A Terrible Miracle: Rai Loses His Mind

Rai hadn't left his house in about two weeks. If anyone had happened to see him it was just one of his shadow clones getting food for him or running errands. All he did at home was train and train. His place was a mess, most of his equipment was broken due to him training so roughly. His punching bag was kncoked of off the hook and the celing was broken. His wooden dummy was broken to pieces along with his regular dummies being cut up. He had a few targets that were in the shape of people painted on his wall with tons of kunai and shuriken sticking out of them. He even had one above his bed, which he should have gotten rid of after a kunai fell and stabbed him in the leg while he was sleeping. It didn't matter to him because he didn't feel anything. At first he felt bad on the inside... but now he felt nothing. Even something that would hurt very bad felt lke nothing to him. Every time he broke some of his equipment or beat some shadow clones he laughed almost maniacally. He figured he might be going crazy... but he didn't care. Right now he was fighting a few shadow clones with a kunai while his speakers blasted the song "Before I Forget". It seemed like a good song choice to him.

Mizore looked down at her feet as she walked down the sidewalk towards her friend, Rai's, house. She hadn't seen him in two weeks - at first she thought he was avoiding her, but she soon figured out he hadn't even left the house for a while.
She looked up, fidgeting with the lollipop in her mouth as she neared the door, hearing the music being blasted inside. Sighing, she didn't even bother knocking, because she doubted that he'd answer if he didn't even bother to go outside for two weeks. Walking inside, she rose a purple eyebrow at the mess - maneuvering through it soon finding Rai fighting a few shadow clones with a kunai.
"Hey, long time no see..." Mizore raised her voice over the stereo, hoping that he didn't mind her walking in while he was training.

Rai was smiling the entire time he was fighting against his shadow clones, there were 7 of them in total and they were quite pathetic. He easily dodged the first one's attack and stabbed him in the back making him explode into smoke. The second and third one attacked him at the same time, he simply grabbed the second one's arm that had a shuriken in it's hand and jammed it in the third one's face making it explode into smoke afterwards he broke the the second one's arm and stabbed it in the stomach a few times making it turn into smoke. The fourth one charged at him and Rai simply picked up a sharp broken piece of the wooden dummie and stabbed it through his chest turning him into smoke. The fifth one attcked and he just dodged the attack and sliced his throat. He started laughing. Your all pathetic! 7 on 1 and this is the best you can do?! His voice sounded a bit crazy and he was enjoying himself. Suddenly he heard a voice over his music and looked to see Mizore. He smirked and noticed out of the corner of his eye that the last two clones were making a move on him. He jammed the kunai through the sixth's clones heart so it was poking a bit out of his back turning him into smoke. He grabbed the last one's arm and kicked at his leg breaking it, then he turned him around and broke his neck making him explode into smoke. The whole time he was smiling at Mizore. He walked over to his speakers and turned them off, then he turned back to Mizore. Yeah... it has been a while. What brings you here? He smiled at her though it wasn't his regular happy smile... it was a bit more sninister.

Mizore watched him attack the clones, a look of worry crossing her face. This wasn't Rai - as far as she knew, he wouldn't laugh as he killed someone, even shadow clones.
But, her more cold side did admire how he effectively ended each one of them. Compared to Rai's strength, the clones were nothing.
She walked towards him, nimbly maneuvering through the mess on the floor, her look of worry fading from her face to her regular expression. But, she was still worried - why was he acting like this? Like said before, this wasn't Rai. His smile didn't even look like his - it looked... more sinister. She stopped until she was in front of him, having to turn her head in order to look at his face, appearing not bothered by their drastic height difference. "I was in the area, decided to stop by. 'Sup?" She asked, watching his expression for any hint that this might be some kind of over the top joke.

