(Untitled)

[therailtracer]

Who: Vino, Nagi - open to Genkaku and the mansion's residents
Where: Liebert Mansion
When: Night hours
Summary: Vino is looking for damaged goods
Rating: R
Other: Ma~ggot ma~ggot

Comments

[striginae]

But this, of course, was entirely unknown to the person in question -- Nagi had spent the past few hours (but this, again was unknown -- how much time had passed since this torment had begun, he had no way of knowing) fading in and out of consciousness, waking up to the same surroundings, the same empty room, the same four walls boxing him in. Seeming to draw closer each time he opened his eyes.

Starved, dehydrated, drugged and abandoned -- it was growing increasingly difficult to gather his thoughts -- or what thoughts he had left that were worth his attention. The thoughts of escape, he'd all but given up on. Once in a while, he made an attempt, tugging at the ropes restraining him, grinding torn and raw flesh against the blood-stained ropes, but eventually slumping back into the chair. Knowing (hopelessly) that physical escape from this situation was out of reach for him.

Which only left himself and his thoughts -- a medley of images that plagued his vision, now lacking the technicolor brightness induced by drugs -- but perhaps it was worse this way, because the fact that they lingered long after the injection-induced high was over meant that they were painfully and undeniably real. (I remember now. I must have forced myself to forget them, lest I lost my mind. Then -- what's happening to me now?) Past the static haze that coated his senses, he heard footsteps past the cast-iron door -- and looked up with hollow eyes, breathing quickening the slightest. (-- is he back already?)

[therailtracer]

Vino caught the pungent scent of blood not long after he had set on his hunt. His pace slowed, no longer mirthful but calm and aware. Undying as he considered himself to be he would not like to stumble blindly into the jaws of a lion. Once again his expectations were reduced to nothing; he had reached the basement without event. The blood that had failed to soak into his clothing now slowly trickled down into his shoe, creating a shallow puddle in his footwear. A curious hum dispersed from his lips as he without hesitation pushed open the door. He had guessed it was left unlocked because the source of all this morose stench was in no condition to escape. The shape distinguishable in the blackness surrounding him, while human, felt inanimate. "Hey there..." Vino spoke into the darkness. The air tasted stale and wet. The assassin languidly bent and scooped the floor with his fingers to measure the warmth of the sprawling blood. Excellent; it was warm.

"It will be troublesome for that naive girl if you die now, won't it?" The gears in Vino's mind rotated quickly, his ideas rapidly and impulsively changing. The redhead squatted before Nagi, a benign smile curving his lips. After removing his binds Vino's blood-soaked hand reached into his pocket for a lighter. Nagi's injuries were revealed by the flickering glow. The veteran torture technician had instantly deducted the individual behind the acts carried out on Nagi had no intention to murder him. "Ha-ha, you're definitely not enjoying your stay at the Liebert Mansion. Don't worry though! You'll pull through." Vino pocketed the item, hitched his arms beneath the teacher's back and lifted him with a soft puff and promptly moved to the exit.

[striginae]

The rhythmic sounds of footsteps drawing closer -- then the creak of rusted metal as the door was pulled open, heralding a slat of dim light. And Nagi waited, afraid to look up -- waited for the taunting words and familiar scent of smoke that he knew would come next. (Leave me alone. Have you not done enough damage already?)

It said something about how far his mind had deteriorated, the fact that it took him far too long to realize that the person who'd entered the room seemingly wasn't here to torment him. Given the dim lighting and the blurry static haze that still colored his vision, he could only make out brilliant hair and a youthful countenance -- someone that he couldn't recognize, moving with a casual sort of ease. And he couldn't help but flinch, at first, as narrow fingers toyed with the ropes binding him to the chair. It was only after he'd been pulled away from the chair that he realized he was being freed.

