Nemesis

However, before he could call Knox out on his spiking heart rate, he felt the pressure that urged him backwards and that shit-eating grin faded from his face, replaced instead by an expression of pure effort. His brows furrowed and he stuck his tongue out by the corner of his mouth, putting in most if not all of his physical strength to keep the serpentine from advancing in on him and trying to pivot his heels into the floor. But that was to no avail. The floor was more reinforced than concrete, after all. Losing his footing, he ended up having to back away from Knox until his back naturally hit the wall.

  Thanks to Liosliath’s quick thinking and the momentum of the swipe, the grimoire was sent flying from Shoichi’s hands even though it took some strength to pry it from his fingers the same way a victim of electrocution would struggle to let go of the conduit. The strange, vacant look in Shoichi’s eyes remained even after contact was lost, even though the luminous fog that clouded his vision seemed to dim. A loud gasp erupted from his throat, mingled with a broken scream that he had done his best to swallow as he tumbled to the side from the force of Lios’s pull. Sure, he was already kind of dead, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel pain.

  Whatever creature had tried to dive directly for Shoichi’s head vanished into a puff of smoke as soon as the book fell closed on the floor with a loud clatter. It smelled pungent, like old flesh, and the sweet stench of decay filled the small area around them like a putrid miasma that would make any regular person throw up from the very first moment it reached their nostrils. But the two of them, oh they were intimately acquainted with death.

  “I… Uh, fuck!” he finally blurted out and slapped his hand on his temple, applying pressure onto it. Something was hissing inside of his brain, scratching at him as if trying to crawl its way out of his skull. He hadn’t been so terrified of something in a long time. Did something enter his body? But how?

"Put those mitts away," but instead of backing off too much himself, both of Knox's hands made a swift motion to grasp onto both of Shoichi's in response, "...we won't be having any groping, they're fine here." He nodded his head to his trapped hands, unmoving his own grip but not enough to be hurtful.

Once the man lifted his muscular arms, Shoichi let out a cheeky laugh and closed his eyes as if he expected to get hit across the face for even as much as joking around about that kind of stuff. But when he felt Knox's much larger hands on top of his own, grasping them while at it, he froze. His fangs poked into his lower lip like snagged teeth and his eyes shot open, his gaze darting between the serpentine's face and the nature of their perceived hand-holding. At least if anyone walked past them that's what they'd think they were doing.

It was a quiet evening. Neither of them spoke as they sat on the floor of their derelict room that was nothing more than a decorated concrete box in a building forgotten by the world itself. In that small space where nobody would ever bother them, only the two of them existed and they were content with that reality. Some peace and quiet after what must have felt like centuries of anxiety weighing down on their nervous systems, turning their senses into raw, open wounds.

When she touched him so sweetly, he straightened his back and froze with a conflicted look on his face, yet a quiet gasp left his lips despite his initial visceral reaction. He never wore his hair down around anyone else, but when he did that around her it felt intimate, like an unspoken invitation that he hoped she would one day pick up on. And she finally did. Her fingers in his long hair traveling down his spine made him flinch and she swore she could see him blush, as unlikely as that display of emotion was on his discolored skin. And then, slowly, he began to melt and slouched his upper body into her lap as her light touch warmed him up from the inside out. His arms slid around her waist, ever so gently twining around her while he rested his cheek on her thigh and allowed himself that rare chance to close his eyes and relax.

She wouldn't hurt him. She wouldn't backstab him. She was the one person he could turn his back to without having to sleep with one eye open. And God, the way her fingernails grazed the nape of his neck every time they brushed through the length of his hair left goosebumps in their wake, reminding him of some long forgotten affection. How gently she was handling him even when he didn't earn it, like a mother unconditionally soothing her child. And yet, they were so much more than that.

"I don't know if I should be happy that yer calling me funny or if I oughta make a risky comment that's gonna get my head crushed under yer boot, but..." He snickered under his breath and lifted his hands in between the two of them, menacingly curling his fingers in and out of his palms while he took slow, but deliberate steps to encroach on Knox's personal space.

send me  “ 🤼‍♂️ “   for my muse’s reaction to yours physically tugging them away from a fight. 

Picture this: a vast, dimly lit floor with seemingly no beginning and no end, crowded by columns of lockers and exhibits… and one exotic guard  left to his own devices making his way towards one of them. He could have been there of his own volition, but had he been lured there by something or someone else? In his hand, a note, then folded in half, held a set of instructions and revealed the path to a particular locker. Inside of it, a multitude of items that had been confiscated from other otherwordly inmates had been hidden away from anything beneath the Research department. One thing was certain – he wasn’t supposed to be there, nor was he supposed to have the clearance for it. After punching in the correct code on the panel, a heavy yet small door clicked open and he wasted no time to peek inside with the hopes of finding his one precious thing that had been taken from him back when he had been captured.

