Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Mai HiME, nor Mai Otome, and yes, this is a much much better edition of the original Death Row. A lot of things have changed, but it is still the fantastic story that launched me into a public eye years ago.
Warning: This story contains and will contain graphic violence against animals and character death. Those with weak stomachs should not continue. Enjoy!
Death Row: Redux
A Murder of Crows
~D~
There were no crows to be had this evening, and this just would not do. For a reason unbeknownst to herself, she needed those winged metaphors of death like she needed air in her lungs, and she needed that desperately as she soon found herself panting like a madman on a dash, as if she herself were sprinting when all she was doing was standing, holding a smooth rock the size of her palm.
If there were no crows here, she would find them, and bring them to this spot. How odd it was to her, that getting struck by a rock while flying away would lead them to crumple in mid-air. Fascinating how holding the black bird down and bashing its beak into its own brain was so completely satisfying... Once it was dead, it weighed almost nothing, and she secured three more like it to her belt.
She needed the feathers for tonight.
~D~
"Where on Earth is your sister? Going out in the middle of the night…" Murmuring softly to her youngest daughter, robe being pulled taut around her waist by the sash, pale hands shook with just a hint of fear.
"She's never done something so… Odd. As such, that is." Correcting herself, the woman strode towards the front door, checking out of the small glass panel to see outside before being startled by a sound at the back.
"Natsuki? That had better be you, young lady. I'll have you know you woke up Nina and I-... What is all over you?"
Admonished, or at least looking the part, Natsuki strode into the light, covered in small speckles of blood as though her shirt had sprouted freckles. "Feathers." She answered, though that was clearly one half of the answer.
"What seems to be wrong, mother?"
Saeko was startled, unnerved to say the least as her gaze trailed and came to a stop upon the belt of dead crows; Eyes widening in faint fear and confusion.
"...Why are you covered in feathers and blood, Natsuki?" She had something in her left hand, what was it…?
"Well, how else was I supposed to get the feathers?"
"Why do you need feathers…? Why aren't you answering me?"
Cocking her head to the side, Natsuki smiled softly as Nina approached her, the small child poking one of the dead birds hanging from a worn leather belt. Their mother watched on in idle horror, the emotion only increasing once Nina let out a giggle.
Clearly, she didn't understand what was going on…
"Instead of asking so many questions, I think it is time for bed… Mother, take Nina to bed, I will stay up and work on getting these feathers." Natsuki's face was serene, blood-splattered as it was.
Saeko stared, cautiously stepping close to take Nina into her arms, a move Natsuki seemed to resent just from the pure warning it came with; The fear her mother seemed to harbor for her in this instant.
It only made what was soon to come all the more enjoyable.
~D~
It was so hard to get blood from feathers; the downy softness of wings having been splintered open until the bone fragments just spewed and landed wherever they damn well pleased…
She was more gentle with the next one, the harder task at hand already accomplished; In record time, Natsuki reminded and boasted to herself. Soon, she had a crown of perfect sable feathers, the black turning the faintest of indigo when met with any light source.
Her favorite was candle-light; Oh how rich those colors looked, flames dancing upon them and warming them to life-like authenticity.
But of course, they were dead. The crows, her mother, and little Nina too. With the very same smooth rock with which she had struck the birds down, did she ultimately put a stopper to two-thirds of her family's mortal coil.
There was still her father, of course, but oddly he seemed… Absent.
A pity, that would just make this… Harder. But, she loved a challenge.
Soon before her were three crowns of full sable feathers, only one bloodstained. She took that for herself, the nicer things were only meant for the dead, after all. Natsuki whistled a low tune in the otherwise silent manor, the noise more unsettling than the quiet.
It had just turned dusk, the sun barely starting to rise over the clump of trees scattered along the back to make the manor seem more homey; Or at least that is what mother had always said… Foolish woman.
A mug of coffee prepared, and the warming tingle of cold blood running down the side of her cheeks from her feathered crown, Natsuki gave a proud smile down to a vast stain of blood over ashen wood flooring. "Mother, why are you being so lazy? Nina should be up soon, and breakfast is not even started? Tsk…"
Setting her mug down, Natsuki tutted and heaved the dead woman over a shoulder, not seeming to mind or care for the blood that soon soaked through her shirt. "Ugh, you will have to clean this up, you know." She chastised the corpse, sitting her at the bar and letting her skull crack on the surface.
"Hm… Are you tired? I will fetch something to keep you up." With that, Natsuki left the kitchen and kept whistling, finding a strong rope she had bought in preparation for this wonderful event.
"Here we are…" One end had already been pulled and knotted tight into a noose, the other perfectly braided to hold strong. Slipping the noose end around her mother's neck, Natsuki's whistle took a low tone as she stood on a chair and heaved the other end around the strong lighting fixture, hoisting her mother up and tying it off at the oven door.
Upon being hoisted, Saeko's corpse knocked over the stool it was propped in, and Natsuki seemed appalled at the very notion, stepping down from her chair with mouth agape.
"Mother, what have you done?!" She stared up at the lifeless swinging body, before giving a disgusted noise and fixing the chair. "You cannot make the place a mess!"
Feet just hanging off the floor, the corpse was composed more like a marionette… For her daughter's amusement. Humming now, Natsuki gave a push to the corpse's left arm to swing her towards the stove, forcing one arm to prop onto the handle of a skillet, the other to grasp a spatula, itself resting on the surface of the metal.
"Now, make breakfast. She will not be napping the day away." Natsuki scolded the corpse, returning to the table to fetch one of the other feathered crowns and gently settling it onto Saeko's head.
With a peck just an inch away from a bashed skull, Natsuki pulled back. "I love you, mother."
Blood splattered the walls where she had done the deed; Her mother in the main hall, and Nina having been asleep in her bed… Strangely, her sister had been the messiest of the two. How odd…
Natsuki's whistling returned, the only sound in the otherwise dead household, the woman striding happily up towards her sister's room. With a rolling of already bloodied sleeves; As ivory had turned to crimson in a matter of moments when she struck with that stone, Natsuki opened the door.
