Echoes of Suffering [Leann]

[Kaien Tsubakuro]

Everything had happened in a blur of colors and sensations. One moment Kaien was stalking down the street, readying to attack a known criminal mutant that managed to evade police capture and the next he was in the arena, pinned against that same mutant in grotesque scenery left behind by the previous confrontation on MV’s stage of carnage spectacular. While at first he had been regarded as a rogue human with a sharp sword, the ruse was quickly discovered when all the mutants he was successively pinned against were defeated by the surprise of being suddenly useless in their skill. The crimsoned eyed demon had made short, remorseless work of the criminal mutant who had no fighting ability outside his power because it had never failed him. Until he came across Kaien and felt naked in his defenselessness, suddenly all too late aware of what it felt like to be the one anticipating the mortal blow with no hope of escaping it.

The revelation of Kaien’s “ability” took mutants off his plate in the arena, unless MV needed to get rid of someone no one else seemed especially prone to defeat and that never happened often, it was more fun to see battles that dragged on and smeared the participants in all shades of suffering before one of them finally dropped dead. Then there was another problem. Kaien was as precious a find as he was stubborn, oftentimes refusing to grant the crowd their killing blow and defying orders left and right, much to his collection of punishments. A constant fear or death accompanied Kaien during his days in MV’s Wild Diamonds Arena but it never pierced though his willed listlessness and only once overruled his pride, moment he was still in the process of regretting. It had been a situation of kill or be killed, only that time there would be no pardon if he didn’t comply. The mutant he had been forced to kill or forfeit his own life had been younger than him and frightened as a doe before the slaughterer. Kaien had been shoved around the arena from foe to foe, the Boss finding it pleasing to see just how long the raven haired young man could take before his strength waned and he fell just like any other.

Although Kaien had endured past his limits, he was covered in cuts and bruises, most dealt by actual trained fighters for humans comprised the bulk of his challenges in the dusty pit wrapped tightly in stands of cheering patrons of the underground. A great gash across his abdomen that reached up to his ribs on either side was the worst of them and made it hard to stand up or focus though convulsive shudders that racked his body. He had thought to be ready to die when he noticed that he wasn’t and fought with borrowed strength he felt more a witness to than an actual bearer. It was through a haze of pain, fear and rage that he stabbed a random arena sword into his defeated but not yet dead opponent, with the threat of death by torture if he didn’t go through with it. Light draining out of the younger man’s tearful eyes was the last thing he had seen before he had blacked out from blood loss and he had seen it ever since in his nightmares. A part of his soul had withered and died that day, leaving the red of his eyes darker.

He had woken up in the barren medical ward beyond the holding cells that day, stitched back to life and even sporting a rare drip that fed someone else’s blood into his arm. If he had lost just a little more of the red substance he would have joined the younger man on his journey to the land beyond. The deep wound on his abdomen healed unnaturally quickly under healer mutant care but was left painful and present enough so that it would end up being a sizeable scar when it finally healed fully. It’s presence by no means spared him of fighting, so today he had been in the pit again, facing more humans who came at him with the day’s weapons – spiked baseball bats. The whole arena had been set up as a macabre baseball field where balls you really didn’t want to hit exploded into putrid smoke that made your eyes water and stomach turn. It was one of the themes Kaien had been a part of, others including “This is Sparta!” that had him fighting in red briefs and a cape, “The Dark Knight” that painted him Batman, a role and a costume that had actually given him some comfort until he had been pinned against the arena’s Catwoman whose dagger like claws soon gave him new future scars and there were other roles, less amusing for the crowd.

With each passing trial day Kaien grew more grim and a poisonous viciousness was developing in his crimson eyes. He had been through hardship before but there was something about the constancy of MV’s torment that slowly corroded his nerves. On the other hand, he was becoming bolder, less sensitive to the immediate threat of death, the idea sinking in as reality and having him become accustomed to it. Today he was back in the medical ward, the older gash on his abdomen freshly wrapped in new bandages for the wound had reopened during the day’s confrontations. There were other new bandages on his arms as well, where spiked bats had sunk into flesh or scraped across it and there was a band aid on his left cheek, covering up more of a scratch in comparison to everything else. The nurses that had tended him were leaving, picking up bloodied cloths and used syringes in plastic disposal bags.

Kaien was left sitting on one of the customary uncomfortable benches that should be more than enough for the conscious, whereas hard beds were provided only for those who literally couldn’t stand up or whose insiders were hanging out. He wore a pair of dark ragged shorts, one of his forelegs covered in bandages while the other was bare. The young man had defied MV too much to be granted any form of footwear or something to cover his bandaged top, wrappings reaching up to his chest, leaving the tense muscles (from pain mostly) in his neck and chest experience the chill specific to any underground building that didn’t benefit from heating. His teeth were gritted behind shut lips, one of them split near the corner from a punch received earlier. His eyes were downcast, clouded and dark, but absent of any despair or madness, alive in their depth with an intense quiet flame. He was opening and closing one of his hands, a bandage wrapped around its palm when Lee was brought into the room.

[Leann Lacey]

"Just take a seat over there, it's really the only room with any uncontaminated space at the moment. It'll take only a moment to get a pair of scissors and some alcohol. From the looks of it, you may have not needed the stitches after all."

The nurse's voice fluttered in from somewhere outside, directing the arena's pink-haired pet to the unhappy room that Kaien was currently occupying. As it was, the disembodied voice, though obviously attempting to be pleasant towards the one it was speaking to, elicited an unsettling curiosity, unintentionally. If Kaien's room was the only one not "contaminated", what exactly lay in waiting in those other rooms? It wasn't something Lee intended to investigate, so despite a slight tickle of mental curiosity, she simply followed her orders.

As she stepped into the room, the girl was in the process of readjusting her police cap. The nurse had, of course, removed it to assess the status of the head injury she'd sustained the night she'd met the White Serpent. As it turned out, the electroshock therapy that had been prescribed to the lightning wielder had been "just what the doctor ordered", for the injury had apparently nearly returned to its pre-battle state. Given her penchant for shock-facilitated regeneration, it likely wouldn't even leave a scar. The bandages on her thighs, on the other hand, had not yet been investigated, but chances were that the situation was the same. She was not, after all, walking with any visible limp.

