Today was the day. The day that she would leave the temporary shelter she called home for the past few weeks. It was nice to have a proper roof over her head, but she could technically live without it thanks to her own quirk.
But it didn't beat a nice working apartment though.
So, as she left with everything packed and nothing to hold in her hands or weigh her down, Mariko left the cheap apartment. Leaving through the way she usually did, she climbed down and entered the main street through the small alleyway. It might have been her temporary home, but that didn't mean she was going to be paying for it. Not with the lack of funds she had on her anyway.
She was a criminal after all.
Keeping her head low, she stalked through the semi-busy streets, making sure to avoid any pro-heroes that might be patrolling the street or anyone belonging to the police for that matter too. She couldn't risk getting caught, not after all the effort she put into escaping.
There was still the matter of which town or city to move to for the time being. Heroes will be active no matter where she went, unless she truly went out into the middle of nowhere, small little places where crime and heroes were at an incredible low.
As she shimmied right on up to the nearest bus stop, she quickly took a seat and her eyes turned to the bus schedule right next to her. Her amber eyes scanning over for the best place to hide out for the next couple of days. One place stood out to her, though it wasn't too far from here. At most it would be a two hour bus drive, minus any stops along the way.
"It's a beautiful day out today," came the voice of an elderly woman, sitting not too far away from her.
When she realised it was her the old woman was talking to, she gave the elder a friendly smile while her hand clutched onto her leg. "Yeah, it's nice."
While giving this senior a smile, she took in the old woman's features. She definitely seemed like an average, old woman with some type of mutant quirk that gave her a small pair of wooden horns peering out of her grey hair.
"...She doesn't seem like a hero or cop..." the escapee thought, giving her another once over, just to make sure.
As the wrinkled face of the woman sitting near her returned the smile, she turned away back to the view in front of them. It wasn't anything grand, but there were a few small shops that had semi-frequent business coming in and out.
She closed her eyes as she said, "the breeze is nice...are you going somewhere?"
"Just visiting some old friends…" a lie of course. Now where was that bus?
"I remember the time I went out to see old friends. Ah, those were the days. Just remember to treasure the time with your friends while you can and be more active in doing so. There will be a time that you'll say to each other that you will all see each other again soon, but that's usually when the contact stops." Despite the somber tone in her voice, a warm smile of nostalgia was much, much stronger.
Her fingers gripping tighter on her leg, the pale skinned escapee changed the topic. "I will...but, what about you?"
"Oh. I'm just going to visit my grandson today. It's his birthday, he'll be nineteen today." she nodded to herself over something. "My, how fast they grow. It feels like yesterday when he was only four and discovering his quirk for the first time."
Mariko turned back to the view in front of them. Back to the shops that she herself had passed by while she was here and even had her own, shall we say, 'purchases' from them. They were quite easy scores for a woman of her skill. When your best talent is related to crime, shops like that just came naturally.
The pale woman and her choppy haircut turned back to the bus schedule. Maybe a train would have been better, but it shouldn't be long now. The lady next to her started talking once more, but the doubt of who this lady truly was was still at the back of her mind as she occasionally joined in with her responses from time to time.
Now. It was time to wait.
…
When the bus arrived and those around her boarded with her, she headed to the back, taking the completely empty seat that showed itself. Now all that was left was to wait it out until she arrived at her destination. To her surprise, the old lady from before sat next to her.
"I hope you don't mind that I sit with you for a while. My stop isn't that far, but it's nice to sit with people you've engaged in conversation with."
Raising her hand, Mariko replied. "That's okay, having some company is good!" she said in her friendly, laid-back way, hoping that the aged horned woman didn't pry any further.
While the much older woman didn't even say a word, a hand patted her shoulder. A comforting one.
It seemed this old lady was just that. An old lady.
Though, it was a blessing that she took the seat next to her, otherwise that might open a spot to someone that might be out to get her.
So she closed her eyes until she reached her stop.
The trip to the last known location of the suspect was thankfully not a super long one. It was days like these that low traffic and new highways were a blessing. Especially with a mission as important as this one.
Still, the journey did indeed take some time from the prison to the city where Mariko was last seen. Assuming the description and behaviour of the woman was indeed Styx's missing inmate. They really didn't need a repeat of last time...
While the driver and the hero sidekick were up at the front of the bus, seemingly in a conversation of their own, Suimin sat in a seat behind Dion, Dion himself took up the entire seat by treating it as a longue. Leaned right up against the window even. Last was Hokori, who sat on the opposite side, not wanting to barge in on Dion's odd comfortability and giving Suimin some wing space.
"Um, who exactly is Mariko?"
The rookie's simple question got Dion to slightly raise his hand while Suimin hung off the back of his seat. "She's just a prisoner who managed to escape Styx."
"Really? That's it?"
