Prison School: No More Prison

'I-Is this… A d-date?' Kiyoshi asked himself. 'No,no, don't start imagining things… Hana-san needed help with something, and in order to grow up as a better person, I must help her! I must…become a true man! Just like Andre!'

Hana served Kiyoshi some tea she made. It was one of her favorite blends: lemon, grapefruit and ginger. They both sat down and drank some, but none of them spoke a word.

'I can't tell what Hana-san is thinking… But if she needs help with something so important she calls me here… It must be something serious!'

'I-I have no idea why I called him to my room!' Hana thought. 'I knew I had to talk to him about something but n-now… I'm… N-Nervous…'

Both of them stared at different parts of the room while drinking the citric blend.

Kiyoshi inspected the room of the blonde girl. It was his first time visiting someone's room since he came to Hachimitsu. The smell, decoration and the tea, made him feel strangely safe and relaxed. Enough for him to use the 'san' honorific with Hana once again.

Hana on the other side was starting to get even more nervous. Slightly trembling and sweating. She tried to look away from Kiyoshi, but felt disgustingly captivated by his clothes and looks. She started drinking more tea until it almost ran out.

"..."

"..."

Around ten minutes had passed since the last word and both of them started getting confused.

'I-Is she waiting for me to say something?'

'I-Is he waiting for me to do something?'

Both stared at nothing, then at something from the other and finally, their eyes met. Hana would have blushed in another situation, but when she saw Kiyoshi's face…

'Ah… He's having that face again… I've seen it already… It's the same face he had at Chiyo's birthday…'

Kiyoshi on the other hand, looked at Hana and found himself weirded out by her face.

'What's up with her? Her face is telling me she's waiting for something yet nothing happens…'

Suddenly, both broke the silence

"Listen I-"

"Hana, I-"

And were found by each other's words.

Hana looked at the ground and decided she had enough. She took the chance she had and with a deep breath, started talking:

"Kiyoshi… I wanted to talk with you. I-I know this is way to soon and out of nowhere but I need your help"

"Y-Yes… B-But what do you need exactly?"

Hana looked surprised at the question

"W-What do I need exactly?" Hana thought about that question deeply, yet her face maintained a slight serious tone. "There's something I want to know"

Kiyoshi looked a bit worried.

"Y-Yes, of course. I-I'll tell you whatever I know about anything" He said in a dumb tone.

"Have you talked to her?"

Kiyoshi stopped smirking as soon as he understood the question.

"It's almost been a week…"

"..."

"I-I didn't have the… I didn't talk to her" Hana said as she drank the last cup of tea.

"...M-Me neither"

"...I see… Are you scared?" Hana said as she looked away.

"Yes, yes I am." Kiyoshi said without many doubts on her face. "B-But why are you asking me this?"

"...i-i'm scared too…" Hana almost whispered those words. 

Kiyoshi looked at her while she tried to drink her empty cup.

"...C-Chiyo-chan will eventually come out of her room… for what i've heard, she looked herself in, Mayumi being the only one she talked to…"

"N-Not even Meiko?"

"n-no" Hana's small hand trembled a bit when she heard that name. "i-i didn't think that she would do that… M-Mari-san told me that when you escaped for the first time she did something similar… b-but that was only for one day… a-and it's been almost 5 days since then…"

"..." Kiyoshi started sweating, his throat felt sore again and his eyes lost focus for a second.

"i-if she tells anyone what happened… i-i'll have to leave the school… heh, i'll lose my only friends, my reputation and three years of my life" Hana said as she chuckled with a nervous voice.

"H-Hana-san…" Kiyoshi raised his arm trying to reach for her, but stopped mid-air. "I-I know how you feel… b-but I don-"

"W-Why?! W-Why did I fucking do that?!" Hana screamed out of nowhere, her face being covered by both her hands.

"H-Hana! Calm down!" Kiyoshi stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders. "I-If anything comes up, I'll take the blame, it was my fault after all!"

Hana finally looked at him, her face red and covered in small tears. Her face was full of questions

"W-Why are you suddenly acting so responsible and mature? A-Are you trying to act kind and shit so you can feel less guilty?"

"I-I… N-No, I'm just trying to act more…mature"

"Y-You? mature?"

Kiyoshi looked at her in a mix of irritation and doubt. "I-I know what I'm saying sounds like bullshit but-"

*Knock knock knock*

Someone knocked on Hana's door with full force

"Hana-san? Are you there? It's Meiko! Please let me in!"

"w-what? s-shit!" Both Kiyoshi and Hana asked at the same time.

As Meiko opened the door, both of them looked at eachother with terror on their eyes.

Chiyo's POV:

…

Dirty…

I have this feeling that I'm dirty no matter how much I wash myself…

I tend to take a shower everyday, but as of this week this is the second time I take one.