Rai watched as Mizore walked through the mess without tripping or anything and then stop in front of him. She explained why she was here, it seemed like an average reason. He looked down at her and gave her another smile. Oh not much. Just regular training although it's getting harder and harder as the days go by since i've broken almost all of my equipment. He walked over to his bed which was almost completely untoched by the mess and sat on it. He looked over at the where he was fightng the clones a moment ago and smirked. I hope thet little display didn't bore you. Those clones were weak since I had already made so many today and i'm starting to run out of energy... killing those seven make an even one hundred today. I suppose i'll take a break and continue later. He looked back over at Mizore. Anyway... what's new with you? Rai heard a sound and looked up to see a kunai fall towards him and land on the metal part of his headband and was deflected. He continued staring at the kunai and shuriken in his ceiling and smiled. Oooh. That was a close one. If I wan't wearing my headband I might have died and that would've been a shame... When he said him dying was a bad thing there was a bit of a sarcastic tone but he didn't notice.

No kidding. Mizore thought when he mentioned most of his equipment being destroyed, her light purple eyes glancing around the room, resting on the weapons left on the ground and embedded in the walls, including the ceiling. Well, that's not exactly what you'd call... safe. Mizore shrugged at the mention of the weak clones, silently wondering why he's training so much. Was it something Mushy said to him, in cat form? Or was it that he was preparing for something big, like maybe a really important mission?
Either way, he wasn't acting the same.
She was about to answer when she caught movement in the corner of her eye, recognizing it to be the flash of metal, probably from one of the kunai stuck in the roof. She stepped forward, her hand on the small water gourd hanging at her waist. Quickly, she thrust the gourd foward, and manipulated the water to form into ice. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough, and barely missed catching the kunai in her ice. Luckily, Rai was wearing his forehead protector. After returning the ice back into liquid form in the gourd, she sat down next to him, at a spot that should be clear of any projectiles falling from the roof. Her worried expression returned as she brought her knees to her chest, trying to think of what might have made her best friend like this. "You're not acting yourself... what's wrong?" She spoke after noting the hint of sarcasm in his voice, looking at him. "I'm your best friend - you can tell me anything."

Rai blinked a few times when he noticed something above him that quickly moved towards Mizore's direction. When he looked over to her he saw she was putting her gourd filled with water away. "Ice? She was trying to save me...?" He snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed her sit next to him. He was thinking about how to answer her question when she said they were best friends. For some reason Rai started laughing hysterically, though there was a slight hint of madness in his laughter. In a moment he stopped and looked at the ground before glancing over at Mizore. You'll have to forgive me... for the last two weeks all i've heard is loud music, and the sound of my own voice cursing at me and insulting me. So hearing about friends and best friends seemed funny to me. He went back to thinking about how to answer her question. After a moment he turned to look at her and smiled. What's wrong? I don't know... for the first few days of being here alone I felt bad inside. But now I can't remember why I felt bad and I feel nothing. He took of his shirt and revealed all the cuts, scratches, and bruises all over his chest, stomach, and back. He looked over a few of them and then looked back at Mizore. I didn't feel any of these... and if that kunai would have landed in my head even though it would have killed me... i probably would have felt nothing...

Mizore looked at his hands as he laughed hysterically, her thoughts on what could have made him... like this. Like what, exactly? Heck, with that laugh, he'd own a a character from Higurashi no Naku's laugh anyday, anytime. She thought, continuing to think about what could have happened. Was it when he ran into her and Kurai...?
She blushed a little at remembering then, in her thoughts almost missing what Rai had said. She looked back up, her eyes on the cuts, scratches, and bruises over his body, feeling a sick feeling at the pit of her stomach. If anyone else had done that to him, Mizore would freeze them to hell and back. But considering that he caused those, even from training, she felt like slapping him for pushing himself that hard. Feel nothing? Even at her worst when she was depressed, she felt everything that she did to herself. Right now, Mizore just wanted to slap some sense into him. She knew he wasn't intentionally hurting himself, but he didn't have to push himself so hard.
"Yeah, you wouldn't feel anything, because it would pretty much be instant death. Do you care that little about your life? Mizore asked, for once her voice emotional. She cared for him - in a best friend kind of way. Without him... Mizore didn't know how she'd act. She's been around him too long to be without him.