His throat felt dry, burning from the drug-induced nausea that he forced back down for so long -- but he still forced himself to speak, articulating in synthetic words -- "Who...? -- what are you --" And then a pause, a hard swallow, a cough. (Because, because, this wasn't fair, he couldn't help but think. Maybe he'd survive this torment, maintain this tenuous grasp he had on his life -- but for what purpose? Why? Why did the ones he loved have to be slaughtered, while he was always spared by the unlikeliest circumstances?) Voice dying in his throat, he could only look up at this stranger who'd dared to 'save' him. Flickers of broken insanity beginning to reflect in the hollow gaze.

[therailtracer]

"Aah, so that is how your voice sounds? This is my first time hearing such a thing," Vino remarked on the least important aspect of Nagi's question. The Rail Tracer had yet to be aquatinted with all the marvels of later technology and he could happily check this one off his list. "I don't have a particular name," he explained as his shoe collided with the door in order to grant him and his luggage passage. "I was called Claire, but don't address by this pseudonym, yeah? I prefer Vino - call me Vino." He did not think what percentage of his rapid speech had failed to be digested by Nagi's troubled mind and continued to converse: "Do you know a girl named Shiro? I think she will be happy to see you alive and well, naturally that will take a substantial amount of time, the impression you'd make now would probably scare her. But what am I saying, hm? You know her better than me."

Though Vino carried a human being he was hardly burdened; his fluid movements had taken him outside where he stood measuring the height of the wall. The redhead retreated several steps and sped at the obstacle, Nagi in limbs. He caught his balance at the height of the structure and eyed the teacher, checking his status. "Not too shabby ha?" He gently hopped down on the path just beyond the wall. The atmosphere of the city and the ambience of car engines would inform Nagi he was outside if his vision failed him. His muscles abruptly tensed and he burst into a sprint, simultaneously chattering and evading pedestrians. "So how far do you want me to distance you from that place before I call an ambulance!?" It seemed a miracle the man did not collapse or stagger after two blocks.

[soulparadox]

The dinner cart made little to no noise as it was being pushed down the hallways, just the occasional clattering of the plates if he moved left or right too hard. He had made sandwiches as promised for all guests -- Rokuro, Nagi, and Nina. Of course, Nagi would get his meal first. No slight meant to Nina, but she seemed like she could handle herself better now. However, as he came up to the room, he noticed that the iron door was open. Is Genkaku visiting? Still, even as he thought this, he also had believed that the monk usually keep the door shut.

Stopping outside the door, he saw that the room was empty. Nataku would have liked to be as optimistic as he thought that Nagi would be -- that the teacher had just gone home. However, he had not been alerted to such. He looked down at the floor to notice some blood splattering headed off from where he had come from. Did someone-- Already, he was running after where he believed Nagi was heading. That was unacceptable. Nagi was still injured and needed to rest. Furthermore, Genkaku still had much to say to him, his beloved.

He did turn back to look at the abandoned dinner cart, feeling a pang of guilt for having left a mess for Natalia to clean up. But, this was just a little more important. If he allowed such an event to occur, he would be scolded. Hurrying out the front doors of the manor, he allowed a rare moment of shock to come over him as he saw someone taking Nagi, holding the other in a manner which he would possibly call affectionate. In all his surprise at watching this, he had forgotten himself and allowed the stranger to not only jump over the wall but escape with Nagi. Ah.

Once more remembering himself, he sped after them. Jumping with the same ease that the stranger had, he landed easily on the top of the wall. Already, his ribbon was unraveling as he started to hop from one streetlamp to the next so that he could keep up with the two without having to deal with the crowds. Of course, he was landing on each lamp a little harder than he realized and occasionally caused the casing holding the light to shudder and break, raining the occasional glass shard from above. He would apologize later for it after Nagi had been returned to the Liebert househould. Somehow, he was able to get enough distance ahead of the retreating figures to jump off his perch and land in front of them.

"I would like to know what are you doing." He was slightly out of breath, but his ribbon continued to float in the air. His intention was to lash out with it and strangle the offender in front of him. However, before he would do so, he wanted to know the reason for the other to trespass in the first place.

