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quirkypeanutblu
Character/Fandom: Hei/Darker than Black; Kiba/OC
Prompt: 097: Writer’s Choice: Power (From the 100 Prompts Challenge
Word Count: 1,611
Summary: Hei goes to find Kiba to talk to him about Zuni.
Author’s Notes: Shameless selfcest.
Hei had left a note on the bulletin board. It had been the only way to reach Kiba, as Hei didn’t know his room number and had only a basic description of what he looked like. He couldn’t exactly search the town, especially since there was no guarantee that Kiba would be around. The bulletin board was a bit too public for Hei’s tastes, but it would have to do.
Kiba had answered the note with one of his own. He would be delighted to meet with Mr. Hei and discuss recent events in Cicero, and would this afternoon be quite alright? The note had been tacked right over Hei’s. The handwriting was elegant.
Now Hei was waiting in the Starlite Diner. It was a place he knew well, a place he could fight in and escape if he needed to. He was going into this blind; he knew next to nothing about Kiba, short of the small catastrophes he had caused in Cicero over the months. He was prepared for anything.
This was bad timing, but it was a good distraction. Things had been quiet at home. There he could do nothing but sit on his hands and wait for information to come in about VS81 and about PANDORA’s movements. It was maddening enough as it was, even more so when Ladon and the problems in Nieve and their recent fight were on his mind. He needed to do something, and he had been putting off this meeting for too long. Now was as good a time as any.
The bell above the door jingled and a man walked in. He was blonde with red eyes, and was wearing a tailored, pristine white suit and hat. Hei kept his expression blank as the man looked around and smiled when he spotted Hei. This could only be Kiba.
“Ah, and this must be the infamous Hei,” Kiba said, still smiling as he sat down across from Hei in the booth. “It is such a pleasure to meet you in person.”
Infamous? What had Hei done in Cicero to make himself infamous? He kept his expression neutral. “Kiba. Thank you for meeting me.”
“No, not at all. It is I who should be thanking you.” Kiba folded his hands together and cradled his chin with them. “You are a hard man to find, Hei. You cannot imagine my delight when you left that note on the board. Though I feel as if I know you already. I have heard so much about you from Zuni.”
Zuni. Damn. It must have been that second deal that Kiba had mentioned; Hei didn’t think Zuni would share information about him freely. But this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Kiba was clearly interested in Hei, which gave Hei something of an advantage.
“What do you think you know, exactly?” Hei asked.
Kiba smiled pleasantly. “I know that you can generate electricity,” he said, and Hei had to work to keep his expression blank. “I know that you are something called a Contractor, and that you are granted what some would describe as magic abilities in exchange for your emotions and, possibly, your soul. From the little I heard from Zuni, Contractors sound like quite the unique breed. There are not many humans with naturally occurring abilities in my world, you see.” Kiba tipped his head a little. “So are you truly emotionless then, Hei? I wonder, how can someone emotionless claim to have friends?”
“Claiming is easy,” Hei said, a little more sharply than he had intended. “But this isn’t about me. This is about—”
“Oh, but of course it is about you, Hei. You sought me out. You have made this about you. But forgive me. I keep steering us off-topic.” Kiba beamed and leaned forward. “What is it you would like to talk about?”
“I want you to leave Zuni alone,” Hei said. “You causing havoc in this town is annoyance enough. It’s more of an annoyance when the havoc you cause leads to death and destruction. I want that to end.”
Hei had never been very good at diplomacy or negotiations. Just one more reason he wasn’t really cut out to be the leader of the Constellation, at least not where politics were concerned.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Kiba said. “Zuni fascinates me, as Isaiah fascinates me, as Criss fascinates me—as you fascinate me. I cannot leave him alone; nor can I leave you alone, now. I do not abandon the things that fascinate me, for they are so rare these days.”
Hei stared at Kiba, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Kiba smiled.
“You either truly don’t have emotions, or you are very good at concealing them. The same cannot be said for your boyfriend, I’m afraid.”
Hei’s eyes widened a fraction and his heart started pounding. “My...”
