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writingpaperghost · 3 years

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There is a Me Who Can Become Strong (Chapter 25)

Chapter 25: A Lonely Voice in Your World

The two who were once one collide, but who will win? Emu seeks to finish Chronicle, Parad seeks to show Emu the truth.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32857183/chapters/85228492

Parad stared at the two Gamer Drivers on the table in an otherwise empty room. One had been the one that he had been supposed to use, had he actually been able to use it. The other one had belonged to Kiriya, before his death. The two Drivers taunted him, both with the role he should never have taken, and his friend who had died in his arms. It should be Emu here, right now. Emu who was a medical intern, who may become a Rider but at least should have had the life that Parad was living now.

He knew that what he was planning would get him in trouble if it worked, but it felt like the only way. There was no avoiding it, he couldn’t keep from fighting Emu forever and… he knows that he’s necessary for the game. After all, there were four empty spots on that roster, and only three Bugsters. Two of them would be Poppy and Graphite but those last two… Well, Parad thinks that he counts twice, since he has two strains.

But he was hesitating, knowing that if this worked, there would be consequences. He knew that and he accepted it, but he was terrified that maybe he’d be a terrible disappointment. Yet he didn’t allow himself to focus on it, instead picking up the less scuffed Gamer Driver, the one that had been meant to be his own. If it worked, he’d hopefully come back with Emu, if it failed… Then he wouldn’t have to worry about the consequences.

“Parad?” He freezes at Saki’s voice, turning around but keeping the Gamer Driver behind his back. He hoped it didn’t look too suspicious, he hadn’t wanted anyone to notice him, let alone catch him in the act. “What are you doing in here?”

“Saki,” He starts, “Well, you see…”

It doesn’t take much for her to figure out that there’s something going on. She gives him a glare that makes him wish it had been someone else who walked in on him. He wasn’t sure who, but someone else. “Parad, what are you planning?” She peers around him, “Why do you have a Gamer Driver?”

Deciding that either Saki would stop this crazy plan of his or she wouldn’t and at this point there was no way of avoiding. “I… I have an idea, to maybe be able to bring Emu back.” He says, “When he’s using Level X I don’t stand a chance but…”

Saki seemed to understand what his plan was, “So you want to give Emu a Gamer Driver…? Even then, he’s much stronger than you and you have no guarantee he’ll use it.”

Parad shakes his head, “You’ve seen how much he dislikes Dangerous Zombie, I’m sure he’ll use it,” He glances at the Driver, then back to Saki, “Please, Saki, I have to try.”

“Even if this works… you could be punished for taking the Driver,” She reminds him, “Are you really willing to risk that?”

“For Emu,” He answers, meeting her eyes, “I’d do anything. I’d risk my life; I’d be willing to die.”

She bites her lip slightly, before responding, “If this doesn’t work, Parad, you could… you could die.”

“I know,” Parad says, “I know but I have to try.”

Shaking her head, she says, “You don’t have to try to do this,” she takes a step towards him, “It’s too dangerous.”

He nods, “I know, I know it’s dangerous and I know there might be a better way, but… But a better way would take longer, and I can’t wait anymore! Any longer and Masamune could just do worse and worse things to Emu!”

There’s a look in Saki’s eyes that says she understands his desire, his reasoning. She seems to be struggling with herself, before she finally sighs, “Okay, fine.” Relenting, she starts to turn around, “I… I won’t stop you. But… but if we don’t hear from you by the end of your lunch break, I’m getting Nico and we’re looking for you.”

“Thank you, Saki,” He puts the Gamer Driver in his pocket, “I’ll… well either I’ll see you later today or I won’t.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s the truth.”

After Saki leaves, he sets about the next part of his plan: finding Graphite. After all, Graphite is the only solid link to Emu they have, the only way that Parad knows for sure he can get something to him.

Not that he could successfully explain his methods of somehow finding Graphite. It may have been more likely that it was Graphite found him. Either way, there was a slight tension between them, given their last interaction.

Though given the words that Graphite opens with, Parad thinks that it’s probably an unnecessary tension. “Kin has been ordered to kill you,”

Parad blinks, “I’m… I’m not surprised.”

“He’ll go through with it, his fear of punishment will outweigh any trepidation he has,”

“I… I have a plan,” He admits, “Maybe not a great one but… I’ll need your help with it.”

“My help?” Graphite crosses his arms, eyeing Parad.

In response, Parad pulled out the Gamer Driver, “Give this to Emu, and tell him where to find me.”

Though Graphite takes the Driver, he asks, “Why give this to him?”

“I stand a better chance against Level 50 than I do Level X,” It’s his entire reasoning to this plan. “And we’ve both seen how much…. How much he dislikes using Dangerous Zombie… Please Graphite.”

“I never said I wouldn’t,” Graphite reminds him, “You’re not wrong. But if your plan doesn’t work, just know you’re not coming back.”

With a determined expression Parad nods, “I know, but I have to try. If I can save Emu…”

“I’ll let him know, you better prepare.”

---

Truthfully, Emu had, to some extent, been avoiding thinking much about how to defeat Para-DX. To some extent, he thinks he’ll just need to get lucky, get the right timing when Para-DX is alone, without the other Riders. And… truthfully, he didn’t want to fight. He was feeling better, he could certainly fight now, but he didn’t want to use Dangerous Zombie.

He knew if he said such a thing to Masamune, it would only upset him, only result in a punishment. He’d probably be told he’s being irrational. He probably is, but it doesn’t feel that way. There’s something about it that just… always is wrong. All of it was, really.

Staring at his camera, he feels like he should take a picture. He’s not sure of what, but there’s just this urge. Despite the urge, he doesn’t pick up the camera, he knows he won’t find anything to take a picture of, not something that he hasn’t already.

The camera’s a little dirty and has a few scuff marks, but otherwise, it still looks relatively new. He still remembers the day it was given to him, the soft and kind smile that accompanied the box it came in. Kind words etched themselves in his mind as he was given a second gift, by another person who impacted his life greatly.

“Now we can take pictures together,” Emu had been so happy that day, smiling as the gift was presented to him. He’d been excited and would always take pictures. He wasn’t always the ones who took the pictures on the camera, sometimes other people would, but he loved all of the pictures regardless.

Now, though, the camera didn’t bring quite the same thrill, didn’t invoke the same happiness. All he could think of were fleeting bouts of joy, accompanied by the pain of everything that had been lost. When had things gotten so bad that he couldn’t even find joy in the things that he used to enjoy. His camera didn’t bring him anything but sadness, now, and games didn’t seem to excite him the way they once did.

Shaking his head, Emu reminds himself that he shouldn’t just waste time sitting around. If he wasn’t going to plan how to defeat Para-DX, then he should at least do something, even if it was just playing games. Though he was a bit nervous that if Masamune found out he was playing games instead of trying to figure out how to get Para-DX’s data, he’d be upset.

Thus, paralyzed with indecision, he found himself staring at the wall instead. It was a boring wall, a bit dusty, actually, and clearly hadn’t been cleaned in a while. The cleaning staff didn’t come in here, probably so they don’t find him.

Then the sound of glitching and a Bugsters’ teleportation, looking up, he sees Graphite. There’s something about Graphite’s expression that doesn’t quite rub him right. It’s hard to explain but… he seemed bothered.

Graphite pulls something out of his pocket, which Emu quickly realized was a Gamer Driver. Where had he gotten that. “Para-DX wanted you to have this,” Graphite said, holding out the Driver, “He has a challenge for you. Just the two of you.”

Emu takes the Driver warily, staring at it, “So he just gave me a Gamer Driver?” Looking up at Graphite, he’s trying to determine just what happened. “That seems like a stupid idea.”

“It’s what he wanted to do,” Graphite responded, “But Kin… you don’t have to do this.”

Snapping his gaze to Graphite, Emu frowns, “What do you mean? This… this is the perfect opportunity for getting Para-DX’s data.”

That prompted Graphite to frown, “That’s not what I mean. You don’t have to do what Masamune says, you don’t have to fight Para-DX.”

“Then what would I do?” Emu doesn’t get what Graphite’s trying to say, “The game needs to be completed.”

“Have you considered that Masamune might have lied about what Chronicle does?” That question startled Emu, not understanding why Graphite was suddenly saying all these things. Why would Masamune lie about those things? “That’s what we’ve spent so much time working on.”

Reaching out, Graphite places a hand on Emu’s shoulder, “To get you to help him, Kin. Those things he does to you, they’re not okay.” His voice is soft, a strange tone to hear from Graphite, “Please, I know you don’t trust them, but shouldn’t you at least hear the CR out?”

Sharply, Emu responds, “No, they want to stop the game, more than one of them have the gall to call themselves doctors. I don’t think they’re bad people, but here… here I know what I’m doing.” He brings his hand up to Graphite’s, “I can’t give up now.”

“So you’ll kill Para-DX? Kill someone else?”

“He’s a Bugster, we can bring him back,” Emu shoots back, venom sneaking into his tone, “It’s not a big deal.”

Graphite’s eyes narrow, “Not a big deal?” His voice had taken on a snarl, one that Emu wasn’t used to hearing, used to being on the receiving end of, “So my death wasn’t a big deal? It didn’t matter to you?”

At his words, Emu’s eyes widened, “That’s- that’s not what I said.”

“It’s what you implied, that since I’m a Bugster, since you can bring me back, it didn’t matter that I died. That it wouldn’t matter if I die again.”

“That’s not what I mean! Obviously, I was upset you died! And I’d be upset if you died again!” Graphite seemed unphased by Emu’s outburst, “But Para-DX-!”

Coldly, Graphite says, “Has people who care about him too. He may be a Bugster, but the Riders view him like you view me. As a friend.”

Stunned, Emu just stares. He wants to say something, but he can already feel his throat tightening. Graphite seemed… seemed upset, maybe even angry. At Emu. He never got angry at Emu. With a shaky hand, Emu shoves Graphite’s hand off his shoulder, narrowing his eyes and setting his lips in a frown.

“Don’t try to stop me, Graphite,” He says, trying to hide the shaking in his voice, “I have to do this.”

All Graphite does is stare at him, “Even if Chronicle could be a lie?”

Taking a slow breath, Emu answers, “If there’s even the slightest chance that the game does what it’s supposed to, I’ll take it.”

He notices how Graphite’s fists tighten at that, how he stiffens. “I won’t stand around and let you keep hurting yourself, keeping putting yourself in worse and worse positions.”

“I’m not!” Emu had had enough. Of all the people he’d thought would be trying to stop him, he’d never have expected Graphite. He’d always imagined that Graphite would be with him the whole time, wouldn’t leave his side if he had the choice. He just couldn’t understand why the hell he was suddenly changing his tune, doubting Masamune, doubting Emu. “If… if you’re going to try to stop or dissuade me, then you should just leave!”

Graphite’s eyes widened and he takes a startled step back, “Kin-”

“No! I don’t want you around if you’re just going to do this!” It was all Emu could do to try to keep himself from getting too worked up. He didn’t need his Game Disease to act up, he was just… just… upset. Upset that Graphite would seemingly turn his back on him like this.

“I’m trying to help you, protect you.”

“Even-” Emu takes a deep breath, “Even if you’re right, even if Chronicle is a lie… I’d rather take the chance. If it’s wrong… then I’ve already dug too deep and can only go down anyway.”

“Kin-” Graphite tries again, but is cut off once more.

“Don’t. Just… if this is all you have to say, just leave and- and don’t come back. I don’t want you here if you won’t support me. It’d be a waste of both of our time.”

Taking in his word’s Graphite sighed, “If… If that’s what you want. I can’t stop you.”

With that, he was gone, teleported away. Something in Emu breaks as he watches Graphite leave, but he shoves it to the back, ignores it. He has more important things to worry about, like Para-DX. After all, he’d just been presented with the perfect opportunity to get Para-DX’s data.

He could do this. He had to.

Finding Para-DX wasn’t hard, he was in one of the Stage Select levels, the quarry. Para-DX is already waiting there, turning the Gashat Gear Dual around in his hands. There’s a breeze, causing his coat to blow to the side, along with the cords and the ribbon up by his neck.

When Emu arrives, Para-DX looks up, serious, “I take it Graphite told you?”

It annoys Emu to hear the name come from Para-DX’s mouth, though he’s not sure why. He pulls out the Gamer Driver that Graphite had delivered, “Not that I get what your reasoning is.”

“Well, it got you to come here,” Para-DX smirks, “Now I want to challenge you to a game.”

Annoyance fades to curiosity and Emu decides he’ll hear him out. “And what’s this game?”

Though Para-DX seems calm, there’s something about how he moves that makes Emu think he isn’t. Still, he takes a step towards Emu and holds out his hand, “A fight. If I win, you come with me back to the CR. If you win… well, I know what you want from me, and you’ll get it.”

