I don't own Deadman Wonderland, but I do own my characters.

Chapter 10: After Victory Comes

"The War" by AVOX

Izumi sat resting against one of the cage bars in Carnival Corpse, her head tilted back to look up at the ceiling and away from the medic that was currently treating her wounds. She had won, but it certainly didn't feel like she had achieved victory of any sort.

Somewhere off to the right Crane was being made ready to play the punishment game. What it would be exactly Izumi didn't know or want to know.

"A winner, huh?" Izumi mumbled and looked down as the medic finished dressing one of the cuts on her arm, watching as the woman wrapped a bandage over the injury. "Then why doesn't it make me happy?" she asked rhetorically and lifted her arm so the attendant could treat the cut running from her left shoulder to thigh – the wound Ryouko had given her earlier.

Truth be told, Izumi had sort of forgotten about it. She had been so concerned with her opponent in Carnival Corpse that her brain had somewhat shut out the pain to focus better. As time went on, the hot stinging eventually faded into a lesser pain that was still uncomfortable yet bearable enough. Shortly after the fight ended some of the stinging came back, followed by a slight dizziness. She assumed it was from over-exertion or blood loss or some other such thing.

"Are you sure I shouldn't go to the infirmary for all this?" Izumi asked the medic who began shuffling through her box of tools and supplies, worried that the middle-aged woman didn't seem to think her injuries were that bad despite all the blood. She had gotten some nasty cuts on her hands and side, after all, even if the medic had been able to patch them up fairly quickly.

The medic lifted her head to look at Izumi. "Half the time blood makes things look worse than they actually are. If your injuries were really that bad I would have sent you to the infirmary already. Luckily for you they aren't life-threatening, so I can fix them up easily," the woman replied in a matter-of-fact tone and produced a small syringe-like tube from her medical kit. Seeing how Izumi eyed her warily in response, the woman rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "It's not a shot or anything if that's what you're worried about; just some medical glue for your wounds," she assured her and Izumi visibly relaxed. She was going to develop some sort of phobia of sharp, pointed objects after this, wasn't she?

Content with the woman's reply, Izumi leaned her head back again and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts drift as the woman continued her ministrations. She had more cast points now, so food wouldn't be an issue for a while. Her victory had also won her more candy, meaning she didn't have to monitor hours as closely as she had before for conservation purposes. Her thoughts then shifted to her conversation with Crow, and she smiled knowing she had just guaranteed herself an instructor.

And then realization hit her like a bus.

A pink tinge crept across Izumi's face and her eyes shot wide open. "Oh my gosh, I totally just screamed all that stuff out loud!" Izumi suddenly jerked her body straight up – much to the annoyance of the medic – and hid her face in her hands, her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. "I can't believe I did that. Oh my gosh I actually yelled all that; that's so embarrassing! Why? Why did I do that where everyone could hear me and see me on TV?!" she panicked, feeling very self-conscious all of a sudden.

If the medic hadn't been tending her wounds at that very moment Izumi was sure she would be hiding, huddled up in a corner somewhere or maybe even rocking back and forth in the fetal position.

Rubbing her eyes, Izumi mentally screamed for her to calm down, reminding herself that this wasn't the place to be thinking such thoughts. So she was embarrassed – the world wasn't going to end. It wasn't like that many people would have seen it anyway and cared, right? If there was anything she should be worried about it should be her future and not some insignificant little incident such as this. She let her arms drop back to her sides to allow the medic to resume treating her injuries.

Calm down, Izumi. Don't get worked up over something like this, she mentally reassured herself, trying to ease her racing mind. She let out a breath and turned her head to glance back over to where Crane had been taken. It seemed he still hadn't regained full consciousness, but already preparations were being made for his punishment. Izumi didn't want to stay for that though.

It was one thing to be on the operating table and unconscious during the punishment, but to watch it being done to someone else… The very thought of it made Izumi's insides turn uncomfortably, and she was pretty sure it wasn't like watching a surgery performed at the hospital.

Crane was now firmly secured on a table and the structure jerked before moving him into an upright position. Izumi wasn't sure if she had seen correctly, but the man appeared to react ever so slightly to the movement with a brief twitch of his hand and head.

