~NRK~

The following morning, Senji walked the halls with a bit more energy but with far more wit to not show it.

'Right now, I need to find those guys,' he thought, remembering a very specific detail about this place he'd learned a year into his time here.

Of a group, a 'mythical' group of folktales between prisoners. There was no way anyone believed they existed… if he hadn't been approached at one point.

'What was her name again?' Senji groaned as he tried to recall it. 'I know her face but her name was… K-Karawo? No, Karako! Karako Koshio,' he remembered. 'Game Fowl,' and her cell was across from his. 'How do I approach her, though?'

Anyone with some sense made sure to have their wits about them in this place while not trusting everything anyone had to say at face value. Senji knew that he'd have to be careful-

"Yo, Senji-kun," his face went blank as he mechanically turned his head to see a woman standing in front of him with a close-eyed grin. "Wanna talk about your friend from the day before?" She whispered.

Light brown skin, short curly white hair, and now-open honey-gold eyes looked back at him with intent. Wearing a dark yellow coat that came down to her shins with long sleeves and a hood, she wore a backless, sleeveless, flora top, a similar metal brace around her neck like him, a pair of tight black pants that ended at mid-shin, and a pair of tie-around sandals.

'Speak of the devil, huh?' Senji smirked cooly with a look of excitement. "Sure, I was looking for ya in the first place," she blinked at him, surprised. "I wanted to speak with you a lot," he emphasized.

Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms for a moment before shrugging, jabbing her thumb behind her. "This way."

They walked for a time, maybe five minutes, but the more they did, the more Senji noticed.

"Man, talk about friendly," Senji said with a hum, hands in his sweatpants pockets. 'Are they all situated on this side?' That didn't sound like a good idea but he didn't know that much about their organization.

As they reached Karako's room, she opened the door and gestured to it.

"Hmph," Senji looked up as he walked in, finding a man above her door's entrance as he walked in. "Duh," he said flatly at him as he grinned shakily.

Going in, Karako closed the entrance before the man above her door dropped down. "Alright, spill, what the hell is going on with you and your hidden stranger?" She asked rudely as the man beside her chuckled a bit.

[Apologies for my comrade's rather straightforward personality.] He said with a smile.

The person before Senji was a pale man who had a frail posture. He had a gentle face with long, curly, dark brown hair, a few strands covering his cheeks with one strand between his brown eyes. On his neck sat another prisoner brace while, a bit around his vocal cords area sat a scar that nearly covered the entirety of the front of his throat.

Wearing a long-sleeved black top, dark gray pants, a pair of brown shoes, and a scarf around his waist, he looked at Senji with a curious hope.

"... Owl, right?" Senji asked and the man smiled a bit more.

[Yep. Nagi Kengamine, at your service.] He introduced himself.

"Yeah, Senji Kiyomasa, Crow," Senji said. "And, yeah, she's real lady-like."

"Of course, what else is a yamato nadeshiko, yeah?" Karako said with a grin as Senji's eyebrow twitched.

"Hinata's not some gorilla woman and she's more of one than you are."

"Gorilla woman?!"

[Be nice, please, your methods can be brutish, at times, Karako.] Nagi said as the woman choked while he rubbed the back of his head. [Please, can we get to the matter at hand? You got a visitor of unknown origin the night before, didn't you?]

"How do you even know?" Senji asked.

"We've got folk who wander the halls sometimes," Karako said. "Saw him from across the way and heard him through their doors."

"I guess he wasn't as silent as he thought."

[So, he's a friend?]

"Yeah, real old family friend," Senji smirked as Kawako raised a brow. "... he infiltrated this place three weeks back," their eyes widened. "Came to find me and we spoke on some things. Wanted to figure out how big this entire place was, the whole number of people he thought I could trust, and more."

[For…?] Nagi looked rather hopeful as Senji smirked.

"He's planning on destroying this place, literally," he said as the two blinked. "And I know he and two other people with him can do it. This entire place can be filled with wood in minutes."

"Wood?" Karako looked confused. "... wait," her eyes widened as Senji's grin grew. "H-He's like-"

[Us, isn't he?] Nagi finished for her, chin cupped as his eyes shined. [A-And he's on the outside?]

"He's currently working as a warden up top," he explained and they nodded. "The big idea, so far, is to blow the top off this place," Senji said, reaching into his pocket before pulling out what looked like red wooden coins. "I'm sure he's gonna talk to us in the morning, you need to hold onto this."

"His calling card?" Karako asked only to raised a brow at Senji's grin.

"It's a bit better than a calling card."

Nagi looked at the one in his hand, scrutinizing it. [... Blood wood?] He asked Crow who nodded.

"That's important if you want to talk to him. Make sure you don't lose it or let it get seen. I already dropped a few of those in some of the plants and stuff I could find."

"Why?" Karako blinked. "Or are they like beacons for this guy to make things explode?"

"That's one reason. The other is more places, that's all I can really say."

[That's fine but if things go well tonight, we're going to ask him to hold off.] Nagi said with a nod as Senji looked surprised. [The thing is, in half a year, there's going to be an inspection, Senji-kun. If we can open this horrifying little world up then it'd be perfect, Tsunenaga would never be able to work in this business again.]

"Well, that'd be the cleaner way," Senji said as the two considered the implication. "That guy, his father, and some people they're working with, they made his life hell many years back. He's not going to leave them alive after all of this."

[I understand but he'll also need to be seen as doing the 'right' thing.] Nagi said. [He'll just be a murderer in the news if he just attacked, wouldn't he? I honestly think he has everything but he needs to make sure the narrative exists in his favor.]

Senji hummed before nodding. "Alright, when is this inspection gonna happen, specifically?"

Nagi smiled.

~NRK~

"Hmph, Tobi-kun, did you know there's going to be an inspection in the future, in the spring?" Kiwako asked Obito, the man's eyebrows raising with interest.

Looking out the window of a hallway, they minded those around them.

"Really? Nothing about it was on the news before I came," Obito said. "That's half a year away," Ganta and Shiro would be fifteen by then.

"Of course, this is private for the sake of ensuring no one can interfere," she explained. "Though, it can also be seen as more dangerous because they can rub the wrong shoulders and end up a bribed event every time… but, thankfully, it's not. And," Kiwako smirked as Obito chuckled. "You've gotten information that can't be understated. We can rip this place's constitutions out without hesitation."

"True, how long is the timeframe?"

"A week, every year. It's random, we're not supposed to be able to guess, usually, after all."

"Good, fuck Tamaki."

She chuckled at the idea.

~NRK~

That night, Obito nodded to Kyouko in his room, the two of them finishing up any paperwork they had.

"Alright," dressed as he was the night before, Obito nodded to her as he pulled his cloak's hood. "With this, it's all so much easier," he explained as he flipped a thick wooden coin in his hand.

"I'm confused, how?" She asked him as she opened up a second laptop, a familiar hard drive connected to it. "I mean, you said it's just blood wood, right?"

"Well, that's part of it… but, in case of anything, some abilities like mine can develop further," Obito said as she perked up.

Why? The new red marks currently flowing down the sides of his cheek and his eyes, those 'Sharingan' as he called them.

"Mine came with an interesting ability," he explained before allowing that wooden coin to fall to the ground.

It expanded into the size of a large manhole cover, Kyouko looking at him with a raised brow.

Then Obito smirked as he stepped onto it. "I'll be right back."

He sunk into the large plate before it shrank back to a normal size.

Her jaw dropped as she just stared at it.

"W-What?!"

~NRK~

'Senji did it,' Obito thought as he traveled through that 'liquid' of his blood dimension. 'Let's see.'

He looked through all the wooden coins that Senji had put down, nodding at the plants most of them were in before finding a duo of individuals he'd never met before.

'This is the only one with people so these must be those guys he spoke of.'

~NRK~

"So, this is gonna be a bit weird," Karako said while rubbing the back of her head. "If this is seriously real… N-Nagi, we'd basically have more than everything we need to stop this from happening."

[It's true but, at the same time, there are going to be more people like Tamaki. I'll be eternally happy when this place is gone but I'm not going to stop fighting.] Nagi said as she chuckled a bit, some red on her face.

"W-Well, you know I'm here, on your side, helping stop more people like Tamaki is a pretty awesome affair."

"It is," a voice said from below them, the two jumping out of their seats and looking around. "So, Senji didn't tell you everything, I really underestimate how honorable he is."

There was a 'splurt' before the two's mouths dropped as Obito slipped out of the expanded bloodwood coin.

"The hell?!" Karako's eyes shrunk as Nagi blinked before his eyes grew bright at the possibilities of such a power. "Y-You just came out of that tiny-ass coin?" She wheezed as Obito chuckled, pulling his hood down and allowing his bunned-up hair to be revealed. "... hey, hair buns are fine on whoever."

[... Right, she's just coping.] Nagi said as Obito turned to look at him. [So, you're the friend of Senji-kun?]

"Yes, Tobi Akatsuki, at your service," Obito introduced. "So, Senji-kun did know you guys existed but he didn't… know who you guys were, your organization, that is."

[That's fair even if we've tried to recruit him before.] Nagi explained. [I'm Nagi Kengamine. This is my right-hand woman, Karako Koshio, we're two of the three leaders of our anti-Deadman Wonderland group, Scar Chain.]

Good, he was happy such a resistance existed here, now what he needed to know was how powerful were they.

