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Behind Bars	By : Meirav Category: +S to Z > X/1999 Views: 3356 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own X/1999, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Behind Bars
- 2-Part 2
- 3-part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 1
- 2
- 3
Disclaimer: I do not own X. the Prison is mine
though and is based (in name only) on a prison over here. Pochi Project was
something I saw on Oz.

Author�s notes: the ranks of wardens here
go by military ranks as it is over here anyways. Plus I�ve aged characters who
in X are too young to fill in the roles of this story.

Author�s Thanks: To my beta!!!! Kitsunia! Others
go to Lady-Willowish, Amy Levi, WhiteSakura (haven�t heard from you
in a while, you okay luv?), Tekoo (daaaaaarliiiiiiing!), Kuroshira, Sad,
grubble, the anon reviewers from Adultfanfiction and Clampesque bord.

*******************************************************

Part 2

There was a long fence stretching between the wardens�
open-air personal space for the two main parts of the prison: the female prison
and male prison.

The open-air personal space, or the �walking court for
these prisoners� as wardens of both wards called it, had a small round
square with a few poorly cared for grass and empty dirt patches.

There were miserable flowerbeds for the male
prisoner�s staff. The female ward�s little garden was a heaven of blooming
flower-filled bushes (changed with each season so that there will always be
flowers around) and a growing little orange tree.

Pr. Arashi let out a gasp of amazement when she
stepped into the open-air court the first time.

She just spent her first eight-hour shift patrolling
her ward and felt she needed a breath of fresh air. She never expected the
wonderful sight before her. There was a quality to the little court; it was so
soothing and relaxing Arashi had to smile kindly.

�Ah! She smiles!� The happy chirp of Lt. Hokuto shot
through the air, taking Arashi by surprise.

�Indeed she does! And what a wonderful sight it is!�
Cp. Karen�s delightful voice hovered to Arashi.

The two officers sat on a lovely white classic western
bench behind the round square, looking at Arashi from above the rims of their
teacups.

�We were just talking about the latest silly project,�
Lt. Hokuto chirped.

Arashi came to join them, bashfully standing at half
attention closer to her commander then to the chirpy second-in-command. �What
project ma�am?�

Hokuto pouted. �I told you not to talk so formally,
didn�t I?� By the end of her sentence her tone contained enough commanding
pathos Arashi felt the pinpricks of terror down her spine.

�Hokuto-chan, be gentle with her. She�s just finished
her first shift.� Karen placed a long delicate hand on Hokuto�s knee. �How was
it dear?� She turned her deep fiery eyes to Arashi.

�It was smooth, I should say. Nothing to take
important note of.�

Karen threw her head back and laughed into the
relatively warm late autumn air. ��Take important note of�? Those are terms
used for upcoming prisoner uprisings or an attempted escape� No darling, there
are no such things here.�

Arashi blinked. �None at all?�

�Well�not in the mundane life, darling.� Karen sighed.
�You�ll find that the day to day routine of, well, this ward at least,
is hardly any event worthy of remembering.�

�I see��

�But anyways!� Hokuto almost leaped off the bench with
revived spirit. �The new pochi project� I hear the men are going to get the
dogs and not us!�

�The �Pochi Project� as we call it.� Karen turned to
Arashi, who did not hear what Hokuto was talking about. �Is an attempt to train
seeing-eye dogs using our inmates.�

�Is that safe?!�

�That�s what we were debating,� Hokuto said, turning
her teacup in her hand. �Here, come sit by me. Would you like some tea?�

�Uh...�

She poured her a cup anyway.

�It�s delicious!�

�Anything Karen-san brews is delicious,� Hokuto
chirped, her cup almost spilling on her light blue uniforms as she hopped on
her seat a little.

�We were thinking that there are always the risk the
dogs will be trained to attack other prisoners.� Karen brought the subject of
the conversation back to her two companion�s minds.

�Or thought things that might cause trouble for the
dog�s future owner, like stealing purses off of passer-biers or something like
that.�

��

�But that�s why they�re giving these dogs only to
prisoners with a well proved history of good behavior and for the time they�ll
spend with the dog they�ll be moved to an old section of the prison where it
will only be them and the dogs.� Karen examined the sun playing across her
complicated hand jewel.