Dion waved his hand in that half-assed way of his, "eh...I guess." he fixed up the red wig, making it even more comfortable, though it was mainly to check if it was still on. "I guess it's more of a don't judge a book by it's cover scenario. I never worked much with her, but she was apparently one of the better well behaved inmates...you know, until she made her grand escape."
"How…did she escape?" the tail of the small fox began to wag as his ears perked up.
Dion, or under the alias of Shuten, shrugged. "Probably the use of her quirk for starters. Better to ask from either the horse's mouth or someone else like Alexios or whoever. People who actually took the time to either know her or had more information about her."
He instinctively reached for his cap to pull down, but alas his disguise ruined the old habit. Suimin who sat behind him had stuck her tongue out to the side, her talon moving ever so slightly.
Hokori Arashi however, turned back around. Someone skilled enough to escape Styx...one of the best prisons in the world…
Clenching his hands against one another, it was clear that he should take Dion's words to heart. It may not have been advice, he should still be on guard should he encounter her. He was grateful for the warden showing him a picture of their target, but-
"We're here!" Zugai shouted, her voice rebounding off the walls right as the scenery around them slowed down a lot.
The bus pulled up and the doors flung open. "Okay everyone, it's time to begin Operation Eurydice. Let's make Mari turn her head around!" cheered the bird woman, flapping her wings high into the air, only stopping short due to the bus' ceiling.
As the sidekick stood, she addressed the now standing 'Shuten' and Hokori. "Remember, stay in touch and if you see someone who resembles the target, inform us right away. Make sure to keep her in your line of sight and follow her discreetly. We should also keep the reason why we're looking for her on the down low from others just to be safe."
The two nodded, "oh, and remember to call me Shuten."
"Roger." the fennec guard nodded, fixing up the special earphones he wore.
Coughing, the skull headed woman turned back to the group. "It's highly likely that Mariko has already fled from the area. We're going to have a quick search of the area and then head to any suspected locations."
"Now, let's search for clues."
The two guards nodded at the coat-wearing hero and soon, all three disembarked into the city.
The search for Mariko had truly begun as they made a beeline to the marketplace. Unlike the day that Mariko was presumed to be there, there was no market and of course, no thieves trying to get away with a hefty bag of goodies.
It turned back into what it used to be.
Just an empty street with people walking on by, going to wherever the hell they were supposed to go.
"Where do we search first?" Hokori asked, looking around the empty street.
"Well we could ask people around here if they've seen a woman with silvery hair recently," 'Shuten' shrugged.
So Hokori looked at the hero as she walked around. "Asking people would be a good idea, however we won't know if we're talking to people who are supporting her or if it gains her attention somehow."
"Ah that's right," the newest rookie guard began, "other criminals might want a prison escape artist on hand..."
"I'm going to go check where Furore took out one of the thieves," the sidekick waved her hand. "Keep in touch and remember, this operation is in secrecy."
Dion turned to Hokori with a slight smirk on his face as the sidekick left. "Seems that you got to use your nose for this one." he added with a laugh.
With a pat on the back, Shuten had left him. The rookie thought that now was a good time to refer to the drinker as such until they returned to prison. Slightly red in his cheeks, he put his headphones on and walked in another direction. Hopefully they'd be able to find something...
Meanwhile...
As the driver put her feet up on the steering wheel, the small wings-for-arms woman sitting towards the back pulled out a small, little mint. Held firmly between her talons, she chucked the mint into her mouth with relative ease.
Sure, she sort of took one without permission from the sober drinker, but what he didn't know won't hurt him. Sharing was caring after all.
However, as she swallowed the mint, her lips tightened in place as everything began to feel a little foggy. Only one thing was on her mind, one simple realisation about tic-tac thing she just had.
"Ew..."
It was gross.
The silver armed Remko lingered around a table in the great outdoors while Li decided to spend some time with some outdoor gym equipment. Both were doing their own thing.
There wasn't much else to do, or at least yet.
Remko left the table and immediately sat next to the neon-yellow Li. "Did you manage to learn anything?"
The tall, neon-yellow haired man turned his head, sitting up. "What about?" he seemed to huff. "There's not much I can see that's worth noting."
His temporary partner however seemed to hold back a frown. "Not even tools?"
"And what did you find then?"
"Why you-"
Suddenly, before the two could devolve into an argument, a voice came out of nowhere.
"I believe I can help with that," the sudden voice caused both of them to look around. How did someone sneak up on them like that? "I'm right here."
Following the voice, Remko's eyes met with Zuko's clouded eyes. Of course, he was greeted to the sight of Zuko laying underneath the bench press machine.
"How...how long has he been there for?" Remko and Li both seemed to think, wondering just how long he had been there and how he got there without being noticed. Though, upon finally being noticed, he moved.
