The Foundry Pt. 01

Mudora gestured for her to sit down. "Jun, this is Sayuri, also known as the Revenant. She's our age and a fellow Cursed too."

Sayuri nodded. "Unfortunately. But it's okay! I like having a Skill of Soul. I think it adds to a person's uniqueness, don't you think?"

Jun nodded slowly, looking down at his lap. "I guess so." Unlike Sayuri's peppy outlook, Jun hated his Skill of Soul. It ruined everything ever since he discovered it. It was responsible for destroying his bedroom. And now, it was responsible for destroying his life - sending him to prison. "I don't like it."

Sayuri frowned. She reached over and placed her hand on Jun's shoulder. "Don't say that. It's a part of you now. If you deny its existence and say you don't like it, isn't that the same as denying a part of your own existence?"

Jun looked up at her with wide eyes. She was right.

"I mean, of course all our lives were changed because of it, but that doesn't mean it's over," she continued. She picked up her fork and knife and began cutting her steak into pieces. "I don't know about you, but I think everything happens for a reason. If I didn't have my Skill of Soul, I would've never met you guys."

Mudora nodded in unspoken agreement. "She's right, Jun. I hated it at first too. But hating it isn't going to make it go away."

Jun nodded. As much as he wanted to deny it, they were right. 'She's right,' he thought. 'I can sit here and complain about it, but I'm still stuck in this prison.'

"What can we do then?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Mudora said with a mouthful of lasagna. "Do what?"

"The Skill of Soul," Jun clarified, staring at his own plate of food. "What do we do with it?"

"Embrace it," Sayuri answered, patting her mouth gently with her napkin. "Hone it."

"To fight?" Jun asked, disturbed. "I don't want to fight! Anyone!"

"No one does," Sayuri said softly. "But we all want things. Popularity. Money. Power. And most of all, to get out of here. But this is reality, and it has no place for our wants here in the Foundry. It's either fight or die."

"Are you not hungry, Jun?" Mudora asked. "You haven't touched a thing on your plate."

Jun shook his head sadly. "I don't really have much of an appetite." And it was true. The recent turn of drastic life changing events had taken a toll on the frail Jun. His family had died mysteriously. Getting sentenced to life in prison. Witnessing first hand a brutal gunning of a person. It was too much for him.

"Sakina," he uttered, "scares me. I don't like her."

Sayuri chuckled. "She scares all of us, I think. She's intimidating, no doubt, but she sure does get the job done. Not to mention she's absolutely gorgeous. I want to look like her when I'm twenty five too."

"You look fine right now," Mudora said. "Come on, Jun. If you're done, we can show you around some more."

The trio left the cafeteria and made their way to the large courtyard just outside. It was filled with a variety of shapes and colors of flowers, making it look more like an upscale garden instead of prison courtyard. The walkways were made from fancy white rocks arranged into intricate designs. Definitely more upscale than necessary for a prison.

They took a seat on a bench to relax and soak in the evening air. Being situated on an island, the Foundry's seaside atmosphere often quelled the inmates unruly behavior.

"This would be a nice place if it wasn't a prison," Jun said softly.

Sayuri laughed. "I think so too! It's full of gorgeous flowers and the scenery is exhilarating! You know, if you remove the bland gray metal walls of the place."

They all laughed, and Jun felt at ease. 'It's not as bad as I thought here,' he said to himself. 'Although I still have to get out of here!'

The three of them sat in silence, enjoying the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocky shore. Jun closed his eyes and tried to picture himself sitting peacefully on the beach when Mudora tapped his shoulder and pointed towards the balcony across from them.

"That's the Gatekeeper," Mudora whispered to Jun. "Hajiro."

Jun looked up to where Mudora pointed at and gasped. A tall skinny man. Slicked back hair. White pinstripe suit. And sneaky eyes behind glasses. Hajiro Kusani. He was standing between two pillars, observing the inmates of his prison with a sharp, cold glare.

"That guy!" Jun exclaimed to Mudora, pointing at Hajiro. Anger quickly rushed into his body at the sight of the traitorous man. "He was the one who said--"

"He'd be your lawyer for whatever crime you were accused for, right?" Mudora finished. "And afterwards, he'd help you do this and that, right?"

Jun looked surprised. "Yeah ... how did you know?"

"I think that's how he baited us all," Sayuri said, a little less cheery than usual. "Honestly, I think he's a little creepy to be trusted. Especially in a place like this, you have to be careful of who you trust."