Although her own status, physically speaking, was good, she remained floating in her recently-habitual mental doldrums. And she was not at all expecting to walk into a room that was actually occupied. A further shock was the identity of the occupant - Mr. Big's "perfect" anti-mutant catch; an individual that Leann had, in a transient sort of way, already begun to fear. From her observation perch in MV's bubble above the arena, she had watched what was, for mutants at least, death itself, and although jokingly so far, there had been words spoken amongst the others that frequented the bubble about how entertaining it might be to see her squirm in his presence down below. Vasquez himself had yet to offer an opinion on the subject, but that didn't offer Lee any reassurances.

Regardless of the circumstances, recognition stopped the girl cold in her tracks. She'd pulled the police cap down over her eyes and stood there, fingerless gloved hand still on the bill as she pondered her options. Although she suspected there was little risk in disobeying the nurse's orders, she wasn't sure she should make that gamble. Yet, obeying took her even closer to one who was unquestionably dangerous. Under the sudden pressure of decision making, her posture seemed to straighten and strain, a situation that, normally, would have produced a crackling spark or two from her, unintentionally.

But in the presence of "the Nullifier", no such spark manifested.

"U-um," In the end, all she could do was ask for permission and hope for the best. "Is... it alright if, um... I sit over there?"

Of course, her frozen posture didn't exactly let her indicate where "over there" was. For the moment, "awkward" was definitely her name.

[Kaien Tsubakuro]

Kaien was slow to shift his gaze towards the new arrival, for a few moments more still simply preoccupied with the functionality of his hand’s tendons. While inside Mr. Big’s fun house, he hadn’t been treated with a shred of kindness and the hostility in his borderline vicious red eyes was all too present when he cast them on Leann. Whoever walked around this dome was either his torturer or potential enemy on the stage and he was all too aware of that. What was worse, the people he’d been facing lately were actual volunteers, humans who came onto MV’s stage seeking glory and blood and leaving with neither in more cases than not. It seemed sword fighting was a dying art. People were so enamored with pistols and other bullet murder objects that they didn’t bother to learn about holding a blade.

Since it was hard to tell mutant from not, Kaien didn’t know what to make of the nervous girl that was brought in and left with some instructions. In his opinion, she looked fine and he could do nothing but question her place when she was brought here just to have some stitches removed (it seemed like special treatment). Unlike her, he had had no high view of her battles and he didn’t know they were talking about her when words were shared of her special pet status to Mr. Big. Kaien had been from battle to battle and when he wasn’t brandishing his sword in front of some unfortunate mutant or getting sliced by human fighters he was unconscious or dazed from hunger. He was feeling that need right now, actually. Food wasn’t something MV seemed to think he should get a satisfying amount of. Much like clothes and proper sleeping space. And painkillers.

“My permission means nothing down here and you know it. So why ask?” He frowned and looked away from her, having sounded much less reproachful than he had intended and simply bitter instead. Every wound on his body throbbed with pain under the wraps and it was hard to be civil. He had never been particularly good at it even when he was free and well. His eyes narrowed at a thought. “If you’re another one of those volunteers come to see the target before the fight then you can go screw yourself, it’s probably the last chance you’ll get anyway.” The loathing he bore that category of people was think in his tone. “If not, then it’s in your best interest to ignore me. I’m not having a great week.”

He took in a breath, running his good hand through unruly dark hair and willing his anger to calm. When he looked over his shoulder again, his eyes were no longer hateful but neutral. She didn’t look like any volunteer, regardless of her apparent heath and lack of injury. “Sit wherever you like.”

[Leann Lacey]

Kaien's bitter reaction, though not unexpected, still caused the pink-haired one to take a step back. She even seemed to bring her arms up in front of her, as if to defend against a physical blow that, honestly, had not even been suggested from the young man covered in bandages. Such was the effect of apprehension borne from spectating. Her response came in stages following the step backwards. Her hands came together, nervously, about at her navel, and her right foot momentarily toed at the cold concrete floor. Her mouth twisted in a small frown... and she paused.

Then she sighed. At least she'd been granted permission, even if her "roommate-of-circumstance" had been taciturn about giving it and didn't think it amounted to much. She seemed to mouth a "thank you" and, gingerly, slid into position at the absolute far end of the bench from Kaien. She didn't make a peep for the next few minutes, being careful to keep her police cap down over her eyes.

But she couldn't simply hide in plain sight for long.

The nurse returned, looking more than annoyed and, seemingly ignoring Kaien completely, walked over to Leann and proceeded to pat her on the head, like one might do to a puppy.

"Sorry, kiddo. It's gonna be a little while before we can do the stitches. Supplies are a bit limited at the moment, and we got a massive bleeder in room 2 that the boss wants to save for 'one more show.' I can't even get into the supply room cuz of the mess. But we can take a look at those bite wounds, right? Here, let me unwind the gauze."

Though it was very much out of place, given their location and the circumstances surrounding it, something about Kaien's presence while "being inspected" caused Lee to momentarily revert back to "normal." After all, it was a boy that was "watching", her skirt wasn't one of the "long" variety, and the aforementioned bandages were quite high up on her thighs. Furthermore, with the wounds themselves being on the back of her legs, she was forced to move into a position that offered a more compromising view than she was comfortable in offering. But, again, she couldn't be disobedient. She cooperated as she was told, blushing furiously the whole while, and purposefully not at all looking in Kaien's direction.

"Wow, not even a trace. I'll have to make a note in the chart. Mr. Big's little lightning angel... heals when she's plugged into an outlet. ...Er, or... a few car batteries. Ha. That's cheaper than real meds, anyhow. Anyway, cupcake, sit tight. I'll be back as soon as I can, so we can take those threads out."

Another pat on the police cap and the nurse was gone. As one might have expected from such a place, Lee's bandages had simply been dropped to the floor. Maybe they'd be cleaned up later... maybe not. For a moment, following the nurse's departure, Lee remained silent and crimson, the police cap carefully kept in place. Then:

"I'm... sorry."

[Kaien Tsubakuro]

Lee gently sat herself on the far border of the bench and Kaien didn’t make any amendments to his position, occupying quite some space on his end, every movement a potential pain trigger. The occasional tightening in his lips and light flinch at the corner of one eye were the only suggestions of the pain he was in, suffering he took with stoicism even after many days of being MV’s rag doll in the pit. Although his body was slowly crumbling his spirit was far from defeated by the atrocities he had been forced to perform. Hunting dangerous mutants was what he did and being pinned against the gleeful grins of volunteers only made his inner fire burn brighter. Fighting was what he did and if the Boss wanted to shake him more on the inside it would take more than having decapitated heads thrown at him during battle. His soul was already too far sunk to care for that.