"How do we know you're actually capable, though?" Karako asked with crossed arms. "No offense, I know we're kinda the ones who decided this meeting would happen," she rubbed the back of her head. "But we've got no real credentials for you."

"And what would would need to know?" Obito asked, arms crossed.

[It's rather rude of us, that's the truth, and I apologize.] Nagi said as Karako burned with a grumble.

"Yeah, sorry, we just need to be safe."

"I understand."

[... Hmm.] Nagi's robotic voice buzzed softly. [Are there any claims you can make that you can do right here?]

Obito nodded. "Well, to be fair, you guys do realize that I can teleport anywhere I have one of these, right?" Obito flipped a wooden coin and Karako looked embarrassed. "You saw it first hand."

"Y-Yeah, I'd, uh… sorry."

[I'm sure this isn't possible but can you carry other people through those?] Nagi asked.

"Sadly, no, I can't carry anything that isn't on my person nor made of wood," Obito said and the man nodded. "Or, really, that'd be the case some time back. The caveat is, you need to be covered in my blood."

"So it is a Branch of Sin?"

"Yes though Blood Banes have certainly been my family's take on it."

It was alright name. "Hmm," Karako cupped her chin. "I mean, he can literally get anywhere, Nagi, but if he needs those wooden chips somewhere, it's limited."

[And if they get found, Tamaki might up security.] Owl cupped his chin. [What can we have you demonstrate?]

Time for the closer. "Well, if that power won't be immediately convincing, there's another I can use," he said as they looked at him like he was crazy. "Actual hypnotism."

"Okay, now I know you have to be bullshitting, there's no way that's true," Karako shook her head with a grimace.

[... Or you can prove it.] Nagi said as his right hand balked. [I somehow doubt he'd just speak about something so esoteric without some truth to it, Karako-kun.]

"I-I get that but what would you even have him do?"

[... Use it on me, have me tell you something I wouldn't tell anyone.]

"... are you alright with that?"

"Yeah, besides, Crow could have told him anything about you," Karako looked red in the face. "... M-Me, use it on me but… fuck, dammit," she looked down. "Use it on me, instead, it'll be better to do it that way. And, yes, I'm… fine with whatever outcome will come outta this."

Obito nodded as he pointed at his eyes.

"Yeah-?" Karako began to say before her form went rigid, Nagi looking between the two in confusion before watching her pupils vanish.

"... Nagi."

[I understand, please, Karako's strong, I doubt she can't handle anything that comes of this.]

"Karako," Obito spoke up. "What's a secret you don't want anyone to know."

Nagi wondered what it'd be. Would it be enough-

"I'm in love with Nagi," the drone-like woman said. "I've liked him for-"

"Stop!" Obito said and she did. "Nagi, I…" He looked uncomfortable.

Nagi swallowed. [I…] He now looked uncomfortable. [I-I think you should return her to normal…]

Obito snapped his fingers and Karako's eyes widened as her face burned and she turned away from her boss… her affection.

"I-I could hear it all… dammit!" She covered her face Nagi blushed somewhat himself, looking away.

"... I could remove it from your mind, Nagi," Obito said as the man turned to him with a look of relief. "Karako, I can fix-"

"D-Don't," she said quickly as Nagi blushed and turned around. "N-Nagi, I know… Okay, this is weird. Crap! This is so embarrassing but… t-that's how I feel. I-I'm not expecting anything, alright?! I-I just… I-I guess you knowing now is better than never."

The room was silent as Obito tugged on his collar.

"... I think I'll take my leave," he said with a cough as Nagi nodded rapidly. "... good luck?"

He jumped into the coin and vanished, leaving two embarrassed adults in his wake.

"..."

[...]

~NRK~

Ten minutes later in Senji's room, Obito shook his head at the amused 'Crow'.

"I really don't want to hear it."

~NRK~

The next two months were basically nothing more than correspondence and information 'tacking'.

With the Scar Chain group being brought in on the knowledge he really had, Obito had Kyouko compose two data drives but with a caveat that he informed Senji, Nagi, and Karako about.

"Until that actual day, we need to keep these two sides uninvolved. You can't tell anyone where you really got this information so I'd ask that you keep that as a hidden blade for your goals," he'd told them. "Right now, anyone with enough brainpower will realize I'm outside help and that's the kind of realization we don't need."

On the other end, Kiwako had gotten in touch with some old comrades she apparently had and already had a third copy of the hard drive made for them on a couple days of vacation she'd taken before she went to a location he'd asked her to go to give a fourth copy to his parents.

~NRK~

Wearing some open-toed brown heels, a pair of black short shorts, and a green shirt with a v-neck, Kiwako hummed as she walked the streets of Nagano.

"Hmm," she nodded in front of a small store before going in, walking to the counter. "Can I get the Itsuka Dango?" Kiwako asked the woman manning the register.

She was of average height for a woman with shoulder-length black hair, fair skin with a scar down her right cheek down that went down her neck, and gray eyes. Wearing a white long-sleeved top, green pants, an apron with the store's logo on it, and a pair of shoes, Kiwako noted how she shot her a nervous look.

She tilted her head at her before Kiwako nodded, passing the appropriate amount of money to her, rolled up.

"Alright, one moment," she said, taking the money. "... we also have fan charms."

"Let me get… two, one white and red with the other being green."

Hinata Kiyomasa's eyes widened as they snapped to Kiwako who nodded.

"You can come into the back and choose."

Following the woman behind the counter and into the back, a young man came into the store.

"Yo, sis!" He said before seeing the two. "W-Whoa!" He blushed as Kiwako raised a brow and Hinata chuckled.

"Izuru-kun, can you man the front for a moment?" Hinata asked him. "I have to speak with this customer."

"Wait you cal-Alright," the young man, Izuru, said. "God, why is she so hot?" He whispered in disbelief.

Walking to the very back of the store, Hinata took Kiwako to a section in between two cameras and down a barely-their-size hidden grove.

Walking in, she closed the moveable board behind them.

"Obito was right, you all are prepared," Kiwako said as Hinata blinked.

"You even know his name?" She asked.

"Yes, our interests aligned when he and a comrade of mine were having a ferocious amount of sex if you'd believe it."

Hinata flinched and red crawled up her neck. "E-Excuse me?!"

Kiwako shrugged. "It's the truth as far as I know."

Hinata was starting to realize just how strong this woman was. 'Obito-kun! You're around a scary one!' She hoped he was doing well. "C-Come this way, he asked you to give us something, right?"

"Something precious to hold onto, it's in the money."

Unfurling it, Hinata saw a small data disk. "... I'll send it to his parents. I knew this operation was going to happen but I guess this is the backup of the backup of the backup, isn't it?"

"Hmm, you're smart," Kiwako nodded, crossing her arms as Hinata's eyebrow twitched. "... Apologies, I've been told I'm rather big in the chest area," she said matter-of-factly, not a hint of smugness or anything.

'Obito-kun, she's a really strong woman.'

~NRK~

With nothing else to do but wait and prepare, Obito did so with as much secrecy as possible.

Well, that and interacting with Senji, the man passed him names and numbers which he double-checked with Kyouko before confirming them.

With Kiwako's return, they'd done the most they could and just waited.

Waited for The Inspection to begin.

~NRK~

Three months in, Obito frowned as he stood in Tsunenaga's office, Yoh sitting in a nearby chair looking nervous.

"Yes, sir?" He asked the fox-faced man who fiddled with some jenga pieces. "Is something amiss?"

"No, no, no, Tobi-kun, this is for a different reason," the man said as Yoh frowned while crossing his arms. "Tell me, Tobi-kun, what do you really know about this world?"

Obito's eyebrows raised even as his mental ones narrowed. 'Is he… trying to bring me into the fold?' Why? What had changed?

Why do this three months before inspection?

"You see, there are things in this world that may well seem supernatural," the promoter said. "Would you believe in vampires? Werewolves? Frankenstein?"

"... are those-"

"No, no, they're simply examples. The point I'm making is this, there's superstition and then there's reality," Tamaki smirked. "And I can show you both, I just need you to do something for me."

Why? "Sir, what in the world are you talking about? I mean, supernatural things would be heard of in forests," the childish man giggled in amusement. "But it's usually nothing more than an odd animal."

"You ask 'why' and provide a good counter-argument but there's evidence to point to the otherwise."

"... But why me?" Obito asked truthfully. "Unless my fellow wardens are aware?"

"They're not."

"So…"

"Akatsuki-kun, I need more help in matters desperate to our ways of living," Tsunenega said seriously, confusing him. "... but this won't solve anything, here," he clapped.

And in came a familiar pair of twins who blinked at him while he did his best to look like someone else.

'FUCK,' if they found him now…

He'd likely have to kill them all save for Yoh, it'd be better off in the end but they had a plan, he couldn't screw this up intentionally.

"Who… are they?"

"These are my father's caretakers, Chan and En," Tsunenaga smirked. "And they're going to show you exactly what I mean."

The twins frowned as they barely considered Obito before turning to Tsunenaga.

"Oh, come now, this isn't new, I've had to bring in others like this when we made our security detail, you remember don't you?"

"..."

"..."

Seeing the tense expressions, Obito had a feeling that the promoter wasn't as 'in control' as he thought.

'This could be useful,' but then what would he do if he accepted?

What would change? Would he be able to leave without being monitored? Wasn't that the case anyway, though?

Kiwako had been forthcoming in this, also being annoyed by being monitored even before he'd arrived.

So, what would be his limitations?