There’s just a moment of hesitation before Emu takes Para-DX’s hand, “Then let’s waste no time in starting the game,” The two take a step back, Emu placing his Driver on his waist. Activating their Gashats, the two transform.

Mighty Brothers XX!

Perfect Puzzle!

Double Up! Ore ga omae de! Omae ga ore de! We are! Mighty Mighty Brothers! Double X!

Dual Up! Get the glory in the chain, Perfect Puzzle!

“Emu! I’ll change your fate with my own hands!”

“I’ll clear this with no continues!” Emu immediately slashes at Para-DX with his Gashacon Keyslasher, the orange Rider jumps off to the side. Para-DX blocks the attack with his Gashacon Parabragun, shoving Emu away and then blocking a kick from the orange Rider.

---

Saki knew that Poppy had noticed the lack of Parad at the CR. Poppy had noticed the moment that it became later then he usually shows up. It was rather rare for Parad to be late, given his ability to teleport, making Poppy worried that something had happened.

But Saki doesn’t say anything, despite how much she wants to. She knows where he is, she knows that he isn’t necessarily safe. Yet for some reason, she doesn’t say anything, doesn’t answer to Poppy’s curious wonders of where he could be.

It’s a bit before lunch when Nico and Taiga enter the CR – they’ve long since stop questioning how Nico always gets in, despite not being officially apart of the CR. Nico was practically skipping, while Taiga just followed behind, hands in his pockets. Pulling something out of her pocket, Nico brandishes the item a bit like a knife.

Belatedly, Saki realizes it’s a Gashat, one they’ve never seen before, “Check what we got from Tsukuru today!”

“A Gashat?” Poppy wondered, “From Tsukuru? Why?”

“We’ve been trying to find a way to deal with Dangerous Zombie’s immortality, right? But we just didn’t have anything to base it off of,” Nico explained, then gestures to Taiga, “But Taiga got the great idea to check out Kiriya’s laptop and you won’t believe. Kiriya left all sorts of stuff on there, which Tsukuru used to make this Gashat.”

Leaning closer to take a better look at the Gashat, Saki reads the label, “Maximum Mighty X…” Nico sets it on the table as Saki notes, “So it’s based on Mighty Action X?”

“It’s possible,” Taiga begins, “Based on what I could make out from the notes, that it may not work for just anyone.”

Poppy leans over, looking at the Gashat, “What do you mean? Only certain people can use it?”

With a shrug, Taiga explains, “I mean, it looked like he was thinking a lot about the capabilities of Patient Zero and the Zero Strain, so we can’t rule out this was made with either of those in mind.”

“You’re saying…” Nico began with a frown, “That maybe only Emu and Parad could use this Gashat.”

“Who knows,”

Nico considers it for a moment, before also shrugging. “Speaking of,” She begins to wonder, “Where’s M? He has a patient or something?”

“I don’t know,” Poppy sighs, sounding worried, “I haven’t seen him all day.”

Hesitantly, Saki tells them, “He doesn’t have any patients today, he finished his surgery internship yesterday.” Then she adds, “I… haven’t seen him either.”

She feels Taiga’s eyes on her. If anyone would see through her lie, anyone in this room at least, it would be him. Not that she wasn’t contemplating telling them anyway. She was far too worried about Parad, knowing that he might die. Finding herself beginning to bite her lip, Saki just hopes that Parad will be okay.

Though her silent hoping gets interrupted by Taiga, “You’re hiding something,” He says, not taking his eyes off of Saki, “You… you know where he is, don’t you?”

“He’s gone to fight Emu,” She admits, eyes lowered.

“What!” Nico yelps, “Why the hell didn’t you tell anyone?”

She looks up, “He seemed so determined, to try to save Emu…” Shaking her head, she adds, “He knows that Emu will fight him.”

Crossing her arms, Nico scoffs, “Of course he’ll fight him…” Then she shakes her head too, “But he won’t stand a chance!”

Grabbing the Gashat off the table, Nico also grabs Saki’s arms, pulling her up, “Come on, let’s find those two.”

---

Para-DX wasn’t taking this fight seriously. He kept dodging and blocking Emu’s attacks, but refused to do much to attack back. It’s infuriating, like he doesn’t count Emu as a threat. How dare he?

Angrily, Emu slashes at Para-DX at the same time that the other half of his Rider punched. Para-DX blocks the punch, but is unable to block the attack from Emu’s Gashacon Keyslasher. It sends Para-DX backwards, stumbling.

“Why aren’t you taking this seriously? Don’t you want to win?” Emu snarls, not sure when he got quite so vicious. “Come on, Para-DX, aren’t I a threat to you? I’m stronger than you, after all.”

Pulling himself upwards again, holding his axe tightly, Para-DX states, “I don’t want to hurt you, Emu,”

Tightening his grip on the Gashacon Keyslasher, Emu responds, “Well I need your data, Para-DX,” He pulls his Gashat out and prepares to slot it into his weapon, “And I intend to get it.”

Quickly, Para-DX prepared his own finisher, arranging the power ups above them. At that moment, incoming footsteps resound, alongside two familiar voices, “Parad!” Comes the voice of Snipe, sounding frantic. Emu inserts his Gashat.

Double Mighty Critical Finish!

Perfect Critical Combo!

Emu’s attack strikes first and Para-DX’s seemed to be orchestrated specifically for defense. But even the power ups he gave himself weren’t enough to protect him from Emu’s attack. He stumbles back as his transformation disappears and the Gashat Gear Dual clatters to the ground. The Gashacon Keyslasher stabbed through his chest.

“Parad!” Brave screams, the footsteps closer and louder.

Para-DX disappears, a cloud of red and blue pixels. So too, does Emu’s armor. He holds the Bugvisor out and collects the data, but realizes there’s this painful feeling in his chest, like something’s been torn out of him. He doesn’t understand it, nor does he understand why his armor disappeared, despite the fact he never canceled the transformation.

Game Clear!

For a moment, all he can do is stare at where Para-DX once was, quietly. Then the footsteps stop and someone hits him on the arm, causing his attention to turn to the source, Snipe. Angry, she pulls out the Gashat Gear Dual.

“How dare you!” She yells, activating the Gashat, “You killed him!”

He stares at her, before saying, “I’m not fighting you. I got what I wanted.” He turns around, ignoring her, and leaves.

His return to Gemn Corp finds him back in Masamune’s office. Strangely, when he arrived, he noticed that Masamune already had Para-DX’s Gashat Gear Dual in his hand. That was strange…

“Good job, Mu,” Masamune says, “You collected Para-DX’s data with ease. Now, there’s only two left.”

There’s still this lingering feeling in Emu that’s just… wrong, though it’s quickly getting overtaken by a sluggish and tiredness. His head was beginning to hurt a bit, even, but he ignored it, in favor of focusing on Masamune. “Yes…” He agreed, “Um, one thing, though.”

“What is it?”

“When I defeated Para-DX… my transformation just disappeared, even though I hadn’t canceled it…” He hoped he hadn’t somehow messed up…

Masamune has a look in his eyes that doesn’t sit quite right with Emu, though he’s not sure why. He doesn’t immediately respond, seemingly thinking, “That is strange…” He agreed, “But so long as you have Dangerous Zombie, I wouldn’t worry. It is stronger, anyway.”

Emu hesitates before nodding, “Of course,”

As he makes his way to his “room”, he pauses when something catches his eye. A mirror, strangely placed in the hallway. In it, his reflection stares back.

It’s you.

Scowling, he looks on, seeing the red and dark pink eyes, emotionless as they take in themselves. Maybe there’s a hint of something in there, but he isn’t sure what, not sure he’s cares. He looks away, expression not changing.

It’s a monster.

He finds himself collapsing into bed, feeling rather sick all of a sudden. It feels particularly cold and empty, even more so than before. He feels cold and empty. Like something is suddenly missing.

Sometimes people leave you

Then he realizes he’s truly alone, all he had now was Masamune. Before, there was the lingering presence of Graphite, even if just in the background. Now it’s gone entirely. And in a way, its Emu’s own fault, he was the one who told Graphite to leave, after all.

Halfway through the woods

But for the game, no price is too high, no self-sacrifice too much. It’s his fault, after all, so he has to fix it. Chronicle will do just that. At least, he hopes it does.

#kamen rider exaid #kamen rider ex aid #kamen rider #my writing #there is a me who can become strong

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lonelypond · 6 years

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PhotoJazz, Ch. 2

Love Live, NicoMaki, 3K, 2/4

Summary: We spend the morning in Nico’s apartment. Artistic differences are also present.

Just Your Smile

Maki had been roaming the Northwestern Campus until late, scouting Nico’s list, but had still woken up before her alarm, strangely nervous. And now, here she was, knocking on Nico’s door, three camera bags slung around her, completely uncertain what to expect when that door opened. She closed her eyes, picturing Nico standing in her office, “Nico needs you to be less gay.” Still a demand Maki didn’t know how to process. Nico was attractive, Nico wanted to be seen as attractive, what the hell difference did Maki’s level of gay (high, very high, International Space station high) make to Nico. Maki found herself grumbling and about to kick the ground in front of Nico’s door with her toe. Which would be bad if Nico opened the door at that exact moment and Maki fell into her…

“Nishikino.” Nico’s voice was dry, Maki glanced down, into now familiar depths of ruby, framed by dark, elongated eyelashes. Maki pulled back, frowning, Nico’s lips stop sign red bright, none of the dark pink that laid so well against her skin. Maki found herself evaluating Nico’s clothing choices, demure black skirt, boringly business class pinstripe, white shirt, black ribbon at the neck, peeking out over a striped red sweater. Eyes and lips hit the red theme hard, a bold red that Maki found off putting and over trying.

“You looked better yesterday morning. With no makeup.” Maki announced as Nico stepped aside to allow her entry. Maki got inside Nico’s apartment before what she said registered with the actress.

“What did you say?” Nico’s voice nearly qualified as a shriek.

Maki put her bags down on Nico’s table, unzipping her coat, “You look better without makeup. More natural.”

There was a cough. Someone else in the apartment. Maki looked up, surprised, halfway out of her coat. A small woman stood in Nico’s kitchen.

Nico brushed past Maki, hands open as she approached the kitchen, voice drawling an apology, “I’m so sorry, Mallory. Nozomi left the country and stuck me with some artsy photographer with no social skills.” Nico turned, keeping between Maki and this Mallory person, eyes narrowed, voice a sharp reprimand, “Maki, this is Mallory, my FAVORITE makeup artist and stylist. Mallory, this is Maki, a jerk.”

Mallory giggled as Nico bounced up and down with ire and indignation. Then, with a huff and a shake of her head at Maki, Nico turned, air kissed Mallory and whispered, “Thanks. Nico loves you. “ Another air kiss. “I can handle it from here. I really appreciate your EXPERTISE.” Maki knew the emphasis was aimed at her.

“Call me if you need anything.” Mallory smiled at Maki, but her voice had no cheer, “I know a few people who can point a camera.”

Nico slapped the counter, chuckling as Maki got redder and redder behind her back. Anger or embarrassment, either would have been trigger enough, but this was both, too potent a cocktail for Maki to handle in a comfortable place. Here, where she’d always felt at least half a step behind, it was impossible to stop the way her heartbeat rocketed and her chest clamped down on her breathing. She tried inhaling, stretching...maybe pulling out a camera. Maki knelt and opened her primary bag as Nico and Mallory whispered their goodbyes at the door.

Nico was back in the kitchen by the time Maki looked up again, not having acknowledged the presence of the photographer in any way, tying on a cute full apron, pink with scattered cartoon hearts, around her waist. As Maki rose to her feet, favorite camera for interior shots in hand, Nico raised a hand to summon her closer.

“First” Nico’s hands were on her hips, her head tilted forward, her eyes narrowed and so intensely focused on Maki that the redhead felt as if she were an animal trapped in a lab cage, about to be tested, “Nico pulls off ‘girl next door” like you wouldn’t believe and made a pie to prove it.” Maki just stared, and Nico sighed, speaking slowly and deliberately, “Nico is going to open the oven door, pull out the pie, and you, substitute photographer on probation, are going to take pictures.”

Maki nodded, raising her camera, testing the settings, “Got it.”

“Not gay pictures.” Nico added, no wink.

Maki shrugged and licked her lips. Nico sighed again, but smiled at the camera and very deliberately opened the door, slid the pie out, winked at the camera, gracefully and carefully placed the pie in front of Maki’s nose on the counter as Maki clicked the shutter madly, trying to get shots that didn’t capture the steam rising off the crust. The smell of cinnamon and apple and tartly sweet filled Maki’s mouth and her stomach rumbled.

“Nico was going to let you taste the proof, but then you were rude to Nico’s very expensive, award winning makeup artist.” Nico's arms were crossed.

