to be loved. However, for Teishi, this was a rare commodity that he was rarely able to afford.
His next master was a sharp contrast to Paul Jeffries. He was young, carefree, and fascinated with Teishi's emotionless behavior.
"You, Teishi..." he would tell the blond boy. "You are so amazing. I could never be like you, just standing about and obeying orders. It's so...odd."
"Yes, sir." Teishi would respond emotionlessly. This would make the young man laugh.
"Proving my point as always. Get me a drink, Teishi."
"Yes, sir."
Teishi learned eventually that his master's name was Jann. He never learned his last name. He learned his first by listening to the friends that Jann constantly invited over.
This was when the first shock came.
It was Jann who thought of it. He had taken Teishi along specifically for this purpose as he confronted Prof. Denka.
"Yo, what are these for?" Jann had grabbed Teishi's wrist and pointed to the emitters that blinked steadily.
"They regulate his heartbeat."
"What else do they do?"
"Well..." Prof. Denka didn't seem to want to say this, but found himself doing so anyway. "We can also signal Teishi with it-"
"How?"
"We...we speed up the emitter so it speeds up his heart."
"What else can it do?"
"Well..."
"I know what this is, Professor." Jann looked grave. "Tell me now."
Prof. Denka sighed, staring at Teishi's green eyes. Teishi simply remained silent. "It...it can deliver a painful shock, if certain parameters are met."
"How?"
Prof. Denka finally showed some anger. "Are you telling me that you want to shock this poor boy with the power of that kind of emitter? Do you have any idea what that would do to him?"
"Have you actually ever hit this kid or nothing?" Jann jerked Teishi's wrist painfully, but Teishi did not respond. "He doesn't care! He can't feel pain!"
"He can feel pain." Prof. Denka's voice was serious. "He just doesn't express it because he's afraid he'll receive more."
"You're wrong. I want the shock system set up so I can shock him whenever I please."
"Do you realize what that could do to his heart? How fragile it is? Using such electro-magnetic waves could alter his pulse just enough to kill the boy."
"It's not like anyone cares about him. And I know you'll do it, or else..."
Prof. Denka sighed, sitting down hard. "Or else you'll report me, I know..."
"I want it to be a button of some kind." Jann sketched something on a nearby piece of paper. "Maybe on a remote or on the wall or something. Something I could easily reach."
"Why do you want to do something so cruel to this poor boy?"
Jann handed his sketch to Prof. Denka. "It's only cruel if he cares about what happens to him."
Teishi did not say anything, simply keeping his face blank and thinking of his prince, somewhere in the world, looking for him so they would save him from his fate.
The next time Jann summoned him, he had some of his friends lounging about the what seemed to be comfortable room. Teishi stared at it without feeling. He knew and he would always know that such rooms were not meant for people like him. They did not deserve such rooms.
He had two friends with him, both around Jann's age, one with spiky hair and the other didn't have hair at all. Teishi didn't stare at them for any undue length of time, having learned that staring at strange things would often get him hit.
"This is Teishi, guys. Say 'hi', Teishi."
Teishi simply obeyed without thinking. "Hi, sir."
"So you serious about this?" The spiky one stared at Teishi, seeming to study him. "He does everything you tell him to? EVERYthing?"
"He could do anything I tell him to. His face won't even change a bit, either. Pain doesn't even faze him."
"Serious?"
"Hey, Rob, you done with that tea of yours?"
The one without hair was sitting calmly, staring at Teishi in confusion. He transferred his gaze to his friend. "Yes, why?"
"Is it hot?"
Rob seemed confused by these questions. "What kind of question is that?"
"I'm serious here."
Rob shrugged. "Well, of course it is. It's tea, for crying out loud. It's scalding hot."
"Let me have it."
As Rob handed Jann the cup, the spiky haired one touched Jann's shoulder. "Dude, you aren't going to do what I think you are, are you? That's just sick, do you see how old he is?"
"I'm telling you, Sean, he doesn't feel pain. It doesn't matter to him. Teishi, stand right there." Jann stood, holding the cup in front of him.
