The Golden Watch Of Hypnosis - Chapter 38
“I’ll heal all of you! ”
“Show me your heart! ”
Tenshi said as he looked at the jade earrings wearing boy on top of the bed.
All of them!
All of them were vulnerable!
Exploitatable!
Tenshi was since childhood, nosy. He always held curiosity towards people’s pasts and lives.
No, he wasn’t altruistic or anything, he didn’t do charity but he just wanted to listen to stories.
Ben, the jade earrings wearing boy sighed.
“Tenshi-san, please, don’t make fun of me I’ve bore enough mockery until now ”
“Nonetheless, I want someone to listen. So I guess I’ll tell ”
“My story ”
“‘You’re old enough to understand right? ‘”
“I was a foster child. I was passed around, home to home never really belonging in any one. I didn’t care when I was younger, saw it sort of like travelling, meeting new people and getting to experience the way they live. ”
Tenshi interestedly looked at the boy on top of the bed.
An orphan? He didn’t expect something like this from Ben.
The boy stood up and sat on top of the bed with a reminiscent expression on his face, and continued.
“When I turned 12, I moved into a new home. I didn’t actually want to live in that home, but that’s a different story. The home I moved into had a baby girl and a 6 year old daughter as well as a mom and dad. The perfect family, they were upper-middle class so a lot of people assumed us untouchable by problems. Little did they know that the worst problems were born right inside the home.”
“Because I’d been passed around a lot as a kid I hadn’t had a clear grasp on what a family is. I now have the ability to look back and realize that the family I ended up with didn’t grasp that I didn’t grasp family. That I hadn’t had the support of a mother or father coming to see your recitals or performances, congratulating you on a good grade or even something as simple as being proud of a kid when they drew a silly picture. I didn’ t realize when I was younger, but I tried to make up for all my lost childhood familial connections with this family and was curbed at every try. There are two I remember vividly but the one that sticks with me the most is my birthday. Having such young kids in the house, the parents wanted their birthdays to be grand and fun. Because I was older, my birthdays were always toned down and quiet, just my friends or just some family over. They’d sigh at the end and clap me on the shoulder or back and say “another round next year!” or something else. One year in particular they decided to lump my birthday with the youngest girls birthday. She was turning four and I thirteen. I thought it would be fun since I liked kids and I liked my sisters friends a lot (they came over often) but boy was I wrong. Come a couple days before the party and my parents gave me the news that I couldn’t have any friends over for the party. “too old for the other kids” they’d say, “we don’t want you hiding in the basement all day!” there was no way for me to argue because they were right about my friends being too old for the party, and since it was planned already there was no way around it. Come the day of the party I had no guests myself. Yeah family was there but they would enter the door and run straight to my sister, screaming “ooooohhhh look at YOU!! So big now!!” then the ever casual over the shoulder “Hey Ben, happy birthday. ” and maybe a hug before going back to my sister. I basically sat in the corner the whole time while confetti was thrown and cheeks were kissed and presents were ripped open. I wasn’t allowed to be in any of the pictures because I was a foster child so I wasn’t allowed to join the present opening fun. I was handed my presents at the end and opened them alone in my room. When the presents were done the cake came out. I was finally glad I’d get to sit and eat with everyone and talk. The cake however, was made to disappoint. “Happy birthday” written in big letters. It was also an ice cream cake, after I told my parents I didn’t want anymore of that since we got it for every birthday. Before I could ask if I maybe had a whole separate cake, lucky me! My parents sat me down in the kitchen with a cupcake, a single candle on it. They took one picture of me blowing it out and then grabbed my arm all excited “come to the dining room!” so I followed and found my sister sitting at the head of our big wood table and everyone gathered around. They began to sing and the cake was brought in. While everyone sang and clapped and whooped my dad sidled up to me, half talking to me half taking pictures of her.”
Tenshi looked at Ben. A slight shred of empathy growing in his mind that was promptly squashed. After all, enemies are enemies no matter how of a ‘pitiful’ person they are.
Nonetheless, he still wondered how his life would be from the start if he didn’t have his loving neechan and his mother.
At least, even if his mother wasn’t home all of time, his sister used to spoil him for no reasons at all. Which only made his siscon tendencies pierce the ass of God.
Tenshi reminiscently shook his head and looked at Ben, his attention towards him increasing.
After all, he liked stories, the real ones were even more amusing!
