It has been five days since Zukki has been plucked from the prison. Another morning where 456 stands where she would. A brief moment that Negi indulges.
With his eyes open as she approaches, 456 can now witness where she'll attack. Only to flinch at the last second.
Negi noticed his eyes remained open while she stepped towards him. Noting the trembling in his arms with a smirk.
"Look at you..now you'll see when i knock you out this time" she cackled while pretending not to notice the miniscule improvement.
It's when she cocks her first back, not caring about how she currently was telegraphing the attack so blatantly, that he tenses up his guard, and blinks. That short moment gave the woman all the time in the world to readjust her aim.
Negi was thinking and throwing her cocked fist right, only to stop as he flinched to defend the right side. Before the thought of paise even crossed her mind she was already pivoting into a kick to his gut while pulling back her strike
Thump!
"Guaaah" he spits up again and is reminded with hazy vision to protect himself lower.
456 was breathing deeply, one hand on his gut, while the other barely held himself on the ground. He remembers a time when Zukki was in this position. Wondering how she could do more than this as he crashes finally.
Negi leaves the boy with his face in the dirt. Glancing back at him with a "hmph" before walking off once again.
***
Hours later 455 came by like the designated keeper for 456. The boy didn't complain as he earnestly wondered what his friend would get out of all of this.
The mono emotional boy, the size of a chair, crouches down and pats his friend on the head.
"Still passed out" he muses while taking a look around.
No intense changes in weather meant the indents where he has been knocked into remain. This isn't an area that gets a lot of traffic from the prisoners usually; especially since Negi has been monopolizing it.
456 didn't budge for a long longer than the boy liked and he started to shove him over to his side. Still no sign of waking up so, with a slight tint of pink dusting his cheeks, he tests out one thing he has been learning: checking for a pulse.
In the heat of the moment he realized there was probably going to be a significant difference between budo's and a saiyan's arm, then he thought about how his own pulse is also probably different from everyone else's. He notes this because despite the slightly pink cheeks his expression is utterly calm.
His lips pursed into a tighter line as he continues to focus to reach for his friend's neck. His skin is way less rough on the surface, but significantly tougher as he presses in.
Budum~ budum~ budum~
455 could feel his friend's heart beating what felt normal. His gaze is hyper focused on 456's warm colored neck. He didn't notice that his eyes had opened wide.
"456?" He asks, which startled the scruffy haired boy like a cat. It causes him to bound nearly a foot away.
455 quickly regains his composure while looking away.
"You're alive"
"I am?" Starts 456 and then he realizes that it isn't a surprise. "I am!"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you're getting beaten up.. every day?" He says with emphasis on how he's repetitive in this dangerous task. "We should avoid that..Budo can't fix everything"
"Why are you writing… every day?" He honestly thought his friend was going in the opposite direction and he didn't quite understand it.
"Būdo told me we were going to need it one day if I wanted to learn more I was going to have to be able to record things. We can't remember every single thing.. būdo said that too" he starts his explanation and it turns into a little more.
456 thought to ask ("what do i need to remember so much for") but decided against it and listened to his friend.
455 talked about studying, writing, and a few other topics regarding the foundation his teacher was setting. Not that he understands the idea of having a solid foundation; he couldn't compare what a horrible one technically looks like. For now everyone all felt like novel new facts about his world. His little world was small, but it was opening up in his mind.
Grrrrowl!
The flushed montoned rant ended when both their stomachs growled in unison.
"Food?"
455 nodded, unbothered by the interruption as they were sharing the same desire now.
***
Their trip to the cafeteria was mostly uneventful until a certain group decided to interrupt the last bite–slurps of their slop.
"Hey there buddy" an unfriendly voice calls from behind 456 before his neck gets captured in a weak, although very uncomfortable headlock.
The bald newcomer was joined by two other follically challenged individuals.
17 was smiling, but 455 could tell he wasn't a friend. The younger saiyan, 455, witnessed this with a helpless gaze. His expression never changed and that was probably why they essentially disregarded him.
