lucetilogs | A game of words

Entry tags:

A game of words

Who: Naoto Fuyumine (

cicatrized)
What: A simple meeting.
When: Tonight around 8:00 p.m
Where: Community Building 4, roof.
Summary: Naoto is not certain what Mello is up to, but at this point she has nothing to lose. So she can at least listen to what he has to say.
Rating: PG-13

Dark eyes stared back at the sky. Her face was set in a calm mask, dark eyes peering at the endless darkness as long elegant arms were crossed over her chest. Naoto Fuyumine had to wonder what she was doing there. Yes, she could get some valuable information that she could use to help herself and her comrades, but of course there was a catch. The catch being that her informant was none other than Mello.

She was playing a dangerous game...

Mello could not be trusted. He was a cunning one...and in a way he was intriguing. No one accepted dead that easily or dared to risk so much. It was peculiar. Of course before those thoughts could get in the way, she pushed them aside.

Mello was annoying, plain and simple. Unfortunately it seemed like he wasn't about to leave her alone either. She was certain he was up to something. This exchange of information had to be somewhat beneficial in his own way.

Cocky bastard.

To be honest, she didn't necessarily hate the man, in fact she could care less about him. Yes, she had been angry at him for using her, but she had pushed that aside. He was not worth it.

However at the moment, he annoyed her to no end. Why? Because he was trying to pull her strings again...

For a moment that calm mask was broken and she openly scowled, but the look was quickly erased once again as she leaned a bit more against the wall.

Annoying or not...she could not let this opportunity pass her by...

Now she could only hope that the others didn't find out that she was meeting with this idiot.

She had a feeling that they would not approve...and she definitely wasn't in the mood for any temper tantrums.

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Nothing to lose, and everything to give, that was the single trait Mello honed in on when he played pins and needles, stabbing out the town's population until he found the occasional person that didn't bleed. And Naoto, dear Naoto, seemed to fit with Mello's particular status quo. All that was left to do was pull at her strings, and that was something Mello had excelled at in the past. Even now, Naoto'd agreed to meet him, a sign that she'd play into his hands once again. Mello truly appreciated each and every one of his toys.

The climb that Mello made to the roof was a leisurely one, five flights of stairs lead to the open desolation of a rooftop and a woman staring at the sky. It was their last meeting in reversal, down to the last detail, and Mello couldn't help but smile thinly as he approached Naoto, letting the clatter of his steel-toed boots announce his arrival.

"I hope that avenging your friend brought you peace," of course, Mello knew that it hadn't, "for it won't be lasting for much longer." Revenge left a person's stomach raw after carving it out just like any other sinful dessert; it was the course that always promised, but never delivered any true satisfaction. "The Malnosso never let us rest for long." And with that, Mello came to a halt, stood beside Naoto, and mirrored her gaze, looking skyward.

"What is it that you see?"

There was definitely something about Mello that seemed attention-grabbing...not necessarily in a good way, but still effective. It was true that people were often easy to figure out, but aggravatingly enough he wasn't one of them. His moves were calculated...intricate and most likely successful. It was something that made her tense only the slightest bit when his voice drifted to her.

Unconsciously, her stance shifted a bit, giving a more ample view of the katana at her side. It was clearly a silent warning...and perhaps one that she made without any thought to her own actions. His question though made her dark eyes narrow only the slightest bit.

Peace...would she ever be at it peace? The answer was simple...no. Peace was not something made for her, not when her hands were soaked in blood and her heart cried out for revenge on a person that she did not even know. Yet she did not regret this. As strange as it sounded, she did not. This was her life and she accepted it.

The wind ruffled her dark hair and a delicate, feminine looking hand came to tug the strands of ebony behind her ear. "It's to be expected." She wisely ignored the first statement, choosing to comment on the second one.

Surprisingly enough, his next question seemed to catch her off-guard. There was a brief flicker of surprise on her face before she composed herself. "I see darkness...", it was something that she was comfortable with,"I see a puzzle, an enigma, waiting to be solved, but at the same time I see something comforting in that endless shadow."

Out of the corner of her eyes she glanced at the pale haired man standing next to her silently wondering why he would ask such a question. The moment was brief though and within only a few seconds her gaze had returned to the dark sky above.

