Disclaimer: See first chapter
Akane in Chains
Chapter Seven: Meeting Etsuko
Akane awoke with a start to the loud clanging of an alarm bell. She glanced between the concrete walls and the bars of her cell confused, her sleep-addled brain not immediately recognizing her surroundings. It took a couple seconds for awareness to return and recollection to dawn and she remembered yesterday: the tight grip of the cuffs, the lust-filled leer of Yamada, the humiliating body search, and all the other degradations. She fought hard to stifle a sob, knowing that yesterday was only the beginning. Today was the first full day of her sentence.
The darkness surrounding her was dispelled as the light built into the ceiling of the cell turned back on. Akane shielded her eyes from the sudden blast of light. The same process happened throughout the cellblock and the dimmed lights in the corridor also brightened once more.
"Raise and shine!" a male guard hollered from the entrance of the cellblock as the alarm shut off. "I hope you ladies got plenty of beauty sleep."
A few rather unladylike replies resounded down the cellblock. The guard only smiled in bemusement. "You know the drill, five minutes till roll call! Get your butts outta bed and get ready!"
Akane sat upright in her bunk, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. However much rest she'd gotten, it didn't feel like enough. She could hear Sayoko slide out of the lower bunk.
"You'd better get moving," Sayoko said, seeing Akane was lingering in bed. "You don't want to start your first day by getting in trouble."
Akane lowered herself to the floor, her movements slow and sluggish.
"Use the toilet now, if you need to." Sayoko advised. "Then make your bed and get dressed. Quickly!"
Akane only hesitated for a few seconds this time before using the toilet. She still felt incredibly self-conscious and kept her eyes lowered. Once she'd finished, she hurried back over to her bunk and began working at her bed sheets.
"You're going to have to learn to move faster in the morning," Sayoko told her cellmate, coming over to help her. She was already fully dressed.
"Is everyone morning this hectic?" Akane asked.
"Pretty much," Sayoko answered, bluntly. They finished tucking in the sheets. Akane then moved to dress in the clothes she'd taken off the night before for bed. She was pulling up her jumpsuit pants when all the cell doors in the block suddenly opened automatically with a loud clang.
"Prisoners, present yourselves for roll call!" A guard shouted from the entrance to the cellblock. As soon as the words left his mouth, the women of D-Block exited their cells. They formed lines in front of their cells, so there were two rows facing each other on opposite sides of the block.
"Damn it, Akane, come on," Sayoko whispered as she exited the cell.
"Coming," Akane said, hurriedly throwing her jumpsuit shirt on, pulling her arms through the sleeves as she stepped out and joined her cellmate in line.
"Just keep standing straight and, when they get to you, say your number and name exactly like I do," Sayoko whispered.
Akane nodded to her friend and waited. It seemed simple enough. There were several guards with clipboards moving down the lines of prisoners. Each prisoner sounded off and the guards checking them off their list before moving on. The whole procedure was moving fast and it wasn't long before they reached their cell.
"Cell D-13, sound off!" the guard ordered.
"Prisoner 519395. Kobayashi, Sayoko."
"Prisoner 797455. Tendo, Akane."
"A little slow waking up this morning, Tendo?" The guard remarked, "I saw you taking your time joining us out here."
"Y-Yes, sir. It won't happen again."
"Be sure it doesn't, Tendo." The guard continued down the line, much to Akane's relief. After a couple minutes, the roll was completely taken.
"Prisoners, face the cellblock entrance!"
As one, the lines of gray-clad women on both sides of the hall turned as instructed.
"Forward march!"
The prisoners were led out of the cellblock in two rows marching side by side.
"Where are they taking us?" Akane whispered to Sayoko.
"The cafeteria for breakfast," she whispered back, "then, we'll be taken to our work assignments."
The mention of breakfast made Akane's stomach growl. The shock of prison processing and the anxiety of being incarcerated had made her forget her appetite.
The cafeteria was huge, easily capable of seating hundreds of people. Tables with plastic stools connected to them were arranged in rows throughout the room and a serving counter stood against the back wall. Prisoners from other cellblocks were already in line to get food or seated.
The line of prisoners from D-Block was merged with the line for the serving counter. It moved quickly as everyone was given the same food with no variation. The meal was a bland take on a Japanese breakfast: a tray with plain rice, a single piece of salted fish, a small helping of mixed vegetables, a bowl of watered-down miso soup and a cup of water to drink.
"Thank you," Akane said as she picked up her tray. The other prisoner manning the counter merely grunted in reply, not even looking at her as she prepared the next tray.
"Come on." Sayoko led her over to an unoccupied table. Along the way, Akane noticed she was drawing the attention of many of the other prisoners. They looked up as she passed, some whispering to each other when she was out of earshot.
"They're just curious cause you're new," Sayoko said, seeing her cellmate growing uneasy. "Most of them won't give you a second thought tomorrow."
Akane felt a little more at ease, but still didn't like the way some of them were looking at her. Reaching a table, they put their trays down and began to eat.
"You must really be starving." Sayoko commented, watching Akane dig into her meal. "The food here is certainly nothing to get excited about otherwise."
"I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. I'll eat anything right now." The food certainly tasted bland, even by cafeteria standards, but she was too hungry to be picky.
"Have they finally decided to give you a new cellmate, Sayoko?"