Maki didn’t mean to pout, but the pie smelled so good and her breakfast had been huge mug of coffee and something that was mostly a texture, flat, tasteless, and crispy. The pie smelled like stacked layers of softly crunchy, melting joy.

Maki had been staring at the pie long enough that Nico tapped her on the hand, “Oh my god, you’re gay for pie too.”

Maki shook her head, swallowing saliva and embarrassment, “Just hungry.”

Nico held up a single finger, “One piece, IF you tell Nico how great she looks.”

Maki twirled a twist of hair, glancing away from Nico’s mischief, “I’ll wait for lunch.”

Nico threw up both hands, “How hard is it to not...”

A knock on the door. Nico frowned, moving to glance through the peephole. ‘Mama?” Nico said in confusion and opened the door.

Taking advantage of Nico’s distraction, Maki put the camera down, found a fork and stuck it into the pie, eager for a taste. One of her dumber moves as the hot, clinging, filling nearly burnt a hole in her tongue, no taste registering at all, just moist, heavy, hurtful heat. Maki ran to the sink, dropping the pie filling out of her mouth and grabbing anything to put cold water and her tongue in.

“Who’s the girl, Nico? You didn’t tell me you were dating.”

Maki turned her head, blinking, cold water swirling in her mouth...Nico froze for a moment, then picked up the fork Maki had dropped, stabbed the pie with it, snarled at Maki and turned back to her mother, “This is the photographer Nozomi’s wife found me.” Nico glared over her shoulder, “She’s not housebroken.”

Maki spit out the water with a “Hey” but when Nico’s shooting embers of burning lava glare turned in her direction again, she found herself silenced.

“I’m Nico’s mother,” Mrs Yazawa extended her hand. The resemblance between mother and daughter was uncanny, although friendly to Maki apparently didn't pass down the family tree as Nico continued to scowl.

Maki shook it, wanting another cold water rinse to cool the throbbing of her tongue, but unwilling to have Nico accuse her of rudeness again. “Maki Nishikino.”

Nico’s mother tilted her head, “You had an exhibit at University of Illinois’s Gallery 400 last year, didn’t you?”

Nico leaned her elbow on the counter, watching her mother.

Maki nodded, “Yeah, the University wanted to showcase my Urban Fairytales series and highlight the architectural elements.”

“I saw those. It was interesting. I couldn’t decide if you were paying more attention to the buildings or the models.” Her mother looked at Nico, then back at Maki. “And you’re a friend of Nozomi’s?”

“No.” Nico rolled her eyes at Maki’s too definite disclaimer, “Her wife, Eli, is my manager.”

“Well, however you ended up in my daughter’s kitchen, it’s nice to meet you, Maki Nishikino. You obviously have talent. Please take care of Nico.”

Maki managed a mumble of agreement and salute with her camera, flustered by the sincerity of the request.

Nico pulled at her mother’s arm, whining, “Mama. Stop talking to Maki and tell me why you’re here.”

“Cotorou’s school has a half day and Cocoa has a basketball game. So I told him to come him here.”

“You could have texted me.” Nico chided.

“I haven’t seen you in two weeks, Nico. I wanted to know what you were up to,” Nico’s mother flashed another look in Maki’s direction, and the redhead nearly choked on the water she was swirling in her still burning mouth.

“Nico is doing the photoshoot she set up with Nozomi, but with Maki…” Nico worried the hem of her apron, biting her lip and meeting Maki’s glance, “You are okay with children right?”

Maki mumbled a question through another mouthful of water, “Huh?”

“My brother Cotorou is 12 and he’ll be spending the day with us. You don’t have a problem with that do you?”

Two sets of ruby lasers shrewdly watched every twitch of her face. Maki spit the water into the sink, smiled as kindly as she could and cheated, “I spend a lot of time with Eli’s little sister.” She really hoped Nico hadn’t met Alisa and wouldn’t know that the younger Ayase was 25 and went clubbing with Maki. “I’m gre...goo...okay with children.”

Nico snorted, not pressing the point, “It’ll be fine, Mama. We’re only going to Evanston. We can drop him off before we head to Chicago for the night shoots. Cocoa should be home by then.”

“All right, I’ll leave you to it, Nico.” Nico’s mom pulled her into a hug, “Nice to meet you, Maki. I look forward to seeing how my daughter ranks against Northwestern’s architecture.”

Maki blushed and Nico shouted, pushing her mother toward the door, “Go to work, Mama. Stop harassing Nico.”

Maki forced herself to take the shots, hating how artificial Nico looked. Sure, grown up, but for someone who had lectured Maki about not turning her into an ADULT film star, Nico needed a few lessons in how to do subtle maturity. This wasn’t even sexy, Maki could have maybe made it tacky provocative, but what Nico wanted was charming and attractive and what Nico was getting was glossy.

Maki stopped, deliberately placing her camera down. They were shooting Nico looking at magazines to fill the time until her brother arrived from school. Maki couldn’t take it anymore. Nico’s lips and mascara were as shiny as the paper the magazine was printed on and Maki could no longer bear trying to find the best angle for expressions that looked printed on a face which if stripped bare of decoration would have been breathtaking. Nico quirked an eyebrow at Maki’s cessation of activity.

“Please just wash your face and do simple, normal makeup.” Maki didn’t realize how tired exasperation was going to make her sound. They’d only been working for two hours, it was going to be a long day. ”The red is too bold for every day. Try pink. Blush. Rose. Something sheer.”

Nico placed the magazine down, crossed her right leg over her left and tapped her fingers on the arm of the sofa, “Nico is a star.”

Maki dropped into a crouch, her head colliding with the sofa arm opposite Nico, arms hanging over, trying wheedling in her smoothest voice, “I could make you look so pretty.”

Suddenly hands were on her arms and Maki glanced up, startled to see a Nico who had crawled down the couch to loom over her, “Nico ALREADY looks pretty.”

“Made up pretty.” Maki frowned, “You must know you have a dream profile, why not use subtle shading and colors to bring that out, instead of slathering on layers of…” Maki shuddered, “plastICKY.”

Nico shoved back, to her knees, still looming fiercely over the taller photographer, who was glad for the bulwark of the couch arm, “You’ve got nerve, Nishikino.”

Maki closed her eyes, shaking her head, “I don’t shoot pictures I don’t want.”

“You just don’t want to shoot pictures of Nico. She doesn’t rate your nearly nude wall collection.”

“I wouldn’t MIND shooting pictures of Nico if she were nearly nude.” And when had Maki gotten to shouting and how red could Nico get and did the way Nico was coiling like a spring mean Maki was going to die soon or hear her favorite camera being crushed to pieces? And what had she just said?

“What do you mean, I told you…” Nico sputtered, swaying, unsure where to direct her anger and confusion.

Maki stood, camera in hand, her voice again trying for smooth and persuasive. “All I mean is I don’t enjoy shooting pictures of your makeup.”

There was a silence, Nico’s eyes, puzzled and searching, held Maki’s.

“Pppppfffffffhhhhhhh” Nico dropped back into a sitting position.

Nico had disappeared into her bedroom. Maki was on the couch, wondering exactly what oddness was going to happen next, what the little brother was like, did she have anything to talk about with a 12 year old, would Nico notice if she ate a piece of pie now that it was presumably cool enough not to burn a hole in her tongue...pie. Maki put down the camera, rose QUIETLY off the sofa and snuck into the kitchen, removing the fork Nico had stabbed the pie with and prying out a large chunk. This time the pie melted on her tongue instead of assaulting it, tender flaky crust dissolving and leaving a lightly sharp, cinnamony sweetness to kiss the inside of her mouth. Eyes wide, Maki swallowed and grabbed another bite. It was worth it if Nico went ballistic, this was 3 Michelin stars of heavenly.

Nico came out of her bedroom in a short, pink sweater dress, ruby eyes now the highlight of her face, lips a dark pink. Nico glanced suspiciously at the pie and Maki hastily swallowed, trying not to cough or choke.

“I didn’t change for you,” Nico announced, “It’ll be easier to keep up with Cotorou in this.” Nico’s expression dared Maki to comment.

Maki nodded, “Makes sense. That’s a lovely dress.”

Nico’s expressions changed at hyperspeed and Maki watched fascinated as Nico seemed to nearly say things out loud, but kept hesitating. Then suddenly, she glanced down, took a deep breath, and blurted. “There’s a half and hour before Cotorou gets here. What would you do if Nico let you...”

Maki found herself nodding, pouring a glass of water to have a second to think as Nico tensed for battle, but Maki could sense the nervousness behind the facade this time. She leaned on the counter, eyes locked on Nico’s. “I can do anything I want with the photos?”

Nico crossed her arms, lips pursed in a not encouraging fashion, considering. “Only my face and if you use any of the photos, Nico can’t be recognizable.” She held out her hand, “You can’t use my name.”

Maki tilted her head, shoving the fork back in the pie. Nico clucked her tongue the the action, but then Maki took her hand to shake it and they both paused at the surge of warmth as their palms were pulled together, soft skin tingling at the mutual contact, “All right.”

Nico leaned against the counter, “Show Nico what you can do.”

Maki had spent 15 minutes setting up her portable blue screen and lights, setting Nico down opposite the largest window in the apartment. Now, was the difficult part, as she had to convince Nico this wasn’t just some creeper strategy. Maki started to fumble with her camera and Nico’s attention was drawn to her hands.

“You’re running out of time, Nishikino.” Nico pointed a thumb at her phone, running down a clock.

Maki steeled herself, willing her voice not to tremble from nervousness, “Please just sit still for five minutes wh...while I really look at you.” Nico frowned as Maki knelt in front of Nico, staring, moving carefully around Nico, rising to a half crouch so she was directly in front of Nico’s face, Nico’s breath a minty distraction, Maki almost certain she was holding her own as if the subject in front of her were so fragile that she could be scattered on the slightest wind.

“Ma..” Nico started, but Maki shook her head and the actress quietened in the face of the redhead’s intensity. The violet eyes looked through and around Nico, ticking off every detail, then Maki swept to the side, grabbed her camera and became a flurry of motion, surrounding Nico, not settling for zoom, bringing her lens so close to Nico’s skin, Nico could feel the metal.

“Close your eyes,” Maki whispered, so softly, and Nico obeyed, unleashing another flurry of motion, Maki thought Nico was leaning in the direction she imagined the photographer to be, her face twitching slightly as she registered sounds and proximity. Maki grinned, desperate to capture each new quirk of those petal lips, challenging herself to find new angles out of impossibly small changes, barely stopping herself from resting her head in Nico’s lap so she could shoot from there, settling for a steeper angle as she laid full out on the floor, gradually rising, making sure the Fuji was captured the pale skin tone, the way the pinks warmed and highlighted the natural topography of Nico’s lips.

Maki thought it was almost like a caress, each sweep of the camera, each slice of Nico saved to be savored later, each angle...which would be the best?

“Open your eyes, Nico.” Another whisper and Nico did and there she was, startled at Maki, right in front of her nose, Maki, who was staring as if at a wonder, “Smile.” And Nico did, a slight, dear smile, tinged with bemused, casual affection.

One last shutter click and the timer rang. Maki dropped her camera arm to the side, bowing deeply, “Thank you.”

Nico stepped forward, and Maki stared down, into curious eyes, wondering why this felt different now, without the camera as a chaperone.

“Hey Sis!” the door banged opened, Maki’s heart jumped, and a mini clone of Nico stepped into the apartment.

Little brothers.

A/N: Here's something fun for you to read on the Internet today. I tweaked Cotorou's age a bit and there will probably be at least one more chapter than I expected (raise your hand if you guessed that). Casual Lunacy progress is slow but happening, I have a Merry Wives of Windsor cast, I want to scrawl/paint "Stonewall Was A Riot" on some article of clothing, and the weather is finally warming slightly. Have been taking photos of my roses, the colors are glorious.I'm glad you're here. Take care!

#nicomaki #PhotoJazz #Love Live #fanfic #Yazawa Nico #Nishikino Maki #Yazawa Family #photography #etc

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saikostories · 4 years

Text

Nanbaka - The Peculiar Guard pt4

“Hey, Dora, can you come down for a moment?” He asked her.

“Hm…?” Curious, she hopped down off of the game and held the plushy under her arm. “What’s up? Having fun?”

“Oh, yeah, totally!” Nico nodded cheerfully. “I was just wondering… You said you have younger siblings, right? How old are they?”

“Well…” Theodora thought for a moment. “My younger brothers are 5 years younger than me while my younger sister is 9 years. So, my brothers are 15 while my sister is 11. Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if you could give this to them?” Nico said, holding out his tournament prize to her.

“What—seriously?!” She exclaimed softly, surprised he was handing it over. “But, that’s the tournament prize you’ve been asking for. Why do you want to give it away?”