Teishi knew what was coming and tensed his body mentally for the pain that would follow. His facial expression did not change, only his body began to shake slightly and the lights on his bracelets began to flash rapidly. "Okay everyone, watch this."
Jann lifted the cup. "He won't even scream."
"Jann, don't!"
Jann flung the scalding contents of the teacup at Teishi's unprotected body. It splashed mainly over his head, which he bent to avoid the hot liquid from hurting his eyes, which he closed instinctively. He felt the hot water burning his skin, which was already sensitive to the abuse it had already received, causing a terrible sensation all over his body that quickly faded to intense cold as the heat evaporated.
"DUDE!" Sean lept up and snatched the cup from Jann. "What the #^$# do you think you're doing?"
"Look at him!"
Teishi slowly lifted his trembling head upwards, staring at Jann directly in the eyes, keeping his face passive after years of practice. His body could not stop shaking and the lights were going off irregularly.
Sean and Rob were stunned into silence.
"That didn't hurt, did it Teishi?" Jann asked casually.
Teishi responded the only way he knew he could. His voice was quavery from restrained pain. "N...no, sir."
"Holy..." Sean looked both horrified and amazed at the same time. Jann smirked to himself.
"In fact, you're used to it, aren't you?"
Teishi closed his eyes briefly, noting a drop of liquid falling from his blond hair to the floor. "Y...yes, sir."
"See? The kid can't feel pain."
"Are you nuts?" Sean pointed at the young boy. "Of course he can! He just doesn't show it!"
"No one seems to understand this!" Jann seemed annoyed that no one was agreeing with him. Reaching into his pocket, he flicked out a small switchblade. Before Sean or Rob could move, he grabbed Teishi roughly and pressed the knife to his temple.
"JANN!"
"Watch! Teishi, keep your eye open!"
Moving the knife above one of his eyes, Jann readied himself to slash downwards, blinding Teishi forever. But there are some instincts within people that can not be subdued, not even after years of obediance. Teishi closed his eye, despite his best efforts not to, and the slash that was intended to blind the boy simply caused a gash that ran from above his eye, across his eyelid, then down to his jawline.
Teishi felt tears coming to his eyes involuntarily. Although it had not hurt as much as he had expected, it had hurt. And he was frightened that it might get worse then this, given Jann's unpredictable state. And if Jann killed him...
His prince would never find him.
His wounded eye locked shut, he watched with his one good eye as Rob snatched the blade away from his friend. "Stop it, Jann! This is sick!"
"Look at him!" Jann seemed outraged that Teishi hadn't kept his eye open. "No response!"
"Of course he had a response." Sean raised a hand to examine the wound, but Teishi flinched away from him. He could feel blood running down his chin and neck, making him feel both sticky and cold from the previous liquid that had been thrown on him. "He closed his eye. He didn't want to be blinded, Jann."
"He didn't WANT to close his eye, he did it automatically." Jann was resentful of his weapon being taken away from him. "I'm telling you, he can't feel pain."
"Everything can feel pain, Jann." Sean turned back to the frightened boy. "Don't worry...Teishi. We'll take care of your eye."
"Why should we?" Jann sulkily said. "He's just a servant, anyway. He does whatever I tell him to. I bet they've got dozens like him."
"Then why haven't we seen them?"
"He's probably especially assigned to me. Right, Teishi?"
"Yes, sir."
"C'mon, Teishi, stand up for yourself." Sean seemed deeply disturbed at the blank face and emotionless voice Teishi was using. "Don't let Jann push you around, he's just a prick."
"Shut up, Sean." Jann didn't sound serious. But then again, neither had Sean.
"Seriously, dude, this is messed up." Rob looked disturbed about the whole ordeal. "That kid isn't right. Who just stands there and lets people hurt them?"
"That kid, apparently." Sean answered sarcastically.
"Watch." Jann had his old, strange smile back. "That gash over your eye. It was Teishi's fault, right Teishi?"
"Jann-" Rob tried to protest, but Teishi's response cut him off.
"Yes, sir."