A rush of thoughts and feelings suddenly flooded into her.

Biting her lip nervously, Izumi interrupted the medic again as she pushed herself to her feet, her eyes still on Crane. "I – I'm sorry; I have to go," she nearly whispered. "Thank you," she said, turning to look at the medic. "I think I'll be okay now." The paleness of her face probably told the medic otherwise, but the woman let her go anyway as she called out for a guard to take Izumi back to the upper levels of G-Block.

The woman hadn't gotten a chance to fix up all of her wounds and she still felt a little light-headed, but Izumi pressed herself to keep walking despite the dull pain it caused her. She barely waited for the guard to escort her – and even when he was at her side and stepping with her into the wired lift Izumi hardly paid any attention to him. She just wanted to leave before the punishment was carried out. And if Crane was slowly regaining consciousness…well, she definitely didn't want to be around for that, then.

The lift descended to let them off outside the cage, and Izumi prayed for the guard to walk faster as he began leading her farther away from the area. She knew what was coming next, but the guard just wasn't moving fast enough, and she didn't want to risk trying to get him to speed up for fear of how he might react.

They stepped into the main elevator, and as the doors began to slide closed Crane started screaming.

The sound registered in Izumi's ears like a slap to the face and her heart began to pound uncontrollably in her chest, feeling as though it was coming up into her throat.

As soon as the elevator started its assent, Izumi dropped down to crouch on the floor with her hands pressed firmly to her ears. Even with her ears covered and the elevator doors firmly shut she could still hear Crane's piercing screams. She didn't know what exactly they were doing to the poor man, but she couldn't recall having ever heard a scream quite so terrible before.

Even when my family was killed… Izumi stopped herself short and pressed her hands harder against her ears, as if doing so would drive the swirling memories from her head. Of course, it did no such thing, and Izumi was left drowning in a sea of horrible thoughts the rest of the ride up.

Only when the car had stopped did Izumi force herself to stand back up and remove her hands from her head; at least she couldn't hear anything up here.

Izumi glanced back at her escort as she stepped out of the elevator, noticing that he didn't get out with her. "So um… what happens now?" she asked, turning around to face him. She wasn't sure if there was some protocol the winner had to follow or not.

"You return to your area and wait until you're called to fight again," the guard replied as if were common knowledge. "Your gifts have been delivered to your room and your cast points have been automatically updated." The elevator doors slid shut with a light clunk, barely having given the guard time to finish.

So I guess that's that, then. Izumi looked down at the display next to the elevator call button: she was on her floor.

Turning around, she proceeded to walk down the dimly lit hallway until she arrived at her door. Fishing around in her pocket – she was glad it hadn't been shredded before or during the fight – she pulled out her cast card and pressed it to the scanner next to the door. A moment later a green light flashed and the door slid open without delay.

Izumi stepped into the barren room and switched the lights on. Looking around, she saw a bouquet of flowers resting on her bed, next to which sat a somewhat obnoxious-looking trophy and a large board, decorated to show she had won one million cast points.

Walking over to the bed, Izumi picked up the flowers and gave them a couple of sniffs – at least they were real. "I guess this is their way of saying 'good job' here," she mumbled and lightly tossed the flowers back down on the bed. The bouquet she would keep; the trophy and board she had no desire to save, and she tossed them to the floor in distaste. It was sick, to think how they gave you a reward for nearly killing someone for sport.

Rubbing a hand over her face, Izumi began removing her tattered uniform, only to realize the only other clothes she had were the spares she had worn when first leaving the infirmary; nothing more than a t-shirt and sweatpants.

Suppressing a groan, Izumi stripped out of her ruined uniform and walked into the bathroom, not even bothering to check the water temperature in the shower before stepping under the cool stream of water. She tensed at first as the water reached her injuries – particularly her hands – but clenched her teeth and sucked in a sharp breath rather than curse at the pain. Hopefully the cuts on her hands would heal soon or she was going to have a tough time getting things done.

The water eventually warmed, and the mirror was beginning to fog over when Izumi at last stepped out. She risked a glance at herself in the mirror as she carefully toweled off and almost laughed upon seeing her hair, thinking that it looked as if someone had been cutting her hair while blind-folded. Maybe she could ask Karako or find someone else to fix it up a bit in the next few days? Aside from her hair, Izumi felt like she was starting to look better every time she saw herself – either that or she was just growing accustomed to seeing herself in poor condition.