However, whoever sent him there was aware of his predisposition to the arcane and the effect that afflicted items had on his unstable psyche. Unbeknownst to him, at that unfortunate time, he  was the test subject, a conduit for something else.

With nimble hands, he reached for the grimoire contained inside of the partition and ran his fingernails across the tattered, leather cover as if revering in the handiwork. He felt compelled to open it. Sure, he was meant to merely retrieve it, and yet he couldn’t refrain from the unnatural impulse to turn its pages, as if something else was guiding his movements. Putting that thought aside, he shrugged and slipped his fingers between the pages, opening it at a random section.

What happened next was instantaneous, like an electric shock.

He barely made it to reading the first paragraph before the light that reflected in his irises began glowing brighter, as if another presence invaded his entire being through the windows to his soul. His cyan eyes had bright but paradoxically dull light emanating from them, as if something was lighting him up from within. As if that hollowness inside his ribcage was finally filled by something new, that didn’t belong there.

When his lapse in attention failed him immediately and Shiro ate the bar just out the corner of his eye, the twin looked back at him with a small agape frown. However, his moments flit attention made his head crane - more so from the unexpected reaction that made him partially concerned now. If not for the fact nothing else seemed to be amiss, Niklaus would’ve gotten defensive… He heeded his contact at least so Shiro didn’t need to do all the work, his eyes straining a squeeze before blinking open a bit again while taking in Shoichi’s words.

When he finally decided to join the duo and make it a trio, the agents eyes were on him with a raised brow and bearing silence as if trying to answer his own question in his mind. Not quite picking up on the matter of what was going on anymore, his attitude was near shifting close to someone who wasn’t in on a joke that’s been running up until Shiro made a move - preventing it altogether. Earning him more so as much a side-eye but stable nevertheless to hear him out.

His reaction might’ve seemed visceral when he managed to turn his whole head now and give him and almost unreadable look - though not angry but parts shocked and more so due to his natural concern to what happened during that bout. Internally Niklaus wanted to pop but not at Shiro, but at the same time… His eyes loomed over to Shoichi before glancing back at Shiro.

“Does that mean you didn’t give it back to him?” The agent turned his head, keeping his voice at a whisper of course - attention planted on Shoichi. “Is it yours?”

      When the attention shifted towards him, Syo rolled his eyes and looked away with his usual smirk plastered on his face.

      "Oops," he muttered to himself, pretending to be shocked.

      Despite Niklaus's intimidating stare, he wasn't going to budge from that spot. It seemed like he was ignoring them and removing himself from that conversation altogether. In reality, his finely tuned ears listened in on their hushed conversation, despite them trying to keep their voices down. He would laugh, but that would give him away.

      Feeling the tension rising, Shiro intervened by moving himself in front of Niklaus to take the attention off of Shoichi. Standing up on his knees, he got up in the twin's face and shook his head, a tinge of disappointment visible on his expression. Before he let Niklaus in on what went down in his absence, he took another smaller bite and adverted his gaze towards the side, lowering it to the ground. His shoulders slumped while he thought back on the encounter he had with Alto shortly after the rampage ended.

      "I didn't return it to him, but I don't have it anymore," he murmured as if he'd done something wrong. "The green eyed man tracked me down and took it back. Well, we bargained for it..." A small smile formed on his lips as his gaze returned to Niklaus's face. "I'm allowed to walk around now, with supervision."

A small heave of a breath left the Agent’s lips once he felt palmed contact on his back, though far from uncomfortable as the fall might’ve been. He didn’t even think to consider any apologies immediately while he was trying to gather the question as to whom, or what made him forcefully hit the deck. “At ease–” He muttered, feeling the arrange of handsy contact but not instantly expecting Shiro’s sudden strength, that in which felt like he was peeled off the floor like a sticker. His expression was alert and half bordering the potential anticipated blindness if not from Shiro’s obscuring silhouette. Staring at him with squinted eyes at first with no recognition at the time his eyes were adjusting to the hunkering frame.

His voice reached him before Shiro’s visage did, where his gaze softened up on the spot like his rag doll body. “Shiro? I’m sorry, I didn’t– see you there, my bad,” although unintentionally brushing over his question in interest of his well being instead. He didn’t get a chance to address it when Shiro went for the chocolate bar and the Agent used that small frame - using his arm to prop himself up a little bit. Niklaus was watching him for that mini moment, registering his words last while eyes were watching the bar now - with quick reactivity. “Wait-” Two digits came up to intervene, shoving in front of the treat before it went into his mouth. “I can give you a fresh one, you don’t have to eat that one. Not off the floor.” His brows upturned with a small frown.

