The Laws of Love. (Nanbaka fan fiction)

Chapter 1: A Long First Day

Crina walked cautiously down the Nanba prison halls as if she expected there to be booby traps. The new guard was a bit jumpy since it was her first day on the job. As she anxiously made her way to meet the other guards of cell 13, her mind wondered, and the creative young lady began to imagine what the people here would be like. The prisoners, she thought, would most likely be very hostile and always looking for an opportunity to escape. She imagined them as scary, vile, criminals. As for the other guards, she pictured them as being very strong, intimidating, and serious. These thoughts were not helping her calm down, nor were they helping her get to her destination. She stopped suddenly. It hit her like a splash of cold water; she was lost.

"I haven't even officially started my job yet and I've already screwed up! Idiot!" she said as she smacked her palm against her forehead. Frantically the flustered brunette searched the halls looking for a map, or even just someone who could give directions. After a couple minutes of running around, she spotted all tall, black haired man with a guard's uniform on. "Excuse me," she called out as she approached him. He turned to face her and flashed the young lady a big smile before saying, "Hello there!" "Um, hello. Can you help me? I'm lost." "I'd love too," he said, causing her to let out a sigh of relief, "but I'm lost myself! I'm not sure I could even tell you left from right at this point!" He gave a hearty laugh, but Crina wasn't quite as amused. He noticed this, however, and said, "There's no need for a face like that! I'm sure we'll find our way around here if we work together!" 'It's better than being lost on my own, I suppose,' she thought. "I'm Crina Ardelean, by the way," she said, "and it's my first day working as a guard for building 13." "I'm Yamato Godai, deputy supervisor of building 13!" His wide, amiable smile gave her a sense of comfort. With introductions out of the way, they began searching together in an attempt to find their way around.

After what felt like eons, but was really only half an our,  the they came across another guard, this one with long, wild blue hair that was pulled back with a cute little hair tie decorated with stars. "There you are! It's passed the time you were scheduled to arrive. You are the new guard, right?" he said. "Ah, y-yes," she said, standing erect. Crina tried to look confident despite the butterflies in her stomach. "I got a bit lost on my way. I'm sorry." "It's alright, it's not the first time a guard has gotten lost in these halls," he replied, glancing at Yamato for a moment as he spoke. "That's right! I get lost sometimes during my workouts!" the muscular guard openly admitted with his booming voice. "I'm Seitarou Tanabata, one the guards in building 13. It's nice to meet you," he said, smiling softly as he held out his hand. She shook it and gave him a smile of her own as she said, "I'm Crina Ardelean." "Hajime will want to meet you as well. He's in the smoking room right now." "Right," she said, "where is that?" He told her a series of directions, but they ended up going in one ear and out the other. The prison layout would take some getting used to.

With Seitarou guiding her, Crina made it to the smoking room. "This is where we part ways. I have some paper work to do. Good luck," he said before heading off. She took a quick breath before entering and walked in with her back straight and chin up in an attempt to seem confident. She was able to keep that look until Hajime's intimidating gaze met hers, which caused a hint of fear to flicker across her face. However, she briskly regained her composure. "You must be the new guard, Crina Adelean," he said, "I'm Hajime Sugoroku, the supervisor of building 13." "It's, um, a pleasure to meet you," the smaller guard said, her voice wavering, though only slightly. "You're late," he stated bluntly. "Ah, yes. I'm very sorry about that. I got lost on my way here," she explained, sounding more timid the longer she spoke. "It's fine," he sighed, "you'll just need to learn your way around." She nodded, trying to calm down before opening her mouth again. "Since it's your first day on the job, I'll give you an easy first task. Call role in cell 13, make sure all four prisoners are there in their cell. Think you can handle that?" "Yes sir," she said, sounding confident almost to the point of being aggressive. After having gotten used to his frightening glare, she was able to brush off most of her anxiety. Once she got directions to cell 13, most of which she remember, Crina headed off to where she thought the inmates were.