deciphered

the suicide plan IV

Just as predicted, the announcement came about the room assignments due to the influx of new prisoners. That would mean no more prisoners would have a single room and everyone would be assigned a cell mate. A wave of groans and complaints arose from the prisoners throughout the halls, shaking the doors and stomping on the ground to create ruckus and chaos. The guards began to yell, commanding everyone to quiet down.

"This isn't fair!" One prisoner shouted amongst the sea of other complaints. "I've been here for ten years and now I have to share my room?!"

The room assignment was not popular at all, but once the warden stepped into the hallway, the noise went straight to a halt. Within seconds, the entire corridor of prisoners went silent. The warden started making his way down with his hands behind his back, followed by two other guards behind him. He looked left and right at all the prisoners tucked away in their cells, inspecting and observing each and every one.

He went straight past Kuroo, but eventually stopped right at Oikawa's cell. He was sitting atop his futon with his legs crossed and his head down, not moving one muscle. When Oikawa didn't hear the echoing footsteps of the warden, he looked up, making eye contact directly with him. With one look from Oikawa's dead and dull stare, the warden whipped his head back forward and continued walking down the hallway.

"Step out, now." The warden commanded, making each and every prisoner come out of their cell and stand in front of it, all saluting in place. "Single file, now!"

Simultaneously, all of the prisoners stepped out into the middle of the hallway, forming a line facing the entrance. Kuroo still had his makeshift blade with him tucked under his uniform, carrying it in case he didn't get assigned his original cell. A guard with a clipboard stood directly next to the warden, announcing each cell pair one by one, calling them out by their identification number.

"1090 and 1091," the guard yelled out while opening up one of the cells. Once the two prisoners entered through, another guard threw in an additional futon, pillow, and blanket—then immediately shut the door behind them, locking it in place.

The guards did the same to the next succession of prisoners; calling out their numbers, handing them extra sleeping supplies, and shutting the door behind them. The process was fairly smooth, and although every prisoner complained and groaned about it earlier, they were all compliant to the orders. Oikawa and Kuroo were next in line, both assigned a cell that was neither their original one.

"1098 and 1099," the guard called out, not looking up from his clipboard. Another shoved the folded futon, blanket, and pillow into Kuroo's hands as they walked inside the tiny space, shutting the door behind Oikawa once he stepped foot in.

The both of them looked back into the hallway where the guards continued the room assignments, going further down the line. Kuroo dropped the sleeping supplies down on the tatami mats before taking a huge sigh. He looked straight at Oikawa, who had his hands tucked in the pockets of his uniform.

They made eye contact with each other without any expression on their faces, both knowing exactly what was yet to come.

Night fell almost instantly after the room assignments. The amount of men within their dormitory cells doubled, which meant the temperature increased, making the air just as dense and humid as before. The hallways weren't quiet anymore; there was now a distinct chatter echoing throughout each floor. The guards weren't able to control it, no matter how many times they commanded to silence them—there were simply too many bodies to check where the noise was coming from.

In their cells, Kuroo and Oikawa no longer saw the view of the outside of Tokyo. Instead, the small bulletproof glass window showed the view of the prison courtyard, facing inward towards the other dormitories across the building. Just like every other prisoner, they were wide awake when they were supposed to be sleeping, situating themselves on the opposite corners of the cell.

Oikawa sat closer to the window, staring outside of it, looking up at the moon in the sky. His hair grew out, almost reaching the original length he had when he first entered prison. He was barefoot, with a tight white t-shirt around his torso. He kept on the gold chain around his neck, the metal sticking to his skin.

"Cypher," Kuroo called in a soft voice as he sat closer to the door, sitting on his futon. He began to sharpen the shiv he made from the license plate material on the concrete walls, scraping the edge of the blade in one direction at a slim angle.

Oikawa turned his head away from the window and looked towards Kuroo. His face looked gaunt, with his cheeks sunken in where you could see the structure of his cheekbones. Darkened bags started to form on his face, to the point where his eyes looked like it was going to pop out of his sockets. Oikawa almost looked like a skeleton wearing human clothes.

"Cypher," Kuroo called out one more time to garner his attention, continuing to sharpen the blade on the wall. "I need your help."

Kuroo's plea sparked interest in Oikawa, to where he faced his direction and lifted his knee up, resting his forearm on his leg. "Hmm?"

That was the first time he had spoken to Kuroo in weeks, despite the fact he didn't say an actual word. It was the first time he had made any sort of verbal response. Kuroo stopped sharpening the blade and placed it in front of his futon before staring straight at Oikawa, making eye contact with him in the dark.

"I need your help attempting suicide."

There was silence between them after Kuroo's request, only hearing the distant chatter of the other prisoners down the hall and the echoes of dripping water from the pipes within the walls. Oikawa squinted his eyes without moving the rest of his body, making no facial expressions.

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

Kuroo was stunned for a bit; first for the reason that he forgot what Oikawa's voice sounded like. The second reason was that he had the same thought in mind as him—did he also know of the rescue plan?

"Wait," Kuroo held up his hand before blinking twice, recollecting his thoughts into one place. "You know...?"

Oikawa then explained how during the granted visitation, you told him the plan, all whilst handing him over a piece of paper consisting of the detailed steps of plan B in case they did not hear any news of their release, or on the news of the TMPD. The way Oikawa explained it was almost exactly the way Leia did to Kuroo, making it known to him this was all in their plans to help them escape.

In his mind, he knew that Kenma and Sakusa were all behind these plans—knowing Cypher, he trusted Sakusa with his life, and it was without hesitation that he complied with the plans.

Oikawa took out a piece of paper neatly folded from the front pocket of his uniform and unfolded it, revealing the same note of their plan, outlining all of the detailed steps. He then rolled up the right leg of his uniform to reveal the very same steak knife from dinner, neatly wrapped around his calf with duct tape. He removed it and began sharpening it on the wall, the same as what Kuroo was doing earlier.

Kuroo couldn't believe his eyes—the same knife that he was thinking of taking from the cafeteria was in Oikawa's hands. He could tell from a distance that the knife was very dull and needed a lot of sharpening to even cut anything. The steel colored blade reflected the light from the moon through their cell window as he began to press it up against the wall, applying pressure at an angle before scraping it in one direction.

The note that both you and Leia gave the two men was short and consistent, yet heavily detailed with ordered steps. They checked off the first four steps within the note, which went as followed:

By September 29th, the guards should release you from your cells, as the TMPD has ordered your bail. This would mean we had successfully blackmailed them.

By September 30th, you should hear on the news about the exposed corruption of the TMPD. This would mean we did not successfully blackmail them, and instead brought the receipts and evidence to the media, sparking controversy. Through public outrage, your bail would be made in response. You should be released from your cells by the beginning of the month.

If you do not hear either of the two, this would mean that we did not successfully blackmail them, nor did we reach out to the media. This would result in us moving to plan B: The Suicide Plan.

You must obtain a knife or any bladed object sharp enough to cut through skin. You will be using this to make yourself bleed.