Kinda sorta a bit of a torture warning coming up. It's a bit dodgy lol

How long had it been? [Y/n] couldn't tell anymore. She knew it hadn't been more than a day despite the dreadful feeling of hopelessness that forced her mind awake, no matter how tired she became. He'd left her on her own in the basement. It was dark, though a couple of lights flashed on and off over by Rayne's desk like the little LEDs of a charging computer. Experiments here and there would make subtle noises, too. A continuous endothermic reaction produced the sound of cracking ice now and again, and many other experiments dripped and splashed. Despite the silence, the sounds began to grow deafening. At one point [Y/n] had covered her ears to distract herself from them but was instead given the sound of her thunderous heartbeat. Somehow, ice and water and been a less terrifying sound to listen to.

[Y/n]'s head snapped to the door when she heard the other door slam shut. Footsteps approached, quick and steady down the stairs, and finally the room was soaked in light. Rayne stood in the doorframe, his eyes narrowed slightly in a thoughtful gesture. He didn't so much as glance at [Y/n]. He flicked the lights on and walked over to his desk, sitting down and scrawling hurriedly on a sheet of paper, before scrunching it up and tossing it behind him as he went to rewrite it. The crumpled ball of paper landed close to the cage. Taking a deep breath, [Y/n] leaned forwards and reached through the bars for the piece of paper. It was just out of reach. [Y/n] allowed her hand to lay on the floor near it, letting out a sigh as she hung her head.

A sudden pain shot through [Y/n]'s hand. She raised her head hurriedly; a certain man with his foot pressed down on the back of her hand was the cause. [Y/n] tried to pull her hand back but Rayne didn't budge.

"How nosey," he spat, pressing down harder, before releasing the pained female. "Though you wouldn't have been able to read it anyway," he shrugged. "For starters, my handwriting tends to seem illegible for those who aren't used to it. And it's in our language." He tossed her the piece of paper. [Y/n] was greeted with a mess of unintelligible foreign scribbles. Dejectedly, the girl tossed the piece of paper back at Rayne. She stared at her lap, only raising her head when the click of a lock could be heard. The door to the cell creaked open and Rayne grabbed [Y/n]'s upper arm, heaving her out of the cage. Without a word he pulled her to the chair to the left of the cell and shoved her into it. Once her movement was restricted, he looked away.

"Do you miss Nyais?" he questioned. [Y/n] narrowed her eyes at the strange inquiry. The answer was obvious so why had he asked? She stared at her cuffed wrists and narrowed her eyes. Was it a trick question? Slowly, she raised her gaze to meet his. The expression on Rayne's face was chilling — he didn't seem thrilled about what he was doing. He didn't seem excited. It wasn't the sort of sadistic enjoyment that Seishin or Kori might display... he looked entirely devoid. Perhaps a little disgusted. It was different from how he'd looked before.

A thought suddenly crossed [Y/n]'s mind. The boys had trusted Rayne, a serial killer, to 'fix' [Y/n]'s will to leave. But... who's to say Rayne is trustworthy? He may be no one's direct enemy but he's no one's direct ally, either. He does things for him. This situation was on his terms. He called for a few days off work because he was busy, though the thing he seems to be busy with happens after he stops Laion and Aytsa going to work.

He'd planned this.

"[Y/n]? You know, you're lucky to still have your tongue. Answer my question." [Y/n]'s eyes narrowed.

"Why am I really here?" [Y/n] spat.

"Answering questions with questions is for people who aren't tied to chairs," Rayne hummed, picking up something from the movable table (which was positioned just out of sight in [Y/n]'s blind spot, partially behind the chair). He walked behind her, his steps almost inaudible. [Y/n] got a good idea of what he'd picked up when fabric covered her eyes, leaving her unable to see. Rayne tied the blindfold tightly, the pressure causing [Y/n] slight discomfort, though she didn't want to show that. "Though I'm curious, why do you ask? You know why you're here — you threatened Aytsa and I in an attempt to escape. This was the deal."

"But it doesn't add up!" [Y/n] hissed. There was a long silence from Rayne. At first she thought he was stuck on what to say, though the longer it dragged on the more uneasy she felt. She couldn't hear him breathing and his steps were so quiet that even with her heightened senses thanks to the blindfold she likely wouldn't hear them. Eventually, she felt a slight bit of pressure on her hand. Then a cold, tugging sensation on her thumbnail. The moment she realised what he was doing her body jolted viciously in a fruitless attempt to escape, but the sickening squelch of her nail being ripped from her finger sounded regardless of her attempt, and the pain caused a violent cry to escape her.

"Do you miss Nyais?" Rayne's voice sounded again. Tears streamed down [Y/n]'s cheeks. The pressure on [Y/n]'s hand hadn't let up. Was he going to remove a nail every time she avoided answering a question? [Y/n] narrowed her tearful eyes — not like he could tell thanks to the blindfold, but she wanted to express her anger somehow, even if it was only to herself.

"Yes," [Y/n] responded quietly. The pressure on her hand let up and Rayne let out a small hum.

"Do you miss your friends?" he continued.

"O-of course!" [Y/n] yelled out, a sudden burst of anger washing over her at the question. "Why the hell wouldn't I?" Her voice wobbled thanks to her fear and pain, though she managed to keep it relatively sturdy.

"Manners, [Y/n]. Manners," Rayne chided with a bored, monotonous voice. "How about yourself? Do you miss who you were?"

"W-What...?"

