@miinxrity || CONTINUED.
"She's still not talking, no. At this point, it's safer to keep her here until we can dig up some information. It's safe to say she's a Strain, but that's all I know."
Strain...
What is a Strain? People around him kept using that word -- using it to define him! -- yet Aki hadn't even a shred of a clue what it meant, or why it applied to him. His body was mutilated, disfigured, and certainly an abnormality in a normal world, but this was a term that had never been used before to describe it. Come to think of it, though, there were many peculiarities within Shizume City. The reason Aki found himself in the clutches of this off-the-wall police force (was it accurate to call them that?) was because of an abnormal situation that ended in an outburst and Aki was the only one who'd been caught. Three others, all with strange abilities that were nothing like the ex-competitor had ever seen before, managed to get away after attempting to attack and kidnap him. The fugitive earned more cuts and bruises from his squabble with them than the officers, or whatever they were. Once he was restrained by some sort of law enforcement, he became rather subdued, in fact.
And now, confined to a setting that was sickeningly familiar, he'd been stunned completely silent. His head was lowered, eyes trained on trembling hands that were bloody from fighting. He'd been deemed a danger to a society he was unfamiliar with. What if they knew Minoru? What if they turned him in? His hands balled into fists, but he didn't speak, nor struggle. He just kept walking.
"This one's an interesting case," one of his captors noted. Just then, Aki could feel eyes burning into a particular gash on his arm, large enough that small bits of metal were exposed, along with a busted reservoir of poison that was now spilling onto the tile. He began leading Aki down a long hallway that felt like it was underground. It was like a dungeon with the heavy locks on the door -- and the fact that Aki was being escorted through it with a medieval style restraint clamped to his wrists was a good indicator that it was exactly that. The guy escorting him had been on the phone since Aki's incarceration, issuing orders and updating superiors from the sounds of it.
{I've never even been in this stupid city before and I'm already getting myself in trouble.}
"She doesn't have the same capabilities we've seen in other Strains, but she's definitely not affiliated with a Clan either. Right... We'll keep an eye on her in case something comes up. Keep searching for file in the meantime." She. Her. Aki's teeth grit together as he leered at the superior leading him through the dungeon. Now he leered at the guy with hatred in his eyes, his insides burning with rage. "I'm not a fucking girl." His correction went unnoticed, just like his attempts to camouflage his disgusting body with baggy clothes. It didn't help that he'd been cursed with soft features even before a series of horrific operations. He didn't speak like a girl. He didn't walk like a girl. He certainly didn't think like a girl. It felt like this guy was trying to get on his nerves pointing it out, but how could he have known? Dr. Tanaka Koji was a renowned scientist, but only within the Tokyo Arena. Perhaps out here in Shizume City, they really hadn't heard of him.
The air was so dense it felt like he was choking on his own breath, and things fell eerily silent. There was no need to issue any complaints since it was clear they'd fall on deaf ears -- or at least, that seemed to be the case so far. All Aki's questions went unanswered. All his pleading went unacknowledged, so he fell silent too. Although each room they passed appeared occupied, no noise from within them could be heard. All that could be heard now were the dueling pairs of footsteps echoing off the walls in matching pace. Suddenly, the guy stopped, causing Aki -- whose head was lowered -- to bump into him absentmindedly. "Eh," he stumbled back, brows knit together as he looked up at a large door with three giant locks that all began turning once a code was entered.
It seemed pretty high-tech in comparison to the wooden cuff on his wrists. Who the hell were these people? Without explanation, Aki's body was hurled into a tiny cell, colliding with another prisoner who was standing just beyond the door. Aki, standing at 5'5", looked to weigh little more than 100 pounds or so, but his body wasn't like others of his stature and a disproportionate 250-pound weight being suddenly hurled into could only breed catastrophe. Aki crashed forward, toppling onto the prisoner after losing his footing.
As quickly as the stranger began pushing him away, he began scrambling to distance himself in return, crumbling to the ground in front of him with his hands raised almost like he was surrendering, his cheeks burning bright red. "S -- sorry!" Aki yelped, his voice cracking. Despite his outer-appearance, his voice was most certainly not female. Maybe higher in pitch than other guys he knew, but still clearly male. This deformity as Dr. Koji called it, was the reason he’d been forbidden to speak publicly while he was a competitor. Fans of the Arena even speculated the SCORPION 101 was a mute.
"I didn't mean to -- I'm sorry!" As if his body couldn't get even more disgusting; the thought of anyone touching it in any way outside of an altercation or battle was even worse. He couldn't imagine how this guy must have felt if he was so humiliated. Aki could feel his heart hammering, his skin coated in a fine layer of sweat.
What the hell have they been feeding you, kid?
Nothing, unfortunately. It occurred to the fugitive just then he hadn't eaten since entering the city. A stupid thing to think of at a time like this, but now that it crossed his mind, he couldn't dig it out of there. "I -- " Aki dropped his hands, but didn't stand. He criss-crossed his legs and exhaled a deep breath to calm himself, brows knit together as his stomach grumbled as if on queue. "I haven't eaten anything, it's -- uh, it's really hard to explain." His lips pursed together and he shook his head, frustrated. "What is this place?"
