Chapter Text
✦
“You should take a picture, dearie. It’ll last longer.”
Ei quickly averted her gaze, eyes escaping the woman’s amused stare.
“I don’t mind the staring, but at least get to know me first.”
Her face was aflame. “I wasn’t staring. I was just examining the sturdiness of the iron bars.”
“Excuses, excuses,” Yae tsked. “Really, my dear, you should just talk to me if you’re feeling lonely.”
“Even if I was feeling lonely—which I’m not,” Ei bit out. “I wouldn’t talk to you.”
“Ah, but you are talking to me now.” Yae smirked. “Let’s get to know each other.”
“We aren’t friends.”
“Not yet, we aren’t. How about this, I’ll tell you something about myself, and you’ll divulge a little information about yourself in return. It can be something simple, like where you grew up.”
Ei raised a brow. Yae smiled, eyes creased into crescents.
“My favorite food is fried tofu and udon—a match made in heaven,” the pink-haired woman said first.
After a few beats of silence, Ei spoke, “Mine is dango milk.”
“I never would’ve expected you to have a preponderance of desserts.”
“They’re simply the best meal of the day.”
Yae’s eyes lit up. “Are you perhaps the prison guard that suggested dessert to be served twice a day?”
Ei flinched—she stood stock still.
“Word gets around, dearie. It seems your suggestion was quite popular with the inmates.”
“The prison guards eat the same meals as the inmates. I would’ve benefited as well.”
“Again, you really are quite cute.”
Ei flushed bright red at the remark. She scoffed, then turned away.
Yae smiled at the gesture.
✦
“How did you become a prison guard?”
“How did you become a prisoner?” Ei asked in turn.
“Fair enough, my dear. My story’s quite a sad one, though. Are you sure you want to listen?”
Ei nodded.
“Well, I enacted revenge against the man who most definitely deserved it. The other hundred or so people who died were just the aftermath.”
“Hundred?” Ei balked at the number.
“Poison in the wine; a slow-acting one at that. No one knew of it till the first one dropped dead. They—they also deserved it.”
For the first time, Yae looked serious.
“Do you…” Ei looked for the words, “feel guilty?”
“For those people and for him?” Yae said solemnly, the slightest melancholic sheen reflecting in deep purple eyes, “I do not; never in a million years.”
✦
“I like the color purple.”
Ei decided to respond, “Why is that?”
“Well, my dear, it’s because purple is the color of your hair, your eyes—”
Heat crept up her neck, and the blush spread to her cheeks. “You can stop the pointless flattery; it’ll get you nowhere,” she muttered.
Yae said with a languid smile, “But it’s not flattery if it’s true.”
Ei shook her head; Yae laughed at the motion. “I want to know the real reason.”
“Why can’t it just be that I like the color purple?”
“You wouldn’t have brought it up if there wasn’t a story behind it,” Ei pointed out.
“The story isn’t that interesting; it’s just personal preference,” Yae said simply. “But since you’re asking so nicely, it’s because the color reminds me of my mother’s eyes. What about you?”
Ei blinked at the answer. “Pink’s my favorite.”
“And do you have a story behind that one?”
“No… it’s just that someone dear to me liked that color.”
Yae sensed the trepidation in her answer. “I suppose we all had someone dear to us.”
“I guess.”
✦
“Did you know that my name was once Kalmia?”
“… No.”
Yae hummed, then continued, “It was my new name. All of the other girls were given names based on flowers, myself included. Mine was chosen because my hair was as pink as a Kalmia flower, and just as pretty.”
Ei asked quietly, “The other girls?”
“We were trafficked—human trafficking.”
Ei stayed silent at the admission.
“We were easy targets; nobody cared about the thousands of refugees from the war going missing.”
“You… were a refugee?”
“Haven’t you heard the rumors?”
“I don’t pay attention to useless idle chatter,” Ei said resolutely.
“How righteous of you,” Yae uttered.