"What do you see?"

"I see something that I want to destroy, there's no solace to be found in endless darkness, or, for that matter, in endless light. There's only entrapment." Resignation and acceptance were two words that Mello wasn't able to identify with, he could never her accept his life for what it was, nor resign himself before the invariable fact that his existence was not his own. Peace would forever remain unimaginable and unattainable to Mello, not because a violent path was laid at his feet, but because he chose to pave one with blood and carnage. Even now, there was a present threat: The katana that hung at Naoto's side, and with so much potential violence in the air, Mello just had to deepen his smile, bearing sharp canines. Perhaps he was simply trying Naoto's patience, distracting her, programming her for something. Or maybe he was humoring her, she had answered his question after all, he could've been returning the favor.

Lowering his gaze, Mello looked to Naoto, blond hair windswept and blue eyes flashing as he sought out Naoto's own. "On some level, you must know that, otherwise you wouldn't be standing here now. Destroying the sky that we see before us is the only way out." Metaphorically speaking, of course. Though, it was likely that the destruction of the Malnosso would mean the destruction of Luceti as well, and if the captives in the town were merely grafted copies of the Malnosso's creation, any means of retaliation turned into a large scale murder-suicide. What a beautiful scenario.

"You've been kidnapped by the Malnosso before, have you not?" Finally Mello cuts to the chase, bluntly veering on-topic like their previous conversation held no importance at all. "Did you manage to see the faces of your assailants?"

His words should have scared her or at least intimidated her, but she wasn't the least bit afraid of those sentiments that he expressed. Destruction was always so easy...she should know. She would not lie to herself, her hands were made for destruction, to take the breath that she didn't make. The chains that bound her were carved in her skin, deep and raw...she would always feel them.

And sweet entrapment. His words seemed to struck a chord with her. The scar on her chest was the perfect example of her own cage. That smile though made something in her tighten and the dark haired woman met that baring of teeth with a calm and unaffected look.

"Hmmm...it's the only way," she murmured, already understanding some of the consequences. Yet it needed to be done. For a moment though a small part of her questioned those consequences. So many voices, but she quieted. Later, she would think, not now, especially not when his next question registered to her ears.

There was a light tightening to her jaw, before she averted her gaze to the front of her. "I did not see their faces." She hated to admit such a thing, but it was the truth. She could barely recall how it happened now. All she could recall was pain as her flesh was pierced by some kind of weapon. Unconsciously her fingers lowered to her right hand tracing the skin there.

"Perhaps it's better that you didn't." Mello's voice struck a low timbre as he spoke, his tone edging onto a plane that could be mistaken for concern. "The Malnosso merely orchestrate kidnappings, the beings that came to collect you were advanced robotics that act on the Malnosso's behalf, and are able to project a humanoid form. Should you have been able to take a closer look at them, the Malnosso's droids would've manipulated their appearance, altering their form to resemble those closest to you, or a face from the past."

Pausing, Mello silently appraised Naoto's reactions, careful to not let a single detail escape him. Earlier, averted eyes and a subtle clench of her jaw had been more than enough to give Naoto away, and Mello couldn't help but wonder how hard he'd have to push her before being rewarded with a sizable reaction. "And it's my guess that the past is the last thing you want to be dredged up and torn open."

In a way, the two weren't so different. Mello bore a scar on his face, where Naoto had one carved into her chest, and both were symbols of revenge that had yet to be delivered. Or rather, had been delivered, on Mello's part; he'd liberated himself as soon as Kira stepped foot in Luceti, while Naoto was still caught in the wires that bound her to a faceless nemesis. It was almost funny that Mello had been so fortunate.

"What was the extent of the damage dealt?"

Such a strange tone of voice. Instead of being comforting it made her wary. The dark haired woman forced herself to stay calm though and listen to his words. She carefully digested the information, storing most of it for later when she had time to think things through a bit more. Yet it only took a few words on Mello's part to shatter that careful control.

closest to you, or a face from the past

Her eyes widened the slightest bit and she swallowed hard. It was quick, but she could recall flashes of something, of familiar faces...Magoto. Long fingers dug into the skin of her arm, knuckles turning white under the pressure, before she was exhaling softly, silently and releasing the hold on her arm. The tenseness to her frame seeming to flow out of her just as quickly as it came. When she spoke, her voice was that same composed tone that she had been using so far.