“Ladon. A rather angry and unwavering individual, is he not? Is that what attracts you about him?” He shifted his head, cradling his head in one hand and giving Hei a curious look.
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Please, darling,” Kiba purred. “His rather distinctive scent is all over you.”
Hei looked away, digging his thumbnail into the palm of his hand to keep from blushing. And to keep from leaping across the table and cutting Kiba’s throat.
“So you are the mysterious lover. Well, doesn’t this just make things more interesting? No wonder you are upset with me; I did sort of facilitate his death. Tell me, have you slept with him yet while he is in dragon form? You seem the kinky type.”
Hei didn’t answer, not trusting his voice. He drove his nail deeper into his palm. It was as if Kiba knew everything. How could it be possible? Just how long had Kiba been watching, spying on what went on in Cicero?
And how?
Kiba sat up straight, dropping his hands into his lap. His smile faded and his face became serious.
“If you have spent any time at all talking to Zuni or Ladon about me, you will know that I am a businessman before all else. You have made it clear what you want. Now, what are you going to exchange to assure Zuni’s or Ladon’s safety?”
“Ladon has nothing to do with this,” Hei spat.
“No, he doesn’t,” Kiba said lazily. “He is worthless to me. He is enough like the dragons in my world that there is nothing particularly interesting to learn from him. He will only be entertaining as a toy to play with and break as I see fit—and perhaps somewhat useful, if he ever does grant me access to his world. I might choose to kill him, or to destroy his relationship with you, simply to see how you will react.” He smiled again and leaned forward. “You called this meaning to find out what I am, did you not? To find out what sort of person I am? Now you know. Now, enough dancing around it. You came here to make a deal, yes? Let us get to it. What will you offer, Hei?”
Hei remained silent, glaring at Kiba. No, this wasn’t what he had wanted. He hadn’t come here to make a deal; he hadn’t even come here to negotiate. He had come to meet the man who had caused so much mayhem in Cicero.
“Come now, Hei. We may have all the time in the world here, but I am not getting younger. And as for you…” He blinked suddenly and tilted his head again, staring at Hei as if he was only now seeing him properly. Then he smiled. “Ahhh. I see. How interesting.”
“What?” Hei’s voice was cold and dangerous.
“Oh, I won’t spoil it for you. You shall find out soon enough.” Kiba suddenly reached across the table and prodded Hei in the forehead. Hei flinched backward.
Kiba chuckled and sat back down. “Yes, soon enough.”
Hei frowned, but chose not to rise to it. Time...he had a feeling he knew what Kiba was talking about. He was silent for awhile, watching Kiba and letting himself calm down.
“What would it take?” he asked at length. “To keep you away from Ladon and Zuni?”
“For Zuni, you would need to offer me something of equivalent interest,” Kiba said. “And before you get any ideas of martyrdom, I’m afraid you are not equivalent. For Ladon, however, I suppose you would be sufficient.”
“What would that entail?”
“You would become my experiment. My own personal guinea pig.”
Hei stared at Kiba for another moment, then got to his feet and turned to leave. He heard Kiba get to his feet as well.
“Leaving so soon?”
“You were right,” Hei said, looking back at Kiba. “I got what I came for. I have no reason to continue talking to you.”
“No? You don’t wish to help the people you, ah, ‘care’ about?”
“I have nothing I can offer for Zuni.”
“And Ladon?”
Hei hesitated a moment before saying, “He’d never forgive me.” Things were bad enough between them as it was. He didn’t need to add this to the list.
“And yet I have heard that people are even willing to risk hatred to help those they love,” Kiba said and smiled. “Then perhaps he was right about you.”
Hei frowned, but Kiba was no doubt playing with him again. He no longer had the patience for this.
“I will say this,” he said, his voice cold and his eyes dangerous. “If you hurt either of them ever again, if you even attempt to harm them, I will do everything in my power to end you.”
He turned away without another word and headed for the door.