Rai had been lost in thought after explaining to Mizore he felt nothing. "Wait... I didn't make seven clones before... I could swear I made eight. But he's no where in the house... did he run away? No... no matter how terrified some of the clones were they didn't run. So where is number one hundred? I've only killed ninety-nine..." He snapped out of his thoughts when she asked him if he cared about his life. He thought for a moment and then sighed. I don't know. I supposed saying I fell nothing isn't right. I feel... empty. I guess all I could think of filling the emptiness with was training hard and fighting every chance I got. I suppose it's better than the first day... He thought back to the first day he was alone and decided he wasn't going to leave his house. He looked back over to Mizore and smiled. The first day I was hear I was pretty sad... I wished I knew some kind of fire style justu, becasue I wanted to trch practically everything in sight. Suddenly the front door opened up and a clone walked in holding a bag. Sorry about that dude. There was a pretty big line at the Sushi bar. The clone set the bag down on a table and looked around. Whoa... where are the others? Rai started laughing again... he had forgotten he sent one out to get his lunch. He stood up and pulled one of his demon wind shuriken out of the wall and looked at the clone and smiled. They're all dead. Rai quickly charged at the clone and swung up slicing him in half. He had put a godd amount of chakra in thar clone, so it didn't explode into smoke until the halves landed on the ground. He closed the door and threw the demon wind shuriken at a wall without looking, and hit one of the targets in the shape of a person directly in the face. He smiled at Mizore. There... now an even one hundred. What's wrong Mizore? You look tense... He started to laugh again though it wasn't as much as before.

Mizore didn't reply, biting her lower lip gently in deep thought. Did she really hurt him this bad?
She mentally shook her head. It had to be some other reason - he might have lost someone really important to himself, and is taking it way too hard. Really, really hard. Right now, she's just glad he didn't kill himself, or worse...
Mizore looked up as the door opened, noting that the copy of Rai must be a shadow clone. She just hoped that it was the real him, and he was playing some insanely over the top joke on her.
But, that didn't seem to be the case.
Mizore stood up as he grabbed the shuriken, beginning to run towards the shadow clone. What would she do? Protect the shadow clone? It's just a clone; it's not like he's actually killing a living person. She silently shuddered at the thought of killing your own clone, especially if it lasted as long as the clone he just killed did - because, what happens to the clone, returns to you memory-wise. So he'd know how it felt like, 100 times over, with memories clear as day as if he experienced them himself.
She walked towards him, her expression of disbelief. This wasn't her best friend. When she neared him, she raised her left hand, slapping him across the face, not lightly either. "Rai! You're not acting yourself. What happened to affect you so badly? If it was me..." She trailed off, her hands at her sides, looking at the cuts and bruises on his chest, which was pretty much where her head was at with their height difference. "This... isn't you, Rai. It's... scaring me a little."

Rai had been thinking about the lunch the last clone brought. "I guess after I eat i'll go back to fighting clones... i'd say a dozen is a good start. I have to atleast kill seventy-five clones before dinner time... if not then i'm going to have to keep fighting harder and harder." He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Mizore start walking towards him. He wasn't sure what she was doing but he started to go back to his thoughts. Suddenly he was slapped across the face by Mizore. His face had a shocked expression and he continued looking in the direction his head was facing when he was slapped. For a moment he didn't do anything, then he smiled and started laughing. He laughed harder than he did the first time, but didn't stop until he heard Mizore speak. He slowly turned his head so he was looking at her and smiled. I don't know. What usually pushes a guy like me over the edge? Was I bullied alot and picked on? No. Did someone close to me die? Nope. Did someone break my heart? He placed his right hand over his heart and felt a slight beating. Look at that. I almost completely forgot that I had a heart. He thought about what she said last for a moment. Maybe your right. Maybe this isn't the real me. Maybe this is just what I turn into when i'm pushed too far. He leaned in so he was only about two or three inches from Mizore's face and smiled at her. Well... I can't exactly remember what happened to me. You got any ideas Mizore?

