Part of my fanfic about the Ajin system in America!!!
(UH CONTEXT!!! My story includes mentions of the plot and storyline of ajin, but the thing is my story takes place in current day USA and is about how in Japan there are now laws protecting ajin, but in the USA there are none and even some companies can use them for research and such. The main character in this is Maddie.)
ME fanfic tile is Ajins Are NOT Human
https://archiveofourown.org/works/87701101/chapters/238842691
Itâs raining again, heavy rain that thrashes against the window. I pull my arms around myself, Iâm cold but not cold enough to decide to get up from my chair and find a coat or a blanket. I lean back, breathing in the smokey air, my cigarette resting limply in my hand before I bring it back to my lips⊠God, today is fucking beautiful, Iâve always loved the rain. I got the house after my father died, mom isnât doing well with his passing, but I stopped caring for that man years ago. I hope heâs burning in hell.Â
However, the house is now mine, and I canât help but love this place. When me and my sister were little, we would run down the hall with our family dog, giggling as he blindly followed our voices. Now the hall is empty. Now the house is vacant except for me. A lonely place, out in the middle of nowhere.Â
Somewhere, outside my window, someone moves. My head snaps to see who it was immediately, because like I said I live in the middle of nowhere. Most people donât dare come out here without a car, and yet it wasnât the quick movement I would expect from a car⊠no itâs a person out there. I stare, trying to find where the movement came from.Â
Then I finally caught a glimpse of her. Young, you can tell by her height. Sheâs wearing a thin hoodie and shorts, which seems like a mistake because of how sheâs shivering, and stumbling down the side of the road in soggy boots⊠clearly sheâs not from here, because any local would know that we get heavy rain during winter, rain that starts suddenly. Storms like this happen commonly enough that I keep a jacket and umbrella in my car just in case.Â
What the hell is she doing out here? Alone..? I pull myself to my feet, quickly pulling on my rainboots and thin rain coat, taking one last drag from my cigarette before putting it out in my ash tray. I step out into the rain, waving to her and trying to get her attention.Â
âHey! What are you doing?! Itâs late, itâs raining!â I call out, âDo you need to call your parents?âÂ
She turns sharply, like she just noticed me, and a look of pure fear flashes across her face, she stumbles back a step, like I might attack. I raise my hands in surrender, trying to show I mean her no harm⊠but she doesn't seem to understand, so I ask again.Â
âWhere are your parents? Why are you out here in the rain? Itâs late,â I call out.Â
She stands there for a moment, before stepping forward, âCan I come inside?â
âYou canât just ask to come inside peopleâs houses, not everyone has the best intentions kid-â My voice dies in my throat when I see how sheâs looking at me⊠like Iâm her last hope. Like I can help her.Â
âI just⊠I just need to stay for the night, until the rain stops,â She pleads with me, stepping closer again with a frown.Â
What should I do⊠after all itâs not like I can just let any kid into my house, if sheâs a runaway and the police come looking for her, I think I could be charged with kidnapping. Or if sheâs some kind of criminal, I could be aiding her. But if sheâs desperate enough to ask me, then sheâs desperate enough to continue walking through the streets asking others too. And I know that would end badly.
âShit⊠Fine. But just for a moment, so you can get warm,â I hold open the door, and she triumphantly steps inside. I watch as her nose crinkles at the scent of smoke thatâs still fuming through my house, and I rush to open a window and get her a towel.Â
Sheâs sat down on my couch now, hot chocolate in her hands, curled up in a towel. She looks thinner in this light, like she likely hasnât been eating much. I wouldnât say she looks malnourished, hell I was the same weight and height around her age, but itâs still concerning when sheâs been out so late. Up close, you can see things you may not have thought about, like her hair.Â
Itâs naturally a blondeish color, you can see that from how the roots are growing, but there's this old black hair dye thatâs stripped the natural yellow hues in favor of dark blueish grey. The dye drips down her back, staining the towel and her old hoodie. I go grab her a warm shirt and a pair of jeans, theyâll likely not fit right, but itâs better than sitting in soaking wet clothes.Â
I step back inside the living room with the clothes in hand, and I smile and keep my voice polite, because I donât want her to get scared and run, âWhy donât you change in the bathroom and then we can talk? Is that okay?âÂ
She glances at the clothes in my hand, then nods slowly, âYes please.âÂ
I hand them to her, and show her to the bathroom. She disappears inside, but doesnât fully close the door, leaving a crack open. I donât bring it up, instead I just turn around so as to not see anything. A moment or so later the door creaks open, and she hands me the soaking wet clothes. I am quick to turn and put them into the washing machine, and I follow her back to the living room, letting her sit down again before I start my questioning.Â
âMy name is Miss Eliza, whatâs yours?âÂ
She watches me for a moment, then averts her gaze, voice going a bit quiet, âMy nameâs Maddie.â
âMaddie? Maddie what?â I sit in the lounge chair beside her, keeping eye contact.Â
She looks confused at my question, âItâs just Maddie.âÂ
âRight⊠Well, Maddie,â I grin slightly, glancing at the rain falling outside, âWhy were you out there? Itâs dark out and rainingâŠâ
âI just⊠I got a bit lost,â She says it uncertainly⊠and I can tell sheâs lying to me.Â
I pretend to not notice, âWell letâs call your parents to get you home, whatâs their phone number?â
âI-â She opens her mouth, then shuts it, and shakes her head.Â
I still pull out my phone, âCan you remember it?â
âDid your parents never make you memorise their numbers?â I frown, something about this is clearly wrong. Sheâs making this all up, I can tell by her tone, by how she waits for me to say something before she adds to it to explain what happened.Â
âNot really,â Sheâs still avoiding eye contact, her hand goes to her wrist and she pinches herself, âI just⊠Miss, please just let me stay the night. I promise Iâll be gone by the morning.âÂ
âMaddie,â I clear my throat, trying to sound serious, âYou canât just⊠go into strangerâs houses like this. I need to call your parents and get you home. I could get in trouble.âÂ
âIâm just tired. Iâve been walking all day.âÂ
âWalking all day? Donât you have school?â I sigh, trying to make what sheâs saying make sense.
She shakes her head, âPlease just let me rest here.â
âWhatâs your parents phone number?â I ask again, I can feel slight irritation creeping up my neck.Â
I think she noticed how I am losing my patience, and finally she answers, âI ran away⊠I canât go back. Miss Eliza, I really canât go back.âÂ
âI just⊠I canât go back,â tears are coming to her eyes, but she quickly wipes them away. Something inside me breaks at the sight of her crying.Â
âFine. But only for tonightâŠâÂ
Sheâs asleep on the couch now, curled up into a ball, covered in blankets. I donât know why I let her stay, fuck this was a bad idea⊠but I said yes. And I know that calling the police or CPS is only going to make things worse. Because if sheâs lying about simply being a runaway, I could face jail time. But if not, then the police might place her back into whatever house was shitty enough for her to decide to run. This is the safest option. I step out of the living room and into my bedroom. I lay down on my bed, and I try to get some rest.
I really hope I am making the right choice here.