�Old section of the prison,� Hokuto called out.

�Yes. The prison is shaped like an �L� right?�

Hokuto nodded.

�One arm of the �L� is the male section. The other is
the female section. But the two arms are connected by an old section of the
prison with slightly fewer and bigger cells. It used to hold high ranking
police officers who went afoul.�

��

�Why was it closed then?�

�Because the female ward was open and since the old
section was only one floor higher then the new female prisoner�s open-air court
they closed the place down�

��

�I see��

�There�s someone looking at us,� Arashi suddenly
stated, bolting to her feet.

Karen and Hokuto turned to gaze to where Arashi was
staring and leaped to their feet as well as soon as they realized who was
gazing at them from where.

The two open-air strolling courts for both male and
female prisoners were, like the warden�s, separated. Unlike the warden�s, the
prisoners had a tall barbwire wall to block between the two courts.

But there was a hole in the prison�s planning. There
was a mesh of heavy barbwire separating the male warden�s part of the court and
the prisoners.

There was a rectangle of heavy barbwire through which
Monou Fuma gazed at the female warden�s little garden, the forever sly grin
spread across his face.

�That�s okay,� Karen whispered to her comrades. �He�s
only looking at us, there�s no harm in that, is there?�

She suddenly stretched out, bending down to straighten
her stocking thus giving Fuma a full view of her neckline �Let him watch,� she
sniggered, dragging her friends back with her into the ward.

*******************

Karen was mistaken about two of the things:

1. By
�exposing� some of her before Fuma she triggered absolutely zero reaction in
him. He was into boys.

2. He could not
only see them, he could also hear them. Their words were well
registered inside his buzzing brain full of schemes and ideas.

*******************

The second time Arashi walked out to the yard was
three days later, after she took a sick leave due to a nasty cold brought to
her (so she suspected) by a prisoner she had to escort to the visitor�s room
and had sneezed non-stop all the way back and forth from the room.

She walked out of the ward to breathe some fresh air
after another eight-hour shift.

She didn�t know why it was that she got a very bad
feeling about this ward.

Maybe it was the no-rules atmosphere that stressed
Arashi. Maybe it was simply because these were her first days in the prison and
she was still frightened and lacking in courage.

Or maybe something bad is about to happen?
After all, her senses were never mistaken�never�

Arashi looked up at the sky. A thin cloud of bright
beige covered the sun. It was the very end of autumn and every time the sun was
hidden, the cooling air blew harshly, reminding people of the upcoming winter.
Arashi was far too close to the cold she suffered to deal with this now.

She was about to turn on her heels and leave when she
heard what must be �chaos� put into sound.

It was a multitude of dog barks and atop them, a
high-pitched panicking male voice shouting muffled commands.

Into the male warden�s yard came a gush (it can only
be described as something liquid) of bright half grown Labrador puppies, eight
in number, after which tumbled a male warden who tried to hold them at bay by
their leashes.

The warden missed a step on the little staircase
leading to the warden�s yard and fell face first into the yard. The dogs
immediately turned around and, wagging their tails madly, began sniffing him
and licking his palms as if to apologize for making him trip.

Arashi found she was laughing uncontrollably,
clutching at her stomach and struggling to get a normal breath in.

The sun shone out from the disgusting beige cloud and
suddenly the air filled with delicious warmth. The heat caught the flora in the
little garden, filling the air with the sweet scent of flowers.

Arashi opened her eyes and saw the warden beyond the
fence was staring at her funny. His face was stained with dark brown sand and a
few torn strands of grass clung to his face. His eyes must have been stretched
to twice their size, so much he stared out at her with awe.

Arashi took a hesitative step back, about to run and
hide in her ward.

�Wait,� the ward called out to her. �Please don�t go babe!!!�

Spinning around to face him in a rage, Arashi glared
fire at him. �Babe?�

She spun around one more time and charged head first
into her ward and-

Head first into Lt. Hokuto who managed to catch her
before she crushed into her completely. �Ara-chan! What happened? Is it that
Monou thing looking at you through the fence again?�

Arashi shook her head violently. �It�s some warden
from the male section. He�s giving me funny looks across the fence!�

For a moment Hokuto was absolutely sure there was some
sleazy nasty warden giving Arashi harassing looks. She straightened her
uniforms and prepared to charge at the man.

