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Shinya is young and fresh faced and still hopeful with the world and its ways when he comes across a pale, frail looking figure standing on the curb in one of the more dangerous districts of the city.
They're drenched, their long hair plastered flat and coat dripping water rather than repelling it. Obviously they weren't a regular viewer of the Ministry’s recommended news, or they'd have been informed of the torrential downpours that had been forecast today. Or maybe they were some rare breed of masochist who enjoyed standing out in the freezing rain in late October. Either way, Shinya thinks himself a kind person, was raised by a firm believer in common courtesy, and also just happens to be the proud owner of an umbrella just large enough for two. So he finds himself veering off his regular route home to instead make a direct beeline across the street and over to the person.
They're his height, Shinya realizes as he grows closer, but they somehow seem impossibly smaller. Their clothes, grey and lightweight, (and definitely designed more for looks than warmth), are plastered to their figure, highlighting the long, slender lines of their body. They don't turn to him, or even seem to acknowledge him for that matter, but Shinya can now see them trembling ever so slightly in their wet clothes, and guiltily feels a little better about running towards a person he wasn't even sure was in need of any help.
He finally reaches them, and cautiously approaches. "Are you lost?" He asks over the thundering of the rain on the pavement, he sees them give him a slight appraising glance, just now seeming to notice him. Their face is nearly completely covered by long strands of white hair, and Shinya can't quite make out any of their features.
After a brief pause, they shake their head near imperceptibly before looking back over the street. Shinya hesitates a moment longer before taking another step closer and slants his umbrella to cover the other.
They stand in silence for a few moments, but this time Shinya distinctly sees a smile quirking at the corners of the other's lips.
“I had thought chivalry long extinct.” They suddenly comment, breaking the silence with a soft voice. Shinya is startled for a moment by the sudden sound, and quickly looks over to the other. They, or he, Shinya realizes promptly, seems to be rather amused with his impulsive decision. The other man doesn’t turn to face him, remaining stubbornly turned away towards traffic.
“I wouldn't blame you." Shinya remarks. "But ‘no one is more insufferable than he who lacks common decency’, right?”
He seems to like that response, a laugh suddenly carrying itself between them. A light, lilting sound that unfortunately doesn’t last near as long as Shinya would've liked. He too soon falls silent, the sounds of the city and the steady drum of rainfall once more enveloping the pair.
“Well, are you waiting for someone?” Shinya eventually asks the man, watching what he could of their profile. He honestly didn’t have anywhere in particular to be, as he was off the clock and luckily no specific areas of the city had shown any signs of increasing hues as of recently. Satisfying his savior’s complex by standing with the man until his ride got here wouldn’t be much different than if he were still at work on crowd control in a holo suit, he figured.
They shake their head again, the long tendrils of hair swinging with each movement. “No, it’s not that.” He looks upwards then, up towards the skyline in front of them, allowing Shinya a glimpse of his features. Smooth, unblemished skin, an upturned nose, strong cheekbones. “I merely have a tendency to get rather distracted at times."
Shinya raises a brow. That’s one thing, but standing out in a downpour in the dead of night wasn’t when one tended to stop and admire the cityscape. Although he supposes that he himself can’t deny he’s taken the scenic route more than a few times on his way home, lost in thought from an eventful day at work. “Well whatever caught your attention must've been more important than your health.” He remarks dryly.
The man snorts, finally turning to face Shinya, giving him a bemused look. He’s attractive, in a lovely, androgynous sort of way with pale with a sharp, knowing smile and amber eyes to match. He looked almost otherworldly, and Shinya was suddenly struck with the notion that this man didn't belong here in this city. Didn't belong in a place that had been designed to stuff out the rare and the unique. Idiosyncrasy didn’t belong here.
“I suppose you could say that.” The man remarks in response before shuddering slightly, rain falling from his pale grey coat. “Although to be fair, it's rather rare that I fall ill.”
Shinya hm's, quirking an eyebrow before falling silent. The traffic’s beginning to slow this time of night, and they’re the only two people Shinya can even see on the street. Not that these back alley paths were particularly busy to begin with. The rain continues to fall, the individual drops now illuminated by the streetlight flickering on just behind them. "You still haven't told me why you're just standing out here like this." Shinya finally says lightly, curiosity inflecting his tone.
"Must everything have a purpose and a reason?"
"When it means you're risking consumption, yes, it does."
The other man laughs at that, before looking over to Shinya with bright eyes. He's a strange one, Shinya thinks rather bemusedly, feeling a smile twitch at his own lips. “Then the reason depends."
"On?"
"How philosophical you want me to be with my answer."
Shinya snorts at that and looks over to a lone car slicking through the high waters now running in the streets. "I'd rather just hear the truth." He says honestly, and the other man hm's before going silent. Shinya is about to repeat himself, thinking he hadn't been heard over the rain when the other man begins talking again, and this time Shinya's blood runs cold in his veins.
“Have you ever gotten the feeling that you’re not really needed?”
Shinya’s mouth quickly snaps shut, his brow furrowing and he turns his head to look at the other man. They’re not looking at him, their jaw locked and eyes looking up to the lit skyline.“No, I can’t really say that I have.” he says finally. Carefully, like his response could be the catalyst to something far out of his hands and understanding.
A small smile tugs at their lips as they shake their head. “I’m guess I'm not really surprised. That’s the answer I would have expected, after all.” He responds lightly, casting a sideways glance at Shinya. His gaze lingers on the emblazoned Public Safety Bureau logo on the left side of his windbreaker before lifting his eyes to meet Shinya’s. His golden gaze is bright, intense and sincere. “From a person of your caliber.”
