Prison Guard Duty [M]

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I stood outside of the big building with a somewhat anxious expression upon my face.

An alignment of my features that, thankfully, my more diminutive companion could not perceive; for as I bit my lip and my brows hung low over my eyes, I was staring with my chin quite a good angle towards the sky, which positively prevented Isabella from viewing it at all. For I did not want her to see.

As my green eyes scanned the stony, rather grim expanse of the prison, slightly alike to the architecture of the Takikage's Tower, battlements unmanned but foreboding, I held what was not really a secret, but a nugget of information that I did not want to share. For this was not exactly my first visit to the Prison of Takigakure; in fact, it was far from it... four? Well, this would make the fifth. The only difference was that this time, I was here as a visitor, and not as a hostage. It was a bit of a weird feeling, but mainly I was just nervous; I knew how scornful of low-lives Isabella apparently was, which, as I contemplated with an accentuation of my expression, was not exactly good news for me. My heart fluttered in my chest a little; I had already dropped what I estimated was quite a ripple into the pond of... whatever relationship we held earlier today; I certainly did not want to cause another.

But these thoughts passed through my mind quickly, and my apprehension was quickly replaced with the unusually elated smile that just seemed to shine off of Isabella onto me whenever I looked at her. I had been leading us towards the place, needing no visual aide, which I realized was probably a move that would betray me, and had only really stopped then to place my hands in my pockets and gaze above. But now, I would address her.

"So..." And it occurred to me only then that I had no idea what the hell I was going to say in the first place. "You ready... I suppose?" I felt sufficient levels of comfort in her presence to chuckle, then, at my own inadequacy... Which was also weird. Very weird.

The yawning black mouth that had swallowed many a ruffian whole - in other words, the entrance - was manned either side by what appeared to be a duo of the apparently endless supply of AnBu, who stood with an uncompromising and robotic sense of duty that had always irked me. I did not want to approach them much, as I displayed clearly with an almost nauseated grimace, but realized that, yeah, I would probably fuckin' have to. Ugh.[/ul][/justify]

[The Roar of the Falls]

Jesus Christ they had been walking forever! Maybe it had just been the fact Kaoru hadn't said a word to her, but Isabella was already ready to complain for some odd reason. She hadn't really slept well since her and Kaoru's tussle with those pitiful wastes of organic material who dared to call themselves human, in fact the haunting visage of her partners rage twisted features an eye opener to the deeper recesses of just what Kaoru's was capable of. It didn't scare her it was just...surprising?

"Kaoru...i'm glad you know your way around town, because I would never have found this place." She mumbled, shading her eyes against the sun as she attempted to look up at the towering giant that was Kaoru. It had just occurred to her that Placing Kaoru in a prison full of rowdy, bullheaded and potentially violent low lives on top of the fact she had..uhm...anger issues, that was potentially a very very bad mixture.

She wasnt going to bring that up though, she had saved her life back in those outskirts of Taki from that devil of a man and owed her life to Kaoru, who was she to condescend to her? "Regardless...I am so sleepy it's unreal." A loud yawn and a few stretches made her point as she rubbed one of her mirror like blue eyes, the melody arm attached to her arm rough on her skin. "And if I have to repeat myself to one of these degenerates about staying quiet, I may be the one who needs holding back."

An irritable set to her features, Isabella trekked along behind Kaoru until the prison loomed into view, looking up at her to answer the question. "I'm about as ready as i'll ever be...my first time in a correctional institute of any kind..."

[Deleted]

[/i]; but I did not. I hoped it wasn't for selfish reasons that I did not, for of course if she went home she would not be around me; I told myself, instead, that such pampering was unnecessary and would possibly have been offensive to her.

So it was simply that I, instead, compromised by simply sticking close to her, protectively, hopefully somewhat comfortingly, though I did my very best not to invade her space too much. It was a delicate balance in a field that I had very little experience in, and I may well have failed in it; I attempted to toe this line all the way up to the front gate, in which I did not so much lead Isabella as sort of drift along to her pace, but I would always be ahead, and I would do the talking to the masked creatures, however much of an unpleasant task that was.

"We've been assigned to guard the prison while the warden's about." I stated, and behind his false visage the AnBu simply turned to me and held out a hand, to which I frowned and resurrected my own permits from my coat, and looked to Isabella to do the same; it would have been up to her whether she handed them in herself or if I was to do it for her; I made it clear via my body language that I was more than willing to provide for her if she was truly as exhausted as she seemed.

