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It was always engraved in Muu’s mind how she murdered Rei.
She was terrified— distraught that she could even slaughter and hold the corpse of someone who she loved so dearly. Rei’s twisted body, the way her blood oozed out and dripped slowly off of her soft lips; it was all too much for Muu to witness.
The boxcutter had hit her stomach, and that wasn’t even Muu’s true intention. She was just infuriated with the aspect of her life spiraling out of her control, and killing Rei might as well have been the closest thing to fixing her life.
Muu’s feeling tears and sweat roll down her face, staring down at her trembling knees that were painted with dirt by the ground beneath her. She pants loudly, not even recognizing the bloody, tiny weapon in her hands.
Rei, who Muu so dearly loved, and failed to display her affection to— was killed .
By Kusunoki Muu herself.
It was surreal. Why would that ever actually happen? Muu doesn’t remember stabbing Rei… even though she just had a few minutes ago.
Muu screws her eyes shut, reminiscing the short time period she had left with her beloved, sweet and soft Rei.
She watched Rei peek up at Muu with shock before Muu proceeded to hug her with the box cutter still lodged in her stomach.
Soon after, Rei fell in a nimble manner and Muu allowed herself to let go of Rei’s fragile body.
Rei’s eyes had slowly lost the shine in them afterwards. It was still too illusive and unnerving to Muu, so she takes a minute to breathe.
Then, she grabbed the arms of Rei’s lifeless body, shaking her desperately. Any sign of subtle moving would be enough for Muu— any sign that she didn’t lose her beloved.
Nothing.
Muu catches herself in the present again, still in somewhat of an aftermath of disbelief. Disbelief that she’d do something like that, but disbelief that Rei wouldn’t even forgive her.
Something sprouts inside of Muu, and she doesn’t know what it is. All she knows is that she retracts back from Rei’s body, because she did this to her.
Muu pauses, and she’s feeling her wrists shake. She’s leaning beside Rei’s body, fists curled against the ground as she drops the box cutter, scarlet liquid streaming around the two girls.
The only person Muu had ever genuinely loved— was gone.
A throaty, anxious laugh erupts from Muu as she covers her mouth with her bloody hand. Tears spill out and trickle down her face rapidly as she faces Rei’s corpse, trying to come to the reality that she is gone.
She’d never hear Rei’s laugh, the way she would study so diligently in class and sharing glances with Muu. Whenever Muu pestered her for hugs, Rei was always warm—
But now she was cold.
“Muu thinks that Haruka looks better with the hair pins on.” Muu states, brushing one of Sakurai Haruka’s blue bangs to the side. Her prisoner’s outfit is actually rather loose on her, compared to Haruka’s tight one. Probably because he was really, really tall.
Haruka smiles softly, nervously fidgeting with his hands. He briefly stops Muu so that he can adjust the accessories himself, but stops midway to allow Muu to proceed with her work.
“Tha—Thanks so much,” He murmurs out, still averting eye contact and shuffling his feet anxiously. He was comfortable around Muu, yes, but he was just slightly overwhelmed because Kotoko had passed by the prison cell they were both located at.
Yuzuriha Kotoko… ‘Prisoner 010’…
Muu wets her lips quickly, gently combing Haruka’s hair with her soft nails. If Muu was voted guilty for the next trial, Kotoko would nearly kill her as Kotoko almost did with Mahiru from the last trial.
Speaking of Mahiru, she was rather friendlier and more outgoing than most of the other prisoners. It was really hard for anyone to truly believe that she belonged in such a hell as MILGRAM, but she was a murderer just as anybody else was. She always looked after the younger ones, such as Amane, even though they’d refuse her help. Mahiru was especially outgoing to Yuno, and Kotoko— before Kotoko’s ambushes, of course. She was friends with all the female prisoners at that point, and Muu liked to admire her in an amazed manner. Everyone loved Mahiru.
That’s exactly what Muu wanted.
However, Mahiru didn’t just spend time with girls— she also made it clear that she wanted to at least have some warm chats with the boys. She would bring sliced fruits to Haruka’s cell sometimes, and welcomed him whenever she saw him. They would very occasionally speak sometimes before Haruka got carried away with following Muu like a lost puppy.
Muu didn’t quite know or care what they talked about, but it didn’t take her long to figure out when Haruka shifts in his seat, making himself more comfortable before speaking up.
“M—Muu, I ha—have a question.” Haruka suddenly brings up, melting into Muu’s affection and chiming in her string of thoughts.