“I wish you luck in that endeavor, Hei. Give them both my regards, when you next see them,” Kiba called after him. Hei didn’t answer. The bell above the door jangled as he walked on out.
quirkypeanutbluCharacter/Fandom: Hei/Darker than Black; Kiba/OC
Prompt: 097: Writer’s Choice: Power (From the 100 Prompts Challenge
Word Count: 1,611
Summary: Hei goes to find Kiba to talk to him about Zuni.
Author’s Notes: Shameless selfcest.
Hei had left a note on the bulletin board. It had been the only way to reach Kiba, as Hei didn’t know his room number and had only a basic description of what he looked like. He couldn’t exactly search the town, especially since there was no guarantee that Kiba would be around. The bulletin board was a bit too public for Hei’s tastes, but it would have to do.
Kiba had answered the note with one of his own. He would be delighted to meet with Mr. Hei and discuss recent events in Cicero, and would this afternoon be quite alright? The note had been tacked right over Hei’s. The handwriting was elegant.
Now Hei was waiting in the Starlite Diner. It was a place he knew well, a place he could fight in and escape if he needed to. He was going into this blind; he knew next to nothing about Kiba, short of the small catastrophes he had caused in Cicero over the months. He was prepared for anything.
This was bad timing, but it was a good distraction. Things had been quiet at home. There he could do nothing but sit on his hands and wait for information to come in about VS81 and about PANDORA’s movements. It was maddening enough as it was, even more so when Ladon and the problems in Nieve and their recent fight were on his mind. He needed to do something, and he had been putting off this meeting for too long. Now was as good a time as any.
The bell above the door jingled and a man walked in. He was blonde with red eyes, and was wearing a tailored, pristine white suit and hat. Hei kept his expression blank as the man looked around and smiled when he spotted Hei. This could only be Kiba.
“Ah, and this must be the infamous Hei,” Kiba said, still smiling as he sat down across from Hei in the booth. “It is such a pleasure to meet you in person.”
Infamous? What had Hei done in Cicero to make himself infamous? He kept his expression neutral. “Kiba. Thank you for meeting me.”
“No, not at all. It is I who should be thanking you.” Kiba folded his hands together and cradled his chin with them. “You are a hard man to find, Hei. You cannot imagine my delight when you left that note on the board. Though I feel as if I know you already. I have heard so much about you from Zuni.”
Zuni. Damn. It must have been that second deal that Kiba had mentioned; Hei didn’t think Zuni would share information about him freely. But this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Kiba was clearly interested in Hei, which gave Hei something of an advantage.
“What do you think you know, exactly?” Hei asked.
Kiba smiled pleasantly. “I know that you can generate electricity,” he said, and Hei had to work to keep his expression blank. “I know that you are something called a Contractor, and that you are granted what some would describe as magic abilities in exchange for your emotions and, possibly, your soul. From the little I heard from Zuni, Contractors sound like quite the unique breed. There are not many humans with naturally occurring abilities in my world, you see.” Kiba tipped his head a little. “So are you truly emotionless then, Hei? I wonder, how can someone emotionless claim to have friends?”
“Claiming is easy,” Hei said, a little more sharply than he had intended. “But this isn’t about me. This is about—”
“Oh, but of course it is about you, Hei. You sought me out. You have made this about you. But forgive me. I keep steering us off-topic.” Kiba beamed and leaned forward. “What is it you would like to talk about?”
“I want you to leave Zuni alone,” Hei said. “You causing havoc in this town is annoyance enough. It’s more of an annoyance when the havoc you cause leads to death and destruction. I want that to end.”
Hei had never been very good at diplomacy or negotiations. Just one more reason he wasn’t really cut out to be the leader of the Constellation, at least not where politics were concerned.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Kiba said. “Zuni fascinates me, as Isaiah fascinates me, as Criss fascinates me—as you fascinate me. I cannot leave him alone; nor can I leave you alone, now. I do not abandon the things that fascinate me, for they are so rare these days.”
Hei stared at Kiba, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Kiba smiled.
“You either truly don’t have emotions, or you are very good at concealing them. The same cannot be said for your boyfriend, I’m afraid.”
Hei’s eyes widened a fraction and his heart started pounding. “My...”