This business concluded smoothly, I would turn once more to Isabella and, evidently with a somewhat awkward pause, was about to ask her if she needed any help, but short of carrying her I could hardly think of any way to, so I simply stepped aside with a small smile and gestured for her to precede me, saying only, "I'll be right behind you." With another smile. It was a bit of a useless action, but I could not have simply let the pause drop as though it were nothing, now could I?

...I needed to get better at this shit. Seriously.[/ul][/justify]

[The Roar of the Falls]

Isabella rifled through her things, procuring the mission slip and handing it to anbu on duty. As he took the papers she stared into the blank mask with primal intensity, so hot and raw it would have set the mask aflame. The silence was palpable but finally she smiled softly and withdrew her hand from the papers, nodding her head slightly. "You all are doing a wonderful job, we are lucky to have capable shinobi like yourselves."

She looked over to Kaoru, raising a brow at her uneasy posture and the air of apprehension about her. "Let's go Kaoru, we have a bunch of inmates to quell." She gestured with her head towards the hallway past the doors, shooting another look at the anbu before continuing on. For some reason, ever since she had been addressed by the AnBu in the kage tower about using jutsu without permission, she disliked their secrecy.

The hallways were so plain and bland it made her head pound, the bright pale green and blue clashing into a world of reflective colors. "Kaoru, this place is huge." She said in awe, passing down another hall that had barred windows which in turn looked out to the courtyard that held the 'recreational' area for the inmates to exercise. Several looked at her and she could feel their eyes stripping away her clothing like some sort of sadistic masochist turned master.

"I want just one of them to step out of line, they will learn the meaning of cruel justice." She mumbled aloud, shooting a sneer at one of the onlooking men who, in turn, winked and licked his lips. "Sickening pigs..."

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[/b] Isabella remarked, gazing up and around at the spacious walls and ceilings. I nodded with a low, affirming and slightly distracted noise, not wanting to say too much. I was flanking her fairly closely; this whole place had an air of foreboding and danger, which caused me to gravitate closer towards her. It was only when they reached the bowels that the open areas within the structure, the inmates able to walk right up to the walls, that I began to grow angry. Since I was taller than most of them they hardly dared to look my way - simple people such as them tended to abide by such basic fears - but they had no such qualms with looking over Isabella with varying degrees of the most terrible, greasy lust that brought a snarl to my face that was more than equally menacing. I even had the animalism to growl at a few, and were I not in Isabella's presence - which was sort of a paradox in this case but whatever - I would surely have just gone right up to the bars and beaten their faces into them, perhaps opening up some of their skulls... the thought was quite inviting...

But I managed to resist, simply placing myself to the left of Isabella, where all the inmates seemed to stand, perhaps due to some sort of schedule or another, blocking her partially from view. Oh, how I would have just loved to kill them for the looks they were giving her...

"I want just one of them to step out of line, they will learn the meaning of cruel justice." Isabella stated, with considerable contempt. I growled my assent. "Just say the word. Just say the fucking word." I replied, through clenched teeth. I didn't even care if I came off as overly defensive. Right now I would take on the whole fucking building full of shitheads if she gave me leave to.

"Sickening pigs..."
"Fuckheads."

We said, in perfect unison.

As we reached the end of the corridor, we were greeted by rather magnificent double doors, with twin passages extending outward sideways. Two more AnBu guards stood sentry at the doors; evidently whatever lay beyond the doors was important. Some sort of grand hall, and most definitely where this fabled warden would be residing. The AnBu, unusually, spoke first as I stopped before them; the one on my left.

"We have received word of who you are. You are not to enter or see the warden at any point during your visit, you may only guard the lower levels where the higher security level prisoners are held, as is customary during such meetings." What was evidently a female of the secretive society stated. I scowled at this, and was tempted to argue, but figured it probably wasn't worth the trouble. "Which way are we supposed to go, then?" I asked somewhat curtly. The masked figure simply pointed to her right. "Down that corridor and turn to your first left; the lower level prisons will be the farthest down." She instructed and after a final and grudging growl I looked toward Isabella, always waiting on her preferences, it seemed.