When the nurse returned and didn’t even spare him a glance he was thankful for it. The last thing he wanted was more attention from the staff here, In the arena, in the ward or anywhere else. He returned the favor but from the corner of his eye noticed how she patted the pink haired girl at the other end of the bench and couldn’t help narrowing his eyes. It was a singularly disrespectful gesture that, although had nothing to do with him, made him fantasize about strangling the nurse with his own bandages. The way she spoke about the “bleeder” in the other room only strengthened his desire, but his eyes were already carefully averted, temper kept in check.

Losing his cool on the devil employed nurse wasn’t going to get him anywhere and it had already been proven to him in the arena that he wanted to survive through this. Somehow. When he looked back towards Lee and the nurse he hadn’t expected the view and the ridiculousness of his momentary compulsive staring made him mentally slap a hand onto his forehead. The actual motion would be too painful to accommodate, however. He willed himself to look away eventually and although he didn’t feel embarrassment for having noticed he did experience irritation by having been put back in touch with basic human instincts that were so greatly inappropriate in the location and situation around it.

Mercifully to his pride, another matter distracted him from the previous moment. Mr. Big’s lightning angel? She was the pet everyone was talking about? Kaien stared into space, not entirely sure how to take the news or what attitude he should have about it. At least it explained the treatment she was getting.

The nurse left them alone again and Kaien looked towards her from the corner of an eye. He seemed to be getting a lot of awkwardness vibes from her direction but personally didn’t share the sentiment. Kaien was still having a hard time accepting that even in this hellhole he could be reminded of things that almost made him forget the whole experience, even if only for a moment. “What’re you apologizing for? We do as we’re told down here, right? You don’t need to apologize for that.” He looked away from her, his voice adding in a simpler tone at the end: “Not to me.” He hated how dejected that last part had sounded.

Quite suddenly and out of nowhere, however, he splayed a hand onto his face, closing his eyes and sporting a half-smile. “Besides, you’re attractive enough to get away with it. I may have wanted that apology if it had been some obese mutant who knew more about cake frames than how to shave her legs.”

Was that a lighthearted tease? Now he surely knew he was starting to go nuts.

[Leann Lacey]

What was she apologizing for? For Lee, the phrase had been uttered because she'd thought it most appropriate.

She was sorry for being there, invading what should have been "his" space, regardless of his of captivity. She was sorry for stealing whatever privacy a solitude of (however limited) recovery might have provided. Even if such coincidental "alone time" had a habit of destabilizing the already unstable, her observations of others in the underground (both in passing and, sometimes, forced) had made her understand that, generally, the more time out of sight and out of mind individuals were, with regards to Mr. Big and his "employees", the better off they were - that they performed better, recovered their strength better, and survived longer. Of course, when she stopped to consider the actual ramifications of such an effect; of such a combination... she had to wonder if it really was any better at all. Still, it felt wrong to "steal" such furtive moments from one that probably needed them.

She was sorry for being there - sorry for her own condition, and sorry for her own status in comparison. Her situation was "unique" and, to many of those kept in the cages, akin to "living in luxury", though she certainly didn't believe it to be as such. But could she blame them? She was, regardless of her personal pain, currently "favored." She was sorry for the hate that created, and she was sorry for being made a target of that hate. She was sorry... that her very existence encouraged the blood lust of many of the captures. And she was sorry that, because that viciousness could not be taken out on her, it was instead directed towards another undeserving individual. She was sorry that her status also kept scant restorative resources away from those more gravely injured.

She was sorry for being there - for speaking, for being bothersome, for possibly reminding another, in this case Kaien, that there remained something or someone outside of the cages and outside of the arena. She was sorry that whatever faint belief of relief that lay with such thoughts of the outside world... did not apply to her, even as she played the momentary, temporary role of the avatar of such. She was sorry that they could not see that her cage was invisible, but held her just as tightly as physical iron bars. She was sorry that she couldn't tell them, and she was sorry that, if she did tell them, they wouldn't believe her.

And she was sorry for being there, in that moment, at that time, as... unintentional eye candy. She was sorry because she expected mutual embarrassment. She was sorry because, embarrassment or not, it wasn't fair, insomuch that, as an object, she could be viewed as something wanted, but something that could not be had. She was sorry for herself in that vein, as well, for the role of "object" was merely an added layer of icing on her proverbial cake of misery and misrepresentation. She was sorry because she thought that such an act and a view would only, ultimately, make things even worse. After all, she had convinced herself that she was a harbinger of misery - her performances within the confines of the arena, if nothing else, had at least proven that.

But Kaien's response confused her. He excused her, bitter tinged though it was. There was some acceptance of their shared situation and an acceptance, at least verbally, of their mutual helplessness in going against orders. Though he placed himself below her on whatever hierarchy that existed amongst the captured, there seemed some understanding for her, at least in terms of why she might say such a thing, even if it was, by his opinion, unwarranted.

And then everything suddenly went sideways. Though she thought herself misery incarnate, he was the picture of misery. Bandaged, damaged, half-physically broken and full of resentment, whatever "agreement" he had put forth should have been the end of it. She'd expected it to be the end of it or, if not, that the "niceties" of "agreement" would act as a precursor to the more anticipated vitriol exhibited by most others. Instead... in a sideways kind of way... he... complimented her. Her looks, anyway. And not in the supremely crass way that MV's associates had, originally (before a few of them were fried for "bad touch" attempts) had employed to her face and behind her back.

For the first time in a long time, Lee was "stunned" in a non-devastating way. The quality of his off-hand compliment reminded her of the diction of her former fellow high school athletes, and she was, at least for this split second, forced to react like she might have before she "awakened." Her mouth dropped open and the burning of her cheeks intensified, her flustered state more than obvious.

"W-what?"

She didn't know what else to say.

[Kaien Tsubakuro]

“Do you know what it’s like when you’re scared to see yourself?”

The words had been uttered by Kaien’s proverbial shadow, a sad poet of a mutant who outside Kaien’s presence looked like a humanoid toad. Although Farin had meant the question literally, Kaien had started reflecting on the more metaphorical meaning within. Since his sister had been killed, the raven haired man knew he had changed and no one could act proud of his new direction, not really. Living as another iteration of “The Punisher”, without the movie glam and fancy costume, was making him less and less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. Slowly, but surely, the barrier between light and dark had been obscured and now it felt like he was distinctly more in the gloom than otherwise. So after some reflection and answering when Farin had nearly forgotten what it had been he had asked in the first place, Kaien had said “Yes.”