"From what I've gathered, it seems you two newbies require a helping hand," began Zuko, already taking a seat with the two. "I would like to officially offer my services for the time being."
At the mention of 'helping hand', Remko mumbled. "Ugh, every time I hear helping hand now I just hear that stupid motto."
He was mostly ignored as Li stepped forward.
"And how are you supposed to help us?" the grumbling from Li, with additional frown, just caused the half-american to smirk.
"Observe." That was the only thing Zuko had told them as he put his hands behind his back. "No peeking now."
After a few seconds, he pulled out a small dumbbell, one that was supposed to be on the dumbbell rack just a few steps over from where the trio were talking.
"Where did you get that?" mumbled Li, narrowing his eyes into the black haired trickster.
A slight smirk appeared on the conman's face. "Simple. It's my quirk."
Sleight of Hand: Zuko can teleport any small object to or from his location as long as neither the place where the object is being sent from (or being sent to) is being observed by anyone! However, he can only teleport objects if he knows where they are and of course, constant teleporting will tire him out.
"So you were the one that started the fight in the cafeteria earlier," Li mumbled, glancing over towards the conman.
The young man just shrugged. "Not my fault they brought the wrath of the guards for a missing muffin."
Remko on the other hand looked from where the small dumbbell was supposed to be to Zuko's hand. "That quirk...would be pretty useful."
"It has its moments."
That got Remko's attention. "Hm? What do you mean?"
"Let me ask you, after I left the woodworking workshop, did the guards move around any of the equipment?"
Remko started to think, "I believe they did...why?"
"Limitations my friend, limitations. Since they move them around, I don't have a clear picture in my mind to use my quirk properly."
The youngest just seemed to stare. "So a perfect memory is a must then?"
"Still, it would be a good asset to have, despite any limitations it might have." nodded the silver armed inmate. "Especially with watching eyes from time to time."
As Zuko's eyes quickly glanced to the frowning face of Li, he turned back to the more talkative one. "So is there a scheduled date for our disappearing act?"
"Not yet," the eldest of the three inmates there shook his head. "We still need a point of escape and possible tools that are needed for that exit point before anything can be done. I'm about to scout out a point of interest though."
Tapping his foot on the ground, "I might have an idea for an exit point, but my services don't come cheap. I'll tag along with you on that fateful day, but for the preparations? Strictly business, you know how it is."
The androgynous Remko grumbled out, "so what do you want. Besides an escape route."
A smirk appeared on the conman's face. "Let's barter then."
As they talked, the tallest (and youngest) of the three just watched, his face crumbling into a nasty frown as he glared into the two.
"...I suppose I should play along with these people," Kagayami crossed his arms as the two discussed the plan, well more so Remko than Zuko. "Getting back out there is more important right now. I'll deal with this when the time comes."
The leveller will return.
Unbeknownst to the trio, a figure leaning not too far away sighed as he looked down at the playing cards in his hands. Despite his position within the prison, the enforced fact from other inmates that he had no moral high ground as a prisoner himself, he just couldn't lie to or turn a blind eye to his true self and beliefs.
So Johnny stopped shuffling the cards and walked off, keeping what he heard fresh in his mind.
When Demelza decided to tag along with Fushiko, she knew she made the right decision. She was a boundless source of positivity. A bundle of happiness!
Compared to the group that she was with before, it was much more filling. It was worth her time to spend it with someone like Fushiko. The only negative part was that eventually, she'd end up like all the others and that smile will disappear, replaced by a sea of sorrow, wave of anger or some other emotion.
Until that day, the goth decided to stay as close as possible when she could. She was quite beneficial after all.
"So where are we going next?" the cheerful goth asked the equally cheerful Karakuri.
"I was thinking- hold on! Look! It's Koneko!"
Following where Fushiko pointed, the glossy skin goth saw the brown haired cat girl slowly approaching them. Once spotted however, she seemed to move slower than before, prompting the joker that was Fushiko to go to her instead.
"...seems we're doing this..." sighed the goth, before immediately cheering up.
"Oh, um..." the shy hooded cat fiddled with her thumbs, shifting in place at the gazes. "Nozomi was looking for you earlier...Demelza."
Before Demelza could even ask why, Fushiko was already on it. Grabbing a hold of the cat's face in a playful manner. "Aww, you came all this way for Demz? You sure got yourself a good friend here, Demzy!"
"...yeah..."
The masked Demelza watched as Fushiko messed around with the shy girl who seemed to melt in the prankster's hands. While she wasn't surprised to see a reaction like that, seeing her stammer and stutter in Fushiko's hands did make her silver eyes glow.
The goth however kept her bright silver eyes on the woman with the cat quirk. Ever since she met the young shy woman, she could tell that she was quite the shy one, but there was something else. Something lurking underneath that seemed different.