My mind is blurry… All I can think of is water…

Yet it's not blue… It's sadly a yellowish color…

"C-Chiyo-chan, can I wash your back?"

As I rubbed soap against my arms, Mayumi appeared and asked me that question.

I nodded, I hadn't been able to talk properly… Not even to her…

I'm not mad at her for not coming to my birthday, even though I'd like to know why…

"A-Ah… aren't you cold, Chiyo? Y-You haven't entered the bathtub, right?"

I shook my head.

"Let's go together, alright?"

Mayumi grabbed my hand and we both walked into the tub.

The hot water felt nice, but I still felt dirty.

"C-Chiyo-chan, how are you feeling today?"

I just looked down, my eyes couldn't meet hers. I felt too dirty for that… When did I feel a small deja vu?

"I-I see…" Mayumi layed down on her back

"Hey Mayumi! What happened to your channel?" Some other girl from behind started talking to her.

…

As I felt the hot water hit my body, I sat down on the tub, the water reaching my neck.

It felt… good.

I feel a bit less dirty…

…

"why…"

Why did Hana do that? Why was Kiyoshi wearing that? I don't get it…

Was he really a pervert? Was he always this disgusting?...

As I opened my eyes, I was submerged from my nose down into the tub…

I felt a tad cleaner.

Why did he lie to me?... I thought he liked me…

I thought-

I thought he was a good person…

My father thought so… He gave him permission to prove his innocence in school after talking to him…

The other guys thought so… they helped him and the USC in the sports festival…

Even my sister started thinking so… he trusted him a bit more than other guys, yet…

He lied to me…

He took advantage of my heart and lied to me…

Why?

…

Maybe Mari was right…

He's just a disgusting pervert…

I sank into the water while closing my eyes…

…

How didn't I see it? For the sumo match he lied about being in prison and escaped while stealing my uniform. He lied to me about not wearing Hana's underwear… He lied about loving me…

He's a liar… a liar and a disgusting pervert…

…

Yet…

He chose not to touch my body while we were in prison…

He helped me get revenge for the baby crows…

He even planned my birthday… Didn't he?

…

Maybe those were lies too…

What did he want from me?

I-

I don't understand them…

I don't understand men .

A hand suddenly reached my body. And as I opened my eyes, I was underwater…

It was a flashy second, but I could assure myself that I saw my life through my eyes.

I saw everything. The moment I was born, my first birthday, the day my father took me to my first sumo fight, my tenth birthday, the day Mari and I climbed a tree, the day I met Mayumi, the day I went to buy school supplies and found an interesting eraser, my first day at Hachimitsu, the day I met Kiyoshi, the juvenile sumo match, the time I helped them escape expulsion, the time I went to prison, the moment I saw the PBR, the sports festival and before I could see my last birthday, I saw a blonde girl smiling at me…

A hand grabbed me, I could hear some unrecognizable sounds as it pulled me away from the water…

"C-Chiyo-chan!? W-What's going on?!"

Mayumi screamed at me worried. I could hear some other girls screaming in the back while some others runned away from the bathroom…

My vision got a bit blurry and I felt sleepy…

"C-Chiyo we need to get you into the nurse's office right now!"

My mind felt a bit more… organized.

"...I'm clean now"

I said while finally getting some good sleep.

End of Chiyo's POV.

Hana's POV:

"Hana! I'm sorry for entering at this hour in the night but I need your help, fast! I tried to contact Anzu but she's not at school"

"P-Prez! I-It's okay, please tell me what happened"

I looked discreetly behind me. I don't know where Kiyoshi went but at least he was hiding somewhere safe.

"Apparently a student almost drowned in the baths, I need you to help me calm down the rest of the first year girls before they go into a panic frenzy"

"W-What? W-Who?"

Drowned? Did someone try to off themselves?

"I-It was Chiyo-san"

?!...

My heart stopped for a second. My throat tangled itself up and I tried to swallow my own saliva.

"I don't know what happened, but she's okay, she's at the nurse's office now. Please help me calm the other girls down"

"y-yes ma'am"

"I'll get going, sorry for the intrusion"

…

As Meiko left the room I was left speechless on the door looking at nothing. 

"w-what did she just say?"

Kiyoshi started speaking behind me. He sounded as concerned as I was.

"..."

"H-Hana… I-"

"Y-You wait here… I'll go talk to the girls…"

"I-I-I… okay"

I left my room and started running towards the female bath.

[...]

It was chaotic down there. Some girls were crying, others were straight up shocked.

I took some girls to their rooms, thank goodness most of them were already sleeping or eating, about 20 girls saw the incident. The biggest problem this school has is gossiping, if something happens in less than 10 minutes half the academy is talking about it, this was no exception. 