She looked at him with a look of disbelief as he laughed, her sense of unease growing - she heard his laugh before. This wasn't it. This was some crazed laugh, and she knew she was probably the cause of it.
Mizore felt... sad. Sad because she knew that she was probably the cause for his heartbreak, and sad because she put him through that pain. Her expression showed her feelings as she looked back up at him, appearing not bothered by how close he was. She was more bothered by how different his smile was, almost as crazed as his laugh.
"Was it... was it me?" She spoke slowly, her eyes scanning his expression trying to find any hint that this might be a joke. But judging from how he was acting, this wasn't a joke. Nothing near a joke.

Rai continued smiling at Mizore. He was a bit confused by her expression, she looked sad and confused. He was trying to figure out what she was thinking about when she asked if she was the one who turned him into this. He stood up straight and thought for a moment. Hm... wait. I'm starting to remember something... i'm remembering what pushed me over the edge. It was that day a few weeks ago... when you and your... boyfriend both confessed your love. He started to smile again... it looked much crazier than before. If anyone looked at him now they'd think he was completely psychotic and run. After that I felt pain... in my heart. I guess that's what made me decide to stay home and never leave. He shrugged and looked back down at Mizore. Oh well... what are you gonna do right?

Mizore looked down, biting her lower lip a little harder, fidgeting with the lollipop in her mouth. Though she didn't see his smile, she could almost feel it, despite not even looking at his face. Right now, she hated herself for doing that to her best friend. She didn't know that it would affect him this badly... but can I say that I regret it? I don't regret anything I did with Kurai-kun... but... I regret hurting Rai like this.
She hugged him tightly, appearing not bothered by their height difference. How can I make this up for him? Saying 'sorry' isn't going to do worth shit - I've hurt him too much... Mizore thought, continuing to hug him as a small tear slid down her cheek, upon leaving her skin it changed to ice from how cold her skin was. "Rai... don't you ever just sit in your home when this happens, okay? It... it'll just make things worse. I'm your best friend, even if I'm the cause of your pain, I'm here to make things better for you... you know that... and I don't want you hurting like this..." She spoke, surprised to find her tone thick with emotion. "I-I'm sorry..."

Rai looked down while smiling to see Mizore looking down at the ground. He couldn't help but smiling more and more. "Have I really lost my mind? It's not as bad as most people make it out to be. It's almost kinda fun." Rai snapped out of his thoughts when he felt something cold against his skin and looked down to see Mizero was hugging him. He listened to what she said and had an odd expression, the same one you get when your hit hard in the stomach. He clenched his fists and bit his lip. "Damn it. Am I really so pathetic that I turn into this just because Mizore is in love with someone else? I should be happy for her but instead... I turn into pathetic idiot that acts like he's gone completely crazy." After she said she was sorry he snapped out of it. He crouched down a bit and hugged her back. Mizore... i-i'm so sorry. I was sad that you were in love with someone else, but I should have been happy for you. I promise the next time i'm sad I won't just tune out the world... i'll go to you. And... i promise to never put you through this again. Can you ever forgive me? He moved back from her and saw she had cried a bit. He gently wiped away her tears and smiled at her. It wasn't the same crazy smile from before... it was his old kind smile. He had snapped out of his depression/breakdown and turned back into his old self.

Mizore smiled lightly as she heard him speak, feeling happy - judging from his tone, he snapped back to normal. Really, she wasn't even mad at him - just disappointed.
She pulled away a little, an anime sweat drop appearing on her head when she realized he was crouching just to hug her. Being short had it's advantages, but sometimes it was just downright annoying. "I suppose..." She spoke, moving behind him to put him in a headlock taking advantage of him being crouched down, giving him a nuggie. "As long as you stay who you are, I'll forgive you. I don't want to put you through that pain again."