Since joining MV’s circus show, Kaien had stopped simply walking on the path that led somewhere deep, dark and cavernous and was at full sprint descent instead. If he hadn’t lost his mind yet it was because he had been on this road to begin with. He hated to think that one day he would simply stop caring entirely and turn into a simple murder machine, indiscriminate about its target. Kaien’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t intend to be here quite that long.

The half-mirthless smile on his face faded as quickly as it had come when a new jab of pain made him tense more. The breaths he was taking in were deliberately careful, trying to elicit as little notice as possible. If he was lucky, he would get the rest of the day and the night to recuperate before being thrown in battle once more so he was focusing on healing. The pink-haired girl’s stuttered question bumped against his thoughts and he gave her a side-gaze from under the fingers on his face. There was stillness in his calm eyes, the gaze of someone who had endured past breaking point and kept his sanity, someone who was hungry and in pain but stubbornly in control of his actions. Someone with a lot of pride. If she thought his words so far meant he considered her higher up a hierarchy of individuals around here, she wasn’t getting an accurate impression.

However, the question and her obvious fluster sent him back in time to a place where he had been an entirely more emotionally receptive person. A memory of kind brown eyes. It made him frown shortly. That person had betrayed and deceived him. He could decide to hate the girl in front of him for reminding him but he chose not to. His past, his current situation and whatever unpleasant recollections from the past were assaulting him weren’t her fault and Kaien was a person who attributed blame where it was due.

Instead, he answered how he knew best – bluntly and honestly. “You’re cute. A few years ago, in normal circumstances, I might have asked you out.” He watched her from the corner of his eye a moment longer before looking away, towards one of the entrances into the room. The hand that had been on his face was now supporting his chin. It was actually annoying how much he meant it too, and she would probably be surprised to hear it was less about her looks as it was about the impression she was giving. Something hardened in his eyes. There was no room for thoughts like that in his current life anymore.

“You got a name?” Kaien kept his eyes on the open door. Time seemed unusually slow. “Where would you be now if you weren’t here?” And he felt like trying for conversation. - Some bitterness darkened his eyes. -

Even though it couldn’t lead to anything good.

[Leann Lacey]

"C-cute? ...I'm... cute?"

That was a compliment she hadn't heard in what seemed like ages. "Cute." It was a word that existed in the vocabulary of the underground only in such cases where it was employed in sarcasm, used to belittle or taunt. "Attractiveness" in this place was verbally identified by less innocent terms and was almost always accompanied by explicit directions on what the "complimenting" individual intended to do with the "attractive" one. For many of those deemed "attractive", the words were a promise and usually the immediate preamble to the forcing of such acts. Lee's "shocking" reputation had kept her safer than most from that bit of misfortune, luckily.

It was the rarity of the compliment that caused her to ask what may have seemed like a rhetorical question. Well, that and the fact that, until that moment, she had largely forgotten that, once upon a time, the descriptor Kaien used had been a piece of her reputation. It almost felt alien...

...because it was actually pleasant.

"E-er! Leann!" she said, after an unintentional and awkward pause. The reply was overly emphatic, a side effect of the general awkwardness she had already been exhibiting, compounded by the accidental pause. The red coloring her cheeks deepened further. "M-my name, I mean. It's, uh, Leann. You can... just call me Lee. I, er, um... might... have asked me out?"

Her physical response, aside from the blush, might have been a bit coy. Her knees came together quickly, showing a "usual" physical barrier that was a milder type than had she chosen to cross her legs. As such, between knees and her toes, which were the only part of her touching the floor, a triangle was formed. Her hands moved down to clutch at the hem of her skirt, tightly pulling it down across her thighs. A show of modesty after the coincidental tease? Perhaps the action was a small window into the types of values that had been instilled in her during her upbringing.

She even chanced a peak at him, her head turning just enough to allow a brief glimpse of her eyes beneath the silly accessory that was her hat. This was particularly fleeting, though. Just as soon as it had occurred, she jerked her gaze back down, focusing on her knees.

"Ya prolly wouldn't say that... if ya knew how scary I was," she breathed, the glimmer of self-deprecation returning to her for a moment. It did not, yet, return in full force, however. She still had another question to answer. "A-and I'd be... at the hosp-" The word cut off abruptly. It was, due to a recent internal promise (i.e. the events of Do Not Resuscitate I), an accidental lie. Quickly, she thought about the time of year. "-er, I'd be... a-at preliminaries, prolly. F-floor exercises, a-actually. I think... I think they were s'posed to be at the University this year..."

She was talking about gymnastics, of course.

[Kaien Tsubakuro]

This time there was no point to reiterate his answer. Kaien’s gaze remained averted until she said her name. His hands gripped the bench and he turned towards her just slightly, head, slightly dipped to the side, taking her appearance in fully. The second question interrupted his exploratory actions and made him look to the side. Distance was pooling in his crimson eyes. It wasn’t often that he thought of the past and how he used to be before.

One of his arms was hurting in the position he’d given it and he drew it back over his leg, fingers limply pointing to the ground. As for actually answering her question (and he never shied away from giving insights), it was hard to grasp what exactly she wanted to know. Or maybe it didn’t really need a reply either. Regardless, his eyes climbed back up to where he could have seen her eyes if she wasn’t hiding behind her cap and he did offer more info. “I’m not a very subtle person. If I see something I like…” His words trailed off and gaze travelled to the open door again. “I go for it.” There was a little pause. “If there’s room for it.”

Now that last part might have been vague but it was as much as he’d offer without additional prying. The whole answer was probably not what she had meant to find out anyway. Kaien flexed one of his hands again. The prudish aspect of her position didn’t escape his notice, half-amusing him and half making her more adorable – opinion he had to beat in the head with a rock to go away. What the hell. This wasn’t the time nor the place for such thoughts.

The touch of self-loathing in her words drew his attention and gaze back to her. He tilted his head a fraction, consider, but his response didn’t take long to form. “You’re not scary now,” he pointed out then frowned. “Just because people force you to be a terror doesn’t mean it’s who you are.” He looked away again. “You can always choose who you want to be, chose to be different.” He spoke the last words as if he was remembering them from a dream, a hollow aspect to his words that had started out convinced. It was something he had been told by his best friend what felt like a very long time ago and at the time he had believed it. It had been related to the person he had become through bullying and retaliating to said abuse to the point that he had become indistinguishable from the bullies to the casual observer.