"You good to go? Sure you don't want to sit this one out?" I asked gently, referring to her condition and, hopefully less obviously, the attention she was consistently attracting from the inmates.[/ul][/justify]

[The Roar of the Falls]

Another pair of masked sentries greeted them, their stoic silence a marker for their presence in the already silent room. That feeling of static, of the presence of someone else in the room with you was even suppressed by whatever latent abilities they were taught as anbu, and that was just one more reason for her to be put off by their presence. It was one thing to be legalized bodyguards and assassin's but anBu could cross lines and blur reasoning in a way that made her sick.

They, or rather she the Anbu to the left, pointed down the corridor of the next level to the prison. Even as she went to open her mouth, politely this time, the Anbu cut her off, already answering her question before she had a chance to voice it.

No seeing the Warden. Wonderful.

"Tsh." She chided, looking towards the flight of stairs that would probably lead to the warden. "I am alright Kaoru, let's just get this mission over with so we can move on." She sighed deeply and turned towards the hallway, her first steps finally leading her into a real life prison. Would the inmates be more behaved than the bandits they had fought?

[Deleted]

[/b] Isabella assured me, and though I was not entirely convinced that she was fit for such an activity nor that I wanted her to receive any more sickening welcomes from the inmates, I let it be, simply glancing a knife at each one of the AnBu before I followed in her wake; at this point in time anything outside her was a threat and it annoyed me.

The stone corridor was long, but we soon came to a rather daunting descent of wide, wooden steps further into darkness, which with only a moment of hesitation from me, we descended. The further Isabella trod, the more convinced I became that she shouldn't be here. This sort of lowly establishment, fit only to house the scum of humanity - such as myself, a small and malicious voice in the back of my mind noted with a chuckle - and not far more resplendent beings such as herself. I sort of wished I could be at every angle of her at once, just so she was more protected, more screened from the place. It wasn't any more than she deserved.

The stairs opened up into a completely underground room with multiple stories; the first layer that we emerged onto was held above, looking out across quite the valley of prisoners, residing within the respective sides of the room on two separate levels; from this distance I could hardly discern their features, and vice versa, or so I hoped, but their numbers were quite large, and it was more than a little daunting. I'd only ever been down here once, but back then it had seemed so much less... foreign. So much more like I belonged with these people. Now the way they clutched at their bars, the way they gazed at our arrival with such a hatred and what was either lust for escape or blood simply made me grimace. It wasn't exactly a pretty sight.

We were not alone within the room; two guards, their clear visages showing they were not, in fact, AnBu, but dressed in simply grey cloaks, stood at either side of the raised platform, while another six, evidently having descended the twin flights of stairs at either side of the plateau, were patrolling up and down the corridors. Spotting us, one of the guardsmen approached and heralded us with a solemn hand and expression. He did possess what appeared to be a simple baton at his hip, but immediately I gained that he was not an incredibly competent fighter; it was just evident in the way he stood... though I supposed it could be something that could be quite craftily hidden.

"Welcome; I expect you are two of the shinobi that were requested. You are here, of course, because the warden is arriving for a meeting, and will later be personally examining the state of the prison as a whole. We do not, of course, expect that there will be any breaking loose of any kind; but your being here may serve as a warning to all of them not to grow too overconfident." He explained with quite the monotone. He then indicated a rather broad bench that sat more towards the corner, which seemed to be sporting some simple, if not exactly grungy food. "You may sit; the warden is not expected to survey this area for at least an hour or so."

And with that, he nodded, bowed slightly, and moved back to where he had stood before with a grave sense of duty. All I had really done during this addressing was cock my eyebrow at certain points. "And here I was thinking there'd be some sort of violent riot we'd have to sort out. Sounds like we've basically got nothing to do at all." I stated, with a slight edge of disappointment. "In any case," I then addressed Isabella, "You should sit down; you look like you need it." I said somewhat teasingly, though I did feel as though perhaps that the joke had been a little harsh.

I supposed that in a way just being able to lax around as symbols of seriousness would be fairly cool, but at the same time I had really hoped that I would have at least gotten to take on a good quarter of the fellows below. Though, I then supposed that only time would tell, with the smallest semblance of a grin, as I moved over to the timber bench to sit down.[/ul][/justify]

[The Roar of the Falls]

The hallways was long, damp and cold which only served to give the prison a sense of foreboding and mystique. That in some sort of way helped only to make her skin crawl, it was a strange combination of feelings that set her on edge until finally....sunlight! More eager than ever, she pushed open the door in to the main cell block and came out to see the individual cells of all the inmates, their eyes and hands aching for just one caress of their flesh.