Rai started laughing a little when she only said a few words, it wasn't the same crazy laugh as before it was happier and cheerier. ...And your back to barely showing any emotion. Oh well... it was nice while it lasted. Suddenly he felt Mizore giving him a nuggie an he started laughing a little more. I promise to stay who I am and never change into... that, ever again. He grabbed the arm that Mizore had around his neck and stood up so she was hanging a few inches off the ground and he smiled. Alright... now that i'm back to normal and we've made up, what do we do now?

Mizore pouted lightly as she was lifted a few inches from the ground, silently taking this as a chance to know how it feels to be tall for once. This would be useful for looking at the top shelf in the music store... She thought, shrugging lightly.
"I dunno. Any ideas?" She spoke, her purple eyes glancing around the room. "Either we can go stalk people who pissed us off, or clean up. Bothprobably sounds boring."

Rai thought for a moment and laughed a little. No... I don't have any ideas. I guess we could go stalk people for a bit. There's no way i'm dragging you into cleaning this mess. Rai crouched back down so Mizore was touching the floor and then escaped her headlock. He turned around and smiled at her. Sorry to ruin your few moments of feeling tall, but I hoped you enjoyed it while it lasted. He started laughing a little.

Mizore pouted lightly as she was put down, feeling again like a midget. Unfortunately, she didn't have any stools nearby to get a taste of it again.
She fidgeted with the lollipop in her mouth, leaning her weight on her left foot glancing at the door. Well, the ocean today wouldn't be too bad, considering it wasn't too hot today... "Hey, wanna go swimming?" She offered.

Rai stopped laughing and noticed Mizore pouting a little. "Aww. She really enjoyed being tall." When she mentioned swimming Rai smiled, but quickly looked down noticing his scratches and cuts. He looked back to Mizore and smiled again. Sure, swimming sounds fun. I just hope I don't melt from all the sunlight. Being in a slightly dark house for two weeks without sunlight isn't such a good idea. He crossed his arms over his chest and laughed a little. And... if you want, I could carry you on my shoulders to the beach so you could feel tall for a little longer.

Mizore noticed the scratches and cuts on his body, and realized that going into salt water probably wasn't the best idea. It'd hurt, but yet again... it'd probably help heal any infection he might have got in them.
She cracked a smile at his comment about melting, taking the lollipop out of her mouth to speak. "No kidding." Her eyes lit up a little when he mentioned carrying her on his shoulders, surprisingly her smile stood on her face this time. "Oh hell yeah."

Rai practically burst into laughter when he heard Mizore's excited response about him carrying her around. Alright. Hang on a second. I'll go change now. He turned and walked towards a draw and pulled out his favorite swimming trunks with a tsunami design on them and went to his bathroom. In a few moments he came out wearing the trunks and walked back over to Mizore. Alright. We'll go to your place so you can change then we'll go to the beach alright? Also... you want me to start carrying you? Because if you do your probably going to have to direct me... I might be blind a little bit from so much bright light.

Mizore nodded, leaning against a clear section of wall as she waited for him. When he returned, she noticed a cut on his leg, that looked rather deep as if it was from a kunai. Ouch... She thought, though her expression remained the same. She wanted to act happy, or normal, around him - she didn't want to make him sad again.
Mizore nodded, smiling a little bit when he mentioned carrying her on his shoulders. "Eh, you'll be fine. Just try and watch out for midgets or telephone poles." She replied, standing straight.

Rai followed Mizore's gaze to his leg and noticed a bad cut. He looked back over to her and smiled. It's alright. It doesn't hurt. He smiled and then laughed a bit at her comment. Alright Mizore if you say so. He opened his door and stepped out into the light. It took him a moment to adjust to the light, but it wasn't as bad as he thought. He looked back at Mizore and smiled. Alright, Mizore. Let's get going.