"Sir, before anything happens," Obito spoke up seriously, surprising the promoter. "With all due respect, I don't know what I'd be stepping into. You clearly want me to know something most wouldn't and I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I'm cautious by nature, you have to be in the forests, so what if I were to refuse after you showed me?"

"..." The childish man considered his words as Obito sighed while Yoh stared at him in surprise.

'... he's smarter than you thought, huh?' Yoh thought a bit smugly as he leaned back in his seat with a neutral expression. '... but if I can get into contact with her, I-I…' Yoh wasn't stupid.

He was already a pawn in the promoter's games and hand, he was likely barely useful despite the man's seeking of a snitch.

Likely, he didn't have much leeway in the least… but…

'You've stepped over more corpses than anyone,' he thought to himself with apathy. 'This shouldn't be any different,' and it wasn't. "It might seem odd to you but knowing about this might open up opportunities," Yoh said to 'Tobi' who shot him a look.

'What's his game in all this?' Obito wasn't sure. "I don't follow, my point stands, I'd rather just do normal work and not be involved in anything that needs secrecy, that's bound to cause me more trouble than I could fathom."

It would but Yoh couldn't find a damn to care.

"Even if it's safer for you and your coworkers?"

Obito's eyes slowly narrowed.

Ice chilled Yoh's bones and got a choke out of him, the twins, and their promoter.

'This feeling!' The childish man shivered yet found his interest bound to 'Akatsuki'. 'He's truly like a beast!' Oh, if he could put this man into the 'Games' below, Tamaki questioned if he couldn't just brute force it. "He's got quite the feeling, Tobi-kun, it's for your and their safety-"

He wheezed as those cold eyes shifted to him, leaving Yoh shivering in their wake.

"Excuse me, SIR?" Obito felt his anger slip before he closed his eyes, the bloodlust in the room dropping back to zero. "Apologies, pack mentality ensures I take care of my own," he said as he tilted his head back.

The feeling of a hand on his back and a chin on his shoulder had him looking right into En's eyes as she frowned at him.

'Dangerous,' it seemed painfully so.

That feeling of threat made her body react in offense, the feeling of her blood seeking to capture this 'Tobi' urging her to 'wrap' him up so she could react as quickly as possible.

… his shoulders were also very broad, she literally didn't see eye-to-eye with him and so she leaned and glared.

Obito's eyebrow rose in confusion. "Yes?" He asked her.

"..." She just stared at him, seemingly trying to cow him? "... Violence won't be tolerated despite its target," En told him as Yoh stared at her like she was crazy while Obito grew amused.

'What is this bitch doing?!' She was ruining everything! "For the love of God, let go of him! What are you doing?!"

"Asserting dominance is important in these situations," Chan elaborated like it was necessary.

The promoter snickered at Yoh's gawking expression. "Alright, alright, please, release him, En, he does seem… adamant," Obito's bloodlust hadn't returned but the look he sent the promoter had the man grinning a bit. "It's not much of a change, in fact, Tobi-kun, you have a proper outlook that can be considered. You see, Yoh-kun has a sister, a little sister," Yoh flinched before grimacing.

Obito's eyes snapped to the head-down boy. '... I see,' he was making the picture already.

"Minatsuki-chan is in a different ward from most prisoners. He doesn't know where but it's for a good reason."

"I'd assume so, she's a young woman, it'd be a bad idea to mix her in with the males here," Obito countered despite knowing the truth. 'So, Takami is his last name,' he remembered that name.

Minatsuki Takami had been a name near Senji's.

"Yes, well, it's a bit more complex and that's why he desires you to be her caretaker," Obito blinked at that while Yoh grit his teeth only to sigh. "You see, CP is special, you know that you can buy damn near anything and he wants to buy you as a service for her. The issue is that she's in a different wing not known by most of our staff but he knows I know."

"And he wants me to go? I…" Obito looked at the embarrassed Yoh. "Wouldn't it be better for this to be Kyouko, Yoh-kun? I'm a man, your sister is your SISTER. While I don't wish her any harm, that might not be reflected."

"She's a good girl, she won't attack you," Yoh muttered. "I just… I need to know she's alright, anything, I need to know."

"..." Obito knew he was in for it before sighing. "Fine," Yoh's head snapped up, the bit of nervousness now replaced by shock and… hope? 'I think I understand you a bit more,' something told Obito that this young man… was likely trying to buy her freedom, wasn't he?

So, he wanted a constant check-up during that time. Obito could understand that, he'd do the same if he found someone he thought was trustworthy and Shiro or Ganta were here.

"Grand!" Tamaki smiled. "Well, I suppose we'd need to make arrangements around this. If Tobi-kun doesn't wish to learn any secrets, we'll take measures to ensure both your wishes are granted, Yoh-kun."

Yoh looked embarrassed while Obito nodded. "Yeah, well… thanks," he muttered. "I'll have Tamaki send the CP every time you actually visit her."

"If I'm going to do this, what is the arrangement?" Obito asked him and the young man ruffled his own head of hair.

"I don't… What I want is updates. How's she's doing, what her room's like, maybe she'll need extra CP?"

"I'll ask her, you can even have Tamaki send a fact-checker if you'd like."

Yoh really hoped that 'Tobi' was as upright as he thought.

"It's fine, just do as I say, yeah? It's only going to be for, maybe, an hour on the even days. I'm sure she wouldn't want a man around often enough to catch her unaware, ya know?" Yoh said.

"Understood."

~NRK~

"Wait, what?" Kyouko balked as she pushed up from Obito's bed, modest breasts bouncing as she choked. "He's sending you to G Ward?"

"It seems so," Obito answered, sitting up just as naked as she was. "The thing is, I made it out as I didn't want to know where I was and so he's setting some kind of arrangement up," he told her as she frowned.

"Obito-kun, you realize that this could all be a trap, right?"

"I know, Tamaki's a sadistic bastard and we have evidence of that… but Yoh's not. He's the brother to the girl I'll be giving him updates on."

The woman's eyes softened. "Haa, I know he's usually a bit of a troublemaker, and we now know that he is a snitch, but he shouldn't be dealing with this. I'm worried that he's also here due to Tamaki's hands."

Obito nodded to that. "For now, I guess I'll be seeing what Tamaki considers 'insurance'. I might learn something new."

Kyouko nodded before grinning a bit, leaning on his chest with a perverted gleam in her eyes.

Obito put her on her back in an instant, the bed creaking as he placed himself between her legs.

"For now, this is important," they said in unison.

The bed kept creaking.

"Y-You know!" Kyouko bit his neck as he pressed deeply into her. "A-Ahhh! I-I'm sure the… chief's gonna ask! R-Right there!" She squealed as Obito rolled his hips.

"Hmph! Talk later!" He gave a powerful thrust as she latched on tighter. 'Seriously! In prison of all places!' His life had to be a joke to someone.

~NRK~

Senji's jaw dropped as Obito nodded.

"The hell do you think he's planning? Tamaki's a piece of shit and I can't imagine him being so normal about this," the Crow frowned.

"Others have said the same, I just don't know what to expect," Obito said. "Any ideas on who he'd send with me?" Senji froze as his head snapped to the now-frowning Obito. "That's a 'yes'."

"The Undertakers."

The rundown had the younger man frowning.

'Individuals with weapons that can deny blood abilities with specific leaders,' he considered it all. 'And if they're as sadistic as Senji says…' He'd need to keep his guard up.

… well if Tamaki wanted to play these games so would Obito.

~NRK~

The following morning, at 12 pm sharp, Obito found himself waiting in the hallway by E Ward in a recommended get-up by Yoh.

Wearing a black cap, a similarly-colored medical mask, a black sweater, black cargoes, a large knife strapped to his thigh, and a pair of thick boots, Obito adjusted a pair of black gloves on his hands before he heard his arriving 'entourage'.

And when he saw them, with Tamaki at the lead, he knew things were gonna get tense.

"There you are!" Tamaki smiled before noting his get-up. "Ah, yes, keeping your identity to yourself would be important, Tobi-kun! Though that hair is a dead giveaway!" He chuckled before gesturing to the group of individuals behind him. "These five men will be your 'security detail'. Meet the Undertakers and their first squad leader, Genkaku-kun."

One man, one who was dressed differently from his fellow 'Undertakers', stepped forward with an observing smirk.

"Hmm~," he chuckled. "Aren't you interestin'?" He grinned.

He was of a similar height to the former shinobi with fair skin, red eyes, and red hair that fell down to his chin. Wearing ornamental monk robes, a bead necklace with a skull, and an… electric guitar?

The man before him was clearly a step ahead of the rest behind him, the four individuals wearing all-white suits with thick-looking helmets and a random array of weapons at their waists.

'Worm Eaters in the Anti-Deadman Corps,' they'd looked it up after Senji's revelation.

It seemed Tamaki kept them under the 'Anti-Deadman Corps' in his files while speaking 'Undertakers' on the outside. The Worm Eaters, the weapons that oxidized the 'Nameless Worm' within 'Branches of Sin', making their abilities moot.

And they were still WEAPONS, meaning they were just as deadly to a normal person compared to a Deadman.

He adjusted his cap before humming. "Let's just go, I doubt we'll be demonstrating camaraderie, Genkaku-san," Obito said with a narrowed gaze as the 'monk' grinned in a laid back manner.

But underneath it all, Obito could see the insanity that resided in his core and made as much apparent.

