Kozuna
"Urgghhhh..." I groaned, slowly blinking through blurry vision and struggling to sit up.
What the hell? Where am I?
"So you're finally awake, huh? Took you a few days to come to…"
I grunted and turned to the side, facing the cell to my right. Another guy was there, not even looking in my direction. He seemed highly unwell, with how pale brown his skin was. But then, I felt the same way... My stomach growled as loud as it could…
"They left some food at the door of your cell…"
"Who are you? Where am I? Everything's… kinda fuzzy…"
The other prisoner sat up in his bed and turned to me.
"Maybe it's a side effect of your curse. Anyway, this fucking place is, Sand Tower. You know... the maximum-security prison, where you Ozukashi hold curse wielders?"
Doesn't take more than a glance to realize it's just us up here… How long has he been locked up..?
"So you have a curse too? I've never seen you around, you gonna tell me your name?"
"None of your business, idiot. All the Ozukashi want to do is to use people, especially from other clans... So don't start asking about my curse either..."
I let out a deep breath.
"I see. You're not from this clan. Fair enough... it's not like I… like this clan all that much either... Not like I even fit in, for that matter... Even if you don't tell me your name, I'll tell you a bit about myself. I'm Kozuna Ozukashi, and as far as I know, my curse allows me to move extremely fast, with the expected benefits that come with speed…"
The other prisoner didn't care. He just laid back down, staring at the ceiling.
"So… Do you know why I got imprisoned here?"
Taking to my feet, I picked up the food and began eating my… stale meal…
"I don't know the details, you think the motherfuckers that come through here tell me shit? All I heard was some guards talkin' about putting you on trial…"
His words didn't process until I was mid-chew, and I almost spit my food out resultantly.
"Wait, I'm going on trial? For what?"
"Beats me. Maybe you'll get lucky and be executed. If they give you the same treatment as me, well then… you wouldn't be getting the easy way out… Buuut you're getting a trial, and I didn't. Maybe we'll both be lucky. You'll die, and I won't have to hear your loud-ass breathing."
The prisoner shined a fake smile at me before glaring at the curse seal on his right hand.
"If you're from another clan… Why didn't they execute you? What's so valuable about your curse?"
"My curse is how you idiots can live prosperous lives. No other clan lives like the Ozukashi, and it's because they abuse my curse while acting like they can't stand the mere thought of even being near one! Hysterical-ass hypocrisy… They feed me juuuuust enough to keep me alive…"
He's reasonably angry, I get that... And he seems intelligent, that's good. If I'm gonna be stuck up here, maybe we can eventually have some decent conversations… At the very least… Not sure what to say, though…
"Well... I won't pretend to know how you feel. Sorry... I don't know how long you've been locked up here; you've got every right to be pissed. But rather than yelling, just vent… there are…" I paused to breathe in and out slowly. "...plenty of things about this clan I wanna vent about too…"
My neighbor simply sucked his teeth and rolled over.
"Yeah, sure. The day I stop yelling at you, is the day I escape this hellhole. And the only reason I won't be yelling at you is that you won't be around for me to yell at!"
I chuckled softly before continuing to eat my disgusting food.
Well, I can't be mad at him. But maybe I can brighten his life up, at least a little.
"Want some of this? It doesn't taste too good… But I'm sure you could use it more than I could…"
"What? No, fuck off. You're just messing with me."
"Nah." I stepped to the side of the cell and slid the plate between the bars, careful to not let the food hit the floor. "Here; it's in your cell now." I continued, backing away.
With a groan, and a mean look, the other guy crept over and grabbed the plate, taking a portion of it for himself. He left the rest, holding out the plate to me.
"I ain't eatin' all of this, it tastes like shit."
"Yeah… Beggars can't be choosers, am I right..?" I smirked, taking the remainder. "So, how old are you? Mind telling me what clan you're from, at least..?"
"I'm seventeen. That's all you need to know. And I heard those guards say you were sixteen, so don't bother saying it…" He stopped speaking for a brief moment. "Also… Quit acting so friendly… I have no intention of being friends if that wasn't obvious enough already, you idiot..."
Our exchange of words came to an abrupt end as an annoying whirring noise overtook my ears…
At the end of the hall, the elevator was moving, rising higher with every passing second. My gaze naturally fixated on the door, but judging by the lack of care on my neighbor's face, it definitely didn't concern him. The door soon slid open, and two soldiers walked out.
"Bet you a stack Koma-zuna ain't awake."
The guards looked over at me, one with a look of pure joy, while the other was stuck in shock.
"Where's my money?" asked the cocky-smirked guard.
"We didn't shake on it!"
"Hey! What's going on?" I shouted, commanding the bickering soldiers to get back on task.
"...I'm not paying you anything… Ahem… Kozuna Ozukashi! We're here to take you to the Steel Palace! So make this easy on yourself. Just let us restrain you, and this day will go smoother for all of us."
Not much point in resisting… If they're taking me outside, that is… Besides, the Steel Palace is where the clan leader is… I wanna have a chat with him anyway…
"Have fun with your worse-than-death sentence... Don't get a stick up your ass!"
"Oh, shut up..." I muttered, handcuffed and escorted away by the guards.
