caughtinanetwork | o3 [video]

Muraki~ Muraki, Muraki, Mu-ra-ki~♪ I'm bored so I'm coming to the clinic, okay?

_{[Tilting his head back, Mao spins on his heel and his SFC swings up just enough to catch a brief glimpse of the bubble following him. It's near impossible to tell just what is going on inside of it but the owner pays little attention to it. When he stops, he leans over the device to tilt his sunglasses down a hair and flash a grin.]}

And Zero~! Come out, come out where ever you are! I want to talk. It's not polite to hide so if you don't show yourself I'll just have to get it out of someone. I know we aren't the only people from our world so it won't be that difficult for me. Just be a good boy and don't keep me waiting.

_{[Then all of a sudden he seems to stop and a puzzled look crosses his face--and he sneers, one hand going up to turn the volume of his headphones up. As he does this, the bubble shifts and becomes less and less untangled until a faded image of a woman settles in its place. It still flickers in and out, constantly threatened by everyone around Mao.]}

While I'm at it, how do I get rid of this? If it's going to keep misbehaving, I'd rather just get rid of it.

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So ask your questions if you can't take my word for it, Earl~ _{[It's not a bad trait to have, really. Mao himself is fairly wary of others when he can read them like a book, when he can hear them mocking him on the inside.

But then he reaches up to push at his own bubble as the geass sigil makes itself known for a few seconds. Ridiculous curse indeed, these bubbles were becoming a real pain again.]}

Actually, you could call it a contract~! Not like a demon's contract, though. It's fa~ar from that, but I'll keep that just between us, hm?

[ And he's about to start asking questions--but then Mao says that, and Ciel visibly stops. There is no possible way that wording was a mere coincidence. His mind races. Mao must be able to do more than pick up on surface thoughts then, because he certainly hadn't been thinking of the contract of all things. It's a horrifying thought, quite frankly, just how much valuable information about himself Ciel may have unwittingly revealed simply be remaining in Mao's presence, if he's able to comb through his head and choose what he wants to see with so little effort. ]

...and just how [ spoken slowly and a bit too calmly ] is it a contract, then?

[ He'd best keep it between them. ]

You have to hold up your end of the deal when the time comes, don't you~? It's almost the same with me, only mine isn't as gruesome as being eaten. Mine was forged when I was a little younger than you, actually.

_{[It was a little eerie now that Mao was digging further in. The loss of this boy's parents at a young age--it almost made him feel a pang of sympathy.

Almost.]}

I'll show you proof of mine if you show me yours.

And what price must you pay in exchange?

[ What's eerie is the idea that Mao is digging around in his mind at this very moment. Half of him says that he should leave now, not give Mao the opportunity to discover even more--to sift through his head and look at things that no one alive knows about but Ciel himself; those dark, shameful things that lurk in his memory and manifest in his nightmares. But the other half says to press onward; that if he doesn't get the information he's been seeking, he's done this for nothing.

And even if Mao knows about it, he's still reluctant to show him the seal itself. The only person other than himself who's seen that eye is Sebastian. It's something that he would much rather keep to himself. This, at least, is something which can remain sacred and unseen by this stranger.

Sacred; an odd way to think of it, considering that it's a demon's sigil. ]

What further confirmation do either of us need? Your abilities are proof enough to me, and if you can see as much as seems, that should be proof enough to you.

I'm stuck with it for the rest of my life. There's no stopping it--I can hear everyone in this city and there's no way to stop it~ It's a gift and a curse, really!

_{[Now this was the kind of person he enjoyed picking the brain of. It's so much like Lelouch, always working, always thinking, always speaking in so many volumes. Though he doesn't voice what he's picking up, Mao carefully tucks it away for the future. It could come in handy for Muraki or even himself should something happen.]}

Mm~ You remind me of someone I know, except you're much more polite than he is to me. That goes a long way in this city, don't you think~? Go ahead, ask away, Earl. I'll answer to the best I can~

I see. And you chose this?

[ But right. Questions. It would be foolish to go to all this trouble and not ask. The damage has been done, at this point; he'd best try to come out of it with something, too. Then again, who's to say that Mao won't lie to him?

No matter. Whatever he says will give him a starting point, at the very least. ]

Is this someone here in Vatheon, or from your home? [ Simple curiosity; Mao is an interesting guy, to say the least. But more to the point: ]

And you said that Muraki has similar powers to yours. Just how similar are they?

I didn't.

_{[He shifts a bit to lean against the side of the building, keeping his eyes fixed on Ciel.]}

Both.

Fairly similar, I'd think. I don't fully understand his powers for myself yet, but it involves reading something... Emotions, I think it was?

[ Mao had addressed someone by name earlier. There's no reason why this should be the same person he's referring to now, but it can't hurt to ask. If this person is really anything at all like himself, then they're someone to be wary of. ]

Are they called 'Zero,' by any chance?

[ and then-- ] Do you know much about him personally? [ Because he seems like he's hiding something. And Ciel's learned, over recent years, to be very wary of doctors, in particular. ]

Mm. That's a name he went by back in our world. His real name is Lelouch. Really, he's not that nice of a brat~ He stole someone very, very, very, very important to me.

_{[He scratches his chin, pretending to 'think' about that. He knows more than he lets on, but... This is for Muraki's benefit and in turn, his own.]}

Personally? Hmm, let's see~ He's thirty-two, his eyes are a bit odd but then again I shouldn't be talking about something like that... He's very respected among other doctors, I believe--You understand that I can't tell everything about him though. A man does need to keep some things personal~! Even I don't care to talk about my whole childhood with him.

Ah. [ Lelouch. He'll remember that. ] Safe to say that I don't plan to do anything of the sort, despite our apparent similarity. [ And that's the truth--but that isn't to say he won't act somehow should he discover that Mao's revealed anything about him to anyone else.

If Mao is really a friend of Muraki's, as he seems to be, there's no doubt that he'll mention to the doctor that he was inquiring about him. But he doesn't mind that. If he did, he wouldn't have been so obvious about asking. Yet to press further after being assured of his skill and trustworthiness would be strange for a patient simply wishing to affirm that his new doctor won't be an issue. Even if Mao's already discovered that his interest is more to scope out potential threats than anything else, he still thinks it wise to stop here, for now. ]

Of course. I understand. Thank you for what you've been able to share with me. It's been quite helpful.

[ His orders were to remain unseen, save as nothing more but a watchful eye over his master and the proceedings that were to follow. Protective means for equally protective measures. His young master meeting with someone who promised to have information on the doctor who, despite being rather helpful in the long run rubbed Sebastian the wrong way, alone wasn't exactly on his list of "Things that can go perfectly safe".

So he waited, in silence, senses primed in case any danger came about while he was perfectly hidden in the shadows between the aisles of historical fiction and reference books.

But he hears everything, hears everything perfectly clearly. It's always been this way between them, in case his master had a new case to speculate. A second set of ears helped when one needed to mull over something over tea after supper after all.

And there's no denying that the demon feels something he hadn't in quite a long time upon hearing that smallest declaration.

Guess what it is Mao.

Absolute surprise. ]

o3 [video]

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I am so not here and don't even exist carry on without me.