"Nina, lazy girl… Always laying about. Well, I suppose I should let you sleep, you are growing…" Pecking a similarly bludgeoned brow, she set the last and smallest feathered crowd atop her sister's head, though with difficulty.
The bed with which the corpse lain was stained thoroughly; Blood making its war path known on cotton sheets and thick blankets. If not for that, and the revolting disfigurement with which the stone had wrought when Natsuki had struck with brute force, Nina looked as though she may be sleeping.
Everything was complete, perfect now in a way she couldn't begin to have dreamt of. Her whistling stopped as she left Nina's room, bloody trails where she had dragged her mother evident as she made way down into the main hall once more.
Utter silence… Utter peace.
Sitting down to her morning coffee, more blood trailing over her face from the hastily torn feathers of her crown, Natsuki lifted the mug to her lips and took a slow sip. It would be a good day…
~D~
Three days. That was the minimum limit of days she had her silence, and it was all ruined by two ignorant men. As such the world was, she supposed…
She had been enjoying her morning coffee, in a clean outfit of pressed dark slacks and a sleek button-down of baby-blue, not a drop of blood on her. Shined shoes were a thing to take pride in, and take she did, raking back coal hair that had the same shine as the crow feathers, the crown still atop her head.
The interruption came soft at first, a knocking at the door across the main hall, but it was interrupting nonetheless.
Not bothering with the window, or the little slot, Natsuki swiftly opened opened the door and stared. When they started to speak, disgusted looks spawned on their faces, no doubt from the smell...
She slowly rose her mug, sipping the last dregs of her coffee before clearing her throat. "What can I do for you, officers?" Nonchalant as a murderer could be, Natsuki cocked a thin brow towards them.
"...We're here to investigate the… very powerful odor of human remains reported from this address. Would you mind if we stepped inside?" His lesser partner was gagging already; This could be fun.
"Of course. Nothing to hide." Natsuki murmured, stepping aside to let the two men catch a gander at the stain along dark wood. She heard the gagging officer curse softly, and smirked as she turned her back to them both.
"Mother is just in the kitchen, she caused such a mess-"
"We have also had reports of your mother not showing in for work?" The officer froze as Natsuki slowly turned to face him, more than just death in her eyes.
"I do not like being interrupted."
The other officer whipped a handkerchief from his jacket, pressing it to his mouth as he struggled to breathe. "You say your mother made a mess…?" The first one narrowed his eyes, one hand traveling to his belt for his gun.
"A big mess, yes. It explains the smell, and all these stains… She is just in the kitchen, as I said earlier… Please, go take a look." Natsuki smiled faintly, returning to her coffee.
The officer covering his mouth exchanged glances with his partner, stepping towards the kitchen. Taking her seat, Natsuki waited as she lifted the mug to her lips, delighted once she heard the man's muffled scream before the handkerchief fell.
"S-she strung her up! On a noose!" He babbled, the other officer whipping his gun out and taking aim; Gunpowder stinging at her nose once the barrel faced her. He had fired it earlier… It must be still warm, just a bit, at least.
"Now, now… You can take me alive. You men always seem so eager to kill something…" Natsuki chastised them, relishing in the confusion settling on their faces.
"Go find the girl." The officer kept his gun trained on her, his partner ascending the stairs. They were the only surface not utterly soaked in blood, though they had been splattered...
The smell of decay grew stronger, and the man had to take a pause to press the cloth harder against his mouth and nose, coughing to expel the hideous taste of death from his throat. A few more steps and a soft nudge on an open door, the stink hit him full force, as did the visage of the corpse of the girl laying in bed.
Crimson turned almost black as it covered the entire bed, splattered along the walls and the floor. Childish drawings of someone who seemed identical to that of the odd woman downstairs littered the walls, the only things that seemed… cleaned up.
Watching the unnerved man who stunk of gunpowder, the woman casually lifted her mug to her lips. She seemed to be waiting for something, and once the officer upstairs let out a wicked yell, she drank the last dregs of her coffee.
"The girl's dead too, wearing some… Freaky feather crown, like the mother and… her." The second officer rejoined them, the stench of death more potent now that Nina's bedroom door was open.
Setting her mug down, with a rather irritated flourish at being interrupted at all, Natsuki stood from her seat and clasped her hands behind her back; Jade gaze switching between the two of them.
"What are you waiting for? Will you arrest me, or shoot me?"
Silence permeated now, the officer holding the gun raising it a bit higher and tightening his hand on the rough grip of it. His partner eyed him nervously, unsure of what should, or rather could, be done. This woman was a monster; Who's to say shooting her would even kill her?
"Arrest or shoot, officer. I do not have all day…"
He should have shot her.
~D~
"Lieutenant Kruger! Is it true that you're not giving your daughter a fair trial?!" These reporter scum; Useless journalists leeching off of society for mere dollars on every word. Sickening.
"The case was highly precedent, her trial is being moved up to not keep such a dangerous criminal behind flimsy bars. She is not my daughter." The burly man sneered to the camera, cheeks just a bit pink and eyes teary.
Once the doors slammed shut on the vultures, he resigned himself. Natsuki was going to jail, quick and without a doubt that she committed the crime.
Of course, she had committed it, as he himself had been working a night-shift at the station. Unless he had means to control his daughter, Natsuki was completely guilty.
Takeo sighed softly, composing himself and wiping clammy palms along his reddened cheeks before entering the courtroom.
~D~
He sat in the middle row, watching the room fill in with his friends, family friends even, and a teacher from Nina's school to boot. Everyone looked sullen, distressed, distraught.
He hoped he looked sad enough; The pats on his shoulder from fellow officers affirmation of that. They grouped around him in the pews, forming a barrier from journalists that had snuck past the guards, and a few escorting them out roughly.
The judge wasn't here yet, and it worried him. Where was that ugly brute?
He had specifically asked, and even bribed, for a judge known for not once being lenient. Leniency had no place in a courtroom, Takeo believed; Especially not when the criminal was a relative of a decorated officer such as himself.
Natsuki deserved to die for the horrid things she did, this he knew.