"Teishi!" Sean was even more disturbed by this. "Teishi, c'mon!"
"Teishi, go now."
"Yes, sir." He began to walk out the door, stumbling slightly because of his impaired vision. Jann called after him.
"What do you say?"
Teishi betrayed none of the pain, hopelessness, and depression in his voice as he responded. "Thank you, sir."
Prof. Denka had to treat his eye as soon as he came within the lab. Although Teishi tried not to show it, the wound hurt a great deal. Despite his best efforts, his one good eye constantly let tears flow and he hated himself for showing such weakness.
"Who did this to you, Teishi?"
Teishi tried to keep his voice level, but it was shaking from emotion and pain. "Jann, sir."
Prof. Denka muttered darkly to himself as he continued to apply medication to the wound. "Did he have any reason why?"
Teishi thought back. "He must have had a reason, sir. I did not ask him though."
The man sighed and began to apply a bandage over the cut, which gave Teishi the appearance of having a white eyepatch. "I bet he had no reason. I bet he just wanted to show you off to his sick friends. Exploit the fact you can't help what you are."
Teishi didn't realize what Prof. Denka was trying to tell him. "That must have been it, sir."
"What's this in your hair?" Prof. Denka fingered one of the hardened strands. Without giving it a second thought, Teishi pulled a single strand of his blond hair from off his head with no regard for the pain and gave it to Prof. Denka, who took it silently.
"I think it's tea, sir. You can look closer if you want. I could be wrong, sir." Teishi knew he wasn't, but knew that it was better to safeguard in case he was.
"Tea...?" Prof. Denka sounded confused as he adjusted his tiny glasses. "Why would you have tea in your hair?"
Teishi saw no point in lying. "Jann threw it at me, sir."
He noted the slight shock this gave the professor, who turned towards him. "Was it hot?"
"Very much so, sir." The pain was fading from his eye now and his voice was changing back to the emotionless tone it had before. Prof. Denka sighed again, looking slightly angry.
"There are some people, Teishi, who have no concept of other's feelings, who take and steal and lie because they never consider others outside themselves. Jann is one of those people."
"He's my master." Teishi secretly agreed, but would never say so outloud for fear of punishment.
There was a long silence as Prof. Denka stared at the surprisingly strong and healthy strand of hair he held in his hand, irregularly scented with herbal tea. When he spoke, his voice had a strange tone to it.
"Don't believe in dreams, Teishi."
Teishi remained silent.
"They only make reality worse."
It took a great effort for Teishi to remain silent, because deep within his soul he wanted to shout at the man that he was wrong. All he had left where his dreams...they were the only thing that made his life worth living. But Teishi's spirit had long learned that it's place was in Teishi's thoughts, not his voice or actions, and it would be a long, long time before it even finally emerged in his speech.
"You're lucky..." Prof. Denka must have felt awkward in the silence that followed, so pointed to the bracelets Teishi was wearing. "The tea didn't reach these. They aren't waterproof, you know. They could have shorted out and killed you."
Teishi strangely enough felt no worry nor fear that his life had nearly ended. To him, it was in the past. If it hadn't happened, then it hadn't happened. Why should he be concerned? He wondered whether he should feel this way and found he didn't know any other way to feel.
"I'm technically done with the next emitter series..." Prof. Denka walked to his desk, picking up something. "But because of this...incident..." His voice took an uncharacteristic amount of hatred at the word 'incident'. "I'll waterproof them for you."
"Thank you, sir."
"Oh, about that eye..." Prof. Denka pointed at the bandage. "Listen to me now, Teishi. Do NOT let anyone touch that. You may be blinded permanently in that eye if someone does. Even if your 'master'..." Prof. Denka's voice again took on hate. "Tells you too, tell him it was a direct order from me that it should remain where it is. Promise me, Teishi."
Teishi knew that if he agreed to this promise, all other commands would be invalid to it, even his master's. But he didn't know what else he could do but agree, as he was used to doing so. "Yes, sir."
