Minami Sonobe
Minami's eyes fluttered open, her vision focusing as she awakened. She lay on her back on a decently comfortable wooden bed. The mattress was old and had hardened after use but it was better than nothing and it cradled her form perfectly. She gazed up at the bland metallic ceiling. She felt a sort of melancholy fill her with anxiety. A dream. She thought mildly to herself. However, despite the nonchalance of her thoughts, her emotions were stirring with fear, and another feeling akin to despair. It had been awhile since she had dreams such as the one she now remembered faintly. It was a dream of people drenched in blood staring at her. Pools of sticky red liquid surrounded them. Sometimes even she was covered in the blackened wetness of freshly spilled blood. There was never any light in these dreams; only a darkness that absorbed every sound and reflected every emotion. It wasn't the people that scared her though. It was one person who stood among them with glare that shook her core. A gaze that held contempt, animosity, and condemnation. Yet, she couldn't face that person earnestly even if she wanted to. The woman couldn't speak even in her dreams. Minami rolled onto her side and closed her eyes with a shallow sigh of air. The scar at her throat tingled briefly to as if to remind her that she didn't own a voice of her own anymore. She pushed her thoughts on to other matters even though the seething sensation of her emotions remained, tamped down inside her chest. It was almost time for the residents of G-Ward to start 'interacting'. She needed to cheer up before she faced any of them. Survival comes first. She reminded herself.
Minami moved to the side of the bed and brushed the white blanket off of her. As she stretched, she allowed her gaze to reacquaint itself with her room. It was mostly empty save for the bed, a metal desk, a wooden chair off to the side, and a small locked metal box where she kept all her other items. She didn't feel the need to make it more homey since it was irrelevant to her cause. Extra items didn't help her survive, they only hindered her resolve to leave and move on. After she felt fairly loose and relaxed, she moved to the metal box on the other side of the room after retrieving the key from under her pillow. She unlocked it and retrieved a pair of workout clothing and closed the lid. Minami relocked the box and turned back towards her bed to put to key where it had been. She stored it underneath her pillow and straightened the bed briskly before tossing the set of clothing on the bed. She began to dress herself in the shorts and plain black t-shirt. Once she finished putting on her clothes and a pair of socks and sneakers; she moved to the door to wait patiently. Irritation still mired her emotions but she mentally squeezed her feelings and pushed them completely down. In their stead arose a slight smile and mirthful gaze borne of honest feeling of pleasure, however corrupted it was.
She heard footsteps become louder as they approached her door. Eventually some of them stopped and she heard the faint click that was her door unlocking. Her mirth rose as she thought of the people beyond the door. She felt a false happiness swell higher in her chest and her smile broadened. Minami escaped the room and went to commingle with some of the other residents. Many were happy to see her, waving and returning her smile as she passed them. Some stopped to chat with her with little things happening around the ward while she would nod happily or try to express herself through small gestures. She didn't have it in her to hear the voice emitted from the transmuter today either. Once the tide of residents had turned into only a few here and there in the hallways, Minami made her way towards the training room. When she entered it was surprisingly empty. The smell of sweat and disinfectant clung to the air so she wondered if the other people had already wandered off to other places. She moved to an open area and began stretching. She wanted to make sure she wouldn't cramp when she began to push her body to the limit. As she bent at the waist to reach to the floor, her mind reeled to other more interesting things.
Minami thought back to the carnival corpse with Snowy Owl. She had lost pathetically. Now, as a result, she had no vocal cords. The only voice she could wield wasn't her own. It was a small machine that allowed her to speak but she didn't feel like she was the one speaking whenever she used it. It was like she didn't even really inhabit her own body. Although some of the other inmates who she were somewhat close to were supportive and had helped a lot, it didn't stop the pang of anger and regret blossom in her chest every time she remembered it. She lost because of her own weakness and that was what bothered her. She had thought she was strong enough not to lose and had been arrogant in thinking such things. She stopped stretching and made her way over to the punching bag. She didn't wear any gloves, she wanted to feel every punch. Minami wanted to feel the collision of her fists with the bag until they felt raw. She wanted to feel alive, and strong. Minami never wanted to feel weak again no matter the cost. She felt like she could wile, trick, and brave her way through to the end…but she needed to push herself past the limits of the weakness inside her.
A sharp, cruel clarity burned in her gaze as she stared at the black punching bag. No one was in the room with her and she let her facade come down just enough for her to let her true emotions boil inside her and rise to the surface. Minami quickly tied her long black hair up and readied her stance. Many thoughts battled for attention and she quieted them by resolutely pushing them away. She lashed out, her right fist connecting with the bag and it rocked powerfully with the force of her hit. Her muscles felt relaxed and easygoing like they should have and she recoiled back from the bag as it rebounded towards her and lashed out with her left fist to send it tilting backwards again. Eventually she began working up a pace and her thoughts narrowed on the rhythm. Right, Dodge, Left, Back, Right… Exhilaration filled her as she felt her knuckles burn from the friction with the bag's tough surface. Time passed and sweat began to make her aware of the temperature in the room. Her breath became rough as she pushed herself to keep up the quick pace. Her mind was quiet and calm. Her emotions were as still as a stagnant lake. However, when her muscles began to surpass burning and started to cramp with the need to stop, Minami grabbed and held the trembling punching bag until it stilled. She listened to her ragged breathing and leaned her forehead against the bag, letting her body calm down. The sweaty woman briefly glanced to her knuckles which began to sting to catch her attention. Blood seeped in a minuscule amount from the middle finger's knuckle joint on both hands and the other knuckles were just mostly raw. It would heal perfectly fine in time and was easily ignored compared to the wounds that had carved her flesh in the carnival corpses' and in the past. Her stomach, however, was a different problem. It growled loudly and cramped enough to make her briefly frown. She would have to go get some food from the shops if she wanted something filling that wasn't just medicine in the form of candy; not that she would eat her candies without absolutely needing to after the usual three days time. Minami plastered a warm smile on her face and left the room, prancing towards one of the shops wondering happily what she would eat.