roneal | (no subject)

(no subject)

The market is, objectively speaking, a miserable place. Precious few of the merchandise are happy to be there, nude and bound and collared - sometimes even caged - free for every prospective customer to examine. Few of the customers are happy either. Prices are high, and the press of so many bodies create a stifling atmosphere.

All in all, it is exactly what Jade had expected. He strolls leisurely through the market, not particularly bothered by what is going on around him. It was one of the reasons he had been chosen for this assignment. Today is his first day at the market; he's meant to speak with the vendors, make connections, and walk away with a cheap but handy acquisition.

He's working on the last part now. It's surprisingly difficult to find someone useful and docile, but still with some spirit left - he does not trust the older slaves who are complacent with the system.

It's during his second time looping through the market that someone catches his eye - for all the wrong reasons. He stops, stares at the familiar figure in front of him, an uncharacteristically surprised expression flashing over his face.

Then he's smiling again. He's still unsure if this is a good turn of events, but perhaps he could use this to his advantage.

"My my, I didn't expect to see you here."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"People like you?" Abruptly, he thinks of smoke and fire, uncontrolled power ripping through his body, blood on the snow. Old memories. He'd like to think they don't affect him much any more. And they don't, at least not right now - he has no trouble maintaining a neutral expression.

"I'm going to need more information before I can make a decision." But he doubts he's going to get any more out of Shinjirou, at least not with the approach he's taking. Time to try something different. Jade is determined to find out as much as possible, not for the mission, or for the sake of Shinjirou's wellbeing, but because he's fascinated by the possibility of new knowledge.

"What will happen if you don't have access to them?"

"I'll lose control." This time, he doesn't slip up. No it he'll lose control of, just himself. And shouldn't that be enough of an explanation? It should be. That's already bad, that can already hurt people. It won't impale them and tear them apart, though.

Gnawing on his lips again, he slips off and turns his back towards Jade, pills hidden in his fist. He's gotten cold. It's not the cold he's used to, more like swallowing a frozen block of lead. It's hell on his worn-out body, every bruise a source of heat amidst the cold. Head hammering, Shinjirou closes his eyes and slowly reclines. "If you want to keep using me the way you do now, you can't take them. Even if it takes weeks or months or a whole year, something bad's gonna happen."

Weeks or months or a whole year. Will Shinjirou even be with him for that long?

Still, he thinks he's learnt enough for now, and Shinjirou looks like he needs some sleep. Jade's curiosity still isn't entirely satisfied, but he'll live.

"I suppose I can let you keep them, as long as you keep them in the kitchen along with the other pills." They run the risk of melting right now, stuffed under a pillow as they are. "Is that fine with you?"

Not really, he thinks and digs his fingers into the plastic. What if Jade decides to take them away after all, or tricks him with placebos? This is too important to risk anything like that happening. On the other hand, now that he's shown his hiding spot ... it may yet be his safest bet to agree. Not like he has a lot of good options there.

And so Shinjirou nods, turns around slowly and puts them into Jade's hand. Head bowed, he shifts closer. He curses himself for wanting to be closer now all of a sudden, but when he closes his eyes it's easy to pretend that it's alright to snuggle up to someone who could cut his lifeline. "Don't do anything stupid with them. Please."

Jade sets them aside for the moment, placing them down gently on the nightstand. It's probably a bad idea to leave Shinjirou right now, even for something as simple as putting away the pills.

"I have no intentions of doing anything." At least not until he knows what the pills do and how they work.

One arm wraps around Shinjirou, not actively drawing him closer, but providing the opening for him to do so - not that he needs the encouragement.

"Good." It's comforting to hear it and even more than that Jade's touch, as casual as it is. Shinjirou inches closer until it's sort of hard to breath. He doesn't mind that much. It makes him dizzy and dizzy just means having an easier time ignoring the thoughts and pictures his brain's still throwing at him.

