Brothers (Part 1)

Chapter 6 - Shackles

Nico: "You had her yesterday, Uno!"

Uno: "No, that was like two days ago!"

Rock: "Still, let one of us have a turn!"

Uno: "I say we have another competition!"

Jyugo: "No way, you'll just cheat!"

Uno: "*gasp*! How dare you..."

Jinx: "Alright! That's enough! If you're going to fight over me every night, then I'll sleep by myself! Little me, freezing over there in the corner... Right... I'm coming up with the competition tonight. First, Uno, you had me recently. So you sit."

Uno: "Aw man..."

He sat on the ground against the back wall.

Jinx: "Now, you three stand against that wall."

I pointed to the left wall of the cell. They did as I said, with puzzled looks on their faces. I walked over to the right wall and climbed on top of the bunk bed. I took out a piece of cloth from my pocket and tied it around my head, covering my eyes like a blindfold.

Nico: "Jinx... what are you doing?"

Jinx: "The one who catches me, wins. 3-2-1-Go."

I fell off the top bunk and heard their footsteps and shouts as they all ran to me, panicking. I felt someone catch me and took off my blindfold and smiled.

Jinx: "Well done, Jyugo. You won."

They were all panting. Even Uno who stood up when he realized what I was doing.

Jyugo: "What were you thinking?!"

Nico: "You could have gotten really hurt!"

Rock: "Are you crazy?!"

Jinx: "First, yes, I do believe I am crazy. I'm in Nanba Prison, after all. Second, I trust my big brothers."

Jyugo put me down on my feet gently.

Jyugo: "We appreciate it, but maybe you trust us a little too much..."

Jinx: "You caught me, didn't you?"

Jyugo: "Yeah..."

Uno: "Just don't pull a stunt like that again!"

Jinx: "It was just a glorified trust fall, but fine."

That night, I slept in Jyugo's arms. But after a while, I was still wide awake. I whispered.

Jinx: "Hey, Jyugo... You awake?"

Jyugo: "Mhm."

Jinx: "Something's been on my mind since I met you."

Jyugo: "What's that?"

Jinx: "Remember when you took my tight cuffs off, and Uno told me you could unlock anything?"

Jyugo: "Yes..."

Jinx: "Well, why don't you take yours off...?"

I was talking about the thick black shackles on his wrists, ankles, and neck.

Jyugo: "Heh, I was wondering when you were going to ask me about these things. You see, these can't be removed."

Jinx: "Why not?"

Jyugo: "When it comes to strength, yours were nothing compared to mine. A few researchers offered to remove them, but none of them even came close. As you can see, they're just shackles. No locks, no chains. Someone slipped these on me back in one of my old prisons while I was asleep."

Jinx: "Who?"

Jyugo: "I caught a glimpse of the guy. Nothing more. He was a guard, or at least dressed like a guard. He had a big red scar on the back of his neck. That's... all I got... I searched prison after prison. America, England, France, China. The guard was nowhere to be found. But I kept searching, because only he can do it. Only he can remove these damn shackles-"

He was cut off when I rolled over and wrapped my arms around him.

Jinx: "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have asked..."

Jyugo: "It's alright... it's nothing. Get some sleep now, okay?"