!!WARNING!! UHHH BLOOD AND BAD THINGS. BE PREPARED FOR ULTIMATE DEPRESSION.

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Rin tried to escape two more times and by then, his body was sore and his wings twitched. It took a full day for the extra appendages to stop twitching and throbbing.

They'd held him down and pulled three of his Primary feathers out. Basically, they clipped his wings. Hopefully, the feathers would grow back before he was killed. He sobbed in the corner of his cell for hours after they'd pinned him and yanked out the feathers. It had hurt and clipping a bird Unusual's wings was like taking away their pride. Their accomplishments. The places where the feathers had been throbbed painfully and no one would even give him pain meds for it.

Yukio came by to degrade him in his cell until Rin would lunge at him and struggle against the chain. Yukio learned very quickly not to put his hand over Rin's mouth. Rin had unnaturally sharp teeth and he bit two of the asshole's fingers off, no sweat. Yukio had yelled and cursed at him, but Rin only spit blood on his face and glasses as a response.

"Fuck. You. I hope you get nowhere successful in life. I hope you never marry. You will always be nothing. No one loves you, you sick. Fucking. Brat!" Rin didn't know it at the time, but his eyes had glowed and those words were spoken like an incantation. They sunk into Yukio's skin and down through his muscles into his bones. Through his body and into his soul.

He would never be anything to anybody. Because without knowing what he was capable of, Rin had cursed him for the rest of his life. Izumo had sat with a wide, fanged grin as she watched. Finally! Someone put that guy in his place!

She laughed joyously and wickedly, almost sounding like a witch. Shima watched the whole scene in horror, shivers chilling his body as he ran to get a medic to tend to Yukio, who suddenly felt very ill.

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There was no way to escape the building. But there were other options. Rin knew there were. He just needed the tools to do it. He was getting desperate as the Hunters walked by his cell and counted down his days.

Shima and Izumo were his only company and as the hours went by with all of them bored out of their minds, they talked. They talk and talked and talked. Shima told them about how he never wanted this job, but his family was part of the organization and he never had a choice. Izumo td them about her life in the shrine and then living on her own as a wild fix. Rin told them about his adve tired all over the place. After three days of bonding and mistreatment, Rin and Izumo would get as close to their cell entrances as they could and Shima would hold their hands.

They'd whisper about what they wished they could do if they were free. All of them, together. "Maybe we could live together." Shima mused. Rin's cheeks heated. "R-really? You'd live together with the two most wanted Unusuals?" He wondered. "Yeah. I mean, if we escaped, we'd all be on the run. We could build a house somewhere secret. Somewhere no one would ever find us. Live with just each other. It would be nice." Shima admitted, cheeks turning red.

"I'd like that. It would be peaceful. But Rin could always make it fun." Izumo agreed. "None of us belong anywhere. So why not be with each other, right?" Shima added.

"You guys...." Rin choked up. They settled into comfortable silence.

They all knew the days were limited. They all knew things were going to end soon.

But they didn't have to end at the Hunters' hands. They all talked it over, made a plan. Even though the plan would hurt Shima emotionally and end Rin and Izumo forever, it was all they had left. Their only solace.

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Rin was able to break his plastic spoon and make pieces sharp enough to cut skin. Izumo did the same.

So while he and Izumo were sitting in their cells and Shima took a convenient bathroom break, they did it.

They dragged the sharp plastic across their wrists until it cut deep enough to bleed quickly. Rin cut the crooks of his elbows too and Izumo followed suit. Shima had whispered a choked goodbye to them before leaving. He turned away quickly, but they still saw the tears glittering in his eyes, unshed.

After a couple minutes, Rin got dizzy, even though he was sitting down. He almost fell over, but if he moved even just a little bit, he felt like he'd throw up. 

Another minute, his throat felt parched. He felt like he needed water, but there was none in sight. His heart was beating frantically, hut Rin felt like everything was happening in slow motion at the same time.

Sweat began to bead at his temples and forehead. On his collarbones and under his clothes. The cotton began sticking to his body uncomfortably. His breathing was uneven and he vaguely heard breathing similar to his and knew it was Izumo's. A dopey smile made it's way across his face.

We win.

A sudden, pounding headache hit him like a train and ringing was in his ears as he pitched forward, falling to the ground. His vision began fading in and out before he just shut his eyes, just as voices echoed somewhere far, far away from him.

He smiled even wider.

Too late, bastards.

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Ooooooooh boy that was sad. But I wanted to make it dark for Halloween in a different way from witches, werewolves, and Spooky Scary Skeletons, you know? Next chapter should be out soon.