Hugging his knees as he leans into the room's wall, Ren buries his head into his thighs while Sion and Niz sit beside his right and left respectively. Silence is the only driving force within this inmate viewing room. Only Sion's intermittent whistling and Niz's tapping feet fill in the blanks. The clock keeps on ticking, its needle already pointing at three a.m, exactly three hours after Samuel began possessing Azayaka.
Since then, Ren couldn't bear himself to look through the glass. His tail would shiver at the thought of seeing her all jittery as if she's having a chronic seizure. Throughout the hours of him sitting beside his friends, all he could do is to trust their words that the demon possessing her, Samuel would keep himself away from eating her soul. Maybe it's quite racist for him to assume that, but who would be willing to see a goop of ink-like monster forcefully enter through every single of a friend's facial orifice like that?
"Clack."
Amidst the silence, a clack echoes across the inmate viewing room. The door leading to the cell opens for the Chief to step out. Ren immediately stands and approaches the door with his fists clenched, but the Chief nonchalantly blocks his path.
Seeing his furious steps, Niz goes to stop the fox, but with a tug to his scaly fingers, he stops and looks back to see Sion shaking his head with his lips pursed.
"Get the hell out of my way," Instinctively, Ren's clenched fist sparks with electricity as he glares at the Chief.
She only tilts her head as she puts her hands behind her waist, "There's no need to worry now. I already made sure everything's gone smoothly as planned."
At that, Ren looks towards the viewing window, widening his eyes at the sight; Samuel has already started to release Azayaka from his possession. Slowly as she lies unconscious on the floor, lengths of his body starts to slither out from her mouth and nose before floating towards his sister, Anastasia, who's lying limp on the floor with her eyes wide open, displaying her grotesquely empty eyesockets. Through those eyesockets, the ink-like demon starts to enter.
One by one, Anastasia's limps suddenly snap upwards like a puppet before falling back down. Her body starts to jitter and convulse as the last bit of Samuel's body slithers into her. Thus, when there's not a drop of ink to be seen anymore, Anastasia closes her eyes for a moment before opening them again, revealing them pitch black as her lips form a small smile.
"Haah..." She yawns as she stretches her arms. She then goes to kneel beside the still lying Azayaka before Samuel in the form of his cartoony venus-flytrap head comes out of her left eye. Black shadowy tendrils start to eject from the length of his snake-like body. They slithers around Azayaka's back and knees as Anastasia stands up, the tendrils lifting the dark fae in a princess carry. The siblings then puts her gently onto the cell's bed, tugging her goodnight.
Ren could only raise an eyebrow in confusion. Yet, his heartbeat lessens as a breath of relief escapes his lips.
"See?" With that, the Chief steps away, approaching the viewing room's exit, "I'll be in the office if any of you need something. Also, Ren, I suggest to let her rest. Usually, it takes six hours for people to wake up after Samuel scours through their memory."
At the last part of her words, Ren's ears perk. But when he glances behind, the Chief is already nowhere to be seen.
The siblings soon step out of the inmate cell. Ren immediately grasps the sister's shoulders.
"What did you see..? Please... Tell me!"
Anastasia and Samuel look at each other before both give Ren their silent smile, then with soft spoken voices, both of them speak, "The way we see it..." They glance to the viewing window, towards the unconscious Dark Fae, "It's better if she tells you herself."
With that, the siblings go for the exit, leaving Ren to furrow his brow at the floor with ears lying down, his lips slightly parted.
Aza... What did she go through..?
Then, to a pat to his shoulder, he glances to see Niz staring at him with his lips pressed together.
"Well," He awkwardly mumbles, "You and Charlie were right... Sorry if I seem... Too harsh on you or anything," He then glances towards Azayaka, "I don't know her the way you do."
To that, Ren's lying ears jerk up as his lips curve into a small smile.
