darker than white, a closed production

[messier]

[They had been trailing their target for days. It is only now that their efforts are coming to fruition.

As he and Mao wrap up their exchange at a back alley, Hei aligns the final pieces in his head and envisions their next movements. There is a man whose been seen with the target, a man with vital intel, and Hei need only coax it out of him.

There is a catch, of course. They've only a location and the most basic of descriptions to go on. Distinct descriptions (pale hair, pale eyes, pale skin), but nevertheless, there exists no room for error.

In Huang and the syndicate's opinion, of course.

Mao slips away. Hei moves out of the alley, stepping at a sharp angle in an effort to cut into the path of another.]

Comments

[purification]

[ There's a moment in time where Alan Kane suddenly thinks:

--Ah. Here is someone I can take out my emotions on--

Emotions being rage, violent and simple, and extending from the effortless analysis of an upper class bitch thinking that she knows best (after all), and anyway, after that last fucking conversation, if it can be called that, Alan really is in the mood to--

But the hair and stature throw him off, and his hands reach out to gently steady shoulders, a soft look seeking. ]

Nige--

[ --before his hands fall away abruptly, and Alan steps back. This is not his partner. The expression shutters shut, his voice tight. ]

...My apologies.

[messier]

Ah!

[The "reaction" is effortless. Hei freezes just short of collision, and the papers nearly come tumbling out of his arms, saved at the last minute by a reflexive hold.

It isn't necessary, perhaps. The man (pale as described) gives away aspects he obviously had no intention of giving, and that is all one needs to initiate conversation.

An awkward smile is offered to the light-haired man.]

P-Pardon me. I wasn't watching where I was going.

[purification]

[ ...Mm. This is more awkward than Alan would like. The man flushes lightly from embarrassment, even as irritation edges back into his eyes. He glances to the side, wondering how far away the hotel is. ]

...It's fine. My mistake.

[ --And turns to go. ]

[messier]

[Except someone is unwilling to let the other leave so soon.]

Um, actually, do you happen to know where the BigHour Building is?

[purification]

[ For that, the stranger gets a wave at the building Alan just came from. ]

Right there.

[messier]

[There is a pause of disbelief and then a glance at the paper at the front of the pile. His eyes finally settle on Alan before smiling sheepishly.]

...So I see.

[Which, of course, he drops in lieu of a hated affair: small talk.]

Did you come for the interview as well?

[purification]

[ And there's a pause as well--of extended disbelief. ]

Not quite.

[ He moves to walk away, saying once over his shoulder-- ]

Good luck with yours, though.

[messier]

[Except someone follows, now with a curious expression.]

Oh, thank you, but I've already finished mine.

[Time to make this guy really hate him.]

I just lost my way out somehow. Are you going to the train station?

[purification]

[ Alan has the inclination to stop. He feels like he won't be able to start again if he does, and so he continues, shaking his head as he does. ]

No, I'm not. Sorry; I can't help you.

[messier]

[And so the American had underestimated the woman he despised and was now a haphazard victim of her doing.

The most unfortunate aspect, of course, is that Hei had fallen into the same trap. The signs were there from the start: if Alan was correct in that Nigel and Hei shared features and the brothers had gained an unhealthy interest from a wealthy, powerful businesswoman, well... What else is left to say? Alan was drugged into submission while his supposed trump card cooperated quietly to hide his own surprise (among other reasons). There is not a single explanation that could pardon a highly-trained operative of the Syndicate from this mistake.

Thankfully, all can be forgiven. There exists two advantages to the situation, even as the men are held prisoner in an unknown office. Even as Alan lays unconscious on a desk while Hei sits restrained in a corner. Even as the lithe body of his target is watching his newfound partner at her desk with an intent focus, giant red curls flowing over her cut business suit.

The first is that they believe Hei to be Nigel Kane. The second is that they believe Hei to be human.]

[purification]

[ There is life in the dark, there is substance from nothing. Light forms against his eyelids, and Alan knows awareness, even as nothing changes. Nothing changes, from a lack of eye fluttering to a heartbeat's pace, and Alan allows him a singular moment for thought. For understanding and resolution and self hate.

He is on her desk. The stupid pen holder he had wanted to throw last time is digging into his neck. He is on her desk and Hei is either nearby, as "Nigel," or trussed and sullied somewhere as himself. Hei has talents, to be certain, but so do her guards--and there are more of them.