“Because I have this game room instead.” Nico said, gesturing to all the games while smiling. “Plus, games aren’t all that fun unless you’re playing it with your friends. I figured I could give it to you, and you can give it to your siblings.”

Theodora could only stare at him for a moment. She broke out into another smile and gently took hold of the small console. “Thank you very much, Nico. You have no idea how much this actually makes me happy. I’ll make sure to send it to them right away. Thank you very, very, much…”

“Ah, it’s no big deal.” Nico said and waved at her.

“You’d be surprised…” She smirked at him. “But, seriously, thank you. I’m sure you’ll be jumping in joy with this.”

“No problem!” Nico smiled at her. “Hey, do you want to play a game with me?”

“Sure, hehe…” Theodora laughed softly.

Putting the console into her back pocket, she followed Nico to a game her wanted to play. She began playing with him, feeling the nostalgia of playing something she hadn’t done in years. It made her remember why she was so addicted to them. It made her feel things—it made her want to feel. That’s why she loved them so much.

‘I wonder why I stopped…’ She wondered, only for her face to turn stoic and her eyes look hollow. 'Oh… right… That was why I stopped…’

“Hey, you!” The aggressive shout grabbed her attention.

Snapping out of her dark thoughts, Theodora turned back to normal and looked over her shoulder. She was surprised to see Kenshiro walking with Musashi right passed the game room. Because of Uno’s shout, they both stopped and looked at him. The light atmosphere got tense very quickly.

“Musashi…?” Jyugo questioned, clearly surprised.

“Is that Jyugo?” Musashi questioned, being as he was blind and unable to physically tell.

“It’s okay. He isn’t dangerous anymore.” Jyugo told Uno who was defensively standing in before Musashi.

“You sure?” Uno asked, wanting to make sure Musashi was no threat.

Musashi stepped forwards until he was a good few feet away from Jyugo. He almost looked perplexed. “It’s strange…” He spoke. “You seem different somehow…”

“Same to you.” Jyugo said, being surprisingly calm.

Uno stepped between them, standing in front of Jyugo in a defensive manner. Jyugo put his hand on his shoulder to calm him. “Chill.”

“It’s alright.” Musashi said, holding his hand up to signal it was fine. “I can hardly blame him of being wary of me. Considering what I did, it’s well deserved.”

“Let’s deal with it. Tell him you’re sorry.” Uno said to Musashi.

“Huh…?” Musashi looked confused.

“Jyugo got hurt bad because of you.” Uno said a bit hotly.

“Well, most of it was Hajime, but still…” Rock murmured, causing Theodora to groan softly at the unwanted memory.

“There’s no need.” Jyugo insisted. “I’m over it, really.”

“Yeah, well nobody asked if you were over it because not everything is about you, okay?” Uno said and began to scold him. “This is a matter of common courtesy—it’s what people do. You’d be aware of that if you had an ounce of common sense in you!”

“Uno’s been hanging around Dora too much, he’s beginning to sound like a mom!” Nico said.

“Yeah.” Rock agreed.

“Oi.” Theodora shot them looks, not wanting them to point it out.

“Okay…” Musashi spoke up, sounding a little awkward. He then bowed to Jyugo in apology, surprising him. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. We both went too far.” Jyugo said, causing Musashi to stand again.

Almost instantly Uno got out of 'aggressive mom mode’ and went back to being his cheery self. He stepped towards Musashi and held his hand out to him.

“As long as you can say sorry, you’re alright.” Uno said.

Musashi, slightly having no idea what to do, tried to hold his hand out to him. Uno grabbed it and shook his hand firmly. Uno laughed and walked off, leaving Musashi in a type of dumbfounded manner.

“You got yourself an odd friend there.” Musashi said to Jyugo.

“He’s a good one though.” Jyugo said, smiling lightly.

“Oh yeah!” Uno stopped and turned to Musashi. “You should come to my game room tomorrow! It’ll be fun!”

Musashi just kind of stood there for a moment. He didn’t say anything and just gave Uno a nod. Content with just that, Uno turned and went back to some of the games here. As Musashi turned to leave, Theodora decided to test something. She began to snap her fingers softly, only enough for herself to hear. She made sure to do it in a careful pattern. Musashi’s head twitched and he stopped walking. He turned and turned his head towards her, finding her to be the source of the noise. She smirked.

“Wow, I’m impressed.” She said and walked over to him until she was in comfortable talking distance. “You’re ears are sharp. You really are somethin’, eh?”

“I’m surprised you knew that…” Musashi murmured.

“Let’s just say, I’ve been surrounded by disabled people.” Theodora shrugged. “But, you should seriously think about accepting Uno’s offer. You’ll like it, I promise. Those guys aren’t so bad to be around…”

“…I’ll think about it.” Musashi said. “By the way… What’s your name? You never actually told me it.”

Theodora’s eye went wide as she fell into a dumbfounded moment. “…I am so sorry. I utterly forgot to tell you, I feel so bad now.”

“No, it’s fine.” Musashi said. “I just want to know instead of referring to you as the person who kicked my balls in.”

“Ha… Haha!” Theodora laughed lightly before smirking. “Theo will suffice.”

“Got it.” Musashi said and backed away to walk with Kenshirou. “Later, Theo…”

“Bis später!” She said.

Musashi was caught off guard, which made Theodora smirk. She saw a smirk appear on his face and saw him wave. He turned and left the area with Kenshirou. Theodora turned around and went back to join the group.

'This was a fun day…’

“That couch is heavy, do either of you need any help?”

“Nope. I’m good. How 'bout you, Hajime?”

“It’s light as a feather.”

“See? We’re good. How 'bout you, Yamato?”

“I am mighty fine, thank you! Ha ha ha!”

'I will never get used to his loud attitude…’ Theodora thought to herself. When the next day came, Uno wanted to begin to set up his game room. So of course he went ahead and began inviting a bunch of people. Two being the Inmates from Building 3, Honey and Trois. Aka—the pantie perverts. Theodora will never not hold that against them for as long as she lived.

But, she tried to ignore that factor and act like it never happened. Right now she was helping carry stuff into the new room, only to find Kiji in there with his inmates along with the rest of Cell 13. Theodora was helping Hajime carry a large couch, holding it above her shoulder with one hand while the other was carrying two boxes. Yamato was right behind her, carrying a mat with a bunch of boxes as well.

“Yo, where do you want this thing?” She called out since she was in the front of it.

“Uh, there should work for now.” Seitarou said and pointed to the spot.

They obliged and easily placed the gigantic couch down. Theodora placed the boxes down right next to the couch since she had no idea where to put them. This place was practically empty since Uno 'wanted everyone to pitch it’.

“Where should I put these things?” Yamato asked.

:“Anywhere’s fine—just try to be careful, deputy Supervisor!” Seitarou exclaimed in concern.

Theodora stood up, only to yelp and crouch to the ground again to dodge the large mat on Yamato’s shoulder. She tried standing up again, but Yamato turned around in confusion at her yelp. Theodora dodged the mat by leaning back, glaring pointedly at Yamato.

“Didn’t you hear Seitarou? Be careful! You almost took me out—twice!” Theodora told him.

“Oh! My deepest apologizes, Theo! I didn’t even see you there!” Laughed the older man.

'Yeesh…’ She sighed in her thoughts and rubbed her head.

“Damn it, why’re we the ones who have to carry all this crap in here?” Groaned Hajime, only to noticed a black fur ball on the couch. “Get off, Kuu… Hm… Hm…”

Theodora could only sigh at the lazy cat. That cat won’t move unless he is disturbed, and she knows for a fact that it’s destined to happen.

“Oh, No.11! The various items you requested have all arrived!” Announced Yamato.

“Please let us know if anything is missing.” Seitarou added.

“You did it! You really did it!” Exclaimed Uno childishly as he began jumping on the couch, causing Coo to jump as well.

Seeing the cat fly in the air and meow in dismay, Theodora was quick to grab onto the fur ball and save him from a life of ups and downs. She held onto the cat, only to realize he was clinging to her like his life depended on it. Which also meant that his claws were digging right through her clothes.

'I’ve got at least three to four layers on, what the hell.’ She thought, wondering just how long his claws are. She looked up to see the guys touching the couch while Uno remained jumping on one side of it.

“They probably would’ve bought this stuff if he asked them to.” Rock said. “He did win, after all.”

“I don’t get why, but all they would take for free is this empty room.” Jyugo explained. “He said he wanted to spend his own money on the rest.”

“Guess he’s broke now, huh?” Rock said, looking a bit amused.

“Go, Coo, go.” Theodora placed the cat down after he calmed and shooed him away. She stood up and looked at the couch and table. “I still don’t get why he just spent it on this stuff instead of any game boards or whatever…”

“Squish, squish, squish!” Nico kept chanting like a child as his hit the couch cushions.

“Hey, is this supposed to be the new game room?” A familiar voice grabbed Alloisia’s attention.

She turned around to see Samon and Inori, along with the inmates from Cell 8. They couldn’t see with the mask on her face, but she was smiling widely at them for coming. She honestly had no idea if they would come or not. I had to be the inmates who convinced Samon into letting them join.

“Okay, Upa, I agreed to carry all this stuff, so how about you stop punching me in the gut and let me do it?” Qi said to the shorter male, who was still punching him.

“This is to punish you for complaining.” Upa stated.

“Why is a cheap table and crummy couch all you have in here?” Samon questioned, clearly not impressed.

“Eh, who knows…” Theodora simply shrugged at him.

The guys began to set up a few of the tables they brought with them. It was interesting to see how they all interacted. The more stuff that was brought in, the more the room began to look filled. It was slowly beginning to look nice. But, what really made her happy was the pleasant chatter between all of the inmates.

“Wow. I’m surprised you were willing to give up your mahjong table.” Spoke Kiji towards Samon.

“Yeah, well the thing is Inori was constantly playing it instead of doing his job.” Samon explained. “So, I decided to get rid of it.”

“That very much is a Samon move.” Theodora said and laughed lightly.

“Yeah, well, I think I saw him buy the automatic one a moment ago.” Hajime said to Samon.

“I’ll kill him!” Samon threatened.

“BIG LOAD COMIN’ THOUGH!” Shouted a familiar voice.

Theodora turned and yelped, seeing a gigantic box flying their way. She jumped out of the way, only to witness it hit the three Supervisors. She cringed at the sight of them slamming against the wall, knowing that has got to hurt them. Looking up, it was kind of not a surprise to see that Mitsuru was the driver of the box on wheels.

“Rwut-row, is everyone okay?” Mitsuru called to the three.

“No—no we are not!” The three growled at him in pain.

“You’re more of a threat than those inmates, Mitsuru…” Theodora commented, not standing up next to him.

“Hey, No.11! I got you some goodies!” Called Mitsuru who ignored Theodora.

“Yaahoo! Is that what I think it is?!” Uno exclaimed happily.

Mitsuru opened the box and had Theodora and Yamato help him unload. Inside was a bunch of stands with dart boards and a gigantic pool table. Theodora was amazed that they even brought this stuff in considering that darts are technically a lethal weapon… Plus, the pool balls and sticks can probably hurt someone crucially if someone tried hard enough. Before she knew it the guys were already all over the games.

“You’re my hero, Mitsuru!” Uno exclaimed and suddenly lept into his arms, shocking Theodora as Mitsuru willingly spun him around.

“Yeah! Anything for a New Year’s Tournament Champion!” Exclaimed the announcer.

“I’m really starting to believe that Seitarou is the only sane one here…” Theodora murmured to herself. “At least they’re happy…”

“I never would have thought they’d let us play darts in a prison…!” Honey said, holding a bunch of darts with a huge grin on his face.

“Oh how I’ve missed you so much…” Trois said, holding a pool stick.

“Damn it all!” Hajime cursed loudly, causing Theodora to watch his angry form from afar. “Why did he bring that crap?!”

“He told me they were gifts for a friend but he didn’t have room for them.” Seitarou answered him.

“What the hell do those idiots think his place is supposed to be?!” Hajime growled.

“This is our house!” Uno and Mitsuru replied, giving Hajime a thumbs up as they were being smug little shits.

“OH, SUUURE IT IS!” Hajime exclaimed sarcastically as he began punching a wall. “AT LEAST UNTIL SOMEONE LOSES A DART, OR A POOL BALL! UNGRATEFUL INMATES—”

“Supervisor I brought you your… digestive medicine.” Seitarou said, having a glass of water ready as he tried calming the older man down.

“I actually feel sorry for him…” Murmured Kiji and he, Samon, and Theodora had sweat drops on their heads.

“This is actually an ordinary day for him…” Theodora murmured.

“You have my condolences.” Samon said, resting a hand on her shoulder, surprising her.