After finishing drying off and combing her hair, Izumi stepped out of the bathroom and pulled on her spare clothes. Her underwear and bra were intact, but they would need to be cleaned before she wore them again.

Now that she had more cast points, she needed to buy a few things – starting with clothes. Turning off the lights, Izumi carefully crawled into bed so as not to irritate her injuries, letting her eyes gently close once her head hit the pillow.

Izumi was floating, shades of blue slowly shifting around her as if she was underwater. But she wasn't; she could breathe, and there were no air bubbles that appeared when she opened her mouth to exhale. She felt as if her body was suspended by invisible strings like a puppet's, yet there was no air or ground in sight – only the endless swirls of blue.

Her limbs felt heavy and stiff, and she found moving them took a great deal of concentration, while her hair gently billowed upwards, as if blown by some nonexistent wind. Izumi glanced at her lifeless surroundings, wondering what to make of it all when her ears suddenly picked up a slight muffled sound, as if someone were talking into a pillow.

Maneuvering herself with great difficulty to spin in a circle, Izumi looked around for anything that could have caused the noise. When she saw nothing, she slowly propelled herself forward in one direction and then back another way, but the sound grew neither farther nor closer and her surroundings remained a hazy blue.

As if she were swimming through water, Izumi kicked her legs beneath her to move upwards, and after ascending to what felt like a fair height, noticed the muffled sound had grown louder. Curiosity taking hold of her, Izumi began to kick her legs once more, this time raising her arms up to help push down at the space at her sides in order to ascend farther.

Well, she could only assume she was actually moving as her surroundings gave no indication of such.

After a while the blue shades began to lighten, and the muffled noises she heard began to sound more distinguished as though the "pillow" had been removed. Narrowing her eyes to try and see beyond the blue above her, Izumi could barely make out a few gray spots here and there.

"Izumi…"

Izumi froze where she was, suddenly straining to hear the voice again. That voice – it sounded like…

"Izumi…" But that's impossible. She can't be – she's not…

It sounded like her mother.

"Izumi…" the voice called again from nowhere.

No, Izumi shook her head, it sounded almost like her. Almost, but not quite.

Izumi blinked hard a couple times and looked back up and into the face of her mother, suspended mere inches from her own. The unexpected sight startled Izumi and she flinched back uncontrollably, her breath caught in her throat.

This was indeed her mother's face, but it was not as she remembered it – not as she wanted to see it. Her blond hair was blown out to frame her face as if she were hanging upside-down from her feet, and her skin was a sickly gray. Her face appeared narrow and angular as if she was malnourished, and the skin around her eyelids was red as if irritated. Rather than perceiving a pair of bright and lively eyes, Izumi noticed the woman's eyes were clouded over as though she was blind.

Izumi didn't know how to respond to the horrid sight that was her mother. She wanted to say something, see past the dull unfamiliar eyes that silently bore into her own in search of the mother she had known. But when she tried to open her mouth to speak her words failed her.

As if the lifeless face of her mother could see Izumi falter, she parted her ashen lips and cocked her head sideways. A small stream of blood began to trickle from her mouth. "Izumi. Wake up."

Izumi threw herself up in bed, panting a few times before letting out a groan in response to her aching body. Blinking a couple times, she looked down at her lap and willed for her breathing to become regular. Just a bad dream, she told herself and let out a few more breaths. She couldn't remember everything, but she was pretty sure she had been having nightmares regularly over the past few days.

Izumi nearly jumped out of her skin when there came a knock from her door a moment later, but managed to catch herself on the edge of the bed before tumbling out of it. She blamed her jumpiness on her dream.

"Izumi…? Izumi, you in there?" she heard the voice from the other side of the door ask and let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Thank goodness; it was only Karako.

Composing herself and easing her sore body up from the bed, Izumi shuffled over to the door. Peeking out from behind the small curtain over its window she confirmed that it was only Karako who stood outside.

