Chapter 57
[81]
Minato Arisato sat in his cell in Ryker’s, a maximum security prison meant for the containment of dangerous, non-metahuman, individuals. Minato was one of these prisoners, in fact, he was considered one of the most dangerous people here given his track record as a contract assassin with 42 kills under his belt.
It was for this reason that Minato’s cell was located in ‘The Cellar.’ A solitary confinement floor where the walls were 2 feet thick and the only light came from a 4 inch by 2 inch hole in the wall filled with reinforced glass.
It was incredibly boring here most days, however, due to his good behavior, he was permitted to leave the cell once a week and join the other prisoners for one hour of recreation time, under the restriction that he remain handcuffed and heavily supervised at all times during said period. Minato looked forward to these days alot.
Thankfully, today was such a day and he would get to continue his game he’d been playing with a fellow inmate.
As the guards cuffed him and led him through the halls, he heard pounding on the cell door next to his.
“Playtime already? You lucky son of a bitch!” An aggressive voice called from behind the door. It was Sho Minazuki, another killer who was considered almost as dangerous as Minato.
his eyes winced at the light of the room he was led into. Dozens upon dozens of prisoners in orange jumpsuits walked about the floor, some played sports, some gambled, and others merely spoke to one another. Spotting his usual table, his friend already sitting down, a smile graced Minato’s face as he took his seat.
“Welcome back. Where were we last time?” Asked Ichirysu Madarame, an elderly prisoner who was missing both of his legs. His wheelchair sat next to the table.
“I believe my knight was about to take your bishop.” Minato said as he set up the board from memory. Ever since Madarame’s arrival at Ryker’s, the two of them enjoyed a game of chess every chance they got.
“That can’t be right.” Madarame said jokingly, knowing that the younger man before him was the superior player.
“We can start over if you’d like. But the end result will always be the same.” Minato cracked another smile. Their record so far was 8-0 in his favor.
“Someone’s confident aren’t they? You’re lucky you’re the only other prisoner here who knows the game. If I had just a bit more practice it would be your downfall.”
“Well until that time comes-” Minato began to say, but he was interrupted as a basketball hit him in the back of his head. Turning around, he saw a group of large tattooed prisoners staring him down. It was clear that it hadn’t been an accident.
Minato looked over at the guard supervising him and watched him feign ignorance over the situation.
“Just ignore them. If they try anything serious, the guards will put a stop to it.” Madarame advised the younger man.
“That may be the case for standard prisons, but here, the prisoner mortality rate is 46%. The guards don’t care what we do to each other, so long as we stay here.”
“Then why aren’t they trying anything now?” Madarame asked.
“They have nothing to gain from it. If they start a riot, it’ll only hurt them.” Minato turned his head back to the game, but made sure to keep aware of his surroundings.
“You know, your looks remind me so much of my boy, but your personalities couldn’t be any more different.”
“Your son?”
“Well, my student. But I think of him as a son.”
“Hmm.” Minato hummed as he turned his focus back to the game, moving his rook with both hands.
“Do you have any family?” Madarame asked, no longer paying attention to the game.
“I do.”
“...”
“...”
“Alright then. Why don’t I change the subject?” The older man suggested, believing he’d hit a nerve with that. “I received a new cellmate the other day, his name is Takaya Sakaki. From what I gather, he was a cult leader before coming here. He got arrested for sacrificing 3 young girls to his ‘god.’ He disturbs me quite a bit.”
“Have you put in a request for a new one yet?” Minato asked while moving another piece.
“I tried, but the guards said it would take months to file the proper paperwork.”
“Figured as much. That’s their way of saying no.”
“What should I do then?” Madarame sounded scared.
“Keep one eye open at all times and sleep with a shiv beneath your pillow.”
Madarame wasn’t sure how to respond to that, his mouth gaped at the thought.
“Don’t be so surprised. You’re a killer, you’re stuck in here with other killers.” Minato looked at the man before him who still said nothing. “*sigh* Look, I like you. I think you’re a good guy and that’s why I’m telling you this. Be careful.”
The pair continued their game for a while longer and before they knew it, the bell rang, indicating that rec time was over.
“Well, I’ll see you next week. Remember where the pieces are this time.” Minato said as he was guided back downstairs to his cell.
Madarame looked down at the board and saw that somehow, he’d fallen into the exact same trap as last time.
Back at Shujin Academy, Haru Okumura was diligently taking notes as her final class for the day wrapped up. As the final bell for the day rang, Haru was relieved that she didn’t have to go straight home today.
Earlier, she’d received an email from Dr. Maruki, asking her to assist him in his lab experiments today. She’d gladly accepted, looking for any excuse to avoid seeing Sugimura.
“Good afternoon Professor.” Haru said as she entered the room. Seeing another student with him, she quickly apologized. “Sorry, I’ll wait outside until you’re done.” She began backing out the door.
Dr. Maruki stopped her. “Actually Haru, Mr. Amamiya here will be joining us today. Can never have too many pairs of hands!” He said while holding up his empty lab coat sleeve. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh, not at all.” She said stepping back into the room, putting on her own lab coat.
“Ren, meet Haru. Haru, meet Ren.” Maruki gestured towards the boy with fluffy dark hair in a lab coat to his left with his one good hand.
“We’ve met actually.” Ren said, shaking Haru’s hand.