He wishes to keep his eyes shut. He wishes that he had just went back to Nigel, kissed him and loved him and fell into a lifeless sleep, but he is here. Here, and this is where he needs to now move.

So his eyes open as if just waking, a groan given as if in realization. ]

Namia....

[ And her eyes alight like he expected, a hand gently cupping her delicate chin as she leans forward. ]

Alan Kane. You haven't bound me to a geis.

[ And he hadn't. The most tragic, critical aspect of this was that he hadn't. Ten feet from the woman, and she had to make a promise--such was the price for her ability. But Alan had been unconscious, and the other, seated in the corner, hadn't known. For why would Alan need to tell? They were going there willingly, and Alan would bind her, as he had each and every other time. ]

Too bad, darling. You lost your chance. And in exchange, I got what Salmaria wanted, and also...

[ The most tragic, critical part. Underlined in red at the case she taps in her lap, a ruby smile accompanying it. It clicks open to reveal foam and glass--needles and liquids. ]

I seemed to gain a weakness of yours, Alan, darling.

[messier]

[Alan Kane regains himself, and the facts begin to align themselves. Namia, Salmaria, and a geis... Hei recalls the latter in its context and wonders if that is related to her price.

Except a direct threat is leveled against Alan, a detail Hei had witnessed firsthand, and the contractor's focus goes to playing his part. A fear edges into his expression, a perfectly concerned man in regards to his brother's safety.]

Your men said you wouldn't harm us.

[purification]

[ --Fear sparks through him at the threat, and she sees it, he knows she does. He knows he's misstepped, and that she'll use it, over and over again, until she's bored. She's as inhuman as the rest, and boredom continues to be the only illness. Amusement the only balm.

And Alan Kane, as shown in each and every time before, has amused her endlessly. His biting remarks, apathetic disposition, and reoccurring rage: These were the things that made the woman smile.

And now he has handed her a weakness that he cannot hide away in a hotel. One she can use at leisure.

Hei speaks, then, voice quavering with concern.

Alan should thank him even as he hates him. For the act is near disgusting, and Alan has to fight to not roll his eyes. His expression dims to neutral, the general first reaction to anything regarding Nigel and this woman.

He should thank Hei. For annoyance has won over fear. ]

Don't get involved.

[ He says to Hei, to "Nigel," and the woman giggles in response, tracing a long, manufactured nail along the air over Alan's face. She pouts, then grins sharply, and he remembers Sarah Gear suddenly, and her countless games. ]

He's right. You have nothing to do with he and I. And look. You made that expression slip away. I rather liked it.

[ She confides to Alan in a false undertone. Her eyes, bright and sharp, latch on to his every reaction.

...If he didn't feel paralyzed from the neck down, he might have reached up and strangled her, mind powers be damned. ]

You never show me that side. I thought we knew each other so intimately, too.

Namia.

[ Tired. He's so tired of things like this. ]

What is it that you want to happen here?

[messier]

[They must be argumentative, these siblings, or Hei has done a poor job. Likely both, given what he understands of Alan Kane. But he still has a part of play and a woman to outthink, and Hei slips into restraint, into the background of the interaction.

"Nigel" bites his tongue and stays quiet, even as he does not let down the concern.]

[purification]

[ It's as if colors can dance. The room sparks with light and design, fluorescent symmetry in motion, and it's only the moment after that he realizes her fingers are touching his cheek.

He jerks his head away and she laughs, rising to her feet. He hadn't thought she would touch him. He had only thought she wished to torment him as she did--through speech and mocking and all that includes. Even physical administrations, but not touching him, skin to skin. Why had he thought that? Why had he thought she wouldn't use the best item available to her? ]

What I want to happen....

[ She muses, a finger to her cheek in thought, radiant curls rippling out from her movements. She circles the desk, places herself inbetween the two until Alan can no longer see Hei from his position. ]

I'm curious, Alan. You've never let on at all. Nigel has his recall, his memory precision, his manipulations, but what do you have, Alan Kane? After all of this, after poor, poor Lorelei, there's no way you're merely normal.

