Wasuranai Kara

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17

"Get in there!" the prison guard shouted as he shoved the silver-haired man into the tiny cell. Gren looked up, startled. Clear blue eyes stared at the man standing in front of him. He had silver hair, almost touching his shoulders. He was wearing the standard prison jumpsuit, as was Gren himself, but he seemed so familiar, somehow. "VICIOUS!!!" Gren’s mind screamed at him. He stood. It was then that his cellmate looked at him.

Not Vicious. Not at all. This man had a different expression on his face than Vicious always had. And his eyes were the same blue as Gren’s own. Gren slowly sat down again. He noticed his fist was clenched tightly. Unclenching it took work. When he looked at his palm, there were thin crescents of blood there. The effect Vicious still had on him.

"What the fuck is this!? When the hell did I get a cellmate?" the silver-haired man’s voice seemed to explode around Gren. He only looked up with his eyes this time. The prison guard laughed.

"A lot of shit happens when you spend all your time in Solitary. And unless you want to go back, I suggest you shut your fucking mouth. Lights go out in five. Play nice, boys." The guard was still snickering to himself as he slammed the titanium door and walked away. The silver-haired man kicked the door. The sound of his boot resounded through the tiny room.

"Fucking bastard!!" he yelled after the guard. He looked back at Gren.

"Damnit," he muttered. Gren didn’t look up.

Throughout the next few days, the two never talked. Gren spent the time they were actually in the cell sitting on his bed, staring at the ground or at nothing. He never said a word to anyone. After two weeks, neither he nor his cellmate knew the other’s name. Gren found himself wanting to ask on more than a few occasions, but he never did.

Eventually, the silver-haired one beat him to it. "You got a name?" he asked one night, completely out of the blue. It was quiet, except for the occasional rat scuttling around somewhere out of sight. Gren didn’t answer him at first. He was thinking about Vicious.

"Gren," he finally said. It had been over a minute. "You?"

"Rumo." And after that, again came the silence. It was another week before either of them spoke to the other again.

They were in the mess hall, eating lunch. Gren sat at the end of the table, in silence. He hadn’t eaten much at all. He had found that he had barely any appetite since arriving here. The only thing he was able to think about coherently was Vicious…and the revenge he craved with almost his entire being.

A tray slammed down next to him, jerking his mind awake. "What the hell…?" he looked up.

"Got a problem?" Gren didn’t recognize the man sitting next to him. He quirked a brow, then looked back down.

"Nope. No problem," he muttered, retreating back into his mind and ignoring his food.

"Kyle. You shithead," Rumo’s voice said. Gren looked up to see him leaning across the table, staring at the big man next to him. Gren shook his head. Rumo had a big mouth. Gren had seen him get in trouble before. He didn’t really care, as long as he was kept out of it.

"Bloodsnake…I should have known YOU would end up in here, you good-for-nothing bastard," the big man replied. There was an edge in his voice that Gren didn’t like. He started to get up and go. A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Rumo asked.

"Away," Gren replied, "I don’t want to be anywhere near this."

"Can’t handle a fight, kid?" Rumo taunted.

"Not when someone’s just begging for one. Fighting without reason isn’t my thing," Gren replied.

"What…you scared?" Rumo’s eyes flashed. To some, they might have seemed dangerous. But not to Gren.

"Not remotely." Gren pushed Rumo’s hand off his shoulder and walked away. He felt Rumo watching him. He didn’t know why, but he was bothered by it immensely. He didn’t turn around, however.

He didn’t know what happened after that, but Rumo didn’t come back to the cell that night. He figured there had been a fight. He was alone. It didn’t bother him at all.

After he fell asleep, Gren dreamed of the war on Titan. He dreamed of the time with Vicious…the time that had caused him to think he meant something to him. But when he woke up, he found himself picturing Rumo, and not Vicious. Silent tears ran down his face. They felt like blood.