What she saw, still staring out at the yard like a
brain dead thing, was Sgt. Sorata surrounded by doggies, staring out at the
distance with the most bewildered expression.

Hokuto walked out to him �What�s wrong Sora-chan?� She
giggled. �You scared her off, what did you do? What happened to your face?�

Sorata stared out at the Arashi-less space for some
more before snapping back to his senses and answering Hokuto. �Where did the
angel go?�

�OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH! Angel she is then?� She scanned
the dumbfound Sorata before speaking on. �Very well then! I hereby find you a
proper suitor-candidate for our Ara-chan!�

Sorata shook his head violently, making Hokuto chirp
about how they even have the same gestures. �Will you help me?� He charged the
fence between him and the Lieutenant, clasping the metal wires violently �Will
you help me get together with her?�

Winking, Hokuto nodded in silence.

Tears blurred Sorata�s view of the woman before him
�Thank you,� he whimpered �Thank you so much�.

�KYAAAA! You�re so adorable!!!� She sent her long slim
fingers through the wires and clutched at Sorata�s uniform collar and drew him
I to place a kiss on his cheek.

�I�m off now,� she yelped, running back into her ward.

****************

�She�s so beautiful�She has this looooooong flowing
black hair�And the palest, most beautiful skin you�ve ever seen, totally
perfect�And the biggest, most beautifully shaped eyes�I couldn�t see their
color�� Sorata dropped his head on the table in the male ward�s cafeteria,
making a heavy bang sound. �Why couldn�t I remember her eye color?! What kind
of future husband am I going to make?!�

His conversation buddy was staring forward listlessly;
a blank look in his emerald eyes, obviously completely deaf to what Sora tried
conveying to him.

�Oi, oi, are you even listening to a word I say?!�

��

Sorata dropped his head to the table again, trying to
use his shift break to get some sleep.

Worries about his commander bothered him enough to
suddenly override his beloved Arashi.

Lt. Sumeragi seemed more and more aloof these days.
Sure he was standoffish ever since Sorata could remember but these days�these
days the Lt. didn�t seem to notice anything around him at all!

�Aw man�� He sighed, remembering another annoying fact
�I gatta watch over the psycho wizard today, late night shift�damn��

�I�ll replace you if you want,� Lt. Sumeragi spoke.

Sorata whipped his head up, hanging huge surprised
eyes at his commander �Eh?! You spoke?! I mean�you will? That would be
wonderful! �Cause I thought I might ask the beautiful angel on a date you
know.�

�You�re welcome.�

Sorata shot off his chair; wrapping his strong arms
around his frail commander. �I�m forever in your dept!�

The Lt. felt cold and icy under his touch, rigid as a
wooden plank.

Sorata wasted no time. He had another shift in his
ward before he�s free for the evening but before he�ll start that he had
fifteen more minutes on his break. Fifteen minutes would do to run over to the
women�s ward and talk to his commander�s twin sister.

******************

�Hello, there young man.� The tall dark woman on the
other side of the bulletproof glass eyed Sorata hungrily. He brushed the sleazy
tone and shot a kind smile at her.

�It�s oh so refreshing to see such strapping handsome
men here,� she ran her fingers through her smooth black hair, her eyes never
seizing to travel across the Sgt.�s broad chest and the way his uniform shirt
clung tightly to his muscular arms.

Speeding up his pace, Sorata headed over to the
women�s warden section. He really hated going through that corridor where the
women look at you like you�re the caged animal behind the observing
glass window.

�Sgt. S-o-r-a-t-a!� Light arms wrapped around his arm,
dragging him to the warden commander�s office.

If he felt like the zoo specimen when he went through
the corridor, Sorata really felt like one now.

The door to the office snapped shut behind him. The
arms now set on his shoulders, pressing him (with surprising strength) to sit
down before Cap. Kasumi�s desk.