"You can also cut the act," the man looked surprised. "I doubt you're some kind 'monk' with an air for guitars, I'm sure you're a big part of this 'secret'. So, like I told Tamaki, keep our business separate and this will all go well."

Genkaku's smile became something a bit more distorted, tilting curved at the ends as he leaned forward.

"You'd be such a delicious ceremony," he whispered.

"And I'd make sure yours is short."

The air grew tense before Tamaki clapped. "That's quite enough, Genkaku-kun, you know where your security actually lies," he said with reproach as the redhead groaned. "Tobi-kun is quite right, he's not to know, you keep our sides separate."

"You bitch, this is not gonna be fun," Genkaku grunted.

"It's work, it can't be fun all the time."

The mutter of 'bullshit' told Obito everything he needed to know.

"Let's just go."


Entering that odd side door around the wall that hid G Ward, Obito followed the Undertakers from behind at his own behest, Genkaku's mood back to 'normal' but clearly on its 'edge'.

'Better for him to be transparent instead of secretive,' he told himself, knowing that this was more his own fault than anything else.

As they reached the white walls of G Ward, Obito's hidden mouth frowned as they walked down the halls.

Every so often, he saw peeking eyes coming out of cell doors or down halls, all of them glaring or confused.

"Back off, you worthless sinners, your time will come," Genkaku smiled brightly as they came to a stop by a door. "Here she is, your patient."

Obito didn't bother with the man's words, knocking on the door, he waited before it cracked open and allowed him to see her.

Minatsuki Takami.

She was a bit below average in height while bearing familiar fair skin and eyes to Yoh's own. Her hair was long and black, a bronze headband in place at the top to keep it down.

Wearing a cream-colored dress with several darker accents, a pair of earrings, and metal cuffs, she flinched back at the Undertakers.

"W-What do you want?" She asked in horror, skin paling before Obito held up a hand. "W-What?"

"This isn't whatever you think this is," he told her. "I am Tobi Akatsuki, I'm visiting on behalf of your brother, Yoh Takami," Minatsuki's eyes widened. "For the sake of clarity, I've made sure to tell Tamaki that I'm not to be involved with whatever the hell this Ward is," Obito frowned for the sake of the act. "But your brother bought me as a service to see you and check up on you."

Obito said it all with as much care as he could but, as he did, something seemed to flash across the young woman's eyes.

Distaste, distrust, hatred, and a bit of madness.

What the fuck was going on down here?

It all came and went, leaving behind a vulnerable expression he realized was clearly a ruse.

"R-Really? My bro?"

"Yes, he's been worried and working hard to see you but it's not easy for him and his status," she frowned and Obito found that it was the most honest expression she'd ever made in their short interaction.

Hesitation, a bit so subtle it almost seemed fake but it was there before being buried under the ruse once more.

"... A-Alright, come in… J-Just you," she said quickly, face still pale as Obito nodded.

"They're to listen to Tamaki's orders and remain on standby," Obito said more for Genkaku than for her. "Coming in."

He entered through a more cracked-open door before stopping for a moment.

"A moment, I need to let Genkaku-san know something-"

It was almost instant, too fast for her to react to.

Genkaku's eyes widened as he felt the blade at his throat, Obito's arm around his neck as he leaned over the man's other shoulder.

"Tamaki didn't leave you with a little sheep you think you could slaughter," he drew some blood before removing his knife. "I can kill every single one of you before you could consider trying to kill me."

He walked into the shocked young woman's room without any fanfare, leaving behind a staring Genkaku whose face contorted into a picture of 'serene rage' that no one approached, not even his own men.

'Tamaki, we're going to talk.'

He'd not let this little upstart have his way, it'd be wrong of him to let him do so.


Inside the room of Minatsuki Takami, Obito blinked at what was a single bed in a room covered in flowers.

All sorts, all kinds of colors, and all sorts of fragrances filled his vision, sight, and sense of smell.

"... I guess your brother won't be worried about your living arrangements," Obito said with crossed arms and a sweatdropped. "Isn't this too many flowers?"

"I-It's color," she said with that fake stutter. "You don't need to make fun of it."

"I'm not, I just don't understand where you can find the water for all of these. Or, really, where you find the money to buy them. Speaking of," he turned to her and she raised a brow. "Your brother did want me to check up on you but he also wanted to ask if you needed more CP?"

The way she actually looked surprised and confused said a lot.

"I-I don't follow, for what?"

"I mean, he's making sure you can survive, Minatsuki-kun," he told her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why wouldn't he?"

The area was silent as she looked caught unawares, fidgeting a bit.

"I'm fine," she grimaced, a bit rough in tone and body language, her fists clenched. "... Hmph, i-it's fine, it's different in this Ward."

"Ah, I don't need to remind you but I don't need any of that information."

"R-Right! Sorry!" She said. "... So, um… w-what else is there?"

"... I don't know," he told her and she sweatdropped. "He wanted me to visit for an hour on the even days, he was worried sick, didn't know where you were it seems, but also knew you wouldn't want me to become some permanent every day fixture."

She muttered something that he didn't strain himself to hear.

Not his business and would be moot in a couple months anyway.

"Hmm… Well, in that case, how about this?" He offered her and she looked at him. "How about just some questions? Nothing crazy or absurd, you can even ask me about things or my own person."

She considered his words before going over to her bed and sitting down, Obito nodding and simply standing as she thought it over.

"... We stop when I say it," she said a bit more assertively before flinching. "T-That is, if you don't mind."

"I'm not here to force anything out of you, just to make sure your arrangements aren't problematic.

'All of this is problematic, you goon,' Minatsuki thought with a mental frown and groan. 'That idiot! What the fuck kinda use is this guy if he doesn't even know anything?!' Of course, she wasn't an idiot.

Tamaki was likely brewing up some crazy idea for this little 'arrangement' and wouldn't let it stand… if he knew, right?

Did he know how fast this 'Tobi' guy was? Did he know he could potentially just off an Undertaker?

'I don't even know if that was a fluke or not,' she needed information. "... Alright, I'll ask the first questions."

"Go ahead," he said.

How did she ask about his little 'performance'? She didn't like it but this guy… he was actually intelligent and competent.

She could tell, he wasn't normal… so she guessed she'd approach this as unorthodoxly as possible.

"Could you actually kill him?"

"Yes."

Her eyes widened as she looked at him in disbelief, Obito simply nodding in response.

'What?' Who the hell just answered that? What was wrong with this guy?! "T-That was… straightforward," she said lamely and wanted to slam her hands through her noggin. 'That was STRAIGHTFORWARD? The hell?!' God, she was so fucking stupid.

"Then I'll ask a question," Obito said as she focused back on him. "Do you like these particular flowers?" He asked her simply and she frowned at him.

The hell kind of question was that? One would think she'd like flowers if they saw all the bullshit in here! That was the whole point!

… 'He's not fooled, is he?' She realized in horror as her eyes snapped to Tobi's.

And his gaze locked with her, getting a flinch out of her.

"You haven't answered the question."

"... Yes," she said limply, frowning. 'What's his game?' What did he hope to get out of this?

If her brother was paying him, Minatsuki was sure that anybody would just laze around and just leave her be.

What the hell was wrong with this man?

"... Why didn't you do it?" She asked him.

"Because it wouldn't solve anything, not now," Obito answered simply as her frown deepened. "Think about it, what would immediately follow such a thing?"

Her mind betrayed her and instantly said 'you'd die', leaving her grumbling, gaze on the ground.

"It wouldn't be worth doing that now."

"Tsk, ask your question."

"Do you like dresses or do you prefer other clothes?"

Her head slowly turned to look at his calm expression. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, you are wearing a dress but that could possibly be the only thing you do wear-"

"I have more clothes!" She growled at him. "I'm in this shithole but I'll be damned if I look as bad as it does."

Obito hummed before smirking as she blinked.

Minatsuki blushed as she covered her mouth. 'Fuck!' She'd reacted without thinking!

"There's your true personality," he chuckled as she grimaced, removing her hands and growling at him. "Your turn."

"What's your deal? What the hell are you trying to accomplish?" She hissed.

Obito shot her a curious look. "You know why I'm here," he said obviously.

She frowned, staring at him before it dawned on her.

"No, do not fucking tell me you're actually following his orders! Are you crazy?! Do I look like I give a crap about all that shit right now?!"

"I mean, what have you done to actually prepare for anything?" Obito asked her and she glared.

"Tsk," she turned away from him. "This line of questioning is done," she knew he'd just keep asking.

That's how these kinda liars worked-

"Very well," Obito sat down before crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, getting a twitch of the brow out of Minatsuki.

"... I'm not answering any more questions."

"I know, you said as much and I did say we'd stop if you wanted to."

She stared at him, now left confused, unsure of what kind of crazy just walked into her room.

She grit her teeth before laying down and closing her eyes, ignoring him.

Time passed before she heard the shuffling of clothes and opened her eyes to see Tobi stretching.

"Alright, goodbye," he told her as she just stared at him with a frown.

"Just gonna let me go?" She asked him.

"You do remember I'm not here to do anything but check up on you, right?"

She remained silent, scoffing. "Tch."

"Though, I will say this much," Obito said as he walked to the door. "You're one of the luckier ones wherever this is," he told her. "You have family who's doing their best to find a way out of this for you, don't waste that."

He opened the door before leaving and closing it, leaving her alone.

'Fucking idiot,' she grimaced as she tucked in more on herself in her bed. 'Family? That fucking idiot who doesn't get it?' She stuffed her face into her pillow, the scent of flowers sickening. "There's no way out of here… just drop it."