"Sickening." She mumbled aloud, plastering on a polite smile as one of the guards who patrolled this cellblock, came over and greeted them both rather dismissively. HE ran them through an introduction of what they were expected to do and what their exact purpose in being there in the prison was. "So I assume they get rowdy every time something like this happens?" She said quietly, casting around a quick eye. "Dont worry, they wont today, I assure you of that."

With one last gesture he invited them to take a seat until the warden arrive but she politely declined. "No thank you, if the warden in diligent he will show up early, and i dont think he would like to see the people he hired sitting down before they even attempted any work." She swiveled her eye around to Kaoru who suggested she take the seat and chuckled. "I think you're just scared I will outshine you, aha no worries we're a team." She bumped her with her shoulder, which again, served to only mak her stumble back. "Ugh, I need to work on that."

[Deleted]

[/b] Isabella said jokingly; I was glad to see she retained at least some of her usual light manner, in contrast to my dark and angry demeanor, which I reckoned was a strange sort of balance between us... which was nice. She bumped me again, and I was this close to placing a hand on her shoulder or something to steady her before she righted herself, with a, "Ugh, I need to work on that." I grinned. "Need to work on not doing it, more like." I said with a tauntingly superior smile.

Then my mind swiftly returned to business; I would have liked to sit down, but I wanted to at least maintain the standard Isabella set, so I sufficed to simply stand by her side and look out over the cells, a memory flooding back to me fairly clearly. I'd been dragged through that earthy, dusted center-line, shouting expletives and doing my best to break free more than once; as I clearly visualized it, the recollection almost replacing reality in my eye, I grimaced in disgust and uncertainty. Was I really so changed from how I was then? Would I act any differently? Would I not commit the bloody beating I had to wind up there? I hoped I would not, I hoped I was different; but I really could not be sure.

I hardly expected the warden dude to arrive before time; such dignified - which was a polite way of saying 'snobby' - officials tended to arrive either precisely on time or 'fashionably late', it seemed, depending on their respective levels of assholery. At least when I didn't show up on time I had the decency to be genuinely begrudging about turning up at all. So, it looked like I would be standing up for a good long while, just standing next to Isabella. That wasn't so bad, I supposed, slipping my hands into my pockets with a sigh, watching the soldier's dejected and harassed patrols below with some amusement. How vehemently some grasped at the air before the guards, how little the guards seemed to care.

Looking down upon this scene, I was gathering myself; there was something that needed to be said, and it was probably better I was the one to reveal it, as opposed to some dirtied crony who had seen the same walls for years on end. I took a deep breath and, not looking at her at all, I managed only, "Hey, Isabel-" Before a loud, business-like tapping rang down the steps behind us, and I too-eagerly turned to welcome the noise.

It seemed the manager of the facility was more diligent and perhaps less of a knob than I had given him credit for; he was, indeed, early to the scene, flanked by two more grey-cloaks, stomping down the steps into view in a great heavy rust-colored armor, more ceremonial than anything, with a rather old-style helmet and visor covering his face. He looked decidedly ominous as he clanked towards us, but that was only until he stopped and raised the visor from his face. He was immediately and evidently old, with grey streaks of hair visible from inside his helmet, and ...'wise' skin. However, it was worth noting that he was still suited in metal, if it were token metal, and was also quite tall, able to stare me straight in the eye, and not waver at that.

"You two are the shinobi, correct?" He said in an old, gravel-like voice that still managed to sound commanding. I nodded, and he continued smoothly. "You are to be my dignitaries as I descend; I do not want any of these filthy hooligans laying a hand on me." He stated simply, and without waiting for a confirmation he strolled off to the left towards one of the staircases. Glancing at Isabella with a rather massive shrug, I hurriedly walked to catch up with him and stood even behind the two grey-cloaks who followed him to the step.

As he reached the bottom, he turned, and, noticing this, shook his head vehemently. He waved the soldiers away and waved us in. "You are to be at my back." He stated, and then, pulling his visor down once more, he walked out into the middle lane between the cells with complete confidence.