Hokuto remained behind him, her palms slightly
squeezing his shoulders in an attempted massage. Cap. Kasumi�s fiery eyes burnt
a hole through his face with the intensity of their stare.

His captors stayed silent, slowly building the
pressure on him.

Sorata broke. �What?�

�That�s what we want to ask you Sgt. Arisugawa
Sorata� Cap. Kasumi spun her teacup slowly. Funny how even such little gestures
seem evil when you�re trapped.

�W�what�what?� Why was he muttering? Was he sweating?
Crazy women�

�What do you want from our little
Arashi-nee-chan?� The captain fired off. �What are your intentions for
her?�

Hokuto bend towards his ear. �Physical or romantic,�
she hissed.

�What are your plans for her,� Karen continued.

�You don�t plan to hurt her do you?� The hot air on
his ear didn�t feel so nice now as such things usually do.

�Answer us, immediately!� The captain leaped to her
feet, pointing her pen inches from Sorata�s nose.

The Sgt. whimpered, looking at the pen as if it was a
knife.

It was obvious the captain wouldn�t ask him again. The
palms on his shoulders tightened as if the squeeze the words out of him.

�I�I don�t want to hurt her,� he whimpered. �She�s so
perfect! She�s the most beautiful thing I�ve ever seen��

�Is that all you see her as? Simply a beautiful
thing?� Cp. Kasumi�s voice took on a deep, almost maniac tone.

�No!� He leaped to his feet, making Hokuto tumble
backwards. �I want to marry her! I want to have her by my side for all of
eternity! If I need to I�ll sacrifice my life for her! I�I�I want to ask her
out on a date today if you don�t mind�� He plopped back into the chair,
inwardly appreciating the soft springy chair these girls have around here.

In an instant the two captors became soft, happy
things again. Hokuto crashed into the chair by Sorata�s. Cp. Kasumi sat back
down to her chair with a delighted smile.

�He wants to marry her Hokuto-chan.� Karen winked at
her second in command.

�Aw, he wants to have her by his side for eternity.�

�He seems to be smitten.�

�Yup, smitten to his ears.�

Sorata darted his eyes from one woman to another,
swearing that he will never, ever, ever be able to fully understand
women. �So�can I ask her out on a date?�

�Of course you can,� Hokuto chirped after getting an
approving wink from her commander. �Though I doubt she�ll say yes�she�s�shy�

�And very frozen, very strict.�

�I don�t think she�ll say yes so quickly.�

�No�I�m afraid she might refuse you.� Karen tapped her
pen on her cheek, looking out the window thoughtfully.

Sorata hung his head in misery �So I don�t stand a
chance.�

He did not receive an answer for some time.

�Tell you what,� Hokuto pressed his shoulder again,
kindly this time, �I�ll drop her a note that you asked our approval for a date
and if she�ll say yes I�ll give you a call. For now I think the best tactic is
to slowly but persistently melt her ice with constant courting. I�ll give you
her home address; send her flowers, lilies I should think.�

�Flowers? With my miserable income?�

The women glared at him again.

Feeling the dreaded chills again, Sorata pulled out
his little notebook and pen. �Right�lilies� What else?�

�I�ll send her to the garden for a little bit of �her
share in keeping our little personal corner in good shape�.� Karen smiled
(snarled more like it) �and talk to Aoki-san to have you do it too at the same
time�a lot.�

�I love gardening.� It was a blunt lie. Sorata had a
way of killing whatever plant he was trying to grow�

�You�ll drop me a note whenever you have a free night
to go on a date and I�ll send her the message.� Hokuto joined into the plotting
scheme.

�I�ll clear our little sister�s shifts so she can have
a night off that day.�

��You�d do that for me?� He blinked dumbfounded.

�Of course Sora-chan!� Hokuto got up, hooking her arm
in his to drag him out. �You leave that to us now, we�ll take care of things
alright so don�t you worry your little head, dear.�

She almost threw him into the corridor, waving goodbye
before shutting the heavy armored metal door on her ward.

�Thank you!!!!!� His call echoed from the thick walls
around him, hitting his ears too loudly. Not that he noted such trivial things
now.