The return to the 'normal' halls was done in silence, Obito behind the Undertakers like always.

As they entered the normal hallway, Tamaki stood there with a grin and the twins at his sides.

"There you go! How'd it feel?!" He asked him and Obito shot the man a look.

"All I did was check up on her, what exactly did you expect?" He asked him and the promoter sighed dramatically.

'Not a thing, eh,' though Genkaku's radio had informed him that Tobi was more interesting than he thought! 'Could he kill him without too much trouble?' Oh, he wanted to see that soon!

"Hmph, heathens," the monk said with a huff as Obito rolled his eyes.

"I'll be going back to my post," was all he said before leaving only to raise a brow at En following him. "Excuse me?"

"For the sake of simplicity, Tobi-kun, I do need to ensure you didn't learn anything," Tamaki admitted. "En-chan will be watching over you with her brother in intervals. For the time being until Yoh-kun is done with whatever he needs you to do."

Troublesome, Obito hadn't expected this.

"Very well… though she doesn't come into my room, that's a boundary I won't allow."

"... You are an odd man."

"I'll take it as a compliment."

He left without so much as a second glance backwards, Tamaki's curious look remaining as the two departed.

"My word, Genkaku-kun, Tobi-kun really seems to fit right in with that attitude," the promoter hummed. "Oh, what a joy it'd be to see how he really handles it all."

Genkaku scoffed. "You have more than enough resources, don't you?"

"Sadly? Not as many as you think, especially with the inspection coming up. Speaking of, how is handling our little spider working?"

The monk smirked a bit. "It's like handling a well-trained dog,'

"Hm, hm, good, it seems they're also waiting for 'The Day' and we'll need to stomp that out to the utmost efficiency," Tamaki smiled brightly.

~NRK~

Kyouko blinked as she entered Obito's quarters.

"Um, Tobi-kun? Why is there a strange woman outside?" She asked the man in the kitchen.

"... come here for a moment?" He asked her and she did, coming over and finding him pressing his finger to his lips.

He pointed to his eyes and she looked up-

Information flashed into her mind like a slideshow, Kyouko's eyes twitching a bit as she processed the very intricacies of what he'd just done.

"... are you sure you won't join the military?"

"Maybe after all of this. Now, you know."

Kyouko did and she frowned deeply. 'That's going to be an issue, supposedly,' she shot him another look. "And you're really capable of handling that?"

"... Yes," he said. "With proper prep time, any dish can explode to new heights no one can prepare for."

Oh, so they were speaking in cooking metaphors, were they?

Curious.

Thirty minutes of helping and prep later, Obito opened the door and turned to find En waiting outside of it like a statue.

She turned her head to him and prepared to follow only to find a plate of food in front of her.

"Eat, I don't know whether Tamaki-san feeds you or not," 'Tobi' said as she stared at him in confusion before a sound emanated from her stomach.

Taking the offered sustenance, En watched the man go back into his quarters.

She considered her next move before sitting down with the food in her lap.

Eating it would forever worry her, it garnered odd feelings she wasn't prepared for and that left her in a conundrum.

'Chan must try it,' hopefully Tobi would allow it and give her twin a similar 'greeting'.

~NRK~

Hours later, she rested, her plates and food gone but her stomach full and… satiated.

Then, En found a familiar warden in front of her.

Kiwako Makina shot her a frown, dressed in a loose shirt, some things called 'shorts', and what had to be slippers. It would seem the chief warden was going for a stroll.

"Who are you?" She asked her succinctly.

"... En," En answered.

"Why are you outside my coworker's door? Did he reject you? Are you stalking?" Kiwako raised a brow. "Or are you surveilling him? What the hell happened?"

"..." What answer was appropriate? "I'm stalking him," she said simply.

Kiwako blinked. "... Well then," she shook her head at the clearly 'absent-minded' woman. 'Something tells me she's not good at this,' how odd.

Knocking on Obito's door, she waited but a moment before being let in by the man himself who looked at En with some conflict before sighing and throwing something over her.

The female twin blinked and looked up at the closing door.

"..."


"What the hell is that about?" Kiwako asked in utter confusion as Obito rubbed the back of his head.

He pointed to his eyes and she blinked-

A repeat like with Kyouko had his boss blinking before taking in a deep breath.

"I will find a way to bring you in, you know that, right?"

He smirked. "I do."

~NRK~

Two days later, Senji balked as he actually saw Obito's 'entourage' with Karako.

'So, this is the situation,' he was even accompanied by… Genkaku. 'Bad. VERY BAD!' But they couldn't really act like they knew him!

It'd ruin everything and they couldn't have that… but Nagi couldn't find out about Genkaku being here, Karako knew that'd end in tragedy.

"..." Senji considered his options before deciding to follow as far as he could, Karako choking before giving chase.

"What the hell are you doing?" She whispered. "We'll ruin things!"

"If we can see how much leeway we got, it'd be good," he shot back just as quietly.

They followed up until reaching a certain room.

"Hummingbird?" She blinked before glaring at the Undertakers turning on them, standing in a line to block them from going any further. "What is it, ya fucks? Hiding Tamaki's newest friend or something?"

They didn't speak and she grit her teeth before Senji huffed, crossing his arms.

"Just ignore 'em, like always, they're more bitch than people," he said before stuffing his hands into his pocket and walking off. "I'm hungry and annoyed, let's go."

Karako growled but followed after him with a frown.

Genkaku snickered and her fists clenched but Senji shook his head.

"Don't, it's not worth it," he said.

"What, heathen? Did I bother you?" Genkaku asked them as the line of foot soldiers broke to allow him through. "Did you not come to have myself bless you with true peace?"

"I'm well aware of the type of guy you are, Undertaker," Senji shot back. "Also, that outfit is tacky."

Genkaku looked offended, strumming a few chords. "I'm a super monk, in most ways, 'tacky' might be 'eloquent'."

The look Senji shot him had the monk smiling brightly.

"Yeah, uh… no, I'm not dealing with this form of crazy so early in the day," the Crow said flatly as Karako shot him a flat look.

"Right…" She rolled her eyes before they left, leaving Genkaku sighing.

"No fun."


He was here again and Minatsuki groaned.

Taking 'his seat', Obito chuckled a bit.

"So, what's the newest thing you've done recently?" He asked her and she huffed.

"Nothing, I see the same things, I do the same things, I eat the same things," Minatsuki answered, laying down on her cot. "There's not a lot to do in jail, you know."

"But CP, unfortunately, exists," Obito said. "Speak of, are you in need of CP?"

"What the hell is wrong with him? I keep saying 'no'."

"He's just making sure, it's not like he's saying anything bad by asking."

"I'd disagree," she huffed. "... how'd you get that strong?"

"Lots of special training in forests," Obito told her and she blinked, shooting him a look. "I'm originally from some forests, I'm pretty sure that's the main reason I was hired."

Her face contorted into confusion before groaning as the understanding hit.

"That fucking loony," she grunted. "... Tsk."

"Well, I'm curious, the CP store wherever it is in this place, what's in it?"

She blinked, frowning in thought. "... I know what's in the ones above," he looked surprised and she waved it off. "We can buy stuff from it but it's extra CP. As for what's different? We can buy 'Candy Packs' on discount, we can buy handmade clothes, hell we could even buy areas within this place to do what we want. I'm pretty sure there's a strip club around here somewhere."

Obito was surprised. "Real… your turn," he told her and she blinked at him in surprise.

"... Hmph," she considered her question. "What's going on in your love life?" She whispered with a smirk as he blinked in utter disbelief.

"... Well…" Obito's eyebrow twitched as she snickered. "I don't fully get it but I'm a friend with benefits with two coworkers."

Minatsuki choked before blushing bright red. "Y-You perv!"

"What? No, wait, listen, it wasn't even my idea."

"How the hell could I believe that?"

"Because people here are weird on some level?" Obito offered as she hid behind her sheets. "I… No, please, listen, I'm not some pervert… I'm not much of a pervert," he corrected with a wince.

"So, you admit to being a pervert?"

"On some level, it's not like I think about sex every day."

"I'm sure most boys do."

"Yes, unfortunately in here, you'd be right but not all boys or men are like that."

Minatsuki shot him a suspicious look as he rubbed the back of his head, gaining her attention. "... you have long hair."

"Yes, I don't really see a lot of barbers when I don't have money like that. I came here because life is simply not that easy."

She considered the response before blushing and getting up.

Obito blinked as she walked over to a desk before pulling out a drawer and then a box.

"C-Come here, that hairstyle is a mess," she said as he sweatdropped.

He did as she said, sitting by her bed and allowing her to do as she pleased.

Minatsuki just stared at him in utter disbelief as she ensured that he saw the knife and scissors.

"... why aren't you scared?" She whispered, undoing his braid. "And your hair's really long."

"I don't fear many things, much less people or even animals."

"Forest stuff?"

He laughed a bit. "Yes but it's a bit more than that," Obito explained as she slowly but gently handled his tresses. "I don't know you like that, that's the truth, but I can understand a few things from interacting with your brother," she stilled. "You're precious to him beyond all else, I can't imagine you being a bad person from such dedication and won't until that's proven otherwise."

She frowned, head down. "I'm as fucked in the head as all these other people," she whispered, gripping his locks a bit tightly but he didn't react, leaving her heat to die down. "This world is full of rotten people, I'm one of them."

She continued on, not asking a follow-up question for him to respond to.