After stepping away from that, she watched the other beginning to play with the new games in the room. Even she tried her hand at a bit of darts before stepping away from it. Darts is frustrating at it is. She rather not break the toy Uno just gained. Plus, with her overbearing strength, sometimes accidents happen.

She recalled breaking a chest piece by accident from slamming it against the board. Needless to say, she broke the board, too. 'Most embarrassing moment of my middle school life…’ She thought as she face palmed at the memory. But she was snapped out of her thoughts once again by Uno’s loud voice.

“Musashi!” He exclaimed, which grabbed her attention.

Awkwardly standing at the door was Musashi. He hand his hand up in greeted, seeming a little stiff. “Uh, hi…”

“You sure took your time gettin’ here.” Uno said and walked over to him, Theodora following him.

“Yeah, there was this thing I had to take care of first.” Musashi said.

“I’m glad you came.” Theodora said smiling, then looked to Kenshirou. “Thank you for allowing him out.”

“Yeah, well, he at least earned it.” Kenshirou said and walked off. “Do as you wish.”

Theodora chuckled softly as he walked by, rolling her eyes at his usual behavior. “Don’t mind him. Kenshirou has always been like that. I’m just glad he allowed you out of your cell to come join.”

“Yeah, well, I heard somebody nagged the hell out of him until he did it. I’ve got no idea who, though.” Musashi said and shrugged.

“Hm… I wonder who indeed.” Theodora said, practically smirking with her eyes.

“Seriously, what can’t you do with this prison?” Uno asked her in a bit of amazement. “You practically have everybody wrapped around your fingers.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Theodora shook her head, not quite agreeing with what he said. “All you got to do is know the right people, okay? Connections are vital in this life. Plus, I offered to groom Kenshirou’s guard dogs if he allowed him to come, so…”

“Seriously? I thought you told us those dogs hated you.” Uno said.

“Oh, they do.” Theodora nodded. “Animals usually like me, but those dogs really don’t like me… I think it’s because I misbehaved as a prisoner here and they still resent me for it. But all’s fair is fair. They have a right to hate me so… yeah…”

“It was Musashi, right?” Honey said as he and Trois came over to meet him. “We competed against you with that handsome guard dog, but not as handsome as me, in the tournament.”

Musashi tilted his head to the side, clearly confused by what he meant.

“It seems he’s forgotten you.” Trois evaluated.

“How could anyone forget such a gorgeous face like mine?! It’s impossible!” Honey exclaimed as he and Trois began posing.

“He’s completely delusional. But if you use my gorgeous face instead the argument stands!” Trois exclaimed.

“Narcissistic prick!” Honey yelled at him.

“You’re both narcissistic pricks.” Theodora stated as her right eye began twitching, but neither heard her.

“Wow you didn’t even hesitate.” Uno commented, giving her a sideways glance.

“I just really hate egotistic pretty boys, okay?” She murmured. “I’ve spent too much time with brats like that in America and it’s just downright exhausting…”

“Oh, you poor thing…” Uno said and jokingly patted her back.

“I’ll introduce myself to you just this once so take care to remember.” Honey said, standing in front of Musashi. “I’m inmate No.82, but my real name is honey. I’m considered the best looking guy in this prison.”

“I’m inmate No.03,” Trois introduced himself next. “My real name is Trois and I’m considered the best looking guy in this prison.”

“Times like these, I’m glad I’m blind…” Musashi said, causing Theodora to burst out laughing.

“Ha haaa! That was the best line ever!” She exclaimed, holding her stomach as she laughed. “Ahaha! Why am I such a sucker for this type of humor…?!”

“I’ve heard you laugh before, but never this hard…” Uno murmured, his eyes wide in surprise by her laughing. “Your laugh is actually terrifying…”

“S-shut up…!” She said in between her laughs and hit his arm lightly.

It took her a full minute to recompose herself and apologize if she had freaked them out. Musashi and Uno knew she meant no hard feelings and told her it was fine. After she calmed down she ended up playing a round of pool with the guys. She had no idea how long the game lasted until Seitarou grabbed everyone’s attention.

“Ahem, excuse me everyone.” He said before Hajime took his place.

“Back to your cells.” Hajime ordered.

Immediately an uproar came from the inmates. Theodora, being obedient as she was, put her pool stick away as she could hear everyone yelling, saying they wanted to stay and play a bit longer.

“Nobody’s finished a single game yet, you’ve got to give up more time, man!” Uno exclaimed, trying to convince Hajime to change his mind.

“Your free time for the day is over.” Hajime stated. “You spent all bit of it playing.”

"How much time are you going to make me spend in my cell?! It sucks there!” Uno exclaimed.

“You can have one hour here per day.” Hajime stated as the veins on his face were as clear as day.

“THAT’S NOTHING!” Shouted the inmates.

They all began talking at once, throwing insults here and there, demanded they wanted to stay. Theodora sensed Hajime’s murderous intent and immediately back away. She grabbed Seitarou and held him behind her, eyeing Hajime carefully so he didn’t go on a plumbing frenzy. No even two seconds the man’s temper burst, causing him to punch every single inmate on the head and cursed at them.

It was a very cringe worthy sight to take in. Musashi was clutching his head in pain, looking like a kicked dog. Honey and Trois were actually crying, having Kiji rub their heads to sooth them. Liang, Upa, and Qi were bitterly glaring as Samon tried to get them out of the door. Kenshirou and Kiji were glaring harshly at Hajime, angered that he laid a hand on their inmates.

Almost all of Cell 13’s inmates were now clinging onto Theodora, trying to hide themselves from Hajime. Nico clung to her waist, Jyugo was practically on the other side under her right arm, while Uno and Rock hid behind her and held her shoulder out of fear. Even Theodora was fearing Hajime’s rage, knowing he was one of the only men who could actually hurt her with ease. But even with the inmates clinging onto her, Hajime’s ranting did not go unheard.

Of course, it was up to her to calm everyone down. She ushered Samon’s group out since she knew quite well they needed out of their to cool their heads. She then went to try to appease the angry gorilla to hopefully calm the situation. Leaving him for a moment she he got Kiji’s group out and then ushered Musashi to leave with Kenshirou. He then had Seitarou get their inmates out of there. It took her a full half an hour to calm Hajime enough to know he wouldn’t punch anybody.

When she finally got back to the office she slouched in her chair while sighing loudly. Calming Hajime is a lot easier said than done. Eventually she told him to go smoke outside to get himself at ease while she went back to the office. She felt that was more stressful than dealing with an over raged Upa over a claw machine.

“Oh my gooood…” She groaned after slouching in her chair. “I’m so glad the day’s over…”

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that, Theo.” Seitarou said, feeling actually sorry for her.

“No, it’s fine, it’s fine…” She waved at him halfheartedly. “Calming anybody is hardly easy. I’m just glad Hajime didn’t destroy the place…”

“Well, it’s getting late.” Seitarou said and stood up from his desk. “I’m going to clock out. Yamato is still doing the late night, but he’s out training. If you need anything from him you can just contact him with your radio.”

“Got it…” She mumbled and lifted her thumb up into the air. “Later, Seitarou…”

“Goodnight.” Seitarou said and left the room.

Theodora waited until Hajime came back before entering the dark room. He was the only one who could take her mask off, after all. She was still residing in the prison, her room basically the dark room now. Taking her entire uniform off, she changed into some pajamas before entering her bed. They were a faded purple long sleeve shirt that. Her pants were white, having a pattern of black dog paw prints on them. Tying the waist line, she climbed into her makeshift bed and went to sleep.

'Another good day well spent…’

“AAAAAuuuh!”

“Geh…!?”

Theodora shot up in her bed, now becoming wide awake. Her eyes adjusted to the dark room, but she saw no one around. She listened carefully and sensed nobody in the room. It was strange. Theodora usually isn’t one to wake up easily, especially being in the deep sleep that she had been in.

She felt a very numbed panicky feeling in her chest, causing her to gaze around one more time. Seeing nothing, she placed her hand onto her head, trying to calm herself down. Placing her hands on her neck, she could tell that her heart was beating a mile a minute. Theodora knew she wasn’t dreaming because usually she could recall the last moment of the dream.

'I’m probably just hearing things…’ she thought, trying to ease her anxious paranoia. 'I imagined that scream is all… Nothing wrong. You’re fine… Hajime’s out in the office and Yamato is in the training area. You are literally outside of where Hajime it, you’re fine, Theodora. But…’

She groaned softly as she yanked her covers off of her and stood up. She slipped some black flats on and got out of her bed, her hand subconsciously finding its way to the back of her neck. There was something eating away at her—telling her that this wasn’t something she should ignore.

She opened the door, trying to adjusted from the sudden brightness if the office lights. Once she adjusted she stepped into the room, trying her hardest to listen in carefully to her surroundings. Hajime, who had been at his desk the whole time, gazed up from his paperwork and towards her. He was confused why she was up and why her expression was slightly unreadable. She was clearly listening for something, and looked rather puzzled by it.

“Hey, what’re doing up?” Hajime asked her, causing her head to whirl towards him. “Relax, kid. What’re you doing out of your bed?”

“S-sorry…” She spoke softly, looking away from him and gazing at nothing in particular. “I just… I woke up hearing a scream… I-I just needed to make sure everything was alright…”

“Are you sure you aren’t imagining it?” Hajime asked her. “I’ve heard nothing all night. It probably was a dream or something you were having. Go back to bed. You know better than to be out here without looking like a man.”

“R-right, sorry…” She nodded and turned towards her door. “You’re right. It must’ve just been some dream…”

Just as she stepped into her room, she heard another scream again. She whirled around, now fully alarmed. She took a few steps away from the door and was now in the middle of the room, listening carefully. She stared at the door, her eyes not blinking. She could only assume that her heart was racing even faster this time.

'That was no dream!’ She yelled in her thoughts. 'That was real… I know I heard that scream, I’m not being delusional!’

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Hajime asked, seeing how she was standing like she was ready to react. “…Come on, Theodora. Talk to me.” He stood from his desk. “What’s wrong?”

“That scream…” She mumbled.

Another one.

Gasping loudly, her eyes widened in shock as she realized where the muffled sound was coming from. It was outside. She ran straight for the door, not caring for herself or anything anymore. Hajime yelled at her, trying to get her to come back and talk to him for one moment. But she didn’t listen.

Fearing for whoever it was, she ran fast, and hard. She had to get outside—she just knew it was out there. Something was going on and nobody was reacting to it besides her. Theodora knew this wasn’t something her mind was creating anymore. She knew that this was a scream. A scream of pure terror and fear. And, whoever it was who let it out, she knew she had to save them.

Running to who knows where, Theodora realized she brought herself to the roof of Building 13. She carefully exited the door to the outside, trying to look around for anybody who might be out there. Hearing voices from behind, she peeked out from the door to spot only one of the two people.

The maliciousness vibe she gained from that guy told her she was no friend. He was just sitting on the hand railings, talking to whoever else was here. Not even realizing she was moving, Theodora found herself jumping in the air, swinging her leg horizontally. Somehow, she managed to hit him right in the stomach, which actually knocked him over the railing. But…

…she went over the railing, too.

The person who had been the one screaming witnessed her fall in horror. They ran to the railing, concern and fear striking them. It was bad enough they were almost killed by that guy. Now she was going to go too? They couldn’t let her die just like that.

“THEODORA!” They screamed, trying to see if she might’ve hit the water.

“…Down here!”

They gasped and looked straight down, seeing Theodora hanging from the ledge. As she fell, Theodora’s body quickly acted, twisting her body in the air as she fell with her hands out, which allowed her to latch onto the very edge of the roof between the bars of the railing. She even used her strength to make sure she didn’t slip off, actually creating small indents into the metal. Gazing up, she realized the person above her was Jyugo. But she was more wary of the man from before. Looking down, she saw no one. It was like he vanished into thin air…

“…Are you okay?!” Jyugo called to her.

“If hanging on a ledge counts as okay, then sure!” She sarcastically responded.

Moving her hands, she grabbed onto the bars to help climb up. As she pulled herself up, Jyugo reached down and grabbed the back of her shirt to hopefully pull her up. Once her feet was in between the bars, Jyugo helped her climb over until she was on safe ground.

“What the hell happened here?” She immediately demanded, looking very angry at Jyugo. “Who was that guy? What the hell did he—”

She stopped. Her eyes flew right open as she stared at Jyugo.

His entire body was shaking. His hands, his arms, his shoulders—he was just shaking. He kept his head down and away from her, not allowing her to see his face. Theodora’s face dropped as she looked immensely concerned, only now realizing the screams she heard was really his.

“… Theodora…” He whispered, so softly that it was almost hard to hear. “I’m so afraid… I’m so afraid of tomorrow…”

Theodora’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Not able to understand it, she just shook her head and rushed forwards, hugging him tightly. Jyugo’s breath got stuck in his throat, his chin on her shoulder, as her arms were tightly around him. It just made it feel all the more real. I made him want to break down and cry.