His muscles can't keep the tension forever, thankfully. Before he can finally fall asleep, his lids flutter and startle him awake a few more times -- as if there were danger waiting for him. Eventually, he gives in to the fact that he's too worn out to be alert and relaxes into the not-quite embrace. It's in the first moments of deep sleep that one of his hands settles on Jade's chest, and then he hardly moves at all for the rest of the night.

It's an awkward thing, lying there and waiting for sleep to come, Shinjirou snoring quietly beside him while his thoughts chase one another through his mind. It's an endless loop of doubts, concerns, questions that he won't find the answers to. Jade wants to shift around, but that would mean disturbing Shinjirou, and that's something he's reluctant to do.

Eventually, he finally dozes off into a light, uneasy sleep. He wakes every hour or so, unusually fuzzy-headed, and winds up falling asleep again. By the time he truly wakes up, he's rolled away from Shinjirou, facing him with his back.

Carefully, he sits up, feeling no less disturbed than he had last night. It's still early, and if Shinjirou doesn't stir, Jade will simply take the pills and leave him for the moment.

For all the things he'd seen while awake, his night is dreamless, at least what he remembers when he blinks his eyes open. The movement beside him and the loss of warmth end his sleep. He stays still, however, his body so heavy it's easy to imagine the mattress will swallow him whole any minute now.

That wouldn't be so bad. His mind is blissfully empty only for a few seconds. He stares at Jade without saying a word, just watching. There's a lot to process and he's not ready for that, but the unease settles over him only a moment after the lazy satisfaction about his sore body does.

If Shinjirou is waking this early, he must be growing accustomed to the times Jade keeps. That's good. Now that he doesn't have to worry about disturbing him, Jade sits up a little straighter.

"Good morning," he greets him. He'd like to know how he's doing, but first - "Are you feeling well enough to talk?"

Despite his lingering unease, Jade sounds the same as ever: coolly concerned, but sincere.

Shinjirou stares a little while longer, in silence, before he finally opens his mouth. "Yes." The pain in his throat isn't razor sharp like before, but it isn't gone completely. It's dull enough to be bearable, though. And despite not having tested it yet, his hopes are rising that the rest of his body isn't any different.

He licks his lips, trying to gauge whether it's a smarter move to wait for Jade to speak again or to start talking. After spilling a few secrets too many during the night, he isn't exactly trusting himself to make a sensible decision. Instead of saying anything else, he reluctantly stretches beneath the blanket. Not too bad -- his bones are heavy and he does ache, yes -- he manages to shift into a more comfortable position without hurting himself.

His behaviour this morning is a marked change from the first time Jade had him serve a guest: gone is the violence, the instability, the crippling self-doubt (although Jade wouldn't be surprised if some of that still remains). Jade is pleased with their progress, but Shinjirou is still keeping secrets, and Jade is obliged to try and pry it out of him.

He doesn't put much effort in it, though. "Do you remember our discussion last night?"

It's unfortunate that it seems like such an important secret; he'd ignore it if he could. He's always believed in giving people their privacy.

He doubts that Jade will drop the topic should he lie and say no, which is a real pity. At least Jade's form no longer resembles hers. Really, it's hard to grasp what kind of trick his mind played on him that had Jade looking anything but himself. Whatever state he was in, he's not interested in returning to it.

But the harm's already done. Slowly, Shinjirou nods. "Guess I do. And you want to pick it up where we left off." It's weird to even think about explaining everything to Jade; none of it would make any sense to him, would it? And then Shinjirou wonders if there'd be a refund for accidentally purchasing a lunatic. That makes him grin, though he turns his head and tries to hide it.

"Indeed. If you'll continue?" If you don't mind, but that would be offering him a way out, and he can't afford that. "Assuming you can hold in your laughter for long enough."

He had only caught a flash of Shinjirou's expression before he turned away, but it was enough to let him see that stifled grin. Jade doesn't see what's so amusing about the situation, especially considering Shinjirou's state last night, so perhaps this is a self-defence mechanism of some sort. Or perhaps it's the beginnings of hysteria.

