Chapter Text
Most children take 9 months to arrive. It took number 78 only two days. Fyodor was sitting in a tearoom, drinking, well, tea. Tea with a splash of Vodka. Very Russian. Very him. Very normal activity for 9 in the morning, on a Sunday, in Yokohama City, Japan.
On that Sunday morning, Fyodor had decided to come to SAKURA, a tea shop hidden out of the way of the main street. Only if you looked for it would you have found it. The shop had four tables, and a counter. That day it was only Fyodor, the sleepy waitress, and two other men with atrocious haircuts in the shop, as well as a friendly dog which had slumped down on the floor next to Fyodor.
As Fyodor finished up the last of his tea, he happened to overhear a conversation between the two men. You see, Fyodor enjoyed the sport of people watching. People come in a wide variety, there is never a boring moment, unlike in baseball (How do the American’s do it? Seriously, someone hitting a ball is that exciting?). He found himself listening in to the conversation, and was surprised when he heard the following:
“He’s too dangerous! If we don’t get rid of him now someone will get hurt, and I do not want to be that someone. So get your psychotic little pet out before it destroys the whole orphanage!”
“Relax Akio, the child will be fine. Besides, Shibusawa is coming next week. He was talking about taking the Unnatural.”
An Unnatural is a term for a being with unique abilities used by people without said abilities. Fyodor hadn’t heard the term many times, due to the fact that most of the population did not have them, and most of the population did not know about people that had them.
Fyodor himself was an Unnatural, possessing strange abilities that supposedly allowed him to live forever, if the circumstances were right. His ability was a mystery to most people, and he didn’t have any close friends to tell about the intricacies.
This talk about an orphan possessing abilities was quite surprising to an unsuspecting Fyodor. If this was true, then it would be a good idea for Fyodor to go check the kid out. The idea of a powerful being not being taken care of properly was unsettling and unsafe.
“We should just let Shibusawa handle him from now on. Hopefully, he’ll take him off our hands soon.”
And with that, the men left, their heeled boots ringing against the tiled floor of the shop. Fyodor followed them out a minute later, trailing a few feet behind them for a couple miles. He watched as they entered a gated building.
The building was big, with pointed metal fences surrounding it, as well as a thick, dirty brick wall. Already Fyodor could sense the unsettling vibes and eeriness of the place. It seemed to be more of an asylum than a children's orphanage.
Fyodor walked up to the gate, preparing to just walk in.
“Excuse me Mr., only people with appointments are allowed to enter.” Fyodor turned around to see a short, pudgy man with a black mustache and a tight suit, and not a single hair on his head. He carried a clipboard and had a gun at his waist.
Fyodor was quick to smile, and turned towards the man.
“I have an appointment. It should be on the list, Mr-” Fyodor squinted at the man’s messily written name tag “Fujiwara.”
Mr. Fujiwara raised an eyebrow, and looked at the clipboard.
“The only appointment today is for a… Mr. Daniel McSmith at 3 in the afternoon. Would you happen to be him?” Mr. Fujiwara asked. Fyodor nodded slowly, building up a story in his mind.
“Why yes. I came earlier hoping to get more time with the children. I was hoping you could squeeze me in sooner rather than later. Would that be possible?” Fyodor asked, attempting to pull off a charming grin. It failed miserably. The man looked at him for a moment, frowning.
“Sir, I’m going to need to see some ID before I let you in.” Fyodor internally grimaced. It’s not like he had a fake ID prepared. Hell, it wasn’t like he was planning on visiting some orphans today either.
Fyodor patted his pockets for a bit, faking searching for the non existent ID. He laughed nervously before turning back to Mr. Fujiwara.
“It seems I forgot my ID at home. Are you sure there isn’t any chance of me being able to go inside?” Fyodor asked, faking a distraught look. Mr. Fujiwara looked at him before looking at his clipboard. He did this a couple times, unsure of what to do.
“Fine, you have half an hour, starting now. I’m afraid that’s all I can allow you without an ID. I’ll call a guide, they’ll meet you at the entrance.” Fyodor shook his hand gratefully before heading into the building.
Fyodor noticed that the entrance room was creepier on the inside than the out. He felt a chill from the hallways surrounding him. The emptiness and dimly lighted walls felt like they were caving in on him. Not a single playful color, nor toy was found. Just the reflection of the purple and dark blue stained glass windows- the place seemed like a labyrinth.
A man stood waiting right by the entrance. Fyodor recognized him from the teashop. He was the one complaining about the kid, Akio, his name was if he remembered correctly.
“Hello. You must be Mr. McSmith. I will be your guide this morning.” Akio led Fyodor around the building. Fyodor saw children of all ages, the older ones reading books and the younger ones playing with bland wooden toys.
“We have children of all ages here. Is there a certain age that you would be interested in adopting?” Akio asked, leading him through another couple of rooms. They stopped for a moment as Akio checked something with another staff member. As Fyodor waited, he could swear he heard the sound of soft crying coming from down one of the halls.
He decided to walk towards the noise. As he got closer, he could hear the crying more clearly. Soon, he was walking at full speed down the corridors, Akio running behind him.
“ Excuse me, Mr. McSmith! You shouldn’t go over there! There's barely anything back there, just storage!” Fyodor came to a stop in front of a large grey door. He put his hand up against it. It was cold metal, steel. Fyodor shivered at the touch.
Fyodor turned towards Akio. “There’s a child in there. I would like to meet them.”
“That child is dangerous. Meeting it would be a stupid mistake.” Akio pressured. Fyodor faced him, expression cold.
“I want to meet that child. If you want to keep your life, then I suggest you let me.” Akio gulped, a nervous look crossing his face. Fyodor stared at him, daring him to deny him access.
Slowly, Akio pulled out a key ring. He inserted the largest key into the lock on the door. It clicked, and Akio swung it open.