Prof. Denka sighed once more, a deep, long one that seemed to insinuate some kind of long-lost memories. "Teishi...I don't want anything bad happening to you. You have to take care of yourself, even if it goes against everything you know."
Teishi nodded submissively. He would take care of himself...until his prince came, and then his prince would take care of him. Would finally remove the burden that weighed on him so heavily everyday, that no one cared about him but himself and that his whole life was his and his alone. Someday...someone wouldn't let some man cut his eye or throw scalding water on him or hit him with a cane...someone wouldn't let someone do that to him. They would say "Get away from my Teishi! He is mine and mine alone and you can never hurt him while I'm around!" and the people who Prof. Denka said never considered others then themselves would run away and he would, for the first time in his life, feel safe.
He wished that day would come soon.
When he came to visit Jann after his eye was bandaged, his friends were gone. Jann was in a foul temper and it showed as Teishi walked in. He jumped upwards and grabbed the small boy easily, lifting him off the ground. Teishi hung passively, even though his access to air was being restricted.
"You little...you made me look bad in front of my friends, you know that? I know you can't feel pain. Why did you close your eye?"
Teishi remained silent, unable to think of an answer to placate the young man. Jann dropped him roughly on the floor and went back to his bed, sitting and staring at Teishi in fury.
"See you got a patch for that eye of yours. Is it healing?"
Teishi nodded, afraid to speak for fear of offending him. Jann stood and walked towards the boy, holding his hand out towards the bandage.
Teishi could not break his promise. He ducked underneath Jann's hand and moved past him, watching him silently.
"What are you doing, Teishi? I order you to stay still!"
Teishi did so as Jann came closer, but as soon as he raised a hand for the bandage, Teishi would duck his head out of the way.
"Teishi, stop moving!"
"I can't, sir." Teishi continued dodging the hand as he spoke.
"Why not?"
"I promised that I wouldn't let anyone touch it, sir."
"I'm your master!" Jann angrily backhanded Teishi to the floor, where the blond boy checked the bandage to make sure it hadn't been touched. "You obey ME!"
"It...it came from a higher authority, sir."
Jann stared down at Teishi, having worked himself into a total fury. "Higher authority, huh? I have a higher authority then that."
He walked towards the bed, where Teishi noted the small pad near the foot of it. Unsure of what to expect, he watched as Jann pressed the button down.
The emitter on his wrist flashed brightly, causing Teishi's heart to give one powerful beat, then the pain began. Flaring, bright pain that burned the inside and outside of him, making him feel as if everything on his body was on end, as if all his old injuries had come back with a vengeance...as if he was on fire. As if he was encased in an iron maiden. As if he had been stabbed repeatedly.
His entire body shook as his heartbeat increased to a dangerous level, causing him to lose control of most of his muscles and collapse twitching on the floor, aware of how all his hair was standing on end. Adrenaline shot through his body, causing his pupils to dilate and some dreadful kind of anticipation which made him try for a brief moment to move to escape whatever his body was feeling, only to increase the pain sevenfold. He gave a brief cry of shock and surprise rather then pain, something that later on he would never be able to believe nor understand.
When the electrical shock, as Teishi soon learned what it was, ended, Jann stared at him in triumph. Panting on the floor, tears falling helplessly from his eyes, twitching convulsively, Teishi tried to remember who he was, what he was doing, and what had happened as the pain slowly faded with crackles of energy.
"How's that? Going to obey me now?"
Teishi was unable to move, his muscles and mind and heart all too shocked and hurt to obey any commands he tried to give them. Jann stared at him in disgust and kicked him in the back. Teishi felt nothing but numbness over his body.
"Worthless." Jann spat at him, deciding that if he was unable to wound him physically he should try emotionally. "You're easily replaceable. You're worth nothing."
"Gkk..." Teishi tried to force his mouth to respond the only way he knew, affirmatively, but his tongue was another part of his body that refused to listen to him.
Jann grabbed Teishi's wrist and dragged him out into the hallway. "Get out of my sight, you stupid boy! I hope someday you can feel pain, then you can appreciate what just happened to you!"
