Welcome To Oblivion

Chapter I
Welcome To Oblivion

She thought she had nothing to live for, until the day she was pushed out onto the subway tracks during a scuffle and was killed. In her last seconds, as she was falling with the train headlights blinding her, she wondered why she had tried so hard to keep her anger and disappointment under wraps.

Instead of passing on into the infiniteness of the universe as she thought would happen, she found herself stood in an empty waiting area while an annoying little jingle played at a barely audible volume. Glancing around the many empty seats, and then to the glass boxed reception parallel to her at the far end of the pale grey space, the redhead was sure she was going mad. Inspecting her surroundings, she found there to be only two doors; one to the left of the reception, and one to the right, and nothing but a dull grey wall behind her.

“Number 333,” a stranger’s dull tone caused her head to shoot up. Behind the protected desk, a young woman appearing no older than twenty-six stared at her from behind horn-rimmed spectacles. “Number 333,” she repeated, this time a tad louder.

Glancing down at her hand, the redhead noticed she had a little pastel pink ticket stating the number that had been called. How it had got there, she had no idea. How she had got there in the first place was beyond her. Why she would need a ticket when she was the one there - it was a mystery in its own right, but by the look of growing irritation on the receptionist’s face, she’d better hurry and see what she was wanted for.

Making it to the glass case, the tall female waited for some kind of prompt....Any kind of clue as to what she should do, but all she got was a snooty glare. “Excu-”

“Fill out the forms and bring them back when you’re done,” the receptionist told as she slid the wad of papers through the little gap below the glass separating them.

At first, Rin thought that she must have been dreaming; it was the only possible explanation for the weirdness. Now, she was positive that she really had been hit by a train, and that this was most definitely Hell. That’s it - She was in Hell. It was not a blazing pit filled with torture devices – it was a bland, sickeningly quiet space reminiscent of a small-town doctor’s waiting room.

Heaving air into her lungs as she rolled her eyes, she turned around to find a seat only to stop midway. Spinning around, she reached her hand out quickly and snatched the pen off the small wooden ledge before the stuck up cow could try to make her life any more difficult. Sticking her tongue out in victory, Rin turned her nose up and sat on the second row of seats.

Crossing her legs Indian style so she had something to rest the clipboard on, the young woman skim-read over the front page asking her mundane questions such as her name, date of birth, and the other standard questions you would for official documents. Completing the first three pages easily and within ten minutes, the redhead took a break before turning the page. She flicked right to the back to check the page number. 42.

‘Well, fuck.’

The click of the right door opening prompted the redhead to look up. Shuffling in with a tea trolley, a short, middle school boy with poofy shorts and wavy, golden hair stopping mid-nape tottered along happily. Rushing for the redhead, his cart clattering dangerously, the shota beamed as sparkles practically flew off his lithe form.

“Uwah~” The boy scurried around the trolley and leaned closer to the newcomer. “You’re pretty.” Glossy amber eyes went wider as he buzzed.

“Usagichimaru!” The receptionist snapped at the floundering, but all the boy did was flap his hand at her with a grin.

“What a mouthful.” Rin contemplated the odd name aloud.

“You have no idea,” the boy batted back with an innocent smile on his face but the daring glint in violet eyes told that he was referring to anything but his name.

“E-eh...?” Rin’s brow twitched as her expression fell. ‘Is this shota...trying to flirt...with me...?’ She was astounded and confused.

“Sorry~” Straightening up, the blonde picked up the metal teapot off the cart. Placing out a cup, the short boy poured the female a drink. “My name is Usagichimaru Katsuo. It’s nice to meet you.” Handing the steaming beverage over, Usagichimaru took a step back and gave his company a full once-over.

Accepting the drink, the redhead sniffed at the translucent green liquid. “I’m Shibata Rin.” Placing her cup on the firm cushion of the seat beside her, she looked up with a hopeful expression. “Can you tell me where I am?”

For the first time, the boy frowned. Looking away and scratching the edge of his hairline with his index finger, the blond tilted his head with a hum. “Sorry, Rin Chan, but I can’t do that. You have to fill out the forms and everything will be explained to you later.” He looked genuinely apologetic for not being able to help.

“Usagichimaru,” the receptionist called out again, her voice droning as she tapped the left pane of glass with the end of her pen. “don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Furrowing his brows and puffing his cheeks at the slave-driver in her glass box, the addressed gave a final look to the redhead. “I have to go now, but I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.” Patting the female on top of her head, the boy began jogging towards the left door with his cart, only to glance back with a bright smile. “And you really should be honest with your answers, no matter how weird they seem. Bye-bye~” Thrusting the trolley forward, both the metal cart and the dangerous driver burst through the door and disappeared.

“What a weird guy...”

Shaking her head, Rin returned her attention back to the biography she was trying to complete. Turning to page four of the gibberish she couldn't comprehend, the redhead squinted. Certain information at the top had already been filled out: notably, her full name, the names of her parents and their immediate data, personal medical information, where she was born and residence, prior education, and the contact information of the person she'd made her Next of Kin as soon as she turned eighteen. Bypassing the facts which shouldn't be known by strangers, she came to a list of questions - most with blank boxes below them; the 'please use black ink only,' beside said questions giving the prompt that she should be writing her own answers.