With her quirk, she could instantly tell something was off, but it wasn't super clear. It wasn't like herself, but the more her quirk pried, the more that faint locked away emotion spurred.
"Anyway, I'll see you later Koneko!" waved the cheerful, flared bob woman. The purple and black pinky finger on her right hand catching their eyes. It usually did.. "Have fun with that gift of yours!"
As the cat eyed girl slowly mumbled out, "Wha...what?" Fushiko was already gone, Demelza already trailing behind.
"Where are you going now?"
A large smile appeared on the numb pinky woman's face. "I'm gonna visit Yua and see if she's free!"
"Yua...if I remember correctly, she's one of those stoic types...great..."
While the two left, leaving the hooded inmate by herself, she had to wonder. "How did she know?" putting her hands into her hoodie, she pulled out a small box of squishy, multi-coloured gummy candy.
Something that wasn't supposed to be in the prison…
Having access to the co-ed ward herself, Koneko was pretty sure that this type of candy was not in the line up.
A tiny smile broke through the shyness on her face while hiding the box of candy away. She really needed to thank that guard...when she learnt how to stop stammering and actually getting her words out.
Electric blue eyes looked around the room as the owner of said eyes waited. It was quite the sudden call. The tall guard turned his attention to the figure in front of him when he made a brief attention catching noise.
"Thank you for coming, Alexios." Seimei bowed his head, his hands entangled with one another.
Sitting with a leg crossed over the other, he gave a warm smile. "It's no trouble, I am a bit curious about this sudden call to be honest. So what is this about?"
Seimei nodded. "Getting right down to business, good. It's actually about the inmates."
"Is something wrong? Did something happen?" As soon as he stood, the warden ordered him to sit. No words were mentioned, just a simple point.
"Don't worry, nothing has happened to the inmates. Nothing bad at least." the dark haired man began. "Rather, some of the inmates have, let's say, found some good fortune in recent times..."
Looking directly at the warden, he had one thing to say in confusion. "Pardon?"
"During cell inspections, a few inmates were found with contraband. Now, that's not to say that it's things like drugs or a pack of cheap cigarettes, even though that was found in one of the cells. We found some things that prisoners in the main wards shouldn't be able to acquire in the first place. Even a co-ed ward inmate having something that isn't available to them."
"What kind of things?"
Seimei waved his hand at that. "Odds and ends really. Let's say, chocolate that can only be obtained in the co-ed ward's canteen for example or a box of candy that isn't available at all, amongst others."
Alexios blinked. Now it was making sense. "I'm sorry sir, but to be honest. I don't see the problem with that."
The warden sent him a raised brow at that. "Why's that?"
"Couldn't an inmate just bring something like that into one of the standard wards? There's no real rule saying that they aren't allowed to bring their meals or snacks outside of the designated ward they are allowed to obtain it." Alexios bowed his head slightly at the warden, warm smile on his face. "And there's no rule saying that they can't share. In fact, I believe this is a good sign for the inmates! It shows their growth from the time they entered to where they are now. Plus, people can throw away food any time, even the other guards use the trash bins in the wards from time to time."
As electric eyes stared into the warden, the black haired man couldn't help but nod. "Yes, I agree. Under most circumstances, actions like this might prove that a inmate's rehabilitation is going smoothly...sure, it ruins the purpose of the co-ed ward's cafeteria a bit."
As Alexios nodded to himself, he was curious to why he was specifically called to his office. The feeling wasn't good though...
"But, that's only under normal circumstances."
"...normal circumstances? I believe I don't understand, sir."
Taking his uniform's cap off and putting it aside on his desk, the male warden of the prison glanced back at his taller employee. "It means that it wasn't done by inmates, but by a guard."
"Even so," Alexios shrugged, "I don't see how that's a major problem. Isn't it our job to help inmates?"
"That it is, but there's a line we don't cross," tapping the desk now, Seimei rested his head on his other hand. "I guess I shouldn't beat around the bush. Alexios, have you been aiding the inmates in ways that break the rules we have in place? We were informed that you had helped out an inmate beyond standard procedure."
As the warden stared into his silver sparked eyes, Alexios could only keep that smile he had. "I'm only doing my job, sir."
The two stared at one another for some time, right before the warden's head slumped down, shaking side to side a little, mumbling something that the other couldn't quite make out.
After staring down at the wooden desk for quite some time, the warden's lavender eyes stared back at Tatopoulos. "I'll let you off with a warning this time, Alexios." he even added a sigh at the beginning. "I understand how you feel, wanting to help the convicts. I really do, but we do have our own rules to follow. How can we properly help the inmates return to society if we break our own rules?"
