Note: Again, sorry for the delay in posting a new chapter.
Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Akane in Chains
Chapter Eleven: Watch Your Back
"Alright ladies, that's enough for today! Pack your tools away and line up!"
Akane sighed in relief as she lowered her shovel; her arms felt as if they were about to fall off from digging all day. Patches of dirt dotted her clothes and beads of sweat flowed down her head. Taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow, she joined the other prisoners that were slowly shuffling towards the road that led back to the prison. A pick-up truck was parked along the side of the road and the women prisoners were depositing their picks and shovels into the truck bed.
"Well, you've made it through your first day," Sayoko remarked as they returned their tools.
"Yeah, just three hundred and sixty four more to go," Akane moaned as she figured how many days remained in her year-long sentence.
"Don't think that way. Remember what I told you, just try to make it through one day at a time."
Before she could say anything more, Officer Yamada swung around, "Shut up and keep moving!" he barked at them. "Or should I cut time outta your cellblock's dinner period?"
Dozens of angry glares from the other prisoners leveled on Akane, still sore at losing most of their lunch break earlier. A crawl went up her back as the animosity washed over her.
"No, sir," both women replied as they hurried to get in line.
After all the tools were returned, the prisoners were lined up in three columns side-by-side. One guard got in the pick-up and drove ahead, while Yamada and the others took positions around their charges.
"Prisoners! Forward march!"
The procession slowly made its way back to the prison. Although they were in sight of the facility, it took a good ten minutes to return between the exhaustion and their chains. This didn't stop their jailors from setting a harsh pace.
"Get those legs in gear, ladies!" Yamada barked. "You can shuffle faster than this! Move!"
Akane risked a glance back in disbelief at his commands. But instead of Yamada, her eyes found themselves drawn to another guard next to him, more specifically the menacing-looking rifle slung against her shoulder. The armed guard's gaze snapped in her direction and Akane quickly turned back around, a nervous gasp escaping her mouth.
"What's wrong?" Sayoko whispered.
"That guard back there has a gun!" Akane whispered back in alarm.
Japan's gun control laws were very strict, and it was rare to actually see anyone carrying one. Although the police carried sidearms, it was uncommon to see them drawn and they didn't normally carry anything heavier than a pistol. So the sight of the rifle clasped in the guard's hands had caught her by surprise.
"They like to take as many security precautions as they can with us. One of us might make a run for it... as if we could go anywhere with these damn things around our ankles!"
Akane managed to calm herself down, but she couldn't stop wondering why all this security was necessary? Escape seemed as unlikely as Ranma avoiding cold water. The weight of the legcuffs made taking anything more than small steps difficult and running impossible. Even if you managed to get out of your chains, the surrounding land was clear of obstacles for a hundred yards until the nearest tree line. She reflexively drew another sharp breath as she realized she couldn't escape, even if she wanted to. She was strong enough to break her chains, but she'd never get to cover before being shot; as skilled as she was at martial arts she couldn't dodge bullets. While she fully intended to serve out her sentence, the belief she could run if she ever wanted had been its own small comfort. The weight of her chains suddenly felt heavier as she shuffled along.
The prison gates opened with a metallic grinding as they approached the walls. Through the yawning archway and into the courtyard they marched. Ahead, Akane could see the entrance where she'd first entered the prison yesterday, but this turned out to not be their destination. The prisoners were marched around the side of the massive structure to a large garage where the prison's vehicles and tools were kept. Here, the truck that had driven ahead was parked next to a side door into the main prison building. Prisoners on outdoor detail were normally brought in and out through here.
"Prisoners! Halt!"
They gratefully complied, panting and breathing heavily after the forced march in chains.
"You three," Officer Yamada ordered the three women at the front of each column, "step forward!
With expressionless faces and no protest, the three inmates did as instructed.
"What's going on?" Akane whispered to Sayoko.
"They're checking to make sure we aren't sneaking anything inside."