I clenched my teeth as I followed after him. I wondered what the reaction to his appearance would be like, but I knew two details for certain; it would not be kind, and it would not be quiet.[/ul][/justify]

[The Roar of the Falls]

Kaoru seemed to have coem to the same conclusion as Isabella, standing around to wait for the Warden of the prison, as it seemed only the correct and polite thing to do. It was so oddly quiet, despite the meandering guard and the whooping calls from the inmates, that Isabella was almost tempted to create some ruckus herself just to have something to do. Kaoru's snide comment about 'just stopping' made her smile as she shot her a playful glare, pointing a warning finger at her as she looked at her from the side of her eye.

These was nothing but companionable silence between them at after that, simple, reassuring, silence. Isabella brushed back her hair, her wide eyes surveying the condition of this level of confinement. It was rather well taken care of, dirty albeit, but sturdy and solid all the same. Nodding slightly as she went over a mental checklist of things she herself would have done with the place, maybe a dark tone dye for the cement, better ventilation considering the mildew smell was a little overwhelming and....regulated shower schedules for the guards...they reeked of sweat and whatever other cohesive odors they had collected during their shifts.

Kaoru as said her name, and as she whirled around o see what she needed, a loud clanking noise marked the appearance of the warden. Decked out in a full gaudy body armor suit, he approached them with a steady pace and as the helmet visor retracted and the old man looked out at them she was rather astonished. "even at this age he sees over such a place, so much diligence." She thought to herself, nodding appropriately as he ran through the concentrated version of what he expected and what they would do.

The two guardsmen who had followed in behind him, hidden it seemed by the mere presence of the warden, were waved back as he opened the doors to the prison hall and looked back at them with that regal swagger only a cocksure braggart could. "In we go." She whispered to Kaoru, a deep breath marking her first step after the warden.

[Deleted]

[/b]
"...'Yup."

Entering out into the cell-block proper, it took only moments for the cries to become uproarious; oh, they recognized the dude alright, and they weren't exactly happy to see him. As I glared to either side of me at the walls of raucously shouting faces I retrieved my cestus from my coat and gloved them with a grimness, flanking the warden securely as I was. He did not seem abashed at all, seemingly oblivious to their cries as he cast his gaze over them, before he strolled casually to the left wall, where the sea of locked prisoners awaited him.

I growled menacingly at some particularly eager bastards as the warden moved a little too close to the wall and paused to examine it, tracing a finger vertically along its stony expanse, utterly calm and collected. In the din, my animal instincts began to flare and stir within me; a snarl grew up my face, and my eyes began to blaze. I moved dangerously close to the bars, a few prisoners grasping towards me, but I completely ignored their pesky hands, beating them away contemptuously before growling right in their faces. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

All this noise just made me want to hit something. The warden strolled past, and angrily I followed him, but I was barely able to suppress my anger. My god, what I wouldn't give for them to just shut their loud fucking mouths. Let them loose, I'd beat every one into the ground.

It was as they began to truly take notice of me, however, that some of them did something that snapped me.

"Oi, you!" "Ey, girly, I remember you!" "So high and mighty now you're out, ain't you just?!" "Hey, it's that redhead chick!" "KAORU, THE FUCK YOU DOING OUT THERE?!"

These increasingly prominent chants made me stop. Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. Oh FUCK. NO. I looked towards them wide-eyed and somewhat afraid - even the warden had paused in his purposeful stride to glance curiously at me. As I looked back, I saw that all eight guards were now behind us, and they, too, looked somewhat surprised and perplexed. They didn't know me from when I was here, but evidently some of the inmates still did. Of course, this sort of attention would not have irked me in the slightest if it were not for one other factor...

Almost panting in fear and anxiety, I looked down at her with a terribly ashamed and concerned look upon my face. Their cries were growing now as more of them picked up the chant; all of them even vaguely nearby were chanting my name, or some form of expletive as a nice euphemism - I had to admit, I'd forgotten just how many feathers I'd ruffled. But that was not important right now. As I looked towards her mirror-like eyes, I felt only one thing from only one source; terror. I tried to say something, but I could not. She was just so much better than this, I realized. Better than me, who belonged in a shithole like this.

"I... Isabella, I..." Was all I could manage, but within the raucous, the thickened, stifling noise, I almost broke down. As it was I had to bite my lip, and she hadn't even fucking reacted yet.[/ul][/justify]

[The Roar of the Falls]

They had descended into madness, an enigma thrown into a frenzy at the sight of the Warden...and then if even possible the noise level increased drastically as one inmate pounded on the bars, an accusing finger pointed at Kaoru as if he knew her.