The bailiff was one he had never seen before this case as well, and it all seemed… fishy. The officer was a woman, not that he had a thing against female officers, but this one was a bit… Odd.
Why would a bailiff need to wear such… colorful eye makeup?
He had been too busy staring to notice the judge had arrived until one of his fellow officers led him to stand to attention. His eye twitched; This was not the judge he had paid for…
"All rise, this court is now in session. The honorable Judge Chrysant presiding." The bailiff almost boomed, several jumping in their stances as a mousy woman took her place.
Takeo almost glared before remembering where he was, instead silently grumbling to himself and crossing his arms when they were allowed to sit once more. That bastard fraud he paid would definitely be expecting a visit from him…
"This is a very serious and graphic case. We will be having to go over the details, so I suggest anyone with weak wills or stomachs must leave. I will not have vomit in this courtroom." The supposedly mousy woman ordered, a few sheepishly leaving.
"Bring her in." Judge Chrysant ordered the bailiff, the blonde speaking softly into a radio, an earpiece settled securely and almost hidden in her hair.
The side-doors, bamboo in tone but perhaps not the real make; Takeo could see these cheapskates skirting the finer things, either way they opened to reveal a set of officers and his daughter in the middle.
She was done up in chains and still in the pristine clothes she had been arrested in; Rattling steel criss-crossing over her chest from atop her shoulders and swaying down towards her legs, keeping them tight and uniformly controlled. Her arms were weighted down with steel mits instead of cuffs, and at that Takeo about huffed out loud.
Steel mits? Really? They encased the whole of her hands… Once those chains were off, she could kill anyone of them with a haymaker alone! Who paid these incredible buffoons…?
"Flouncing about with chains? You are lucky nothing is visibly cutting into her skin, or you would be next on trial for brutality." The judge harshly glared through square-rimmed spectacles at the officer, who indeed was the one to make the arrest.
"Why thank you, I told them the exact same thing." The prisoner spoke up, her face a bit red from having been scrubbed of blood from the crow crown which she had been wearing up until a few short hours ago.
"Now then… This trial is already fairly odd without more circumstances being added. We have no jury, no exact witnesses except for Miss Kruger herself, as the father of the household was working days and nights at his station starting… one day before the incident?" Yukino eyed Takeo, the man standing to nod his head.
The officers around him rallied silently as well, and the bailiff strode forward to accept a paper confirming his alibi; Timecard and his own reports at the time.
The blonde read them both over before bringing them to the judge; Yukino taking her time. Takeo stewed silently; Furious at how it seemed he may have almost been accused.
"Before I begin, Miss Kruger, I understand you have declined any legal help? No lawyer, attorney… No one?"
"Just myself." Natsuki offered a kind smile up to the judge, Yukino a little unsure before giving a nod.
"Then, it seems that there is astounding evidence piled against Miss Kruger in these counts. As it stands; Four counts of animal abuse against birds from the genus Corvus, crows to be more specific. Two counts of first degree murder, one count of harm against a minor. Two counts of abuse on a corpse-" Around this point, Yukino started to appear green under the gills, as were a few of the officers around Takeo.
Cowards...
"This is quite a long list of offences… All very disturbing. Miss Kruger, what do you have to say to these accusations?" Yukino lowered the paper, the bailiff handing her a small cup of water.
"To the accusations of what I have done, I merely state that every single one is indeed true. I planned them, down to the last detail. I was doing it, I did it, and succeeded. I do not believe much else needs to be said."
Shocked, the judge stared at her before composing herself and clearing her throat. "Then… you confess?"
"Wholeheartedly. I am guilty." Natsuki kept her kind smile even as the rest of the courtroom seemed about to burst at the seams with hatred. Takeo glared at her, his fellow officers trying to block his sight of her.
She was a disease, something far more deadly than the black plague… An apex predator, born from the womb something evil and far too powerful for this world.
"If there are no further… Contests to this?" Yukino looked directly to him, and Takeo shook his head faintly.
"Then… Miss Kruger, on all of your accounts, I sentence you to death. You will be held on Death Row until the day of your twenty-third birthday, and then executed by lethal injection." Slamming the gavel down, Yukino kept her eyes to her stand.
Rattling of the chains rang out with an almost haunting tune as Natsuki was hoisted up by her arresting officers and led out; Takeo's friends cheering a bit rowdy as they patted him on the back.
They were imbeciles as well, but at least they could be persuaded; Bought. Control was something he admired and respected greatly. To have no control made him no more than an animal.
"Quiet." He spoke out softly before bellowing, the sheer shock of a sudden outburst flaring out like a quake. "I've just lost my daughters… My wife is dead as well. What the hell are you cheering over?"
The others around him quieted, most sheepish and pink in the face from embarrassment.
Control at its finest…
~D~
"I should have just shot her if I knew she was just going to die in a few years." One of the arresting officers grumbled, piling Natsuki into the transport truck.
"Sergei, you're a bit of a hardass, eh?"
"What would you rather, waste millions in taxes to keep that freak alive, or one bullet?" The man grumbled back, shutting the door with a huff.
The other stared, a bit concerned as the transport took off with a rattling of the frame. "Maybe we should get you some down-time…"
~D~
The ride to the prison had been rather boring, since after all the transport truck's windows were covered with steel shutters. Natsuki would have preferred a view of trees, perhaps even a lake or something calm and quiet… Instead, all she got was a crackle of the engine and the heat of being in an armored vehicle.
"Ugh." The disgusted noise uttered only briefly when the door opened again, filtering fresh cold air to battle the stuffy atmosphere inside. Guards stepped in, accompanying the other two that had rode over with her.
Still bound in chains with the steel mits, which she hoped someone had the keys for, Natsuki stood without a fuss. Fighting would only prolong her suffering, she would rather get it over with and be comfortable in her cell…
No doubt an odd thought, but it was hers nonetheless.
She gained a brief view of the sky; The sun was setting and bleeding its various hues into the darkening azure of the sky. There was a faint smell of fire in the air, mixed in with the pure gauntlet frame of the prison; steel and concrete enhanced thanks to the dampness of rain.