While his hand remained, albeit Shiro was free to ignore him easily while he found comfortable refuge in his lap. The Agent was using his freehand to reach around for his pocket, but briefly caught by the remark from Shoichi that made his features flinch. “I have to go over there but I don’t often go on higher floors, I’m all over the place… Wish they didn’t think florescent were a good idea– oh, actually-” Regardless if Shoichi was fixed on his distance, “have you met Shiro yet?”

  Hearing Niklaus’s concern, he stopped short of the point of no return and turned his gaze towards his fingers, fixing them with an intent, cross-eyed stare. The silly look with his mouth agape only lasted a few more seconds, replaced by a half grin soon after. A giggle erupted from his throat and he closed his eyes, his expression relaxing. It looked like, for the moment, he gave up on the idea of eating the dirty chocolate bar. But before the twin could protest, he bit off a piece out of it and swallowed it without chewing.

  “Mm, I don’t mind,” he mumbled, tightening his arm around Niklaus’s back in a gentle squeeze. “I’d rather you had the… fresh one instead.”

  The unexpected question wiped the smile off his face, however. A tinge of embarrassment lit up his cheeks and he looked askew, his gaze trailing off towards Shoichi in a sluggish manner. In attempt to delay the answer, he cleared his throat and started moving Niklaus around, manhandling him. With a bit of effort, he pulled him upright all the way until he was seated next to him. Unfortunately, that meant the agent lost his shade and was now the one providing it for Shiro instead. Quiet for the while, he resumed his nibbling on the snack bar and waited until the other one chimed in with something.

  “Have I?” Shoichi snickered to himself. “Yer gonna have to juggle my memory a lil’ bit.” Slow footsteps brought him close enough to the two of them in order to have a hush-hush conversation. In his flamboyant glory, he leaned his back against the bookcase and propped his left leg up, hooking his heel onto the edge of a shelf. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked down at Shiro with an expecting smirk, his eyes narrowing in a cat-like manner.

  Shiro understood the cue and gave him a small nod, as if they had just communicated telepathically. While the air of secrecy lingered about, he leaned into Niklaus’s side and propped himself up on his knees until he was in hearing range. He squeezed his opposite shoulder for support while he murmured the revelation into his ear.

When he reached the near end of the shelving, his steps paced down a bit once he heard his strange response, one that made Niklaus look back over his shoulder. Between all the people in here, he knew that they’d have not a trouble replying to the agent, where it only brought on more question at the bizarre matters at hand.

“Someone? What’s the set difference people in here…plus you didn’t answer my question.” Niklaus stated, but this time mid step came rounding the corner of godly hell light Shiro was casted in - and unfortunately… Niklaus’ was caught on him like he tripped over a hidden rock in obscuring fog - his features flitting shock once he failed to catch the shelf and utterly tripping over Shiro. So much the toss down momentum sent the Agent down faster than a falling tree right on his belly with a heavy whump of gear and grunt. His chocolate bar sadly was lost from his grip, sliding away a few feet as Niklaus lie there like he died on the spot… Not even sure what he tripped on in the first place but at least Shiro was more better off from his rooted spot - F to the agent who was cursed with unwanted height.

      When Niklaus's lanky form tripped over him, he let out a gasp and hooked his fingers into the edge of the bookshelf. But that didn't help. Moments later, his body tipped over like a bowling pin and he fell on his back by the agent's side. When he tried pushing himself off the floor, his palm landed on the twin's back instead. He stubbornly braved the blinding light and pried his eyes open to see Niklaus laying there like an uncoordinated giraffe. That's when he realized what had happened. In a frenzy, he began patting around the agent's back and nudged him from side to side in his attempts to get s good grip on him to lift him up, at least enough to turn him over. It took a moment, but with a heave, he managed to pull him into his lap. Shiro towered over him, providing an escape from the neon beam in the respite of his shadow.

      “Are you okay? That was quite the fall” he noted. Through his periferial vision, he caught glimpse of the chocolate bar that lay abandoned on the floor a little out of his reach, but with a bit of effort he managed to stretch his arm out for it and grabbed it. However, looking over the state of it, he let out a sigh and shook his head. “I don't think you'd want this anymore. Five seconds have already passed... Oh, but me?” he paused and brought it closed to his lips. “It's not gross enough to deter me.” After making that declaration, he opened his mouth and was about to chomp down on his snack.