And so he let her do as she pleased and that meant the next forty minutes were spent hairstyling.

By the end of it, she grunted in a bit of pride, releasing him and pulling up a mirror.

Obito saw his now straight locks put in a trailing ponytail with a silver disk at the end. His noggin was still spiky but with obviously longer locks while she left the bangs on the sides of his face with a single white wrap on both.

"Huh," Obito put on his cap and blinked at his mirror. "You're rather talented," she smirked a bit as he chuckled before getting up. "Alright, I'll see you on Thursday, Minatsuki-kun."

She rolled her eyes, snorting, before flinching at the feel of a hand on her head.

It ruffled her hair before leaving her, the girl flinching at the loss of heat before burning up as she saw Obito's smirk.

"Good afternoon," he told her as he turned around and left.

When he exited, she put her hands to her head and burned brighter, grunting with a huff before putting her things away and laying down.

She grumbled until she fell asleep.


Senji raised the biggest brow at Obito's 'new do' while Karako tilted her head.

"Um…"

"I ain't saying anything."

~NRK~

Genkaku raised a brow as Obito left with Chan this time, confused by the man's new look.

"The hell's up with the hair?" He said without too much thought as Obito shot him a look.

"Apparently some inmates are good stylists," he smirked before heading off, leaving a confused monk in his wake.

"The fuck?"

~NRK~

Yoh perked up as he shopped around the Cast Shop.

"R-Really? Well, I guess that makes sense," he muttered as Obito nodded, Azami coming in around a corner.

"This is a weird duo," she said as Kincho sat on her shoulder. "What are you up to, fellas?"

"..." Yoh considered his words. "He's just helping me look for something, I need to make sure it's perfect."

"Well, I'm not doin' anything, what's up?"

"Not you, gorilla woman," the young man said even as Obito shook his head.

Azami's eyebrow twitched something fierce and the former shinobi questioned if Yoh traded all his tact for smarts.

"That so?" Yoh flinched.

"W-Wait, don't hurt me!" He pleaded, backing up as Azami chuckled darkly. "I-It's a guy thing!"

Her 'darkness' dispersed in confusion. "If it was just that, what the hell, why didn't you just say so?" She pouted. "That would have saved you a beating if ya thought ahead."

Yoh sweat. "S-Save a beating? Don't you mean 'from a beating'?"

Azami smiled and his heart dropped.

"No. Later, Tobi, Yoh," she left, leaving Obito smirking as Yoh paled.

"You might want to watch your back more than usual," he advised.

"I'm so dead."

~NRK~

Two days later, once more, Obito found himself back in that hallway in his usual get-up, waiting for his 'security' to arrive with a bag on his back.

And when they did, they did their usual song and dance like always before he was back in Minatsuki's room.


"... I-I told you this was stupid," she grit her teeth as he pulled out a series of things.

A dress, which she detested, an odd flower, a bunch of hair-care products, a CP card, and… a violin?

"... I don't think you think like I do," she huffed as she looked at the instrument. "What's that for?"

Obito looked at it while pulling out a bow for it. "Playing," he chuckled as she blinked at him in surprise.

"You can play the violin?"

"Yes, I'm quite proficient," he said as he set it up against his neck. "He liked this song, you see, so I wonder if you have similar tastes."

He played 'Airplanes' and Minatsuki leaned back on her bed with half-lidded eyes.

Laying down, she folded her hands on her stomach before just staring at him as he played.

By the end of it all, Obito wore a somber expression as the young woman slept, soft snores coming from her mouth and getting a small chuckle out of him.

He considered something before nodding and playing another small tune if only to give her a bit more time to hit her sleeping stride.

Once he finished, Obito nodded before putting away the things he'd brought, mostly just putting them all on her desk and the card in her hand, for safety.

"Hmm," he sat down by her bed before closing his eyes and following her example.

Her hand clenched around the card and her eyes creaked open to see the head of black hair, filled with conflict their owner didn't wish to deal with before they closed again.

Not now, hopefully not ever.

She didn't want to believe in this random man she'd only met thrice.

When the hour came and went, though, after being awoken by 'Tobi', she came to a horrible conclusion.

'I was… happy?' What was wrong with her?

Three times and she's some sap? Was she that easy? Might as well just strip down and let him have his way, it's not like she'd kept up enough of a guard to protect herself!

She grumbled as she sat up and Obito cleaned out his bag before putting it on his back.

"Alright, take care, Minatsuki-kun," he chuckled before turning around. "You know when I'll be back," Obito nodded before opening the door-

"W-Wait," he blinked at her voice, stopping and turning to face the burning girl. "..." Minatsuki choked on her breath in horror.

Why'd you stop him?! Oh fuck!

"U-Uhh, eer… h-how much is on the card?!" She wheezed in horror as Obito raised a brow.

"..." He powerwalked over, leaned down to the now blushing girl, and whispered.

What he did had her mouth dropping and her neck constricting in utter disbelief.

She wheezed again as she tried to… even process what'd been said.

'1-10 MILLION CP?!' She went limp at the sheer thought of what that idiot was thinking. "... Why?" She asked him with more confusion than she even understood. "I-I don't get it, WHY?"

"... If I was in his position," Obito smiled softly as she stared at him. "I'd do the same thing, it might not make much sense to you," he chuckled before ruffling her hair once more. "But big brothers typically do our damndest for our little sisters," he nodded before heading out.

As he left, closing the door softly, she stared at the currency in her hand.

She swallowed before getting up and going under her bed, back to the ground as she pulled something out of the bottom of the metal frame.

A small machine with a screen and scanner, it didn't do anything more than two things but…

She pressed the card to it with an 'odd hope'. "He's wrong, this is wrong, there's no way h… h-he…" Her heart jumped into her throat as she stared at the screen.

20 million CP.

Something stung at the corner of her eye and she rubbed at it.

It repeated in both edges before she was rubbing at both her eyes with a small choke.

"S-Stupid, what are you doing?"

You shouldn't care about some mess like her and leave.

If he was really trying his best, she was sure this wasn't everything… but millions of CP didn't just appear out of nowhere, it didn't just jump into one's hands.

That caring sonavuhbitch… How could he?

~NRK~

Yoh nodded as Obito informed him in his cell.

"... thanks, I mean it," he admitted.

"It's fine," Obito nodded before waving as he took his leave. "Take care, Yoh-kun, maybe things will change in a couple months."

The young man frowned softly at that before sighing. 'Don't try and give me hope, dude, that's… that's been gone for a while,' but if his sister could be released… m-maybe he was crazy.

Maybe Tobi could take her in. Sure, forests weren't exactly modern society but Yoh doubted anything could be worse than THIS.

~NRK~

Minatsuki just walked around aimlessly as she looked at everything and nothing in the Cast Store.

"..." She just kept on walking, mind elsewhere, before she bumped into someone. "Hmf!" She rubbed her noggin before looking up to find Karako. "Who are you?"

"Um, well," Karako rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, I was looking for, eer," she blushed a bit and Minatsuki raised a brow before understanding, looking around and finding that she was in the Women's Section.

"... It's none of my business."

"Sorry," she said before pulling a specific pack of pads off the shelf. "... We saw that guy who comes to see you," Minatsuki flinched, burning bright red. "... Oh?"

"Shut up and no, it's not that!" The younger female squeaked as Karako snickered.

"It's fine, it's fine, I'm not saying nuthin'! A Yamado Nadeshiko knows how to keep a secret."

Minatsuki's embarrassment changed into confusion. "... what?"

"You know! The perfect woman! Why, I'm, like, the picture-perfect example!"

The younger woman's face went blank.

Oh, so she was meeting an array of weird people this week, was she?

~NRK~

The weeks that followed were, for lack of a better and unfortunately less embarrassing word… nice.

They were nice, Minatsuki didn't understand it but having a normal, if not tough, person around her, even if he was corresponding with her for her big brother, made her life so… i-it made it better and she couldn't explain why or how.

So, you can imagine the horror on her face when, come the third week, on what had to be a Thursday… he came.

When she had one of her matches, her Carnival Corpse.

~NRK~

Genkaku's grin confused Obito immensely that Thursday, causing him to be on his guard.

By the time they were in G Ward, Obito knew something was up when the redhead turned around to address him.

"You see here, Tobi-buddy, there's something special about this ward that I'm sure you've been curious about," he said with a casual smile.

"..."

"Oh, don't be like that! Why, your little patient is involved! Yeah, yeah!" The monk grinned at Obito's glare. "And you remember the rules, don't you? You're contractually obligated to come here and see her but don't want to see the 'secrets'. So, Tamaki decided that you should get an ultimatum," he raised both his pointer fingers. "You either leave for the day, leaving the child to her possible doom alone, or you become intertwined in this 'secrecy'-"

Obito walked past him without hesitation, a blindfold over his eyes.

"Lead the way before I remove your head, Genkaku," Obito said coldly as the air behind the opposite-facing Undertakers grew cold and tense. "No bullshit or I'll remove you and your SECRET."

Genkaku grinned wildly. 'So, no sheep, ay?' That'd make this even better.

Lions made good Undertakers.

He snickered before leading the way, his frozen men making him grin even more.

'Yes, he's got quite the demon in him,' just convince him that he could monitor the girl as an Undertaker and Genkaku was sure they could break him during his 'occupation'.

As they powerwalked down a hallway, the man wondering if the new warden could even see through that thick blindfold, Genkaku grinned at the sounds of chanting from within the cells, 'Tobi's' eyebrows furrowing as they made it to a large door.