“It’s common sense.”
Yae laughed. “What a simple world view. I wish that others would also adopt that philosophy.”
Yae’s deep purple eyes darkened; she spoke again, “Kalmia was a strangely fitting name, though. After all… that specific type of flower is poisonous.” She laughed mirthlessly. “And I fought back.”
“I-I’m sorry,” Ei said, words escaping her.
“Oh, you shouldn’t be, my dear. It wasn’t your fault that it happened. Besides, I find it comforting that my true name has finally been returned to me.” Yae paused, then murmured, “The name Kalmia leaves a bitter taste on my tongue.”
✦
“My sister was better with people than me.”
“You have a sister?” Yae tilted her head.
“Yes, a twin sister; her name was Makoto. She was kind and gentle and made pleasant conversation—she made the best sweets. Makoto brought out the best in people, even those that didn’t deserve her.”
“I notice that you are using past tense.”
Ei tightened her jaw. “She died, and then I got a job here.”
“How…” Yae asked gently, “how did it happen?”
“An illness. I thought that she would survive… and then she didn’t. Nobody—nobody expected her to…”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to push yourself to talk about her.”
“I—” Ei struggled to find the words. “I’m only bringing her up because you remind me of her.”
“Remind you?”
“It’s the talkativeness. Conversation comes easy to you.” She paused. “It came easy to her.”
“Thank you.”
Ei noticed that she didn’t use platitudes. “What for?”
“For trusting me with a memory of her.”
Ei shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
“But it isn’t,” Yae said softly. “She was important to you, and I’m grateful that you… trusted me enough to tell me about her.”
And for the first time in a long while, Ei smiled—a small, tentative smile.
✦
Ei turned to the pink-haired woman, stating, “Arms up. It's a mandatory check.”
Yae raised her arms and directed a heated stare towards the prison guard. “Don’t you have a metal scanner?”
“It’s… broken at the moment. I have to do this… manually.” Ei struggled to get the words out.
Yae’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Come on dearie. I don’t bite.”
Ei let her hands run over Yae’s slim figure, lithe fingers tracing the woman’s curves.
“You seem to be enjoying this,” she said mischievously.
“I am not,” Ei retorted—a weak one at that.
It wasn’t like she wanted to do this; it’s not her fault that the metal detector randomly broke that day. And besides, Yae Miko was being a pervert! A complete and utter pervert for having those thoughts. Ei tried her best to let her mind wander, the national anthem on loop as she glided her hands over the uniform.
As Ei finished up, Yae turned and surreptitiously pecked a small kiss on the woman’s cheek, shooting her a flirtatious wink.
Heat rose to the prison guard’s face; her body was on fire. “Y-You… that’s—that’s… no, uh, that’s—sexual harassment!” Ei reprimanded quickly.
Yae only let out a laugh at the woman’s reaction. “Please, I thought you were about to burn holes through my lips with how much you were staring at them.”
“I… well I, uh” She had no defense. She was cornered.
“Nothing wrong with enjoying the finer things in life, my dear. Including the matters of the heart.”
“I know my own heart well enough, thank you.”
“Trust me, dear, I’m an expert. I know that you like me, no matter how hard you try to deny it.”
“Keep on dreaming.”
“Right, as you’re positively drowning in denial.”
Ei broke her stare with Yae, face as red as the sunset stained skies stretched across the prison.
She did not fancy a prisoner.
Not at all.
✦
“I used to be a writer,” Yae mused.
“Really?”
“Yes, before everything happened. Published my own book and everything. Granted, it wasn’t good, I was barely sixteen, and I think the small publisher in my hometown took pity on me, but everybody was proud of me. Saw it right there in the bookstore, held it with my own two hands. And as luck, or I suppose misfortune would have it, the war caught up to our town the very next day.”
“That’s…”
Yae finished Ei’s words, “Cruel. So, so cruel.”