      Somewhere behind the two of them, lurking in the contrasting shadow, Shoichi was tilting his head and staring at them with a look of disappointed confusion on his face and his hanging mouth slightly crooked, half grimacing at the sight. A rare expression. The distance he kept from them showed that he was still on edge, not comfortable having others in his proximity, but at the very least he seemed more approachable now than he did prior to entering the library.

His senses weren’t nearly as honed as some folks in here were, that’s why when he was greeted wit the idea something else was amiss, he made a small sour look - twinge a combo of puzzled. He wasn’t on the same page as what Shoichi was on, and all he could do was follow his lead for the moment.

Niklaus remained quiet. Eyeing him before they’d carry on toward the table, taking small glances in between at the environment while he remained a small few extra inches behind their pace. Even the people who seemed to take refuge of hiding weren’t making much a peep - as far as weird could be. But as soon as they hit their goal had the agent turned his attention down to Shoichi - eyes barely taking in on himself to look at the personnel and more at the strip of bandage. Although, he was more investigating, Niklaus loosened his arms before a hand popped up to seek out his snack pocket and only choosing to watch for the moment. There with ease did he pull out a candy bar, barely in view of the bookshelf itself from his own annoying angle.

“Guess I will.” The agent murmured, crinkle crinkle of the wrapper while trying to pull it apart. Niklaus succeeded before stuffing the exposed half into his mouth - shuffling over closer now towards the table where he bent down. Not chomping his chocolate bar yet as his hands clasped the edge of the table to support his squatting weight, peering beneath the table and greeted with empty air. With silence did the Agent shuffle further under the table, disappearing from sight briefly before he suddenly popped up on the opposite side of it. “Nof’ing,” he pulled the end of the sweet before biting a chunk out of it on his way back upright. “What are you smelling off that anyways?” He pried no doubt after a hot second, but little knowing that it belonged to Shiro - it wouldn’t even be his immediate assumption. He had waited an answer and amidst it, his attention swiveled about, taking in the current surroundings before nearly landing on the bookshelf Shiro was taking refuge behind. 

Considering that the bandage left behind, by direction that was - Shiro was lucky the light was annoying in here for the more than common tired agent. 

      Most of the staff that frequented the library during their breaks was well aware of Shoichi's reputation. The moment that man stepped in, their peace of mind was gone and they decided to use the other exit to make themselves unseen. Why someone as dangerous as him was allowed to roam freely inside the panopticon, much less the office building, was beyond them. But they couldn't argue with authority, not when they were paid so well to work with supranatural entities that others only dream of.

      As for Shiro, he was at his wit's end by the time the agent's voice reached him in his secluded spot. His body tensed up, his heart pounding loudly in his tight chest the closer Niklaus's unsuspecting footsteps got. When they stopped dangerously close to him, he shut his eyes and squeezed them tight, struggling to keep his breath as shallow and less frequent as he could. It felt like they were playing a more sinister game of hide and seek where he was the only one being hunted. He hoped that by sitting still, he would blend in with gray floor and the blinding neon light, but to what end? Even the slits on his arms closed back up in coordination with his one good pair of eyes, as he had yet to learn how to control them individually—for what it's worth, he was completely blind at the time, much like Niklaus who had to deal with the bothersome contrast.

Watching the motion vanish in a mere instant, it made the agent perk up in confusion now and entirely fix attention more on the oddity in the room. Having even paused in his fumbling grip while he was eyeing the environment more as if he thought something abnormal escaped now, and no one knew. But the thing to pull him out of the intrusive thinking was Shoichi’s response, making Niklaus glance at him… If only partial relief since he had an answer despite it being more against his offer than it would be helpful. Eyes peered down at his gear before letting his hands drop to his sides once more. “Well, I didn’t know.” He added - be it he’d save them for himself since that was the kind of answer he got.

However, the strange behaviour that took place unlike Shoichi’s previous demeanour made him raise a brow. Short lived but the agent remained idle while his eyes remained on the skulking company that scoped out interest, not to one he knew(yet). The agent just thought to let him do his thing - or at least planned to until he had those piercing eyes look back at him. Narrowing his own in response before they slacked confused.

“What does that mean?” He murmured audible enough. While finding himself moving this time as well - such a strange aspect but this was likely the first of few times to genuinely interact with the odd personnel. The agent was following Shoichi’s lead but without the flared and painfully dry, at least rolling his steps so they seemed quieter as far as a quiet hunter should be. “Did you hear it too?” Came his vague question. Something about it must’ve been different to not confuse it for just a bystander in the room, especially since Shoichi shown interest only that time.

