Part 1: First Morning
"Ahem" my eyelashes fluttered open at the slightly robotic tone. I looked up to find my computer screen burning bright onto my features. "Morning Jarra." I murmured leaning my chair back.
"You slept through your alarm. Again."
"Not my fault."
"It is. You stayed up all night playing those idiotic video games."
"They aren't idiotic Jarra." I scolded standing up. I turned to the small figure at the edge of my desk. It was made of a white metal, with a black screen for a face. As of the moment it was still sitting on it's porter, arms tucked to it's sides. I clicked a small button on the porter and a hot pink light flashed across the screen. Finally two hot pink orbs blinked and glanced up at me. "Better?"
"Better." The voice came from the small bot this time. He then hovered above the port and landed on my desk.
"What time is it?"
"Six thirty-one," he paused, "You have something on your face."
I rubbed my cheek, "Got it?"
"Nope." I rubbed my other cheek,
"Now?"
"No. Try under your left eye."
I went to rub my cheek then stopped. "I hate you." I rubbed the back of my neck and walked over to my closet. My uniform was already hung up on the door knob, so I started to strip my pajamas there.
"Woah warn me first!" I heard Jarra joke behind me.
I flicked my tongue at him and pulled the white dress over my head, straightening out the black collar afterwards. "Jarra how do I do this again?" I questioned turning to him red fabric in hand. The little bot floated over to me and hovered next to the tie. His little, flat, oval shaped arms stuck out and wrapped the tie under the white shirt's collar and tied it off.
"Like that."
"Thanks Jarra." He nodded once then floated over to my bedroom door. I hurried over sliding into my house shoes along the way. I opened the door and Jarra floated out ahead of me. I followed him adjusting my shirt sleeves. "Jarra read the weather to me."
"Sunny till One Pm, then it will start to pour at One o'Four." I groaned and dragged my feet,
"That means Reeta is going to pick me up."
"She already said she was last night. Were you not paying attention during dinner?" I didn't need to answer, my silence was good enough. "Don't tell me you hid your Game under the table again."
"......"
"Tsubi!"
"Sorry! It's just Reeka's food is gross." I wrinkled my nose thinking of it.
"Oh, boo-hoo you big baby. You are going against nature, just to let you know."
"No I'm not. Humans are Normal, we are just freaks of nature."
"Tsubi," Jarra sighed as he floated closer to my shoulder, "How many times do I have to tell you-"
"I know I know I know, just because we are advanced doesn't mean we are freaks of nature." I sighed back tossing a tuft of light blonde hair out of my face.
By now, you should be able to tell I'm not a normal person. Really, I wouldn't even call myself a person. Human is definitely out of the question. Now what I am- exactly what I am, will have to be answered with a little history lesson.
It started in the middle of the summer for half of the world, and middle of winter for the other half. Why? Because that's how the world works my dearest friends. First only one person was affected, then one little word created a swarm: cult. It really wasn't one of those type of cults where they make up their own God or idol to follow, but rather they focused on themselves. They swore that there was "more" to humans. There is. We know this now. Though when the first person becomes something hideous, many can't help but frown apon it. It actually is a dangerous practice. Fifty-percent of the time it will take away every inch of humanity you have in you.
So this is how a term of fiction became a term of reality: Monster.
Following this, you have the bad guys, you have the civilians, so who are the good guys?
The following year a group of underground thugs, or Mobsters, got attacked by a group of Monsters. Unlike every other person that got attacked, they actually were able to beat them off. How? We aren't sure. They kept that a secret.
To sum up this history lesson, three years of fighting and they finally corral us together. They stamped our faces, then forced us into a small area to stay.
Not that we had much say in this. The bad guys ruined it for us good guys. I'm not complaining though. I think my Mark is pretty cool.
"Tsubi."
I stopped in my tracks a frown twisting onto my face. "So close..." I muttered and turned towards the door at my side. I sighed and pushed the door inwards letting it swing closed behind me. I internally gagged at the sickly sweet and over-powering scents of blood, metal, and bleach. "Honey did you eat?" I looked around the overly clean kitchen.
"Yes Auntie."
"Promise?"
"She didn't." Jarra stated floating over my shoulder.
"Jarra!" I hissed hiding my eyes.
"Trying to trick your Auntie, Tsu-Tsu?"