He hopes not.

"Tch. Yeah, I can." In the end, what matters most -- to Shinjirou, the only part that does -- is that a woman is dead. And the taste of bile that pushes into his mouth has him swallowing his grin fast. Petting the blanket, he stares at the red rings around his wrists. They're sort of pretty.

"I just don't wanna."

Jade settles down, back propped against the headboard, his body still half-covered by the blanket.

"I'd like you to, all the same." His tone is just as casual as his body language. He's offering a choice, this time, not giving an order.

Next time will be different.

Easy for you to say, Shinjirou thinks and wishes Jade's ease would rub off on him. No, he sits there, slouched over his knees, waiting for the moment to pass. Of course it doesn't, as uncomfortable situations tend to last an eternity no matter what the ticking of the clock says.

"Where, uh, should I start?"

He thought Shinjirou would never speak. The silence stretches on, but just as he's about to prompt him again, Shinjirou finally cooperates. Luckily, that's a question that Jade has an answer ready for.

"You killed someone." Quick and cold, no beating around the bush. "How?"

"I freaked out." Should he lie? The truth would sound more like a lie than any story he could possibly come up with. Then again, this isn't one of the stupid police officers that prefer their simple solutions, this is Jade. That makes one hell of a difference.

Gnawing on the inside of his cheeks, focusing on the physical pain that just barely distracts from the memories of that night, Shinjirou closes his eyes and pretends for a moment to be somewhere else, not that it helps all that much. "We were fighting and she was just ... there."

Not good enough. He continues to press, with no hesitation at all now that he has somewhere to start from. The questions come quickly, almost like an interrogation: "Who were you fighting? And how?"

There's more he wants to ask, but he has the sense to not overwhelm Shinjirou with too many questions at once. These two should provide him with the answers he wants the most, anyway.

"What do you mean, how?" There's a lot to change -- who, not a human. How, well, with inhuman help. He wishes Jade would simply assume that perhaps the woman tried to stop a fistfight between two boys and fell to her death. That doesn't sound too strange.

But trying to remember his own words, he can see why it also wouldn't make a lot of sense. Rubbing his temples, Shinjirou scoots back to lean against the wall. Fuck this. "Do you, uhm. Believe in ghosts and stuff?"

It seems his intuition is correct. There's an element of the supernatural intertwined in all this. But he's roundabout as always when he answers Shinjirouu's question. "Ghosts? I'm afraid I can't say. There's no evidence that they exist, but there's nothing to say they don't exist either. Without proof, I can't dismiss the possibility."

He leans forward slightly, as if they're sharing a secret. "Shinjirou. How is this relevant?"

"Huh." Jade's reaction isn't half as bad as expected and for a second, the urge to tell someone that isn't part of SEES nearly suffocates him. Then Jade is suddenly just a bit closer and the need dies on the tip of his tongue.

Shinjirou merely stares, unblinking. But after a while, he pushes himself to continue. There's no easy way out and he's in no state to come up with a smart plan. "We didn't fight someone."

The emphasis doesn't go unmissed. He doesn't lean forward any further; Shinjirou hadn't reacted positively the first time, and that was enough to deter Jade from trying again. "Something, then?"

He could make a remark about ghosts, but he refrains. He'd rather not distract Shinjirou with pointless comments.

"Yes." There's no turning back now. He averts his eyes, looking for simple patterns. Anything to calm down, really, to make the situation less absurd. "But that didn't kill her. I did."

It's been such a relief, to mostly ignore this part of his world. With Jade always keeping him busy, sometimes he'd almost forgotten. "Does it matter what it was?"

Yes...and no. Maybe he's pushing his luck by asking, but maybe it'll pave the way for Shinjirou to get to the heart of the matter, and above all else Jade is curious. He wants to know just what Shinjirou had been keeping from him, what had escaped his attention for all these years.

"All these factors are clearly related," he says carefully. "It's best if I have the full story."