[striginae]

Things were really moving far, far too quickly for Nagi to deal with, at least given his current condition. Though the peak of the drugs had long since faded, they had yet to flush out of his system, and so the general nausea and mind-numbing effects lingered. Most of what this newcomer said was entirely lost -- Nagi barely managed to catch a few key words (no name, Vino -- Shiro) before the sudden chill of the winter night air purged every last breath of air from his lungs. Flinching, he shuddered, the sudden stimulus a bit too much for him to handle at once -- but it was some relief, as all the city's nighttime neon lights and traffic noises signaled that he was out of the Liebert mansion now. Freed from that hellhole, at least for the moment.

It was another few moments of haggard thought before he managed to piece together what the other was saying -- and he responded with a shake of the head. No, an ambulance -- not the hospital. The properties of his blood made him wary of hospitals in the chance that they would lead back to the very laboratory that had started this dark chapter of his life -- and he shoved himself out of the other -- Vino's arms with a sudden desperate strength, forcing himself to his feet, even if he sagged against the wall nearby to maintain his balance, ignoring the uncontrolled tremors that wracked his limbs. (Get away from me. I feel like I'm going to break -- I don't know what I'll do to you then.)

And just as he was about to speak up -- some haggard attempt to explain himself out of this situation -- when the sudden movement behind him made him start, turning to face -- "Nataku." The ribbon floating in the air, obviously ready to be used for some purpose or the other. A hard swallow, and pale eyes cast a glance from Nataku to Vino and back again, trying to focus still-blurry vision. "Please allow me to leave. -- I can't stay there any longer." And it was clear that he was sincere in his desperate plea. (If I allow him to do anything more to me -- I may not be myself any more.)

[therailtracer]

Vino's eyes shot up at the extravagantly clad pursuer that fluently poised himself in his way - then strayed back to Nagi who, he guessed, was unsatisfied with his destination. Vino let him down freely and patiently awaited for a verbal indication of his intentions. The irregular glow of the lamplights cast abstract shadows while Nagi recuperated within the yellow light of the general store. When an explanation did not surface, Vino, indifferent to Nataku walked to Nagi's side and inclined curiously. He cautioned in serious tenor, "This one... you know him? I may have to kill him. We will see."

He corrected his posture and immediately began to walk in Nataku's direction, moving in a passive, non-hostile fashion while his hands swayed to articulate his speech. "Hello. You're obviously from that mansion. I had to remove this man from your quarters 'cause honestly the way you guys accommodate your guests could use a little work. I originally had intended to punish him, but well... Actually, forget about that--."

Vino had arrested himself directly infront of Nataku and smiled. "I'm surprised by your temperament... It wasn't you that tortured him right? In that case, would you like to return? Or shall we fight...?"

[soulparadox]

Nataku paused to seemingly think on the request that Nagi had for him. He also remembered what Genkaku had said about not listening to what the man had to say. "I cannot comply with that request. I cannot allow you to leave with this man." He indicated with his head who he was speaking to, tipping it slightly in the redhead's direction. Still, he looked down slightly, unable to make direct eye contact with Nagi. Once more he had to deny a request given to him that seemed so heartfelt. "I apologize."

His eyes widened and flinched for a moment when he saw the person start walking towards him. It was not that it was particularly quick movement or surprising, but for one reason or another, he decided that he did not like the redhead. It may have been because this person was getting in the way of his big brother and his brother's beloved's potential happiness. That happiness would make Johan happy in turn. His grip on the ribbon tightened as the movement of his weapon became as erratic as his thought process -- twisting a little tighter around in the air like it was thinking of doing the same to the redhead's neck. "Correct. I am Nataku."

"I work very hard to appease the guests of the Liebert household. There are a few requests that I cannot agree to, but I do my best." Despite the deadpan way that he was speaking, it was obvious that he was slightly hurt by that insinuation that he was not working hard to make sure the guests were comfortable.