"So..." Niz continues as he puts his hands into his pockets, "When she wakes up, tell her that I'm cool with her, for now at least," Finally he walks towards the exit, "I need to go home now, it's already really late. Need to check on my old man too..." He was about to close the door, but not before he peeks his head through it, "Drinks and games tomorrow?"
Ren only gives him a scoff accompanied by a small head shake, "Goddamnit Niz..." He pauses, looking up at the ceiling as he grabs his waist, "Sure."
"Cool, cool... Yea... See you tomorrow then," Niz pulls his peeking head away as he closes the door, leaving Ren with one particular scorpion standing beside him.
"Do you wanna stay here and wait for her to wake up?" Sion says, putting his hands in his pocket.
"I don't know... The Chief said that she won't wake up until morning right? Depends if you wanna keep me company or not," Ren puts on a small smile, "She's your friend too right? Don't you wanna talk to her too?"
"Well..." Sion momentarily stands in silence, "The thing is..." He speaks with a low tone, "I don't think I'm ready."
"I don't think she'll even recognize me."
Sion's sudden uncertainty prompts Ren to pat his back, "W-Well, don't think that much about it... Just re-introduce yourself! Y'know, just like how you did so with me? I'm sure she'll remember you!" He says in a rather cheerful tone.
"It's not as easy as you might think, Ren" Sion says, avoiding Ren's smile, "I am one of her childhood bullies after all. The worst one maybe."
"Exactly!" Ren immediately snaps his fingers, to Sion's dismay, "Wait, I didn't mean it that way-"
"Haah..." Sion huffed out a breath as he looks down, "I'll see you tomorrow," Hunching his back, he approaches the exit. Ren reaches out a hand towards him, but pulls it back. As Sion grabs the doorknob, he pauses to glance Ren one last parted lips, "Don't ever think about giving her some good words about me," He says with eyes looking at the floor, "I can handle myself," With hasty steps, Sion exits the room, not giving Ren a chance to answer.
Now, the only one left in the room is Ren and his faintly wagging tail. He clenches his fist as he looks down, but a sigh quickly releases his fingers and calms his tail. He then goes towards the viewing window, seeing the sleeping beauty; how her breath comes out gently and quietly, how her eyes close so tightly. It seems like Samuel did a great job in ensuring her a good night. From the look of it, it seems like... She doesn't even get much of those lately.
"The way we see it..."
"It's better for her to tell you herself."
The sibling's voices play in his head again. To those words, Ren could only look down. Does that mean what she went through is a lot worse than he could ever imagine? Or does that mean she doesn't trust him enough?
Or does that mean... They're more strangers than friends now?
Ren purses his lips as he narrows his eyes. He doesn't want that thought to be real. Yet, it's coming as the truth now more than anything. But just like everyone else... Ren would rather believe in a comforting lie rather than a hurtful truth. 'Ignorance is bliss' they say. 'Reality is often disappointing' they say.
He peers through the window again, his eyes aimed onto her sleeping face. For a moment, he observes her. Her silky black hair reflects the light with a soft magenta-ish tint, her bangs messily framing her face just like the way Ren remembers it. Then his eyes catch onto her lips. They are slightly parted, their pale tint reflecting how soft and gentle they are...
...
How soft... And gentle... They are..?
...
...
...
"Whatever happened... Just know that you're here now."
"And I'm here too."
...
...
...
W-Wha...
I-I...
His cheeks burst into blooms of reddish pink.
There's no way...
There's no way I did that-
"!!!" He slaps himself on his blushes, clearing away the memory that most definitely happened.
"Haah... Goddamnit."
With a sigh, he looks at her cell's door, approaching it. Below its doorknob is a button pad listed with numbers, a coded lock. Ren kneels, staring at it for a bit as one of his hands begins to sneak towards it. Though, a few seconds later, he pulls that hand back as he stands up, staring at his palm afterward.
What the hell am I doing...
He pinches his nose bridge, shaking his head as his ears lie down.
I should let her have some rest...
He turns around towards the exit, bumping his tail onto the cell's coded door.
