[AU] the Cage AU V.2!

[beforenine]

He felt like doing horrible things to one Kaiba Seto, horrible, terrible things that did not deserve description in any polite circles, or even any impolite circles. He had to keep silent for fear of being heard, but if he had been able to growl he would have, a low rumbling angry noise. He carefully stretched his limbs, listening to the small,

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[chocolategun]

There were a lot of things that Mello was used to in his life, and a lot of them were decidedly stranger than the things that normal people dealt with on a daily basis. Most people weren't stripped of their identity before the age of seve and put in competition with other children in order to become the next greatest detective known only by a letter-- the letter. Most people didn't look androgynous enough to cause quite a bit of confusion, and most people didn't leave the security of the orphanage they'd lived in for half of their existence to wind up joining the mafia on the desire to avenge someone they'd never really met and to murder someone they had no intention of meeting.

All the strange things that Mello was used to, though, the strange things that kept him a little bit south of normal and let him approach his problems in new ways, attacking them with all the force of a small missile-- those were the things that made sure he didn't snap and immediately have his gun out when he stepped through the doorway and abruptly found himself in an entirely different room.

This really was strange, he reflected, chocolate bar pausing halfway to his lips as he arched an eyebrow at Seto. What was going on now?

[beforenine]

Eight offered the sheet a glare. "I'm just fine the way I am, thank you very fucking much, your royal highness," he sneered in reply, listening to the sound of Seto typing and closing his eyes. He couldn't shake that unsettled feeling his nightmare had left him with, which was the usual, but not knowing why the nightmare left him so unsettled was starting to get very infuriating very fast. Normally, he could handle the unease gnawing on the back of his mind, as long as he realistically knew that things were not that way, or that the dream's contents were utterly impossible or highly improbable. When he couldn't fight off the events of the nightmare with cold, hard facts, he started getting nervous, uncomfortable, and short-tempered. His head jerked up at the sound of footsteps- it didn't seem characteristic of Seto to get out of bed when he was typing, when he brought work home...

Eight felt his stomach drop a few miles straight down, shaking slightly as the next comment he was going to make turned to dust. He grabbed the chains, careful to keep them as silent as he could. There was someone else in the room... it couldn't be Mokuba, Mokuba was out on a trip... Eight glared at the sheet. At best, it was someone who he didn't want to hear him, and would leave them alone if Seto talked at them enough. At worst...

At worst, Eight really wanted to be out of that cage and ready to fight. He clenched his teeth, being very careful to keep his breath soft, quiet. He did not want to be heard. He did not want to be seen unless he needed to be out and fighting.

Somewhere, in a back corner of his mind, Eight filed away 'what happens in an emergency when I'm in That Thing' as something to talk about at a later date, with all the seriousness it deserved.

[ceokaiba]

Seto stopped typing as soon as he registered the new arrival into the room, eyebrows drawing down into a frown. He pushed his laptop to one side and swung his legs off of the bed, drawing himself up to his full height and looming as best he could from halfway across the room.

...Eight was in the cage. This was not a good state of affairs to be in. It would have been a simple matter to throw the key to the man if the sheet hadn't been there, but as it was... the best he could hope for would be to use a card. He kept his arms folded, however, confident he could get to them before the stranger did anything, and not wanting to reveal his hand quite yet.

"Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?" he snapped, every inch the intimidating CEO of Kaiba Corporation.

[chocolategun]

Mello arched his eyebrow, peering up at Seto and looking decidedly unimpressed. Anyone who had grown up at Wammy's was more than slightly complicated to intimidate, especially simply on one's own merit.

"I'm Mello," he offered, giving Seto a smile that had a few too many teeth in it to be entirely pleasant. "And I assure you, getting here was entirely accidental-- and, in fact, detrimental to my goals."

His eyes fell on the sheet. Oh, that was decidedly unsubtle, he decided, mouth quirking into a faint smirk. Maybe for someone who hadn't spent a good chunk of time around people who did that sort of thing as a hobby on a regular basis, it wouldn't be immediately recognizeable, but...

Turning his attention back to Seto, for the moment, he took another bite of chocolate. "Where is this?"

[beforenine]

Eight froze where he sat, eyes going wide as the owner of the strange footsteps spoke up. He knew that voice- he knew that voice very well indeed, and his stomach rose from its former position somewhere deep in the earth's crust. "...Mello?" he ventured, voice quiet. He realized, belatedly, that he probably should have kept his mouth shut, but the damage had already been done by that point, and the thief simply unfolded a little, cursing the sheet- and Seto- to every hell he knew of in every language he knew, trying to work his cuffs off. Son of a bitch, he wanted out of this damned thing. He grumbled slightly, shifting in the cage.