They took me several floors down, where Yvira and Zara were held. When I saw them, I smiled for a moment, until I abruptly remembered they were in prison too.
Zara was the first to meet my gaze, among the level filled with overly loud inmates.
"Damn it... He's awake already."
...well, that sounds absolutely lovely... seems like everyone's happy I'm still alive.
One of the guards opened Zara and Yvira's cell without hesitation to warn them before cuffing them.
"Come with us. We'll be taking the three of you to the Steel Palace, where you'll be put on trial. Clan Lord Izanai himself will be the grand judge, along with the High Council. Don't try anything funny or disrespectful. All of you."
I ignored the soldiers entirely, finally speaking with some friendly faces.
"Yvira, what happened? I can't remember anything after… Nazun disappeared…"
"It's a lot to explain... right now… The commander came to talk with us a few times and explain the situation outside. So when we get in there, just let us do the talking. You've been out of it for a few days."
"Got it... I hope this turns out well for all of us…"
Zara laughed in the background.
"Oho, that would be some twisted luck..."
Momentarily, we were taken to ground level. Our escort made sure to keep me chained to Zara and Yvira by the ankles so I wouldn't run off… Not that I knew how to activate my curse on command…
Standing in broad daylight were plenty of civilians screaming and shouting, but I didn't know why. The pushy crowd almost blocked my entire view, except for the armored buggy convoy at the side of the road.
"Oh my god! There he is!"
"Down with the curse wielder!"
"Kozuna's finally awake!"
"Put the monster's head on a pike!"
The messages of the people were… mixed, at best… Some people sounded almost thrilled. Some in a good way, others in a bad way… Yvira, Zara, and I were thrown into the middle buggy while the guards rode in others. Guns were already pointing at us from the moment we stepped outside; there was no going anywhere…
"Wow, so you're finally awake?" our driver babbled.
"What? Am I famous now? Man, shut the fuck up... What does it look like?"
Ah... Maybe I am as rude as that other guy… But these people are getting on my nerves…
The driver glared back at the road, mouthing my words in pure silence.
Zara coughed at me loudly until I looked at her.
"So. I think they might have you executed, Kozuna. As for Yvira and me-"
"Executed? Why the hell would I be getting executed? I'm not Nazun! I know I have a curse and all… But I defended The Primary!"
With a sigh, Zara rubbed her head.
"Fuck… Would YOU shut up for one goddamn minute? You have a curse. Damn it we went over this before you rushed off into the public eye, just a few days ago! I knew this would happen, and now it's happening. So, once again, shut your mouth and, this time, listen up."
Zara explained every detail I missed while unconscious. She filled me in on who wasn't captured and what they expected to happen at the trial, skipping any details she deemed unnecessary. All while we were getting closer to the Steel Palace.
The palace's exterior bore a much larger mob than Sand Tower did. Dozens of soldiers held back the public, creating a clear path for us to head straight inside. Not that I wanted to, by then.
A small escort of soldiers came from another buggy, leading us into the Steel Palace. My fellow alleged criminals and I were frisked, with me only then realizing all of my weapons were missing. It hadn't occurred to me until then, with how little attention I was paying to my… lack of gear…
As we walked to the door, surrounded by the shouting of the annoying horde, I caught a glimpse of Kaiten and Anari standing at the sidelines.
So they're up and about too, huh? Seems like under better circumstances… Wait… Where's Nikai..?
"Oh right, forgot to tell you... There's no jury... The three of us have to defend ourselves, against the High Council… and the clan leader himself… Everyone else is supposed to receive live updates, but from the outside."
Great. Now my chances of survival are even slimmer than before...
"This is my first time inside of the Steel Palace!" Yvira smiled, though her bright attitude quickly diminished… "I just wish I was a princess, instead of someone on trial…"
...here we are…
***
We were taken inside the palace and directly to the throne room, where Izanai lounged on his throne, wearing a gold and red garb that fell past his feet. And ahead of the throne, on a slightly lowered level of the ground, was a wide podium, seating six people behind it.
Among those people were Livian, and… Helix…
The councilors… Since when was Helix a damn councilor?
As my eyes met Livian's, I slowly remembered what happened after defeating Nazun. I also saw that all six of them were wearing the silver cloak, even Helix. He'd cleverly never worn it in front of me before… Probably no one in the army, for that matter…
"...this is my first time actually... face-to-face with our leader... After sixteen years in this bloodthirsty clan, and I'm finally here... Albeit on some real shitty terms..."
Izanai chuckled.
"No need to flatter me, I won't go any easier on you."
"Oh trust me, I wasn't trying to flatter you..."
Yvira kicked my leg with an evil stare.
"Kozuna... Watch your tone; this is our one chance at freedom…"
You mean YOUR one chance...
"You'd be wise to listen to your friend, Kozuna..."
The guards took us to the center of the throne room before backing away to a reasonable distance. Several guards lined the sides of the room as well, all watching like hawks.
Izanai cleared his throat, then paused for a short while.
"Before we start, I want you three to decide on one speaker. No need for any exorbitant shouting."
"I'm representing our group!" Zara blurted out. "This was... previously decided upon..."
I gazed over at her with my jaw half-lowered and my eyes half-open…
"Very well… Let the trial of Kozuna, Zara, and Yvira Ozukashi… Begin."