He didn't remember much of what came after that. Only waking up once to Prof. Denka's grey eyes and the noise of sparks. When he woke up, Prof. Denka was brooding at his desk, staring at the emitter that had once been Teishi's, now burnt-out and smoking on the table. When Teishi looked down, he found he was wearing an anklet, then moving his eyes he found two bracelets. He turned his eyes back to the burnt husk on the desk.
"Is that..." Teishi tried to speak but found his voice hoarse with emotion. Prof. Denka looked at him, almost as if surprised he was awake.
"This is your previous emitter. Emitters. They burned out completly after the shock. It was lucky I brought the emitter with me when I came to find you. You barely survived."
Teishi stared at himself, tried to remember the terrible shock, then found himself shivering uncontrollably.
The day after that Jann was gone. Teishi suspected that Prof. Denka may have had something to do with it, but it was of no concern to him. All that was important to him was who his next master would be.
Dr. Kagakusha shoved him into the room, annoyed that she had to keep doing this. "This is Teishi. Do whatever you want with him."
"Wait, I need to talk to you-"
The door closed.
Sitting in the room, which was not as elaborate as Paul's nor as sparse as Jann's, was a woman. She was wearing tiny, triangular glasses and wore her hair in a tight bun. Although to Teishi the woman appeared to be around her twenties, she had grey hair. Teishi was struck by the odd thought that perhaps she had dyed it to appear older, but found no reason why someone would want to do such a thing.
There was something strange about her, but Teishi couldn't place it. She walked towards Teishi and held her hand out towards him. Instinctually, he backed away from her, causing her to frown.
"Hello, little one. My name is Miss Ketoru, but you can call me Miss K. What do you call yourself?"
Teishi was confused by the question. What did he call himself? Was that different then his name?
"My name is Teishi, miss."
"Miss?" The woman was silent momentarily, then raised a hand near his still-bandaged eye, causing Teishi to flinch away again. "My dear, what happened to your eye?"
"My old master cut me there, miss."
"Old master?" The woman backed away slightly in surprise. "Cut you there? Why? What master?"
Teishi remained standing, despite Miss K's surprise. "My master. The person I serve. They cut me."
"You serve people? How old are you, Teishi?" Miss K's was horrified.
"I don't know, miss. I suppose I'm around ten."
"This is terrible..." Miss K stared at Teishi in pity. "Why are you here?"
Teishi had never found a suitable answer to that question. "I just am here, miss."
"Call me Miss K. When did you come here?"
Teishi paused for a moment. "As long as I can remember, miss."
"Well, what happened to that old master of yours?"
"He's gone, miss."
"Did he get in trouble for slashing your eye?" Miss K was concerned for him, much as Prof. Denka was. Both of them got the same response from Teishi, which was confusion.
"I don't know, miss. I suppose so."
"So, wait...you're my servant now?"
"Yes, miss."
Miss K kneeled and stared directly into Teishi's eyes. Normally this would have bothered him, but Teishi had long learned to make direct eye-contact at all times. "Teishi, have you ever met anyone else your age?"
"No, miss."
His quick response seemed to agitate her. "Have you ever played? Gone outside? Read books?" She stared at his tired visible eye. "Gotten a good night's sleep in a bed?"
"No, miss."
She was stunned into silence, prompting Teishi to continue, believing he had offended her somehow. "Sometimes the Professor," It took great effort for Teishi to use the name, even when not speaking directly to the person in question, "read me stories. But I don't read on my own, miss."
Miss K's voice was quite when she spoke again. "They hire me to look after one of their own doctor's...and there's something so much more serious right here..."
Teishi was interested in who she was talking about until he quickly realized she meant Dr. Kagakusha. He always knew that she had some kind of problem, but didn't know it was so serious that it required outside assistance.
"See, Teishi, I'm a special doctor." She kept eye-contact, adjusting her small spectacles. "I try and help people deal with themselves so they don't hurt other people. A psychologist."
"Yes, miss." Teishi didn't know how else to respond. Miss K took his hand, causing him to twitch again.