"I understand what you're saying," Alexios' stare started to refocus lower and lower. "In my defence, if I may, I believe I'm in a small minority of guards that truly care for the prisoner's welfare and I feel that it's my duty to show the prisoners that there are guards that truly care for them, sincerely."
"And can't you do so in ways that don't break our rules?" of course, the warden shot back. "You can be sincere without breaking the rules to help them out and I really hope none of the inmates are taking advantage of your kindness, Alexios."
The slightly wavy beige haired guard shook his head. "They aren't taking advantage."
"You can never know for sure, but I'll take your word for it."
"..."
"...You have a lot of things to think about, Tatopoulos." the older man said, crossing his arms. "You are free to go back to your routine. Just keep what we talked here in mind when interacting with the inmates."
Slowly standing up, all he could do was nod. "...understood sir..."
Just as he was about to leave, a cough gained his attention once more. As he turned to face his boss, said man was dusting something off his cap.
"There is one last thing I should mention," the warden continued. "Your previous request has been approved."
Alexios' eyes widened, the silver sparks within those blue eyes seemed to well, spark. "It has?" without missing a beat, the warden nodded. "Thank you, sir."
"Don't mention it, Alexios. Just remember what was discussed. You are a model guard for the inmates, after all, right?" this time the long haired man gave him a smile. "And on your way out, please send Tai in if you see him. I need to discuss his recent...methods when it comes to the inmates acting out."
Giving the warden a short nod, he was already out of there. After closing the door behind him, he had already spotted one of the many shorter coworkers (he was quite tall after all) and one that was right on time to boot. "You're free to see him now."
"...Right."
The blonde haired guard walked right past him, entering the office to face their boss and it allowed him to briefly hear the start of the conversation for a bit. It was pretty much the same as when he waited for Seimei, but now wasn't the time to linger.
He had inmates that needed help with returning back to the world.
"We were informed that you had helped out an inmate beyond standard procedure." Seimei's words echoed back at him.
But now that he had the time to think it over. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't stop me from helping out the inmates."
And off he walked, back into the wards with only another thought preoccupying his thoughts.
"I wonder if tonight is still on...?"
As Eris watched yet another guard walk out of her office, she sighed. There were still no real leads on the ones they were after. "With what Vito told me...I should have found someone connected to this by now..."
There was no way he was lying.
So what was she missing? There were the obvious targets of course, he did reveal the only detail he knew about the person who let him out that one time.
A vital piece of knowledge but only to the mystery of who let Vito out. The mystery of the body tamperer was still up in the air and was the reason her workload increased! Stressful stuff sometimes.
"I can't call Tai right now as Seimei wanted to discuss his recent behaviour towards the inmates, Osamu while out and about is still recovering...I should call him in since he has the free time." she thought, leaning back on her chair. "I should call Muika and Penthus in too. I might as well get that over with."
A personal investigation didn't show much so an interrogation was all that was left which opened up the questioning of many guards. Firstly the search team had to be done first and now she was making her way through the rest of the guards and while she hadn't done too much, it was still going to take some time.
Not only was there the mystery of the tamperer also, there was another mystery that involved Vito. One that prompted her to prioritise the current set of guards that were about to take their vacation days instead of the lead Vito gave her.
Staring at the slowly rotating ceiling fan, she couldn't help but sigh. "I really hope I find a lead soon...am I picking out the wrong people to question? I'm almost done with this set. How soon should I incorporate questioning the other staff? Janitorial staff might have to come in first and then the cooking staff, the armorers then after. Though the infirmary has already been cleared and a handful of inmates that could be connected to the case."
Just the thought of questioning the inmates gave her a headache already.
A yawn soon followed through as she leaned forward. The amount of work she had to do just seemed to pile up and she just wished for a pillow to be on the desk in front of her instead of a bunch of paperwork that needed filing, sorting and whatnot.
Maybe...she was working too hard? There was a limit to how many times she could use her quirk before it got difficult, though that was mostly thanks to her condition.
Her sole eye glanced to her desk draw before quickly pulling it open and grabbing hold of a small blue book as she twirled the pencil in her hand, already going through the contents of said book. "Twenty-six across..."
It wouldn't hurt to take a break now and then.
Thankfully for her, a walk did her some good but, "I can't believe how many were sharing or asking for candy the others had...it was like I was back in high school again...oh! Thirteen down!"
Hopefully this would refresh her a bit-
"We...we have a problem!"
The door slammed open, snapping the warden's head up to meet just who slammed the door open. When she looked up at the door slammer, she noticed the green uniform, the messy hair that got in the way but somehow didn't restrict their vision.
"Penthus?"
"We have a serious problem! I was told to get you!" now that he was in the room, he held his knees and she couldn't tell if it was to help regain his breath or to stop the shaking.
Standing from her desk, she sprang into action, "what's wrong?"
"It's...It's with Akita. No time, you gotta go."
