【001】 VOICE。

[paragnosia]

[ It's quiet for a while, save for the constant sound of static. Krrk, fizzled up, you're breaking apart - but then there's laughter, distinct, vaguely amused, laughter. It's soft, almost like a whisper. Gentle, but there's nothing kind about it. ]

How disappointing.

[ A brief pause - ]

Ah, I suppose it doesn't matter one bit.

[ - and the man

Comments

[cloudsfalls]

[ Well, isn't this familiar? ]

Rokudo Mukuro.

voice | filtered;

[cloudsfalls]

[ No. He doesn't. That is bright and clear in his tone. ]

Where are you?

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[paragnosia]

[ A slight edge, mixed in with his words. ]

Come find me.

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[cloudsfalls]

Or you can press that button on your transmitter.

[ Footsteps, nonetheless. ]

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[paragnosia]

And insult the great Hibari Kyouya? I would never dream of it.

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[cloudsfalls]

[ A soft chuff. Not really a chuckle. Footsteps speeding up. ]

You and Byakuran of Millefiore say the same thing.

[ And he's head towards the center of the city.

Just a hunch. ]

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[paragnosia]

Great minds think alike, after all.

[ A hunch that'll prove to be correct, as Mukuro himself is nearby the fountain, half-heartedly taking in his surroundings. ]

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[cloudsfalls]

You flatter yourself.

[ Hibari is nearing the fountain. In the distance, he can see a figure, and a rather familiar ponytail. ]

comment log;

[paragnosia]

[ He transmits one last message through the communicator - ]

I don't see why not.

[ - before ending it, seeing as he's spotted the approaching figure of Hibari Kyouya. He's all smiles, pleasant and terribly amused. He doesn't move from where he is. ]

There you are. You look well, Hibari Kyouya.

commentlog;

[cloudsfalls]

Cut the pleasantries.

[ Hibari knows that he looks, as Gokudera Hayato had so succintly put it, 'like shit'. His suit is more than half gone, fabric torn and used as makeshift bandages to wrap around his wounds. (Those have stopped bleeding, at least, and it's one less concern that he needs to bother with.) His chest is literally covered by nothing by said bandages.

At least his pants are still in a relatively good condition. They are torn, revealing more cuts and bruises covered by white cloths, but at least they still exist.

Hibari does not move over, keeping a distance between himself and Mukuro. He slips the communicator back into his pocket. ]

Now speak.

commentlog;

[paragnosia]

[ Mukuro sees this, giving a quick glance-over all of the bandages, the injuries. Isn't that interesting. Whoever did this to Hibari Kyouya certainly needed to be commended - perhaps at another time.

In the meanwhile, he shrugs off his trench coat, takes a few steps to close the distance between the two of them, and then he offers it to the other man. ]

You're revealing more of yourself than I'm used to.

[ It's simply a gentleman's gesture, but then again, one can never really be too sure with Rokudo Mukuro. ]

Take it.

commentlog;

[cloudsfalls]

[ Hibari raises at eyebrow at that. A kind act from Rokudo Mukuro is rare, and it is even rarer - or perhaps even impossible - that it is truly kind. There are always consequences and favours to be repaid, like a balancing scale eternally stacked in Mukuro's favour because of little acts like these.

But necessity speaks louder than pride. Besides, Mukuro owes him a favour - the odds are stacked to his favour now, and he has no qualms with balancing it again. He reaches out a hand and takes the trenchcoat, taking care to deliberately brush their fingers together.

Fascinating. ]

You're corporeal.

commentlog;

[paragnosia]

[ And Mukuro knows the reason behind that brief touch (even though it surprises him, just a little bit, but none of that ever reaches his face), even goes as far as to laugh at Hibari's remark, softly. It's something he's already aware of, the first thing he notices the minute he found himself here, in this strange place. It is, all in all, rather fascinating, he's sure.

The smile comes easy, an expected reaction. Hibari Kyouya has certainly put it better than any way he could have. ]

Fancy that.

Re: commentlog;

[cloudsfalls]

[ Hibari tilts his head, eyes not leaving Mukuro's. He's smirking just so slightly now. ]

How fortuitous for you.

[ But this is not the information he needs; not what he has come here for. Draping the trenchcoat over his shoulders like the jacket of his old school uniform, Hibari's eyes steel slightly. ]

What have you found out about Byakuran?

commentlog;

[paragnosia]

[ Perhaps he's stalling, or he's deliberately making it harder for Hibari Kyouya to acquire the answers he seeks, because Mukuro simply laughs and focuses elsewhere. How green the grass is, how the sky has a nice shade of blue, full of white streaks -

The way he speaks is airy, as if distracted. ]

He's a terrifying man.

[ And the smile never leaves his face. ]

commentlog;

[cloudsfalls]

[ And Hibari knows it, knows that Mukuro is stalling. It's a bad habit of his, to hide and dance around words like a coward. He is used to this - ten years desensitises you to such annoyances.

It doesn't mean that it stops affecting him - annoying him. He frowns. ]

That much is obvious.

[ His arms shift slightly, adjusting the heavy coat and his impassive stare changes to a glare. ]

Mukuro. This is not the time to play such games.