"This arm was almost completely torn off. I don't recall what weapons they used, but it was enough..." Allowing her hand to fall at her side, her fingers unconsciously clenched and unclenched. At the moment it was like walking on thin glass. The cracks could already be seen. These memories weren't that easy to deal with and if she wasn't careful they could cut her deep once again.

"They concentrated mostly on my mind..." Her mind had been torn open like a fresh ripe fruit, which they slowly picked apart. Her past, her memories...those fleeting moments of seeing Fuyumine's blood staining the ground. Like barb wire, those memories wrapped around her, ensnaring her little by little...the sharp edges digging into her skin.

The Malnosso knew everything that there was too know about them and they knew how to use it to their advantage.

Naoto was entirely comprised of fractures, Mello realized, from the way she dug claws into her own arm, to the subtle clench and release of her hand; and the threads that tied her together were made of stone-cold resolve. Though, the Malnosso had certainly done their worst, successfully deepening the rifts and replacing thread with barbed wire. The past that Naoto kept locked away would only tear her apart, in the end. Not that Mello minded, or even cared about, this inevitable fate, so long as it served his purpose.

"There's no reason for you to do this to yourself, Naoto." The conversation swerved, careening toward the enigma of Naoto's past. "There's no need for you to die everyday." Mello's voice never faltered, words carrying that same tone that settled upon the line of concern and indifference. "Whatever it is that you carry with you, it's not worth the burden." Once again, he sought out Naoto's eyes, and wondered who would be the first to break their interlocked gaze.

"I'll give you the chance to repay the Malnosso for their hospitality in full, they won't go unpunished for what they've done to you." From the pocket of his coat, Mello procured a sheet of paper, folded in half. It was a duplication of the sketch Kei had taken the time to draw, illustrating an intricate depiction of the robots the Malnosso used to carry out their day-to-day needs. "By disabling the droids that our captors rely upon, we'll force them to show their faces. The machines are fast, but not necessarily agile. After luring them into the open, it wouldn't be impossible to strike the weak-point in their system."

Ah, there it was, the detail that Mello was manipulating Naoto into testing for accuracy. Nothing about the flaw that the machines supposedly possessed had been proven yet, and when Mello wanted a swift verdict on a theory, he was not against using pawns.

Ah, there was that tone again and how tempted she was to just lie to herself and pretend that the concern was real, but Naoto was no fool and she would never trust someone like Mello.

A particular strong gust of wind caused her to wrap her arms around her small frame as she boldly met Mello's blue eye. At the same time she straightened her spine and tilted her head only the slightest bit, a clear indication of equality to the male standing next to her. Although feminine in every way, Naoto did not for one moment want to be considered weaker than the other sex.

"Your words are carefully chosen, like pieces of puzzle falling into place." The look in her eyes was almost challenging. This time she would not look away from him. The wind ruffled her dark hair again, casting shadows against her pale skin. Naivety wasn't something that she possessed, so there was no doubt in her mind that Mello was up to something...and yet this opportunity wasn't something that she could just allow to pass her by.

She flexed her right arm. It would seem that once again chains were being tied around her wrists...and yet she chose these chains. Besides what was there to lose? That was the beauty of it, Mello probably knew that she would not be held back by anything. The wings on her back unconsciously twitched. Ironic, how those same wings could represent her need to always take the leap, to dive face down into something that she did not even fully understand at times. Sink or swim...she wasn't about to drown so easily though. Fingers unconsciously ran along the hilt of the katana, the movement slow, comforting in its own way.

Mello was definitely good at what he did. A ghost of a smile reached her lips as she stared back at the man.

"Am I to presume that you'll leave all of this in my able hands?"

"If I thought that you were either incapable or inept, I wouldn't have bothered to meet you here." Amusing, it was, to see a spark of challenge in Naoto's eyes and the slight changes in her stance. Everyone had something to prove, and Naoto was no different; there was no doubt in Mello's mind that she would use the information he presented to its fullest potential. And should Naoto fail to perform, Mello had set aside other arrangements, insurance was a necessity when it came to dealing with the Malnosso.