With a flick of her wrist she switched the light on in her room and pressed the button for the door, her eyes catching Karako's as the door slid open. A subtle look of relief seemed to wash over the young woman's face upon seeing her, and Izumi wondered for an instant if this was the first time she had come by to see her after Carnival Corpse had finished.

A part of Izumi wanted to rush forward and hug her, but as she unsure of how the other woman would respond to that, she settled with a simple "Hey, Karako," while stifling a yawn.

Karako smiled warmly, seeming to play along with her shift to a somewhat mellow personality. "Hey, Izumi. How you doing?"

Izumi gave a small shrug. "Alright, I suppose. Tired and a bit sore, but alright." She was glad Karako wasn't bombarding her with questions or being pushy like her parents sometimes were.

At the thought of her parents, the dream she was having popped into her head, but she forced herself to push the images to the back of her mind to keep Karako from noticing her troubled state. She didn't want to talk about her nightmares and bad memories with Karako as she was sure the silver-haired woman had had similar experiences she didn't want to recall either.

"I like your hair," Karako suddenly commented and reached out to tousle her hair, making Izumi blush lightly and chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm sure it looks like a real work of art," she replied and ran a hand lightly through it, easily finding the areas where her hair drastically differed in length.

Noticing her slight embarrassment, Karako gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I know someone we can go see who can fix your hair up a bit if you want," she reassured Izumi who nodded eagerly. "But before we do that," Karako continued, giving Izumi a quick look over, "I think we should probably find you something more presentable to wear. And I'm going to take a wild guess that you haven't been out of your room recently either?" The young woman had phrased it like a question, but Izumi was sure they both knew it was a fact.

"I haven't had many cast points up until now. I figured it would be best to save them up just in case I needed them later as well – you know, in case this past Carnival Corpse didn't work out," she tried to explain.

"Whatever you're comfortable with," Karako shrugged, seemingly uninterested in Izumi's excuse. "But let's not think about all that now. If you're up for it, why don't we go out shopping; you should have the money now to buy more than just a meal."

"Yes," Izumi nodded in agreement. Going out and doing something somewhat normal would probably do her some good rather than staying holed up in her room all day.

At least three hours later, Izumi had finally been able to eat a satisfying meal and buy herself some clothes that weren't a part of the prison's dress code. The thought of wearing new and comfortable clothes was almost dreamlike, and Izumi decided to put them on in one of the fitting rooms in the store rather than wait until she returned to her room.

It was strange she had thought while dressing, that shopping in G-Block was so much like shopping at a regular mall, minus all the various stores. If the place had been bigger and set up a bit differently, it would be easy to forget you were in an underground prison.

But Izumi's mood had lifted nonetheless, and she found herself pleasantly distracted from her pain and the situation she was in for a short period of time. Feeling cozy in a pair of navy blue shorts and a dark gray long-sleeved shirt, Izumi walked alongside Karako as they exited the clothing shop.

"Do they carry everything we might want here?" she asked, genuinely curious given what she was able to buy.

"You'd think that, right?" Karako responded with a smirk. "Honestly though, if they don't have something you're looking for then they can usually order it for you assuming you have the cast points to pay for it. Obviously they have more supply and variety in the goods we're more likely to want, but they can get you what you'd like if you just ask."

"A ticket out of here," Izumi mumbled and Karako reached around to pull her to her side, rubbing her shoulder gently. "You're doing alright, kid, you're doing alright."

Izumi's only reply was a small nod, and she said a silent prayer of thanks that she had met the young woman. God knows I wouldn't have lasted this long if I hadn't had someone like her to talk to.

"So you said there's someone here who could fix my hair?" Izumi finally asked after a moment of silence, pulling back from the semi-embrace she was in to look up at Karako.

The woman smiled. "She's not a professional, but I'd say she has the most skill out of anyone here. That and she won't charge you like the services they provide here would."

"Well as long as she can do something about it that's good enough for me," Izumi admitted, pulling down a few strands from her bangs to look at the hair and twist it between her thumb and index finger. As much as she loved her hair she was pretty sure it was all going to have to be cut, and if she was going to be participating in Carnival Corpse… Izumi's thoughts trailed off before they could finish, and she stopped walking.

Karako stopped a couple steps later and turned around to face her with a puzzled look.

