#number 15

You had never seen the sky. Not properly, only fragments of it thin, broken strips framed between metal bars and concrete, like the world itself had been rationed out to you in careful, controlled portions.

You didn’t know what “freedom” really looked like, you only knew Nanba.

Nanba’s loud halls.

Nanba’s chaos.

Nanba’s rules and the way they bent around certain people, somehow.

And then there was him. Jyugo. Another freaky loser that gonna leave this place one day. At first, he didn’t seem that different from the others, another inmate, another loud presence in an already noisy prison so why do you have to care? But unlike the rest, Jyugo noticed things. He noticed you. Maybe that day he saw the soul similar to his and that's why he later won't leave you alone waiting for your death in the corner of Nanba's prison.

You always stayed near the same spot, the edge of the corridor, where the light hit just right for a few hours a day. You’d sit there, knees pulled close, watching dust float like tiny constellations.

You never joined the chaos. Never fought. Never even complained. Just existing and waiting for it all to end.

It bothered him. Maybe because he sees this place differently than you? Is he stupid?

— “Hey.”

You looked up slowly. Like even the act of responding took effort.

Jyugo crouched in front of you, tilting his head slightly, studying you like if you was the most interesting and hard puzzle he have ever seen.

—“You’ve been here… what, forever or something, eh?”

You blinked.

— “…I think so.”

That answer should’ve been a joke, but it wasn’t. His grin faltered immediately.

Days passed, and somehow he kept coming back.

He’d sit beside you, sometimes talking (at least trying), sometimes just existing.

You didn’t ask why. You didn’t ask much of anything.

— “Have you ever been outside?” he asked one day, stretching his arms behind his head.

You shook your head.

— “Not even before this place?”

Another shake.

— “…Not even once?”

— “…No.”

That time, Jyugo didn’t respond right away. For someone who usually filled every silence with noise because of bored, it was kinda strange.

After that, he started describing things. Why? For what? Is he making fun of you? Eh, nevermind.

At first, it was casual.

— “The sky’s not just blue, you know. Sometimes it’s orange. Or pink. Or this weird purple color that looks fake but isn’t.”

You listened. Not interrupting. Not reacting much. Just absorbing. He knows much, it's weird and all his talking shit is weird in general. Was you pissed off? Was you jealous? Or....

— “And there’s wind too. Not like the stuff that sneaks in here. Real wind. It moves everything, like your clothes, your hair… makes you feel like you’re actually there.”

— “…There?” you echoed softly.

— “Yeah. Like you exist somewhere bigger than…” he gestured around, “you know…this.”

Your fingers tightened slightly around your sleeves. His unnecessary bullshit somehow really affects your careless being.

It became routine.

Jyugo would sit beside you and talk about a world you’d never seen. Rain against skin. Sunlight that didn’t come through bars. Crowds. Noise. Open space. And slowly, something shifted. You still couldn't understand why he's bothering you and you specifically, but you didn't even notice how you started wait for his arrival.

You started asking questions.

— “Does it hurt?” you asked once.

— “What?”

— “The outside.”

He blinked.

— “…No. Why would it?”

— “…Because it sounds… too big.”

Jyugo stared at you for a moment, something unreadable flickering in his eyes. No, he didn't think you're dumb or weird he completely understands and shair the same thing.

— “…It can be,” he admitted.

— “But it’s not supposed to hurt.”

One evening, the light hit differently. The strip of sky above you burned orange, brighter than usual, wider somehow.

You stood up. It was small. Insignificant to anyone else, but Jyugo noticed immediately as if he always watching you.

— “You’re standing, huh... I thought you can't, lol.”

— “…I want to see it better.”

For a second, he just looked at you. Then, without overthinking, because that’s just who he was, he stepped closer.

— “Here.”

Before you could react, he placed a hand lightly on your shoulder and guided you forward, just a few steps closer to where the view wasn’t as obstructed.

You stiffened at first. Contact wasn’t something you were used to except harsh officers, but even they didn't touch you much because you wasn't troublesome.

His grip wasn’t forceful. Just steady enough. Still, he's kinda awkward type of men.

— “Look.”

You did. For the first time, you didn’t just glimpse the sky. You saw it. Really saw it. Color stretching endlessly. No walls. No limits. Your breath caught.

— “…It doesn’t end.”

Jyugo smiled softer than usual, almost quiet. It was obvious he's comfortable to be around you.

— “Yeah.”

You didn’t notice when your hand found his sleeve. Didn’t notice when you held onto it lightly, like you were afraid the sky might fall or disappear if you look away.

Jyugo did, but he didn’t say anything. He just stayed there, letting you look, letting you feel something beyond Nanba’s walls, even if it was only through a gap in the ceiling.

— “…Jyugo.”

— “Yeah?”

— “…Will I ever see the rest of it?”

He hesitated. Not because he didn’t want to answer, but because, he didn’t know how. Still, he shifted slightly closer, just enough for you to feel it.

— “…If I have anything to do with it?”

A pause, then, quieter:

— “Yeah. You will.”

For someone who had never left Nanba, it wasn’t escape that changed you first. It was him and the way he made the world feel reachable, even from inside a cage.