Work Text:
Jyugo-
Nights at Nanbaka were sometimes unforgivable. The distant sounds of other prisoners, throwing themselves against the bars with desperate fury like the idiots they were.
The sound of familiar footsteps, tapping along the hallways as some extra guarded them that night.
The sound of…
Snoring.
Giggling.
Jyugo wasn’t a fan of the nights at Nanbaka. They left him staring down at his cellmates. His back ached against the solid wall he leaned against.
Down below, by his feet, Rock lay sprawled on his back, arms extended as if he could take up all the possible space in their cell.
Niko lay curled against rocks side, similar to a slumbering cat searching for a heat source.
Uno, next to them with his hair in a curtain, held onto Niko.
Jyugo’s chest was tight.
He didn’t want to ruin this.
He didn’t want his… friends to be corrupted by him.
His presence here would ruin them.
He couldn’t breathe.
Jyugo clutched at his chest.
He needed out. He needed out now.
Hajime liked nights at Nanbaka.
Less trouble for him to deal with other than the occasional mental breakdown.
Such as… now.
He had been scouting alongside the perimeter of the outside terrace with railings that overlooked the seas. No one ever lingered for long, since it was simply a passage from one building to another.
But…
This time there was a figure, curled up into a ball, back to the sea, head between his knees.
“Inmate,” he announced his presence, and when the prisoner lifted his head from between his knees, he wasn’t surprised to see the bothersome Inmate who always escaped at the worst possible time.
Jyugo, as he was named, jerked unsteadily and looked up to Hajime with wide eyes. A kid with his hand stuck in a cookie jar.
“What are you doing out of your cell?”
It was then that he noticed the shaking. The breathlessness.
“I-I-“ he scrambled to explain himself, his normal composure completely crumbling right in front of Hajime’s eyes.
“Fresh air?” He guessed.
The inmate nodded furiously.
He couldn’t breathe.
It was apparent enough.
Hajime sighed.
Just this once…
“Do I need to take you to the medical ward?”
A head shake.
“Would you like me to escort you back to your cell?”
Another head shake.
“You just want to remain here.”
A nod.
“It is cold here, you know. The mist from the waves do not help.”
A shrug.
“You know very well that I cannot leave you here.”
Another shrug.
Hajime let out a heavy sigh as he leaned back against the railing next to the inmate's sitting form. He remained until breathing finally evened out.
Hajime remained, a pillar of presence to block the inmate from the wind as he worked out whatever panic he was going through.
Silence, just heavy breathing and the waves against them.
When his shoulders stopped shaking and he stopped breathing violently, Hajime deemed him safe to move.
“Back to your cell.”
Jyugo nodded and accepted his offered hand.
“I can’t be the reason they die, you know.” The prisoner finally said, on their quiet walk back.
Hajime eyed him, like the idiotic brat he was.
“They will not die.”
“But-“
“Hear me now, inmate. I will now allow it, as long as they are within my prison, they are safe. This means if you continue to escape and are beyond the walls… I cannot help you.”
There was not a peep from the inmate, though something shifted in his eyes. Something that looked somewhat like prey, flashed to satisfaction. Comfort. Safety.
It was how all of Hajime’s inmates should feel.
“Thank you, old man.”
“I didn’t do anything. Get into your cell.” Hajime opened the cell door, silent to not wake the slumbering prisoners. It was the only time they were ever quiet.
Hajime closed the door behind Jyugo and watched as the Inmate took his spot on the outer edge of the pile they had created.
Despite that, Uno sleepily pulled him in.
Jyugo… was perhaps… just a scared kid.
Nanba would do him some good.
Rock
Rock was absolotoey astounded.
Beffutled.
He nearly fell to his knees and cried.
Shiro… was on vacation.
For an entire week.
Uno patted his back, once they sat down at the table to look down at their bland food. He was going to die.
“It’s okay man, he’ll be back in a week. Even the world's best chef needs a break sometimes, don’t you think?“
“Yeah…” Rock agreed, “but it’s just… not the same.”