[ He reveals himself again, at the perfect prodding. He snarls in full at the mermaid's name, at the stark clarity of the memory of Nigel asleep, taken from him for three-fourths of a year. His muscles tense, and--

His fingers twitch, trying to curl into a fist. Oh, Nigel would have a field day. What an overdone trope. Wearing off already? How convenient.

Except not entirely. Attempting to drive his foot into her stomach caused nothing, and Alan returned to neutrality. ]

That bitch? I didn't kill her.

[ Namia smiles, a private, genuine smile only for him. ]

No, I don't think Lorelei is dead. But I was the one who had the readout on her psywaves at the time. How do you kill an immortal, Alan Kane?

...You don't.

You don't. [ An agreement, without any mocking. ] But you can tear her being to shreds all the same.

[messier]

[In the span of another exchange, Hei has the bare bones of a tale. A tad fantastic for supposed reality, but one that reveals more than what Alan perhaps would have liked.

Hei can tell. This is a path unwanted. Yet, it comes as an advantage to his task. The more Alan reacts, the more the woman fixates. The more Hei has to work with. The rope at his wrist is already undone, and a plan is forming within the confines of his mind.

She has already set her back to him, but the distance reads as uncomfortable, even for his speed. And then her abilities...

He requires a single element, he is sure. Of what remains to be seen.]

[purification]

[ There is nothing to be said to this. All of this, this... It's all just a waste of his time. ]

So what? You think or believe that I can do those things, so what? What is this accomplishing, Namia? If it's nothing, then just let me-- [ A breath, for all she knew it was for emotion, instead of a misstep. ] Let us go.

[ A stupid, ridiculous plea, but Alan has nothing to work with and is distracted. If this woman takes him and Hei somewhere, what would happen to Nigel? ]

Alan. [ The face she makes is almost sad. ] You've shown yourself to be smarter than that. Does fear for your lover make you weak? I haven't touched him, surely you can see that.

[ She shifts to the side, to give Alan a glimpse of Hei. Her face plays at concern, then solidifies into absence. ]

I just want to know, Alan. It's a mystery I don't know the solution of. What are you, Alan Kane? What are the both of you, really?

[ The muscles in his shoulders can move. He knows, because he's tensing them. ]

I've been called an abomination. Anything else you'll have to go without.

[ She sighs, near sadly, and shifts to cross back to the other side of the desk. Alan knows entirely how he'll pay for that defiance, and he breathes in calm, wishing for focus, will, anything--

But Alan can only cross boundaries for Nigel, and Nigel, contrary to popular beliefs, is not here. ]

[messier]

[In the midst of strategizing comes a word. One so unexpected that while the woman shifts to allow Alan a view, Hei has an eyebrow raised a quarter of an inch in the other man's direction. The expression disappears in the next as the upcoming scenes unfold before his mind.

This will not be pleasant. Alan had not reacted well to a certain element during their abduction; he would not react well to the woman's tools. A good man would think first about another's welfare, but Hei has only offered protection in exchange for her life. Until she dies, he cannot step outside those bounds. Until that chance presents itself, he cannot move to prevent what is about to transpire.

His voice is low, false concern still evident but now carries something unnamed. Something only Alan would catch.]

Alan.

[putrefaction]

[Nigel Kane is a changed man, they say. A man of substance and lack, an oft told story. Seven months in a mermaid's purgatory revealed the single most precious thing in his otherwise lackluster existence, and lo and behold, the threat of loss proved motivation enough for the aimless. He spent the next year snipping away parts of himself, tearing apart the insides that might have entertained the very notion of losing Alan.

No more playing in the sand, Nigel swears. No more.

Days prior, the opportunity arose to further their investigation. In foreign soil, strangely, but the brothers had agreed: they could not allow this to pass, not when the root of this danger desired separation. His carefree days gone, Nigel stepped with caution and procured enough funds and illegal contacts to ensure a kind of insurance. Most important being the purchase of weaponry in a land that played safe with their destructive items. The Kanes are lucky in that respect. They can always work with what is available.

Luck, however, runs dry in other matters, and it is for this reason that Nigel is in the hotel, clouded eyes locked onto a Braille book. His fingers had stopped their movements a second prior, when tendrils of fear flooded the absence, lingering as though they could be called his own.

They are his own, he knows.