Ben laughed and looked at the ceiling.
“I still remember what that bastard said ”
“Glad you’re old enough to understand she needs all of this!”
“He said that cheerily and walked away before I could say anything. I thought it was supposed to be a ‘happy birthday’.”
Tenshi smiled with empathy and moved his stool towards Ben’s bed, his curiosity increasing with each second.
He always loved stories, furthermore, the real ones were more better than those of fiction.
Seeing this, Ben felt warm in his heart. As far as he knew, he was just like the others in his group, broken. He didn’t know why but he always liked those that listened to him, he didn’t like it as it made him way too clingy and foreceful.
Nonetheless, he once again looked at the ceiling; partly due to wanting the tears to not spill and partly due to the fact that looking upwards always helped him remember things.
A habit if you had to call it that.
“Another time was when I was 14, I had my very first athletic competition. It was the first time I’d ever perform onstage as part of a team in front of people I didn’t know that my family would be invited to attend. They didn’t though. When I came home, I had to bus home, they laughed from the couch going “Hey there he is! How was the competition, how’d you do?” I’d say fine we made first in our school and they’d say “oh yeah cool, sorry, we didn’t make it we just uh had your sisters dance practice to go to” and many other sisterly excuses later on. I knew they didn’t need to stay at the practices, when we’d go they’d not even pay attention just sit on the viewing seats and play on their phones. My sisters were lucky, my parents never bothered to “watch” my practices. They’d always add on at the end that I was old enough to understand. My first athletic performance was skipped because there was a sale on dance attire and my sister just *had* to go to it. But I was old enough to understand, right?”
“I was old enough to understand right? ”
“I wanted affection! I felt all alone in this world, why do they love my sisters but not me?! ”
“Why?! Was I lesser than them just because I was older or something?! ”
“DSCH!!! ”
Ben stood up and furiously kicked the table beside his bed, his anger overflowing as he cracked his knuckles.
“Boss boss boss, calm down calm down! ”
Takashi came running with a glass of water and gave it to Ben for him to drink.
“Ugh ”
Ben’s eyebrows frowned in anger as he gnashed his teeth and drank the glass of water.
“Sorry, he has anger issues.”
Takashi said while apologetically looking at Tenshi; to him, Tenshi right now was someone like his friend, which was the reason he apologized, otherwise, he wouldn’t apologize even if you held him at gunpoint.
At one lesser attention paid corner of the room, Nero smiled wryly as he wiped Haruto’s face with tissues.
Well, at least this weirdo’s face was more pleasant than his wife’s face.
“I’m sorry Tenshi-san.”
Ben slightly bowed and returned to his bed to sit on it.
“As I was saying, my family’s nonchalace and blatant discrimination made me attention-seeking and desperate for something like a family. ”
“I never really understood what family love was, but I saw around me, that hundreds and hundreds of children such as me were being spoiled by their parents. ”
“I apologize if this offends you; I saw that in many ways, they didn’t have the same things that I had. They weren’t good at sports such as me nor were they good at studies, yet they were offered reassurance and love from their parents even if they miserably failed at something. ”
Ben took a slight pause.
“Before this, I thought that I wasn’t as good enough as my family wanted me to be so I worked; I worked as hard as I could in school and eventually surpassed the top, yet they still didn’t give me what I wanted. That belief that I wasn’t working hard enough was one day shattered when one of my former friend, was getting the same attention as he did before he failed his exams. ”
“Nonetheless, I was desperate and did everything I could for attention andapproval? I became a playboy, got piercings and everything ”
“In short, I became a piece of shit and ruined everyone that were friends with me. I got disowned and thrown on the streets. ”
Ben scratched his neck and spitefully grinned.
“I had to live on the streets, my scholarship was canceled and what not. I didn’t even have the money to eat! ”
“Until, I met these guys in a small run-down apartment”
Ben said as he sighed and gratefully looked at the boys surrounding him.
“Then, they introduced me to Endou. Their so called, boss. I met him and at first, he seemed like a good guy. ”
“Nice face and good manners. ”
Tenshi’s aura changed as he formed an emotionless smile. A blank and anger-less smile.
Endou Ah, Endou. What would his face look like if he took a hammer and repeatedly hit his balls with it?
Fear? Terror? Or of pleasure?
Tenshi chuckled in his mind.