"Oi, you!" "Ey, girly, I remember you!" "So high and mighty now you're out, ain't you just?!" "Hey, it's that redhead chick!" "KAORU, THE FUCK YOU DOING OUT THERE?!"

Isabella's head snapped in the direction of the statement, a snarl ready to tear from her as she was ready to spit pure acid with her rebuttal. "I have never be----" She started but soon trailed off as she listened to the description of a red head and then that name...

Kaoru.

The prison went wild at this, the ringing of bars and shouts from the foul mouths of the unwashed mouths of all the captives all vying to get their precious two cents in. Some shouted death threats and, given the chance, shouted in excessive detail just how they would exact this so called revenge. Others were on a much more lewd side, catcalling and groping at Kaoru which honestly Isabella expected Kaoru to lash out, but as she turned her eyes met with Kaoru's and instead of anger so saw....freight.

"I... Isabella, I..." She stuttered as Isabella could almost see the tears well up in her eyes. So much sorrow packed behind that freighted mask plastered on Kaoru's face. It made her heart hurt seeing her so vulnerable and scared, so out of place as if some wormhole had just dumped her there completely at random. She just tripped over her words, panting and gasping as if the prison had become this airtight deathtrap and all the oxygen had finally ran out.

It was....Infuriating.

Isabella wheeled around silently, seething anger as she put herself between the warden and Kaoru as she did possibly the fastest set of seals in her life. A near audible thrum emitted from her body as she set her sights on the reaching and groping hands of the inmates, before letting out a concussive scream. It shook the dust from the ceilings and rattled the expanse of the room, so potent so raw with anger and emotion even the bars of the prison cells cringed in on themselves, caving in towards the inmates as if to retreat from the sound.

It seemed to go on forever, but indeed it was just a matter of seconds, as fast as it happened it was over and the room was completely silent. Grown men fell over themselves as her eyes swept over them, her eyes stripping away their respective armor as if it were made of paper mâché. Some broke the silence with groans of pains and too loud cries of 'what' as most if not everyone was near deaf or had ringing ears in her front arc. Finally with everyone attention she amplified her voice several folds, making sure no one could claim they didnt hear her.

"Now you listen to me you scum." She snarled, the sounds echoing off the brick walls. "Kaoru is nothing like any of you, not you, nor you or any of you!" She jabbed her finger to accentuate her word as she continued. "If she ever was in here, she made it out, change, and now SHE is the out and now watching over YOUR sorry asses. She has made something of herself, and the lot of you who know her and are still here, prove my point exactly. Scum, all of you. You deserve to rot in here." She growled the ending words of her sentence as she dared someone, anyone to question her.

She turned back to Kaoru without hesitation, all fury and anger absent from her face as she reached up, with a little difficulty, and cupped her face in her hands, a tiny smile present on her face. "It's fine, your past is your past. You're a great ninja, and I am honored to have you as a teammate." She whispered softly to keep the moment between them, her wide blue eyes boring into Kaoru's.

[Deleted]

[/i]. A hellish burst of noise, all fury and absolute exasperation, ripped from somewhere nearby, thudding off of even the high walls and tearing up dust and dirt and grime, drowning out the other voices the instant it arrived; as I dared open my eyes against the rush of particle matter I saw that it, of course, originated from Isabella; it was a noise of such anger that I so desperately, with every fiber of my being, was not directed at me. I bent double as it thudded in my ears, falling to the floor onto my knees, where I could only clasp my hands more firmly to my ears, just hoping the sound would end, but dreading the aftermath of it even more than the noise itself...

Finally, it died. The scream echoed away into nothingness, and only then was I truly able to open my eyes and look up at her, my body aching with the force of the sound. It was only through a clear magnification of her voice that I could hear her at all... but she was not talking to me. She was talking to all of them...

"Kaoru is nothing like any of you, not you, nor you or any of you! If she ever was in here, she made it out, change, and now SHE is the out and now watching over YOUR sorry asses. She has made something of herself, and the lot of you who know her and are still here, prove my point exactly. Scum, all of you. You deserve to rot in here."