Shinya narrows his eyes at that, annoyance flaring, but at the same time feels a cold prickle of concern crawl down his spine. He’s met enough people like this man in this career, and has already seen too many of them fall under the brutal judgement of a dominator with a crime coefficient far too high and a hue far too clouded. This man with his strangely sad eyes and carefully crafted expression strongly resembled those of a person with a dirtied hue. Although... Shinya casts a quick look to the streetlamp, catching sight of a nearby area scanner and frowns. The street scanner didn't seem to think anything out of place. “And what exactly do you mean by that? I’ve never once seen a person left unaccounted for by Sybil.”
Lies.
They shrug, still holding his gaze. Something very tired flickers through his eyes, and Shinya gets the sudden feeling that they know far more about something then they're telling him. “There will always be deviations from the standard.” He says deliberately, like he somehow holds privy to a secret nobody else knows.
“And you think you’re that exception? Don’t be so narcissistic.”
His grin only grows wider, white teeth flashing in the lamplight. “But isn't it, ‘the greater our own narcissism, the more we detest it in others’?”
Shinya is vaguely surprised, and very much impressed by the man's quick response, staring at him blankly before snorting and feels a wry grin pull at his own lips and a spark of interest light low in his stomach. It's been far, far too long since he's felt this impressed by someone. The tension seems to dissolve at once, and Shinya chooses to ignore the lingering, uneasy feelings over the conversation that had just transpired.“So is this what you like to do in your spare time ? Lure people into pointless philosophical conversations in the middle of a rainstorm?”
The other man only laughs in response, turning back once more to face the road. “Well it’s your own fault for seeking me out. And again, your own fault for choosing the philosophical answer to the earlier question.” He points out dryly, turning to gesture at the umbrella overhead. “Besides, shouldn’t you have somewhere to be, Inspector? An innocent civilian to save, or a criminal plot to uncover?”
Shinya watches him, still feeling unwilling to let the earlier direction of the conversation go forgotten. He sighs, shifting to his other foot and follows the albino’s gaze to a sleek car rolling past across the road. “Off the clock.” he says shortly. “And maybe if you'd try and avoid looking so pathetic out here in this type of weather I wouldn't have felt quite so compelled to come over and rescue you."
They cast him a flat, unamused look, arching a thin brow. Shinya feels another smile pull at his lips and casts a quick glance at his watch as more neon lights flicker to life around them. “It’s getting late,” He says, more to himself then to the other man before raising his gaze to meet the albino’s. “it’s almost curfew.” Which meant no taxi's at this hour. Not really much of anything at this time of night.
“Ah,” they sigh, “Then I suppose I’ve been out for far longer than I had originally anticipated." He suddenly looks very much ready to leave, to Shinya's dismay, before adding politely, "Thank you... for keeping me company.” He turns away, already walking in the opposite direction before without thinking, the raven quickly reaches out and grabs at the man’s wrist and in that instant there’s a sudden shift in the quiet companionship between them. The man’s attention had snapped back to him in an instant with a blank, guarded look, their entire body suddenly very tense.
It's a rather conditioned response, is Shinya’s first thought, but he chooses to ignore it in favor of quickly trying to justify his actions and diffuse the uncomfortable tension. He holds his umbrella out to the man. “Here.”
They blink at him blankly at him, something akin to confusion flickering across their features. Then they glance slightly at the umbrella, understanding dawning on his pale face. “No, No. Thank you, and I suppose I appreciate the offer however-”
Shinya interjects with a heavy sigh, roughly pushing the proffered item further at the man. “Well I’m not going to let you walk home in the rain. Especially after I’ve stood here trying to avoid just that. Besides, my apartment isn’t all that far away.” That was a lie. It was quite a few blocks over, and the walk would be undoubtedly miserable, but once again Shinya feels his savior’s complex delivering a swift quick to his conscience.
The man tilts his head, golden eyes watching him. Appraising him. Shinya can practically see the suspicion in his gaze before a pale, slender hand slowly raises to cautiously accept the proffered umbrella from Shinya. His hand is startlingly cold, the skin smooth as it passes over Shinya's own work-hardened hands. “I won’t ever see you again.” They say cryptically.
Shinya quirks an eyebrow. “Is that a fact? Don’t be so pessimistic.”
They only smirk in response. “I’m afraid I'm only being honest, Inspector.”
Shinya settles for shaking his head, fighting an eye roll for the sake of maturity before reluctantly stepping out from under the cover of the umbrella and into the rain. He meets that golden gaze once more before turning his back on the other man and setting off on the long, wet walk back to his apartment.
“You can return the favor next time we meet." He throws over his shoulder, hoping, as he slides his hands into his coat pockets, that next time will be very soon.
Years later he’s standing in the last place he would’ve seen himself all those years ago, a latent criminal and a soon-to-be murderer holding an old revolver to the skull of a man who’s proven to be his greatest rival. They’ve fallen to their knees in front of him, blood soaking the white of their shirt and the silver of their hair. It’s a long fall from grace, and this man has finally reached the ground. As night falls over the two, Shinya is reminded of a moment all those years ago he was faced with a man just as broken, only not yet so tired to be unable to hide their defeat.
"You're going to let me do this?" Shinya asks him, voice low. There isn't desperation in his voice or pleading because he's know this moment was coming, he's known what to do since the moment he saw that disgusting sculpture rotting in the rain. "You're just going to let me kill you? After all of this?"
He can't see the other mans face, can't see those lovely golden eyes he had once been enraptured by. If he had maybe everything would've been different. Maybe the world wouldn't have lost a man of the worst kind of brilliance, or bloodied the hands of a man trying to bring justice.
He thinks he sees those slim shoulders shake, thinks he can hear just the slightest breathy exhale of laughter from what was surely a collapsed lung. He thinks he can imagine the knowing, curved smile of a man who knew his time as one of the living was nearly up.
"Consider my debt to you paid, Inspector."