Jun turned away from Hajiro, clenching his fists, trembling in anger. "I see what Takuya meant. I hate him!"

Mudora chuckled. "I think we all do. Do you want to explore other places? I'm sure it'll get our minds off Hajiro."

Jun shrugged softly. "I guess so. I'm not sure what else there is to see, though, considering we're in a prison."

"The Foundry's different," Sayuri said. "What other prison do you know serves five star cuisine in an elegant cafeteria?"

Jun chuckled. "I've never been in any other prison, so I wouldn't know."

The trio laughed, and for the first time since the discovery of his Skill of Soul, Jun enjoyed being alive. He met two people who were kind and easy to be around, the scenery was beautifully nice and for once since his family's death, he forgot all about the strange power of crystal residing within him. He felt like a regular high school kid, enjoying the company of friends.

"About the codenames," Jun brought up as they walked down the courtyard path, "do I get one?"

Mudora nodded. "You already have one, apparently." He pointed to Jun's Limiter Ring. "That bracelet has all your identification built into it. Come on, we'll head over back to the cell and scan it."

After bidding goodbye to Sayuri, the two headed back to Cell C2. With everyone gone, Jun was able to get a better feel of his new home. For a prison cell, it was comfortably spacious - much more so than his old home. There were doors at the very back - leading into the bathroom and showers, as explained by Mudora. In a corner by the barred windows was a large rug and a long sofa, along with a TV fitted on the wall.

Mudora led him to the TV and plugged in a small jack into Jun's Limiter Ring. The screen of the TV began blinking and soon a message popped up, listing all of Jun's personal data.

"You're the Ghost," Mudora said, smiling.

CHAPTER FIVE: Welcome to the Foundry

That night, Jun slept on his bed, next to Mudora's. It was admittedly very soft, warm, and comfortable, but Jun couldn't fall asleep. How could he? He was in a highly secure prison for notorious criminals. His family was now dead. And worst of all, he had a strange, unworldly power that seemed to be the root of all his problems.

He turned and glanced over at Mudora, sleeping soundly, clutching a pillow as if he was completely serene. He turned back and looked across from him at Takuya, watching his well muscled chest move up and down with each breath. He sighed and flopped on his back, staring at the dark ceiling above him and trying to accept the new reality.

The next morning, Jun awoke to the sounds of a punching bag taking brutal blows and Mudora's voice yelling at the TV. He groggily sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. The sunlight poured in through the barred windows.

He could see that he was the only one still sleeping in bed; Takuya was busy working out, Sogen busy sitting in his chair reading, and Mudora playing a video game on the TV. He slowly got out of bed, wondering why no one had bothered to wake him up.

'They must hate me already,' he thought to himself as he made his bed. 'Crap.'

"Well well, look who's finally awake," Takuya said, patting his sweat away. "Took you long enough. Since you woke up last, and because you're already doing it, why don't you make our beds, ghostie?"

Not wanting to cause trouble on his second day, especially not with Takuya, he nodded and agreed. He started with Mudora's bed, then Sogen's, saving Takuya's for last.

"Morning, Jun!" Mudora greeted, his fingers furiously fumbling over the game controller.

Jun nodded. "M-morning to you too." He made his way to Takuya's extremely messy bed. The pillows had been kicked to the floor and the sheets had come undone, tangling into each other. As Jun peeled the sheets off the bed and folded them, a small square photograph fell out, landing on the floor.

"Be careful!" Takuya cried out. He rushed over and picked up the fallen photograph, dusting it off. "What's wrong with you, ghostie? This is my most prized possession!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Jun apologized frantically, bowing deeply. "I didn't know and it was a complete accident, I swear!"

"Jun, don't apologize," Mudora said, not even looking away from the TV screen. "His 'most prized possession' is nothing important."

"You're just jealous," Takuya defended. He looked at the mysterious picture in his hands, grinning mischievously. "You wanna see ghostie?" Before Jun could reply, Takuya pulled him in close and showed him the picture: Chief Warden Sakina in a revealing and suggestive bathing suit.

"It's super rare," Takuya said proudly. "Got it from some weak guy in Cell F5."

Jun shook his head. Having no interest in females, the picture didn't phase him much. "I apologized for that? You had me thinking it was some picture of your family or something."

Offended, Takuya snatched the picture back. "Don't be ridiculous! Sakina is one scary woman, but damn! That's a jewel right there! The things I'd do to her if I weren't in prison." He safely tucked the photo in between the folds of his mattress, glaring at Jun.