"This is where your precious little Hummingbird is."

'Hummingbird, that's her codename,' still, keep up appearances. "That's an odd term to use but I don't care, let me in."

"Hmph, this might be a bit more than even Tamaki would want, you know," Genkaku said while tutting a finger he was sure Obito couldn't see.

Then the man sniffed and his eyebrows furrowed. "Blood… LET ME IN, Genkaku."

Genkaku's grin fully lost control, going completely mad. "Sure, buddy, but you might want to know, there are all kinds of powerful individuals in that room. Seein' through monitors and shit to hide their own identities, if ya rouse 'em up, they'll just want more and more. You'd be better off just letting her get what happens to her-"

Obito brushed past him without remorse, tying his hair up some more into a bun, the door opening for him to walk in.

And the sound of an announcer reached his ears.

"Oh, ho! What's this?! A blind individual has entered the outside of the ring!"

There were murmurs all around even as he approached, Sharingan allowing easy sight through the thick blindfold.

"Minatsuki-kun," he spoke as he reached what looked like a large glass cage.

"Huh?!" The young woman in question snapped to him, looking shocked beyond measure. 'What's he doing here?!' Her eyes went up to the door that revealed a grinning Genkaku. "... YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

The 'monk' shot her a smile.


Senji shot up in horror before growling while Nagi grimaced darkly, Karako wincing at the screen in the 'lounge area'.

"This is bad," she grimaced. "If he riles them up…" she whispered to them

"..." Senji's eyes narrowed in thought. "... There's likely some way for him out of this, I won't be surprised if it comes out of nowhere," he told them.

Nagi remained silent, not trusting his voice box to be quiet enough for their conversation.


Seeing her 'combat outfit', Obito crossed his arms.

"So, dogfighting, basically," he said as she frowned, head down.

"What the fuck are you doing here, huh? No one asked for you to be here!" She shouted at him. "Yaa? Think this is some white knight shit? Don't fuck with me, ya bitch! You should have just stayed your ass outside of this," away from all this madness.

This was who she was, an unloved monster.

A brother who gave a shit? She wouldn't allow herself to believe it. Couldn't.

For… because she knew what that'd have her realize and she already knew it was too late for her.

He simply crossed his arms. "Focus on your fight," he told her without too much ramble as she grit her teeth. "Your opponent is going to attack soon, I can smell her intent."

Despite how odd that statement was, Minatsuki's head snapped back to her opponent before she was dodging the descending inmate, the woman's arms covered in thick bloody tentacles.

She huffed before swinging around with both arms, her long reach telling.

He hurried around to Minatsuki's side as she grit her teeth.

"I said 'fuck off'!" She shouted at him, reaching up and ripping out her earrings. 'I can't care about you,' he'd betray her, he would.

He had to. For both himself and for her own sanity.

She dodged another slash of those whip-like arms while Obito frowned.

"Whips? I guess she bought them from the Cast Store," he said 'mindlessly' as she grimaced.

"Hmph, not a fan?"

"Too much can go wrong-now's not the time! If you have a weapon, just keep hacking away at the lengths of her own," he told her as she frowned in consideration. "She's already sounding exhausted so I guess she can't handle using them for too long as well so if you can make it hard for her to move them, she'll tire herself out."

Minatsuki perked up. 'Restrain her then,' she thought without giving him the satisfaction of hearing her response.

The blood spilling out of her ears coalesced into two, small, condensed 'whips' themselves before they shot out.

The woman jumped back in worry only to stumble as her blood tentacles were gripped around their midpoints.

"Heh!" Minatsuki grinned before pulling back-

"Don't get into a fight her over them, strain her and not yourself."

Her eyes narrowed before she did give a bit of a pull and was rewarded with a full-powered one from the opposing side.

'... hmph!' She pouted a bit but let the woman's blood tentacles slide out of her grip while shaving off some hardened blood.

Her opponent stumbled before letting out more labored breaths, the younger woman raising a brow before grunting a bit.

"Oh?! Is this what I think it is?! A COACH?! This blind man must have some DEADLY instincts!"

~NRK~

"Hmph," Senji nodded. "He's keeping the ruse while playing his 'forest' card."

"... Oh, right," Karako considered it. "Still, he likely gained their attention."

"So, he changed his hair, covered damn near his entire face, and isn't doing anything crazy. It's the best-case scenario."

~NRK~

Tamaki raised a brow, a mechanical visor over his eyes.

'Even this, ey?' It only proved how ridiculous this man's background was and yet came into play! 'Still, he's very intelligent and combat-prepared,' which was fair, he supposed.

He'd said it constantly but Tamaki felt like Tobi had become the very strongest amongst even animals.

He snickered as Chan and En looked on with frowns.

~NRK~

Genkaku grunted in annoyance. 'Tch, I guess Tamaki was right on some level,' the man's sense of smell was likely enhanced to an obscene degree and his hearing helped.

And he was doing so efficiently.

"..." There wasn't many things Genkaku could do to force the man in so he had to rely on the 'spectators'.

Meanwhile, Obito watched on as Minatsuki whipped at her opponent's legs.

"Precision and focus, cut her tendons and be done," he instructed as the young woman huffed but followed through.

Ankles and the middle of her forearms were cut before the woman struggled to stand, her arms still capable of attacking due to be covered by her own blood and, as such, were more protected.

Obito considered it all. "... prepare for a desperation move," he whispered as Minatsuki's eyes widened.

She slowly approached with her blood whips raising slowly, eyes on the woman's panicked ones… mostly.

So, as she walked between the 'lanes' of her limp blood tentacles, she was only a bit surprised by both shooting up towards her head.

She stumbled back while snapping out with both her whips, the tentacles being carved into as she let out rapid breaths, her opponent looking pale, shaky, and cold.

'I-If he didn't tell me…' She might have… lost from that move alone. 'Down a bit of my stomach and something more,' Minatsuki huffed in embarrassment but was thankful.

She then watched her opponent's blood rescind and knew there wouldn't be a better chance!

Her blood lashed out at the woman's now-exposed biceps and forearms.

Her opponent screamed but Minatsuki, for once during one of these 'events', didn't focus on it.

She had to ensure no counterattacks.

By the end of three seconds of lacerations, she let out a breath, letting the woman fall to the ground with bloody if not only slightly less functional limbs.

"And we have a decisive winner! Had Barn Owl been more capable, maybe she'd have won but with her coach's more decisive planning, Hummingbird had brought this match to a close!"

The glass cage lifted and Minatsuki groaned before mumbling as she turned to the cross-armed Tobi.

"... thanks," she muttered as she walked over to him before coming down from the arena. "Come on, I know for a fact you won't want to listen to all of this," Minatsuki told him, her blood whips coming around and covering his ears.

Obito frowned at that, having a feeling there was more fucked-up things down here.

As they walked towards Genkaku, he sniffed the air.

The man's offending arm was caught before he could try to move it, his eyes widening at the crushing grip around his forearm.

"Mind yourself," was all Obito told him before brushing him aside as Minatsuki barely held back her snickers.

Watching them go, the throbbing in his arm revitalizing his need to break down 'Tobi', Genkaku sighed before tapping a radio within his robes.

"D'ya like that?"

-It was unfortunate that we didn't just trap him by his own words and rules, with how things are going, we won't have too many chances after this week comes. We need to bring her into another match with more drastic circumstances… And I might know what to do-

~NRK~

Standing in the Cast Store, Obito hummed before he was tossed a drink, his blindfold back in his pocket.

"Hmm, you did well," he told her as she blushed a bit while nodding.

"I…" Minatsuki ruffled her own head of hair. "I-I wouldn't have known," she admitted. "I'd have lost that one if you didn't tell me so… thanks."

"No problem," Obito looked at the drink he'd been given. "Oh, do you like supplement drinks?"

"I don't like soda, don't want coffee or energy drinks, and hate protein shakes," she made a disgusted expression as he smirked. "Besides, these are typically pretty good for me."

"Hmm? Don't you train?"

"..."

"... Minatsuki-kun, please tell me you do some training."

"..." She cleared her throat. "Y-Ya know? A bit."

"You're in dogfights," he said flatly. "... alright, then I'll train you," Obito told her as she blinked before choking.

"H-Hey, I thought you said-"

"In body, you need more than random weapons to win, Minatsuki-kun. What if you were put against some of the toughest people in this place?"

"..." She paled a bit, getting a nod out of him.

"What you need is to build up your strengths and lower your weaknesses. You're a woman, don't take that the wrong way, but you're not going to be the physical strongest in this place but you're lithe and slip in and out of sight, don't waste those skills."

"... did you just call me short?"

"..."

"Okay, okay, I get it. Argh," she groaned as he smiled. "Exercise."

"It's for your future," no matter how short it'd be. "Besides, I'm sure most women like to keep their figure."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"Why is it you're taking the worst away from this?"

~NRK~

Now in what had to be a training room, Obito cupped his chin as she blushed, still in her 'combat uniform'.

"So, I'd like to see how you fair physically. We've got punching bags, treadmills, workout mats, and an athletic cage. So, we'll start with your worst attribute of pure strength," he told her as she looked at the punching bag with a flat expression.

"I don't think you'll be impressed," she told him.

"It's not about being impressed, Mina… Tsuki-kun," he shortened it as she perked up. "No offense, that's a lot of syllables."