“Ladon. A rather angry and unwavering individual, is he not? Is that what attracts you about him?” He shifted his head, cradling his head in one hand and giving Hei a curious look.
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Please, darling,” Kiba purred. “His rather distinctive scent is all over you.”
Hei looked away, digging his thumbnail into the palm of his hand to keep from blushing. And to keep from leaping across the table and cutting Kiba’s throat.
“So you are the mysterious lover. Well, doesn’t this just make things more interesting? No wonder you are upset with me; I did sort of facilitate his death. Tell me, have you slept with him yet while he is in dragon form? You seem the kinky type.”
Hei didn’t answer, not trusting his voice. He drove his nail deeper into his palm. It was as if Kiba knew everything. How could it be possible? Just how long had Kiba been watching, spying on what went on in Cicero?
And how?
Kiba sat up straight, dropping his hands into his lap. His smile faded and his face became serious.
“If you have spent any time at all talking to Zuni or Ladon about me, you will know that I am a businessman before all else. You have made it clear what you want. Now, what are you going to exchange to assure Zuni’s or Ladon’s safety?”
“Ladon has nothing to do with this,” Hei spat.
“No, he doesn’t,” Kiba said lazily. “He is worthless to me. He is enough like the dragons in my world that there is nothing particularly interesting to learn from him. He will only be entertaining as a toy to play with and break as I see fit—and perhaps somewhat useful, if he ever does grant me access to his world. I might choose to kill him, or to destroy his relationship with you, simply to see how you will react.” He smiled again and leaned forward. “You called this meaning to find out what I am, did you not? To find out what sort of person I am? Now you know. Now, enough dancing around it. You came here to make a deal, yes? Let us get to it. What will you offer, Hei?”
Hei remained silent, glaring at Kiba. No, this wasn’t what he had wanted. He hadn’t come here to make a deal; he hadn’t even come here to negotiate. He had come to meet the man who had caused so much mayhem in Cicero.
“Come now, Hei. We may have all the time in the world here, but I am not getting younger. And as for you…” He blinked suddenly and tilted his head again, staring at Hei as if he was only now seeing him properly. Then he smiled. “Ahhh. I see. How interesting.”
“What?” Hei’s voice was cold and dangerous.
“Oh, I won’t spoil it for you. You shall find out soon enough.” Kiba suddenly reached across the table and prodded Hei in the forehead. Hei flinched backward.
Kiba chuckled and sat back down. “Yes, soon enough.”
Hei frowned, but chose not to rise to it. Time...he had a feeling he knew what Kiba was talking about. He was silent for awhile, watching Kiba and letting himself calm down.
“What would it take?” he asked at length. “To keep you away from Ladon and Zuni?”
“For Zuni, you would need to offer me something of equivalent interest,” Kiba said. “And before you get any ideas of martyrdom, I’m afraid you are not equivalent. For Ladon, however, I suppose you would be sufficient.”
“What would that entail?”
“You would become my experiment. My own personal guinea pig.”
Hei stared at Kiba for another moment, then got to his feet and turned to leave. He heard Kiba get to his feet as well.
“Leaving so soon?”
“You were right,” Hei said, looking back at Kiba. “I got what I came for. I have no reason to continue talking to you.”
“No? You don’t wish to help the people you, ah, ‘care’ about?”
“I have nothing I can offer for Zuni.”
“And Ladon?”
Hei hesitated a moment before saying, “He’d never forgive me.” Things were bad enough between them as it was. He didn’t need to add this to the list.
“And yet I have heard that people are even willing to risk hatred to help those they love,” Kiba said and smiled. “Then perhaps he was right about you.”
Hei frowned, but Kiba was no doubt playing with him again. He no longer had the patience for this.
“I will say this,” he said, his voice cold and his eyes dangerous. “If you hurt either of them ever again, if you even attempt to harm them, I will do everything in my power to end you.”
He turned away without another word and headed for the door.
“I wish you luck in that endeavor, Hei. Give them both my regards, when you next see them,” Kiba called after him. Hei didn’t answer. The bell above the door jangled as he walked on out.