"Clack."
His ears snap to his back. As he turns around, to his convenience, the supposedly locked door opens inwards into the cell.
Hmm? Did the siblings forgot to lock it?
Feeling his wagging tail, he glares to it, calming it down. He then approaches the opened cell, stepping one leg in.
Entering the cell, he looks around. It is quite small in the shape of a thin rectangle, its floor and walls are made out of silver-coated plates. The door where Ren steps in is stuck onto the corner of the room. To his right is the viewing window, now pitch black from the cell's perspective. To his front is the somewhat comfy-looking bed where Azayaka lies. In front of its footboard is the washing area, divided from the bed by a wall. Behind that wall is a tiny spot where a toilet with a sink as its backrest stands, carrying on it a box of tissues and a cup with a toothbrush and a toothpaste in it. Weirdly enough, this cell looks more like a minimalistic hotel space, if you ignore the pitch black window.
He then goes to Azayaka's side, eyeing her softly. She looks just like the sleeping beauty she always has been. Within him, comes the desire to poke her sharp ears just like how he would when they were kids. He doesn't know why he always did that, but parts of it came from the satisfying feeling of twitching the tips of her ears, how they would flop and all. Or perhaps the roots came from childish revenge. Ever since the moment they met, she had pinched and pet his fox ears more than she should've. So, fair is fair... Right?
But... If he does poke her ear now, would she be mad?
Probably.
He chuckles softly to himself. His tail wiggling to his memories.
"Ren... Stop it!"
"Heheh, sorry, can't help it when your ears are that cute!"
She would always blush. Yet, his dense ass would always fail to catch on.
Sorry, Aza... I won't do that anymore.
But, still, your ears are cuter than ever.
The nostalgia of his childhood keeps his eyes locked onto hers as his lips form a small smile. After a moment, his body turns around towards the door as he keeps his head onto her. Atleast, he'll be able to admire her more on the way home, as he's ready to exit and leave her some rest-
"Akh!" As he turns his face, he hits the closed iron door.
"Wha- What the..." His palms spread onto the door, trying to push it open, "Oh, right," Though he quickly realizes to grab the doorknob and pull the door instead.
"Clack. Clack."
"Eh?" The door stays unmoving.
"Clack. Clack."
"???" Again, he tries to pull the door, only to no avail.
You're kidding... Right?
Immediately with his brow furrowed, he pulls out his phone, opening his contact and pressing the call button on Sion's.
"..."
Please, Sion...
"..."
Pick up, pick up!
"..."
"..."
"We're sorry. But it seems like there's no signal available in your current location."
"..."
"..."
I'm fucked.
-----
Within a moonlit bedroom, as the wind rushes through the opened window, a heart monitor beeps with each pulse it detects. Lying on the bed, the black haired man's heart monitor is connected to his fingers. Slowly, his eyes open to reveal a pair of glowing green.
With his eyes blank, the man rises up, his pair of angelic black wings spread wide, stretching as their feathers sharpen. Then a moment after, the pair shrinks to only cover up to his shoulders as the man unclasps the heart monitor from his finger.
The man, Yuu, narrows his eyes, letting out heavy huffs as he looks down onto the bed.
"Submit to Domina Gorgon."
"Submit to Domina Gorgon."
"Submit to Domina Gorgon."
A sudden wave of snake-like whispers echoes within his head, prompting him to hiss and clutch his forehead, though with that, those whispers fade away.
"So, how's your sleep?"
To a deep and raspy male voice, he glances to its source. A scorpion tailed and bat winged man sits on the side of the bed, staring out the window towards the upcoming sunrise as he lits up a cigarette, "Want one?" He offers to Yuu.
"What... What happened?" Yuu asks with a low tone as he lowers his gaze, ignoring the man's offer.
"Hmm... Well, to be quite frank. I don't actually know," The man smirks before glancing at Yuu, "But I have some good and bad news for you."
At that, Yuu's wings quip slightly.