"Hands behind your head and spread em!" Officer Yamada issued his next command and the three inmates complied. The female guards accompanying Yamada stepped up and began the pat down. Satisfied none of them were hiding anything, the guards unlocked their legcuffs and waved them inside before calling the next group of three forward. The procedure was methodical, but performed at a professional pace and it wasn't long before Akane found herself next in line.
Akane averted her eyes as she assumed the posture for the pat down and the guard got to work. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, but she reflexively flinched as the guard's hands moved below her waist.
"Keep still, inmate!" the female guard commanded.
"Sorry, ma'am," Akane meekly replied, forcing herself to do so. She needed to calm down. Through sheer willpower, she managed to keep still until the pat down was complete.
"Alright, you're clear," the female guard said as she unlocked her legcuffs. A wave of relief washed over Akane as she felt the heavy steel shackles being lifted from her ankles. Reentering the prison, she was directed down a corridor that led back towards the cellblocks. She walked slowly, waiting for Sayoko to catch up with her.
"You alright?" Sayoko asked as she fell into step beside her. "You looked like you were trembling up there."
"Yeah, I was… just nervous," Akane answered, trying to brush the whole experience off. "I'm still getting used to all this."
Sayoko seemed to accept that and the two continued to walk. They reentered D-Block and returned to their cell. Stepping into their cell, Akane noticed that while they were out for work detail their second uniforms had been delivered to their cells as the Chief Matron had explained yesterday. Identical sets of prison clothes was folded and stacked on top of both of their bunks.
"Grab your clean uniform, your laundry bag, your soap, and your shampoo," Sayoko told Akane as she collected her own. "We're expected to shower before dinner whenever we work outside."
A shower sounded real good after spending hours in that sun. Her stomach could wait a little longer if it meant washing the dirt and sweat off, and getting to change into some clean clothes.
The showers were located at the far end of the cellblock. The changing room was already a bustle of activity as dozens of women undressed and headed through the open doorway to the showers beyond. The left wall had a counter with stacks of towels and washcloths for the prisoners, next to a laundry bin for them to be returned after they were used. The right wall was lined with rows of cubby shelves for clothes to be stored while the inmates were in the showers.
Akane and Sayoko grabbed a towel and washcloth each and found a couple open shelves that were next to each other and began to disrobe. As she undressed, Akane couldn't help glancing around warily, expecting to turn around find Officer Yamada watching her undress. To her immense relief, the pervert was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the only guards she could see in the changing room were women. A small smile crossed her lips. "Maybe I'll actually get to shower in peace," she muttered to herself.
"What's that?" Sayoko asked.
"Nothing," Akane answered. "Just afraid that bastard pervert was gonna show up."
"They normally assign only female guards to the showers, but the men can still come in if there's an emergency or a fight," Sayoko elaborated.
Akane paled slightly at the reveal that she wasn't necessarily free of Yamada, even here. Still, what mattered was that he wasn't here now.
Once they were completely naked, they placed their laundry bags with their dirty clothes in the shelves alongside their clean sets. Wrapping their towels around themselves and clutching their washcloths, soap bars, and shampoo, they then joined the queue that had formed for the showers. There weren't enough individual showers to accommodate all the prisoners at once, so a line had formed. One of the guards stood nearby to ensure the prisoners kept order while they waited and directed prisoners in whenever a shower opened up. The line moved at a fairly quick pace as, one by one, a prisoner exited and another hurried in to wash before dinner.
Eventually, Akane found herself next in line with Sayoko behind her and it wasn't long before another prisoner finished up.
"Alright, you can go in," the guard told Akane.
Akane hesitated, realizing there was only one open shower. She didn't want to be separated from Sayoko. "Can't I wait until-"
"I said get in there!" the guard bellowed.
"What's the hold up?" a prisoner further back in line shouted.
"New girl's causin' trouble again!" another prisoner closer to the front called back.
That set off a cacophony as almost everyone in the line started shouting at Akane. She visibly cringed as she realized she'd just pissed everyone off for the second time that day.
"Go," Sayoko whispered.
