Perry was always in the hospital; he never left the confines of his hospital, never went past the parking garages on his daily walks, never went to the movies, or to the mall, like kids his age should have. Perry was born in Hillingdon Hospital and never left the confines of the London-based hospital.
He was born from the womb of an HIV infected mother, and an absent father, he had no family except the hospital staff, they knew everything about him, for the past fifteen years he remained there, HIV never left him, and by the age of ten, a recessive cancer gene from his parents also affected him, giving him cancer of the colon. By twelve, Perry was diagnosed with failing kidneys and liver. He was dying, he knew it, but ever so slowly.
Surgery after surgery, until at last Perry's heart stopped, along with his brain, drowning in his own blood on the operating table, the monitors reading a flatline as the doctors tried desperately to shock him back into this demonic existence with the defibrillator. Perry saw no more and heard no more. Until.
URBAN JAPAN: TOKYO (ASAKUSA DISTRICT) 1896 (MEIJI ERA) 16 years to TAISHO ERA (DS PLOT START)
Amongst the bustle and jostle of the streets of Tokyo, Japan, the sound of a screaming woman pierced the air, causing quite a few to turn their heads in awe, quietly thanking the kami for the birth of another child into the world. The Arakawa family home was large, in fact, rather exquisite and finely decorated; it was made with care and was paid for rather handsomely. With the sliding doors and high-quality tatami mats, the era's breathtaking architectural and design features were brought to light.
Amidst the beauty, there was chaos as maids ran through hallways, and the screams of the lady of the house could not be muffled by the presence of her dear husband kneeling at her side, soothing her with words that were null compared to the devastating pain she was in. Mizuno Arakawa was in labour, and her husband, Arashi Arakawa, was overwhelmed at the sight of her giving birth to their firstborn.
The maids rushed in and beckoned the Lord to leave, and with some reluctance, he got up and left, tears streaking down his face as he leaned over the basin full of water in the next room. He washed the blood off his hands and arms and pulled on a new kimono, embroidered by the finest tailor in Tokyo, to herald the arrival of his son.
Soon the air was pierced with another sound as the screams were subdued, the sound of a baby, crying, once, twice then it stopped, in fear, Arashi ran into the room expecting a small unmoving form, however he was met by tiny eyes, staring into his own, pitch black unlike his mothers or his fathers, however, his face was well set like his fathers, and he had his mothers dark hair. Arashi took him from the maids and held him in his arms. The baby made no protest, no tears wasted as it looked up at the man, almost as if he was confused by the situation. Arashi kissed the forehead of his son as the child squirmed.
"You will be everything I couldn't be, you will be strong, you will be just, you will be a pillar of justice, you will be mine and your mother's everything, you will be the calming night after the scorching day. Itsuya, that will be your name. Arakawa Itsuya."
Arashi bent down and placed his son into the arms of his awaiting mother, who scooped him and held him to her bosom, her first son, her second true love, Mizuno knew at that moment, that she would move heaven and earth for this boy, and the way the boy gripped her finger tight, with strength unlikely of a newborn baby, she knew, he would do the same.
I could not comprehend what was happening. First, there was darkness, and then there was nothing, and I felt death, complete and utter death; there was nothing else, nothing after my life, but eternal peace. At least until I felt the water around me. Was I having a water burial?
I could not move. Something was keeping me in place, a cord, stuck to my- wait, what the fuck? Am I a? No way. I realised my body had shrunk, no, I hadn't been shrunk, I'm in a womb. I was a baby. There was no chance, was I born again? Into the same world? No, I can hear them.
"Baby? Can you hear mama? Your dad just got back, he wants to talk!" It was said in fluent Japanese, and if I could express shock, I did, despite no one being able to see. A more rugged and manly voice entered the fray, and he spoke certainly, "BABY, you better come quickly!"
I understood the Japanese with ease. I was somewhat of a language-obsessed guy in my past life; I was fluent in 35 languages, including Japanese. Being in the hospital and with nothing to do but educate myself, I was knowledgeable in the history of countries, though I was only ever interested in Japan due to the anime craze. From my mother's ramblings, I picked up the year 1896, and I could piece together that this was the Meiji era in Japan, a period of great restoration and Western influence. I could sometimes hear my dad complain about it.
Soon, the day of my arrival was here, and from my weeks of preparation, I had grown quite fond of my mother and father and was keen to see their faces. I knew of pregnancy risks and wanted to make it as easy as possible for my mum, so with what little control over my body i had, I squirmed myself into the right position, and after some screams, I found myself in the hands of what seemed like the elder maid, who cleaned me with sponges and handed me to a big man, lean but buff, and wearing a kimono, I liked it, he seemed tall, around 5'10, that was well above average at the time. I looked at his face and took in his scars, maybe scanning him too much, as he gave me a face before talking about responsibilities and giving me my name, Itsuya. I liked it. I think it meant, "Night." I was Arakawa Itsuya.
My father placed me into my mother's arms, and as she held me close to her chest, I clasped her finger and made cooing noises, a desperate attempt to speak that just didn't work. I clasped it as tight as I could, and she shivered lightly before smiling and kissing my head. I smiled at her as a wave of exhaustion hit me and the world went peacefully dark.