"Sit on the bed, Teishi, will you?"
Of course he would. He sat in silence as she watched him, as if expecting him to start another conversation. She picked up a pad of paper from the bureau and a black pen. She quickly wrote a few things down and stared at him again.
"I'm going to ask you a few questions, okay Teishi?"
Teishi knew she was going to try and cure him somehow, as he knew he was flawed in some way, or else he wouldn't get beaten as often as he did, but he also knew that there was no way to cure the ten years he had suffered. He did, however, wish her the best of luck in her efforts. "Yes, miss."
"Miss K." She wrote distractedly. "Okay, first of all, what's your full name?"
"Teishi." His response was quick. She stared at him.
"Your full name."
"Teishi." He repeated himself. She again stared at him in silence, then began writing.
"Who gave you this name?"
"The Professor."
"When did he give it to you?"
"As far back as I can remember, miss."
"Mmhmm..." her pen scritched back and forth rapidly. "Who are your parents?"
"I don't know, miss."
"You don't know?" She seemed surprised.
"No, miss."
She didn't ask any other questions, only writing for some time. "So, Teishi, tell me. Are you happy here?"
"Yes, miss." Teishi simply answered with what he thought she wanted to hear. She stared at him again.
"Is that the truth?"
"If you want it to be." Teishi was surprised to find such words coming from him and instantly mentally chided himself, turning his eyes from Miss K's for a few seconds. She noted this carefully then stared at him.
"Teishi, don't tell me what you think I want to hear. I want to know the truth."
"Yes, miss."
"Okay then." She turned her eyes back to the pad. "Are you happy here?"
"Yes, miss."
She stared at him severely. "Teishi..."
"Yes, miss?"
"Tell me the truth."
"I..." Teishi tried to force the words from his reluctant throat, but found they wouldn't come. So he decided to tell the truth as best as he knew it. "I can't, miss."
"You can't?" She seemed interested by this.
"No, miss."
"Why not?"
"Because..." Teishi tried to frame his words, but found he really did not know how. "Because no one wants to know the truth. And the truth is bad."
"The truth is bad?" She repeated him. Teishi stared at her with his sad green eyes.
"When I tell the truth, it's painful for me."
"It hurts you inside?" She asked. Teishi was confused by her responses and her seeming ignorance of his meaning.
"No, outside, miss."
"Outside?" She now seemed horrified. Teishi couldn't see why.
"Yes. They hit me, throw things at me...shock me..." Teishi shuddered at the thought of the shock. Miss K put down her pad of paper and sat down next to him.
"Oh, Teishi..."
"Yes, miss?" Teishi didn't realize it was more of a rhetorical statement. The woman seemed near tears.
"What have they done to you?"
Teishi didn't have a response for that either. Miss K hugged him, which frightened him considerably. He had never been touched in such a way before. Never. Never experienced a kind of human contact that didn't respond in pain or was this intimate. The closest comparison he could draw was Prof. Denka, which wasn't nearly this close. He nearly panicked until his inner submission made his frantic heart slow and caused him to sit in silence.
She had simply told him to leave after that.
As he was curled in the dark corner outside of her room, trying to sleep against the ice-cold metal floors and walls of his "home", he thought about her words. What had they done to him? Was it something wrong? Should he be doing something?
The thought was quickly put down. He wouldn't, couldn't, and shouldn't do something. There was no use in resisting, no use in fighting. He would simply be hurt more in result and nothing would change. All he could do was obey and hope that was enough to avoid as much pain as possible.
Another thought that came to him was his name...
Did it mean something? She seemed interested when he had told her about how had gotten his name. Perhaps she knew what it meant. He didn't know. He wasn't sure whether or not that was his real name. His parents, if he had the correct view of them, must have given him a name when he was born...
Why did he think that?
When he tried to focus on the concept of parents, it was fuzzy for him. He knew from the stories he heard from Prof. Denka that parents were supposed to love their children, to be their parents forever and ever, to take care of them while they grow so they become strong and smart and able to do great deeds.
