𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒𝐓

chapter thirty-two.

Seiko awoke with a start. Her eyelids flew open, and her eyes darted across the room she was in. Panic flared through her body, itching her skin. Where was she? A room...a white room. There was no furniture in it, not a single piece. All that was there was a wooden chair, one that Seiko was tied to. It was the second thing she noticed, and the chains locked around her wrists, which bound them behind her back. The third was the muzzle around her mouth. The metal burned against her face at its obvious existence and irritated Seiko to no end. The last thing she noticed was the tight collar around her neck, which seemed to be more than just a decoration.

"Look who's finally awoken," boomed an awfully familiar voice. 

Seiko's head tilted a bit to the right, since that was all that was allowed. A woman with a taunting grin stared down at her from the side, and Seiko couldn't help but smirk, even in her awful situation. Seiko's eyes swept over Akari's current state---the huge bandage across the side of her face, and the cast wrapped around Akari's arm. "How are your injuries treating you?" she replied. "You looked pretty bad, last time I saw you."

Akari's eyes darkened. She ignored the want to strangle the young girl. After all, that was up to something else. 

Seiko let out a hiss of pain when she felt shocks run through her body. They lasted a few seconds, to her relief, but the light pain lingered. It wasn't a large shock, but it was rather small. "What was that?" Seiko asked through clenched teeth.

  She stepped closer to Seiko and tapped a manicured finger on the collar wrapped around her neck. "This," Akari smiled, "is to keep you in check. So, you might wanna watch your mouth, brat."

"That so? Well, fuck you." Seiko let out another hiss of pain when Akari shocked her again. "Bitch," Seiko mumbled.

"As you can see," Akari said with a bored tone. "You've been chained to this lovely chair. As you probably know, these aren't normal chains. Not even a little monster like you can do anything in them, so remember that."

"And the muzzle?" Seiko questioned. "The hell is that for?"

Akari's lips widened in a satisfied smile. "Just thought it'd look great on you, brat. I wanted to gag those pretty lips of yours, but he wouldn't let me. So, I'll have to take what I can get."

Seiko scoffed. "What, you think I'll bite you, or something?"

"Knowing you, probably." Akari glanced at her watch. "Grab her, and follow me."

Behind Seiko, two shadow guards appeared. One reached out to untie the rope that was wrapped around her body, and the other grabbed her by the back of her collar. Seiko noticed that she was still in her Jujutsu Tech uniform. 

To Akari's surprise, Seiko was willingly dragged out of the room and throughout the familiar hallways. "Not fighting, this time?" she asked. "What, did those shocks mess with your brain?"

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Seiko retorted, uninterested. As much as she'd love to insult Akari to pieces, she had more important matters on her mind. Although the hallways had a hint of familiarity, there were things that had been changed since the last time she had been at the place. Seiko needed to study as much as she could about the place, and memorize the layout. The quicker she could memorize the layout, the faster she could get out.