WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I WATCH ANIME

[Dog Food]

I don't watch anime. But since this thread is going to be here for a month, I thought I'd honor it and watch some stuff. I started with a random one called One Piece. I watched about the first ten episodes of it but stopped. It was okay, but Luffy annoyed me. So, then I chose a really old anime that my friend would watch all the time as a kid: Sailor Moon. Sometimes I would see it when she was watching it when I came over, and I wanted to see if it was the same way as I remembered it. The answer is: Kind of, but also no. And then I decided to read a manga on the side. I know this one because my lab partner reads it and she even has a shirt for it: Death Note. It's entertaining. I enjoy manipulation and well-thought out schemes, which basically takes up the majority of the storyline.

These three things mixed together gave me some random inspiration. And so I wrote something out of it. It's a one-shot. Check it out and see if you can pick up which elements of the anime I mentioned above gave me the ideas for this story (because trust me, there is something in here that represents all of them). If you can guess which parts of what anime inspired me to make certain aspects of this story, then you win. But I'd be even more impressed if you could give the other, non-anime thing that inspired me. And even more impressed if you can give a specific character and what was the main thing that they contributed.

[spoiler]The diner was empty. Only one stool was occupied, and that was the one my ass had claimed. I didn't need much to be happy. Just my hat, my quarter, my deck of cards, and a silent environment. So I was happy there for a time. Once in a while there would be the clicking of high-heels on the musky tiled floor, but that sound was the price to pay for being away from home. And if you don't have a home, you take what you can get.

I took out my deck of cards to shift my attention back to my own thoughts. They were in a square metal case, which I flicked open and carefully pulled them out of. I smiled at the deck of clean, white cards. The only design on the cover was a single rose against a white background. I swiftly ran a finger along the edges, and then began shuffling them. I closed my eyes and listened carefully to the rhythmic beat of paper against paper. It was relaxing - you should try it sometime when you're stressed out.

The clicking noise was getting louder and louder. It seemed that the waitress was approaching. "Mr...?"

I did not fill in the gap, but rather continued to sit there shuffling my cards.

"Um, well it's closing time. So..."

She didn't have to ask twice. I stood up, most of my face covered by my hat, and walked out of that diner with my hands in my pockets. I fished around for some money for the subway. By the slight warmth of the moon shining down on me, I could tell it must have been past midnight. The subway would be empty, but I didn't have any money on me. I figured all I'd need would be about five dollars, and so I walked away from the diner to begin my search. Five dollars, that's all.

I didn't bother keeping track of the time it took me to find someone. I did count my steps. five hundred twelve steps, perhaps it took five seconds per step (I was walking slowly, enjoying the cool air that surrounded me). You can do the math if you really care about that. I don't, so I will just continue with my story - Five hundred twelve steps later, that is when I heard the echo of another's footfalls crossing with my path. They were in front of me, slightly to the right. They would pass me in a couple more steps, according to the sound and speed of their feet. I could also tell that they were male, about my height (just under six feet) and slightly overweight, but it was due to muscle, not fat. That was all I needed to know.

Compared to me, five foot eleven and slightly skinnier than average with no extraordinary muscle, who would you expect to win? Well, you know the main facts about each of us. Place your bets and watch the fireworks.

He passed me. I let him go. He was one step behind me now, when I swung around. It was a swift maneuver where I bent down and kicked out my right leg, sending the unsuspecting man to the ground. I rolled forward, my knee then digging into his back, my right hand slipped out of my coat pocket, a five of diamonds in my hand, and rested my arm over his neck. The five of diamonds was between my fingers, and I positioned it against his left cheek.

Did you think I was going to win? I'd hope that you would. But perhaps if you realized that one thing I left out, you wouldn't have been so keen to think I'd be the victor. But our disadvantages can be made into advantages if you have the will to make it so. And I will continue to prove that statement. For it is my weakness that allowed me to outshine that man with my strength.

"Hello," I said, my voice rather friendly. The man had made no noise in those few seconds that I overpowered him, and now he only grunted. "I hope I'm not bothering you, but I need five dollars."

"Yeah? Well there's this thing called asking that most people do!" he growled, not struggling against me but not cooperating either.

"Oh, I'm sorry. May I have that five dollar bill now?" Perhaps he noticed the amusement and mock-politeness in my voice, and that is what kept him from moving. But more than likely it was because my knee was digging into his back and my arm was beginning to cause pain in his neck. He was immobilized and he knew it. He didn't bother trying, and that was probably because he didn't want to give me the satisfaction of failing.

"No," he responded. I didn't say anything for a moment, but a smile did escape my lips. "What are you going to do, give me a paper cut?" And then he laughed. I chuckled, too.

"No," I said, shaking my head and still smiling. "No, I wouldn't do that. But I will ask you one more time: Give me five dollars. I won't ask again, and you'll have what is coming to you if you refuse."

"Sorry, don't have five dollars on me," he choked out. My arm must have been pressing too roughly, and I shifted my weight slightly to make him more comfortable.

"You sure?" I asked, giving him a final chance to redeem himself.

"Yep." He almost sounded as if he was having fun, as if he was taunting me. I didn't want him to think he had the upper hand. He definitely thought I was bluffing, and I made a promise to him, one that I intended on keeping.

