Madness

Chapter 4 - Worth

11:00 am, Sunday, March 12th, 2023.

           "Welcome, Yunomaru Ishida, to the 49th division. We hope you enjoy your stay." Purge greeted, having his arms crossed while locking eyes with Yunomaru Ishida. "Happy to be here." He responded in a dry manner, carefully observing the room. Everyone made eye contact with him; all their gazes didn't intimidate him. "So, this is what I'm getting into? They don't seem too bad, but they differ from Avarice. They all have contracts and decently balanced spiritual energy, but the highest energy is coming from right there." Yuno gazed at Purge, who smiled at him. "Safe to assume that he's the leader."

His train of thought was interrupted when Blue jostled his stomach with her elbow; Yuno peered down at Blue. "Hey. What's with the sudden change of attitude? You look weird when you're just staring at everyone– make conversation." Blue murmured to him. "I don't have a change of attitude - I'm just fitting in." Yunomaru retorted. As the two spoke, the 49th division had their thoughts about Yunomaru.

Irezumi observed Yunomaru closely from her seat, with both feet resting on the chair and her knees tucked near her chest. She noted, "His energy surpasses that of a beginner; it flickers... not entirely controlled, though. Exceptionally fit from what I can see. Promising." She blew away the hair on the left side of her face so she could see more clearly. Beside her, Chiyo had her bottom lip pierced by her upper teeth as her eyes travelled everywhere on Yunomaru's figure. "He's gotten taller, fitter, and 100 times more adorable than the last time I saw him!" She spoke to herself, shrieking silently to herself while kicking her feet. "I need to talk to him!" Chiyo jumped from her seat and walked over toward Yunomaru and Blue.

Hachimura watched Chiyo go toward them, scoffing softly. "That's who we're waiting for? He looks like some ordinary guy. What a letdown. Another thing is that Chiyo knows him, so he's probably some gooner who tangoed with her back then. Ugh." He spoke out loud, leaning against his chair with his bat over his shoulder. Yuki rested his arms on Hachi's chair, leaning forward to respond to him, "If that were the case, wouldn't he be drooling over her right now?" His maroon eyes lingered on Yunomaru. "I'll admit he looks like every other guy on the street," Yuki concluded, getting hit on the head by Hachi's bat. "Back up!" Hachi yelled out.

"Yuno, Yuno, Yuno! Long time no see!~" Chiyo had her arms wide open to embrace Yunomaru, who kept a side-eye glance at her. "Who knew we would reunite in such a way? Why not celebrate with a hug?~" She continued. Blue felt uncomfortable as she stepped away from Yunomaru, who watched Chiyo get closer. "Yeah, long time no see." He wasn't excited to see her as he dodged her hug. Chiyo kept smiling even after almost falling, "Aren't you happy to see an old friend? Come on, I missed you! A simple hug shouldn't hurt!~" She attempted to hug him again, but Yunomaru dodged again, "Uh, no. I'm good." This went on for a while. Blue's gaze lingered momentarily before turning towards Torrie and Ash approaching her. Torrie had an annoyed expression, crossing her arms, while Ash had an unreadable expression. "Uh, oh," she murmured under her breath.

"Purge lets you out once after a long time, and you go missing for four days!? What in the hell were you doing?!" Torrie shouted at Blue, poking her forehead violently as Blue covered her head, "I wasn't doing anything! I just got lost! I barely go out in the city, you know!" She defended herself. Torrie stopped poking her and turned to Ash, "Do it," she ordered. Ash adjusted his glasses with his middle finger, letting out a soft sigh before resting his hand on Blue's head. "You know the consequences of lying to Torrie, Blue." "I'm not lying!" Blue protested while holding still for Ash.

Purge clapped his hands repeatedly to gain the attention of everybody, speaking firmly."Alright. Let's settle down here. Torrie, Ash, Chiyo. Please return to your seats. I'll handle it." The named individuals turned their heads toward their leader. Ash and Torrie let out quiet groans before reluctantly returning to their seats. Blue, feeling relieved, clapped her hands together in gratitude toward Purge for stepping in. Meanwhile, Chiyo persisted in her attempts to hug Yunomaru; he kept her away by pushing her face. "But Captain! You have to let me be with my old friend! Please!" Chiyo whined. Purge crossed his arms and replied, "There's time for that later. You can wait, Chiyo." Disheartened, Chiyo gave up and folded her arms over her chest, sticking her tongue out at Yunomaru, "You're mean!" She returned to her seat. Yunomaru watched her, "how am I mean?" He wondered.