It was a shame the rain had stopped before she had a chance to feel it once last time on her skin; The cold permeating into every last bone… How she missed it, and miss it she would still.
She hung her head for the first time since being sprung into the public eye, and a guard gave her a look. They said she had been forthcoming and calm during her forced trial, no guilt other than her spoken confession. So… what was this, then? Remorse?
A devil can't feel remorse.
Natsuki relished the last gust of fresh wind against her cheek before all senses were blocked and suffocated by the prison, the doors slammed shut behind her. She hoped, though no matter how implausible it seemed, that there may be a small barred window in her cell.
Anything to be linked to nature…
Inside, it was so utterly noisy. Between automatic doors grating with their heavy groans or the inmates making a fuss over a new addition, Natsuki noticed something. The inmates were only noisy until they saw her face; No doubt her serene smile and expression so unsettling it quieted them all.
The guards escorting her exchanged uneasy glances; Just what had they brought into their domain? A demon, a devil, or something far more sinister?
Because this Kruger certainly was not a Saint.
Why exactly did they have to cross the main hall of the prison to secure herself into the death row segment? She scoffed at the architecture of the structure, shaking her head and rattling her chains more.
Not even a smidge of taste here… Such a waste.
Here to spend the rest of her life, short at that, and without any… Marble flooring? No granite wall of her accomplishments like in her part of the manor; No wooden flooring…
Just… Dull grey walls and floors and ceilings.
A brief flicker of regret in her eyes flared out and emerald sharpened into a fierce glare as she was faced with an oncoming guard, the man scurrying away quickly with a furrowed brow and a tight frown.
The regret melted away easily, and Natsuki chuckled softly to herself as the segment she was meant for was finally revealed; A long hallway leading towards the sable double-doors marked with crimson.
"It's never been this quiet before." She heard one guard speak to another over the sound of her rattling chains; Fingers stretching inside the steel mits. Fairly uncomfortable…
They came upon the door and were buzzed in, two separate cameras with vision set completely onto the entrance. No one allowed into death row who didn't have the right clearance, she supposed…
The only sound were uniformed boots on the grey floor, along with the sound of her brogues as she had not yet changed into the customary clothing the other inmates seemed to be wearing. All drab and boring… Just like the prison.
What was that burning smell? Before disappearing behind sable doors, she swore she picked its scent up again…
Heavy doors shutting and locking in place behind them, Natsuki stared at a wall that almost immediately met them. There were two ways to go now; Left, and right. The guards urged her right, and it seemed there was a bit of architectural creativity at last; A gauntlet maze…
It must be so vast to even be a maze at all.
She would remember the way, there was no doubt she would.
The walls were as dark as the entry doors to this segment of the prison; Ebony with a glossy finish… They were so beautiful…
Natsuki stared, almost enamored with her reflection as she was maneuvered throughout the maze, rarely seeing an inmate here or there in a solitary cell. These chains were beginning to become too heavy, but her shoulders squared and her back stayed straight.
Finally, the guards led her down a right passage without a left alternate, and it ended with another glossy wall. A dead-end… There was only one occupied cell; Emerald glancing into it and taking note of scarred skin before she was shoved forward by a brave officer.
She sent a glare back but complied, the shaking of his boots enough to get a smirk out of her. Ah, a corner cell… How odd. The door of the cell blended into the dead-end wall, and opened with an almost silent hiss of gears.
It contained one bed, a table and chair, shelves… This was an odd setup for an inmate of any lower standing, and especially for death row?
"Your… father insisted we keep you in somewhat comfortable settings, seeing as you are the only remaining family he has left." A guard spoke up at seeing her expression, though Natsuki's features twisted into an even more confused visage.
"How odd." She uttered barely over her breath, and was led inside the decent-sized cell. To her disappointment, there was no window to be seen. With a heavy sight, Natsuki eyed the male guard trying to approach her.
"I think chains and mits would best be removed by a woman." She pointed out dryly, and the man flushed.
"Er… Right." He nodded to one of the women, passing over a small ring of keys. Oh good, they did have them at least…
Her shoulders sagged a bit in relief when the heavy chains were removed, markings along her throat and no doubt under her clothes… The mits were next, and she made a rapid move of taking them up towards her face for inspection that the other guards flinched and almost drew their tasers before realizing.
She was calm, and yet unnerving them all. "...Your father has arranged an array of clothing, the… case is just under the bed." The female guard spoke softly, watching this intriguing prisoner.
Why was she such a high-priority criminal with what she did?
"Another odd." Natsuki spoke a bit higher this time, starting to explore the cell. The door was slid shut behind her, and she realized that there were only minimal bars on the door. Only a small square just eye-level of three bars, a small space to look out of…
Other than that, she was utterly alone.
Her father had made sure to keep her amenities… Comfortable. She even got to keep and dress in her same style and clothing… Strange. Why would he do that, after what she had done?
Rubbing the markings left behind on her throat from the chains, coal hair was brushed away with a faint hum. She considered the folded blanket and pillow case on the bed, starting to situate her new… Home.
More than anything, she missed the sharp smell of shoe polish; No doubt her brogues and what other pair her father had packed would become scuffed…
~D~
The Kruger Manor… All aswarm with reporters, journalists, two-cent paparazzi trying to get a cheap angled shot to sell to the highest bidder. All parasites; Feeding off of the lowest form of entertainment, crimes and victims of them not their worry one bit.
Takeo tutted, activated the shutters and startled several of those blasted bastards away as metal slid over glass. Every door and window locked down and secure, the patriarch of a family no more tried to relax.
It had taken most of the day, and four different companies combined, but all the stains and all the smells were removed from the manor.
But no one could remove the images in the photos he had been shown, nor could they remove the pain that his wife and youngest daughter no doubt suffered just before their brutal murders.
The fear they must have felt… It got his blood hot and his pulse racing just thinking of it.
But… it was over, now. Of course, it wouldn't ever be truly over, but the worst part had passed. All that was coming was the funeral…
As Takeo peered over the area of the main hall where his wife had been bludgeoned, he grit his teeth and gave a shaky hiss of an inhale.