"I um… can I go check something first and meet up with you later?" Izumi suddenly asked.

"Sure, I guess. Something the matter?"

"No, it's nothing," Izumi shook her head. "I just need to go see…yeah. Where can I meet you for my hair?" she asked as she began taking a couple steps back in the direction they had come from.

"Yeah; it's uh, on the second floor down. Cell G2-15. Miyako will probably be in, but don't worry about it if she's not. If I'm not there just knock and tell her what you want done," she instructed.

Izumi expressed her thanks and with a small wave of departure headed back down the corridor.

In the past couple hours Izumi had been so distracted during her time with Karako that she hadn't given any thought to her win in Carnival Corpse.

Crow had said he would help her if she won her next fight, and she had done just that. It was time to have a talk with him, and she wanted to do so while she was still in a decent mood and felt brave enough to do so. If she couldn't talk to him now, chances were she would never muster the courage to talk to him about it later on.

Steeling herself for any confrontation that may occur, Izumi slowed her steps once she was further down the corridor and opened the door to the gym, her mind working to figure out how she was going to start the conversation.

There was no one in the gym though Izumi saw once the door had fully opened, surprising her given that this was where Crow seemed to spend most of his time. Perhaps he was elsewhere on the floor?

Izumi went down to the next room – the bar – and poked her head in discretely, glancing around for any signs of the man while trying not to look as if she were spying on someone. The last thing she wanted people to think about her was that she was some kind of stalker – prison or not, she wasn't that kind of person.

When there was no sight of him there, she frowned and moved on to the next space. There wasn't another Carnival Corpse going on that she hadn't heard about, was there?

By the time Izumi had cleared every accessible area on the fourth floor she was thoroughly growing curious as to where Crow was. He didn't seem like the kind of person who would spend their day locked up in their room, but then again, he didn't seem like the social type either.

"Maybe he's in his room?" Izumi wondered out loud and went back to the elevator. If he wasn't there, then she would be out of luck until he popped up before her next – assuming he was still alive.

Izumi let out a sigh as she stepped into the elevator and told herself not to get worked up. If he wasn't on any of the residential floors then she would just check again later; no cause for worry.

Starting on the first level, Izumi made her way almost entirely around the floor and back to the elevator when she finally reached a door with a plaque on the wall next to it inscribed with the name "Crow."

Looking to her left and then right as if to make sure no one else was around, Izumi peeked through the door's window at various angles in an attempt to see behind the curtain that hung over the glass. There were no cracks allowing her a glimpse of the space beyond and neither could she tell if the room was dark.

She would just have to find out the old-fashioned way.

Straightening her posture and sucking in a large breath, Izumi tried to hold herself in a confident, determined manner and forced an arm out to knock on the door. When there was only silence, Izumi tried again, rapping her knuckles a little harder. If I give a weak and hesitant knock it'll make me seem unsure of myself and he'll think I'm not serious.

Sucking in her lips and furrowing her brow ever so slightly in concentration, Izumi began knocking harder on the door before it slid open in the next moment to reveal Crow.

"Jesus, quit knocking so loud. I'm not-." He cut off when his eyes took in Izumi, and she could have sworn there was a hint of surprise in his features. "The hell do you want?" he asked, his tone quickly changing to match the glare he was now giving her.

Honestly, it was a little off-putting to Izumi, but she was smart enough to keep such feelings in check. She instead went for a kinder approach.

"You said you would train me if-"

"No," Crow bluntly stated before Izumi could even finish and the door to the room slid shut.

Izumi stood there for a moment, dumbstruck, her mouth still partially open in mid-sentence. Wait…what?

In most circumstances such as this Izumi would have just walked away in fear of confrontation, but this was something she just couldn't – wouldn't – let go of like it meant nothing.

"Now wait just a minute," she started and began knocking on the door again, this time her pounding betraying her feelings. "You promised to train me if I won in Carnival Corpse and I have. I won fair and square – ask anyone else and they'll tell you. I did my part, so now it's time you did yours," Izumi spoke against the door. She paused for a moment to listen for a reply, but received none.