Kaien thought about her answer to his question and although he didn’t want to point out her shift in answer and question it, he did wonder why she would lie to someone in his position. In the end, it didn’t matter, and he didn’t know what she was talking about but figured it had something to do with highschool competitions. He should know, he had been in the basketball team back in his own country, not that they had ever attended serious tournaments and by the time they did, his attention had shifted entirely to fencing.

“My name’s Kaien,” he remembered to share. “And you really don’t have to worry about scaring me… I wouldn't let you.”

[Leann Lacey]

"Kaien... ... you're... right."

There was an... uncomfortable finality to the phrase she uttered, as soon as he had finished speaking. There had been almost no time between the end of his words and her reply. It was almost as if she had been expecting it, but she hadn't. He'd stated the truth that had created her initial awkwardness from the very beginning. Whatever he said, she was scary. To everyone. Except him. Except him, because of his power. Because of what she'd already observed.

Everything he'd said was right, though, at least in terms of the "what others said" and her scariness with regards to him. Lee had no way of connecting to the "I go for what I like" portion, but the other parts she could, at least, appreciate in earnest. The example had already been shown to her a few times. She frowned.

"I can't be scary to you, right? You... ya just wipe it all out, don'cha? S'why ya wouldn't let me... be scary ta you. Ya couldn't let me. Ain't in yer... nature." Even if she was stuck by the flirting, she still saw little point in keeping non-secrets secret. "I seen ya, anyway... s'why they say yer like death to one's that'er... different."

Lee paused a moment, carefully picking up her right hand and extending it in front of her. She held it out, turning it slowly so that it was palm up. She flexed her fingers and, with the crimson slightly fading from her cheeks, appeared to focus.

"That's... why I don't work. It doesn't... work. You stop it... somehow. Ya keep the... monster... hidden. Not stopped. Just... tranquilized. It's a... different sorta cage. One that don't... hurt so much. ...S'why ya could 'like' me, right? Cuz ya know I can't be scary ta you..."

There was both sadness and appreciation in her voice as she made her proclamations. Some credit to her awareness could be given here - after all, she had watched him in the arena and, visibly, had appreciated his unique "nullification." But part of her words were simple regurgitation - the reflection of observations she'd heard from those around her, including MV, in the bubble.

"Like me... ask me out... you. You could... do whatever ya want with me, right?" There was a tangible amount of defeatism in her words. "Make 'em look... like fools... if ya did... since they can't..."

There was a pause then, which she filled with a bit of a sigh. Her knees pressed together a bit more tightly, and her knuckles went white with the pressure she was exerting on holding her skirt in place. The crimson on her cheeks returned, and her mouth twisted slightly, in an acidic half-grin.

"Ya could... ya know. ...Punish me. ...Take... what you want. ...They can't. None of 'em, not the cronies or the others caught. ...But you could. I know it. You can... see it on my hand. Help...less..."

Lee's grin turned upside down and her face tightened, as if she were concentrating very hard. Her fingers flexed - once, twice, thrice - but nothing happened. As if to "check" to see if she were only "naturally" malfunctioning, she shook her hand vigorously, then returned it to the palm up position. Again her fingers flexed; again, nothing happened.

"You..." And suddenly her voice was chillingly cold. "...are the one that will kill me." And then her voice reverted back to the softer, scared version it had been before. "I-I... know it hurts. How they treat you, what he makes you do. You and... and what you do... yer like this... cuz o' me, I bet. It's so... perfect. S-so... so... you prolly... prolly oughta... take... what you can... before you erase it."

As she finished, Lee shivered, and seemed to collapse upon her "protective" posture. She might have stated encouragement, perhaps too focused on the idea of the "punishment" associated with it, but she certainly didn't seem to invite it physically. She was scared; scared of what she had just invited, and yet... she felt, in a way, that by inviting it, she was accepting something that was destined to happen to her since she had "arrived." Before, there had been no one capable of forcing her to "be" like the others... but here and now, there was. She feared it, but the inequality pained her even more... and so, presented with a "joker" in the deck, she'd been pulled down to a "pack mentality" of "deserving."

"R-right? I'm the... the "pet." ...I'm so close... you can... just take it out on me, since ya can't them, right? It's... it's okay. I-I-I won't fight it, if it helps..."

[Kaien Tsubakuro]

It was the empty talking to the numb. All of it. Kaien listened to her through her little discourse, his expression decidedly unrevealing. He took note of many things, like her desire to punish the people who constantly mistreated her, her impression of him and herself and her shining egotism. She clearly hated what she was doing in the arena, to the point she wanted to be mistreated so perhaps to keep some of her conscience intact but at the same time she wanted the opposite. Kaien’s eyes narrowed briefly. He could see the contradictions in her quite clearly and he couldn’t help but wonder if this (her time in MV’s dome) was the first time she was noticing that all human actions are inherently selfish.

He allowed some moments of silence after she stopped talking, one of his hands brushing onto the back of his neck and back. Afterwards, he stared openly. “People can be scary without fancy powers,” he began, “and not only during physical battle.” He glanced to the side. “So you’re right and not right. Your mutant powers are useless but I’m human so there could be other methods you could employ to shatter my advantage or neutralize my ability to hurt you completely.” His gaze returned to her, cold and, for a moment, cutting. “But I wouldn’t let anyone get away with it again.”

He looked away from her, irritated by the memory that had coughed back up. “Also, what kind of fool do you have to be to imagine someone could like you just because you couldn’t go storm on them? The only reason your power is scary is because of what you do with it and your deeds won’t be fucking erased if you can’t use it momentarily.” He tightened a fist on the bench but then, quite suddenly, all of his anger faded and he appeared simply empty. “We’re all ugly on the inside somehow, Lee, the question is… how much of someone’s ugliness can you understand?”

There was another pause during which the room felt entirely too small for the two of them. Kaien was deathly quiet as he calmly stared at the bench, the crumpled younger female some distance away from him. Very quietly and very much ignoring the pain movement elicited in his body, he got up and came to stand beside her. All things considered, right now in this room she did have the power to resist him when he attempted to draw her to face him by grabbing her chin and dragging her up, none too kindly. The movement had the potential of knocking her police cap off. His red eyes were cold.

“You want to be punished that much?” His tone was low and simple and he tried to look at her eyes in turn. The air in the room was growing stuffy. “You’re not gonna fight, right?” His other hand, the bandaged one, came onto the tip of her thigh almost tenderly. His eyelids lowered slightly and the look he gave her said that was the end for words. The hand on her thigh started brushing up and he leaned forward in such a way that his lips were an instant away from her neck. The moment was put on pause and during it he could take in her scent, his breath probably warm on her skin.