“What is it?”
Haruka scratches the back of his neck, uncertain as his aquatic eyes meet with Muu’s teal, curious ones. “Wh—What was your… ‘first love’? I think… Yeah.. W-What were they like?” he asked.
Mahiru was a hopeless romantic. Of course she had discussions such as romance with Haruka, even if they were totally polar opposites. She had a lover before she entered MILGRAM, didn’t she? After all, that’s what Muu heard.
Muu’s expression softens at Haruka. She had pushed what happened between her and Rei to the back of her mind, and wished to never have to speak about what happened. But Haruka would understand, wouldn’t he? Muu had him practically under her own demands and orders. She crosses her legs, throwing one on top of the other as the prison bed creaks.
“Muu’s first love… was Rei .” She promptly explains, aware to read Haruka’s body language. If she wasn’t careful, he might get the wrong idea and breakdown from impulsive envy.
Haruka’s tipping his head to the side, listening intently as he rocks back-and-forth.
The coral pink-haired girl smiles in reply. “Muu loves Rei very much, but… ah— Rei doesn’t like Muu. But I still loved her.”
It wasn’t tedious or challenging for Haruka to grasp that concept. Muu knows that— especially because of how he battled for his mother’s attention.
“And… Rei was very pretty. She was a little aloof, but no worries! Muu will always love her, even if Rei hates me.” A soft, warm giggle bubbles up from Muu’s throat. Thorns caress her inner ribs, aware that she truly didn’t feel so light-hearted about the whole situation she used to be in. “ Rei will always be on Muu’s mind… ”
Haruka nods, and he’s biting the nail of his thumb. He began to look to the side, onto the cell’s flooring. He was upset, wasn’t he? Upset that someone before him consumed all of Muu’s attention and love.
Muu’s sighing, sweetly standing up and petting Haruka’s head now.
“There, there.” She soothes. “Haru will always be my favorite.”
He grins in return. “Th—Thank you, Muu…”
“Turn around now, Muu needs to finish your hair.” Muu instructs, and of course Haruka follows along with it. It was so lovely to have a friend like him in a suspicious atmosphere, where Muu originally had thought she couldn’t entrust in anybody before Haruka.
Muu pauses, grabbing some simplistic hair clips to keep Haruka’s hair in place.
She brings her hands up, slender fingers going to work in weaving Haruka’s locks. Haruka, at this point, is basically Muu’s sculpture. She made him, brought him to life after she found his wilting spirit. He would be nowhere without her.
Nowhere…
“U—Uhm, Muu?”
“Yes? Does Haru have another question?”
“I was wondering if— wondering if y-you had gifted her th—the same hair clips.”
“Rei?” Muu inquires, and she’s pausing. Was Haruka still upset?
“Yeah….” He mutters, a little gloomy.
Muu shakes her head, and she’s pulling in the taller boy into a gentle embrace. “Rei never listened to me, but Haruka does. And Muu thinks that’s special.”
Things seemed to settle down a little, Haruka whispering tiny apologies to Muu out of shame while Muu dismissed them gingerly, saying that he was okay— that he would be safe as long as Muu nurses him and provides him with attention. In a sense, they weren’t all too different from each other; and they were both living off of the feeble string of affectionate exchanges they would trade with each other.
Even though Haruka listens to whatever Muu says, contrasted to Rei, Muu can’t help but feel like she would love them both equally. The only difference was that Muu likes Haruka another way, instead of viewing him in a romantic light.
Haruka was soft-spoken and endearing, yes— but Muu was never interested in guys. She never wanted a future with one, anyway.
Muu continues combing Haruka’s hair with her hands, before stopping. She reached for her wrist with her mouth, holding a hair tie between her teeth while she tied Haruka’s fluffy hair up into a small, high ponytail.
“Ow— ow—!”
She finishes it up and ignores Haruka’s winces of pain.
“There!” Muu wipes her hands on her own attire. “Haruka looks great.”
In response, Haruka’s turning around to smile shyly back at his friend in appreciation and thanks. He was really nothing like Rei— and Muu can’t decide if that was a terrible or a wonderful thing. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Muu wouldn’t know.
She pulls her companion in for a tight hug, making sure not to crush his fragile bones. All she knows is that she’ll protect Haruka, for as long as she’s in MILGRAM.
“Reeei!~” Muu wraps her arms around Rei’s waist, pulling her closer for an ambush hug. She rests her chin on Rei’s shoulder, basically snuggling up to her.