“Oh, Rock! I have an idea!” Nico raised his hand, and they all looked over in shock because whenever Nico had an idea… It was never good. “Let’s break into Hajime’s lounge room and see what they eat for lunch! Maybe it’ll make rock feel better about himself.”
Uno hummed, “you know, I’m bored and it’s not that bad of an idea. Jyugo?”
Jyugo nodded, “let’s do it.”
Hajime was just sitting and enjoying his lunch. His relaxation time, when the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
An inmate was in the vicinity when they should be in the cafeteria.
Dammit.
He didn’t get paid enough for this.
He stood from his meal, healthy and good for his body, and headed towards the door. When he did spot the inmates, they were sneakily attempting to break into the very door.
Cell thirteen, of course.
Why was the big one crying?
Anyway.
Jyugo laughed nervously as Hajime kicked them all to hell.
When Hajime returned to his desk, there was a note on his now empty plate, written in orange crayon.
‘The things you eat for lunch are sad and not filling. I feel very bad for that lame little salad and carrot you eat everyday. Please Attend cell 13 tomorrow for a proper meal.’
-Rock
Where they… making fun of what he ate?
Come to think of it, Rock had been awfully sad lately without Shiro’s cooking. The light had left his eyes. Very overdramatic for a man…
No, he was young. Younger than Hajime.
Hajime groaned.
He showed up anyway.
With Seitarou and Yamato.
Somehow, Inmate number 69 must have found access to the kitchen, or the lock pick got them in. Either way, a large buffet sat on the fold out table in the middle of the cell.
“Welcome!” Inmate number 69 clapped his hands together.
Where had he gotten a chef outfit?
“I’m glad you brought guest, come in!”
From next to Hajime, his two colleagues gawked and smiled as they were led to the table by Uno.
“Come in! sit down. Sit down.”
“This is what you freaks do in your free time?” He asked, as Jyugo rolled his eyes and placed the silverware down on the table for the three guards.
Rock smiled, big and wide and young. “We just could stand the small meal you got on your lunch break! And now that Shiro’s gone, I have to take over.”
Hajime couldn’t bring himself to tell the idiot that he didn’t have kitchen privileges and instead focused on taking his first bite out of the steak….
It was…
Delectable.
“How is it, how is it?” Inmate number 69 asked with big eyes.
“It is… fine.”
Rock pumped his fist and body slammed Uno into a hug, “you hear that? You hear that? He said it was fine! That’s, like, super amazing by Hajime standards!“
“Good job man!”
Maybe this wasn’t so bad.
Even if it was bending the rules a little.
Until Niko, their lunch entertainer, started to sing opera.
Then, it became pretty bad.
uno
Inmate number eleven had been off for quite some time now.
It wasn’t Hajime’s job to be a therapist, not in the least, so when he saw that sad looking face of his everyday, he never questioned it.
Until it became his problem.
He slept in past wake up call, despite his cell mates dragging him to get up every morning.
His hair had stopped appearing as it normally did, braided and neat. It appeared tangled, all the way down to his feet like a long obstructive waterfall.
He had spotted Niko, inmate number 25, braiding it together for him, when he didn’t have the energy before, but maybe he didn’t want anyone touching him now.
Normally, number 11 was somewhat of the ‘Mother’ in the cell, though this time around, he didn’t seem to be doing much other than sleeping and whining to his cell mates, who could only give each other strange looks and pat his head.
It seemed, like number 11 needed an intervention.
Hajime sighed.
The things he did for the kids.
He deserved a raise.
It was only after the fact did Hajime realize… he possibly took the wrong approach.
Bursting through the cell door, shouting out “What’s got the stick up your ass, number 11!” Was definitely less tactful than he could have been.
All he received was a barrage of a whole lot of yelling.
“Get your bald ass out of here!”
“Oh! Oh! I think I can see my reflection on his head!”