Then his hand stopped from advancing on her thigh, having reached half-way under her skirt. He drew up from her neck and the hand he had on her chin lost its rough grip, loosening and just remaining there like the touch of a ghost. He was looking into her eyes again but this time the expression in them wasn’t just frost but some form of thoughtfulness. His uninjured hand crept across her collarbone, into her pink hair and behind her neck. Kaien leaned in and drew her into a kiss, eyes closing gradually as he did. She could probably sense his need in it, both physical and emotional. For Kaien they were slowly becoming deafened in his increased heartbeat and slight of breath and he drew away then, letting her go entirely and getting up.

He started walking away and he didn’t know where he’d go, just that it wouldn’t be there. When he looked back towards her, daggers were in his eyes again, but they were blunted by some form of pain he hadn’t actually intended to show. “What the HELL do you know about what I want?” And with that accusation in his breath he turned away and prepared to walk out of the hospital ward. The thought of his cell didn’t seem quite as oppressive as usual.

"You... are the one that will kill me."

Her prophetic words echoed in his head and he frowned.

As if it's your decision, idiot.

[Leann Lacey]

Lee was trapped in the prism she'd created as Kaien replied. It hadn't taken but a few scant seconds for the tsunami of regret crafted from her words to drown her. Why had she said any of it? Wasn't she already in enough danger? She was no masochist, and the fact that she had just invited such pain... repulsed her. But her inner self, somehow, someway, still replied that... she deserved it. But deserving and wanting are two different things, stated her internal counterargument. The mental reply to that? "It's already too late."

A theme of recent commonality - it was always too late.

His words temporarily sealed the useless debate in her head. Kaien presented a fact she'd already known, but had already discarded. There were... "other ways." Some had skills that could allow them to circumvent his aspect of neutralization. But that mattered very little when the only thing one could rely on - for she felt her only "physical" skills revolved around running and evading, not attacking - was useless. And, indeed, people could be scary without regard to powers or battle; the human captors they shared were the definition of such.

The next part truly grabbed her attention, though. He labeled her correctly - a fool - for the odd sentiment that she had professed, but it still gave her a small shock. An "insult", even a proper one, was still an unpleasant thing to receive. It forced her to look at him, eyes open in surprise, but his continuation was even more forceful. Her deeds wouldn't be erased... even if her power was momentarily sealed? That was not what she had meant; she'd meant that she would be erased, and had not even considered his alternative perspective. Eluard's words from the hospital smashed into these new words, forcing her to pay attention to the blood that was already on her hands. The slight gasp associated with this recognition made her lean back and snatched her gaze away from Kaien so that it fell on the far wall.

But Leann had only a moment to digest a truth she had, apparently, been avoiding. Kaien was upon her, and he roughly forced her to stand. The only resistance she offered was a tensing of her body and a small noise of surprise. The police cap fell, unceremoniously, to the bench behind her, and between the freedom of release from the accessory and Kaien's hold on her chin, she was forced to look into his eyes. It was only then that she realized that they were red. His first question - "You want to be punished that much?" - combined with his cold forcefulness returned the fear to her eyes. The movement of his bandaged hand initially caused her to further tense up and, by instinct, her own hand made a move towards his wrist... but the second question froze her action. "You're not gonna fight, right?" Her hand had stopped in mid-flight; her fingers flexed, outstretched, then closed into a fist without ever coming into contact with his.

No turning back now.

Her eyes shut tight and, for a second, her mouth became a strict straight line. Then, she swallowed hard - a silent confirmation to Kaien's second question. Her tension seemed to fade, her arms folded limply behind her back, as if in submission, and when her eyes reopened... they were filled with the clarity of acceptance. She gave no obvious reaction to his breath on her neck, and, perhaps oddly enough, her scent that he inhaled... was that of a certain kind of tea. When he pulled her in for the kiss, she was as easy to move as a feather, and although there remained a moment of hesitation when their lips touched, she quickly melted. Her response was one of unhindered cooperation, and she tasted a bit like spearmint (for that was the flavor of gum she had recently been chewing.) She had promised willingness, and kept the promise, though awkward because of the posture she had taken. When he pulled away, she was left without a balance, and though he walked away, she stumbled in the other direction. She did not fall, however, instead catching herself on the edge of the bench. When he yelled at her, she was forced to turn and look, her eyes questioning... seemingly everything. Her hand moved up to her face, allowing her thumb to touch her lips.

But Lee had no immediate reply. She had been prepared for much more than that, and she did not know how to respond. Even if she could respond, would it have mattered? His question was one that had no suitable answer.

Ironically, she would not have to try and offer an immediate, inadequate response. The nurse had returned, scissors and isopropyl in hand, and seemed frozen in the doorway. Her mouth was open and she looked blatantly shocked. How much of the exchange had she been present for? An uncomfortable few beats went by in silence... and then, uncomfortably, the nurse cleared her throat and proceeded to hurriedly walk over to Lee. The girl seemed unable to respond to the other woman, either, but that didn't stop the nurse from promptly tilting Lee's head upwards. She splashed the scissors with the alcohol, splashed a bit on Lee's forehead, and promptly made three snips. A triplicate of fast jerking motions removed the stitches and, just as abruptly, the woman turned and half-ran towards the door.

"D-don't let me interrupt!" she exclaimed, just before nervously vanishing.

And this left Lee, one eye closed against the not-yet-evaporated alcohol, silently staring at Kaien. Her mouth was slightly open and her breathing seemed a little accelerated and a touch labored. But she made no other motion, and did not seem poised to offer any words.

[Kaien Tsubakuro]

Kaien’s frown was openly displayed to the nurse that blocked his exit, her open mouthed gaping only helping to further irritate him. Great. This was exactly what he was missing. A loud mouth employee to twist the incident into who knew what when recounting it. Just as Leann didn’t have anything to say to the nurse so too he didn’t but her sudden appearance did pause his forward momentum, making him linger by the door in thought. It was annoying how his antics with Lee were backfiring on him, reminding him of things he missed and making him more aware of her in a way he hadn’t intended. Kaien gritted his teeth.

Before he knew it, the nurse was darting back out of the room, but this time he didn’t hesitate and followed suit. He had nothing more to say to Leann. He was probably not supposed to wander, but he did, and was spotted and taken to his holding cell immediately. In the dim artificial light of his cell the night was cold and suffocating at the same time.

It only made him more determined to once more see daylight.

~ ~ ~ ………….. ~ ~ ~ ………….. ~ ~ ~ ………….. ~ ~ ~ …………..

