by Ash Masters
A stern-faced Ayumi sat softly on her legs, hands nestled on her thighs and fighting the urge to tremble. Her lips were almost invisible, pressed tightly together. Cuts blemished her pre-pubescent face – some still bleeding and though they stung they were easy to ignore allowing her to stare intensely ahead.
Like a dog she had be trained, everything she knew right down to the thoughts her subconscious thought had been dictated to her by here overseer and father Yamamoto Akira who presently was leaning on his walking cane as he watched his near-perfect creation attempt to work.
Ayumi’s left eye twitched, a by-product of a cut just under her eyelid. Thoughtlessly a hand raised to the wound, hoping that the contact would sooth it but when she did this her father produced a whip from under his robe and slashed her wrist. A sharp gasp left Ayumi as she hunched over but her other hand was quick to cover her mouth before she pushed her father to attack her again.
‘Straighten yourself girl!’ Akira ordered.
‘Yes, Sir.’ Ayumi whimpered, straightening herself though her eyes didn’t leave the fresh cleavage on her hand.
‘Continue.’
Ayumi barely contained her sigh but continued to stare at a man sat before her, fused to the ground by a mental influence from Akira whose mind-control was so strong that he was unable to even blink. The man could still be considered as young; only in his early thirties but this man had clearly had it bad in the underground Shibuya as he was as rough-looking as the girl he was forced to stare face.
With all of her will, Ayumi tried to muster the concentration needed to get into the man’s head but it wouldn’t come to her. Without realizing she had relapsed into an old habit of holding her breath and clenching her teeth behind her lips. The process was noticeable from the tightening of her facial muscles and the reddening of her skin.
The whip came down on her again, slicing her chest open. This time she allowed herself to howl with pain, falling forward with the side of her face rubbing against the dirt. Clutching the two halves of her severed and already-dirtied blouse she fought back tears. Tears was weakness and if her body was weak then her mind was weak. And if her mind was weak then it would need “Adjusting”.
Ayumi hated “adjustments”.
‘How many times must I tell you, Ayumi!’ Akira slammed his cane into the ground, echoing across the vastness of the cave. ‘This ability doesn’t manifest through force of body but through the force of will! You must open your heart – your soul to the whom you’re trying to control. Use your eyes! They are the gateway to the soul!’
‘I’m trying, father!’ Ayumi exclaimed, looking up but still laying on her legs as she clutched herself.
Akira threw the whip up, smacking the ground by Ayumi’s light-brown hair. She flinched. ‘I mean, “Sir”.’
‘Get up.’
Ayumi shifted around, arms shakily lifting her but her arms may as well have been trying to lift a ton of rocks. The stinging on her chest made her cough hard, blood continuing to spill out of her open wound.
‘I SAID GET UP!’ The whip came down on Ayumi’s back, creating a deep crevice .
Ayumi roared, shaking her head madly. ‘STOP IT! I CAN’T GET UP IF YOU’RE HURTING ME!’ Then with all of her might she was sitting on her legs again then gradually stood. The front of her greyish-brown blouse was soiled with blood and her bare stomach was wet with it also. Between the ripped halves of the fabric, a deep gash could be seen, glistening in the light from the lampposts running along either side of the road she was standing in. ‘It won’t stop! The bleeding won’t stop! H-Help me! FATHER!’
The other man got onto his feet unnaturally, like a puppet being hauled up by its puppeteer, walking up to a weaken Ayumi and grabbed her by the arms before falling on top of her to pin her down. His eyes were wide as they desperately screamed that it wasn’t him controlling his body.
‘Let me go!’ Ayumi fought.
‘If you want to get free then make him.’ Akira said simply. ‘You better act fast because I don’t know how long his bones can handle the strain.’
Ayumi could feel the man’s arms shaking as they struggled to remain straightened. She knew that it would only be a matter of time before they snapped. ‘Stop it! When are you going to get it through your head that I’m not like you!? You keep training me and training me but I’m not like you! I’m not a Key! I’m NOTHING!’
‘Indeed your are nothing, Ayumi.’ Akira lowered his hood revealing himself in the light. Very aged with a shaved head. ‘You’re pathetic, Ayumi!’ He suddenly yelled. ‘I didn’t raise you to be so useless!’ With his yells came the audible sound of the man’s arms breaking. The pain was so intense for him that he was able to break through Akira’s hold and scream, collapsing completely onto Ayumi with his arms pointing outwards halfway past the elbows.
Ayumi was so shocked that she laid as she was, staring up at the dark cave ceiling.
‘Let me tell you about your mother.’ Akira began, facing away from them and up at a plain-looking building that may have been a set of office years ago when it was on the surface. ‘She was a strong woman. Proud and loyal and special amongst the Keys; her power on another level like mine. She was a part of an elite group called the Reapers of Justice and she had this ability to control people – also like me but, not like me all the same. Her ability was more subtle, more deceptive. Your mother was an enchantress – a beautiful enchantress. She could persuade people to do things with her words alone, she could inspire people or spawn hatred all with the words she used. Naturally she became a politician and that’s where we met. She didn’t like using her ability however, as she firmly believed in autonomy. Still, I loved her.’
‘BUT YOU KILLED HER!’ Ayumi allowed herself to feel the pain that the memory inflicted on her. ‘You killed her you monster!’ Weary that the man was still conscious she gently pushed him off.
‘NO!’ Akira slammed his cane down. ‘The real monsters are up there! The men, women and children who were destroying our society with their selfish ways! Murdering each other! Destroying our reputation with the stupid fashion and their petty obsessions! And the Nightmares! Killing your mother was the hardest move I ever had to make! But it was a fate she deserved!’
‘ARRRRRGH!’ Ayumi was on her feet, running up to her father, wrapping her hands around his throat. Akira was shivering as the force that Ayumi was utilising resonated throughout his entire body. ‘I saw what you did to her! This is what you did!’
‘Ayumi...’ Akira gasped.
Ayumi wasn’t listening however, her eyes that were brown at birth but grey after years of dim light were wild with hatred.
‘Ayumi!’ Her father bellowed, forcing the man to stand and throw herself and Ayumi onto the ground where she laid crying. Akira composed himself, stepping closer to his daughter.
Taking a fistful of his daughter’s hair, Akira lifted her head up where Ayumi gazed at her father with scorn. Ayumi wanted to struggle but fear had formed itself as a lump in her throat and a poison stopped her from moving. ‘We have plenty of time, Ayumi. You have the DNA of two Keys who could use Mind-Control. You’ll learn to use it even if I’ll have to bring you to death’s door. Now, let us continue.’
Ayumi wished someone could help her but in the underground cavern, no-one could save her from her hell.