Akane hurried over the threshold of the shower room. The pitter patter of her bare feet on the wet tile sounded deafening to her ears, as she practically bolted for the open shower.
Realizing she'd passed the point of no return, Akane figured the only thing she could do was wash up as fast as she could. She hung her towel up on an adjacent hook and turned the valve, releasing a steady stream of water over her body. She was once more thankful Yamada wasn't here as she saw there were no partitions or curtains for any of the showers. You were fully exposed to everyone else in the room or anyone looking in. She eyed the bar of soap she'd been issued suspiciously, remembering the horrid delousing soap she'd had to use the other day. To her relief though, it was normal soap without the rancid stench of delousing chemicals. The shampoo passed the same test, a cautious sniff revealing it to just be normal shampoo. Satisfied she wasn't going to smell like she'd been doused in bug spray again, she eagerly set about scrubbing the grime off her weary body as fast as she could; the sooner she was done the better.
"Slow down, sweetie. Ya' gonna rub your skin raw if ya keep up that pace."
Akane looked up to her right and found herself face-to-face with the butch prisoner with the short, cropped hair who'd bumped into her earlier in the field after Kuno had left. Her nudity revealed the elaborate tattoo of a Chinese dragon that covered her back with wisps of smoke and clouds around it.
Yakuza.
"What's your rush?" she gave Akane a menacing grin, "Wanna get clean in case your rich boyfriend shows up again?"
"He's not my boyfriend!" Akane snapped, glaring at the other woman.
"Think ya hit a nerve, Junko," another woman on Akane's other side laughed.
Junko's grin widened, "What is he then? Your ex? Your pimp? Someone you picked up while streetwalking?"
Akane's face contorted into a look of shocked indignation and turned bright red. She tried to reply, but was so taken aback she couldn't form the words. Where did this woman get off thinking she was some kind of prostitute!
"I told you, he's not my boyfriend or… or anything!" Akane stammered furiously. "Kuno is just some stupid jerk who's delusional! I've never and would never do anything with him!"
Junko and her friend only laughed harder seeing Akane's affronted expression.
Akane caught sight of Sayoko entering the shower room, but to her distress the only open shower was on the other side of the room.
"Aw, don't look so glum, we'll keep ya company for awhile," Junko chuckled. "Teach ya' somethin' good to know round here."
"Look, I just want to take a shower in peace," Akane pleaded, "I don't want any trouble."
"Well, that's a shame."
Akane suddenly felt herself being spun around and slammed back into the wall by Junko's friend. Before she could react, Junko stepped in front of her holding a sharpened piece of metal to her neck. It was small, possible a nail before it had been filed into a much sharper point.
"Now, now, no sudden moves, sweetie," Junko smirked. "I know ya' supposed t' be some kinda martial artist, but that's not gonna stop me puttin' a hole in ya' jugular when I'm this close."
Akane could feel the tip of the shank pressing lightly against her neck. It would just take a little more force for Junko to fulfill her threat. She gripped her fists as she attempted to steel herself, fighting to keep from succumbing to panic.
"Don't think 'bout callin' for help, either. Utter one peep, and yer dead. Got it? I've already killed several people. I doubt one more's gonna get me in any worse than I already am."
Akane nodded her head slowly.
"Good," Junko muttered. "Now then, I said I was gonna teach ya somethin', so listen up. I don' like gettin' in trouble 'cause of some new bitch like you. I was just startin' to relax and enjoy my lunch when suddenly ya' boyfriend comes runnin' up and ruins our break. Now, you've only been here a day, so I'll let ya' off easy this time. But I want ya' ta understand from now on: I don' care who ya' are on the outside or if ya have some rich guy fuckin' ya'. In here, ya' don't do anythin' ta piss me off! Got it?"
Akane was starting to nod slowly again when they suddenly heard someone approaching. Junko turned around.
"Get off her!" Sayoko's fist slammed into Junko's face. She fell to the ground caught completely off guard. The shank slipped from her grip and clattered to the tile floor.