At least Natsuki wouldn't have the opportunity to come to the funeral. She was dead to him just like Nina and Saeko.
~D~
Natsuki likened this experienced to a time when she was younger and had taken the world at her feet; Traveling abroad to pursue her passion of art and architecture, she had taken to a place of complete solitude to create what was nothing short of a masterpiece.
It had taken a year in itself in that place, but at her current state, she would have no doubts she could recreate it in her sleep.
Bed made, the fabric was so rough it made her grimace a faint bit. The blanket was at least bearable; The pillow-case she may have to beat into submission.
Currently, she sat on her bed and stared out towards the small barred opening on the door, wondering just how food would be transferred. She wasn't hungry, not at this moment, and certainly not with the faint smell of fire she had caught outside and inside this prison…
It was sketchy, to say the least.
Natsuki stood, moving towards the door yet stopping and pressing her back to the wall just at the left of it; Hands feeling the smooth stone as she hummed softly to herself. The door fixed to the wall at her left, the wall behind her now one smooth surface…
Until she found a small chipped hole, barely bigger than the tip of her pinky and well hidden just inches above the floor. Lowering herself onto her belly, emerald scoped out what secrets lay beyond.
She caught colors; Teal, a sickening pink of scars that wouldn't stop shining, and grey. Startled when she realized it was her neighbor's face, Natsui flinched back but chuckled lowly and returned down; The two prisoners silently studying each other.
"You are a curious one." Natsuki finally spoke after a long moment of studying.
"The same can be said of you." Her neighbor uttered just as quietly, and the coal-haired woman hummed again softly.
"Who made this?"
"The last. Scratched it with fingernails and a belt spoke. She said 'Anything to talk to another living soul'. I told her we no longer have souls."
Natsuki tilted her head, as best she could laying prone, and quirked a thin brow. "Did she go mad after that?"
"Nothing so interesting, just filled quiet spaces with rants and raves. I thought I may go mad before she."
Nodding, she eased off from the scratched portal for a moment to readjust her elbows on the floor.
"I thought you may be mute; You've just been… Silent ever since they put you in." She heard her neighbor speak just barely, and returned down.
"I am quiet." That was the only reply she gave, though she seemed interested enough. "How long have you been down here?"
"Three years, so far. Artai Intensive Security… Sounds more like a hospital sometimes, and it does feel like a mental institution more times than not. At least, until the executions start."
"I am curious about that; I smelled fire outside, and again once coming down the hall for this odd mazed row. Is there any execution that involves fire?" Natsuki pressed closer, desperate for an answer to this odd observation.
"Fire? No… It may have been a fireplace, I know there is one in an office, but it's far. You wouldn't be able to smell it."
"How curious, then…" Natsuki propped her chin on the top of her hand, eying her neighbor's face best she could.
"Do you want to know my name?" She asked after a moment, seeming a bit excited to give information.
"...Just names, for now. No… crimes."
"That suits me just as well. Unless… I assume since we are here, we would both be infamous. Though my infamy is new, so I have nothing to worry of, but I am afraid you might." Natsuki countered, and her neighbor inhaled sharply.
"That is right… Then, here goes anyway. My name is Tomoe Marguerite."
"Well, I hope this is not embarrassing, but I indeed do not know you. Natsuki Kruger."
"That's refreshing." Tomoe grumbled a bit, perhaps a bit sore at the fact of being unknown.
The sound made Natsuki chuckle, and they stayed silent for a few moments more before her neighbor stood.
"I can't be laying down for long, I will make sure to check on you later." Tomoe murmured, stepping away and she was alone once more.
"Odd." Natsuki hummed, standing slowly and stretching.
Solitude always benefited her, as more often than not she would find herself completely in her thoughts, ignoring all else around.
Company was not always appreciated, not with her, and would likely be rejected any further than her neighbor at this point…
Then again, who was to keep her company here? In her cell, on death row, in this gauntlet maze of glossy walls black enough to almost portray a symbolism of death and afterlife itself?
~D~
"Hey… So, what happened with that inmate; The one with the botched rushed trial?" Nudging another guard, the woman subtly fixed a button on the front of her blouse. She was glad these new uniforms fit; Another moment of wearing a heavy coat inside this oven of a prison was going to drive her mad…
"Huh? Oh, that Kruger Crow woman?"
"Say again? Kruger… Crow? I can't hardly think that was her name, was it?" A thick brow of persimmon rose, the woman gaining a small grin as she crossed her arms just below her chest.
"Ah, no, that wasn't it…" The other guard let out a noisy exhale through his nose, fixing a ruffled lapel back to stiffness. "What was it… Hey, just turn on the radio, bound to be what everyone's talking about?" He finally gave up, brushing off his thin rubious jacket.
The woman sneered at the color, glad that the jackets were optional. If they had been a color palette above they would be crimson; Which would have gone much better with these walls…
A palette below and they might have been pyrrhous, definitely a prettier dark to seem more professional…
Then again, perhaps the rust-colored jackets were nice in their own way.
Smoothing out atrous slacks as she stood from leaning against the desk, she flicked the radio on and turned to another station as soon as jazz began to filter through.
"...-ziest story I've heard in a long time! A woman, right in the heart of peace and quiet, brutally murdering her own mother and baby sister? Unheard of! This marks the first murder in Artai in almost fifteen years. Our condolences go out to what is left of the Kruger family; As they were a very prestigious family. Natsuki Kruger, who some stations and journalists are starting to refer to as The Kruger Crow, is no doubt on the equivalency of infamy as serial killers-"
She flicked the radio off, a bit stunned; she had known a few details, but not this many…
"A little green under the collar, Mai?" Snapping out of staring, the woman locked eyes and looked away.
"Wow. What would cause someone to just lash out like that…?" Mai whispered softly, shaking her head and fixing a faint rumple of her eburnean blouse; toying with a golden button after.
So unsettling…
~D~
Such scum, in her facility? No doubt those damn reporters would be calling soon, trying to scrounge up anyone who may have even seen a glimpse of that damn Kruger girl.
