Disclaimer: See first chapter

Akane in Chains

Chapter Six: The First Night

After the guard called lights out, the cellblock was plunged into darkness. The lights in the cells shut off in a cascading effect, starting with the ones nearest the block's entrance until reaching the end. At the same time, the lights in the cellblock corridor dimmed to cast only a faint glow over the hallway. The newest prisoner to D-Block hardly even noticed, however, as her mind processed what she had just heard.

Akane hadn't been prepared for Sayoko's answer and couldn't help but feel frightened. She was sharing a cell with a killer! She was going to be sleeping right above someone who's taken another's life!

"Y-You committed murder?" Akane stuttered.

"Please relax," Sayoko groaned, hearing the anxiety in her cellmate's voice, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Sorry," Akane forced herself to calm down, reminding herself that Sayoko had been kind and helpful to her. Still, she couldn't keep her voice from quivering.

"You shouldn't go around asking that question," Sayoko continued. "Not everyone likes to talk about what they've done."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Akane mentally berated herself. How could she be so stupid as to ask a question like that? Even if she was curious, she should have figured that someone's crime would be a sore subject, especially if it was enough to earn them such a long sentence. "I'm sorry."

"And stop apologizing. I'm not mad. Just wanted you to know that it's not a good idea to go around questioning everyone about what they did."

"I'm s… I mean thank you for warning me."

"Still, for your sake, I shouldn't just leave you with such a simple answer," Sayoko continued.

"If you don't want to…" Akane started.

"No, you need to know, now that I've said something. You can't just tell someone that you're a murderer and go on like nothing important was said." She paused for a few seconds. "First of all, I want you to know that I am not some serial killer or psychopath. I've only taken one life and I believed they deserved it."

Akane listened intently, wondering what someone could have possibly done to make anyone think they deserved to die.

"A little over five years ago, my husband and my son were killed," she paused, clearly having a hard time saying what she wanted. "Shinichi, my son, wanted to go see some new superhero movie. I can't even remember what it was now. I was too busy, so my husband took him. While walking home, a drunk driver cut a turn too wide and swerved onto the sidewalk. They… they were killed instantly."

"And you killed the driver?"

"Not then. By the time I found out what had happened, he had already been arrested. His car was wrecked and the police and paramedics arrived on the scene not long after. He was tried and sentenced to eight years."

"But, if he was sent to prison for eight years, shouldn't he still be there?" Akane asked, confused.

"He should be, but it didn't work out that way," Sayoko went on. "It turns out, he was from a very influential family. Whether his parents bribed someone or if it was his status alone, he got sent to a minimum security facility designed for quick rehabilitation. Apparently, he did rather well there. He was a model prisoner and responded to all of the correctional programs they put him in. After serving only one year of his sentence, he was paroled on good behavior." Sayoko's voice hardened as she continued, "That man took away my husband and my only son! He destroyed my family! He destroyed our lives! And they let him out after only one year! I don't believe I'd ever truly felt hatred until that moment. I couldn't forgive him and I didn't believe the system had punished him enough for what he had done, so I decided to do something about it."

"So, then you killed him," Akane whispered.

"Yes, I killed him. I went to his home the night after he was released. He was throwing a party with some friends to celebrate his release from prison. I saw them through the window, laughing and joking with each other, happy that he was free. Any doubts I had about what I was planning to do were washed away when I saw him there, laughing as he took a swig from a bottle of beer. My rage skyrocketed as I realized this man wasn't even remotely sorry for all the pain he had brought to my home. I knocked on the door and, as soon as he answered, I stabbed him right in his fucking heart!"

The anger in her voice melted into regret. "And it was the greatest mistake I ever made. I killed him, because I wanted to get revenge for him taking my husband and son. I wanted him to pay for the pain my daughters felt at knowing they wouldn't see their father or brother again, but all I did was ensure my girls wouldn't have a mother either."

She paused a moment to steady her voice. "I was sentenced to twenty five years for my crime, ensuring they'd have to grow up and live all those years of their lives without me. Oh, they visit me, but I can't be a mother to them from in here. I wasn't there when Kiyomi was studying all night for her college entrance exam. I wasn't there when Naomi had her first crush on a boy in her class. My sister has done a good job watching over them, but I just… I just wish I could be with them."