Where were his parents? Why didn't he have any? If he did have some, who were they? What were they like?
He stared at his thin hands, then his battered feet, worn down from the constant exposure to cold and the running he had to do in the bare halls. He looked at his hair, which for some reason remained healthy while the rest of his body and soul slowly became weaker. It's faded blond color, occasionally streaked with grey hairs that he had no explanation for, but Prof. Denka said was sheer stress that forced the hairs to turn wiry and rough and a different color, seemed to stand out in the dark of the halls. Did he inhereit his looks from his mother? His father? What did they look like? What did they act like?
The only parental figure he could think of was Prof. Denka...but even he was remote and distant at times. So he never truly had any kind of parent.
He would have felt cheated, if he could feel indignant. His only emotions was the simple thought that he simply did not deserve parents and shouldn't even be entertaining thoughts of having parents. Just as he should not imagine having a prince come for him.
But that thought was more real and stubborn to him then the thought of parents. He so desperatly wanted a prince.
He looked up with his tired eye as Dr. Kagakusha walked to the door, arguing rather loudly with herself, and entered the psychologist's room.
Teishi was faced with a problem. He knew that the irritable woman would be upset when the doctor was finished, as is anyone who is helped when they do not believe they need it. Should he remain here and let her take out her frustrations on him?
But he didn't want to be hurt. That was one primal instinct within him. He still avoided pain. He didn't want to suffer at her hands. But he wasn't sure whether or not it was his duty to remain nearby, in case she was upset.
Teishi sighed and stood, then sat back down. Curling his legs near himself and pulling his still loose and baggy shirt over his legs in an effort to keep them warm, he tried to nap before he knew Dr. Kagakusha's rage would descend upon him.
When he awoke he found Dr. Kagakusha poised above him, a hand raised as if to strike him, but an intense struggle going within her body. She seemed to become more stressed and furious, the seconds ticking by agonizingly slowly as Teishi simply sat, waiting for the strike to connect, showing no emotion on his face. She finally made a furious noise and dashed off down the hall. Teishi followed her progress with his eyes curiously, not understanding why she had not struck him when she had the chance. Perhaps the doctor really was helping her.
But if Miss K really helped others stop them from hurting others because they were afraid of themselves...
Then why was she trying to help him? He couldn't hurt someone if he tried.
He noted through-out the day Miss K flitted in and out of her room, doing various things. Although Teishi stood by readily the entire time should she tell him to do something, she refused to order him to do anything. This left Teishi with an awkward amount of free time that he had no idea how to deal with. He spent the majority of it sitting in a corner and staring at the patterns the light refracted off the metal, picturing his prince in his mind. Or rather, what his prince would do. Dramatically sweep him off his feet, protect him...
When she finally did call for him, it was rather late at night. Teishi tried bravely to ignore his bodies demands for sleep and stood at attention in the psychologist's room. She was holding a large bag on her lap.
"Teishi, I've been asking the others around here about you. For instance, the professor you told me about."
Teishi remained silent. What could he say?
"They have differing opinions on you, particularly Kagakusha, in more ways then one. I believe, however, that this is a terrible thing they're doing to you, but the worst part of this terrible thing is..." She placed the bag on the floor. "I don't know whether submissiveness to this extreme can be cured. From what Prof. Denka tells me, you were able to stand people throwing scalding water, beating you with canes, and slashing you with knives without complaining, screaming, nor fighting back."
She stared at him with sad eyes. "You're the strangest case I've ever had, Teishi...and it saddens me what has happened to you has happened."
Teishi still had no idea how to respond to this. He simply remained passive.
"There you stand, as if you were some soldier ready to die at the command of their commander. No emotion, although my words must be affecting you. Teishi, you have to realize you're a person, a person worthy of respect, before we can work to get rid of this submissiveness of yours. But even before I can do that, I must find out more about you."
"May I ask you something, miss?" Teishi was afraid to ask questions, which generally was a stupid thing to do, but he got the impression from the woman that she wanted him to ask a question.
"Go ahead, Teishi. Don't be afraid."