"Oh well," I said with a small sigh. "That was your last chance." I pushed the card a little more, so it was no longer a millimeter from his cheek, but now against it. I heard the short intake of breath from my target. He could feel the cool blade of the card now, and I smiled again. I pushed it more, and this time he yelled out in pain. It looked like a slit in his cheek the size of an edge of a playing card. Nothing more than a "paper cut". But now that I made the hole, I could fit the entire card through it.

My mind was absorbed in what I was doing, if he cried out or attempted to talk to me again, I did not hear it. I pushed the card all the way through, until it was inside of his mouth. And then I could open up the hole in his cheek to fit my hand through. My entire hand was inside of his mouth as I pushed the card out of the other side. I didn't stop until I could fit my entire arm through one side of his cheek and then out the other. If he wanted to say anything now, he wouldn't be able to. My arm blocked his vocal chords. And then in one swift moment, I pulled my arm and my card out, from one cheek out the other. He cried out one last time, this time I could hear him. I could hear everything again, even the soft wind as it blew by my face, tickling my cheek with its coolness.

And I could hear his cries as he grabbed his face and felt the holes in each side of his cheek, and taste the blood slowly dripping out of his mouth. My entire arm was likely covered in blood, as well as my card. I would clean it all later. First, I bent down and picked up my victim's wallet, who was still laying there, writhing in pain. I held the wallet out in front of him, but knew that he did not pay any attention to me.

"I can stop the pain," I whispered. "Shut up if you wish me to stop the pain." His cries were unbearably loud, but I knew that he had heard me. They began to slow down, although his hoarse breathing could still be heard loud and clear. "Good. Now do this one thing for me. This is your wallet. I want five dollars, and only five dollars. I want it in ones. If you have no ones, I want a five dollar bill. As soon as you do this for me, I will end your pain and suffering."

I could hear his sobbing, it sounded odd when he had a gaping hole in each cheek. But I could also hear the rustle of money, and knew he was doing as I asked. When I heard the sound of him pulling out the money, and the small noise of the bills moving against the wind as he pulled it up to hold in front of me, I knew he had collected the five ones that I had asked for. I took it from him and slid it into my pocket.

"Thank you," I said. He began making noises again, which made me smile with perhaps some pity. Whatever the emotion was, I knew it was also mingled with delight. I would enjoy winning. I replayed those moments, where he seemed so amused by my presence. In that moment where he acted as if he were the superior being. And then now, where he made those noises and rolled around in agony. So much can change in mere moments, it makes you wonder whether time truly does exist or if it is a mere illusion to teach patience.

A promise is a promise. I reached into my coat pocket one more time. This time I drew my ace of spades. You may wonder how I could possibly know what card I am pulling out when I am blind, and that is a good question. You can believe that I am making this up, and that I really don't know what card I picked and it really doesn't matter. But it all has significance to me. I have a special connections with these cards, and I always know which one it is by the feeling. These cards have memories, and when I touch them I can relive the experiences we share together. It doesn't matter if you think I am making this up or not, I am just telling you this because it is important to me - and this is my story, after all.

I took that ace of spade, and in a clean swiping motion, sliced it across his neck. I knew the move was fatal because of the noise that followed. The odd sobbing noise stopped, the wind stopped, and all noise stopped. All that could be heard was the most peaceful sound in the world: Complete and total silence.

I didn't need much to be happy. Just my hat, my quarter, my deck of cards, and a silent environment. You could say it was the latter that drove me to murder. But I don't think that's true. It is the silence that allows me to enjoy it. It is that peaceful and tranquil environment that rids me of any emotion and persuades me into delivering the final blow - that, and my promise to my victims. Because I always keep my promises. And that is what truly urges me forward. How could I ever stop killing when I made a promise that I wouldn't?

Because I promised someone that I would kill until I could see red. And so I will keep on killing until I can see red. Black can be a lonely color to a blind man.

I made a promise that I would keep on killing until I could see red. And I never break a promise - not even to myself.[/spoiler]

The story leaves a lot to mystery. I planned most of the details out before writing it. I decided it would be a one-shot towards the end, so the ending is different than I was planning at first. There are at least three things that I probably would have felt was worth mentioning had this been chapter one of a story. But since this has become a one-shot, I decided to leave out all the extra details and shorten it to this. This took about one or two hours, and if you include the planning stage then about three. Anyway, enough boring writing history. Can you win my "game"?

Note: The reason I want this to stay in the anime board is because of the bold. The only reason I'm posting this instead of just erasing the story like all the other crap I write is because I'm curious to see if people can guess the right anime and all that poop. So enjoy and good luck.

[So_So_Man]

main character's morals are based on Luffy (One Piece), they are calm and calculating (Death Note, Light), and I am guessing that the brutal murder/blind thing has something to do with Sailor Moon.  Is the non-anime thing not having enough money to get home?

[Dog Food]

main character's morals are based on Luffy (One Piece), they are calm and calculating (Death Note, Light), and I am guessing that the brutal murder/blind thing has something to do with Sailor Moon.  Is the non-anime thing not having enough money to get home?

You have some stuff there, but I'll tell you that the non-anime part is wrong for sure. The promises can definitely be from One Piece, but there's something else, too. His calm and calculating persona is definitely from Death Note (as well as his will to kill without hesitation - although for different reasons). No for Sailor Moon, though (this one may be less direct then the others, so it'll probably be harder).