A couple of days later, Kaien was in the disciplinary room, a wide space similar to a highschool gymnasium. Unsurprisingly, his behavior since he had met Lee hadn’t improved one bit and he had been, perhaps, a notch more defiant towards MV and that just wouldn’t do. As such, mutant healing was invested in him and he stood now chained to one of the five wooden poles that sat erect in the middle of the room. He was on his knees, not by choice, but because his hands were tied tightly to the pole in front of him. Again shirtless, but this time wearing a pair of long black jeans, Kaien had been prepared for a little traditional whipping and who knows what else (it depended on the day’s torturer’s creativity at the moment).

A few feet In front of Kaien, several long benches and a kingly armchair were positioned for the expected spectators: MV and whoever else he chose to entertain with Kaien’s suffering. There was also arena fodder to be brought in as well, especially people who needed a little reminder they should behave. A “tools” table stood not far from the poles, the personal instruments of the torturer. The floor was coated in spiky pebbles and they were already cutting into Kaien’s knees and the exposed flesh on his bare feet.

As for Kaien, he was mentally preparing for the worst, steeling himself, fortifying himself against the incoming pain by predicting it. Whatever happened, he needed not to scream, he wouldn’t give The Boss that satisfaction, not again (this wasn’t the first time he was in here). He also thought he wouldn’t give a fuck who else would see him in misery.

When someone stepped into the room he raised his gaze, poison in his eyes to such a degree that they truly seemed demonic. He wouldn’t forget the faces that seemed to be enjoying the spectacle and if one of them ever greeted him down in the arena, he would make sure not to kill them quickly.


((Since Lee didn’t say anything to stop him in any way he left so I moved on to the disciplinary moment day. Hope that’s okay.))

[Leann Lacey]

The procession that preceded the torture session was first a parade of the miserable and down-trodden. There were six in total, all in chains, with quite a bit of variety in their particular power make-up. That, of course, did not matter a bit, for whatever their abilities, they were to be placed within the sphere of influence of the "nullifier." In fact, neutralization of powers was only one of the reasons that they were lead in and locked into place in such close proximity. It had been decided that a visual lesson was simply not enough for the selected crew. Though Kaien was the focus, the aforementioned "tools" would bathe in a mixture of blood on this day. The placement of the other mutants was performed by typical MV goons and once they had performed their function, they were directed back outside. They were much too low in ranking to be allowed the "enjoyment of spectacle" that was to be provided.

The second procession was that of the spectators, a handful of individuals, all dressed in evening refinery and sporting masquerade-style masks, that had paid ridiculous sums of money for the privilege of point-blank observation. They chatted among themselves as they entered and took their assigned seats, providing a contrast of merriment to the unhappiness and hatred within the "torture" zone. They made no attempt to soften their conversations, and much of the talk was about the events of the evening before and certain match ups or match types that they would like to see in future events. There was a brief mention of the possibility of seeing the lightning girl face Kaien, focusing specifically on the "grand" idea that such a match would somehow lead to her being unmasked and disrobed during the event - something that the male spectators seemed quite interested in. One of the females shushed them, though, stating that she thought it was a horrible idea - the pink-haired girl was the only ounce of "innocence" they ever got to observe and, as such, watching her struggles was unique and all the more entertaining than "the other idiots" - indicated by a sweeping of her hand towards Kaien and the other mutants - that lived for the bloodlust. This broke the conversation down into a rabble of chaos, mostly dealing with "appraising" the "personalities" of various combatants and why "fighter A" was more entertaining than "fighter B."

A few minutes later, a trio of guards armed with assault rifles entered. Two of them moved to flank the "honored guests" and ensure that, should one of the "punished" manage to escape, they would not be given the chance to cause any harm. (And if bullets hit the other mutants? So be it.) The third lingered at the door for a moment, looking out of it and down the hallway.

"Oi, Robert! Ya better cut that shit out! I'm serious, bro, boss don't give a shit if she vaporizes yer ass! Goddamn rookies..."

From the hallway came a leering laugh, the sound of resounding smack, and a feminine yelp.

"S-stop! I-I'm... I'm serious! I'll..."

A second event, just like the first occurred. The guard at the door stepped further out into the hallway.

"You dumb sonofabitch! Didn'tcha fuckin' hear me?"

A third event, but this time something different occurred. The crackling burst of an electric surge sounded through the hall, along with a half-scream of pain. The surge was enough to cause a "brown out", temporarily threatening to plunge the torture room into absolute darkness.

"God damn it! See?! What the fuck did I say? Sonofabitch!" The guard disappeared into the hallway. Back in the torture room, one of the other guards produced a walkie-talkie and calmly ordered a "clean-up" crew for outside of the torture room. Another "smack" was heard in the hallway, but it had a different tone to it, and was not accompanied by yelp or surge. A moment later, the guard that had disappeared reappeared, dragging something behind him by a rubber-coated chain. His size caused him to temporarily hide the identity of the individual being dragged, but it wasn't a surprise to anyone in attendance. "Stupid ass, god damn..."

The litany of random curses continued as the guard continued forward, eventually dragging the girl over to a spot at the center of the "guest" area. To put it lightly, Lee was... very oddly dressed. The outfit that she had been assigned was that of a highly stylized, overly sexualized jester. Her hair was the usual twin braids associated with her typical arena appearance, but very large bells had been attached to the ends. Between those and the large bells on the "elf shoes" she was wearing, she "jingled" the entire time she was being dragged to the one remaining chair (throne) that was not yet occupied. The top of the outfit was long-sleeved, though the area between her elbow and shoulder was little more than a couple of strings, allowing the flesh of her arms to be visible. The high-necked collar was the only "conservative" - in terms of body coverage - piece of the ensemble, hiding her neck and stretching down to just below her collar bone. Connected to the collar was a sort of vest that covered most of her back, though there was a heart-shaped hole directly in the center. This vest, which was much too small to wrap around her front, was connected, again by strings, to a pair of hearts that covered her breasts - one for each. The rest of her torso - cleavage, ribs, and belly down to the crest of her hips, remained bare. Accompanying this was a frilly, puffy short skirt that, despite being five layers, was much too short to properly do its job. Finishing the ensemble was a pair of striped (bumble bee-style) thigh highs and a pair of lacy panties. Half of the costume was pink, the other half was a light blue, and the stripes of her thigh highs were white, giving her a very "cotton candy" color scheme. Her fingernails had even been painted in the alternating pink-blue scheme. Her makeup was very heavy, and had been put on with the same half-and-half displacement of colors, though the lipstick and blush on the right side of her face had been disrupted by a hand-print from being slapped. A trickle of blood was at that corner of her mouth as well.