A media nightmare, headache for her and for all the guards having to decline them and check visitor passes for those just trying to get inside…
No doubt the police station was just the same.
A disgusted exhale was uttered, a hand slipping into graying hair from a wrinkled cheek. There were inmates that had done much worse, of course, but none with the certain… flair that this Natsuki seemed to possess.
Charismatic even without words, that heir to a big chunk of Artai would no doubt be in history books someday; Hailed as a misunderstood soul, she could even become the face of a rebellion…
Teeth gritting, she stood, strict uniform of drab alabaster separating her from the others. She controlled this facility, and damned if she was going to let this Kruger be known as anything but a blood-thirsty maniac just like all the others, no matter the flowery words or poetic soul!
"Natsuki Kruger, not a one will hail you as a savior of any sort, I swear on it as the master of this cesspool..."
~D~
Virescent eyes opened, three slow blinks taken and not another more for the moment. Breathing slow; even and calm with faint rising of the chest and her shoulders. Pulse controlled, perhaps even a bit more sluggish than most.
An hour had passed, of that she was exactly sure. Each count in her head, beating of her heart, all accounted for. She wondered if Tomoe was back in place, or awake at all. She imagined it was close to nine, perhaps later?
"...-on't be like that, c'mere, I'm all you've got in this crummy cell." Natsui cocked a brow at hearing a playful voice, and she strained to listen more, pressing flush to the cell door and turning her ear to the bars. She couldn't see them, but she heard them better…
"Chie, don't be so quick, girls don't like that." A giggle, a rustle of clothing… Were they about to…?
"Oi. Kruger." Her neighbor's voice took precedence; Natsuki slipping into her earlier position to speak.
"Who are they?" She instantly asked, curious as ever to hear. Her neighbor adjusted herself; Tomoe must have scars other than on her face, the woman clearing her throat softly.
"They're both from Florince. Bank robber duo, left massacres all over. Couldn't walk a step on the sidewalk without some glorified newspaper article about them hitting you in the face." Tomoe whispered, sounding disgruntled.
"Lovers, too. You'll hear them, once in a while, but mostly this set-up makes it hard to hear other inmates." The other woman rolled her eyes, as far as Natsuki could tell, and perhaps gave a shudder.
"Ah…" She wondered if other duos for horrific crimes were roomed together? Natsuki hummed softly, thanking Tomoe before they exchanged other soft chatter.
Thoughts swam in the back of her mind; Just what was Tomoe in for anyway? She didn't know her name, or rather, perhaps didn't remember…
Three years…? Ah, she had been abroad then, in Zipang. No wonder, that country had a penchant for keeping things under lock and key...
"This is a very odd facility." She murmured once a thread of conversation had closed, head propped atop her clasped hands. Her neighbor agreed softly, huffing a breath away from the tiny passage.
"The warden is a very strict woman. Not many have escaped, at least, I don't know of any." Nodding in understanding, Natsuki furrowed thick brows. She could get out, if she wanted to… Couldn't she?
Then again, it wasn't as if she wanted to leave, not at all. She wanted to stay inside this odd facility; Learn from it, study it. It would be her new playground…
~D~
"Hey, Mai, you've got the maze patrol duty tonight." Picking up a rolled parchment, the other guard almost gave a cheeky grin. "My night off, your turn."
"Oh, come on! I don't want to be in there…" Furrowing thick brows, she griped softly and took the map. "At least they mainly keep to themselves…"
"Just watch out for the horde of crows, Oooo…"
"A group of crows is called a murder, you idiot!"
"Hah! Fits pretty good, then." He smirked, folding a larger jacket over his arm. "Night Tokiha, don't let the murder murder you."
"Ugh, idiot…" Yamada was a creepy guy. Mai side-eyed him as he left, that little hat atop his head and his odd braid…
She didn't like him much, but so be it. Clutching the map in one hand, Mai tossed on her jacket and cinched it. Patrol on death row with the new inmate… she hoped it would go well.
She had been in the maze a total of five times before. Escorting one, and all other times patrol. It seemed that the glossy walls changed each time, though such a thing was obviously impossible. Still…
Mai sighed, adjusting her belt and easing a flashlight from it. It was far from dark in the maze, but some cells needed their lights replaced; Flickering or dim lights sure to drive them even more insane.
She stalked down the hall towards those double-doors, a growing unease settling in the pit of her stomach and hardening there. She paused a few times, working up her nerve before standing at the precipice of the maze.
Sable opening with a hiss, Mai tilted her head and listening. It was the only door to make such a sound… At least, as far as she knew.
~D~
Glancing down at a few documents, Takeo gave a low sigh. Putting his daughter up in that facility, and making sure she could have what little things he packed for her, seemed to take a chunk out of his estate each year…
Of course, he made ten times that the rest of the year, but what have you? It still seemed like a burden, but he would keep it that way. He sat at his desk, where he still found crow feathers about; Under the wood and in books no less.
Trying to relax from this whole ordeal was like trying to stomach a cannonball aflame; Shot directly into the belly without a single flinch and trying not to be split in twain.
A shaky exhale escaped him, and before he knew it, his vision blurred. Tears; Or this headache threatening to explode his skull?
Such an annoyance…
~D~
Mai had entered the maze, unfurling the map and trying to memorize it. So many dead ends… Why had they created a holding tank so intricate for the death row inmates? To ensure no escape?
Even she was unsure how to get out, and she had the map; Nevermind that the doors were just at her back…
She couldn't hear anything. That in itself was normal in this maze, but out in the regular holding areas silence was a problem. Here, it was… a side-effect.
The walls were so thick, after all. Cameras in each corner and along the halls, every bit of the maze except the cells were watched. So why did she have to patrol it…?
Huffing, she softly cursed Yamada and strode down the right, following her map.
She flashed the light through the bars on the doors, sometimes greeted with a grunt, others not at all. They were sleeping, too busy reading, or just sitting and staring into space…
"O-oi you two, knock it off!" She covered her face at the sight of the two robbers, hearing a snicker, no doubt from the older woman.