The tall dark woman was still there, stripping him
with her eyes. Now she had a companion; a younger, shorter woman with small
frozen eyes behind her glasses� thick lenses.

Usually Sorata�s eyes would unwillingly dart to the
younger woman�s large breasts under the skintight black top. Now days his
vision of female beauty was far too much like Pr. Arashi to see Satsuki�s
features as attractive.

***************

Of course Pr. Arashi declined his offer. She declined
his second offer too. And the third and the fifth and the sixth too!

�You have a night shift at the basement again Sgt.�

The fact that Lt. Sumeragi walked up to someone to
talk to them choked Sorata with amazement for several seconds.

�Y�yes.�

�My sister tells me you�re using all those free nights
to try and get a date with one of her girls.�

�That�s right, Pr. Kishuu Arashi, a creature sent from
up high, beauty on two legs, she�s so wonder-�

�I�ll replace you so you can have an evening off
today.�

Sorata blinked, dumbfounded again.

�Gee�thanks� You�ve been doing that a lot, you know.�

The Lt.�s eyes twitched in surprise a little, but
quickly regained his composure.

�I�m merely following my sister�s orders. She can be
quite persuasive when she wants to...�

�Ah, I see.� Sorata giggled. The image of Hokuto
bouncing around her brother in a constantly nagging way always made him laugh.

Lt. Subaru was about to leave, his back already turned
to the Sgt.

�Eh, Sumeragi-san, be careful will you?�

Another surprise shock ran evidently through his
commander�s body. When he turned his head to look at Sorata over his shoulder
his eyes were disturbed, almost frightful. �What do you mean?�

�I mean spending so much time in that basement can do
your head in, you know.�

�I see. Thank you� Enjoy your date.�

�Yeah�right� Like I�ll actually go on a date
this time�� He banged his head on the table.

**********************

Pr. Arashi felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She
didn�t need to turn around. Lt. Hokuto brought her head by her ear and
whispered into it.

�I was given a message from your courting knight in
shining armor.�

�I don�t need a knight in shining armor, thank you
very much,� she hissed back, irritably noting the young prisoner she was
monitoring turned her head a little, catching their conversation.

�Why?� It was obvious by Hokuto�s tone that she was
pouting.

�Hokuto-san, please, not here.�

�Humph��

Arashi checked her watch. �That�s all your time
Yatoji-san, please leave the computer.�

Hokuto had to admire the way Arashi spoke to
prisoners. Her voice was very low and calm yet undeniable commanding. She
behaved as if she couldn�t care if a prisoner burst out at her but it was
evident that she would take none of it. She made the prisoners obey her with
the right mixture of respect and fear.

The young woman darted a cold version of a glare at
her warden and got up, reaching to the keyboard quickly.

�Please don�t try to touch the keyboard anymore,
you�re time is up.�

The pale palm hovered over the keyboard, shaking with
anger. The small eyes behind the lenses twitched in rage only slightly. She
turned around and walked out of the library back to her cell.

Arashi and Hokuto followed her, stopping at the main
hall surrounded by prison cells.

�Can we talk now?� Hokuto was bouncing on her feet a
little. How could a commander do that? And in front of the prisoners of all
places!

Arashi sighed. �Is it another date offer?�

Hokuto nodded, winking merrily.

�My answer remains the same.�

�Awwww�Why Ara-chan? Why? He�s a nice guy; he just
wants to take you out on one miserable date. One date. Why not, nee-chan?�

Arashi looked away, pretending to track Kanoe as she
walked out to the strolling court. She took real note of it when she observed
Kanoe had put on makeup and was straightening her horribly tight jacket. Was
she going out to knock the sun in love? Maybe she was trying to charm the birds
off the prison wall�s barbwires�

�Aaaaara-chan��

Oh God, she can�t stand this anymore. She was
wondering if your commanders pressing you to go on a date with someone could be
regarded as sexual harassment.

She was so tired of it. Always fearing to go out to
their little garden might Sorata be there (and he was most of the time,
waiting for her like a loyal puppy), fearing every time Lt. Hokuto neared her
with that cunning grin on her face, fearing every private conversation with
Cap. Kasumi might she start pressing the subject of Sorata in the
conversation�s end (and she always did!). If she�ll go out on a date
with that big idiot, will they let go of her?