Mudora put down his controller and walked over to Jun. "Alright! Second day of Foundry life, so you'll still be a bit shaky and confused here. I'll give you a more in depth lecture about this place." He checked the time on a wall clock. "It's morning, so the breakfast signal should be soon. In the meantime, why don't you go shower and freshen up?"

He pointed to the doors in the back. Jun nodded and slowly headed into the room. The bathroom was large, with multiple stand showers in one large area and toilets and sinks on the opposite wall. It was surprisingly clean with its white tiled walls and floors.

Jun shed his white jumpsuit and folded it on a nearby shelf. He was always shy about his body, his insecurity stemming from being shorter and smaller than most. He refused to use public showers or go to beaches, or any other thing that would allow others to see his slender body. He twisted the knob, and soothing warm water cascaded down on him.

'This is real life', he thought, staring at the wall. 'I'm here. It's not a dream. I'm really in prison. I don't care how nice the food is or how soft the beds are! I have to get out of here!'

He quickly washed his body and hair, drying off and dressed, ready for breakfast. As soon as he exited the showers, he heard the loud ringing again.

"Great timing, Jun," Mudora said as they walked the halls. "We decided to let you sleep as much as you could and get used to here. Tomorrow, Takuya will be waking you up from now on." He grinned.

Jun groaned inside. 'Takuya? The perverted guy in the tank top who hates my guts already?' He nodded and forced a smile on his weary face, as if he was ecstatic to have him as his alarm clock. 'He's really handsome though, so I guess it's not all bad.'

Breakfast was a heaping helping of scrambled eggs and sausages with a bowl of warm grits - much to Jun's surprise. 'Was prison food always this good?' he thought as he picked up a plate of eggs.

He joined Mudora in his usual spot - by the window overlooking the ocean.

Mudora looked up and smiled at his new companion. "Alright, so here's basically how the Foundry works. We have breakfast in the morning at ten. Then lunch comes at one in the afternoon, then dinner at seven."

Jun nodded. "Okay. Got it."

Mudora smiled. "Not yet. The Foundry is different from other prisons, if you haven't noticed by now. Dress code. If you've got something else, you're allowed to wear it. Otherwise it's the white jumpsuit. And this is probably the biggest kicker of them all: we're allowed free roam within the prison, meaning we can venture off out of our rooms whenever we wanted, so long as it's within curfew."

Jun's blue eyes widened. "R-really? But isn't that dangerous? What if fights or riots start?"

Mudora shook his head. "Sakina. She and the jailors keep the inmates in check. As long as we behave and act accordingly, we have some freedom here. There's a gym, library, greenhouse, some stores, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff here. Of course, me, Takuya, and Sogen don't need to go out often. We have all of that in our own room."

Jun nodded silently. 'I ... don't believe this. Is this even a prison?'

Mudora, eyeing Jun's doubtful expression, laughed. "Yes, you can trust I'm telling the truth. Yesterday, you came at night, so we didn't have much time to explain and explore. So today, I'll give you a full tour of the place. Oh, and one more thing. Only the cafeteria serves food here. If you ever get hungry in between meals, there's a bunch of vending machines hanging around."

Jun nodded and quickly wolfed down his eggs and sausages. "I-I'm ready for whatever you have planned to show."

Mudora laughed and motioned him to follow. "So, yesterday at dinner we took you to the courtyard, so let's show you some facilities. Like right here, this is the game room." He pointed to a large clear door on their right.

Jun peered inside and saw a variety of the latest game consoles and video games. It was full of crazy, colorful and comfy furniture, fit for a gaming atmosphere.

"And down there is the gym," Mudora continued, pointing at the end of the hall, at two metal doors. "Takuya spent most of his time here, before we got some equipment into our own room. Crazy guy."

Jun spent his morning following Mudora around as he walked him all over the place, giving in depth descriptions of each room they stopped by. He explained that the Foundry is composed of three buildings - the A-Block, for males, and B-Block, for females. Each block is off limits to residents of the opposite block. The third area, C-Ground, is the universal area where all inmates of both genders are allowed free.

By the time Mudora had finished the tour, the lunch bell sounded. The sun was high in the sky, beaming down on the prison. Not a cloud was in sight of the vast blue skies.

Lunch was just as hectic as yesterday, with crowds of chattering inmates drowning out everything. Jun stuck close to Mudora as they grabbed their fresh salads and bowls of brown rice, heading towards their usual seat.

"And that just about concludes the tour," Mudora said. "Feel free to ask me anything else if you need to."

