It seemed as though a deathly silence had fallen over Traverse Town. Yohji glanced up once he left the Hotel, staring at the sky full of falling stars, worlds dying. It made him feel sick, empty. With this many stars falling, the skies would seem very empty from now, that much more vast. What if one of those worlds had been where one of Weiss had been? They were lost now.
He stepped out from the light cast by the Hotel's windows, deciding the check this district first. He wasn't entirely sure where Integral had gone and he'd hate to miss her just because he couldn't be bothered to check properly.
If he focussed on business then he could ignore just a bit of the gnawing terror running through him.
And then, out of the corner of his eyes he saw a flare of darkness, like a hole appearing in the air and then a man stepped out. He seemed completey unconcerned with what was happening, turning his face to the sky as though welcoming it.
Yohji narrowed his eyes. That wasn't a good sign. He took a few steps towards the man, watching him
Yohji noticed the change in expression, no matter how fleeting. His stance changed slightly, making it easier for him to move quickly if necessary.
"Who says I'm ashamed?" he asked flatly. "Not a lot I can do about it in any case." Why worry when they were losing more ground every day? He'd keep fighting, but he knew that they couldn't win, not really.
The change in topic took him by surprise but he hid it well. "Kudoh Yohji," he saiid, nodding politely. "You?"
"Six." He replied smoothly, imitating Yohji's polite nod. They had been standing a while, and Zexion found he was able to maintain the small changes in his illusion even while paying attention to the conversation with Yohji.
"Kinda' an odd name," Yohji said, scepticism clear in his voice. He didn't believe for a minute that that was really the man's name. Still, he let it go. He knew enough people, himself included, who went by false names a lot of the time.
He nodded in reply, rubbing his bare arms to warm them up and walking towards the benches. He sat down in a lazy sprawl, legs outstrecthed in front of him.
"Believe me when I tell you it doesn't matter either way." Zexion replied, his voice edged with dry humor.
He took a seat on the other side of the bench and folded his legs beneath him, tilting his head up to pick away at nameless stars. He hadn't noticed it earlier, not beneath the stronger cigarette smell... Zexion tilted his head towards Yohji. "Is that your blood?"
That he could agree with. A wry smile crossed Yohji's lips. "Yeah. Names don't mean much of anything." They were just words; too eay to change or lie about.
He gave Zexion a practised smile in reply to that question; sheepish and embarressed. "Yeah. I got attacked." The half-lie slid off his tongue easily, just as it had the thousand times before.
"You're a masochist." Zexion replied, humor edged his voice but it carried the same conviction as when he'd talked about the worlds destroyed. Yohji was cold and possibly injured, and he'd hardly gone out of his way to keep the other man around.
It was too bad about the blood though. His attention was wondering and his illusion was beginning to tax.
"Maybe I am," Yohji replied, amusement clear in his voice. He could have left this job a long time ago, with the loss of his world. He'd earned enough munny that he could survive for a long time without worries. But still he kept killing.
Yeah, masochism definitely had something to do with it.
Zexion didn't enjoy pain; most of the time he went out of his way to avoid it, but he wasn't so surprised by someone who might.
"Only physical pain?" He asked playfully. From a boy so small he could sit cross-legged on a bench, it wasn't impossible to imagine a cat tail cutting slowly back and forth behind him.
He pulled his illusion away slowly, carefully. The stars disappeared quickly but without drama, and Zexion was careful to hold Yohji's gauze with his own.
Yohji smirked, still wary and watchful, but shifting into a more playful mindset. It took the edge off the life he was leading and at the moment, his mind of the loss.
"It has its moments," he replied, a teasing lilt to his voice even as he sidestepped the question.
A shiver of discomfort passed through him as Zexion's gaze seemed to sharped, holding his eyes and making sure that Yohji couldn't look away.
"I can't imagine." Zexion replied, like a whisper of shadow. He liked to reach bone-deep. It was seduction of a sort that wasn't quite sexual, but it was seduction none the less.
"Paint me a picture." It was almost a purr, a teasing command.
That whisper seemed to reach inside him, curling around the darkest parts of his soul. Yohji took a shuddering breath, eyes squeezing shut for a second. The sensation was odd; he just wished he could pass it off entirely as his imagination.
The command brought a delicious shiver through his body and he leaned his head back lazily and looking sideways at Zexion. "Sometimes it's the only way to know you're alive."
"That's just a tired, romantic cliche." Zexion pressed, a sigh of annoyance escaping his lips. Yohji would likely never appreciate how close he'd been brought to death in that moment. Zexion had no qualms about killing out of apathy.