"Hey, we're bored." Chie snickered again as Mai stomped off, burrowing back under the covers with her lover. "Do that thing again, Aoi…"
"Yeesh... " The persimmon-haired woman shuddered, strolling towards the right hand side. "Marguerite, you awake?"
A small huff met her, and she nodded before she paused, pale violet eyes pinned to the last door almost at the corner.
"Hm? Scared of Kruger, Tokiha?" She heard Tomoe almost chuckle, and let her gaze meet the scarred woman's.
"No. Not scared…" Mai retorted softly, rolling the map up and tucking it into her belt. "Though… Is she awake?"
"She isn't." The teal-haired prisoner had been sure to cover up the little space of broken wall, a small box of idle things blocking it from being noticed.
"Oh…" She was actually a little disappointed; Having hoped to maybe get a few words out of the inmate.
"Well, I'm your patrol for the night. Anything happens, call for me." Tomoe nodded her understanding and Mai took a faltering step towards the new inmate's door.
She paused just before walking into the door's direct line of sight, pressing her right shoulder into the sable wall just before the door started. She was nervous, far more than she should be.
An inmate was an inmate; Behind steel and stone, and could not hurt her.
...So why was there a wave of unease washing over her; A thick miasma seeming to permeate from the cell. She could skip it, but the sickening curiosity of wanting to know the face behind the name won her over.
A knot twisting itself different ways in her gut, Mai steeled herself to stride those few extra steps and peek in.
The woman was in bed, tucked in almost as if she were a child; Or rather, almost as if she weren't on death row or in prison at all. She seemed at peace, perhaps through some religious experience or her own willpower.
Such sharp angular features… Prominent cheekbones and just the slightly sharpness of her jaw. Mai studied her, curious and more curious. So, this was Natsuki Kruger…
She had no doubt; That permeating feeling was coming from this woman, as if an ongoing struggle was going on behind that calm expression.
Was the calm a facade or the sense of struggle? She couldn't pin her finger on it, nor did she seem too keen to want to.
Mai studied her further, taking into inventory her coal hair. It did seem to have the darkness of the crows, with just the slightest pigment of… Perse? That faintest hint of azure hiding in raven…
It was beautiful.
Mai scrunched her nose, features wrinkling in addition as she stared harder. There wasn't a blemish on her; No defensive wounds from the attack…
Ah, there was something… The marks from the chains that they had supposedly bound her with. Now, she knew that the inmate was fully cooperative, so, why bind her…?
Her fellow guards had teased that it was a metaphor; A fucking metaphor. Securing the beast, caging the bird, and other unnerving comments.
A beast? Perhaps. A bird…? Like of a crow? Details were only so explaining, and she had the strong urge to wait in this exact spot until this inmate awoke. She had questions, and more were starting to spring up from staring alone.
It was silly, really; It wasn't her job to bug and perform a pseudo-interview on these inmates… But this woman really drew her in; She had to know more.
~D~
"No, I will not be speaking with any source of journalism. Reporters and anyone with a press pass will be turned away at the gates. I will not have you turning this animal into anything but." The withering woman soundly slammed the phone back into the receiver, giving a grimace as she stood once more.
"Such flies, the press… Circling overhead on decay; Feeding off of every tragic event and the people who caused them…" She grumbled to herself, furrowing thin brows. She would deal with them personally…
~D~
"Ah- The old broad hung up on me." Chewing a toothpick, the man behind a desk layered with news articles and clocks of various time-zones huffed, toying with his phone. He hung it up, leaning back in his chair and giving a few taps of a shined shoe against a cinerious wooden floor.
"Okay, new plan." Taking the toothpick between his fingers, he stood up and addressed his employees before him. They sat in folding chairs, each holding some form of notebook and writing utensil, and all attention on him.
"Here's the issue, point blank; We're getting into that prison. No ifs, ands, or buts. Now the problem… is how? I mean, that warden lady ain't gonna break, and we certainly ain't either, right? So… something's gotta give a little."
He stared, the reporters staring back. "Well, come on, gimme ideas!" He stomped, startling more than a few as they tried to scramble a response.
"Ah…" One stammered, the man clearing his throat. "What if we sent in a whole group?"
The man in charge made a loud noise, imitating a buzzer no doubt, and hawked on the rest of them. "Come on, this could be a real big thing! We could be the first to even get in there after her!"
A woman looked up, brushing back pale-cornflower hair and humming lowly. "What if… One of us impersonates a psychologist; Perhaps fake an experiment of study for this case?"
Several glanced at her, most gawking with jaws unhinged. Her boss was one of the latter, and he slowly rose his hands and began to clap, startling a few more of them.
"Brilliant… Completely fuckin' brilliant! If we can get it just right, no way they would refuse…"
He rubbed his hands together; fingertips bruised and chartreuse from something other than cigarette smoke...
"But who could do it…?" He set eyes onto them all, before huffing and shaking his head. "No one on this floor, that's for sure…
~D~
Mai waited and waited still, having gone a few more of her rounds before she inevitably ended back up in front of Natsuki's cell. She had heard far more interesting stories of killers, but… this one was different.
She didn't even know all the details and yet here she was; hooked.
The inmate was still sleeping, and she had half a mind to start banging her flashlight on the bars to wake her…
But that would without a doubt end bad.
"Marguerite, what's she like?" She retreated towards the scarred woman's cell, and a teal brow quirked.
"How would I know? Quiet, at least I think so. Can't really hear well with these walls." Tomoe lied smoothly, looking away from the door with an attitude of irritation.
"Ah, right…" The permission-haired guard stepped away, tinkering with her flashlight between both hands. That had been a dumb question...
"She seemed… Amused at hearing Chie and Aoi, though." Tomoe gave a little bit, not wanting the sensitive guard upset; Not at her, at the very least.
"Amused? Heh." Mai chuckled softly to herself, trying to imagine the inmate's expression. Those thin dark brows creasing together and that pale mouth forming a smile, perhaps crooked or even a smirk?