As I escorted the last duo of girls to their rooms, one of them looked worried at me.

"Hana-san, are you ok?"

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, please take care of yourselves, ok?"

"Y-Yes, thanks…"

I ran towards the council's office looking for Meiko, sadly she wasn't there, as I got out of the office I found Kate.

"H-Hana-san, are you looking for Meiko?"

"Yes, have you seen her?!"

"Y-Yes, she's at the nurse's office, a-are you ok?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine, just-"

"P-Please go to your room, I'll text you when Meiko is done"

"I-I can't do that, Meiko-san may need me…"

"...Fine, just go, but please calm down…"

Calm down? What's this bitch talking about… There's nothing to calm down about this situation…

I tried walking to the infirmary, but my steps quickly became faster as each second passed.

At the door I found Mayumi, one of Chiyo's friends.

"A-Ah, Hana-san, y-you can't enter!"

"H-Huh? why not? Is Meiko there?"

"y-yes but"

"Then I must go inside"

Mayumi grabbed me by the arm. For a second I must have made a really scary face, because Mayumi looked at me with fear in her eyes.

"C-Chiyo asked for no one to see her besides Meiko or… Mari"

My lips trembled as I heard that. I see…. so that's how things are going…

I simply looked at the door and decided it was not worth the risk.

"Please, tell Meiko to text me or something once she comes out"

"Y-Yes…"

"Goodnight…"

"A-Ah, before you go Hana-san"

"Hmm?"

"Have you seen Kiyoshi lately? I heard he's now part of the council and I've wanted to talk to him"

…

It must be about Chiyo. No other person in this academy knows anything going on inside Chiyo's room but her.

"No, I haven't seen him, but if I do, I'll tell him to talk to you"

"T-Thanks… please take care of yourself"

And so, I walked back to my room.

What felt like 5 minutes in my head, took around 30 or so. 

As I arrived, I simply opened the door.

No noise came from inside my room.

There was no one inside.

Kiyoshi must have already left. That piece of shit… even after I told him to wait for me…

I sat down on my bed and looked at my phone, no one had texted me. This was fairly common, I don't like to give my phone number to many people…

But today I feel…

Augh! This stupid head of mine is tricking me again!

…

As I thought about it, I felt some tears forming in my eyes. This couldn't get any worse. Now Chiyo's feeling like shit because of me and that asshole. And now, when she tells everyone what happened, it's gonna be even worse for me…

I'm alone now…

I'm even lonelier than before I joined the council… before I got friends…

Why am I acting like that? What's going on with me?

"f-fuck…"

I said as the tears finally broke.

"E-Ehm… H-Hana-san?"

My face stopped crying for a second, someone's voice came from under the bed.

"S-Sorry! I got scared it could be Meiko again and I went under the bed…"

I simply glared at him as he got out of bed.

"It's okay, you can go home now, we can talk later I guess…"

That's enough for today… The last thing I wanted was to-

Suddenly, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder

"I-I'm sorry but, Are you okay, Hana-san?"

I looked at Kiyoshi's face. His face looked the same since Saturday, yet now he looks even more worried than usual. As our eyes met and understood the meaning of his question, I couldn't help myself but to resume my crying.

"H-How can I be okay?! T-This sucks! I-I threw away my whole academic life for something I can't comprehend the reason behind! I-I lost my best friend without having the chance to say goodbye! I-I ruined that girl's sister's birthday and her will to live too! I-I'm… I-I'm a piece of shit!..."

"..."

"A-And the worst part is… I-I'm alone…"

"..."

His silence hurt my head. I wanted him to do something like old Kiyoshi would, to act cowardly or to scream back at me.

"I-It's not your fault Han-"

"IT IS"

"!..."

"...B-But I'm not alone…Y-You're the only one I have left… W-We're both culprits…"

In this situation, my mind was damaged enough for me to say that without thought. And I think Kiyoshi was living in a similar situation, because in the midst of my crying…

He hugged me…

It was a bit awkward, I could feel him trying to maintain distance. But I understood what he tried to say to me.

"W-We uhm… should sit and talk for a bit, okay?"

He handed me a pink towel he had in his pocket. I'm not sure where it came from but it smells decently good.

"...okay"

He sat down next to me, and even though we were sitting really close, this one time I didn't mind. 

To be continued…

---

Hey there! Thanks for reading this far! One of the hardest chapters to write for me... I'm still trying to get the pacing done right... Hope you enjoyed it! We'll see what happens on next chapter! Sorry for teasing you guys about the date, but don't worry, as Kiyoshi said, his life is just starting!

Also, if not updated, please check AO3 version of Prison School: NMP!:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58965832/chapters/150314026

(You can find next chapter's release date in there!)