      Shoichi derived a sort of perverse pleasure from watching the confusion creeping onto Niklaus' features. He subdued a chortle that absentmindedly emerged out of his throat and shook his head at the twin, as if to mock him for being a step ahead of him. That would be his payback for the earlier manhandling, at least for the time being.

      “It?” he parroted in an incredulous voice. That misplaced pronoun alone turned his mood around, returning the shit-eating grin to his face along with the mischief in his gaze.

      Their distraction offered Shiro a window to attempt to switch his hideout. He was already on all fours, skittering across the floor on his hands and knees as gracefully as getting entangled in his coat would allow it. Like an amorphous solid object, he wiggled his way across to the nearby bookshelf while small grunts and gasps slipped out of his opened mouth. That was more physical activity than he had done in a week of being in that place. Without knocking any books off the shelves, he made himself small at the far end of it, where his ethereal complexion blended in with the blinding neon spotlight beaming down on him from above. His gloved fingers gripped the side of the shelf as he peered past it, using the unconventional "aid" that ran across his arm as a means to peer past the steep corner. When they blinked, the dozen crevices closed and opened out of sync.

      By the time they reached the table, Shiro was already gone. But what he left behind was incriminating evidence that dispelled any doubt his hunter might have had towards his identity. Swift in his movements, Shoichi swept the long strip of bandage off the floor and held it up into the light, humming positively to himself as he studied it. For good measure, he brought it up to his nose and took a whiff of it, then a couple more, like a trained hound. With a hand on his hip, he turned his head towards Niklaus' and jutted his shoulder in his direction in a flamboyant manner.

Niklaus took little trust in Shoichi’s current state. It was all concerning to say the least but he wasn’t about to let his own worry cloud what could be despite his confidence on handling the matter. But as well as worried for those nearby that scattered, they seemed to get the memo to move along at least without the agent having to make his demands known by a raised voice. All he could do was watch him with a close eye, that any movement could make the agent flinch and jump to action.

The agent wasn’t about to scold him either about it, although he wasn’t sure what necessarily set him off but that wasn’t his main concern. It was making sure he could leave the room without other members putting him on the wringer over a small outburst - that they didn’t have to do that. Even if it wouldn’t have seemed like a favour to him. Niklaus hooked his thumbs into the straps of his vest, idling there for a moment, fumbling with the woven works of the fabric - putting his thoughts together regardless if the other wasn’t going to respond to him.

“You want snacks or something? I got something in my vest, I think.” Not that small talk seemed to be a good thing - it was his effort to try and at least put some ease instead of seeming like a threat. Or to take his mind off the settled focus of what was giving him hell… Be it, the agent had no idea that Shoichi didn’t necessarily eat. One hand moved to fumbling over front of his vest, picking pockets until he heard crinkling in one but not taking much eye off him - trusting his peripheral. But the thing to make him stop and completely take his attention away was the sudden squeak of a stealthy soul in the room.

Cobalt eyes glanced up, immediately trying to pinpoint the sound - casting his gaze off towards the source with a squint. His eyes were still focusing in the light after lifting off Shoichi’s troubled form, but with it, came a word of warning. “Whatever’s going on over there, you better not be trying to radio off help, everything is fine.” Although, squinting harder now… Only came question when his gaze fixed better on the table. “Huh-?”

      "Eh?" Shiro whispered in response to being called out. When Niklaus' eyes shot straight in his direction, the strange limb that barely resembled an arm quickly descended under the edge of the table. A strange heat overwhelmed his face, one of embarrassment that trumped over whatever fear he must have had at the time. Still, he opted instead to cover his mouth and pretend he wasn't there, even if it might have been too late for that.

      Unlike the twin, Shoichi was slow to respond. With a sluggish rotation of his hips, he turned towards the object of Niklaus' interest and glanced it over with his pupils slit like those of an apex predator. That "hunt" for the unsuspecting white rabbit had its perks though. Little by little, the crazed expression that had been etched into his face started to ease and leave room for neutrality. Even his tense shoulders let up after a while, his fists finally unclenching after what felt like an eternity of his fingernails digging into his palms. All that remained was a slight tremor in his frame and the labored rhythm of his slow breathing.

      "We don’t eat the same shit," he eventually responded, turning a side glance towards the blonde. He would be lying though if he said he wasn't curious as to what kind of snacks he had on his person. 

      In grim addition to his foreboding words, he started sniffing the air and turned towards the scent of the familiar smell. It carried him away with jagged footsteps like a wild animal on the prowl, the clinking of his heels chiming his imminent arrival. The sound abruptly stopped when he paused to look over his shoulder at Niklaus, fixing him with an inquisitive gaze as he cocked his brow.