She huffed, looking pleased despite it. "Yeah, yeah."

"Hmph, now, do you know how to properly punch and kick?"

"Nope."

"Alright."

He demonstrated for her a few times, using a series of punches and kicks that jostled the punching bag.

"I want a good normal punch and kick from you but the one that'll likely fit your style will be the jab. Outside of that, learning evasion tactics, elbow shots, and only a few grapples will put you far and above more than a few people here," he told her as he blinked.

"... Slow and easy, right?" She asked.

"Yes, of course. Now, punchs and kicks, four each, two on both sides."

Minatsuki nodded, trying to copy his former stances before letting loose.

The bag moved a bit but she blushed regardless.

"Nope, no time for blushing, remember this," he told her. "You want to be strong enough that, no matter what," Obito said simply as he assumed the proper stance for her. "You will be strong enough."

Her eyes narrowed at that as the next punch moved the bag a bit more.

"Keep going."

She did, punches and kicks that moved the bag around a bit as she rubbed her knuckles.

"Alright, onto the next."

Going through it all, Obito wasn't surprised by the exercises she excelled at.

The stretching, yoga, and 'cage' were her best, the young woman moving in and out of them with an agility he was expecting.

"T-That wasn't so bad," she said with a flushed face.

"Yes and it was as I expected. Come, get some water and we'll be practicing grapples."

They walked to a small CP Store bag where they removed large water bottles and jerky.

"We've got about ten more minutes," she told him as they saw a clock. "That's not a lot…" God, was she fucking pouting?

She had it bad.

"It's what it is," he said. "Now, the first thing-"

"Oh, here's the winner of the hour!" Came a familiar feminine voice as Minatsuki raised a brow, her and Obito turning to find Karako, Senji, and Nagi at the entrance of the workout room. "... Oh snap! I don't think I've ever seen you here!" The woman said in awe as the younger female grumbled.

"Gorilla woman," she smirked as Obito rolled his eyes.

[And you're her recent… um.] Nagi smiled sheepishly. [I don't know what you are to her.]

The man and young woman looked at each other before looking back at them.

"Motivational checker?" They said in unison.

He chuckled as Senji smirked.

"Hmph, teaching the girlie how to 'fight' fight, are ya? Sounds like she's gonna be kind of tough," he snickered as Minatsuki's eyebrow twitched.

"Pervert."

"I AIN'T A PERV!"

Karako snickered this time while Obito smirked. "So, you're her motivational checker, talk about weird titles," she said with a nervous grin as he shrugged. "Still, you're doing her some good, she's really opened up a bit recently," she whispered 'secretly' as Senji and Minatsuki argued over the former's 'perverse nature'.

Obito smiled a bit at that. "I'm glad, not to say she's the only one but she really needed some kind of good interaction in here, I feel like she's always staying on her own."

"She is."

The man nodded before stepping up to the growling Senji and smirking Minatsuki.

"Tsuki-kun," she perked up. "We've got," Obito checked his newly bought watch. "Seven minutes left, we'll have to make sure you've got a training plan before I go," he told her as she pouted.

Actually pouted, Obito smirked before ruffling her hair a bit.

"D-Dammit, don't do that!" She said weakly as Senji snorted, gaining her ire. "I knew you got Crow for a reason. What? You get your rocks off on young girls?"

The Crow's eyebrows twitched as he pointed at her ominously. "I'll train her for ya, call it a favor," he said with a shaky grin.

Obito snorted once more as the girl hid behind him with rolling eyes.

"Don't be like that, they don't seem like bad people… just a bit weird."

"Weird down here can mean a lot of things," the girl said with a huff as Karako snickered.

"Well, I don't know if us training her in your place would work," she admitted as the younger female crossed her arms. "She seems pretty attached."

"... Then don't but, I don't know how it works down here, just work out with her," Obito told them with a hum, pulling out a small notebook.

He flipped through the pages, Minatsuki leaning over his arm before blushing at some of the 'notes'.

She's doing well today, we washed her hair.

She's clearly into different kinds of flowers, perhaps buy her some seeds?

I'll get that teddy bear.

"W-What the hell are you writing in there?!" She squeaked, bright red as Obito chuckled.

"Just some notes," he said before reaching a clean page and tapping at it with a pen he pulled out of his pocket. "... Ah," Obito wrote down, illustrated, and timed her plan on four separate pages before… putting in nutritional plans?

"Um."

"I believe you can buy some kitchen time," Obito said as he tore out those pages before folding them. "Here," he handed them to her and she grumbled before taking the offered training regardless.

"No promises," she said, opening them up and reading the first one. "... W-Well, I guess this isn't the worst, though, seriously? Banana smoothies?"

"It's good for your muscle contractions, think of it like flexibility," she perked up. "There's also oranges and ginger in there, you can look at the sidebar to look for extra ingredients for taste and the like."

Well, well, well, she might not mind trying this stuff.

"Alright, I'll try my best," she said with a groan before he chuckled once more.

"You just need to keep to a schedule, trust me, it'll do you wonders."

"Then, uh, y-you know diets for someone trying to keep their figure?" Karako asked as Obito blinked.

"I mean, I do, I have some… personal co-workers who like to mind their figure."

Minatsuki's blushing face and mumble of 'perverts' went ignored.

"Here," he wrote some stuff down. "There you go," Obito said as she fistpumped.

"Dude, there's meat on here!" She said with shining eyes as he sweatdropped while Senji snickered.

"You're not gonna ask for tips, too, are you?" Obito asked him and the man hummed, cupping his chin.

"Iron," he smirked as Obito hummed. "Iron for my blood and good blood circulation."

Oh, someone was trying to get as much training in as they could.

Well, it wasn't against Obito's sensibilities to not let him in on that.

~NRK~

The days seem to meld together.

Minatsuki hummed two weeks later from that day, body a bit sore but… she was noting progress, much to her shock.

A month since Tobi started coming, here she was sitting in her bathroom, just finished with a shower after another workout with Karako. Minatsuki looked at her longer than usual hair with a huff before shedding her towel to look at her form.

"... Damn him," she groaned even as she turned a bit to check out her more powerful glutes.

Her getting-more-amazing ass.

"I wonder if he's an ass guy," she tapped her chin at her more lean form. 'I can actually dodge most of those fucks more,' it was a bit absurd.

Sure, she wasn't out here flipping and shit but she was getting better and it kinda bothered her that she never trained before if it was gonna be like this.

"I'm letting two guys have a positive effect on my life," she realized with a sigh. "Goddammit-"

There was a spark of a speaker that got a jump out of her, the young woman turning on a dime to glare at the intercom above her door.

"What?"

"Hm, hm hm, good afternoon, Mina-chan," came a familiar, disgusting, voice for her.

"Fucking Tamaki," she already felt more gross than when she went into her shower. "What do you want?"

"Oh, don't be like that! If anything, this is quite the opportunity for you!" The man, the myth, the pain in her ass, stated. "You see, Minatsuki-chan, you've been here quite a while."

'What the fuck is he on now?' She thought looking at her shower with a flat look. 'Definitely gonna need a wash after this-'

"And your brother's efforts have been quite brave, a little foolish but he's quite determined," her eyes widened. "So, you'll know, I've found something more curious than you," Tamaki announced to her. "And I'm willing to make a trade between your freedom and his."

"Y-You want me to sell out my brother?" She asked in utter disbelief and… slight disgust at her own self for finding hope in it. 'Still as fucked up as always, huh?' Minatsuki thought to herself. "That's pretty fucking sick, though, I mean what the hell would I do when I'm even out? Shit, I get a room here," as ridiculous as that sounded.

Minatsuki wasn't an idiot, not even close, she had no life outside of Deadman Wonderland.

She'd likely end up in 'worse' circumstances. Likely alive, possibly even fed and clean.

But she'd give up every hint of her dignity to even gain a bit of such a thing.

"That's what I like about you, Mina-chan, you're smart," now she just felt disgusting. "And you're right! Were this a normal deal, you'd have to likely sell yourself for a life even considered 'worth living'," she growled.

"What the fuck is it?! Just say it already!"

"You and your brother go free," she choked, eyes wide in utter disbelief. "And I'd promise to exchange all your and his CP, CP to yen, for you both to live off of."

She stared at him in disbelief. Something wasn't right here.

Something settled into her gut like a cold wrecking ball and snatched the air out of her windpipe.

"W-What?"

"Yes, I'm sure you're confused but I'm a man of curiosity if nothing else. I'd trade away a little blood gem like you for a chance at a forest's emerald."

It hit her all at once and, despite the shortness of this connection… her knees felt weak.

Her skin paled and her eyes shrunk.

"Get the man known as 'Tobi Akatsuki' to see one of the secrets of your ward and you can go free to live a life with more possibilities than you could ever imagine. One man's loyalty for a normal life with your hardworking brother who's essentially accumulated over 100 million CP."

She hit her knees as his chuckles left her weak.

"And a little more incentive," he spoke gleefully. "Your next match is going to be with one of our favorite members, I'm sure you know him," she froze. "Yes! One Toto Sakigami, otherwise known to you as 'Mockingbird' and he'll be fighting for the same kind of freedom for his own sibling whether he fights you or Tobi Akatsuki."

~NRK~

Yeah, if it wasn't clear before it should always be remembered.

Takami Tsunenega is a PIECE OF SHIT and he'll never let you forget it.

Ciao, see you guys in the next one. I might be zeroing in on this fix if only to finish it.

~NRK Out~