“We have?” Haru asked, thinking about where she may have seen this boy. Suddenly, memories of a hot tub in Hawaii flooded to her mind. “Oh! From the school trip! I remember now.”
“Aw, you already know each other?” Dr. Maruki whined. “But I set out snacks and tea for a meet and greet!” He sighed and a sad look crossed his face.
“I wouldn’t mind some tea.” Haru offered.
“I didn’t eat lunch today.” Ren offered as well.
Suddenly Maruki’s expression lightened. “Well then, by all means please enjoy!”
The trio sat together in Maruki’s lab, eating cookies and sipping tea while discussing the project.
“So, Ren here is still being caught up on BARF.” Maruki explained to Haru.
“Lovely name isn’t it?” Haru asked, giggling.
“Yeah, it’s certainly memorable.” Ren laughed as well.
“Hey, if you can’t have a laugh in the lab every now and then, what’s the point? But really, the Body Accelerated Regeneration Formula is going to change the world as we know it!” Maruki stood up from his chair and walked over to a large terrarium on a table. “And Iggy here is the key to all of it!” He tapped on the glass and his pet iguana turned towards the sound.
“Not that I mind, but why did you ask me to help out? From what you’ve told me, the two of you have been doing some great work here, it doesn’t seem like you need the help.” Ren asked out of curiosity.
“Well you see Ren, the work we’ve been doing has been great so far, but it has been quite slow going. And I fear that it’s been my fault.” Maruki hung his head in shame.
“Professor!” Haru stood up. “Of course it’s not your fault! If anything, it’s my fau-”
“Haru!” The doctor stopped her. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence! You have been vital to our work. If it weren’t for you, I’d be months behind schedule and would have failed 9 times over.” Maruki sighed. “Sorry for yelling Haru, but I hate hearing you put yourself down. You’ve been a great asset to me and this project as a whole and you can bet, when all of this is over, you’ll be credited for your help to change the world for the better.”
“Thank you Professor.” Haru said, a small smile as she sat back down.
Ren was in awe at the kindness in the room, even when they were yelling at each other, they were being nice.
“So Ren, Haru, the reason I asked you here is because you two are my best students. I trust both of you with the secrets of my work. I’ve been going over my work lately, and I keep finding more and more mistakes I’ve made. I fear it’s because I’ve been pouring myself into my work too much lately, but I can’t afford to take time off. So, I need the both of you here to look over my work, correct my dumb mistakes, and call me out when I skip proper procedure. I know it’s a lot of work, and I can’t really afford to pay you-”
“I’ll do it.” Ren said with a determined look, standing up from his seat.
“Y-You will!?” Maruki was stunned.
“You said it yourself, we’re gonna change the world for the better aren’t we?”
“R-Ren...” Tears formed at the sides of Maruki’s eyes.
“And of course you have my continued support as well Professor.”
“Haru…” He ran over to his students and wrapped them in a hug, one arm wrapped around Haru and an empty sleeve around Ren. “I know it’s against faculty rules to hug you, but I just have the best students!” He said as a stream of tears poured out of his eyes.
The students patted the crying man on the back and shot each other a confused look before both shrugged and accepted the hug.
Maruki wiped the tears from his eyes and looked back at his students.
“Now, let’s change the world together.”
[Bonus]
Ryuji Sakamato was walking home from school, thinking about where he’d go for dinner that night when he heard yelling from the alleyway across from the school entrance. Believing it to be someone in trouble, he ran over to help whoever was in trouble.
To his surprise, when he reached the alleyway, he only saw a girl standing by herself, her hand raised to her ear. She was talking on the phone, Ryuji realized, and whoever she was speaking to, she was pretty mad at them.
Luckily, the girl hadn’t noticed him yet, otherwise she might’ve accused him of something and he didn’t want to end up like Ren. Then again, Ren got spider powers out of the deal, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“Mom! For the last time, I don’t want to do another photoshoot! The photographers...they make me uncomfortable.”
“...”
“I don’t care how it will boost my career! Won’t winning more matches do the same!?”
“...”
“Please Mom!”
“...”
“Ugh!” The girl ended the call and stomped her foot on the ground.
Ryuji hid behind the wall, afraid of being spotted. As he considered walking away, he heard quiet sobs coming from the alleyway. He turned back and saw the girl crying into the palms of her hands. When he saw the red ribbon in her hair, Ryuji realized where he’d seen the girl before, back on the school trip to Hawaii, in the hot tub! Deciding that he had to do something now, Ryuji stepped out into the light.
“Hey um, you okay?” He asked the girl.
Suddenly the girl turned up and looked at Ryuji with swollen red eyes. “Oh, *sniff* I’m terribly sorry. If you’ll excuse me…” She pushed past him, trying to get out of the embarrassing situation.
As she walked away in a hurry, Ryuji followed after her. “Hey wait up!”
Trying to walk away faster, she was disappointed that he managed to catch up. “What!?” She yelled turning around, emotions still raw.
“Sorry.” Ryuji stopped to speak to her. “I just...You seemed...Are you alright? You seemed kinda distressed. Before I started following you I mean.”
Hifumi wanted to say yes, she was fine and didn’t need anything. But the pressure from everything that’d happened in her life recently, her mom ordering her to put herself on display like some idol.
“N-No.” She finally managed to say. “I’m not alright.” She began crying into her hands once again.
Ryuji cautiously patted her on the back, allowing her to get it all out. When she finally quieted down a bit, he spoke.
“You wanna grab some beef bowl?"