Ei decided to change the subject. “So… what did you write about—before the war.”
“Love, mostly. The cheesy, heart wrenching kind. The kind that’ll make you swoon.”
“I probably would’ve liked to read it. I was quite a fan of romance as a teenager.”
“You?” Yae laughed in disbelief. “Ms. So-Serious-Must-Follow-The-Rules-At-All-Times Raiden Ei, a fan of romance when you were younger?”
“It’s not that hard to believe.” Ei blushed. “I’m not heartless. I probably would’ve gotten a hand on your book if… you know.”
“And I would’ve personally signed it for you. In all honesty, however, it was horribly written. In retrospect.”
“I can’t believe you’re admitting that you have a fault.”
“I’m confident, dear, not arrogant. Still, if I were to read it now I’d hate it.” Yae sighed. “It was so naive, so childish.”
Ei murmured, “I think I would like it now.”
“And why is that?”
“It was written before your childhood was ripped away from you. Written when things were easier, I guess.”
She smiled a sad, forlorn smile. “I’m afraid that’s a very good point, dear.”
✦
Yae stayed silent as Ei dabbed the alcohol soaked cotton ball onto her wound.
“I knew you were up to trouble, but I didn’t expect you to get into a prison fight. I expected better from you.”
Yae feigned a smile. “Well, she deserved it. You should’ve seen her face… like she didn’t expect me to fight back.”
Ei let out a sign; she put down the tweezers with cotton. Picked up a bandage, peeled off the adhesive, placing it on Yae’s cheek. “Seriously, why did you get into a fight?”
“It’s simple, dear. She insulted my people, my homeland, and my family name.”
“That still—that doesn’t warrant getting into a petty scuffle.”
“What did you want me to do?” Yae ground her jaw, eyebrows furrowing.
“Talk it out, report her to a guard, anything but resorting to needless violence.”
“Oh, so now you’re the arbiter of justice.”
“I may not be the arbiter, but I know what’s right,” Ei retorted.
“I’m sorry, but you weren’t trafficked as a child. You didn’t have to go through your home being torn to shreds just because of some fucked-up war that doesn’t even involve your country. We’re just the aftermath that nobody cared for, after all; we’re just the remnants that had to slip through the cracks. Ei, you have no right to lecture me about what’s right and wrong, and you have no idea what I’ve been through.”
Ei flinched at her every word. “Yae… I—”
“No, we’re done talking. Take me back to my cell. I accept whatever punishment you think I deserve.”
✦
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," Ei spoke between the metal bars.
Yae stayed tucked in her cot, turned away from Ei's figure. She stayed silent. Ei continued.
"I misspoke; I didn't mean what I said. And since actions speak louder than words, I got you out of punishment. And I also made sure the other prisoner received a harsher sentence."
Yae uttered, "You think that's enough to appease me?"
"I'm not finished. I'm not good at words, but I truly didn't mean to hurt you like that. You're right, I have no idea what you've endured, and it was ignorant of me to live in a world of black or white, right or wrong. There are shades of gray in between, and I'm stupid for not seeing it. The worst part is, I know what you've been through, and I still tried to act like I was on some moral high ground, when I have no right to speak. I'm so, so sorry, Miko."
Yae sat up, gaze meeting Ei's. "Did you just call me by my first name?"
Ei grew bright red. "I'm supposed to be apologizing, and now I've gone and messed everything up." She let out a laugh at her own mistake.
"No, no. I quite like it. And I hope you know Ei, I forgive you."
"Really?" Ei perked up. "Just like that?"
"Not fully, but I understand where you're coming from. We just need to meet halfway."
“Thank you, Miko. If there’s anything you need me to do… I’ll help you. I feel terrible that I said those things, and I deserved your verbal lashing out.”
“Anything?” Yae raised a brow.”
“Name it, and I’ll do it. I owe you.”
Something peculiar flashed through Yae’s eyes—calculating. “How utterly… trusting.”
✦