Slowly I looked up to lock eyes with familiar red ones. Her bright red hair fell perfectly over her shoulders and her light skin shone like she was a Goddess. She defiantly wasn't that.
"No Auntie Reeta." She grinned at me, her sharp teeth glistening at me. Blood shone lightly on her back fangs causing me to shutter.
She ruffled my hair, "Alright alright. I won't make you eat, but one meal a day won't help you grow."
"Well if you didn't eat completely disgusting things I wouldn't have to-" I stopped rambling when I caught the hurt look in her eyes. I held my breath and turned away. "I'm fine Auntie. I'm already grown, if I grow anymore no guy will want to date me because I'll be taller than them."
Reeta chuckled from behind my and looped her arms over my shoulders pulled my head against her chest, "Oh but your Uncle fell for me! Then we made your little Cousin~" I shivered against her breath and tried to pull away,
"Yeah but he is a Tall. Nobody can beat his height."
"Then find yourself a Tall." I rolled my eyes and started out of the Kitchen of Death.
"I'll try Auntie. See you."
My stomach growled and I sighed loudly. "You know you could always tell Reeta what's going on. She'd make normal food for you."
I shook my head slowly, "No Jarra, you saw the look on her face when I tried to say it earlier. Plus she'll say that it's 'just a faze'." I tried my best to mimic her voice as I spoke of the words she had told me so many times for, mostly for different reasons.
"Fine then I'll start stealing food for you." Jarra joked. Or at least I thought he was joking.
"Tsubi!" I turned to the voice and grinned waving at the girl that was running up to me. Her long golden hair haloed about in the air behind her and she grinned at me, "How are you this fine morning?" She questioned as she got close enough. Her cat-like red eyes glittered as she looped arms with me.
"I'm fine. Just hungry."
Her smile turned into a pout, "So you are going through the 'faze' too, huh?" I nodded slowly as we walked along. My light-sky blue eyes wandered over to the Mark on her right jaw line. A perfect star imprint on her skin.
"Uemura! Amaririsu!" We both turned our heads towards the yell.
"Hey Ayugae! Hey Numata!" The golden-haired female waved her free hand frantically at the two approaching males. They finally caught up to us. "Oh cool! This is the first time this year we all get to walk together isn't it?"
I nodded from my friend's side. "Well if you hadn't been sick for half of the first week Naora." The taller male snarled lowering his head slightly to look in her eyes. He had a sun looking Mark right above his left eyebrow. His sandy pink hair was ruffled in its usual messy style, and his green snake-slits for eyes were as narrowed as ever. The shorter male besides him had dull, white-powdered, black hair and lazy onyx colored eyes.
He burried his face further into his scarf, "You were sick too Ukon..." He muttered quietly, but I could hear him perfectly. We all could.
"Yeah! You were sick too Ukon!"
Jarra snorted still hovering over my shoulder.
"Oh hey Jarra. I forget about you sometimes." Naora giggled waving at the small robot near my head.
"You don't say." He smarted back. I smacked him lightly causing him to float away from my shoulder. Kosami reached up and caught him stopping him from being further in distance. He released him back into the air. Kosami started to walk again leaving us three behind.
Four if you count robots.
As I sat down I got a full view of the wrap around Mark that went from Kosami's left cheek to the back of his neck. It was a swirl design, and had quiet a bit of design. I shuttered imagining how badly it must have hurt to have that branded in. Mine was simple really, three small tear drop Marks in a horizontal row under my left eye.
It still hurt like hell when they burned it in though. The rest of the class began to fill into the empty seats. I glanced about staring at all of the different Marks.
My eyes would enviously scour over those who didn't have a mark.
Humans.
A sigh left my lips as I watched them all talk amongst each other. Occasionally ugly glances would be thrown towards the Marked ones.
In this society we had an easy labeling system:
Mark= Bad.
No Mark= Good.
How much more do you need to know before you figure out how this world turns?
I didn't like it all, I found it as nonsense. We hadn't done anything wrong, it was our ancestors that were in the wrong. Yet we bear their punishment for the rest of existence.
Humans are the real monsters now. Spitting on the innocent, burning them in vicious lies and lore.
Then my mind wandered back to Antie's kitchen. To my Uncle's "study". I began to think about everything that goes on at our home that I have come to call "normal". A shutter ran down my spine and I looked around at the Marked Ones. Was their home the same? Or worse- did they do things that were the same?
If so then I do believe our labels are correct.
We are Monsters.