�Fine,� she sighed, folding her arms on her chest,
tapping her finger on her arm angrily.

�What? Was that a positive answer?� Her commander�s
fingers almost hurt her as they clung to her shoulders.

Arashi looked the other way, grunting �yes��.

The next second Lt. Hokuto was not there anymore; she
dashed off to find a phone.

Arashi hung her head, shutting her eyes to fight back
the headache pounding in her skull.

***********************

She spent the rest of her shift daydreaming. Yes she,
Pr. Kishuu Arashi, was daydreaming.

A memory played before her eyes over and over
again.

Cap. Kasumi asked her to go and do some contribution
to their little garden�s good keeping. She even canceled the shift she was
supposed to have that time to allow her to do so.

Dragging the little wheelbarrow full of freshly bought
bougainvillea and various tea or medicinal herb seedlings, Arashi entered the
garden.

Her mind began racing when she saw no other then the
enthusiastic, ever the klutzy, Sgt. Arisugawa working on the men�s garden.

She did wonder why her commander shot her hand to her
office phone when she began leaving her office to do her new duty. She did
wonder why, as she spun around to see what her captain was doing, Karen hid the
phone behind her back and giggled innocently.

This was all a great big plot wasn�t it? God damn it,
is this a prison or a match making office?

Pouting and frowning, she dragged the wheelbarrow to
the little lawn patch where she was to plant the bougainvilleas and arrange a
little herb garden, reluctant to work at all.

They even chose the patch of grass closest to the
fence between the two gardens. They did the same with the patch Sgt. Arisugawa
had to tend to.

And so, the two wardens were forced (although it was
obvious that only one of them saw this as a nuisance) to work almost head to
head.

She drew at her pants, elegantly kneeling by the grass
patch. She arranged her green work apron so it blocked the ground�s dirt from
her uniform pants and began stabbing the grass roots with the little spade,
taking her anger out on the yellowing dead grass.

�Aaaah! I should have thought about using the apron
like that,� came an annoyingly high-pitched holler from the goon on the men�s
side of the fence.

Arashi ignored him.

She couldn�t help looking at him as he got up and
looked at his uniform pants, where two big dirty rounds clung to the fabric at
the knees.

�Awww man� And Cp. Aoki is such a strict guy when it
comes to appearance�� He hung his head �Why don�t you think sometimes you
idiot?� he slapped his forehead. �Think, think, think, think, think!�

Arashi couldn�t stop a tiny giggle from erupting. She
regretted it immediately. She shot her eyes back to the yellow grass, ignoring
the suddenly bright and hopeful eyes Sgt. Sorata was hanging on her.

They worked in silence for a long time, each sunk in
his or her work.

From time to time Sgt. Sorata, who was making a total
mess of his patch, asked Pr. Arashi for instructions on how to do this or that.
She replied him with the same cool and careless tone she used on her prisoners.

�So�uh� How do I plant these?� He showed her a line of
sunflower seedlings set in their earth so they�ll be planted in a row.

Arashi analyzed the ground Sorata was about to plant
them in, then the seedlings (trying desperately to avoid eye contact). With a
sigh, she began instructing him.

He was an awful student. Whether he blundered over and
over again on purpose or because his hands were too big to do such delicate
motions, Arashi didn�t know but it was annoying�at first�

She didn�t know why she was finding this fun the more
they worked together, why she was enjoying it more and more, why she wanted
Sorata to ask her more questions, why she slowly took the sting off her rebukes
whenever he made a mistake.

She wanted to stop herself from laughing when Sorata
dug his little spade into the ground and back out in the wrong direction,
showering himself with thin dark brown earth. She couldn�t control it. She sat
back on her heels, covering her mouth and closing her eyes as sweet relieving
laugher rolled out of her freely. It was funny, but not that funny�was
it?

The earth-covered Sorata laughed as well at first but
he stopped shortly, choosing to enjoy the sight of Arashi laughing.

It was a sign for him to attack her with all he had.
He started telling jokes, tried to sound witty, tried to tell her about silly
slips they had in his ward, about crazy funny things some of the prisoners did
once.