Rushing out of the room, pulling the janitor alongside her, she only had one thing to say. "Inform me on the way there!"
Meanwhile - Just Moments Ago
"Hmph."
As Dahlia passed through the halls of the female ward, she wore her usual expression. It hadn't been that long since the 'Search Team' had left in search of the missing Mariko. "I can't believe Suimin thought about sending inmates to help with that. I'm really the only sane one in this place."
The silent and reserved young woman kept up her pace, taking a quick glance at a couple of the inmates she passed.
While she continued her patrol, a nice and easy one at that, she had spotted the janitor running up to her. Well, it wasn't a full out sprint, more of a mix between a power walk and occasionally breaking into a run that lasted a single second before walking once more.
"Oh! Um," once he spotted her, he pointed back to where he came from. "There's, uh..."
"Yes?"
"Um," Penthus began, shifting the mop in his hands. "I was just, uh...from the cells..."
"Spit it out."
That caused the janitor to jump a little. "Sorry! I...I came from the cells that I was assigned to clean but it seemed Akita's cell was locked...and uh, I've heard some uh noises. I think she could be in trouble? Sick maybe? I don't know."
As she stood there listening to the janitor, she turned on her heels and began to walk away. "If she's sick, then she can stay sick."
Penthus tried to say something, but it fell on deaf ears. However, "...would it really be worth it to check on the inmate?" as she stopped in her tracks, she weighed the options available to her. To the janitor, it must have looked odd seeing her walk away and stop.
"Is she going to check?" he wondered, holding the mop firmly. "I really hope so...oh!"
She turned back to him and just as he opened his mouth, she already passed right on by. "Huh?"
Leaving the janitor in the dust, Pietyr was already making her way to the cell in question. Ignoring any shout that the janitor in the distance called out.
"..."
As she got closer and closer to Akita's cell, she wondered just what was up as she checked the time. It was probably a waste of time, but it was better than potentially getting an annoying earful.
When Dahlia got to the cell door, she could hear what Penthus meant. Definitely some squeaking behind the doors, so she threw the cell door open. As she threw the door open, slamming against the wall next to another cell even, she was greeted to a sight she was not expecting at all.
"What the fuck...are you doing?"
The cold tone in her voice alone halted the noise immediately, right as she crossed her arms while giving the occupants within quite the dead stare.
In the bed of the cell was a rather bored looking Akita...and a very flustered yet pale guard.
When Muika saw Osamu enter her office, if she could call it that, she was beyond thankful and relieved that he was safe and (hopefully) fully recovered.
The weight she didn't know was on her shoulders lifted and she could swear that she was floating. Though, when he opened his mouth however, she didn't really know what to think.
"...hopefully no other accidents happened while I was stuck in bed!" Osamu laughed in that sort of fake nervous way.
She gripped her skirt as she sat in the chair while her brother grabbed hold of the papers she was supposed to be working on. Sure, she was clumsy and a bit of a klutz at times. Sure, she let others, mostly her brother, speak for her when she couldn't despite some recent situations that sort of forced her to...but, constantly hearing her brother say things like 'I gotta apologise to the wardens' and 'I hope you didn't cause another accident' was...it was hard for her to even put into words.
The young, long haired woman opened her mouth to say something, but of course, in the end she couldn't even say a word as Osamu took the papers from her desk. Her grip tightened as she avoided looking up.
She knew what was about to come...
It was only a matter of time until Osamu realised just what was within the later pages of the record and files of Styx's inmates. Until then, the elder Yomaura sibling flipped through the pages of the convict records.
So far so good.
"Mhm, the lineup for the next sessions are looking good. Seems like Demelza has been researched and is having her first session, though I might station myself nearby, but it doesn't seem too necessary with her quirk." Osamu peeled back more and more pages, nodding his head along with the names that appeared. Aside from a small handful of inmates, they were mostly safe choices. The ones who were as safe might have moments or had the capability of acting out, but were still mostly safe. The calm and level-headed ones that could fight if they really wanted to for example.
It was then Muika gulped, right as Osamu froze on the next page before quickly going through the remainder of the pages. While it looked like he was about to just ignore the rest, Muika was just unlucky.
"Rin? No, no, no. She couldn't be considering having sessions with him after last time. Gousen, Akita, Lumi, Godfried, Tajiri?!" He kept reading and reading the names of many, many inmates within Styx, some that he never wanted Muika around. At all. "Why are all these names here? Fumma, Lilim, Kajiru, Gin..."
He dropped the papers back onto the desk. "Why are a bunch of the more dangerous convicts in the counselling schedule?"
Looking up, his shocked look met with a set of timid eyes that quickly shot down at the slightest contact. It was a really good thing that many more dangerous inmates weren't present in the schedule...the ones like Vito and the other locked up inmates.