“I got you, Jyugo, okay?” She whispered in his ear. “I got you now. You’re okay. I’ve got you…”

“Theodora…!” He cried, his voice cracking as he found himself latching onto her. “Theodora…!”

“I’m right here, I’m right here.” She kept saying, stroking his hair to hopefully calm him down. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re okay, you’re okay…”

Jyugo practically fell to his knees, bringing Theodora down with him. She held him tightly, cringing with every shout he made. One hand was on his head while the other was on his back. She actually felt his nails through the cloth of her shirt, but she didn’t dare to move. He was sobbing so much that her shoulder was completely soaked. Even with Jyugo’s cries in her one ear, she still heard footsteps.

Looking up, she instantly spotted Hajime. He was giving her a very hard look that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. She just shook her head at him, signalling that this was not the time to talk. Hajime clearly sighed and tilted his hat down, telling her that he was going away. She looked back and Jyugo and made him her top priority.

'This has been a terrible, terrible night…’

***

'I’ve never felt this heavy since I’ve picked up that truck for the first time…’

Theodora sat idly at her desk, wearing her usual uniform, as she was now on her night shift. Ever since yesterday night, she found herself thinking about Jyugo nonstop. As soon as he had officially calmed down he asked to go back to his cell. She had tried to ask questions, but when she witnessed his hollow and tired expression, she held her tongue back.

He went back to his cell, but Theodora was very concerned. She even offered for him to take her bed in the night room because she became so concerned, but he declined. When she saw Hajime again she told him everything. She even wrote a report on it once he let her go.

She didn’t even gain an ounce of sleep that night.

With what happened, she just couldn’t stop her mind from whirling. In the morning she tried to ask Jyugo on his way to breakfast, but he just acted like it never happened. It honestly upset her because she knew she wasn’t crazy. All of that happened—she know it did! The little indents on her back from his nails and the rips on her shirt was enough proof as it is!

But, she couldn’t get him to talk. He just went back to breakfast, leaving her standing there as she wanted to punch a wall. It honestly hurt her because she wanted his trust. She wanted him to talk to her. She wanted to know what’s going on. She wanted to help him!

But, he just kept pushing her away…

Theodora became so stressed about this that she kept groaning into her hands so much that Hajime almost kicked her out. Everything was so quiet that it was almost suffocating for Alloisia. That is, until the alarms blared off, signalling escapees. Hajime rushed out the door, ordering Theodora to stay with Seitarou. Theodora was shocked that this was happening, knowing quite well of which cell broke out. It just didn’t make sense to her just yet. But, reluctantly, she stayed with Seitarou for the time being. The two were watching on the surveillance cameras, watching the inmates from Cell 13 escaping once again.

“What the hell…? He’s going so fast—faster than usual…” Theodora grumbled in shock.

“Right?” Seitarou exclaimed. “This is like a new record for them! And of course, Yamato is unable to be relied on… At this rate they’ll hit the last doors and right into Hajime.”

“This is bad…” Theodora said, glaring at the screen. “Ever since we’ve discovered Jyugo’s true powers, I know Hajime has upped his own game. He’s not going to hesitate to beat him just like he had done at the tournament…”

“Wait, what’re they…?” Seitarou muttered.

Watching closely on the screen, the group had already reached the outside door. But Jyugo stepped out and hit a button on the wall. Suddenly, a barred gate came down, trapping the rest of the inmates inside while Jyugo and Hajime were outside. Theodora’s eyes widened as everything clicked into place.

“Fuck…!” She cursed and rushed out the door.

“Theo, wait!” Seitarou yelled at her, but she kept running.

She ran out of the office, trying to get to the outside as fast as possible. Her mind was racing with every step she took, trying to go as fast as she could possibly run.

'Damn it, Jyugo…!’ She yelled in her thoughts. 'Don’t do this, don’t fucking do this! You’ll regret it for the rest of your life! I know I did! So don’t fucking run from us…!’

After possibly five minutes of running, she instantly spotted the guys up ahead. She slowed down and almost crashed into the bars, but was able to stop herself in time. She gripped the bars, in shock of Jyugo trying to slice Hajime down.

“Son of a…!” She growled before shouting at them. “JYUGO! YOU HAVE TO STOP THIS!”

“Hey, is there anyway to open this damn gate up!?” Uno asked her, clearly concerned for Jyugo as much as she was.

“Wait… That’s right!” She rushed past him and to the wall. “Maybe I can…!”

Taking her ID card out, she swiped it across the screen. The red screen beeped with a 'no’ sign on the screen. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized why it didn’t work.

“Why didn’t that work?!” Rock asked.

“It’s because it’s my ID card…” She said as she put it back into her pocket. She turned to them, looking almost terrified. “I’m not allowed to access high restricting areas… And this is a high ranking area!”

“What?!” Uno exclaimed, clearly shocked.

“You gotta be shittin’ me…” Rock muttered and ran his hand through his hair.

“What’d we do?!” Nico asked, clearly panicked. “If we don’t stop them, someone’s going to get hurt—bad!”

Theodora, finding herself slowly begin to panic herself, ran around the group and slammed her body against the bars. She rickashayed right off of it, falling right onto the ground as not even an indent was made. They all stared at the gate in shock.

“No way…” Uno murmured.

“Nanba Prison is always improving…” Theodora muttered as she looked horrified, slowly climbing to her feet. “Therefore, whenever a new inmates comes in, they always adapt to keeping them in… Which only means that they created the bars so strong that it goes against even my strength…!”

“Is that even possible?!” Rock asked.

“If it knocked me down than of course it is!” She exclaimed, her panic causing her patience to thin. She flinched at her own tone. “S-sorry…”

“Jyugo! That’s enough! Stop it!” Uno shouted at him.

“Why won’t he stop?!” Nico asked.

“I think I might know why…” Theodora growled and yelled out as she punched the bars.

The noise rang out, causing the inmates to flinch at her sudden action. She removed her hand, seeing a partially dented bar. It wasn’t impossible in breaking down. But when she looked at the damage to her hand, she was surprised to see her white glove beginning to stain red.

“Holy shit…” Uno muttered. “Theodora, don’t try that again! You’ll just end up harming yourself before you can even break those bars down! Don’t you dare try it again!”

“Then what do you expect me to do!?” She exclaimed, obviously looking as panicked as they are. “If we don’t get out there soon either of them will die!”

“Oh, so you plan on killing yourself while trying to get out there, is that it?!” Uno shouted at her.

“Stop it!” Nico shouted, standing in between them. “Us fighting won’t get us anywhere!”

“Nico’s right!” Rock exclaimed. “We need to start finding a way out of here and fast!”

Theodora tried to think of a way to get out of here, but she had none. Just as she was about to just wing it, Seitarou came running up and grabbed the bars of the gate, watching the fight right before his eyes.

“Is 15 really fighting the Supervisor?!” Seitarou asked, clearly in shock of what’s happening.

“Seitarou…!” Theodora exclaimed as she realized something. “You have to open the gate right now!”

“I can’t.” Seitarou said, looking at her in disbelief. “I can’t let the inmates leave the building—if I do that then they’ll face serious charges too.”

“Damn you! This is why pretty boys are useless!” Uno shouted at him.

“Leave my dainty features out of this!” Seitarou yelled back at him.

“Are you telling us to just stand here and watch?!” Rock shouted at him.

“Supervisor will take care of it!” Seitarou said, sounding more like he was trying to reassure himself.

“Just like he took care of it last time!” Nico said, referring to the tournament.

“Seitarou, open the damn gate!” Theodora shouted at him. “If you don’t then either of them could die if we just stand here and watch!”

“We’re Jyugo’s friends. I promise we can stop him.” Uno said, trying to convince Seitarou.

“I… I can’t do that.” Seitarou shook his head. “Theo can’t go past this area—if she does than her mask will automatically hurt her! The Supervisor told me to never let her go past these areas!”

“I don’t give a damn!” Theodora exclaimed, looking absolutely pissed right now. “I rather have myself die than either of them and I know that won’t happen! This damn mask is nothing more than a fucking nuisance!”

Her hands shot up to her face as she grabbed the mask.

“THEODORA, NO!” Seitarou shouted at her.

She tried ripping the mask apart with her bare hands, but Rock and Nico tackled her down. They restricted her arms, stopping her from harming the mask. This shocked her completely.

“Are you stupid?!” Rock yelled at her. “If you rip that damn thing off it’ll hurt you—it’s not worth it!”

“We’re trying to stop people from getting hurt, not cause it!” Nico shouted at her.

Theodora tried to fight them, but quickly became silent. She shut her mouth and reevaluated herself, instantly calming herself down. She was causing more trouble than good. Relaxing her arms, the two let go of her and she stayed on the ground. She sat up and looked right at Seitarou, locking eyes with him.

“Open the gate…” She begged, her voice soft as she sounded concerned. “Please, Seitarou. I know it’s our duty to protect the inmates, but trust them this once…! I’m begging you! I don’t want to see any of them die!”

Seitarou stiffened at her gaze, seeing just how desperate she was looking. He tilted his head down and took out his ID card, swiping it in front of the button. As he reacted his arm the metal gate went up. Immediately, the three inmates rushed out to aid their friend.

“Thanks a bunch, Seitarou!” Exclaimed Nico as they ran.

“What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!” Hajime shouted at Seitarou.

“Jyugoo!” Uno shouted, trying to gain his attention.

Hajime quickly rushed forwards, probably thinking that they were going to try and stop him. Jyugo went right towards him, probably not even aware that the gate was up. Before Hajime could get any closer, something fast flew past Jyugo, ripping at the hip of his clothes, and hitting the ground in front of Hajime. Hajime stopped and Jyugo stumbled, giving enough time for Rock and Uno to jump in between the two.

The item was a Nanba Guard’s hat… Theodora’s hat.

“Out of the way, Uno!” Jyugo shouted at Uno.

“Not a chance!” Uno yelled back.

“Step out of the way, or I’ll beat you all into a bloody pulp!” Hajime threatened.

“We’re not moving!” Rock yelled at him.

“Go ahead!” Uno yelled at Jyugo. “If you really want to leave than do it! But first you’re going to have to slice me in half!”

“Please, just move!” Jyugo said, clearly not wanting to harm him. “I can’t lose you guys… I just can't…!”

“ENOOOOOUUUUGGGH!” Theodora shouted, her voice echoing through the area even with the mask on.

The desperate sound of her voice caused everyone to falter. Everyone except Nico. He ran behind Jyugo and used his foot to hit his inner knee. Jyugo, not at all expecting it, fell backwards and onto the ground.

“GRAB HIM, NOW!” Theodora shouted at the three.

The three inmates immediately jumped on Jyugo.

Rock sat on his torso, pinning his arms down. Nico sat above Jyugo’s head, also pinning his arms down. Uno practically sat on Jyugo’s legs, preventing them from moving. Hajime was utterly baffled by the sight before him.

“What is this…?” He muttered, surprised they acted in his benefit.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid Jyugo!” Nico shouted, his eye watering with tears. “You asked me to teach you on how to play games! How can I do that if you aren’t here?!”

“Sorry, Nico…” Jyugo whispered.

“If you’re going to escape than all of us are going to do it together.” Rock stated.

“THE HELL YOU WILL!” Hajime shouted at them.

“But I don’t want to do that right now!” Rock said, ignoring Hajime for a moment. “The food’s really good and I just got my oven.” He grabbed the collar of Jyugo’s clothes to prove his point. “So you’re stayin’ too, alright Jyugo?”

“Yeah, Rock…” Jyugo muttered.

Seeing that his blades went back to his normal arms, the group knew he wouldn’t try anything anymore. They climbed off of him and got Jyugo back onto his feet. Jyugo looked at Uno, seeing that he had cut his cheek with his own blades by accident. Not even a second later Uno punched Jyugo right in the face.

“YOU BASTARD!” He shouted at him. “HOW DARE YOU SCRATCH MY BEAUTIFUL FACE?!”

“WHO CARES?!” Nico and Rock shouted at him.

“Stop complaining!” Jyugo shouted at him. “I was trying to help you! It’s not what it looked like!”

“Shut your traps, both of you!” Nico shouted. “I’ve got complaints to make too, alright?!”

“I traded a midnight snack because of you!” Rock shouted.

Before another complaint could be made, something sudden hit Jyugo right in the back of the head, almost causing him to fall down. He growled and looked behind him, seeing that what hit him was the visor of a Guard’s hat. He looked over, seeing Theodora and Seitarou still standing by the gate without either of their hats. But his eyes landed on Theodora, who was looking absolutely angry and upset.

“Damn it, Jyugo…!” She growled before shouting at the four. “YOU ALL GET YOUR ASSES BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!”