"You bitch!" Junko's friend shouted. She released her hold on Akane and took a swing at Sayoko. All the other prisoners in the room were now staring at the fight, some in surprise, some in interest.
Junko started to rise from the ground, picking her shank back up and glaring menacingly at Sayoko's back. Akane charged Junko, tackling her to the ground. Again, the shank fell from her hand, this time it was caught in the water flow and carried down a drain in the floor.
A sharp whistle cut through the air as guards ran into the showers from the changing room, drawn by the screams and shouts of the fight. "Break it up, ladies!" one guard shouted before blowing her whistle again and drawing her truncheon, "I said break it up!"
The guards hauled Akane and Junko to their feet and pulled Sayoko and the other woman apart. A few sharp blows from the truncheons ended any struggling from the prisoners and they didn't resist the guard's grip.
"You four! Line up at attention and don't fuckin' move!" one guard barked at them. The four prisoners did as instructed, while the guard then turned and addressed the other prisoners in the room, "The rest of you, clear out!" They hurried to do so.
"Numbers and names, ladies!" another guard shouted. She gestured to Junko's friend at one end of the line to start.
"Prisoner 876650. Ono, Otsu."
"Prisoner 424245. Takeuchi, Junko."
"Prisoner 519395. Kobayashi, Sayoko."
"Prisoner 797455. Tendo, Akane." A little more hesitant than the others, still unaccustomed to her number.
"What's going on in here," came a familiar voice and Akane visibly paled as Officer Yamada entered the room.
"We've had ourselves a fight," the guard who had told them to line up answered, gesturing with her truncheon to the four prisoners.
"That so?" Yamada stepped before them, a lecherous smirk on his face as his eyes took them in.
Akane moved to cover herself, but quickly earned a rap from a female guard's truncheon, "At attention means arms to your side, Inmate!"
Akane looked pleadingly at the guard, but received only a stern glare in response. Hesitantly, she lowered her arms. Yamada's smirk widened seeing her discomfort.
"Well, ladies," Yamada addressed them, "what's all the commotion about?" When no one immediately answered, Yamada drew his own truncheon and walked up to them. He seemed to debate with himself for a second before lightly tapping Junko with it just above her breast. "Prisoner Takeuchi, why don't you tell us what happened?"
"Yes, sir," Junko answered. "Me and Prisoner Ono," she gestured with her head toward her friend, "were just takin' a shower, mindin' our own business. Suddenly, these two attack us out of nowhere. The new girl tackled me to the ground and her friend was attacking Ono."
"We did find Prisoner Takeuchi on the ground with Prisoner Tendo on top of her when we came in," one of the female guards confirmed.
"I see," Yamada said.
"That's a lie!" Akane shouted, unable to stop herself. She couldn't just let Junko get away with pinning everything on them.
"Quiet!" a guard shouted, "You haven't been given permission to speak!"
Yamada held up his hand though, cutting off the other guard's protest. "Are you saying that's not what happened, Prisoner Tendo? Are you accusing Prisoner Takeuchi of lying?"
"Y-Yes, sir, I am," Akane answered, nervously.
"Why don't you tell us what really happened then?"
"W-Well, those two attacked me! They threw me into the wall and held some kinda sharp object to my throat and threatened me. But, Sayoko rescued me. She came over and-"
"Prisoner Kobayashi, Tendo," Yamada corrected. "You will only use a prisoner's last name when referring to them. I have no doubt you all share your first names, but if we catch you doing it, it's a violation of the rules."
"R-Right," Akane stuttered, "Prisoner Kobayashi saved me. She got Jun- uh, Prisoner Takeuchi off me, but Prisoner Ono started attacking her. Then, I saw Prisoner Takeuchi was gonna stab her and I moved to stop her, tackling her to the ground. That's about when the other guards came in."
"So, it appears we have two different accounts of what happened here? Now, which one is true?" Yamada seemed to pause in thought for a second, before turning back to Akane. "Prisoner Tendo, you said they held a sharp object to your throat?"
"Yes, sir."
"What kind of object, exactly?"