Okay sure, there was a guard stationed in the room with her should an inmate that could be dangerous to her be present in the room, on that comfortable longue. Which did help his worries from time to time, especially depending on who the guard was. But there was still the matter of how she got her hands on some of these files. Sure, inmates like Rin, Akita and all that were expected, their files weren't by any means restricted from her, but other files like Gousen, Tajiri and some others were definitely restricted from her and for good reason. Gousen being an easy one as if he got one of his delusional parasite sightings...it wouldn't look good that was for sure. Osamu was just glad that he didn't see any names like Alton or Photios otherwise he'd probably faint right then and there.
Or a heart attack instead.
"Still, the files that were restricted for her safety alone...how did she get some of these?" he kept his eyes on his sister, she refused to look up and preferred to watch non-existent paint dry.
Normally if he saw his coworker go over these names, like Alexios for example, he wouldn't bat an eye with some of these names as much. However, this was his sweet, little sister after all! He couldn't let her be alone with some of these names, not even with a trusty guard. Some of these names could still reach out and attack her easily!
The thought of Muika being so easily… "No. Best not to think about it. Not now when there's a bigger problem here..." he coughed, easily causing Muika to look up. "Muika..."
"...Yeah?" she squirmed in her chair as he got a bit closer.
"How did you get some of these files? Last time I was aware, files like Gousen and that were definitely restricted for you. They're pretty dangerous."
Gulping, she replied. "But...those files are only restricted from...counselling..."
"That still doesn't answer where you got these other files. I was sure that the wardens didn't give you all these files..." he paused briefly, "though it doesn't look like you're finished here..."
Whether the sudden change was for him or not, he wasn't entirely sure. He knew not every inmate's record would be hidden from her, banned at most when it came to scheduling sessions, but...it was way too risky and dangerous in his opinion.
"Oh, Yokohama's a safe bet," he said aloud, "so is Noguchi and many others."
Her brother kept going through the files of the many inmates. "I know you're trying to help...but..." the grip she had on her skirt loosened a fair bit.
All she needed to do was say: 'oh, they're not actually for counselling. It's just for filing purposes' or something else along those lines.
Yet she couldn't.
The words died in her throat as Osamu plucked away record after record. Dwindling the size of the prisoners lined up for a small session.
She silently muttered under her breath, "...why am I a counsellor then?"
Elsewhere within the prison was a group of inmates, stuck in discussion as they waited and waited for their release from their temporary cage. Jin was one of these inmates as he sat up in the infirmary's bed, just passing time as they all talked with one another.
From his understanding, this was a more rare moment within the prison...at least with this particular group. Inyoku was definitely the one properly healed and ready to go and Kuroishi seemed to just stare off into space, probably thinking about something. This time however, Gousen and Rhys were awake (as well as himself) as Reiji also joined in the conversation.
Wasn't like there was anything else to do here.
Just talk and wait to be released back into the ward, most likely leaving each other as soon as they step through the door.
They had no reason to stay together after all.
"I was unfairly locked up," huffed Gousen. "There are many parasites out there, but I should finish the ones in here first."
"Didn't you end up killing a little girl because she kept stealing things and kept them because it wasn't hers?" Reiji asked, looking back to the tied down Gousen, now with the twisted bar removed from his mouth.
"She was infected with the parasites," he grumbled. "I will squash every parasite that shows itself."
Both Reiji and Jin flinched a little. "And you wonder why you're stuck behind bars," Jin mumbled, not even daring to see whatever look was on his fellow criminal might be.
"Well, at least he has some sense of justice...twisted and fickle as it is..." Rhys mentioned, also sitting up in his bed.
The quiet Reiji blinked, "you call that justice?"
"Did you not hear the sarcasm?"
While Rhys gave the shorter inmate a look, Jin decided to look at the other two, seeing how Gousen seemed to go silent for some reason. "So, what about you two?"
"What about?" came the stoic reply from the giant that was Kuroishi.
"Anything really. Your sentence, getting out of the infirmary or other stuff you want to do when not stuck in bed?"
The tall and I mean tall bone growing man just stared at the ceiling. "I suppose it would be good to get out of this room..."
"I'm definitely looking forward to it!" came a rather cheerful yet somewhat childish giggle from the rattlesnake.
Jin couldn't help but smile at the cheerfulness. "I'm glad you-"
"I can't wait to get back out there and fight! There are some guys that I really want to fight!"
"...Eh? Did I hear that right?"
The grin on Inyoku's face wasn't exactly...comforting.
Kuroishi closed his eyes, Jin's question floating around his mind. "Something I want to do..." there was only one person that came to his mind. "I suppose I still have history with Fumma to take care of..."