She sat there on her side of the fence fighting with
all her might to stop giggling like a rabid high school girl. She lost
miserably.

Suddenly a notion struck her. He was planting
sunflowers in the beginning of winter?

She asked him about it, trying to convey the message
that he�s a silly little boy through her tone. Failing miserably again.

Sorata stared at her powerfully, a smile tugging at
his lips. �I know I�ll have to wait a long time for them to bloom but I don�t
care. I�d like to care for them and make sure they�ll survive through the
winter, make sure they�re all right. I�ll spend all my time on caring for them
if I need to. You know why I chose sunflowers?�

Arashi shook her head a little, her eyes refusing her
rational mind�s orders to stop staring back into Sorata�s orbs.

�Because they start off all closed and shriveled but slowly,
they open up, raising their heads to the sun�s warmth and become the most
beautiful flowers in the world.�

Blinking madly, she tried to deny the heavy hidden
message.

Sunflowers�she wondered if they�d still be around to
bloom in the summer. From what she saw from her short visits to the garden she
noted the seedlings were doing wonderfully.

Surely, from what she saw of his initial gardening
skills, Sorata wasn�t capable of keeping them in such a good condition� Perhaps
he did mean what he said�

*******************

The warden�s phone rang madly in the men�s ward
kitchen, the shrilling sound echoing painfully from the tiled walls.

�Okay, okay, I heard you, shut up God damn it!� Sgt.
Sorata tore the dial off the hook violently. �Yes?�

�Gueeeeeeeeeeess whaaaaaat,� came Lt. Hokuto�s
chirping from the other end.

The kitchen with all it�s bustling prisoners,
simmering pots and smoking cooking ovens, all melted away around Sorata. He
muted the world around him so he could concentrate on the words he hoped to
hear, suspected he might hear, wanted so desperately to hear.

�Sh�she s-s-s�said yes?� He exhaled.

�Yup!� He could hear by her tone that she was smiling
one of those cunning little clenched smile of her.

�No way!�

�Way, way!�

His knees threatened to betray and send him tumbling
down to the slightly slimy floor. He clung to the wall; grabbing the dial so
hard he heard the plastic squeaking miserably under his fingers. �You�re not
joking are you?�

�Why would I do something like that?�

His heart skipped a beat.

�Sgt., hey Sgt.� Pr. Shiro was tugging his shirtsleeve
trying to grab his attention.

�Not now,� he whispered hoarsely at the younger man,
his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Pr. Shiro backed off a bit, blinking with surprise.
Finally he shrugged and moved off into the kitchen to have a look around.

Sorata only yanked his mind off the conversation for a
bit to wonder what Shiro was doing here in the first place.

The young man seemed to be walking around for the sole
purpose of strictly observing one of the prisoners here: Firebomb Fuma.

The Private glared fire down at the prisoner who was
busy arranging the cupcake-leaden shelves inside the big baking oven.

Fuma glared back at him.

Poor kid, Sorata thought, still feels like he needs to
assure his command over Fuma after that little event�

�Are you listening to me� came an angry shout from the
end of the line.

Sorata tore the dial from his hear. �Ouch�yes I�m
listening�

�She commented that she�d like to take a look at the
latest Studio Ghibli film. She also commented she prefers traditional Japanese
food and definitely hates Korean barbeque. If that�s not enough of a hint for
your date schedule I don�t know what is.�

�Aww�but I really like Korean barbeque�

�Sorata!!!!�

He regretted putting the dial back by his ear
�Ouuuuch�Okay, a dinner movie it is then.�

�And lilies!!! Don�t forget the lilies.�

�I�ve sent her so many flowers so far�oh well�umm�now
that I think about it, I don�t think lilies will do good this time.�

�Oh?�

�No, I passed by this flower shop the other day, I saw
they had some lovely imported sunflowers�I think these should do for our first
date��

(tbc)

*************************************************************

Author�s note: forgive me while I go throw up my
soul with the over romanticism�..I can�t believe I wrote something
so�.so�.sweet�.gatta run to the bathroom now�.
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Behind Bars