As my peripheral vision picked up that their bars had caved in, their bodies had crumpled to the floors, my eyes could only seem to direct themselves at her. I dared then to remove my hands from my ears, my breathing steadying only minutely, my sorrow bleached away by stunned amazement and disbelief... Nope, I still couldn't talk, could hardly move even, but she did not seem to be done. She turned to me, and the kindness that I saw in her beautiful eyes was all I needed; relief, my body registered, and suddenly my breath came evenly, my shock dissolving into only speechlessness. She moved to me, and placed her hands to my cheeks, my body suddenly deciding it had a sense of touch again as I was aware of the ground my legs were pressed against, my whole form no longer numb, no longer completely absorbed into my terrified mind and heart; and I could safely say that the electricity her hands shot through my skin caused me to blush, even if only slightly, for the first time in god even knows how long.

"It's fine, your past is your past. You're a great ninja, and I am honored to have you as a teammate." She declared with a tiny smile that looked to me to be the warmest thing I had ever seen.

Well, shit, now I was probably going to cry again, wasn't I just. My face also decided it could move, and I immediately bit my lip, my eyes seeming composed, perhaps, or more so than before, but a lump rising in my throat that was no longer sad, only so grateful, so relieved, so happy that it instead would cause me tears. I managed, however, to swallow it down. I could not move much other than that, though; for a long moment all I could do was gaze into her eyes, but then, as I searched for words about the ground, unable to find any, I think that was about when my animalistic instincts kicked in.

I realized, then, that the spotlight was on me, even without seeing; that they were all still staring at me, that I was breaking down. I was so weak, then, so vulnerable, so emotional; three things that had been drilled into me that were wrong just by my lifestyle itself. I wanted to grow angry, then, and small sparks of flame slowly began to flit inside my heart, my head, sparks that eagerly looked for any kindling in anger or hatred that I felt, which was certainly a fuckton. I just wanted it all to go away... just to fuck them all up and run, which had always worked for me in the past. To just detonate, to forsake giving a shit, to become that terrible monster just to escape...

...But that... was weakness.

I knew what to do, then. I looked back up at Isabella, and, with very little inflection as to what I was going to do, I simply rose up and, quite simply, hugged her. It was not as crushing a hug as I could have produced, certainly, but it was certainly full of the gratitude that I had been unable to express in words. Oh, wait, there was one... or two. "Thank you." I said in that same low tone, just infinitely grateful, really, but spoken softly, somehow.

After a few moments, though, it was difficult not to remember that a small pocket of the universe had not been created just for the two of us, and that the world outside still existed, the prisoners beginning to growl and groan as they found their strength, the dust settling. I knew I had to break away from her, even though I probably could have just existed in that closeness till I died. I pulled myself back and sufficed only to look into her eyes once again with a mirror of that small smile, even as my eyes were still moist from mushy emotions so strong that not even I could not fully suppress them.

I let her go, and, wiping my face with a single brush of my cloak's sleeve, I turned back to the warden, who was still staring, my face returned completely to composure, almost as though nothing had ever occurred. "...Carry on." I said simply, my somewhat deadpan face revealing no emotion whatsoever. His glare reflected back for several long moments, before he simply nodded, turned, and walked off to continue the examination, even as the inmates lay around weak, the bars pressed inward. His solemn manner seemed to be able to ignore it all.

And from there on in, I could stand it all. Easily, even. The day continued quite easily for me, my mind and heart at peace as I flanked the guy with Isabella at my side. In fact, I rather thought I could have done most anything in such a state. I attempted not to betray any of the way my heart still reverberated with just how touched I'd been, attempting to seem, not quite insincerely, happy all the rest of the day, wherever we went, wherever we were ordered to stand, till we were told our duties were completed, till we were allowed to leave.

I could do all that. With her there, that was fine by me. It was a better existence - she was a better person - than I reckoned I ever could have hoped for or ever really deserved. [/ul][/justify]

[Exit]

[The Roar of the Falls]

Kaoru finally reacted, and with a swift, oddly gentle hug, she whispered a quick thank you. The moments after she simply took to collect and compose herself and even gave the warden a stiff look as if nothing had happened. Maybe she had embarrassed her just a tad? If so Kaoru didnt show any sign of it, simply strolling through the mission with the same ease she had in approaching the gate.

As they finally ended the mission Isabella took a private moment with the warden, whispering softly. "I will pay for the damage if need be." With that she turned and followed Kaoru out.

[exit]