456 coughed as the food went down the wrong pipe, the surprise causing him to swallow a little too fast.
"Hey hey, don't waste your food, eat up" 77 cackled from the side.
7 needles their victims' side with two fingers.
Every poke and prod caused the boy to feel deeply uncomfortable. He knew where this was going as it always did. His eyes just met his friends and he closed them in a slow blink. A warning to just look away for a moment.
"Come on, let's get some fresh air" 7 suggests as he roughly shoved 456's shoulder with his own.
That shove had started the momentum they needed to get him out of his chair. Dragging him towards an exit while no one batted an eye. All except for 455 who stood up abruptly as he heard some fake awkward laughter coming from his friend.
This wasn't some quite dramatic scene where just standing would get you attention. Everyone didn't care and they were too loud for something as small as two pats on the floor. Then he just sat back down. The indecision freezes him as time passes.
A little bit after that he watched the trio return, they were getting slop, so they must have stopped just to confront 456 when they arrived originally. The scruffy hair boy was just sitting there thinking about what might happen, his chin resting on his arms. Now that he saw an opening he rushed out the door, his pace slowing down once outside.
Down a little further was 456 laying sprawled on his back.
"Hey.." he says simply while his shadow covers his friend's face. "Oh you're awake" he starts and then mutters. "That makes it easier"
Their eyes met and 456 lips curled slightly. His body is riddled with minor cuts, and bruises that would heal soon enough on their own.
"You're enjoying this too?" He asks bluntly with his eyebrows raised.
"No, but it hurts way less"
"And.."
"It's different. Different from how it was when they first started and it waaaaay different from when Negi attacks me.
I mean I didn't even pass out here. It hurt, but I could see it. Feel it. I even knew where they would attack me."
Slowly he chuckles, a building laugh that dies before he gets too carried away. 456 sat up to be met with a hand, his friend helping him up as he has done before.
When they are both face to face it's 455 that suggests the next move.
"Come on, I want to get back to writing practice. She'll tell you, you're not actually enjoying it"
He turns on his heel and leads to the way. 455 stretched his sore body before following in step.
***
The two of them make their way from one side of the prison through the hallways to the other side. The only minor event is a weird place they received.
A tall woman in a distinctly messed up piece of armor. The corner is torn off with jagged remains. Her chest read "69". Her ear length pixie cut like hair, dark like all the rest, is unmarred. Her dark eyes sharpened to a shocked amusement.
"oh..he didn't eat you" her voice, just as sharp as her eyes, bit a high pitched amused tone.
Both boys stopped in their tracks. Great confusion crossing their faces, especially the scruffy haired one who liked to question everything.
"He?"
"Didn't eat us?"
"Hmm nevermind" she wasn't paying attention to them particularly rather the circumstances around them. Carried off, but not consumed. Even though she believed he of all people would definitely go mad first from hunger. "Eh" she shrugs before outright taking off before the sound of her stomach could be heard.
She leaves them and heads toward the cafeteria. 69's sharp eyes and distinct look make everyone give her a wide berth. Her long legs made for kicking strutted the hallways like she owned the place.
69 was on a mission. To fill her stomach with a heaping pile of slop.
Sploosh!
The tray was piled with at least twice as much slop as the average prisoner. A personal request that the slug lady only cared to think about twice before just making the same large scoop every time.
While 455 and 456 were making their way to the infirmary 69 slowly and methodically ate her food. Each time she ate was a slow agonizing battle to keep living for the sake of it. It helped that she had some stories to tell.
Like how Number 1 takes his time too, how he needs to slowly size up his food. Various prisoners of the 200s and above buy into her stories. While those closer to 400 and below 100 just blatantly ignored her.
"He's working with that annoying purple doc, they're cooking up something better than slop and I don't want it" she lies, sowing random seeds of chaos for no other reason than to curb her own boredom.
("Maybe I'll get some kicks in before the next battle") She thinks, reserving the excitement just in her head.