Akane looked up to see a group of three women approach their table. The one in the middle, who had also been the one to call out, sat on the stool next to her, while the other two stood behind her, like bodyguards.
"Yes, they have," Sayoko answered, before making introductions. "Akane, this is Etsuko Nagumo. Etsuko, Akane Tendo."
Etsuko looked to be in her twenties with dark green hair in a bun, the number 819045 was stamped across her jumpsuit shirt's breast. "Ah, the girl that's been on the news. I thought you looked familiar. Pleased to meet you."
"You too," Akane answered a little nervously. There was something bothering her about this woman. And what about the other two? Were they just going to stand there?
"Oh, of course, I'm being rude," Etsuko commented, seeing Akane glance in the direction of her companions. "These are my friends Maru and Toshie."
"Hello," both muttered in unison. They made no further attempt at communication and continued to stand imposingly behind Etsuko.
"I take it this is your first time in prison, right?" Etsuko asked, "I hope things haven't been too rough on you so far."
"It's… not exactly been easy," Akane mumbled sullenly. The degrading body search and delousing she had endured came to mind, as did that bastard Yamada.
"Yeah, I imagine. I remember when I was a first arrived," Etsuko chuckled. "Well, don't worry bout it. You'll learn the ropes soon enough. You just need the right people to help you along. I can help, if you want."
"Really? We just met and I don't want to..."
"Nonsense," Etsuko cut her off, "It'd be my pleasure, and maybe you can help me out at the same time."
"Well... ok, but I'm not really sure what I could do to help you."
"You are supposed to be a skilled martial artist, right? I don't think you realize how helpful those skills can be. It can be very dangerous in here if you cross the wrong people. I'm sure you've already seen how corrupt the guards are and a lot of the prisoners are no better. Friends need to look out and protect each other in here. If you'd look out for me and my girls, I'd be very grateful."
"I'll try as best I can, but... I don't want to cause any trouble. I don't want to give them any reason to lengthen my sentence."
"I see the warden still knows how to make an impression on newbies. Look, one of the things you learn very quickly is that almost all of the rules can be bent, even broken." Etsuko leaned in closer, causing Akane to flinch back slightly. "I'm not asking you to start fights or anything. Just watch our backs and we'll watch yours. It's a fair trade."
"Well..." Akane trailed off. She didn't know what to say. On the one hand, she wanted to help out Etsuko, who seemed willing to go out of the way for her despite them having just met. On the other hand, she didn't want to risk the wrath of the guards, and her own vow to not fight or cause trouble rang in her head.
"If you don't want to give me an answer now, I understand," Etsuko smiled reassuringly. "You're new here and don't want to get on anyone's bad side. Just think about my offer, Akane. I assure you, it's the best one you'll get." She turned back to Sayoko. "In any case, I came over to let you know I've gotten hold of that item you wanted. I'll bring it by your cell tonight, if you have the cash."
"Don't worry, I have the money," Sayoko answered.
Etsuko grinned. "Good." Seeing Akane was confused, she decided to explain. "My friends and I run a little business. I provide certain luxury items that can't easily be found on the inside, for the right price."
"You smuggle things into the prison?"
"I prefer to think of it as providing a service for my fellow prisoners, who are otherwise forced to use whatever mediocre belongings they are issued by the state. Fortunately, I have some 'friends,' who can easily procure items on the outside and get them to me."
"What kind of items?"
"Anything really. Why, do you have something in particular you want?"
"No, not really," Akane answered, before asking. "Aren't you afraid the guards would find out?"
Etsuko chuckled. "So what? The guards may go on about punishing those who step out of line, but, as long as they get their cut, they're more than willing to look the other way. As I said, all rules can be bent or broken."
She rose from the table. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a couple more clients I need to see. It's been a pleasure to meet you, Akane. Let me know when you're ready to consider my offer." She walked over to another table, her two friends following behind her.
"What is she giving you, if you don't mind me asking?" Akane turned back to Sayoko.
"A book that just came out that I really want to read," her cellmate answered. "The library here is horrible about getting any new releases, so I went to her. It's the only way I could get a hold of it. A lot of prisoners go to Etsuko to get little things like that."
"Oh."
"You should be careful around her though," Sayoko warned, leaning in close and speaking in a low tone to avoid being overheard. "She's already set her sights on you. She likes to recruit those who know how to fight, in case other prisoners try to muscle into her business."
"I can't believe the guards would let her and others get away with fighting."
"The Warden and Chief Matron are serious about discipline, but many of the guards can easily be bribed to look the other way. You'll find others besides Etsuko get away with it all the time. And she doesn't just deal with books."
"…Drugs?"
Sayoko nodded in affirmation. "And worse. And she'd expect you to help. That's the price of her 'friendship.' You really shouldn't get mixed up with her."
"I won't. Thank you for telling me." It was just one shock after another for Akane. First, she finds out her cellmate was a murderess and now she'd just been sitting next to a drug smuggler.
The rest of breakfast passed uneventfully, and a guard ordered all of the inmates to return their trays and line up.
"Just follow me," Sayoko said. "Work details are assigned by cellblock, so we'll be together."
"Okay." Based on her sentence so far, Akane wouldn't be surprised if her work duty was to bust rocks with her bare hands.
Next: Akane on the chain gang.
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