Akane did not know what to think as Sayoko wrapped up her story. She felt sorry for her, hearing how her husband and son were taken from her. She wasn't sure how she would react if her father or sisters were killed so suddenly. But still, Sayoko had killed the man, going so far as to track him down to do it. What he had done was wrong, but that didn't mean it was alright to take his life. She'd been angry many times with many people, but she couldn't imagine attempting to kill anyone. In the end, Sayoko seemed to regret what she had done and Akane could not help but feel sorry for her. It sounded like she had just acted without thinking and it had cost her so much.

It was then she realized the two of them were kind of alike. They'd both been locked up for acting on their anger. She might not be able to imagine the level of hate Sayoko must've felt to take a life, but she could understand her regret for letting her emotions control her.

"Thank you for sharing your story with me," Akane told her. "I know it wasn't easy for you and you didn't have to. You've just met me and there wasn't any reason for you to trust me with something so personal."

"You needed to know. I could tell you were nervous when I answered your question."

"N-No! I… I was just surprised, that's all."

"You don't have to hide it. I'd be nervous if I was in your shoes and someone I just met told me they were a murderer."

"I'll admit, it did make me feel uneasy, but now I understand why you did what you did. I don't want you to think I'm afraid of you or anything."

"You really are a sweet girl, Akane," Sayoko said, relieved to hear she wasn't frightened of her.

"Still, how could they give you such a long sentence? I mean, surely they should've considered that the man had killed your husband and son, and the emotional state you were in."

"The judge said I deserved it since the murder was clearly premeditated, that what I did was extremely cruel. As far as the law was concerned, the man had already paid for his crime and I had only sought out revenge." Sayoko sounded accepting of this as she related the judge's words to Akane. "I know he was right too. Even if that man was a heartless bastard, what I did was just as cruel and heartless, if not more so. His crime was a drunken accident, while I set out with the sole intent of murdering him."

"Still, it seems so…"

"Ssshhh!" Sayoko interrupted as the sound of booted footsteps reached their ears. Akane began to panic as she quickly deduced the footsteps must belong to a guard. Had they been talking too loud?

"Night patrol," Sayoko whispered as the steps slowly grew louder. "Pretend to be asleep till it passes."

Akane rolled over so she was facing away from the bars and remained motionless. About ten seconds later, she heard the guards stop right by their cell. A flashlight beam swept the cell, lingering on her.

"That the new girl?" one of the guards asked his partner.

"Yeah, that's her. She's the one they had on the news earlier. Put that little girl in the hospital while chasing her boyfriend or somethin'."

"Yamada was saying she was quite feisty. Got all uppity with both him and the Chief Matron during processing."

"I can imagine, if he was there. You know how he is."

"Lucky bastard, always gets assigned to processing."

"Well, there are perks to being in bed with the Chief, ya know."

The guards chuckled as they moved on to the next cell. Even though they'd past, neither Akane nor Sayoko said anything until their footsteps had faded down the corridor.

"They come through every so often to make sure everyone is asleep like we're supposed to be. You get put on report if you're caught awake during the night."

"You can get in trouble just for not sleeping?" Akane found herself being constantly surprised and horrified at how strict the prison was.

"Anything that doesn't conform to the rules or whatever they decide will get you in trouble. Of course, they're not going to go so far as to extend your sentence for something like not sleeping, but they might assign you extra work in the morning." Sayoko yawned deeply before continuing. "Still, it's probably best to try and get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow, especially for you since you aren't used to the routine yet."

"Routine?"

"They wake us up real early for breakfast before putting us to work. The morning alarm is set for 6 am sharp. Trust me, you're going to need the sleep."

Wishing her goodnight, Sayoko rolled over and drifted off to sleep. Akane, however, didn't fall asleep as quickly. She lay in her bunk for some time, still taking in everything that had happened to her. A month ago, she was set to graduate from high school and go on to college, a bright future laid out before her. Now, she was locked up in prison for the next year of her life. She supposed she should be grateful that at least she was only here for one year and that her cellmate was friendly to her. The idea that a confessed murderer would become her friend would've seemed absurd only a short time ago. Now, after the harsh treatment she'd endured today, she was grateful to have any friend in this hellhole.

Eventually, fatigue finally caught up with her and she fell into a fitful sleep.

Next: Akane starts a new day in prison.

Please review.