Nigel finds the grace to act on automatic, to move on his feet, and the book in his hands falls to the wayside. He reaches for the messenger bag beside the double bed as he makes his exit with exacting steps. There is time and a limit to these things, and Nigel will break them all. Kill them all for touching the person he holds most dear.

He accosts a high schooler in the streets, a boy who reads as informative. A hasty decision, perhaps, but Nigel is not announcing his entrance by taking a taxi. And he only has a clue on where to go when in a car.

This boy has to do. As Nigel lacks the fortitude for pleasantries, he keeps his voice deadpan as he produces a coin. Unamused despite the content he utters.]

Hello, young man. I have a shiny American nickel for you--a brand new, limited 2020 edition--if you can provide me with directions to the BigHour Building in the next sixty seconds. Accurate directions, I would like to emphasize. Mislead me, delay me, and I will hunt you down and slit the throats of your loved ones with this nickel so I suggest you don't cross me.

[There is a pause, a beat of silence. Then Nigel smiles divinely, like he is the sweetest man in all the world.]

Please.

[ofthemotions]

[ "Do Not Want" would be the face Mikado is making, and he is wondering if Erika's horror stories finally set in.

Karisawa-san had been telling him about yaoi novels for over a week now, until the basic premise and layout had saturated his brain unwillingly. And isn't this how it starts? Some random encounter, mysterious and fearful both, and then--

...Wait. Wait, no. Reality. This is reality, and reality is a man threatening him with a nickel. Not him, even, but--

Masaomi. Sonohara-san.

The unsure, flabbergasted look on the boy's face stilled, and the emotions ceased abruptly. He looks at the man and the coin, and adjusts the bag on his shoulder. ]

...As a nickel is worth five cents in American dollars, I'll pass.

[ But there are two other things. This person... Smiles like Izaya almost, when meeting Shizuo on the street. Joy and hatred rolled together, and the lack of sense in a streamlined manner suit as well. Yes, there's that, and--

And if Mikado denies this experience, he might miss out on something extraordinary.

He glances to the passerbyers, then looks at the man. ]

But if you stop threatening me, I'll take you there instead.

[putrefaction]

[A nickel is worth approximately 4.89 in the Japanese yen, but Nigel will forego talk of conversion rates. The goal, after all, is neither striking a bargain nor selling a deal. Those words are a threat and a plea in a single breath, and the man understands the boy may not see it for what it is.

He proves he does.

Nigel straightens, shifting the bag closer to the torso. The smile has long since vanished, replaced by overwhelming apathy.]

Thank you. I won't forget this.

[ofthemotions]

I'd rather you do.

[ Mikado mumbles dryly as he passes the man to start walking. There are a few things to consider, not the least of which would be--

...And he thought Ikebukuro was bad.

No, no, what Mikado is really thinking is that he has got to get out of the habit of running into crazy people. Crazy people who may have more than a nickel to threaten him with, if that bag at the man's side is any indicator. The boy eyes it warily, then discretely steps a bit further away.

How does he get into these things.......... ]

[putrefaction]

[If only the boy's desire could come to fruition...

Nigel laughs once, a stale attempt at humor, before trailing after the boy. He should apologize for the inconvenience, but nothing of the sort falls from the man's lips.]

Do not worry. I won't require you to give anything else.

[Just that building.]

[ofthemotions]

[ Just his time....

Mikado glances back again, thoughts hovering at the edges of his mind. Perhaps another person would have thought that this is just an outing, someone lost and trolllike looking for another to show them the way. It's the simple explanation, one fused in the mundane reality, and Mikado doesn't think it for an instant.

Perhaps it's faulty, that his mind doesn't even transgress to that thought. That the boy only thinks that this person has a purpose and need, however virtuous or unsavory. And something else, this person....

This person moves as if they are ready to throw everything away. If the man next to him was in a manga, he would be the character set to go in for a final stand. ]

...Why are you going there?

[ He speaks, despite himself. Questions, with his entirety. ]

To that building.

[putrefaction]

[The boy would ask why as if he already has the answer, and Nigel thinks to lie. He considers tainting the truth with normalcy or shock content, in hopes that the boy will not do something stupid that might wreck everything.

But then, what hasn't already been wrecked? If Nigel is here and Alan is...over there.

The man continues fluidly.]

I'm going to reclaim my life.