Chapter Text
I was being told something. There had been a lot of that these last few weeks. One day they’d be telling me stuff in my room, the other, I’d be gagged, and someone else would be telling me something in an office. Sometimes I was being told stuff on the phone, and when they got bored of telling me stuff in person, they’d tell me through documents.
Usually, the person telling me things would be a stranger. I’d be told something, then they’d come back to tell me something they must have forgotten to mention the first time, and become a familiar stranger. The good days were when Kamikoshi-san would come to tell me things, though she was often brought in by strangers herself. Migiwa-san was a reoccurring character through all this - he must really enjoy telling people stuff.
All in all, there had been a whooole lot of talking lately. I even managed to slip in some listening, now and then. Of course, when I say talking, I mean people talking at me - most of them didn’t seem interested in a conversation, for some reason.
For someone without my advanced social skills and unrelenting charm, this kind of treatment would get annoying fast, but, being the good girl that I am, I was all smiles and understanding. I’d been nodding my head so much my neck hurt. Kamikoshi-san taught me the value of promises for us Gifted, and I took her words to heart - I was busy making a hell of a lot of them.
Granted, there was a more specific reason (not that I needed one, of course) to be so patient with the good folks at DS Labs. What was it again?
I grinned. Good behavior has it’s benefits, and I was about to snatch the biggest benefit of them all.
Today is the day I finally get out of this dump!
“-san. Urumi-san?”
“Yeah?” I said, beaming at the man sitting in front of me. I was being told something in my room this time around. The man had a clipboard with some documents or something.
“Are you alright? You seem distracted.”
“Distracted?” I hit him with a confused look. “Don’t be silly, I know how important all these talks are. If I don’t play nice, you’ll lock me up for good, after all.” To accentuate my disappointment with his lack of trust, I crossed my arms and pouted. “That’s if I’m lucky.” I gave the man a meek glare. He didn’t strike me as the type to hesitate dishing out some good old-fashioned capital punishment - though looking at his tattoos, he looked like he’d fit more on the receiving end of it.
He sighed. “Urumi-san…”
“Oh, come on. Look at this place, what else is there to do but listen to you?” I gestured at my cozy little cell, inviting him to let me know what I could possibly be getting distracted by. I doubt he knew how pissed I was at the little crack above the door where the wall met the ceiling (boredom sure had a way of driving you crazy over nothing) - surely he had to concede he had my full attention. “Would it kill you to trust me a little? Go on, I’ll listen all year if that’s what you need from me.”
Migiwa sighed again. I put my smile back on. He was no match for me, same as always.
He flipped to the next page on his clipboard. “My apologies for… misunderstanding. Moving on - as I was saying last time…”
That’s right. Today would be my last day chained up like some monster in a vault. Today, a year’s worth of reflection and growth would finally pay off. Weeks of one-sided conversations about this, that, and whatever, finally coming to a close. Today was the day DS Labs finally stop pretending Urumi Runa is a violent criminal.
Today was day I finally get my life back, and it was a long time coming.
I’d get to back to school, I’d get to choose my own meals, I’d get to talk to whoever I wanted to talk to. I’d be free to browse the net, read whatever books I wanted, listen to whatever music I wanted, I could finally get back to wearing actual clothes. I fully admit I was never the type to go out much, but even the idea I could just… go outside, take in some sun, laze around in a park somewhere… or just go for a walk, it almost sounded too good to be true. Not to mention I’d finally get to throw away that ugly muzzle they kept gagging me with.
Naturally, there’d be a lot to catch up on. Small stuff, too, like catching up on my favorite YouTube channels, checking up on trends and the like. But there were bigger fish to fry - with all the cult business and such finally over and done with, I had plenty of work to do on the social end of things. A high school girl can’t live without friends, and I wasn’t planning on falling behind my peers. Not that I had any reason to worry.
And of course, I wouldn't have to see all those annoying, meek looks of the staff at DS Labs anymore. At first, it was kind of nice, but it got really boring, really fast. There’s only so much fun you can have by scaring people before you start feeling sorry for them, and there’s only so much pity you can feel before you start getting mad at them, instead. The man that was currently telling me things was one of the very few that didn’t look at me like his life was in danger.
To top it all off, I finally had a way in to the Blue World! A lot has changed, but the desire to immerse myself in it could never truly go away. It’ll take a bit of social elbow-grease to convince Kamikoshi-san to let me tag along, but once she vouches for me, nobody will be able to complain. I might not even need to try to convince her, come to think of it - not only were we both Gifted, I had already helped her and her friends with taking care of Satsuki-sama. At this point, she might just invite me herself.
I’d be free soon, and that was amazing enough by itself, but exploring the Blue World with my fellow Gifted felt like a few notches above regular freedom. It almost felt too good to be true.
Ahh… my head is spinning. Have the days always felt this long? I caught myself grinning yet again. There’d be a lot of grinning before the day was over.
My daydreaming was rudely interrupted by the sound of Migiwa’s clipboard being put down on the floor. His look betrayed his lack of confidence in my listening capabilities. I felt a bit hurt by that.
He was massaging the bridge of his nose. I pitied his lack of patience - if he was the one locked up, I bet he would have blown up months ago.
“There’s one final matter to settle before your departure, Urumi-san.”
I guess you do know how to get my attention. Really had me fooled for a minute there.
“Oh, I don’t need hush-money or anything.” I reassured him. “I don’t think anyone would believe me if I told them you had been keeping a minor in captivity for a year, even if they knew what DS Labs even was in the first place. Besides, I’m not looking for a hole in my head.” I smirked. “Though I guess it wouldn’t look too out of place at this point.”