As the dark purple haired Reiji looked at the others, he couldn't help but think how strong some of them were. He couldn't do what he usually did with the other nobodies in the prison. "At least Gousen is easily captured, but Inyoku and Kuroishi...they'll be able to climb up the 'top dog' position easily if they want to...they can garner way too much power. Vanguard, I hope you'll be here soon. I don't think I can-"
His thoughts were halted as the door opened with a familiar face walking in.
As Lambert walked into the room, checking his clipboard while two guards stood in the back, he gave them the news that had been waiting to hear. "You're free to go. Don't go out there and break any more bones, otherwise medical equipment might not be used to save you."
Anything past 'you're free to go' was ignored, deemed not important.
Of course, they were all let out one after the other soon after hearing those fateful words. Inyoku was the first one to leave, followed by both Reiji and Jin. Kuroishi went soon after, trailing behind and then the brown haired, lanky man that was Rhys was the next to be sent out of the room, slowly shuffling as he did.
Now, Gousen was the last one remaining.
"Get these binds off me."
As the two guards got on either side of the bed, Lambert just pulled up a chair. "What makes you think that you'll be let back into the wards?"
"...what? What the hell are you talking about?"
Lambert sighed, "you have a track record of attacking inmates, sometimes killing them. Yet you were always sent back out there. My co-worker Carna has figured something out about that, do you know what it is?"
Gousen remained silent, though the heat in his eyes wanted nothing more to just leave this shitty bed.
"Normally, when a prisoner like you does this sort of thing, they are locked up indefinitely, much like Vito who mopped the floor with you the other day. And guess what, many people keep getting surprised that you are released instead." as the tired doctor scooted a bit closer on the wheeled office chair, he yawned. "Someone must be bailing you out, either due to naivety...or they want you to kill and maim other inmates for their own purposes."
The sheer hatred that was usually shown in his eyes began to spread, crawling all over his face. "Are you saying that I'M BEING USED?!"
He tried to break free. The fact that a parasite was using him like that?! Hell no, he wouldn't allow it! Once he got his hands on those slimy parasites, they were dead! But the way he was struggling, squirming to break free.
It was just pathetic.
"Can you shut up for a second," sighed the doctor, waving his hand. "A third party tampering with corpses after Vito had dealt with them and how Gousen is released after a couple of days of acting up. There are definitely guard reports found that discourage putting him into a higher security cell like Vito...just what does this tamperer want with the bodies then?"
With a push, Lambert sailed back to the other side of the infirmary. "If you don't calm down, Carna will have to sedate you and you'll be stuck here for longer than a week."
It took a while, but it seemed he was calming down or at least managed to cover it up.
"Now, with all the mess that happened with Vito, you're not going back to your regular cell. You will be put into solitary confinement, like you should have been. No guard can bail you out now. Only the wardens, and you should know that they don't take kindly to you."
"That's bullshit! I have been falsely imprisoned and now I'm losing my right to leave my cell! Bullshit! Fucking bullshit!"
It was then that one of the guards spoke up. "Eh? Falsely imprisoned? Are you really that delusional?! You're a fucking murderer mate. Now calm...down!"
A swift whack to the head. He didn't even have time to activate his quirk. "Fuck!"
"Thank you," nodded the binding doctor. "Now, if you will let me continue, we have decided to give you one last chance."
"Huh?"
"Just this once, we're going to put you back into the ward."
Hikudo scoffed, "are you saying you want me to kill those parasites?"
The other guard gave the bound inmate a glare. "You're really fucked aren't you? Hell no! We don't want more blood on the ground! You're going to be bait, more or less."
His green eyes snapped back to the lab coat wearing doctor. "Something along those lines. We're going to let you walk around the prison for a while and whoever found you useful should be tagging along in the background, after that you'll be locked up indefinitely."
The first guard leaned real close. "And if you even hurt another inmate, that's it. We're taking you straight to the solitary confinement ward and leaving you there. So get it through your thick skull."
"Now, you're free to go. Don't worry, we don't have much faith in you to begin with." commented the other guard.
"..."
As Gousen, the last one that was released took a step out of the door, a hand pushed into his back as a sensation ran through his body. The same sensation that he felt every day that he was stuck in that bed. A mixture of both pain and pleasure. One that his body seemed to latch too during his rather exposed and vulnerable hospitalised form.
"It seems that your body has taken to my quirk quite well. I'm glad to have you aboard." the nasty tone of his surprise 'attacker' commented.
Gousen couldn't help but kneel, trying to say a word but the pain and pleasure rushed throughout his entire body.
Rhys couldn't help but grin. He might have lost all of his 'bodyguards' thanks to that random Vito guy, but now with Gousen, perhaps things would be a lot easier now. There were a few good picks, however none that he could put his hands on without suffering the consequences, but in the end. He ended up with a decent choice.
A real bargain that was free for the taking.