A harsh laugh escaped Yohji's lips at that, bitter and skirting the edges of sanity. What did this kid know about it anyway? "Dead men don't feel," he replied.
He looked at the other man sharply, intensity in his eyes. "It kills the time. Gotta' have a distraction."
If he was focussed on staying alive, then other things didn't have to be thought about.
Zexion's expression was carefully neutral, but something behind his eyes seemed to stir at those words, a deep, violent darkness. He'd finished pulling his illusions away. He uncrossed his legs and stood, walking slowly towards Yohji without any hint of a threat in his posture.
He held the man's eyes. When he reached out and touched Yohji's neck, those leather encased fingers were delicate, almost shy. He leaned close to Yohji's ear, inches away now though his words were sharp and quiet. "You're right."
Yohji just watched the other man as he approached, a half smile on his lips. He couldn't have looked away, even if he'd wanted to.
He tilted his head back at the touch, exposing the line of his throat, even though he knew it was a stupid move on his part. Warm breath across his ear and neck and then burning pain as those fingers closed around his neck.
He didn't struggle, knowing this dance too well. He gave a soft resigned sigh and then with a flick of his fingers, sharp wire was twisting around Zexion's throat, tightening enough that one more pull would have cut through the skin.
He stepped out from the light cast by the Hotel's windows, deciding the check this district first. He wasn't entirely sure where Integral had gone and he'd hate to miss her just because he couldn't be bothered to check properly.
If he focussed on business then he could ignore just a bit of the gnawing terror running through him.
And then, out of the corner of his eyes he saw a flare of darkness, like a hole appearing in the air and then a man stepped out. He seemed completey unconcerned with what was happening, turning his face to the sky as though welcoming it.
Yohji narrowed his eyes. That wasn't a good sign. He took a few steps towards the man, watching him
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"Who says I'm ashamed?" he asked flatly. "Not a lot I can do about it in any case." Why worry when they were losing more ground every day? He'd keep fighting, but he knew that they couldn't win, not really.
The change in topic took him by surprise but he hid it well. "Kudoh Yohji," he saiid, nodding politely. "You?"
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He gestured to the benches, "Shal we..?"
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He nodded in reply, rubbing his bare arms to warm them up and walking towards the benches. He sat down in a lazy sprawl, legs outstrecthed in front of him.
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He took a seat on the other side of the bench and folded his legs beneath him, tilting his head up to pick away at nameless stars. He hadn't noticed it earlier, not beneath the stronger cigarette smell... Zexion tilted his head towards Yohji. "Is that your blood?"
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He gave Zexion a practised smile in reply to that question; sheepish and embarressed. "Yeah. I got attacked." The half-lie slid off his tongue easily, just as it had the thousand times before.
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It was too bad about the blood though. His attention was wondering and his illusion was beginning to tax.
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Yeah, masochism definitely had something to do with it.
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"Only physical pain?" He asked playfully. From a boy so small he could sit cross-legged on a bench, it wasn't impossible to imagine a cat tail cutting slowly back and forth behind him.
He pulled his illusion away slowly, carefully. The stars disappeared quickly but without drama, and Zexion was careful to hold Yohji's gauze with his own.
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"It has its moments," he replied, a teasing lilt to his voice even as he sidestepped the question.
A shiver of discomfort passed through him as Zexion's gaze seemed to sharped, holding his eyes and making sure that Yohji couldn't look away.
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"Paint me a picture." It was almost a purr, a teasing command.
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The command brought a delicious shiver through his body and he leaned his head back lazily and looking sideways at Zexion. "Sometimes it's the only way to know you're alive."
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He looked at the other man sharply, intensity in his eyes. "It kills the time. Gotta' have a distraction."
If he was focussed on staying alive, then other things didn't have to be thought about.
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He held the man's eyes. When he reached out and touched Yohji's neck, those leather encased fingers were delicate, almost shy. He leaned close to Yohji's ear, inches away now though his words were sharp and quiet. "You're right."
And his hand snapped closed like a vice.
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He tilted his head back at the touch, exposing the line of his throat, even though he knew it was a stupid move on his part. Warm breath across his ear and neck and then burning pain as those fingers closed around his neck.
He didn't struggle, knowing this dance too well. He gave a soft resigned sigh and then with a flick of his fingers, sharp wire was twisting around Zexion's throat, tightening enough that one more pull would have cut through the skin.
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