He wanted some way to confirm what he thought- it could just be someone who sounded like Mello or did a damn good impersonation of him, but Eight seriously doubted it. There was very little chance someone could fool him when it came to Mello's voice, and even less chance that someone in this world would bother impersonating him. As far as Eight had been able to find, Whammy's, Near, Mello, and L simply didn't exist, along with the Kaitou Kid or the Kuroba family he was from. In a way, those things had been both painful and a relief- he didn't have to worry about seeking them out or flying under their radar, and he didn't have to worry about his non-existant this-world's Kanoko's health.

Being confronted with Mello, though...

Ah. This was going to be so damned awkward.

[ceokaiba]

"My estate," replied Seto snippily. His head snapped to the side when Eight spoke up, eyes shifting back towards this 'Mello' almost immediately. He sneered slightly and unfolded his arms, fingers ready to grab his card deck and restrain the interloper by whatever means necessary.

"Blonde, leather clothes and eating chocolate. You know him?" he asked bluntly, keeping his eyes on Mello as he spoke to Eight, purposely not using the thief's name, just in case Eight was cursing him out in various languages because this man was an enemy.

From what little he remembered of the Mello he'd only met throught the journals in the City, this man seemed to be the same - althought keeping track of the various incarnations had been something of a thankless task.

[chocolategun]

That was a very familiar voice! He'd heard it when he was young, digitized and altered, and then again once he was older, belonging to an entirely different sort of man; dark all the same, but tainted, broken, on the opposite side of the law just like Mello was.

"Eight," he murmured, sounding almost satisifed. He stepped over to the cage, tugging the sheet down and arching an eyebrow at the contents.

"You're in a big cage," he observed, stating the obvious in a tone that was all but dripping amusement. "Who's pretty boy over here?"

[beforenine]

"Yeah," he offered back to Seto, swallowing a little. Oh god, that was actually Mello out there. Now he had less to worry about in terms of having someone to fight, but more to worry about in terms of embarassment and uncomfortable questions from the blond. Shit. Eight rubbed a little at his eyes as the sheet was tugged down- he would have preferred that stay on, for more than one reason. He eyed Mello back, folding his arms. "I noticed," he shot back, tone peppery and hot. "That's Kaiba Seto," Japanese order, thank you. He'd been growing used to it again after showing up in Domino City. "Cheif executive officer of KaibaCorp... and a goddamn workaholic." Eight shot Seto a look that sizzled with faint annoyance.

"One of these days, you're going to bring your work home, I'm going to get sick of it, and lock you in this thing, Seto," Eight offered, knowing Mello would likely pick up on the somewhat less than subtle hints of familiarity- as if Eight being in a cage in Seto's bedroom weren't less of clue and more of a glowing neon sign, accompanied by shrieking of its message. He leaned back, trying to look less awkward and more in control than he really felt.

[ceokaiba]

Seto frowned, coming around the side of the bed as Mello moved towards the cage, stopping a few feet away and leaning against the wall with a thin smirk on his lips. He was not amused by the appearance of this stanger in his bedroom - it had taken him months to grow even a tentative trust with Eight, and that had only been because the brunet would not leave him alone. The only other person who had access to his bedroom was his brother, obviously.

"I'd like to see you try," he snarked at Eight. This day was obviously so far down the drain it was in the sewer system. "Good luck finding the key to lock me in." He would not tolerate being caged.

[chocolategun]

"Cages aren't that bad, once you're used to them," Mello murmured, tone sounding slightly faraway as he leaned against the cage, peering at Eight with a soft smile. He glanced back at Seto, the action slow and lazy as he spread his hands over the bars. The only person he knew, in a cage, and here he was on the outside? He'd almost have preferred if the roles were reversed. He'd know what to do, if that were the case, and he'd really just be trading one cage for another.

"Though it depends on who has the key," he offered, resting his head against the bars and inspecting the taller brunette. "I hope my appearance didn't upset you too much. It wasn't intentional."

[beforenine]

"I was a kaitou, Seto," Eight offered back, smirking. "What does that tell you about your chances of keeping something like that, something you need to use on occasion, out of my reach?" His tone made it a challenge, and the former phantom thief's smirk broadened. He glanced up at Mello, tilting his head. "He's not too bad," he offered in Slovenian, a fond smile on his face. "But you have to remember- I was a phantom thief being chased by people who were trying to kill me. Being locked up in any sort of cage, even if that cage was masquerading as a prison cell? Meant nothing short of death." Which, given how relaxed he was now that he knew both parties in the room, was an odd thing to say.

