"For what?" Aki murmured in response, completely unaware of anything the fellow clanmate may be implying. He looked up as the sound of someone entering the prison echoed off the walls.
Noting the sound of the prison's door, Cain sat himself back down, preparing himself. He prepped an unnerving smile, ones which only enemies became witness to. A trademark to the mental battles he fought outside of the battlefield.
In a hushed voice, he studied the footsteps of the visitor.
Akihito's smile faded slightly. "No, Cain," He whispered, "I am not who I was..." Reaching through the bars again, he spread his fingers wide and smeared the letters he'd written into an unreadable mess. "They would be disappointed."
The footsteps grew louder, and with it a voice. "-Insignious said you'd help me escort him, which I'd appreciate." It was Venge, speaking to Kahu as he walked down the halls. Chains clinked loudly over his words. The mender glanced at each of the faces he passed, stopping in front of Cain's cell after a small double take. He gave the smiling man a thoughtful look, small cogs moving in his head, before continuing forward.
"Just a routine pat-down." Venge said, referencing the usual body search and interrogation a prisoner experienced before being incarcerated for long periods. He stood before cell six, in his hands were heavy iron cuffs and a head cage- complete with scold's bridle. "With some extra precaution, naturally." The man added, staring down at Aki with a flat but hateful expression. "If you could just get these on him for me, we'll take him to the room." He said quietly, holding the bindings up to Kahu.
The guard nodded at Venge's words, quiet otherwise. He snaked his way through the corridor, somehow managing to give a look at each of the inmates he passed. Cain was given not a stare longer than any other prisoner, regardless of the eerie grin that caught the attention of Venge. As if he couldn't have found it any more mundane.
From his empty hands conjured a lone golden key, incredibly intricate with different details and shapes along its base-- if he hadn't twisted it into one of two locks on the door, one would assume it wasn't a key at all.
Without needing to use another key for the second lock, the cell door opened, fully revealing the radioactive form of a demon. Or something. He was certainly glowing, at the very least.
Forcing Akihito upwards with minimal pressure, and minimal resistance he brought the man's wrists up and cuffed them, gathering the "precautions" piece by piece. His key had seemingly disappeared from his hands, leaving him free to ready the inmate. When everything was eventually readied and applied, Kahu took him by the arm down to the end of the hall, allowing Venge to follow behind the two of them.
Whistles and whispers followed the group until they reached the end of the hall, separating into three different rooms which, from first glance, seemed vacant. Upon opening the soundproof door, however, revealed a sight Akihito might very well have seen sometime during his stay in hell. And if not, it eventually would be.
"Hardly uncompliant, this one."
He slightly bowed his head to the figure within the room as he hoisted the demon inside. He waited for Venge to enter before sealing off the room entirely from the rest of the jail.
Within the room sat Insignious at a wooden table. On the table was a medical station. Tiny knives, sutures, vials, funnels and a tall glass sat amongst the tools. He watched his men enter, along with the creature. The low light in the room was eerie, moths fluttering around the lanterns. "Thank you, Kahu." He said firmly, standing and nodding to his soldier.
"I'll take it from here." Venge nodded to Kahu as well, sitting at the wooden table and immediately putting together some items. The heavy door closed behind the guard, and without another word Insignious took Akihito by the bars of his head cage and smashed the demon's cranium against the stone wall. Venge winced at the loud clanging, watching the unconscious creature fall to the floor and his leader casually return to his seat. "I mean, damn, Venge." Insignious was saying, "You can't tell me you would have predicted this."
The mender shook his head, taking supplies and kneeling down onto the floor. "Certainly not. I mean what the hell is he doing here?"
"I'm asking myself the same thing. Why'd he take the kids here? Was it honestly to try and blend in? To make nice? That doesn't make any fucking sense."
"We'll figure it out, sir." Venge said, feeling Aki's arms carefully for veins. "But you're dealing with a heavy load right now. Just try and get some sleep before you have to break the news of this to everyone tomorrow." Finding a worthy specimen, the mender carefully took his knife and opened the vein. He gathered the blood through a funneled vial, all the while keeping track of the demon's pulse. After a few minutes, once he could feel the heart weakening, he expertly cleaned and sewed the small incision closed.
"Here you are, sir." With an air of pride, Venge poured the blood into Insignious' glass. The leader took the glass and raised it, a dark smile visible in the low light. "Thank you, my friend. Here's to killing every last one of those bastards in the end." With that, he drank. Venge nodded with an agreeable grin.
It seemed like only a moment had gone by and Sig was already slamming the glass down heartily. "Damn!" He said, wiping his mouth and standing. Venge took the glass, along with the rest of his supplies, and packed it into his medical bag. "I'll wake him and we'll have him right back in the cell, sir." Insignious nodded with an expression of thanks before leaving.
As he left through the soundproof door, he said quietly to Kahu, "He needs watching at all times. Demons are fucking crafty as hell. I'll spend some nights this week watching him but tonight there are things I need to do, do not leave him unwatched." Behind him, Venge was waking Aki with smelling salts.
Patiently waiting outside, one could hear a pin drop with how quiet his surroundings were. He'd had the time to wander the hall for a moment, surveying the inmates before returning to his temporary post outside the soundproof room. When Insignious finally exited after what felt like perhaps an hour or so, Kahu gave another bow of the head as he listened to orders.
"Consider it done."
He assured the leader, turning fully to the pair of stragglers as Insignious departed first. The jailor once again moved to Akihito's side, holding him up as they proceeded to return to his original holding cell. After undoing the complicated equipment from Akihito, the barred door was securely locked, leaving the demon to his lonesome inside.
Out from the corner of his eye, Kahu noted a fiery glare burning its way into his forehead. Choosing to ignore it, however, he turned face and proceeded down the hallway with his associate, only to be faced by his junior passively confronting Venge.
"I'd appreciate it if you could turn something in writing on the precautions of circumstances for the inmate in cell 6-- even if it's only for medical emergencies."
Meanwhile, Cain bit his tongue until he had the chance to speak solely to his neighbor.
"Remain vigilant. No matter how weak or unworthy you feel, keep your heart burning. You cannot disappoint when your strength has always come from inside, my friend."
"Of course, Zinnia. I appreciate your ethics." Venge said, giving her a shy smile before ducking his head and leaving through the prison door.
Akihito was sitting against the wall again, his eyes glazed and staring wide. In his ears he could hear only a high pitched ringing, shaping into inaudible words from Cain. "Wh..." He looked around in slight confusion. Where am I...? Uch, and why did his body hurt everywhere? "What..? I can't...I can't hear you.." He frowned as even his own voice sounded garbled in his ears. "I can't hear you," Aki murmured again softly, feeling the floor with his hands in bewilderment. "What is this place..?" At this point, he was muttering to himself more than anything. He traced his fingers along the cobbled stone with wide eyes like a child. The ceiling was spinning and the flicker of the lanterns in the hall looked like fire spirits. He laughed, crying a little as his throat seared with pain, then laughed again.