“What do you want?”
“Don’t be like thaaat!” Muu’s pouting, and she lets go to poke at Rei’s cheek with a gentle finger. “Muu is just checking up on you. Rei might be overworking herself…” she whines, before entangling their arms together.
Rei huffs, allowing Muu to do whatever.
“Muu should take you somewhere… oh! Does Rei like shopping?”
The pale-lavender haired girl just nods meekly. “Sometimes…? But I don’t really go out much.” she admits, and she begins to walk over to one of the benches on the rooftop, Muu still clinging onto her, rubbing her cheek against Rei’s shoulder affectionately.
As they both take a seat, the sun’s early morning rays cast a glow across the empty rooftop. There’s nobody else, just two students in two different social statuses, and yet they find themselves not caring or worrying about that when they’re beside each other. They bask in the solace, discovering that despite their contrasting natures; they still get along just fine.
Muu leans closer to Rei, lacking any second thoughts. “Does Rei have no friends…? Is that why she doesn’t go?” she murmurs worriedly into Rei’s ear, still cuddling up to her like a small kitty. “Muu has lots of friends… I’m sure if Rei went with Muu, she wouldn’t feel so lonely!”
To Muu’s slight shock, Rei seems irritated at the comment. Did she say something wrong?
“I have friends. I’m fine, thanks.”
“But Muu wants to hangout!” Muu’s whining loudly, already forming dramatic fake tears. Her eyes glitter with pain from Rei’s statement, and Rei can’t help but sigh with amusement and brings Muu closer to her, facing her now and allowing Muu to bury her face in Rei’s shoulder.
“…”
Seems like Muu finally shut up.
“…Your shoulders hurt, Rei. But it’s okay! If you accidentally cut Muu with your shoulder, she’ll just get you to clean it up like a fancy butler!”
Nevermind.
“ What?” Rei almost chokes, somewhat taken aback by the sentence, but Muu was always notorious for spewing compliments that made little to no sense. This was a prime example. “If you don’t want to lay on my shoulders, then—”
“No, Muu thinks your shoulders are really soft, actually!”
“You just said…”
Muu’s allowing herself to nudge herself further into Rei’s neck, feeling sleepy from the comfort and relaxation she was beginning to be devoured by. She smiles, bathing in the moment as the only thing that runs in her mind is the girl next to her.
Rei can’t help but giggle for a short second or two, and that’s when Muu realizes that she’s actually fallen in love. She doesn’t want anyone if it’s not Rei. Nobody could ever compare to her.
Even if her parents didn’t approve of it, why did it matter? Muu would drop anything and everything for Rei. It was laced with irony, since Muu doesn’t do that for anyone normally; or anyone that wasn’t Rei.
They share a gaze of fondness as they’re resting on the rooftop together. Muu suddenly retreats from Rei with an expression of realization in her seat excitedly, and grabs something from her schoolbag. Her hand scavenges through it for a second, passing through makeup, mirrors, and some neatly kept notebooks. An occasional pastel pencil case was brushed over a few times, the zipper noisily following the pad of Muu’s finger.
“Muu brought hair clips!” She announces, excitedly raising her palms to reach Rei’s face after some festive, cute little animal hair clips are present in the gaps and crevices of Muu’s fingers. She carefully brushes some hair away from Rei’s eyes.
As if asking for silent permission, Muu gestures to the clips— and Rei nods her head, allowing her to do whatever she wanted.
“I think Muu would rather be with you than anyone.”
Rei lifts her eyebrows up, intrigued as Muu begins to run her polished nails through Rei’s strands that felt like ribbons of silk.
“Is that so..”
Muu walks idly around the cafeteria, cup of tea in her hands as she observes the other nine prisoners tend to their own things. Haruka decided to sleep after Muu fixed his hair, he insisted on getting rest. Mahiru was encouraging Amane to eat, and Shidou and Kazui were leaning against the wall discussing… whatever gentle adult men discussed. Taxes? Probably. That’s what Muu thinks, at least.
Mikoto was dragging Kotoko all around the room, almost like a reckless dog and a tired owner who had him on a leash.
“Cut it out, seriously.” Kotoko grunts, and she glares at Mikoto with her dangerous, dark ruby eyes.
In return, the male prisoner’s laughing sweetly. “I asked Fuuta if he wanted to play hide and seek, and he agreed! So, you need to help me find him.”
