level 7;

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"may I take prisoner #520's lunch to her today, sir?", goshiki questioned, making kozume perk up at the male's sudden request.

     the other commanders all looked over at ushijima, since he was in charge of goshiki.

     "why?", the stoic male asked, to which goshiki had slightly flinched from all the gazes that were on him.

     "b-because I believe that I can make prisoner #520 eat...sir!", goshiki confidently said, to which shirabu had snorted.

ushijima raised a brow.

     the girl had claimed that if it wasn't kozume kenma that fed her, then she would not ingest, and sawamura had no problem starving her.

     however, the warden has been feeling a bit paranoid recently, as shiori had lasted longer than his expectations, which didn't quite sit well with him.

it was clear to them all that it didn't matter how they made her eat, as long as she did, because sawamura did not want to send the girl to the medical room, where a certain someone would've not appreciated the company.

     "she won't eat", kozume softly commented.

the pudding-head boy knew that shiori would only eat if he were the one to feed her. however, neither he nor others desired to step in the same cage as shiori and feed the girl.

to them, it was a degrading act.

     "I'm positive I can make it happen!", goshiki persisted, to which ushijima could care less about the criminal.

     "then go ahead", the olive-haired male said, to which goshiki had taken it as a chance to prove himself.

     "yes sir!"

♛

    "YOU DISGRACE OF A CHILD! CAN'T YOU JUST KEEP YOUR DAMN STOMACH QUIET FOR MORE THAN A FEW DAYS?!", the man shouted, kicking little shiori in the stomach repeatedly, to which the girl was sure that her intestines had been shattered, if not, nearly abolished.

but six year-old shiori did not cry. she knew better than to stain her father's nicely polished shoes with her dirty and pitiful tears.

"ANSWER ME! WILL YOU BE OBEDIENT NEXT TIME?!"

     "yes...sir...", shiori weakly choked out, not daring to look her father in the eyes.

     shiori's father huffed as the girl was left on the floor in the dark closet where extra cleaning supplies were kept.

     the little girl smiled, covering her mouth as she told herself that she was going to see her friend tomorrow, and that it was all going to be better.

     at least until everything went straight to the flames of hell.

     "—oner #520!! PRISONER #520!!", goshiki shouted once again, to which shiori had quickly snapped out of her path of memories.

     ever since sawamura's interrogation, shiori could never sleep the same or spend the day peacefully dangling with her body wrapped around the beautiful aerial silk.

     it was like he had opened pandora's box.

     shiori put on her fake smile, a wonderful one at that, as she had practiced it endlessly for nearly two decades.

"tomu!! you came to see me", the girl giggled, front flipping onto the tip of her toes as she could see that the male was quite flustered from her apparel.

     "is something of the matter?", the girl questioned, feigning cluelessness.

     "n-nothing!! I just came to deliver your lunch", goshiki squeaked out as he quickly placed the cup on the floor, though he held the plate of food still.

shiori hummed in amusement. "were you...perhaps expecting something?"

     "I...well...I'm just strongly suggesting that you should eat. it's the ninth day and...and..."

     "are you worried?", shiori teased, walking back to the silk that was hanging from the top of the cage, leisurely circling around it.

     goshiki wasn't sure how to answer that. was he truly worried? not particularly, but his pride was on the line from the bold claim that he made to the rest of his colleagues earlier.

     "yes", the boy faltered, to which it was obvious to shiori that it was a lie.

     the girl let out a small chuckle, spreading the thin silk as she wrapped it around her body. though since it was see through, it didn't cover much just like shiori's black leotard.

     "you're willing to feed me?", shiori questioned, to which goshiki had sternly nodded.

     "yes!"

     "then what are you waiting for? I'm starving", the girl smiled, sitting on her bed as she watched goshiki a bit shocked, though nevertheless, working his way into the cage.

     it was quite ironic that the bowl-cut male had to come in with the girl permission, however, goshiki wasn't one to worry about the details of how he achieves his goals.

     as goshiki sat a feet or two away from shiori, the girl scooted closer to him, making him feel a bit suffocated as their arms were touching.

     shiori crossed her legs as they purposely graced goshiki's stiff ones, to which he suddenly had realized why no one wanted to take on this job.

though to his surprise, shiori stood up and grabbed the cup of water that was placed on the floor, to which goshiki had forgotten about.

handing it back to goshiki, the male gave the girl a look of confusion as she smiled.

     "drink it".

     "but I'm not—"

     "I said drink it", shiori repeated, to which goshiki had slightly flinched at the sudden change of tone.

     hesitantly complying, he had assumed that shiori was only doing this because she was skeptical of whether the food and drink was poisoned.

which made sense until the girl had kissed him.

indeed, shiori had abruptly pulled on goshiki's tie, forcing the male to move forward as their lips conjoined.

     goshiki had nearly spat out the water as his eyes widened, though the liquid had only transferred into shiori's mouth, with some droplets escaping the corners of their lips.

     stumbling backwards, the plate of food on goshiki's lap had flipped over, smashing onto the floor as the boy's entire face lit up with a mix of embarrassment and disbelief.

     shiori grinned as she watched goshiki fumble upwards and quickly lock the cage before exiting the room, forgetting about the now dirty food and completely inattentive.

     goshiki covered his mouth as he harshly leaned against the secured door of shiori's room.

so many thoughts had circled around his head that he was unsure of whether he would be able to look the girl or his commanders in the eyes again.

'what the hell?! that was...that was my first kiss...'

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author's note: and I oop—sksksksk

was this chapter kind of weird? probably, but oh well. smh, poor bby goshiki...

anyways, don't forget to comment + vote my darlings!! see you all soon <3