A House Of Joy

The pair left the hospital when the sun was still above their heads. And yet, when they finally reached their destination, the sun had already descended down the horizons, only barely peeking the last of its blood-red rays above the buildings. And the destination by itself only added to the hair-raising chill.

It was an orphanage. Or at least, it was supposed to be an orphanage, considering its sign. But everything about it screamed otherwise. From the giant steel gate topped with spikes straight out of a medieval torture device, to the cracked walls blackened by splatters of who-knows-what, and the sign that it should be prided upon had its letters dangling in the air, looking like one slight touch and the wire that was barely holding it together would snap.

“Smile World” was its name. But there was no one that could look at this… thing and let out a smile.

Well, not of joy, at least. But a smirk of contempt and sarcasm was still on the table, as shown with Fukei mere moments after the building’s “marvelous wonder” came into his sight.

“Is this it? My house looks better than this pile of garbage, and we’re in crippling debt.”

“One shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, young Fukei.” The man in the sunglasses, Kageyama, let out a smirk of his own. “Sure, this place might be shabby, but I assure you: once you step foot here, you’ll have the time of your life.”

“We’ll see about that,” Fukei chuckled at the sheer absurdity of the claim. What could this dump possibly offer me? He thought.

Naturally, Kageyama could see through the doubt and contempt coming from the young boy. And so, he continued:

“Shall we?”

As the man pushed open the gate, a screeching sound grinded in the air, bringing out decades of rust out with it. And, as if on cue, crows from around flocked to the spot, as if already used to the sound as a signal for something. Their caws echoed like a tolling bell for the underworld.

“Uh, what was that all about?” Fukei asked, his face contorted in annoyance as the boy covered his ears from all the noise.

“Eh, just low on maintenance, don’t worry about it.”

“Wow, great idea bringing a child here.”

“Not like you had a choice, right?” Kageyama grinned. “And besides, it’s not so bad I tell you. Come.”

The pair walked by the main road, through the murder of crows that landed on the path welcoming back their supposed king. Once the two made it to the wooden door – painted blood red, with an iron ring attached in the center to really hammer in the medieval elements that the owner seemingly loved – Kageyama grabbed the hook and slammed it.

“Kids! I brought a friend!” He called out.

Soon enough, there were footsteps frantically running towards them from the inside. Many more than a single set. Once the crimson door creaked open, in front of Fukei was not just one or two, but five children of different ages.

The oldest and tallest of the group looked to be much older than him, perhaps of high school age. He seemed to be working out, with defined muscles bulging over his one-size-too-small tank top and jeans. He was the first to answer, and the first to raise his hand towards Fukei for a shake.

“Mister Kageyama brought you here, right? Welcome to Smile World! I’m Ichigo.”

Soon enough, the second stepped forth. He was noticeably lankier than Ichigo, but still quite tall – nearly reaching the former’s head, while still towering Fukei himself. His beige shirt with leaf patterns gave him the feeling of a bamboo pole.

“I’m Fuutarou!” He said, smiling from ear to ear.

The third continued forth as well. She was the only girl in the group, and one that looked around Fukei’s age. Her waist-length, chestnut-colored hair already made her a beauty among her peers, and her defined features only grew clearer with the black dress that was practically clinging to her body.

“Hi hi! Miko here!” She cheerfully waved towards Fukei, causing the boy to unconsciously blush.

But before he could recover, the fourth had come up as well. His auburn hair was an oddity among the children, and his sharp eyes were nowhere nearly as friendly as the rest, but despite so, he still sounded quite amicably as he raised his hand:

“Shirou’s the name.”

“And I’m Goh!” Finally, the last and youngest – younger than Fukei, even, raised his hand as well. With a yellow hat and blue uniform, he must have been in kindergarten at best.

“These five are the current residents of Smile World,” Kageyama answered before Fukei could even turn to ask. “Though, we do operate as an amusement park by the side, so that’s why you saw kids talking about us all the time.”

“Yeah, we’re the staff here as well!” Ichigo pumped his chest in pride.

“Hey, hey, are you joining us?” Miko jumped forward, bringing her face just mere centimeters away from Fukei’s. “Kageyama brought you here, so you’re definitely joining us, right?”

“U-Uh…”

“Temporarily, but yes,” while the boy was still stuttering for an answer, Kageyama had already nodded. “He’s been brought here to avoid further complications with his family. You kids treat him well now, okay?”

Turning to Fukei, he added. “Per your wish, I’m not gonna be here for the time being, but my number is already in your phone. Give me a call if anything happens, and I’ll be there right away. How does that sound?”

“... Fine, I guess,” Fukei turned his face sideways, clearly not used to being cared for.

With only a smirk, Kageyama soon left the premises, leaving the children to get to know one another.

And once he was gone, the first thing the group did was to shove a piece of wrapper at Fukei’s face.

“Want some jerky?” Ichigo said. “We made it ourselves!”

“Uh… I’ll pass for now. I’m not hungry,” Fukei shook his head. He didn’t want to make his new acquaintances mad, but just a glance at that charred, laced with grease piece of meat in their oily fingers was already enough to put him off of his appetite. And not to mention the smell – he didn’t know what they made this jerky from, but the stench of rotten meat was so apparent even after all kinds of processing, so much that even the crows started to flock closer to where they stood.

“Well, okay then! But I’ll tell you this; once you’ve found out our secret ingredient, you’re gonna be asking for it soon!”

“Haha… I can’t wait,” Fukei let out an awkward laugh. Yeah, as if.

But without anything else to do, he followed the kids inside anyway, into their “secret kitchen”.

However, as soon as he set his first step into the building, the nauseous combination of flesh, smoke and chemicals flooded his nostrils, sending the boy to an uncontrollable coughing spree. Yet, his new companions didn’t seem to bat an eye, and kept on with their ramblings with a smile on their faces:

“Here’s the living room; here’s the bathroom;... oh, remember this? Kageyama used to scold you for climbing on the table, Shirou!...”

Fukei couldn’t even butt in once. And so, he had no choice but to keep on following where the group led him to.

Within the dim light, the sound of flies wandering about mixed with the beating of Fukei’s heart sent his ears to disarray. And in this room, the smell of rotten meat was clearer than ever.

“Tada!” Ichigo spread out his arms as a welcoming gesture. “Welcome to our jerky factory! Look, our secret ingredient is right here! Hold up, lemme look for it…”

The oldest child was rummaging through the pile of raw, slimy, red mucus and muscles on the floor, but that wasn’t what Fukei was noticing.

The boy’s jaws were agape for what was on the table at the moment.

It wasn’t a regular dining table, nor a butcher’s table for that matter.

No matter how he looked at it, that was still an operating table. And the pile of “cooking utensils” on the side were, in all senses, surgeon’s knives and scissors.

Which left only the “meat” that they were procuring on the table.

The face was gone. In fact, the corpse had lost about a third of its upper body. But looking at the two limbs, the opposable thumbs, and most importantly, the blood-red suit that it was still wearing, the conclusion was all too clear.