The rest of what the other man was saying was obviously lost on Nataku. This showed itself in how the ribbon slowed its movements and reverted to a harmless fluttering in the air. He could not hide the confusion that he felt as his head tilted slightly like some small dog that heard an odd noise. Not even noticing just how close the other had come to his own person. "Tortured? No one tortured Nagi." His shoulders slumped somewhat at the two choices. "I cannot return without him." Pointing in the direction of Nagi, he repeated his reasoning for standing in their way again. "Return him, if you please."

[striginae]

How had things come to this? It didn't make sense, none of this did -- the sudden appearance of this stranger, Vino, freeing him from the mansion without hesitation -- only to be halted by Nataku. And, of course, Nagi couldn't help but eye the ribbon with caution -- he knew that it held enough power to lift a person, and with the speed it was currently moving at -- no doubt it would be a formidable weapon. And while his rescuer was certainly gifted with amazing physical abilities, there was no way of knowing what would happen of the conflict escalated.

Though, to be honest, he had, in part, expected this refusal from Nataku, judging by what he tell of the child's personality. Logical, adhering to order -- and Genkaku had most likely told him to keep an eye on any escape attempts. (His thought processes were growing the slightest bit clearer -- things were starting to click together once more. Along with, of course, the faint burn of bitter insanity at the back of his mind. It wouldn't be long before it returned full-force, that psychosis of his, even if he didn't know.)

"Please, sir -- he's done nothing wrong." Directed at Vino, obviously, but his voice held little strength. (Because, a voice whispered at the back of his mind -- what did it matter whether the kid died or not? Wouldn't it be fairer if everyone was killed? Spared no mercy, the way your loved ones were?) A haggard cough, breath fogging the air -- Nagi shivered, the chill of the winter night digging deep into his wounds and pervading his veins. "-- Nataku, I don't know what's -- been told to you, but what he's done to me is torture, I cannot let him near me again." (He's already done too much.) A staggering step back, still leaning heavily against the wall -- and a glance towards the streets. Running would be a severe pressure on his wounded limbs, but the streets were busy. A glance back at the two others, his one hand clutching tight at his chest. "-- let me leave."

[therailtracer]

His bang shadowed one ocular as Vino sharply swung to look at Nagi. His white teeth shined through the thin gap of subtly spread lips and it was somehow clear that the assassin had no longer had any predilection for mercy on Nataku. The impression he had received was positive yet the direct intentions Nataku had disclosed unacceptably conflicted with his goals, regardless whether the core motivation in his pursuers skull was born from a positive quality; misguided loyalty was a fault most difficult to fix. Nataku had conspicuously shown he was unfit to remain in Vino's self-proclaimed world.

With no speech relayed to the teacher he returned his sights on the curiously dressed persona. He felt the uncertainty Nataku felt in regard of confronting him. Employing it to his benefit Vino calmly took hold of the man's hand as if in order to make a formal greeting. "No," he retorted curtly and waited for the failure in negotiations to sink in. Vino made a deft jerk and snapped the oblivious soul's wrist.

Despite offering Nataku ample preparation the speed with which his other hand cut the air looked untraceable, exceeding human limitation; three of Vino's compressed digits darted forward to destroy Nataku's eye.

[soulparadox]

"But--" Nataku would have said something along the lines that he would have been ordered to retrieve Nagi from this person. He did not believe that it was torture. There must be a mistake. Was it wrong to torture someone that another person loved? He did not know the answer. It did not help matters that his train of thought was derailed when the redhead took hold of his wrist. He was about to pull away from his grip, but was not quick enough to do so. It was an odd sensation feeling his wrist being snapped. The sudden rush of pain up his arm and the bruising, redness blossoming across his skin.

Nataku stared at the injury blankly and opened his mouth to ask why the stranger had done that. Just before his vision became impaired by having his eye gorged out. Blood rushed down the side of his face as he lifted his free hand to touch the new wound, fingers slipping into the socket as though wondering if the eye had been completely destroyed or taken. He did not know the answer. The pain that his body was in was separate from his logical thinking -- in that he could ignore it fairly easily. "That was rude. We were having a conversation."