Full Name: Shibata Rin

Parents: Shibata Ichiirou (Father), Ayano Mariko (Mother)

Siblings: Shibata Etsuko (Half - Father's Side), Shibata Kazumi (Half - Father's Side)

Date of Birth: 2nd December 1999

Date of Death: Thursday, 21st November 2019

Cause of Death:

‘Whut?’ She read it again. It was still the same. Jumping to the next question, she could do nothing but cough to clear her throat.

What did you think during your last moments:

Was this supposed to be a joke? She...she couldn’t really be dead...Could she?

“You have to complete the entire thing within thirty minutes,” the receptionist called out without even looking up from typing.

Head snapping around to attention, the Rin dared to ask. “Why?”

“Don’t fill it in, and you’ll see.”

Fast beginning to hate that woman behind the desk, Rin scrunched her face in distaste. Gripping her pen tighter, she began scribbling down her answers. The way 'Snooty-Tits' had said it made her feel like it probably wouldn’t a bright idea to dawdle.

 

Finishing the last question with two minutes to spare, Rin leaned her head backwards and exhaled a lengthy sigh. Rolling her neck and shrugging her shoulders to relieve the tension from sitting in a hunched over position, the redhead wondered about what could possibly happen next.

“Number 333, have you finished?”

Almost throwing the questionnaire in a tantrum, the redhead snapped. “My name is not 333, it’s Shibata Rin!”

“That doesn’t concern me. Bring me your paperwork.”

Throwing herself forward, Rin jumped to her feet. Stomping, she made for the reception. Slamming the papers on ledge, the redhead growled. “Here’s your fucking papers, now tell me what I’m doing here. And where here is.”

Taking the documents, the bespectacled brunette posted them down the hatch to her left. “That’s not my job.” Eyes returning to the computer in front of her, the ignorant woman mumbled. “Someone shall be here to collect you shortly.”

“Are you doing this on purpose?” Forehead vein throbbing and teeth grit, the redhead slammed her hand on glass to get the female’s attention. “Hello?” Becoming wound more tightly by the second, Rin shook with anger. “Hey!”

The door on the left opening didn’t go unnoticed by the irate female about to pick up a chair and use it to bludgeon her annoyance. Stopping mid-murderous thought, the redhead looked over to the burgundy door. The head of a giant teddy bear poked around the frame. Rin stared at the oddity. And it stared back with black, beady eyes. At least, she thought it was staring...It didn’t have eyelids so it was kinda hard to tell.

“Shi-Shibata Rin Tan?”

An animated, high pitched voice stuttered in almost comically strong Kansai dialect and all the addressed could do was slowly point at herself in disbelief. Usagichimaru must have given her some kind of magic-mushroom tea because this shit could not be happening. Stepping into full view, the tawny brown bear’s ears brushed the top of the tall door frame which gave the redhead at least an easy foot clearance. Fiddling with its own rounded hands - paws - the nervous animal in a white lab coat covered in neon patches held its head down.

“Will you come with me?”

Rin unintentionally coughed a laugh. The thought of a stranger asking her to follow him into the unknown was ridiculous. The thought of that stranger being a teddy bear surpassing one of those shopping precinct mascots...Well, let’s just say people who were sound of mind wouldn’t have let their train of thought get that far. Then again, Rin didn’t find anything about this situation to be commonplace. She was sure she was about to be hit by a train less than an hour ago when she popped up in the stuffy waiting room and was told to fill out her own biography: She’d been through several stages of panic, upset, delusion and even denial - What harm could following a giant teddy bear into God knows where do?

Giving the receptionist a final look of burning hostile intent, Rin turned on her heels and moved towards the door shadowed by the plushie on steroids. One hand behind her head, scratching her scalp, the other resting on her hip, the redhead measured herself against her interruption. She was taller than almost everyone she knew at an inch short of six-foot tall, yet she was still shorter than the oddity’s shoulders.

“What are you?” She asked, a little more bluntly than she’d meant. "More importantly, what were you fed? Jesus, how tall are you?"

"I do not eat via normal means. I was told I was 7.7 foot tall, which is, to you, Shibata Rin Tama, probably easier converted into centimetres. This would equate to 235 centimetres, rounded to the nearest one."

Holding the door open for the female, the bear gestured for her to walk through. Obliging, the redhead easily passed under the thick furry arm and out into a narrow corridor illuminated with natural light that came through the glass spanning the entire right wall. Shutting the door behind them, the bear set off walking - or moreover, waddling.

“I-I’m an A-Aykashi...” It told in the same cartoonish voice as if faffed with its paws.

“An Ayakashi?” The female quirked her brow in disbelief.

“Supernatural beings tha-”

“I know what they are,” Rin held her hand up before the teddy could go into lengthy detail. “I took History and Folklore.”

Halting, stark brown plastic eyes sparkled. “Wohh-ahh, it must be nice to be able to learn that kind of stuff in the human world.”

Rin also paused. Tilting her head up to see her escort’s face, she blinked twice. “Excuse me?”

“O-oh. What is it?” It tilted its head again.

“Human world?”

Carrying on walking-waddling, the bear rubbed its ear with its stumpy paw. “I guess you wouldn’t know...”

“Know what?”

Pointing out of the window, and then around in general, the escort finally gave up a shred of information. “This is Oblivion; A neutral plane where the human and the supernatural worlds conjoin.”

Cocking her head to the side and following the teddy, the redhead mumbled under her breath. “Of course it is; why didn’t I think of that...?”

Updated: 8th February 2020 - 14:31