His Dark Queen - Sondam

Chapter 48: Say Click!

With his feet kicked up onto the table filled with computer screens, Kazuichi slurped noodles into his shark-toothed mouth. Broth dripping from his lips and to his chin, rhythmically twirling in his desk chair with his legs. Eyeing Gundham, who was behind him, his head was slumped down, a slight snore escaping his throat. It was the morning, it made sense for him to be asleep still.

Kazuichi grumbled to himself, swirling his noodle cup, "Hm, shall I wake him? He looks too peaceful sleeping there." He eyed down at the noodle and chicken-flavored liquid mixture. Bits of oil clumping together in the cup, its bubbles shining with many tiny rectangles inside. He huffed air from his nose, "Not much to do, she's still asleep. Everyone is, but me." Minutes passed, his noodle cup emptied into his stomach, more of Gundham's snores escaped from his croaky throat, time ticked by under the watchful eye of Kazuichi. Picking his fingernail between his teeth, he waited patiently for his princess to awaken. His back began to form a hunch after the many days he spent watching over her each hour. Whether it is with the cameras, stalking her around the corner, or staring into a picture he snuck of her, she was stuck within his gaze. He grabbed a nearby camera on his table, Mahiru's camera, and the many polaroid pictures of his sweet princess. He grit his teeth as he clenched the film, "I can never get a face picture, only back shots. Ugh! How am I supposed to sneak panty-shot?!" He tried tearing the polaroid apart, but could barely start one. Polaroids are much harder to tear apart than it seems: it's not paper. He tossed them to the side in defeat, his Sonia pictures tainted with a bulging indent.

Suddenly, her bedsheets began to move and so did Kazuichi's eyes up to the screen. She had finally awakened with Gundham as well. His snores ceasing into grumbles. Kazuichi spun his chair around to face him, slamming his hands onto his thighs. greeting him with a toothy grin, "Goodmornin' Gundham! You and Sonia must have the same circadian rhythm or something! You two keep waking up at the same times!"

"Huh?" Gundham's eyes were still droopy from first awakening, "Wuh? Sonia? She had fainted?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kazuichi raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and purposely flexing them.

"We had been searching, however, I was not in my own physical embodiment. Instead in a corner, spectating myself."

"Uhm, yeah, no." He silenced him, "You must have been dreaming there."

"I see."

The two hadn't grown any closer, but their conversations had become more friendly. More friendly compared to death threats to each other. However, no matter how friendly they grew, Gundham was still held down by rusty chains around his waist, arms, and legs. His jacket on the floor, him and Kazuichi negotiated to allow him to take it off, but in agreement that Gundham would be held at knifepoint to not incite any plans to escape. But freedom was the only thing on Gundham's mind. Every conscious moment he spent was in an effort to have it, but there was no clear opening. All he could do was wait. Gundham gulped, he knew there were only a few options he had left. Either for him to achieve freedom, or die at the hands of his captor.

All these minutes Gundham spent first awake, he was staring off into the distance. It hurt him to look into the camera screens, feeling as if it was wrong to be stalking her and the others on each island. His mind was too busy about escaping to stalk anyway. But his attention was drawn into it by force, by Kazuichi.

"Uh- heh. Is it just me or does it look like she's looking into the camera right now?" Kazuichi spoke to himself, Gundham sharply turned his head to look. Watching together as Sonia was staring directing into the camera's lens. As if she were looking into them, "Pfft! What am I thinking?! That camera is damn too small to be seen!" Kazuichi turned to Gundham then the screen, a baffled grin on his face, "Right? Totally! Heh! Yeah! Oh, now she's grabbing her chair! Maybe there's just a bug in the corner! Yup! What else could she be grabbing from the corner! There isn't any other wa-!" The large computer screen turned to static. Big white text displayed over the screen, 'Camera disconnected.' Both of their mouths gasped open to the sight. He slowly turned his chair to Gundham. Kazuichi's hands trembled in his lap, balled into a fist. His mouth clenched open wide, the tendons of his neck visible. His head began to shake just as much as his head. His hair bouncing around his head. Gundham darted his eyes to the screen and Kazuichi, he backed his body into his chained chair. Wishing he could make himself shrink into a Devas and escape.