What was she doing? It was almost as if she were infatuated with Natsuki! But she wasn't, dare not be because there wouldn't be a damn thing she could do about it if she were!
Never would they touch nor anything beyond exchanging words whenever she was on patrol duty…
Which was almost never in and of itself!
There was simply no chance of her being… infatuated by this inmate. She couldn't afford it.
Mai sighed, turning back towards the last cell and peeking in.
Staring back at her were a pair of almost glowing celadon eyes; The gaze enough to force her back from the door; the startled woman clutching at her chest with a breath caught in her throat as if the inmate's very hand were around her throat itself.
"Shit!" Mai cursed; Natsuki watching her with an expression of amusement.
Mai had been right the second time, she had a smirk…
"You scared me." The guard admitted, taking a step or two closer back to the door.
"I can see that…" Natsuki snickered softly, lifting a hand to smooth the pad of her thumb over thin brows; Seemingly to comb them down and shape them with her thumb alone.
"You have been… watching me for about an hour, now, hm? I figured you would not not staring until I at least spoke to you…"
Mai's face filled with color, and she choked back a frustrated groan.
How embarrassing…
~D~
Toying with his toothpick, the editor-in-chief ground his teeth as he tried to think of who under the studio's roof could do the job. Half weren't even smart enough to differentiate psychologist from psychiatrist…
He would do it himself, but his face was too common; The guards or the warden would catch him right away!
"Ugh." He sneered down at his papers; None of these would do! Scattering them around his office with a sweep of a thick arm, he collapsed in his chair; defeated.
This was the single most frustrating thing that was plaguing him; He needed that interview; Any interview! Even if all Kruger did was spit at their feet…
Sinking down in his chair, the man sighed and slouched forward. He stared down at a document; the paper listing one section of the payroll.
"...Wait a minute…" That gave him a fantastic idea!
Jumping up, the man ran off towards one of the other offices. He had just the reporter…
~D~
Mai stared at Natsuki, now over her little embarrassing moment. They had stood in silence for a while now; the inmate switching between a smirk, a frown of curiousness, and a neutral expression.
"Did you want to ask me… something? Anything?" Natsuki spoke first, the guard blinking in surprise before she stepped closer.
"Ah… Well, before coming down here, I heard a little… Radio snippet about what you're in here for."
"Oh, did you…?" She seemed nervous, if only that her eyes darted towards the wall separating her cell with Tomoe's. No doubt her neighbor might be listening…
"It wasn't much, but… the gist, I guess." Mai noticed the shifting of emerald, and softly nodded that she understood.
Natsuki didn't seem to want her crimes laid out, not yet at least, so she wouldn't pry… Openly.
"Ah, I'll be bringing you food in a few hours. It's almost lights out." Mai smiled faintly, wanting to study this enigmatic woman more. Natsuki only gave a short nod, but seemed thankful that the guard hadn't begun to ask.
"They're calling you… The Kruger Crow." Mai blurted out; She felt the inmate had at least a right to know.
Thin brows arched, a fairly surprised expression crossing the older woman's face. She softly repeated the name, barely under her breath, with a hint of reverence added to it that made Mai almost question it.
"The Kruger Crow…" A hand rose, stroking her jaw in thought. Natsuki hummed lowly, tilting her head.
"It does seem appropriate." She spoke at last, the response seeming to throw Mai off.
"Appropriate…?" The guard stared, tilting her head as well. How would anything she did seem appropriate?
This woman was very… intriguing. Mai gave a smile, nearing the door but keeping a safe distance in case Natsuki became… violent.
"I do have a question, though…" Mai began, thick brows furrowed.
"What is it?" Again, emerald darted towards the sable wall, and the guard tilted her head, lowering her voice.
"What's the deal with the crows…?"
A hard stare was directed her way, and the guard found herself regretting the question. Had she struck a nerve? Was it something… private? Religious, even? She was starting to worry before Natsuki's face smoothed out and the inmate chuckled lowly.
"A feather from a crow can symbolize quite a lot in the right hands… For me, it was… a release."
"A release?" Mai repeated, confused. "What from?"
Natsuki gave a small grin, shaking her head. "A release from the past…"
~D~
Running down the hall and bursting into one of the various offices, the man tried to catch his breath at the same time he tried to shout his idea at the reporter behind the desk. Papers had scattered and some were still currently flying and floating about from the sudden startle of the door flying open, and he was met with an angry and unimpressed stare.
"You - psycho -!"
"Well, that is fairly rude. I do not take to Ishigami's office and call him a drunk, do I?" The woman quirked a brow, and the editor-in-chief shook his head while trying to catch his breath.
"No, no!" He finally regained his breath, stealing a bottle of water and downing it much to the woman's disdain.
"Ishigami's office is not even that far from mine…"
"I need you! This whole studio needs you!" He finally blurted out, standing straight and giving a heavy exhale.
"We need that Kruger story, and you are by far the only one smart enough to impersonate - get this - a psychologist! We forge your papers, get you in there for an interview and skedaddle!"
"...No." Her answer stunned him; Ishigami staring at her with a slack jaw.
"N-no…? No?!"
"...No?" She tried a different inflection, standing as she began rounding up her papers. Stupid man…
"V-Viola, we really need this! No one can get in, and we have a solid plan, and your family is a bit known for delving into that-"
"Ishigami, whatever my family is known for, it is of no matter to me. I will not do this." She almost leveled him with a claret glare, the man giving an audible swallow.
"Shizuru… we really need this. Aren't you the least bit interested in the case?"
"To be blunt, and perfectly honest at the same time… Not one bit. A woman went crazy, killed two of her family members, so what? It happens every day…"
"Not this kind of case…! Please, I am begging you!" Ishigami got to his knees, clasped hands pleading her.
Shizuru sighed, pressing a hand to her brow as she set her tidied stack of paperwork back onto her desk. "...Fine. I will go interview her."
~D~
Notes: This was certainly in the making for about... A week, actually. I only actively started working on it for a few days, but the idea of re-writing it has been in my mind.
I hope you all enjoy the new Death Row, and please leave some feedback! I appreciate every word.