“Hide and seek, huh?” Black hair gets brushed to the side of Kotoko’s face by her own free hand. “How about Fuuta hides, and you seek psychiatric help?” She scoffs.
Muu muses, and before she knows it she decides to stray to the corner of the cafeteria. She doesn’t feel like talking to anyone so early, anyways. Her tea was beginning to grow cold, and her hands wanted to stay at least a little warm… it always scared Haruka when Muu had permission to pat his head and he felt Muu’s freezing hands.
Walking to the side, Muu settles near the cafeteria exit. She whisks her tea around, observing it as she focuses on the brown mixture. It was definitely high quality, Muu learned how to differentiate good value against poor value a long time ago. Nothing less to be expected from a rich girl, anyway.
Humming, she suddenly feels her head bump into something.
“.. Eek !”
Before Muu can process anything, her warm tea had spilled on someone else’s prison uniform. She gulps awkwardly, before locking eyes with Kashiki Yuno, also known as ‘Prisoner 002’.
“Seriously?” Yuno mumbles aggressively. “Way to go, Muu.”
“Hiii, Yuno!~” Muu smugly greets. “Muu didn’t see you~ Sorry!”
Prisoner 002 just forms her hands into fists, holding in an irritated breath. Her eye twitches, and she adjusts her ponytail, holding a frosty gaze with the wealthy girl. “That’s all you have to say?”
Muu circles around Yuno, observing her, and observing the massive, dark stain she caused on Yuno’s outfit. It was basically comically huge, and Muu had just realized how little tea she managed to sip before clashing into Yuno. “Hmmm…” Muu taps her chin with a slender finger, absorbed in her own thought process as Yuno seems to be restraining herself from unleashing her fury. “Muu is sorry, but it was really Yuno’s doing~”
An unsettling, almost heavy air slithers in between the two as Muu keeps her stupid, cheerful smile while Yuno rubs the bridge of her nose in exasperation. It was a little weird to see Yuno this way, since she was so talkative and outgoing before the first trial’s results… she got the innocent verdict, so why was she so gloomy anyway?
“How was it my doing?” Yuno bluntly asks. “Aren’t you supposed to go be with Haruka right now? Where is he?”
Muu’s lifting the small cup to herself, swiftly licking up the excess dripping tea before draining it all down her throat to make up for the amount she couldn’t drink. “Yuno’s gone so cold now!~ Hey, you got the innocent verdict like Muu. Cheer up!” she wipes the corner of her mouth silently, not caring about her mannerisms at the moment, or etiquette.
“Ugh… just don’t bother me.” Yuno snaps sharply, Muu almost feeling the edge of her words ready to slice into her. “I’d rather be alone.”
The pink-haired latter just shrugs, not really caring too much about Yuno’s empty warning. “Sassy for such an originally sweet girl. Muu thinks we got along just fine at the start.”
“Because you weren’t—!… Nevermind. Forget it.”
“Bummer.” Muu dangles the teacup with an extended finger, carried away in her own little boxed-in warped reality. Yuno was bound to be cold now, despite the tea being lowly heated.
Muu takes this into account, setting the teacup down on one of the cafeteria’s long tables and guiding Yuno to the laundry room as she takes her wrist softly.
Not many words are exchanged as the sound of their shoes clack against the tiles of the corridors, but Muu welcomes the uncomfortable silence while Yuno despises every second of it. Her reaction does nothing more than amuse Muu, and allows a gateway for Muu to mess with her even further.
The chilly air swept through the hallway, making Yuno’s breathing pattern get unsteady. She wasn’t necessarily a loud breather, but Muu just likes to imprint people’s own sort of unsteady rhythm in her mind. Rei’s breathing was calm. Haruka’s was ever rarely relaxed, and Yuno’s was a concoction of the two.
It wasn’t abnormal for Muu to compare the prisoners she’s befriended to Rei. Every time she does it, she finds that a piece of her wilts away, drifting to the conclusion that nobody would ever compare to her loved one.
I’m not to blame. Muu reminds herself gently. It’s not my fault…
Her and Yuno were particularly close before the new trial, and a piece of Muu just shrugs it off— she thinks that Yuno won’t be a plightful situation and have a similar outcome to her original relationship with Rei. But their parallels and contrasts began to morph and stir together, and every time Muu’s mind pieces it together— it makes her sick.