Teishi thought carefully before speaking. "Why do you want to get rid of who I am? Everyone here likes it. It's who I am, what they made me. Why do you want to change me? Why is it bad?"
The woman seemed near tears at this. "Teishi, you don't see what they've done to you...you've never seen other children to be able to realize how lucky they are compared to you...you don't know the true horrific nature of what they've done to your soul.
Prof. Denka told me himself that he told you not to dream, because it just hurt you. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, miss." Teishi was relieved to finally have a question that he could answer.
"Don't you realize what a terrible effect this is having on your spirit?" She pulled some strange objects out of the cloth bag. "No...of course not...'those raised in injustice believe that is just', I think someone said once. Teishi, come here."
Teishi complied, sitting where she indicated, staring at the odd things she had spread out on the floor. She was busy in the work of sitting up an some kind of tripod.
"Here are some toys, Teishi. I'll be able to tell a great deal about you by how you play with them."
"Toys?" Teishi was confused by such a concept. The woman again sighed deeply.
"Oh...you don't know how, do you..." She finished the tripod and placed a board covered with white paper on it. "Look, I'll show you. These are blocks."
"Blocks?" Teishi picked up the brick-like things in his hands, wondering at their function.
"Yes, blocks. You put them on top of other blocks to build things."
Teishi stared at the blue block in his hand for quite some time, then pulled over a red block which was the same shape. He then pushed that away and replaced it with an identical blue block. He placed the blue block meticulously on top of the other, so their edges met perfectly.
"Like that, miss?"
Miss K laughed gently. "To you, I suppose that's what it must seem like. No, you just build towns, cities, things like that."
"Towns? Cities?"
"Let's move on." She turned Teishi's attention to the four dolls that were sitting on the floor. "These are dolls. Do you know what those are?"
"I think so, miss." Teishi picked up the smallest and stared at it.
"You do? Where'd you learn?"
"Sometimes...the Professor..." He picked up the biggest doll while he forced the strange words from his mouth. "He says that was what I was. A doll...or a puppet. One of those, miss."
Miss K gently took the dolls from him, pointing to a pile of wood and a large bag. "See those, Teishi?"
"Yes, miss."
"I'm going to build you a sandbox in here, but I haven't had time yet. This..." she pointed to the tripod structure she had assembled. "Is an easel and paints. You paint pictures with them."
"Yes, miss."
"I want you to play with these."
"Yes, miss."
"Just act like I'm not here."
"Yes, miss."
Teishi watched as she moved back, picked up her pad of paper, and watched him.
Teishi felt uncomfortable being watched like this. He picked up another blue block and placed it on top of the two he had already put together. He continued in the repititious activity until all the blue blocks were gone. Then he did the same for the red blocks. And the yellow. And the green. Finally, he was left with an orange circular block, which confused him. There was only one, which meant it had no others. Also, it did not fit the pattern of the others. Frustrated by this, he placed the circle in-between the four towers he had created and sat back.
He looked over at Miss K to find her writing furiously. Shrugging, he moved onwards, not sure of what she found so interesting in assembling blocks. This didn't seem fun to him. If he knew what fun was.
Not wanting to deal with the dolls after they had caused Miss K such distress, he moved on to the paints and the easel. He stared at the paints for a long time.
"Something wrong?" She finally asked him. Teishi looked at her.
"How do you use these?"
"Oh, it's simple." She seemed eager for the chance to help him. She took the brush from where it was and pushed it into his hand, then led his hand to one of the small jars of paint. "Just put paint on the tip and brush it against the canvas."
Teishi was again uncomfortable at such close contact, but didn't complain. As she left, he looked at the blue paint that dripped from his paintbrush. He again was not sure what to create with this.
He painted a blue block in the lower left corner.
Noticing that this looked kind of interesting, he wiped the brush off on his own arm and dipped it into the red paint, then painted a red block next to his blue one. He continued this pattern until it reached the top of the canvas, then put the brush down neatly. He didn't care for the paint smeared on his arm, which was beginning to blend in with the bruises that were just beginning to form on his arms.