Migiwa looked at me with a blank expression. Nothing could shake this man - I couldn’t say the same for most of the employees here.
“It’s the matter of your living conditions.”
I blinked. “Oh, yeah. That’s important.”
He nodded. “We’ve gone through the bulk of our connections at this point, and we’re still struggling to find a place appropriate for a high school girl that would take you in. I’ve also asked Nishina-san and Kamikoshi-san, but they have their own circumstances and don’t feel like they could provide you with a proper home.”
I felt proud as he kept going. To think he was just giving me grief over being inattentive. Maybe if he picked his topics better, like now, he wouldn’t have had to get so uppity with me.
“We briefly considered the possibility of having you live with a family member, or relative. However, we were unable to locate your father, and we determined a good deal of your relatives…” He picked his words carefully. “…did not have homes suited to a girl of your age. The rest seemed either reluctant to have you, or were outright unaware of your existence.” Migiwa looked at me like he expected a response. I guess he thought I’d be surprised by that, or something. My smile didn’t waver, and I tilted my head questioningly.
What, did you expect me to be sad over that worthless family? I’m not that pathetic.
“Everything else is already in place, and-“ He paused to check his watch. “-in about an hour or two, you’ll be cleared to do as you like. However, until we are able to locate a suitable home for you, you’ll have to remain at the facility. We would find some space for you to do as you’d like - we wouldn’t keep you in this room.”
Oh, nope. Not in a million years, old man. That’s not fair.
I must have let it show, since he noticed the change in my expression. “I understand this isn’t the best solution, but, as we said, you require at least some form of supervision - we can’t let you live on your own. Both for your sake, and for our peace of mind.”
Who cares about your peace of mind?! I’m the one getting shafted here!
I was too happy to be walking free soon to feel too mad, but I wasn’t just going to let it go.
“What about Kozakura-san? You said she took in that one kid. Surely she has room for more. She didn’t strike me as being very busy.”
Migiwa looked a bit lost. Did I say something weird? “Kozakura-san…” he started, then stopped. He was really struggling for words. “To be frank, given your history with Kozakura-san, we don’t consider her an option.”
…Huh.
“…what, is she still holding a grudge or something? Call her, I can apologize again if that’s what she needs...” I murmured, surprised by my own lack of enthusiasm for the idea. I really thought we had put that behind us. I wasn’t sure what to feel.
He didn’t budge. “My apologies.”
“Ugh!” I groaned, exasperated. “Okay, whatever! I’ll forget it, but there has to be something! Have you ever been locked up in this place? Even if I get another room, I’m still going to be waking up every night feeling trapped. You think I can have fun in prison just ‘cause I’m not living in a cell? Come on!”
Migiwa looked genuinely empathic, for all the good that was doing me.
“I need supervision or whatever, right? Can’t I just live with one of the employees? All I need is a room, I don’t care what they’re like as long as they don’t bother me. Hell, why can’t I just live with you? You look rich enough for a big apartment, are you really going to say you don’t have room for a teenager?”
I was pouting for real, now.
“Or are you scared of me, too?”
Some adult you are, leaving a kid in a place like this.
A dark half-idea got stuck in my head. I don’t have to be asking nicely, you know…
Given that my time here hadn’t completely rotted my brain, I knew using my Voice would, at best, mean saying bye-bye to any hope of a life, but they’re not called intrusive thoughts because they’re such great ideas.
I was just about to keep going, but Migiwa suddenly looked lost in thought. I wasn’t sure if he was considering it, or thinking of how he’d shut me up. We sat in silence for a bit, then he looked at me and spoke.
“You’re right. I’m not sure why we hadn’t thought of that.”
…seriously?! I was stuck between relief and joy for where the conversation was headed, and being mad that he went and almost ruined my mood because of his lack of creativity. I wasn’t sure what to feel.
He nodded as he thought through it. “No, I really can’t think of any reason to refuse you. I’d have to sort some things out work-wise, but I have a room I’m not using, and my apartment isn’t too far from where you’ll be going to school.”
That was enough of a confirmation to pull my mood back. I breathed a sigh of relief - they’d have caught me breaking things if I had to stay here even just one more night.
Migiwa continued. “In that case, I would become your legal guardian, at least for the time being. Having said that, well.” He looked a bit awkward for a moment. “…are you sure about this? DS Labs kept you captive for so long, I wouldn’t want you to have to live with a reminder of that time. Maybe you should take some time to-”
I damn near jumped out of my bed in excitement.
“What do you mean, “are you sure”? Of course I’m sure! Get me out of here and I’ll be your damn housemaid if that’s what it takes!”
“That won’t be necessa-“
“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get going, Migiwa-san!”
An hour or so later, I made my triumphant exit from DS Labs.
I made my bed, tidied up my empty cell, and was led out by Migiwa and a few new faces. I waved goodbye to the other Gifted in the facility as we passed their cells - if there was anything I’d miss here, it was them. If I ever come back out of my own free will, they would be the reason for it.
Here and there, we’d stop and someone would start telling me things again, but a few smiles and nods got me through all of it quickly. My few possessions were released to me, and before long, I was outside, positively floating without the weight of the chains that had been holding me here.
It was sometime towards the end of fall, and the afternoon sun in the bright, clear sky looked like the most beautiful thing in the world.
I was finally free, and I saw nothing but great things on the horizon.