"Getcher ass up!"

She had been dragged across the floor the whole way, but once they were close to the throne, she was unceremoniously jerked to her feet. When she came up facing the throne, the guard seemed to grow further annoyed. He dropped the chain and reached out, grabbing her by her braids and jerking her around so that she was facing Kaien and the other mutants. A kick sent her sprawling backwards against the throne, and the back of her head smacked against on the arms. The results? An applause from the "guests", and a costumed Leann that sank to the ground on her knees, her chained hands raised up and over her bowed head to clutch at her newest injury. She had not made a single sound, aside from the jingling of her bells.

After that, the "guests" returned to their chatting until the boss himself arrived. He entered, "fashionably late", a martini in his hand and a satisfied grin on his face. This prompted another bit of applause from the "guests" that continued until MV took his assigned seat. With a quick motion, he downed his drink and promptly shattered the glass on Lee's extended right elbow, giving her a nice set of minor lacerations and severing one of the strings connecting that sleeve.

"Let the entertainment begin!" he announced, indicating that they were now "in session." As he settled into his chair, he reached down and pulled back on Lee's braids, forcing her eyes to fall on the assembled victims. This was quite deliberate - he forced her to look directly at Kaien. Oddly, her expression was almost identical to the last one Kaien had seen in the medical ward.

[Kaien Tsubakuro]

There was a persistent ripple of agitation amongst the chained. The more the room started filling the paler three of them became – novices when it came to being tortured. A veteran, pale skinned for being underground so long, did nothing but stare blankly at the ground like a defeated rat knowing there was no way to avoid punishment. The fifth was, for the moment, severely engrossed in admiring his arms, chained as they were, wiggling his fingers experimentally. Some form of dull wonderment was in his eyes and he appeared, for a moment in the din of voices and emotion, actually happy. Kaien, sat directly next to him, couldn’t help but notice through his scrutiny of those present before him. The mutant’s behavior was a mirror of Farin’s so the crimson eyed man could only assume the mutant was some form of natural oddity normally.

The discussion about pinning Kaien against Lee arrested his attention briefly. Everything they said angered him and when he was vaguely pointed at he glared. Wise was not the best descriptor to apply to him. The near blackout that followed the scuffle in the hallway made him direct his attention to the entrance. The sight of Leann wasn’t surprising even though her state of dress was impressively striving to offer fan service. Kaien stared at her handler in a way that gave new meaning to the phrase “if looks could kill,” though why this man irritated him most from those present was to be debated later.

MV’s arrival prompted the peak of agitation within the ranks of the to-be-tortured. Not even the veteran was without emotion In his eyes, in his case a quiet, manic terror that had long stopped being vocal. Kaien’s heart was in this throat and a pit of dread was quickly deepening in his stomach, but whatever panic he felt was quickly overridden by sheer rage. In his eyes, the desire to rip MV to shreds using his bare hands was much too plain. When the overly-smug and remorseless man disposed of his glass by shattering it against Lee’s elbow Kaien clenched his jaw, tightly enough that the tendons stood out on his neck.

Lee was forced to look at them, at him, and that unguarded questioning gaze she’d shown before made him jerk his own gaze away and to the side - a mistake in retrospect because it was exactly this sort of response that would invite more such treatment in future. Behind them, the performing torturer, dressed in a suit that very much resembled a circus conductor, entered the stage, fully equipped with a black whip whose hold was decorated in brightly colored feathers. There was an airy *whap* displayed, the entertainer testing out his instrument, and some welcoming applause to which he promptly bowed, other hand behind his back.

The air inside the disciplinary room was thick with anticipation, the deliciousness of what was about to happen already a scent in the atmosphere amongst the paying spectators and MV. Although some felt they would be greatly more entertained by actual battle like in the arena, no one could complain about a change of show. As such, when the whipping began they enjoyed appetizers from the various platters already on distribution in the arms of serving girls who wore costumes similar to Lee’s, though not quite as intricate. The flesh slaps erupted in a flurry of blows alongside musical accompaniment, in this case Vivaldi’s Storm, in perhaps the greatest mockery of use for the brilliant composer’s work. The light in the room started flickering to the melody as well to add extra artistic drama to the grunts, moans and screams ensuing from the chained who shuddered, shook and trashed from the pain.

Droplets of blood splotched onto the spiky pebbles during the whipping aria and throughout it Kaien tensed and clenched his fists powerfully, his eyes closed with head bowed to the ground in visible pain. After two conductions the first act was over and the light in the room popped to a normal state of illumination. The “performer” bowed to a fresh wave of applause that drowned the whimpers in the freshly whipped, smiling gleefully and then moved, with some flair in his step, to the instruments palette. From it, he selected two metal rods, one for each hand and displayed them theatrically to the gathered. Their tips were in the shape of livestock branding stamps and the brand they had was mockingbirds.

A long-dress wearing assistant of sorts entered the “stage” then on the tune of a new song. Her vaporous presence was perfectly timed to the intro and her appearance was that of a damsel specter that walked with a pace so soft and elegant it gave the impression she was weightless. She had long brown hair arranged in wind-blown curls and her eyes bore the empty look of a doll. Whether she was an excellent actress or actually a numb denizen of MV’s collection few in the room knew for sure. Six candles on supports were on a tray in her arms and she placed one beside each chained individual as she wove around them, turning with her brilliant hair to attract quite a few stares.

When she came by Kaien, he was the only one not to look up, remarkably resistant to her magnetic presence, so she added in a touch of his chin to urge his attention up. Kaien breathed in irritation and gave her a glare, drawing some amusement from the crowd. The show continued with the nineteen year old girl’s passing by each person again, taking the flaming candle assigned to them and caressing a portion of their body with the touch of the flame. On the other side, the true performer branded a mockingbird on every person to express pain too openly. Kaien was burnt on the side of his jaw, across his shoulder and on his hand but the quietness of his suffering was impressive and he wasn’t the only one who could apparently tolerate pain to avoid more pain. Thus it was decreed that every “unsuccessful burn” would result in branding the girl with a mockingbird. This was supposed to be incentive for her to try harder.

However, when it was Kaien’s turn again, the girl was sent to pass the candle over to Lee and thus, the pink-haired girl was called onto the stage, like some volunteer for a magic show, only the one that was offering her up was MV and her opinion wasn’t called for.