Jun stared down at his plate, stabbing his salad with his fork. "Is ... Takuya mean?" he asked in a soft, shy voice.

"Hm? Taku?" Mudora said. "Eh, he's mean if you push him that way. But then again, isn't everyone like that? He's a nice guy. Real dependable. I think you'll like him."

Jun blushed.

"N-no! I didn't mean in a romantic way!" Mudora said, trying to clarify himself. "I meant like you'd get along with him, that's all!"

"What are you two goofballs talking about?"

Jun turned and saw a tall young man standing over them with Sayuri tagging behind him. The mysterious man was completely bald with a large scar running over his right eye, leaving only his left open. Shiny piercings inhabited both his ears.

"Hi guys!" Sayuri said cheerfully, taking a seat next to Mudora. Her pink dress looked even brighter underneath the sunlight. "I brought Inari, Mudora. He's finally not sick anymore."

Mudora nodded and motioned for the new companion to join them. "Jun, this is Inari, the Phantom. He's a longtime friend of ours, although he couldn't meet you yesterday because of a cold. Don't be fooled though. He looks mean, but he's a nice guy. Isn't that right, Inari?"

Inari nodded, sitting next to Jun. "Yeppers. I heard about a new Cursed around, but I was too sick to even move, let alone meet a newbie. So what's this about romance?"

"Oh nothing like that. He just wanted to know Takuya's temper," Mudora explained, waving his hand dismissively. "He's a nice person, right guys?"

"The Reaper? He's as nice as Sakina," Inari said, chuckling. "Just kidding! He's alright. Just don't push his buttons. I wish I looked like him, though. I could get any girl I want!" He and Mudora laughed.

"He's so hunky and dreamy," Sayuri replied, sighing like a schoolgirl in love as she thought of him. "Gah! He's handsome! I think it'd be super duper cute if Junnie and him got together."

Mudora and Inari both snickered at Jun's blushing face. Flustered, Jun shyly dismissed himself from the table, clumsily getting up and walking out, leaving the three of them alone to gossip.

Walking down the quiet hallways alone gave him time to calm down and collect himself. 'End up together?' Jun thought. 'With him? Takuya? Not a chance! Even if he was the last guy on earth, I wouldn't give my heart to him! He's nothing but a mean, insensitive pervert!'

He opened the door to their cell and immediately regretted it. There was Takuya, lifting weights in the back. He looked up at the sound of the cell door opening and flashed Jun a quick flirty white smile.

"Sup, ghostie?" he greeted. "Surprised you made it back by yourself."

Jun nodded and mumbled something in agreement. He shuffled over to his bed and flopped down on it. While he didn't want to be alone with Takuya, opening the door then turning around seemed even more awkward.

"So what brings you back so early?" Takuya asked, trying to kill the uncomfortable silence between them.

"Um, no reason," Jun mumbled in response. He was nervous; this was the man who hated him and was going to wake him up. "I just ... wanted to see the room again."

Takuya raised a confused eyebrow at the unenthusiastic response. "Well alright then. Hey, Mudora told you that I'm going to wake you up now, right?"

Jun nodded.

"Good." Takuya smiled mischievously. "Just making sure."

The next morning, Jun was suddenly woken up by the blaring of a shrilly whistle. He quickly opened his eyes to find Takuya standing next to him, with a shiny whistle in his mouth and an angry tint in his fierce golden eyes.

Jun panicked, his heart pounding loudly. 'Wh-what did I do wrong? Is he going to punch me? His eyes scare me!'

Takuya smirked at Jun's scared expression. "Good, you're awake. Now get up, ghostie. We've got things to do."

As Jun sat up, rubbed his eyes, and slipped out of bed, he finally noticed that it was still dark. Squinting, he looked at the clock. 4:31 a.m. He followed Takuya into the weight section, running his fingers through his messy brown hair.

"I expect you up and awake at four thirty sharp tomorrow morning!" Takuya said sternly. "No more of this 'I can't wake up on time' crap! Understood?"

Jun nodded shyly. "Y-yes sir."

Smirking, Takuya flexed his arm at him. "Feel the bicep, ghostie."

Jun blushed, staring at him. He was thankful that it was still dark, hiding the flustered look on his face. His hand wrapped around Takuya's arm. Not surprisingly, it was hard and very impressive.

"That's what I'm going to make you into!" he snapped, pushing Jun away. "You're a skinny little camper. Even if we have to go all day, I'm going to beef you up, ghostie! Starting now! Drop and give me fifty!"