“Ever hear of privacy and personal space?!”
“You Pisswit! Nothing is wrong, get out of here libshit!“
Yes, not Hajime’s best approach, but he wasn’t a counselor, dammit. He was a prison guard!
So he would corner him like a proper prison guard.
“Number 11!”
“Eeek!”
Hair unkempt, skin paler than normal, not even any freakish amount of eyeliner that all of the inmates like to wear. (Apparently, it was a trend.)
“Out of your cell, now!”
The other inmates gave him a concerned look as Hajime escorted him away. Hajime never bothered them just before their dinner time, they were always cranky and hangry like little kids. It was quite annoying.
“What's your deal?” Uno gritted his teeth and pulled his arm from Hajime’s grip once they were out of earshot.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
The inmate huffed, crossing his arms. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Hajime sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It looked like he would have to put it out straight. “Your foul mood, It’s affecting your cell mates. Niko is forgetting to take his medicine without you reminding him, which makes him batshit insane. That damn lock pick breaks into my office and 69 complains to the food staff about you, which annoys them.”
Number 11 was the one who reigned them in.
“Without you, they’re all a bunch of maniacs.”
Number 11 shrugged, “So? That’s more of a you problem than a me problem.”
Hajime lifted his fist and showed Uno what hell would really look like just by glaring at him until the inmate eventually wet his pants in surrender.
That was more like it.
Uno sighed and leaned against the wall, “So, there’s this girl I was talking to online-”
“How are you online? Did you steal a cellular device-”
“Ah ah ah, this is my story, baldie. Anyway, she called me ugly and that was when I realized… I truly hate myself. My nails, my body, my stupid hair. How are girls ever gonna like me when I get out of here? In this prison, I don’t have the ability to even make my hair shine like it used to or get that new teeth whitener online… I’m ugly, old man. I’ll turn out like you once I finally get out of here.”
Hajime’s eye twitched.
He maintained composure.
“All of those marketed items are not what you need,” he said, eventually, once he realized that number 11 was genuinely distraught about the idea of looking like him. “You don’t need a woman's love, you are an independent man, aren’t you?”
Uno perked up with a slight smirk growing on hsi face, “Yeah, I guess I am.”
“You have your three cellmates.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Those bunch of Homo’s would probably love me more than any woman could anyway. Thanks Hajime.”
Hajime needed a good long nap.
Maybe an extra therapy session.
When Uno checked their cell mail box the next morning. (None of them had ever received any mail, as expected. No one really loved them outside of the prison and that was okay. They made a habit of checking it anyway.) he was utterly shocked to see a package with his name written on it.
He quickly took it to the corner, away from the view of the others getting up and ready for their day before Yamatto could bust through the door, and unwrapped it.
It was…
Skincare products?
A brush?
Even a hair straightener?
All of the things Uno had missed so much out of prison. All of the things he had on his Nanba wishlist for Christmas and other holidays.
He held it close to his chest.
Hajime really wasn’t that bad of a dude, was he?
Niko
Niko had to stay the night in the infirmary.
He never liked to stay the night in the infirmary because his friends weren’t allowed to be by his side. And it was dark. And spooky. And oh so lonely.
The pale light of the moon glinted from the metallic table tray along with the rail of the bed and the handcuffs around his wrists.
Outside, the ocean raged and the rain pattered against the prison because it was a stormy night. One of those nights where he liked to curl up in his place between Rock and Uno because the outside was a scary place. Storms made Nanba seem like a ghost prison.
Outside, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.
Niko could only curl up in on himself as much as the handcuffs allowed.
The IV in his arm was covered by the blanket because the sight of the needle going into his vein made him squeamish and slightly delusional.
He fought through cold sweats and hot flashes accompanied by rolling nausea because the effects of the new medications being pumped in his system were harsh.
More thunder.
Hands were grasping for him. Unkind hands that only wanted to do bad things to him. Hurt him. Touch him. Prick him. Poke him. Run test on him.