” Go one Ben. ”
“Then, I found out that he was a beast, a rogue. That however, was for later. ”
“He said he’ll pay for my school fees, in return, I had to drop out of being an athlete and become these guys leader. ”
“So you had very great leadership skills? ”
“That’s a yes. Since young, I’ve always been in leadership positions, like the athlete club and whatnot ”
“Back to my matter, at first he wanted me to do standard things, beat up people that interfere in his political career in the school and gather followers, the usual shit. Then, as I started to gain his trust, he let me in his circle and started to give me more jobs to do. ”
“But before that, he made us do a thing as a sign of respect and submission towards him.”
Ben distastefully rolled his eyes and sadly grinned.
“He made us bleach our hair the same color as his hair, and, the people who didn’t have piercings, get piercings at the parts of their body where it would hurt the most. ”
“No one wanted to do that. But, we didn’t have money so we did what he said.”
“The things he made us do were the typical things as expected of such a bastard, he made us create damsels in distress situations with all of the beautiful girls in class, fake-rape people, and then, he would drop in and rescue them and gain their affection. ”
“I don’t even want to say what he made me do! ”
“He’s a very cheap and lustful bastard, he’s now aiming at the Student Council President! ”
Tenshi nodded and slapped Ben’s shoulders.
“That bastard’s not important. ”
“What’s important is, that; do you want your lives to improve? ”
“Do you forever want to remain like this? ”
“No Tenshi-san. No one in this group wants to do these vile things again, beating up people and whatnot is something but we don’t want to remain as slaves! ”
“We don’t want to be like livestock fortuned to be butchered! ”
“We want to live our own lives in freedom! ”
Tenshi listened and nodded his head.
Little did they know, they themselves were diligently delivering themselves to a butcher.
“Fine. I can accomplish that. ”
“I’ll give you the lives you desire. Because, I sympathize with you guys you see”
“I am the same as you guys.”
Tenshi chuckled and went towards a window in the ward, he then opened it and and smelled the air outside.
Smoky and industrial, the usual thing expected from the outsides of a public hospital.
The bright sunlight hit the room as the boys closed their eyes in pain.
“We fear rejection, want attention, crave affection and desire perfection. ”
“Don’t we? Don’t we all? ”
“It’s just that, as we get older, we’ll receive the first but get neither. ”
“It’s reality. ”
“So what? ”
“Let me rephrase it a bit, weight never gets light, pain never hurts less, struggles never get easier; you get strong or you either break. ”
“I’m in a way, different from you bunch yet still them same. ”
“I didn’t get stronger nor did I try to get stronger. I just used the easiest way, I broke my past and formed a mask. ”
“Because it’s easier. ”
Tenshi put his hands on his chin and formed a web-like sign.
“Well, where am I drifting off to? ”
“What I want to you tell you, is that, don’t worry. Everyone’s been there. ”
“I sympathize with you and you boys, you’re solonely and alone. ”
“You’ve failed at life so what? Everyone has failed in their lives one way or another, even I’ve failed in accomplishing my life goal!”
Tears fell from the boys eyes as they smiled, finally, they’ve found a friend.
Nero eyes widened while Tenshi’s eyes squinted and formed a relaxed angle.
In the middle of the room, the boys hugged Tenshi as he struggled and pleasantly smiled.
“Boss! We’re yours! Please help us! Help us be free! ”
“I’m an orphan and I’ve never felt the same feeling I get from you boss! Boss, please accept us as your henchmen! ”
“Please boss! ”
Out of the fourteen boys, only eight boys were hugging him while the others were looking at him with deep concentration before they shrugged and also joined the others boys.
Some of the boys were still muddled but
This was crowd manipution, or, herd manipulation.
This was one of them, The Yes-Street Technique
He wanted to get his audience to agree with something controversial, so he would first start by saying a bunch of things that they already agree with and already believe in. This is how he builds trust. Then, when he has them all nodding and agreeing at the principles he’s laid out, I can also sell them the more disagreeable stuff. This is the basic cult-recruitment technique. You cannot recruit anyone for a cult if you do not first offer enough benefits to get the person hooked. Once hooked, you can sell him anything you want. It goes without saying that politicians also love to use this one. This is called “the yes-street technique” because one first gets someone into the habit of saying yes, yes, yes, yes before offering something he/she would have otherwise said “no” to.
Tenshi grinned within his mind but closed his eyes and sniffed. His acting skills were enough to even fool a hardened politician.