"It was some kind of piece of metal, small and sharp."
"Well, Tendo, I have a question for you? Where is this weapon? I'm looking around and I can't seem to find it anywhere."
Akane flinched as she recalled seeing the sliver of metal being swept into the drain. "W-When I knocked Prisoner Takeuchi to the ground, it fell from her hand and went into the drain."
"The drain, Tendo?" Yamada asked skeptically. Some of the other guards were chuckling.
"Y-Yes sir, it's true!" Akane pleaded desperately. "Please, you have to believe me!"
"I wish I could Tendo, but unfortunately there's no proof. And what the other guards saw when they came in seems to support Takeuchi's story."
Akane's heart sank as she heard the finality in Yamada's voice. This wasn't fair! They hadn't done anything wrong!
"Sir," Sayoko spoke, getting Yamada's attention.
"Prisoner Kobayashi," Officer Yamada acknowledged her, "You have something to say?"
"Yes sir," Sayoko answered solemnly, "I should take full responsibility for what happened. Prisoner Tendo is not at fault."
Akane looked at Sayoko quizzically. What was she doing?
"Explain, how she is not at fault?" Yamada asked. "She attacked Prisoner Takeuchi."
"Only because I told her to," Sayoko replied. "I was the one who wanted a fight and I forced her to go along with it."
Akane's confusion was replaced with shock. Sayoko knew there was no way the guards would believe the truth, so she was going to at least try and protect her! "Sir," Akane spoke up, unwilling to let her new friend take the fall alone, "that's not wha-"
"Silence, Tendo!" Yamada cut her off. He then turned back to Sayoko, "Are you trying to say you coerced her into fighting Prisoners Takeuchi and Ono?"
"Yes," Sayoko answered, "I threatened her if she didn't agree to help."
"I see," Yamada said. "Normally, you'd both be punished regardless, but since Prisoner Tendo is new and this is the first time she's been incarcerated I'll overlook her participation. Of course, you'll be spending extra time in solitary for coercing her too," Yamada turned to one of the other guards, "Put her in the hole."
The guard nodded and stepped behind Sayoko, producing a pair of handcuffs. She pulled both of her hands behind her back and secured them in the steel restraints.
"Let's go," the guard said as she grabbed her firmly by the shoulder. Another guard snatched a towel from the hooks and draped it around her, allowing her a small bit of modesty as she was led away.
Sayoko looked back at her young cellmate and gave her a reassuring smile, trying to convey that everything would be alright. Akane could only stare back in shock and sadness that this woman she'd just met was willing to shoulder all the blame for her sake. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face as she stood there, powerless to stop this from happening.
"The rest of you are dismissed," Yamada said, "except for you, Tendo. Stay right where you are," he turned to the other guards, "You all can report back to your stations. I've got everything in hand here."
"Yamada, we still have other prisoners waiting to use the showers," a guard mentioned.
"I'll just be a minute."
"Very well," the guard said.
Junko and her friend hastily collected their towels and left, and the other guards filed out. Akane was now alone in the showers with Officer Yamada.
Once more, Akane started to raise her arms to cover herself.
"Did I tell you to move, Tendo? Get those hands back where they were and keep still!"
Akane hesitantly obeyed, once more lowering her arms to her side. Yamada leered at her bare front for several seconds before slowly circling around behind her. Akane remained still, her anxiety rising as Yamada moved out of her line of sight. She flinched and her face flushed in anger and shame as she felt Yamada's truncheon lightly rap against her buttocks. It took every ounce of willpower for her to not turn and belt the fucking pervert. He slowly circled back to the front and placed his truncheon under her chin, tilting it up so she looked directly at him. He gave her that smug grin for several seconds before pulling his truncheon away and stepping back.
"You're dismissed, Tendo!" With that, he turned and exited the room, his smug expression never leaving his face.
Akane wrapped her arms around herself, her breath raspy and uneven. It took one of the changing room guards to peek back in and yell at her to get moving before she hastily grabbed her towel and fled the shower room.
Next: Etusko's Offer.