"Here. Use his clothes, you'll need it," The young man Keitaro assumed was Sasuke dropped the still and lifeless body of the guard at his feet, and Keitaro felt himself become even more pale. The guard's breathing was shallow and erratic, and Keitaro couldn't even guess at what Sasuke did to him. He grimace and turned away, feeling his fingers twitching as his body continued to fight the medication that he had been forced to ingest the night before.
"Thank you," Keitaro murmured before Sasuke could wander away.
The guard force had been expecting a rebellion for some time now, and their grip on the lives of the prisoners had tightened wickedly. The medication they used to attempt to control them had changed. It had become stronger, thicker, and more brutal. Now, it was more likely to kill than to numb those who imbibed of it. And yet, Keitaro's exhausted body continued to fight it. The nausea was almost unbearable, and his head swam when he moved too quickly. But that was no excuse. Sasuke was right in saying that he would need clothes.
Keitaro returned to the guard, who stirred as he laid his trembling hands upon his chest and began to unbutton the shirt that enveloped his considerable girth. The man was a lot larger than Keitaro was, and his clothes would be misshaped and malformed on his own shoulders, but he had no other choice. He relieved the man of his coat, which he set aside, and then of his shirt beneath. It was filthy, and stank of body odor, and Keitaro grimaced at the thought of putting such a filthy garment on his own skin. He decided it best to leave him his trousers, and his shoes, choosing not to risk the infections that might assail him from those. Keitaro decided to just do the best with what little he had.
As he pulled on the garments, he turned his thoughts to those around him. Firstly, there was the blind girl. It was she who had proposed this venture, but she looked as weary and uncertain as the rest of them did. Yet he had to admire her courage in making the arrangements in the first place. Then, there was the other girl, who stood close to her, almost protectively. Keitaro assumed that was Ari. She looked fearsome and defensive, and more aware of her surroundings than everyone except Sasuke. Sasuke seemed to have a grip on his emotions, and seemed to be able to objectively make decisions. He also seemed caring, and Keitaro nodded to himself. If Sasuke was to lead them on, then he would have no qualms against it. Finally, was the male that Keitaro willingly admitted to himself that he understood the least. Hiro stood, strong and sure, and yet there was a flicker of something else beneath his concentrated gaze, and Lei looked quietly confident in his own abilities. Keitaro did up the last button on the massive shirt, and shrugged on the filthy coat before turning to the room in general, who he had decided would work well together.
The cafeteria had long been cleared of all furniture, and now seemed to be just a bare and empty room. Windows punctured the walls at every few feet, but they were barred and shuttered, so that only slivers of sunlight could cut through the dim lighting. There were three doors. One, that Keitaro had just entered through, and another that was opposite that he assumed led to the rest of the prison. But there was one other, a tiny, steel door in the corner of the room, and that was the one that Keitaro approached, gathering his thoughts as he did.
"I think this is where we go..." He paused as a second alarm went off. It was louder and harsher than the one that had announced their time to leave, and Keitaro assumed that this one was to alarm the guards that six individuals hadn't been accounted for. Keitaro swore softly under his breath and placed a hand on the door. It melted and shrank beneath his hands, and on impulse, he forced the steel into small bars. On one end, each bar was smooth, with ribs that would aid grip, and on the other, the steel flattened out and became sharp. He created three, as he forced a hole in the wall that would be large enough for each member of their party to stumble through, and pocketed the makeshift weapons.
Keitaro glanced once through the door. It seemed to lead out into a closed off yard, and for the first time since he had been brought to the prison, he began to understand the layout. The prison cells seemed to be placed all in one building, which was attacked to the cafeteria they were gathered in. The building was shaped like an 'L', around the courtyard in front of them, and opposite their building, was the guards barracks, from which poured dozens of the men, armed and surging towards the great double doors that Keitaro remembered led into the main holding area. It seemed that they hadn't been noticed yet. The yard was massive, with a dried up fountain decorating the center. Surrounded by walls, the only escape seemed to be a guarded gateway next to the barracks. He gestured to the others to come and look as they wanted, and thought quickly.
"At this point, I'd suggest this...I'm not familiar with your powers, but it seems that myself and Sasuke are both armed. One of us should take front, and the other should guard the rear. We don't have much time..." He paused, his muddled brain attempting to formulate an escape plan, "A distraction maybe?" Keitaro shook his head as his speech began to slur, giving up. It would take a couple of hours for his body to recover, but until then, he settled for just doing as the others judged was best.
Ari watched from her place beside Fortuna as, one by one, the prisoners stumbled into the abandoned cafeteria. Everyone looked tired and weary, and much the worse for wear, but she knew that they would have to force themselves onwards. They had much to do, still. Once they had escaped the main building, there were the woods that surrounded the prison to hide in until they could find a way off of the island. It would be a long, grueling journey, and Ari wasn't even sure how large the island was. She glanced beside her at Fortuna, who had a look of solid determination and trepidation on her features, and smiled to herself. Ari was sure that she had an expression just as grim on her own face.
She glanced up as Sasuke approached them, and knelt at Fortuna's feet, and had to raise a hand to cover her lips as a small smile threatened to break through. It seemed that, despite that dire situation, chivalry wasn't quite dead. His words were true though. Time was running out for their little group unless they found an escape route. The air around her rippled slightly as she became more agitated, and that was when the ringing of the second alarm shattered the tense silence in the cavernous room. Ari jumped a little at the sound, and turned to look at Keitaro who had begun to speak.
"At this point, I'd suggest this...I'm not familiar with your powers, but it seems that myself and Sasuke are both armed. One of us should take front, and the other should guard the rear. We don't have much time...A distraction, maybe?"
Ari grimaced and shook her head, going to look at the hole in the door that he had obviously created. Oustide, the guards swarmed like ants in a hill, and all was organized chaos. It made sense to use a distraction, but Ari wasn't sure.
"I...I don't know," She said, placing a hand on Keitaro's arm before pulling him back to the others. His skin was freakishly hot beneath her hand and she frowned before letting him go. She glanced at those around them, slowly, hesitantly, "What do you think? All I know is that we don't have long"