"Don't answer my questions with questions, [Y/n]," Rayne hissed.

"But I don't understand!" [Y/n] called out. The pressure returned to her hand once again and [Y/n] recommenced her struggle against the bonds that fastened her to the chair. "W-Wait! Wait... d-do you mean do I miss my human life?" No response ensued, though there was no tugging on her nail yet so [Y/n] assumed he was still waiting for her to answer the question. "Y-yes, I miss how I used to live—"

"That wasn't the question, [Y/n]," Rayne muttered darkly. The overuse of her name was unsettling to say the least. "I asked whether you miss who you were. To simplify... you've changed over the last few weeks, [Y/n]. I don't blame you, of course. Anyone would. You're in an unfamiliar environment, after all." He paused and [Y/n] felt the cold metal of the plies against her fingertip. "Do you miss who you used to be?"

"Yes, I do," [Y/n] responded, despite really wanting to ask why he's asking such strange questions.

"Only one of those answers is true," he hummed. The tugging came back.

"No— wait!" [Y/n] cried out, but it was too late. The her index fingernail was torn from its place; yet another anguished scream left the girl, though after such a short time her throat was already growing sore. It didn't help that crying only tore at her throat more. Strangely, a sigh heaved from the male.

"This is dull. I don't enjoy having to hold back." He tore the blindfold from her and [Y/n]'s eyes instantly shot to where her blood-soaked, nailless fingers were. The sight made her feel slightly faint. Rayne rolled his eyes. "Get over yourself. It's just your nails." He picked up a penknife from the table and waved it about in front of her. "Removing nails with this tends to hurt a lot more. I used the pliers to keep it from getting messy, but I can show you this version instead." [Y/n] watched him with wide eyes and shook her head desperately. He continued to watch her facial expression with indifference.

"God, I hate you," Rayne spat.

"The feeling's mutual," [Y/n] hissed under her breath. Rayne turned to look at her once again; this time a mocking smile formed on his countenance. [Y/n] instantly regretted opening her mouth. Rayne slowly walked behind her and grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling down and bending her head back awfully far so she could see him. The back of the chair dug into her neck.

"You're very annoying," Rayne smiled, though his fake eyes were completely empty, as per usual. "We'll have to fix that." His brow then furrowed as though he'd just remembered something. "Ah. I forgot." He pushed her head back as though she were a rag doll, though much further this time so the back of her neck was facing up. He pushed her hair out of the way and [Y/n] sucked in a breath.

A sudden shooting pain in the back of her neck greeted [Y/n] — it felt as though Rayne was making an incision with his scalpel, though she wouldn't get to find out as her yells of pain apparently annoyed the male too much. A thud to her temple with the pliers sent her into silence.

* * *

The crisp mountain air blowing against his face was by far one of his favourite sensations. Mitzu wandered down the mountain trail, headed for the forest. After having a few meetings with Rayne, he'd begun to learn how to properly control his new skill. Now he intended to teach himself how to use it on masses (as opposed to just focusing it on one person at a time), though he didn't have expendable masses to practice on, so animals would have to do.

After a while of wandering he reached a nice forested opening. Birdsong and rustling revealed the life that thrived in the area. He placed his flute case on the floor and perched himself on a glacial erratic (random flint rock in a limestone based area). And with that, after piecing the instrument together and doing some scales and arpeggios to warm up, he began to play.

In his head there'd been a serene scene of animals being hypnotised into joining him in the opening, though sadly that's not quite how it played out.

"Mitzu? What the hell are you doing?" The music came to an abrupt halt and Mitzu's gaze snapped upwards to where the familiar voice had come from.

"Kori?" Mitzu questioned. High in the trees above him was a certain grey haired male. "Why the fuck are you up in a tree?"

"Why the fuck are you trying to be Cinderella?" Kori retorted, dropping from the seemingly unsurvivable height without a care in the world. He landed easily, brushing himself off and staring over at Mitzu. The pair locked gazes for a while, though Mitzu was the first to break eye contact.

"I'm training," Mitzu muttered.

"Playing the flute in the middle of the forest is your version of training?" Kori questioned. "What is Jay teaching you guys?"

"This hasn't got anything to do with Jay," Mitzu shrugged. "I can hypnotise people with music. I'm trying to specify how my ability works so I can use it more accurately," he shrugged. "Starting with controlling things. But that's a heavy task so I'm trying it on animals first," he shrugged.

"Right... whelp, we all have our idiosyncrasies," Kori tailed off, rubbing his neck.

"Why are you in a tree?" Mitzu returned quizzically, a brow quirked.

"That's for me to know and you to not find out," the grey haired boy hummed, "so I better be off. Have fun being Cinderella," he smiled, turning around and walking away, though he didn't get far before a rock collided harshly with the back of his head. After a moment of recovery time, he began to walk again. Of course Mitzu wasn't going to let that happen. He placed his flute on the floor and stood up, before plucking the boulder he had sat himself upon from the ground and lifting it above his head. Kori turned around after hearing the sound of something large being ripped from the earth.

"You gonna throw that at me?" Kori sighed.

"Tell me what you were doing in a tree," Mitzu responded.

"Work. Can't tell ya," Kori hummed.

"Is it true that you're already a spy?" Mitzu pressed.

"Also can't tell ya."

"So that's a yes?" Mitzu rolled his eyes, placing the boulder back down. "Well, whatever. Good luck." Kori blinked in surprise at Mitzu's words, though a small smile formed on his face.

"You too, Cinderella."