level 21;

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     "you're finally awake".

     shiori winced as she suddenly felt all the pain rush through the entirety of her body. the girl turned her head sideways as she saw sakusa writing something down on his paper, on top of his clipboard.

"how'd I get here?", the girl mumbled, feeling her throat extremely dry as she nearly cracked her sentence.

     shiori lifted her bandaged arm as she tried to take the glass of water that was placed beside the hospital bed, however, she accidentally knocked it over as she realized that she had almost no strength.

sakusa sighed as he got a new glass of water, helping the girl drink as he held the glass for her.

"you were brought here by commander ushijima", sakusa informed.

"he seemed very guilty", the male stated, to which shiori had no reaction whatsoever.

"how long will I be here for?", shiori asked.

"a week at most. however, I don't recommend you overexert yourself. your ribs seem on the verge of shattering from the last x-ray and your bones need to heel", sakusa said, helping the girl sit up.

"can I see the twins and them?", shiori asked, to which sakusa had sighed as he trudged towards the door, where as soon as he had opened it, a pile of boys had hit the floor, stacking on top of each other.

     "SHIORI!! YOU'RE OKAY!!", bokuto sobbed as he quickly ran over, hugging the girl so tightly that it had nearly crushed her bones and intestines.

     "OI! LET HER GO!! YER HURTING HER", osamu shouted as he pulled bokuto away from the girl, sitting on the edge of shiori's bed as he held the girl's hands.

     "shiori, how much does it hurt? are you feeling better now?", the gray-haired male mumbled, to which shiori had just given osamu a small smile.

     "I'm fine".

     "like hell ya are! ya look even shittier than usual", atsumu scoffed, though shiori just lightly chuckled.

     "we couldn't bring you anything, but we thought that we could come stay with you during our free time", daishō chimed in.

     "it's much appreciated", shiori smiled, to which daishō had just cleared his throat as he glanced away.

"anyways, could you give us a moment please, omi-omi?", shiori asked, to which sakusa had furrowed his brows at the nickname, though he had promptly walked out and closed the door.

"do ya want revenge? we could kill them all and get out of this hellhole", osamu darkly whispered, to which bokuto had loudly gasped.

     "h-hey...I-I don't think killing's the way ou—"

     "that sounds fun though!", terushima grinned, to which daishō had just sighed, shaking his head.

     "it's just a pipe dream. there's too many officers for just us to take down", daishō stated.

     "it was just a joke. relax~", atsumu snorted, to which shiori had hummed.

     "now's not the time", the girl simply said, to which bokuto was confused.

     "what do you mean, shiori?"

     "I'm just saying that if one day I don't want to be here anymore..."

     "why not?! where are you going?!", bokuto worried, to which shiori had just lightly laughed.

     "relax, kōtarō. I was just saying what if. I mean...you don't plan on staying here for another few years do you? and you four don't want to be trapped here your entire life do you?", shiori asked, making all five men quiet.

"what other option is there than to be stuck here?", daishō asked, to which shiori's eyes had glimmered with slyness.

"glad you asked. now what if I said that I can break you all out of prison?"

the miya twins snapped their gazes towards shiori with so much ferocity that it almost felt like she was being pinned after by a predator.

"don't joke about this shit", atsumu snarled.

"I'm not", shiori calmly stated.

     "I'm in", terushima shrugged, to which shiori had smiled, meanwhile the others had a look of disbelief in their eyes.

     "we don't even know how she's going to—"

     "it doesn't matter. it's a risk I'm willing to take. after all, that's the fun in life isn't it?", terushima laughed, to which shiori had nodded in agreement.

     "if it's possible, does that mean I don't have to learn how to pay taxes anymore?", bokuto asked, to which shiori had nodded, making the boy extremely excited.

"ALRIGHT!! THEN COUNT ME IN!"

"shhhh!! don't be so loud", daishō reprimanded.

"and what about you three?", shiori asked, looking over at the twins and daishō.

     "I cannot follow someone who's background and plans are unknown. so until you decide to reveal your true identity, I will decide then", daishō said.

     "I agree", atsumu chimed in.

"I...I don't know yet...", osamu meekly replied.

"no worries. there's no rush. I still intend to stay here for a while and make the most out of it", shiori smiled, to which osamu had lightly squeezed the girl's small—compared to his at least—hands.

"YES!! NO TAXES!!", bokuto cheered, pumping his fists up into the air as shiori just chuckled, meanwhile terushima had on a proud grin, looking forward to the girl's next actions.

♛

     "how're you feeling?", a soft voice asked, to which shiori's ruby red eyes had slowly fluttered open, making the pudding-head's heart skip a beat just at how utterly peaceful and normal the girl had seemed.

"why're you here?", shiori asked with venom lacing her words, to which kozume had slightly flinched at the harsh tone.

"we're all worried...but everyone said that I should come first since..."

kozume hesitantly took a seat beside shiori's bedside as sakusa had once again excused himself, not wanting to take part in the drama.

shiori scoffed, slowly sitting up.

"quit fucking with me. you all left me to go get beat up! WELL ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?! ARE YOU HAPPY TO KNOW THAT I WAS ABUSED AS A CHILD?! WANT TO MAKE FUN OF MY UGLY SCARS WHILE YOU'RE AT IT?!", shiori screamed, to which kozume's eyes had widened in shock as he wasn't sure what to say.

     shiori could tell, the girl could tell that guilt was consuming him and most likely the others.

     "I...we're...sorry...", kozume squeaked out. "I...I heard that your hands are shaky and I...I'm here..to help you eat..."

     shiori huffed as a tear had unintentionally slid down her cheek, making kozume freeze.

     "do you remember when I first came here and asked you to feed me? do you remember how many days I starved myself because you refused to feed me?"

     kozume slowly shook his head in shame.

     "ten. full. days", shiori uttered.

     "you think feeding me would atone for your guilt? try harder, officer kozume".

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author's note: I love kenma but-

anyways, if you liked it, please don't forget to vote + comments!! I love y'all so so much!! <3