"You're an opportunist, and I am as well. There's no reason for me not to share the information that I've come to possess with a capable fighter. As it stands, Luceti is divided, there are those that chose to rebel against the Malnosso, but they fail in their singularity." If Mello trusted Naoto at all, he trusted in the fact that she would do all she could to break free from the rule of their captors, and not an inch beyond that. "Which is why you're more than free to relay the details of this conversation back to that stray dog of yours."

Extending his arm in one fluid movement, Mello held out the slip of paper between his fingers, motioning for Naoto to take hold of it. "The droids sport a hatch on the back of their necks, one that leads to their central programming unit, and if that's destroyed, the whole machine will go down." Leave it to Mello to present an uncertainty as though it were the absolute truth, his eyes betrayed nothing, and his usual air of arrogance only reaffirmed his words. With a flick of Mello waved the blueprints in his hand, the paper crackling in the wind, "And this drawing illustrates that major flaw."

The lock to the chains wrapped around Naoto's wrists had been presented.

"Yes, I'm sure..." Naoto trailed off. If he was being honest or not she could care less. This was just an opportunity for both of them. Besides they couldn't even be labelled enemies...not anymore.

They were just two people...two souls bound the same way to the Malnosso. Both were trying to cut off these wings that lingered on their backs. It was definitely ironic that wings that were supposed to symbolize freedom, in reality ensnared them to this world.

"Singularity can be both a blessing and a curse at times..." There was no explanation on her part as her her fingers enclosed around the piece of paper, no hesitation visible.

Dark eyes flickered to the blueprint, her mind quickly processing the details, while at the same time trying to come up with possible ways to take these droids down. For a brief moment Mello ceased to exist to her as she worked the details in her mind, slowly calculating...

Even if she was female and made of mortal flesh, Naoto was nothing more than an killing machine when she needed to be and as such destruction was her forte. It was her element.

"And how exactly did you find out this weakness?" Satisfied with her short perusal, dark eyes met Mello's evenly. Than again...it probably did not matter...her katana could do the job. What she needed to keep in mind was the speed of these things and how long it took to take one down. Her lips set in a thin line. They were fast from what little she could remember...

She just needed to be faster...she unconsciously shifted again, the muscles in her long legs tensing. This time she would not be caught off-guard. She could do this.

Yet at the same time, she could care less about the consequences. She was willing to risk everything to get something beneficial out of this ordeal. It wouldn't be the first time that she would spill her own blood and it wouldn't be the last. Eyes hardened, now the only thing she needed to do was make sure this would be as beneficial for he as it would probably be for Mello.

And the locks closed around her wrists...

The scarred doll was once again chained, only this time it was her own doing.

"Espionage." Mello shrugged the question off with a smooth incline of his shoulders and a bow of his head; he wasn't about to reveal his exact methodology and expose the ace up his sleeve, so he resorted to using the vaguest of answers. "The Malnosso aren't the only beings that are capable of spying, and their secrets are every bit as vulnerable as our own. Once we dispose of their mechanical servants, there's no doubt that we'll be able to learn more about how our captors function as a unit, and dispose of them, as well."

Closing the distance between himself and Naoto, Mello reached over, touching the spot just above her collarbone, where the flesh sunk in toward the heart. "Be careful, Naoto, with whatever you plan to do. If some tragedy befell you because of the information you hold, I'd be the first person your friends would blame." Lifting his fingertips, Mello took a step back, lips curved into more of a smirk than a smile. "It's true that sacrifices must be made, but avoiding unnecessary bloodshed would is an admirable practicality. I'd hate to see what the Malnosso would claim as a penalty for your revival."

Dismissing himself with a wave of his hand, Mello turned his back, making his way to the stairwell that lead down from the roof. "Don't let yourself down, Naoto." It was a short statement, accented with a glance over the shoulder, tousled blond hair, and blue eyes that sharply contrasted with Naoto's own. "If you do, you'll live to regret it."

Flashing one final smile, Mello turned his back, descending the stairs.

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A game of words

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