The ribbon whipped out to wrap around the stranger's body to hurl him into the nearest solid object -- whether that be another human being or wall. He did not sit to see what had happened to him, not caring for someone who would not engage in simple talk. That person was not polite. Nataku started to limp towards Nagi, with his hand pressing lightly over his face and other arm useless at his side. "Nagi, we must be returning home now. I made dinner for you and it will be cold if we do not hurry, if you please."

[striginae]

At Vino's smile, Nagi couldn't help but stiffen for a moment, limbs tensed, breath hitching -- because it was the sort of expression that he'd seen before. A calculated sort of madness was reflected in that small gesture, sending a shiver down his limbs, and Nagi could only watch -- stunned -- as the surreal set of events unfolded before him.

The snap of bone had resonated through the winter air, piercing through the wail of the city's ambiance, and before he could react, the blur heralded the sick, squelching noise of ocular muscles being torn out of shape. Blood and aqueous humor dripping down pale skin. The twinge of nausea writhed at the back of his throat, and Nagi made to step forward, not even aware of the way that the blood leaking from his wounds had already formed minute tendrils in the air, beginning to curl into familiar orbs --

But before he could so much as move, there was another blur of motion -- and Vino was knocked away, seemingly without any effort. Pedestrian commotion began to fill the air -- shouts and screams and curses -- and Nagi looked at Nataku with eyes narrowed, limbs tensed -- spheres of blood circling him slowly. "-- don't come any closer." It was a warning spoken in quiet words, cold and flat, making clear that, to him, returning to the mansion was not a viable action. A brief glance was cast towards where Vino had been tossed aside, reflecting faint worry, before cautious stare directed at Nataku was maintained. Knees buckled for a moment when he backed off a step, and he almost staggered -- nowhere near recovered enough to be moving around -- but he ignored it all, answering Nataku with a shake of the head. "I can't -- I refuse to go back. Not again."

[therailtracer]

"......" Vino eyed Nataku's reaction or lack of it with a blank, perplexed quality to his smile before he was swooped upwards, his leather coat fluttering wildly as he traversed the air. His hands firmly closed around the metallic pole Nataku has damaged previously with his peculiar way of running and slowed his momentum via a 90 degree swing about the post.

He landed neatly, his facade now imbued with an intrigued quality. "I have met people with fantastic powers before, like you..." he impressed onto his opponent as his visage lost its surprised edge. Indeed, he had the satisfaction of dismembering an immortal and whether Nataku had been gifted with a similar condition or not his tolerance for pain was viewed as a trait that will prolong Vino's amusement. "Well..." Vino slid his hands into the pockets of his long coat and went off into the opposite direction, disappearing in the black. Although it was rationally incomprehensible to the crowd which began to acclimate at the scene Vino's next appearance was on the roof of the general store Nagi had struggled to steady himself in front of, with only seconds marking the assassin's disappearance.

Once again assuming Nataku to be unaware Vino soundlessly landed behind him. The redhead's palms slid to Nataku's cheeks and acted toward snapping his neck and throwing his polite adversary through the window of the establishment.

[hypermonk]

What a fucking waste. If Genkaku didn’t bother to go down to the kitchen he would have noticed his victim getting carried off by vermin. Tough shit for him though, the monk actually had to eat. While the commotion outside was continuing, Genkaku made his way back to the private torture chamber where he had recently dumped the mass of delusional flesh to play a bit more of rough-house; but when he peeked through the door way, his eyes widen and a display of frustration marked his features violently. The way he had found out that there was a shithead of an intruder was the obvious security camera that was tucked away in one of the corners of the room.