More Lightning.
Niko whimpered.
He wished Uno was here.
Or Rock.
Or Jyugo.
Or master Upa.
The storm brought to Nanba prison had all guards alert and on duty because nights like this were chaotic. Fortifying the gates so that water wouldn’t seep through on an off chance. Communications with outside land highly established.
Which was why his ears were keen and alert to the slight whimpering that echoed through the corridors, barley audible over the raging storm outside. He halted, then continued in a quickened pace, wider stride.
The infirmary.
He didn’t waste time knocking on the door in case there were sleeping inmates, though when he did open it, the only body in the room was the one on the cot, shivering.
Bright green hair.
Inmate number twenty five.
On his back, curled, tears streaming down his face, silently sobbing.
Hajime awkwardly cleared his throat and flicked a lamp on in the room, and the inmate was quick to calm himself.
“Is there a problem, Inmate?”
Niko smiled, small and sad. “No Mr. Its okay. This place alone at night is just kinda scary. It reminds me of before I was at this prison, and I don’t like to think about it.”
Huh.
“You got left here all alone at night? In the dark? Why are you handcuffed to the bed?”
There were many questionable things at play here.
“Because we don’t know what the reaction of the meds will be… I can go crazy. I can try to escape. But now, I just feel sick.”
Hajime eyed the puke bucket on the floor next to the head of the bed, along with the sweat beading the inmate’s face and his shaking body. He made the quick decision to free him from the handcuffs.
“Are… you sure?” The boy asked, rubbing his wrist.
Hajime nodded.
“I don’t think you are in any condition to escape.”
“Thank you, mr.”
“...I am going to stay with you until your treatment ends. You have no company.” Hajime decided, taking the plastic seat next to the bed. Normally one of the others at cell 13 occupied this seat, but they were not permitted to at night.
They sat in comfortable silence.
The warm glow of the night.
The rain, suddenly less menacing, outside.
Niko’s sniffling.
“Thank you, Hajime.”
“You are welcome.”
+1
Fathers day was not a day that Hajime celebrated or took part in, considering he wasn’t a father nor did he have one to call his own. Neither did, like, half of the inmate population. One had to be a screwed individual to end up in Nanba as a prisoner or a guard.
But today… the inmates of cell thirteen had actually been tolerable.
Not one of them attempted to escape.
During mealtimes, they actually wanted him to sit at their table. And when he did, it wasn’t a sick joke, they simply talked as if their captor wasn’t at the table with them, and even asked him lighthearted questions.
During gym time, instead of laps, they begged Hajime to play a game of volleyball with them, and he had decimated them of course.
During their time in their class of the day, wood making, they had each made him a gift to put in his office. A well crafted key from number 11, a rather large chair from number 69, a cute little animal from twenty five… and an ugly ass… Hajime didn’t even know what it was supposed to be, from the lockpick.
It was strange. Something was obviously happening.
By the time the day was over and each of the members from cell thirteen forced him to tuck them in and say goodnight, he got to his office and let his guard down.
That was when he spotted them.
Letters, on his desk, in colorful construction paper and messy crayon. He picked the first one up, the blue one with a rather good detailed sketch of Hajime on the front, signed.
‘Happy fathers day to our prison Dad. Thanks for keeping me hot!
-Uno
The red one was a slightly more,,, distorted drawing of him eating food, but he unnderstood the point.
‘Happy fathers day. None of us really have dads, and if we do, they’re fleabags, so thanks for the yummy food.
-Rock.
The green one with two stick figures in a grassy meadow holding hands with big smiles and even some dinosaurs in the background.
‘Happy Fathers day!!!! I’m just learning write, so Uno is doing it for me, but thank you for keeping watch over all of us even though you pretend to hate us. I love you!!!!
Signed in really messy chicken scratch was ‘Niko :)’
The plain white paper.
‘Happy Father’s Day or whatever.’
-Jyugo.
Hajime was not crying.
He wasn’t.