Yuno twists the knob of a metallic door open, peeking inside of the laundry room before reaching for the light switch with a finger. She steps in, hesitance gracing her figure as she reaches for one of her personal spare prison outfits in her assigned locker. Each one was accustomed differently depending on the prisoner— an obvious example of this was the fact that Yuno’s sleeves were much more flowy and longer than Muu’s tight ones.
She shuts her locker afterwards, glancing behind her as Muu hums a random song while she just waits for Yuno to hurry up. It’s almost as if she had just arrived to mock her, and to spectate her as if she were a pitiful animal in a cage.
Of course, it’s Yuno who hammers through the silence, wanting to not feel awkward. She would feel uneasy enough to even be with Muu for more than a few minutes, especially after her ego rocketed after her innocent verdict.
“Do you have any spare clothes I can use in the meantime?”
Muu’s finally stopped checking her neatly trimmed nails, tranquil light green tourmaline irises facing Yuno's rubellite ones. She allows her head to rest against the cold wall, a slight machinery-like buzzing noise emitting from above her as the lights illuminated Muu’s gentle features through the thick darkness.
She shakes her head softly, delicate pink strands landing by the sides of her face. “Not as of right now. A shame, really.”
“I need something to wear while I’m washing the mess you made, Muu.” Yuno’s pitch is spiked with distaste. “And it’d be so nice of you to— I don’t know— offer help.”
“Muu has another uniform.” She comforts, diving into the dark side of the room with Yuno. Muu gestures for her to move over so she could access her own locker. “Oh, but Muu also has some of Haruka’s spare ones.”
Yuno bites down on her cheek at the lousy implications from that sentence. “Sometimes you’re really intolerable, Kusunoki Muu.”
Muu chuckles lightly, coming up behind Yuno and snaking her into a hug, to which the shorter girl accepts without any shard or evidence of decline.
“I know.”
Rei squeezes the excess water from the bottom of her school uniform off, groaning out of exhaustion. She coughs, her lungs struggling as she manages to slowly help herself up from the water fountain located at the highschool’s courtyard. It was still break time, so the sun paints shimmering ripples in the shallow water.
She feels the coldness and uncomfortable fabric cling onto her skin, and she looks back at Muu, standing in front of the fountain, slyly peering down at Rei.
“You got my uniform wet.” Rei crossly says.
Muu extends a welcoming, pale hand. “Sorry, Muu has some extras.” Is all she’s mustering up to reply with, and she’s slowly helping Rei step out of the carefully carved fountain.
It looked as if it was crafted out of quartz, and its slender, thin circular base which carried all the translucent water was kept filtered.
Even though Muu doesn’t spend too much time admiring and stopping at the fountain, she discovers a newfound feeling swimming gracefully inside her. She laughs, and it rings throughout the courtyard in soft waves.
Rei crosses her arms, refusing to directly look at Muu. “It’s not funny.” A red tint begins to fade across her face, and she keeps up her tough façade in silence before both her and Muu explode into giggles.
It was rare to see Rei laugh, but Muu always valued the action as if it was a refined, scarce and yet beautifully rough gemstone. A part of her selfish and undying spirit wants to crash through the barrier dividing her and Rei, and to have her all to herself.
Muu’s intertwining their fingers together, and she brings a soaking wet Rei to the side so she can dry a little bit. She takes off her vest, letting go of Rei’s warm hand in the process, and she’s wrapping the vest and shaping it to fit with Rei. Muu carefully presses the article of clothing against Rei’s shoulders, making sure it collects some of the water like a sponge.
“Now your uniform is damaged.” Rei points out. “Your parents will be mad.”
“They’re always mad at Muu, anyway.”
“That’s true.” Rei shivers from the cold, dripping water running down her arms, almost racing. “I have an extra vest in my locker if you need it. Ours are pretty much the same thing— wear it if you know your parents will yell at you with wet clothes.”
Muu freezes up, disbelief smeared all over her face. It thaws into relief, softening as she feels blessed to even be within a radius of Rei’s presence.
“Yes… thank you, Rei.”
Silence swirls around them, comfortably nesting in the sappy moment. Muu knows that Rei would never like her back romantically— but one thing that Muu doesn’t know due to her upbringing is that she won’t always obtain what she yearns for.
She clasps Rei’s hands in hers, almost wanting to plunge her nails in to secure her grip. She wants to make sure Rei never leaves her. That Muu will always end up victorious in the end, even if she doesn’t know that she’ll be the very cause of her fantasy’s downfall. After all, Muu was technically just a teenager.
That’s right.
Muu was just a pathetic teenager.