With the guitar case slumped over his back and long steps, the monk made his way outside of the establishment and down the streets, ignoring the suffocating crowd with a grin of sadistic glee that pulled the corners of his lips. No, he was fucking pissed at the situation, for someone to just go in and randomly take his Owl? Fucking blasphemy and Genkaku was going to purge the little shit that thought he was doing a good job at playing hero.

It was obvious where the fight was happening and violets at first went to Nagi, there, shitting himself like a pathetic parasite. Genkaku grunted and walked up to him, the blood-formed orbs seemed to just disappear and Genkaku muttered to him, "Ya’know, just leaving me like that..." And the guitar case swung from his back to slam against Nagi’s skull.

"Hey there, you fuckin’ idiots." He said to the other two that seemed occupied with getting down and doing all that shit. The monk’s trigger finger was getting real itchy now but instead of getting his gun out, he wrapped fingers around the beads that decorated his neck and pressed the skull-like charm to his lips, letting out a soft hardly audible chant, releasing numerous blue beams at both Nataku and Vino with a dangerous sinister expression.

[striginae]

Even past the haze of blood-loss, the lingering aftereffects of the drugs, Nagi would have been able to hear the footsteps approaching from behind, would have been able to detect the familiar violent presence and might have been able to put up some semblance of resistance. Pity the crowd was so loud. Pity that the crash of glass shattering was so deafening.

All he knew was that his blood orbs were suddenly bursting apart, splattering to the ground in harmless flecks of red -- then the blow caught him across the back of the head. His thoughts went blank for a moment, everything going numb, a strangled noise escaping his throat, sight and sound muffled as if viewed from a long, long distance away -- and the pain rushing through his skull. He was vaguely aware of the way he hit the ground, shuddering -- glaring up with with wild eyes at the figure standing over him. The fragile barrier between sanity and psychosis starting to crumble.

(You -- you, I won't, I can't let you do anything more to me, I refuse, you've already done enough -- get away from me, I'll kill you, I'll kill you --) It was, perhaps, fortunate that his body refused to listen -- and he could only lay on the ground, hovering at the brink of unconsciousness, as the beams of light traced brilliant streaks through the air above him.

[soulparadox]

It was very difficult to walk in a straight line at this moment. Furthermore, he was troubled by how the corner of his mouth was constantly being filled with blood because of his eye. This caused him to constantly swipe at his face in order to brush the blood away, like that would help his vision some. Nataku did stop when Nagi told him to -- the tone that he had was so much different than before. His head tilted, which caused the rush of blood from his eye socket to wash over the side of his face. Yet, he did not seem particularly troubled by this. "Are we no longer friends?"

"I do not know if they are fantastic or not. Why call them such?" Nataku did not understand such a comment, but it seemed like that individual would be leaving now. There was now just the issue of seeing orbs of red floating in the air. He could not tell if this was some odd hallucination or if they were real. His hand reached up to try to touch the nearest one just as he felt someone's hands gloss over his face. The reaction was immediate -- his ribbon launched itself backwards to try to push the person as far away from him as possible. He did not know who it was but they had invaded his personal space. That was unacceptable.

"Who did--?" Spinning around, he tried to see who had done such a thing. The sudden movement did nothing but make him dizzy as he held his head to keep himself steady, barely noticing the appearance of his big brother until Genkaku spoke. Nataku would ignore the person who tried to touch him to return to focusing his attention on the monk and explain what had happened. "Big brother, I was -- is Nagi all right?" He gestured with his injured wrist, letting the hand flop painfully in the direction of the fallen man. "...we were having a conversation. Why is everyone interrupting our conversation?"

His ribbon seemed wiser than its master -- suddenly rising up to try to form a barrier to protect against those beams, somehow remembering that they were painful. However, it was unable to do so in time, causing various new injuries through his shoulder and sides. Nataku staggered slightly as the ribbon flopped down onto the sidewalk, useless. His outfit was ruined. He could have avoided getting blood on it from his face, but now. His breathing and posture were difficult to hold up now, but still he had to ask. "Did I do something wrong?"