They all stiffened at her shout, seeing that she was absolutely pissed. Reluctantly, they all walked back towards the gate. Once they past the gate, they knew she had full range of punishing them now. She immediately began yelling at Jyugo as soon as he was over the line.

“What the hell were you thinking…!?” She growled at him. “Fighting Hajime head on, locking us in here—you really are stupid! Do you have any idea what you actions could’ve caused? Do you?!”

“It’s not what it looked like!” Jyugo said, trying to defend himself. “I was just—”

“Running away like a damn coward!” She shouted, causing Jyugo to step back. “Don’t you dare try to tell me it was for a noble cause! Stop keeping everything to yourself and pushing everyone away, god damn it…!”

“W-what…?” Jyugo looked up at her, surprised to see her crying.

“Don’t try denying it!” She continued. “No matter how close anybody is to you, you just keep pushing us away! Stop trying to do everything yourself and talk to us! Whether we be in a prison or not, we’re your friends! Even when something shitty happens to you, the next day you’ll act like it never even happened because you don’t want anybody to worry. News flash—you worry us anyways! I want you to trust me, Jyugo! Why do you keep pushing me away so much when we can help you!?”

“Theodora…” Jyugo whispered, shocked by her words.

“Stop pushing everyone away and talk to us!” She yelled, the tears continuing to fall down her face. “If you don’t tell us what’s wrong then nobody will be ever able to help you! If you think running away will fix everything then you’re fucking wrong, okay?! You’re fucking wrong! Running away solves nothing! I know because I did it all the damn time! I hurt every single person I cared about from running away all the time. Do you know how much that hurts? Knowing you broke their hearts, unable to see them again, just because of your selfish actions that you consider 'right’!? Because it fucking hurts, okay?! It hurts so goddamn much! And this is coming from someone who can’t actually feel a goddamn thing!”

“But if I don’t go then…!” Jyugo stopped himself, not allowing himself to finish.

“THEN TALK TO ME, DAMN IT!” She screamed at him, startling everyone around her. “I am right in front of you! I keep offering to help but you do nothing but push me away! It hurts, okay? It hurts a lot because I want nothing more than to help you and save you! Do you understand what I’m saying!?” Jyugo’s eyes widened in shock at her next words. “I CARE ABOUT YOU!”

Theodora suddenly went quiet, having used up all her energy in that one shout. A small sob escaped her mouth as she tried hard to stay stable. “…Stop being such a shitty little brat and start thinking about how we feel, damn it…!”

“Theodora, I…” Jyugo tried to speak, only to get elbowed harshly in the side.

“Look at what you did!” Uno shouted at him. “Some man you are! Causing a woman to cry like that! Apologize to her!”

“If you wouldn’t interrupt me I would be able to!” Jyugo yelled at him.

“Don’t cry, Dora!” Nico said and hugged her waist. “Jyugo’s right here so there’s no need to be upset anymore. It’s all okay!”

“Uh, Nico, I don’t think you should cling to her like that…” Rock said and pried the younger boy off of her.

“You guys…” She whispered softly, grabbing their attention. “…really exhaust me…”

With what seemed like the floor was spinning under her, she fell to the ground. But, Hajime was right there to catch her. The inmates and Seitarou exclaimed in concern, wondering what happened with her and what was wrong. Hajime only sighed loudly in annoyance and carefully picked her unconscious body up.

“Like she said, you guys exhaust her.” Hajime stated. He turned and sharply glared down at Jyugo. “She didn’t sleep last night at all and she had been doing nothing but worrying about your sorry ass all day. Be grateful she’s so concerned about you so much, because if it wasn’t for her, I would’ve beaten you to a pulp again…”

Jyugo stiffened under his gaze, trying to let everything process in his head. He looked absolutely horrified and guilty by what Hajime said. The Supervisor turned and growled at the group one last time.

“Now get to your cells before I drag you there myself…”

'Mmn… My arms are heavy, I can’t lift them…’

'Waaaaiiit… I can’t feel shit. So, why can’t I lift my arms…?’

Theodora forced herself to open her eyes as much as she wanted to stay sleeping. When she saw a face in front of her, she immediately freaked out without a second thought. She simply shoved them off of her bed, hearing the satisfying thump of their body and hearing them groan. Sitting up in her bed with her blanket around her body, she peeked over the edge of her makeshift bed to see the annoyed expression of her assaulter.

“I knew you were pissed at me but I didn’t think you would shove me…” Groaned none other than Jyugo.

“Nah. I actually freaked out before realizing it was you and kicked you off.” Theodora stated.

Jyugo just gave her a look, annoyed by her clear smugness. Jyugo sat up and rubbed his butt from it being the first thing to hit the ground. He stayed on his spot on the floor and just looked at her.

“At least you’re awake…” Jyugo murmured.

“Let me guess…” Theodora sighed and looked at her clothes, seeing her hair slip over her shoulder. “I’ve been out for an entire day, huh?”

“Y-yeah… Everyone’s been concerned about you…” Jyugo said, rubbing the back of his head. “..I-I’ve been concerned…”

“Sorry. Can’t help it.” Theodora said a small smile on her lips. “That’s what happens when I over do everything… I forget I’m a human being with needs and necessities, so I tend to over do it and end up collapsing. But I feel fine now. Promise…”

Jyugo faltered, surprised she was back to being so soft spoken. He imagined she would be angry, or bitter in some way. Instead she was as smiley as ever. It actually made his chest pound, but he wasn’t too proud about it.

“U-um, Theodora…” He muttered. She hummed, showing she was listening. “I… I came here to apologize to you…”

“Hm…?” She tilted her head, waiting for him to go on.

“I’m sorry, for everything…” Jyugo muttered. “You saw right through me. I thought I changed since the Tournament, but… It just turns out I never really did. Everything you said was true. I’ve been scared… ever since that night… I just kept pushing you away, and I had no idea I was hurting you in the process. I’m sorry… I don’t deserve your kindness…”

“I appreciate the apology.” Theodora said. “But… I think you should start being honest with me. That night when you were outside and screamed—who the hell with the guy with the pointed ears? What did he do to you to make you scream in such a terrifying way…?”

“I-I…” Jyugo gazed at the ground. “…I don’t remember. I can’t remember a lot of things, and that guy’s not one of them. I can’t recall what happened that night…”

Theodora stared at him. Jyugo felt like it was forever instead of the minute that it was. She released a sigh and rubbed her head.

“It’s okay…” She said, surprising Jyugo. “It sounded traumatic, even though you didn’t have any wounds on you… Sometimes the brain knows what’s best and makes us forget. When that happens, it’s best that we forget it and leave it… But if you remember anything—anything—please tell me right away.”

“A-alright, okay…” Jyugo nodded, now looking back up at her.

“…Good.” She smiled, her tone sounding light hearted. “Thank you for apologizing to me again. But, I’ve got to say, sleeping next to a woman in her bed isn’t quite the right way to apologize to her.”

“S-sorry…” Jyugo looked away from her, unaware of his cheeks turning slightly pink.

“Well…” Theodora fell back onto her bed, still gazing at him. “…you’re surprisingly more comfortable than the plushy version.”

“H-H-HUH?!” Jyugo exclaimed, startled by her words.

“I kid, I kid!” She laughed lightly. “Plus, I can’t tell the difference between soft or hard! Ha ha ha!”

Jyugo could only stare at her with a deadpan expression 'Did she really just joked about that…?’

“Anyways…” She said, catching Jyugo’s attention. “Just why did you come here? I get that you wanted to apologize but that doesn’t explain why you’re in my room. Why did you come here when you knew I was out like a light?”

“I-I…” Jyugo’s eyes kept darting around the room, clearly not wanting to answer her. But with that serious expression on her face, it was hard to get away from it. “I-it’s just… you’re really warm… especially when you sleep…”

“Warm…?” Theodora questioned, now putting a finger to her lips. “Uh-oh… Did I catch a fever yesterday…?”

“A fever?” Jyugo questioned.

“Yeah, a fever.” Theodora nodded to him. “I can’t feel my body so well. When I was a kid, I got sick a lot. My family checked my forehead everyday to make sure I was alright or not. I had to take ibuprofen a lot to take down my temperature and heal up. Because I couldn’t tell what was going on with myself, I tend to power through it by accident, and then I would collapse. I wonder if that helped with me collapsing yesterday…”

“Wow. You are your own problem.” Jyugo muttered.

“Yeah…” Theodora nodded, not even trying to disagree with him. She looked left and right. “What time is it anyways?”

After finding her clock she reached for it to read the time. She was surprised it was five o'clock in the morning. She expected it to be three or something like last time. Sighing she placed it back before looking at Jyugo.

“You should head back to your jail cell,” she said. “I’d rather not have Hajime bust in here and beat you, again.”

Jyugo pouted, letting out a disgruntled hum as he clearly didn’t want to leave. “I don’t wanna…”

“What do you mean you 'don’t wanna’?” Theodora climbed out of her bed and stood up, towering over him. Her hands went to her hips as she bent down towards him. “I have to get ready for work, you know. Plus, you’re not supposed to be out of your cell. Doesn’t your cellmates get suspicious of you whenever you escape at night?”

“Not really, no,” Jyugo said flatly, completely unfazed by their opinions.

“Mm-hm,” Theodora hummed at him as she stared him down. “Seriously, kid, I need you to head back to your cell. A girl’s gotta change, you know.”

“Make me,” Jyugo said, crossing his arms childishly.

“Do you want me to lick you again?” Theodora threatened in a teasing manner.

Jyugo’s body shivered at her words and his face turned pink again. But he suddenly regained composure and smirked at her. “Now that I know you’re a woman, I’ll willingly accept a kiss from you.”

Theodora ’s eyes widened as she was surprised by his bold words. Looks like she can’t threaten him anymore with that. 'Welp, that backfired,’ she thought as she softly huffed at him. She honestly had no idea why Jyugo acted this way only towards her. He still held his smug expression, practically daring her to do it. Which made her all the less willing to do it. Plus, it felt a little wrong. But, she had more than one plan up her sleeve. If she can’t scare him with this move, she’s going to have to physically kick him out.

Shaking her head lightly at him she walked around her bed and had her back towards him. Jyugo watched her, wondering where she was going. She went towards a cabinet and glanced over her shoulder, seeing Jyugo peeking his head over her bed to watch her. She turned her head, acting as if she didn’t notice. With her back towards him, she began to lift her shirt, allowing the clothing to rise and reveal her bare back towards him. Immediately the boy flushed and stumbled back, falling back to the ground as he tried to cover his face.

“W-what’re you doing!?” He stutter, his face bright red, peeking through his fingers.

“I told you I have to get to work,” Theodora answered simply at him, continuing to lift her shirt. “I’m still a man, after all.”

“Th-th-that doesn’t mean you should strip in front of me!” Jyugo exclaimed.

She looked over her shoulder at him as her shirt was now at her neck, smirking at him. “What, do you wanna help me?”

“NO!” Jyugo practically screeched, looking like he’d pass out any second. “P-PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON!”

The boy practically zoomed across the room, pulling the woman’s shirt down so he didn’t see her back. Theodora’s body shook, trying to hold in a laugh as she found his reaction to be funny. His face was pink and he looked utterly flustered. It would be an utter lie if she said he didn’t look cute.

“What’re you laughing at!?” Jyugo exclaimed, looking almost frustrated at her.

“I never met a teenage boy who would get mad at a girl changing clothes,” Theodora chuckled before cupping his cheeks, startling him a bit. “I’m sorry, hahaha. You’re just too tempting to tease!”

Jyugo frowned, almost pouting as the older woman squished his cheeks together. She finally released him after flashing a smile before turning him around and gently leading him towards the door.

“But I’m serious when I say I want you to leave,” Theodora said. “If you get caught, we both might get into trouble. I bet Hajime is still pissed about what happened.”

Jyugo was quiet for a moment. He mumbled a small, “I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Theodora waved dismissively as they stood at the door. “I already forgave you, and I’m sure the others have as well. You don’t need to apology so much.” She ruffled his hair yet again. “I can probably guess why you did that, but don’t do it again! You gave me a heart attack… We can’t help you if you leave the damn place.”

“Right…” Jyugo mumbled quietly, his eyes landing on the floor as he stared vacantly.

Theodora sighed softly before retracting her hand. She knew that look. He was in deep thought, she could tell. Jyugo seemed to gently snap out of it before turning and leaving the room.

“I’m glad you’re awake,” he mumbled before he left.

“You and me both…” Theodora mumbled to herself before closing the door.

'Geez… what’s with the ruckus?’

Theodora, who was now in her uniform and mask, glanced up from her desk as she began to hear a lot of noise outside of the office. Suddenly Hajime burst through the door, Seitaru and Yamato standing right behind him. A small bit of Theodora jumped at their rather ungraceful entrance, but quickly calmed down one Hajime was yelling at her in a panic.