"The good news is... I've discovered something quite magnificent that'll help us in achieving our goals," His scorpion tail sways with his every word, "The bad news is... We need someone a little bit particular to achieve that," Keeping his smirk, his purple eyes sharpen onto Yuu's.
A gulp dives deep through Yuu's throat, prompting the man to let out a slight cackle.
"Don't worry. It's not you," The man huffs out a smoke as he stands up, circling around the bed before approaching towards its other side.
Yuu could only keep his gaze low as his fingers clench the bedsheet. Now standing tall beside him, the manticore slightly flaps his bat wings as he looks down upon the birdman with a crooked smile.
"But, I do need your help," The man grabs Yuu's chin, guiding his eyes to his narrowed ones, "You'll gladly accept. Right?"
At that, Yuu sharpens his own eyes as he swats away the man's fingers, "Depends. Elaborate."
"Swift and quick with your words. That's what I like about you," The man says as he brushes Yuu's hair, greeting with his movement an uncomfortable silence.
Yuu takes his chance to peek at the man's face; his eyes are now soft, staring at the wall's freckles as his hand keeps on moving without any command. Though with a sigh, he lifts his hand to throw his cigarette away.
"Azayaka. She hasn't been home lately," He says with a sudden hint of uncertainty. Yet, that uncertainty quickly changes to a growl of anger, "How dare she disobey her father like that..." With a simple cackle, his tone calms down, "But nevertheless... That's fine," Then, with a sigh, his voice returns confident yet condescending, "She made me realize a simple solution to my problem."
As the man continues on with his rambles, Yuu could only observe with his lips slightly parted, "Where is she now?"
To his question, the Manticore glances to him with an unbridled stare, "My intuition suspects that she's somewhere out there..."
"Perhaps all cuddled up with that fox friend of hers."
Hearing that, Yuu's heart sends out a shudder and the Manticore widens his smirk.
"For three days, she's been out from home," He whispers into Yuu's ear, "Who knows how many times they've done i-"
"!!!"
The manticore blocks a punch aimed to his cheek.
"Well, well... What's this?"
At his mocking tone, Yuu grits his teeth, "I won't... Fucking... Lose to your bullshit..."
"ANYMORE!!!"
Yuu slices his wings towards the Manticore's head. The latter ducks down, sending a blunt jab of his middle finger to the center of Yuu's neck, pushing him deeper into the bed's mattress.
As the heart monitor behind him falls apart, the Manticore looks at Yuu with a giddy smile before he takes the bird's jaw, clutching his face tight as he glares.
"Oh, my dear... Little... Archangel... You know the consequences if you don't obey me... Right?"
His looney toon style of voice causes Yuu to clench his teeth as he tries to push the Manticore away.
Despite Yuu kicking at his stomach, the Manticore doesn't budge. Instead, he pulls Yuu to him further, whispering to his ear;
"Don't make me send you back."
Yuu's eyes widen momentarily, leaving his body silent, not retaliating anymore.
Shadowy laughter echoes within his mind as voices of the past carve themselves back into his skull.
Come here little angel... Don't worry... We'll be gentle with you...
"No..."
How much for this little fella?
"S-Stop..."
Be a good boy... Make daddy feels good... Okay?
"STOP IT!"
He presses the sides of his head, trying to dampen his memories aside. Yet, all that it takes is one more whisper from the Manticore to distract himself from them.
"You don't want to go back to your old home. Don't you?"
At that, with clenched teeth, Yuu shakes the man's fingers off of his face.
"Then..." Again, the man closes in on his ear, "You love my daughter too... Don't you?"
Yuu hides his gaze away as his lips slowly part.
"You won't let that fox take her away from you... Right?"
Yuu then clicks his tongue as he furrows his brow and narrows his eyes.
"Then... Bring her fox friend to me."
"After that... You could have her all for yourself."
Silence commences before he raises his head, revealing his half lidded eyes that are emitting out an empty stare.
"Yes. Father."
-----