Eight watched Seto, frowning a little- the CEO was touchy, reluctant to trust. How to manage this... if he hadn't been in the cage, Eight would have instantly become like an annoying thorn or piece of velcro, latching on and refusing to give no matter how much one pulled, shook, or twisted him to get him off. It bothered Eight a little to be reduced to mere words. "Do you mind letting me out?" he asked Seto, his voice mild. He rolled his shoulders a little, noting some stiffness in his back- the movement wasn't nearly as fluid as he was accustomed to. He'd have to stretch that out as soon as possible, but it wasn't a major problem.

[ceokaiba]

"A complete stranger appears in my bedroom? Why would I not be annoyed?" he spat out, glaring at Mello.

Joy. Slovenian. A language he had absolutely no knowledge of, besides what it sounded like and how to say 'I don't speak Slovenian.' He snorted softly at Eight, mind automatically running through the various hiding places he could use for the key if it came to it - around his neck, of course, was only for when Eight was actually in the cage.

Seto didn't know why, but he had a sudden reluctance to let Eight out of the cage. His shoulders were stiff as he dragged the key out from around his neck, shoving his locket back irritably. He crouched by the cage, unlocking the door and stepping back, a frown on his face. Eight could deal with the cuffs how he liked.

[chocolategun]

"Only a complete stranger to you. I'm not a threat, if only because I have a reasonable trust for Eight, and he seems to like you," Mello responded, eyes half-lidded as he looked at Seto. He stepped over towards the entrance to the cage once it was open, clearly waiting for Eight, hovering around the other man like a security blanket.

"I'd offer to leave, but I somehow doubt my accounts and connections exist here," he murmured. "Which means I am at your mercy, for the moment." He glanced up at Seto at the end of that, purposefully tinging it to have the slight undercurrent. He was, after all, more than used to doing various things in order to get his way-- and at the moment, his way entailed staying here.

[beforenine]

Eight carefully emerged from the cage, stretching out carefully. "He has a point, Seto- he's up the same shit creek I was when I showed up..." Without the benefit of knowing Seto from the City, without the benefit of having a prior relationship to build off of. He walked over, grabbing a handful of Seto's shirt and looking up at Seto. "Relax, or at least try to. Please?" He was thinking hard, trying to find a way to tell Seto that Mello was just as vulnerable to being kicked out forcibly as Eight was. "...We could have this discussion on more neutral ground- would that help any?" Of course, he'd have to get dressed and out of the cuffs, but that wouldn't be too hard. If worst came to worst and he couldn't find a key, he could always pick these. He had a few hidden stashes of lock picks around, just in case a set got damaged for any reason. It would be awkward, but not impossible, to pick padlocks on his wrists.

He leaned up, voice whisper-soft. "We need to figure out what to do in case I'm in there during a fire or some other emergency, too. I wouldn't have thought of it if he hadn't shown up." Hell, it was an oversight he would have made himself- and a very bad one, come to that.

[ceokaiba]

Seto smirked slightly at Mello's statement at being at his mercy, but he wiped it off his face shortly, recognising the undertone to Mello's voice. He wouldn't be surprised if Mello wasn't as blunt as Eight, if he was more prone to twisting his words.

Seto allowed Eight to grab at his shirt, frowning slightly when he mentioned moving. "I'd prefer to stay in here, thankyou." This was controllable, as it was. He was not about to give a stranger more information about his house willingly. If he moved past his slight irritability at having Mello in his bedroom, this gave him the higher ground, gave him more control over the situation.

Seto looked at Mello over Eight's shoulder, face blank, but eyes watching him warily for sudden movements. He bent his head closer to Eight's in response to his whisper, angling so he couldn't be lipread. "We do," he murmured sotto voice. "It's a mistake I shan't make again."

There was a slight element of smugness in his tone, underneath the acknowledgment of the danger Eight had brought up. He was also somewhat glad, even deeper down than the smugness. Eight had gone to him first, not Mello, despite probably knowing the other man before him. It made a little of the stiffness in his posture dissappear, even if he was still irritated.

[chocolategun]

Well, wasn't that a pretty picture. Mello felt fairly extraneous at the moment, given that Eight had clearly found a proper place, for the moment, and Seto was clearly content with having him there. Mello, though, was used to not fitting into situations; the fact that he was currently in one like this didn't bother him overmuch.

"If you loan me a laptop," Mello commented, "I can be out of your hair in under an hour." That would be more than enough time to siphon some money out of someone else's account, enough to get him started; then he could use that to figure out where he was going to go next. Kira might not be here, but the world could always use an L-- or an M, as the case may be at the moment.

"And you two can get back to... what you were doing."