“THEO, HAVE YOU SEEN WHERE NO.15 HAS WENT!?” He bellowed, looking panicked ye angered.

“Um… No,” Theodora shook her head. “But I had seen him early this morning. I sent him back to his cell, though…”

“YEAH, WELL, HE’S ESCAPED AGAIN AND WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK!” Hajime yelled, anger in his tone.

“Fine, fine,” Theodora mumbled before standing from her spot and heading into the camera room. She typed in a few key-codes before the cameras spotted him. “…He’s in the library. I got him.”

“He could run off while you’re on your way there,” Hajime grumbled. “We’re all going!”

“No, it’s fine,” Theodora said and waved him off as she made her way to the door. “The kid’s asleep anyways. I’ll get there and drag him back.”

“Oi, Theo,” Hajime growled causing the woman in disguise to stop at the door. “We need to talk later on…”

She tried not to flinch a his tone, which worked, as she was rather concerned for why he would want to have a talk with her. Concealing her concern, she looked over her shoulder at him and sent him a narrowed eyed look.

“Take a smoke or something,” she scoffed at him. “You’re anger’s getting to you too quickly.”

Hajime growled at her and tried to swing a fist, by the girl skillfully dodged. He tried again, but she ducked her head in time to miss. Suddenly she found herself bobbing and weaving her head while Hajime’s irritation rose. Eventually the older man got a hit on her and sent her to the ground, making her groan softly.

“That’s it! I’m getting that inmate myself!” Hajime growled before exiting the room.

“The hell’s his problem…” Theodora grumbled as she sat up from the ground, glaring at the door he slammed shut.

“Well, ever since two days ago, he’s been really on edge,” Seitarou said as he appeared a little nervous. “No.15’s escape was very scary…”

“Mm…” Theodora hummed out, unable to deny that she had been rather scared herself at the time.

Rubbing her head she stood up from her spot in the ground, her thoughts now preoccupied with what Hajime said earlier. He wanted to talk to her about something. She was unsure of what, but she had a bit of an idea. Needless to say, she was kinda nervous. She just got her job back, and she had the Warden’s tension on her back for a while. Plus, her check up with her was due in a couple of days, so she has to deal with hat pending anxiety creeping up on her back.

Sitting back down at her desk, she await for Hajime’s return. Yamato left to go back to do some training while Seitarou had done the same as Theodora. The woman stayed at her desk and continued doing paperwork for a while. After a few minutes she heard the door open and slam shut. She picked her head up and looked over her shoulder and watched him sigh.

“Inmate caught, sir?” Seitarou asked.

“Yeah,” Hajime sighed before his eyes landed on Theodora. “Theo, come with me.”

“Um… alright,” Theodora mumbled and stood up.

She followed after the taller man, both of them walking down the hall of Building 13. The woman’s mind swirled with concern, wondering what he was going to tell her. She was still on a bit of bad terms with Hajime, as much as it had relaxed a bit, but she couldn’t help but be concerned. He was known for his temper, and she rather not be known for his punching bag.

Eventually they stopped walking. Theodora stared up at the back of his head, awaiting for him to begin the lecture she was sure she was about to get. Hajime released a sigh before turning to her. Needless to say, she was shocked to see his face so pale.

“I-I have to ask…” mumbled the usually terrifying man. “The Warden, she… She had called for me to discuss about No.15, but… The woman can be terrifying…”

Theodora blinked at him, eyes wide in shock. 'Whoa, holy shit! Hajime is scared of something! I guess anybody would be scared of their boss. Kinda sad when you think about how the Warden likes him so much…’

“…And you brought me here because…?” Theodora raised a brow at him.

“You’re able to talk with her and not get glared at,” Hajime said and grabbed her by the shoulders, genuinely looking concerned. “How do you do it?! Is it a woman thing? How do I stop the Warden from having my head…!?”

“You’ll be fine, Hajime. Trust me.” Theodora said, not wanting to admit the Warden’s feelings to him. She’d get fired for real if she did such a thing. She patted Hajime’s shoulder out of comfort. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. You’ll be fine, seriously. If anything the Warden, uh… has her eye on you for other reasons. But they’re nothing serious. Just go in and act normal, I’m sure nothing will happen.”

“You sure?” He asked, clearly having doubts.

“Yes I’m sure,” Theodora said and pried his hands off of her shoulders and spun him around. “Now, go see the Warden!” she gave him a shove. “If anything you’re the last person on her shitlist, so you’re all good. Just get going and don’t keep her waiting.”

“R-right…” stuttered the grown man and he stiffly walked away.

Theodora sighed, knowing that her tenseness eased. She had been afraid that he’d put more stress onto her. Turned out the big scary gorilla was a big scaredy gorilla. As mean as it was, Theodora found it a bit comical of how he was afraid of their boss. Yeah, she was scary, that’s for sure. But it was rare for anybody to see him in such a state. Almost felt refreshing.

With a bit of a smirk under her mask, she made her way back to the office. As she was moments away from getting to the door, a sudden shrill scream got her attention. With her body on edge she rushed towards the sound and found herself at cell 13. She grabbed the bars and peeked inside.

“What’s the mat—uh…” Theodora stopped mid-sentence, staring in shock.

“O-oh, Theo’s here! Ahaha, hi!” Uno said, her tone full of nervousness.

“Uno…” Theodora’s tone was firm as her eye twitched at the monstrosity inside of the room. “What. The hell. Is that.”

“It’s Jyugo,” Uno mumbled, clearly sweating bullets out of nervousness.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?” Exclaimed the woman, feeling highly disturbed with what she was seeing. “AND WHY DOES ROCK HAVE CAT-EARS!? WHY’S COO HERE! HE WAS IN THE OFFICE WHEN I SAW HIM!”

“Rock smuggled Coo in here and according to Nico something bad happens when a cat touches him and I wanted to know so… yeah…” Uno trailed off as he eyed Jyugo, clearly being disturbed.

“What the hell…” Theodora mumbled before rubbing her head. “If this was Nico’s doing then it’s a disease. Uuugh, all of you, come with me. We’re heading to the infirmary…”

“All of us, meow?” Rock asked.

“Yes, all of you,” Theodora said and opened the door. “Nico is the source, and you’re all his cellmates. So, I need you all to come with me so this disease doesn’t spread.”

“Yay! We get to go on a trip with Dora!” Nico exclaimed and merily skipped out.

“Nico, no touching things,” Theodora stated as everyone followed. “The same goes for Jyugo nd Rock. You might spread it and I don’t want to report it to the Warden. She has my head as it is… Now, let’s head to the infirmary quickly.”

With the boys out of their cell, Theodora lead them to where the doctor should be. Nico kept trying to jump and hug Theodora, but the boys kept holding him back. She did tell him to not touch anything, and that included her. Once at the doctor’s office, Theodora had to explain what happened. Needless to say, she couldn’t save the boys from a scolding, which honestly she didn’t try to save them from. It was their mess after all. After the doctor’s persistent nagging, he got to work on fixing the boys. Rock’s ears went back to normal, and after half and hour so did Jyugo’s head. Theodora was highly relieved and thankful to the doctor.

“Ah, it seems you’ve healed,” the doctor said while patting Jyugo’s head.

“Thanks,” Jyugo muttered, looking genuinely relieved.

“I’m glad you’re all better!” Exclaimed Uno. “With your knife hands and cat head, you wouldn’t look like a main character.”

“Oh, and I wonder who’s fault it is for one of those reasons,” Theodora said, staring at Uno pointedly as her arms were crossed.

“W-what?! W-what’re you staring at! Nico was the cause!” Uno exclaimed, pointing at the boy.

“Nico knows better than to touch people when he’s contagious,” Theodora said and began to stare him down. “Plus, your eyes glanced to the left as you said hat and you refuse to look at me. Not to mention the stutter. So…” She rolled up her sleeve as she talked, only to give him a hard punch as it made the boy crumble to the ground. “You’re to blame for this!”

“Ow, ow, ow ow, ow,” mumbled Uno as he clutched his head, laying on the ground.

Rock laughed at him, pointing at his fallen figure. Theodora sent him a pointed look, silencing the boy.

“Don’t act like you’re the guilty party in this,” Theodora said and looked at who was in his arms. “I wonder how Coo got into the cell in the first place. Would you have any ideas of that, Rock?”

“U-uh, well…” Rock trailed off, clearly trying to think of a lie.

Within seconds Rock was on the floor, a bump on his head as he was in the same position as Uno. Jyugo could only sweatdrop at the sight.

“At any rate, how did this happen?” Asked the doctor. “Where did the cat come from?”

“Who’s to say,” Theodora shrugged. “It might’ve smuggles it’s way onto here. Either way he’s gone.”

A soft meow caused her to stiffen. Theodora stiffly turned her head and looked up, spotting Kuu on top of a cabinet. She was bewildered by how he got here, only for her eyes to trail back to Rock. He and Uno had recovered from their injuries, only for Rock to sense her gaze on him. He spotted Coo and lifted his hands up in surrender, backing away from the woman.

'These boys will be the end of me, I swear…’ Theodora thought as she stared blankly at them.

Suddenly the door opened, causing them to turn and look. It was Trois and Honey, both of them greeting Kaguya the robot as soon as they entered. Now Theodora was officially feeling irritated. She was about to bash their heads in as soon as she heard them asking about underwear until Kiji came in. She hesitated because she didn’t want to deal with the Bird of Drag Queens. She decided to ignore them until the Doctor was speaking again.

“Huh? Nico, your hair looks a little different,” spoke the doctor and he held a piece of it. “The texture… is it… "That”!?“

"Yeah, it’s probably "that,”“ Nico said without the littlest bit of worry.

"Huh? What do you mean?” Theodora asked, wondering if she needed to be concern for the younger boy.

“Ah, it’s coming,” Nico said and he continued with his vague words. “"That” is coming. It’s coming. Get ready it’s about to come.“

"Hey, doc, what’s he talking about?” Theodora directly asked the old man.

“UNO, DON’T YOU DARE!” Jyugo’s shout grabbed her attention.

“It’s okay, just go,” Uno said, trying to shove the shorter boy towards Nico.

“What do you mean it’s okay!? Did you learn nothing from earlier?!” Jyugo yelled at him, fighting against him as much as he could.

“This time it will be okay!” Uno exclaimed and picked Jyugo up from behind.

Theodora could feel a vein on her forehead. Stealthily sneaking up from behind him, she picked Jyugo up from out of Uno’s grasp, causing both boys to go silent. Holding Jyugo in one hand, she quickly shoved Uno forwards instead. Uno screamed as he fell towards Nico, unable to save himself. He bumped against the boy and fell to the ground. They stared at him and… nothing. Nothing was wrong.

“Huh?” Uno hopped back onto his feet and looked at his hands. “Nothing happened…”

“Uh, guys,” Jyugo mumbled as he looked between Theodora and Uno. “You might want to look in a mirror…”

Theodora raised a brow at him before Uno released a girlish shriek. He gripped a mirror and stared into it, gripping at his hair in horror. Theodora’s eyes widened to realize that his hair was a solid color of silver instead of it’s usual blond and pink. It looked like her hair color…

wait…

WAIT….

“Oh, fuck me…” Theodora mumbled as she held on strand of her now blonde and pink hair.

“My hair is stupid silver! My beautiful blond haaaaiir!” Sobbed Uno.

“Watch it,” Theodora growled at him, her eye twitching at his words. “I’d rather take my "stupid” silver hair instead of blond and pink… ugh… pink…"

“What’s wrong with pink!?” Uno yelled at her. “You should be thankful! It makes you look—”

Theodora slapped her hand over his mouth and glared at him. “Watch what you say, you morron! People still don’t know…!”

“Oh, right,” Uno mumbled through her hand.

The woman in disguised growled softly at him, her eye twitching ever so slightly as she retracted her hand. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned her head, seeing Jyugo pointing at her hair again.

“It changed again,” he pointed out. Theodora’s eyes widened at him.

“So has yours!” She exclaimed.

Jyugo now had Uno’s hair, which means someone has his hair color. Theodora glanced a her hair, only to realize she got his. She sighed at the sight, only to hear Jyugo beginning to exclaim in horror that he fell victim to it too. 'At least I don’t have Uno’s hair color anymore,’ she thought in gratitude.

Soon enough, before she could even blink, the hair color switching had spread out to the entirety of the prison. After hearing a screeching Kiji and his inmates, eventually Theodora was able to usher everyone away. According to the doctor everything should go back to normal within a day. With an annoyed sigh, she found herself back into their office, her hair color now Seitarou’s while he had hers. She grumbled as she tugged at the strand, wishing to have her normal hair back.

'This is too much…’ she thought with a sigh. 'At least everything’s back to normal now…’

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