Frowning, Izumi banged on the door a couple more times; she could hardly believe she was doing this – her, of all people.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?" Izumi called, raising her voice. Still no response. "Fine, be that way," she mumbled and began simultaneously knocking while calling out. "You can stay in your room for as long as you want, but I'm not leaving until we talk."

Izumi continued knocking for the next several minutes, waiting impatiently for Crow to open the door again. When she grew tired of knocking, she crossed her arms and took a step back from the door, staring at it as if doing so would cause it to magically open.

After a couple minutes she thought she saw the curtains over the window move ever so slightly, and she moved back towards the door to start knocking again.

About five minutes later, the door finally opened, rewarding Izumi with the sight of Crow who stood practically fuming in the doorway.

If looks could kill…

"Go. Away." He spoke as if it took all of his self-control to not pick her up and throw her down the elevator shaft.

Izumi swallowed the lump of fear in her throat and met his fiery gaze with her own. "I will, just as soon as we finish," she promised calmly and slowly.

Crow's hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides, and Izumi crossed her arms over her chest – a sign that she was serious and would not physically fight him for this. Even if a part of her did want to tie him up in case he didn't feel the same…

"As I've already said, I won my last fight in Carnival Corpse. You said you would teach me how to fight if I did."

"I never said I would teach you how to fight if you won."

"But you-"

"I said winning would convince me – would give me a reason to be interested in teaching you. But I never promised that I would teach you if you won."

Izumi bit the inside of her lip. He was such as asshole! But she couldn't risk saying so out loud at the time. Not only that, but what he was saying wasn't entirely untrue, either, and it made her curse him all the more.

"You never promised that you would teach me if I won, but you never said you wouldn't teach me either," Izumi countered his last statement. Crow looked unimpressed.

"You make a poor argument, kid."

"I'm not trying to argue with you. Look, I just want you to help me with this."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to die!" Izumi bluntly told him, getting exasperated. "Is that so wrong? That I want to get stronger so I won't die here? The only thing I have left to lose down here is my life, so that's the one thing I'm going to hold onto for as long as I can." She let out a harsh sigh as she worked to compose herself once more.

Crow watched her with distaste, but at least he didn't look as angry as before, Izumi noted.

"I'm not an instructor, kid, and this isn't a school; it's prison. It's survival of the fittest down here, and whether you live or die has no impact on this place or the world outside."

"So you would willingly choose to let someone die even if you had the chance to save them?"

The space around them became dead-silent.

Izumi waited for the man's reply as he looked hard at her without uttering a word. Her question seemed to have thrown him off somehow, and she wondered if maybe he too was someone who wasn't supposed to be there – even if his attitude suggested otherwise.

Izumi didn't have long to ponder though, as Crow let out a low growl and ran a hand through his hair as if intending to rip it out.

"If you're going to be wasting my time then you'll have to be prepared to pay for it."

At his words Izumi felt herself perk up. Was he…?

"You'll have to abide by my rules, and if I'm not satisfied, then you're out."

Izumi could hardly believe what he was saying and her inner self was jumping with joy. She did her best to suppress a smile on her face. He's going to teach me to fight!

"If you're really desperate then go to the gym tomorrow afternoon at one," he instructed and moved back into his room.

"U-um, thank you very much," she called out to him earnestly and turned her back to leave, then stopped short. She turned her head to look back at him over her shoulder. "You're not just telling me this to get rid of me, are you?" Izumi asked, suddenly skeptical.

From the deadpan look she got in response she assumed he was serious.

"No," he replied tersely, "now beat it."

With that he put a boot to her back and gave her a kick, hard enough to force her away from the door but not so hard that it sent her right into the floor – or wall.

When Izumi regained her balance his door was once again closed. She narrowed her eyes at the place where the man previously stood, but allowed a small smile to cross her lips. She had been right; he was an asshole.

Happy Sunday everyone (or Monday depending on what time zone you live in)! This is another longer chapter since I couldn't find a good place to break it up, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless. As always, a big thank you to all my readers, reviewers, and followers as your support brings me happiness and encourages more chapters. :) I know this particular chapter is late getting out but I wanted to get it just right because I'd rather publish something I'm pleased with than something I hate. That being said, don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you think and fav/follow the story. I hope everyone is doing alright and that you all have a wonderful week!