Backdated to February, 2017
As seldom as Pasi powered up into Aue, it really was no wonder his encounters with just about anyone were extremely rare. He’d gotten into a fight with one of those weird dust-monsters - Ash, and that ridiculous Primer, called them ‘youma’ which he felt was kind of animu and stupid and refused to call them that - and kicked it’s a**, but for the most part his encounters had been tame. And boring.
Which was totally fine with him since he didn’t really want any part of being a senshi in some war.
But he’d been bored, disinclined to do any of the homework waiting for completion, and Archer busy. So he’d found a secluded spot on campus, transformed, and was wandering about looking for a dust-monster to play with when he felt something odd tingling at the edge of his senses. It didn’t feel anything like the call from Caedus, nor did it feel similar to the tingles he’d gotten surrounded by Order folks, so he could only assume it was Negaverse. Who the ******** thinks up these names? So lame, ugh.
Still. He was bored. Maybe whomever - or whatever - it was could entertain him?
Aue calculated the direction and headed toward it, meandering with no real urgency. If the energy winked out before he got there, it really was no sweat off his sack.
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He felt the signature like a bad drink after a long night; fuzzy and unpleasant, but at least it wasn’t Negaverse. Wolfeite was not in the mood to deal with any of his own kind tonight, too busy trying to collect a stash of starseeds for later, two already in hand and a third in a civilian he’d spotted just along the way. The students wandering the campus late at night were too obvious, so he left them alone, but there was always a bum here and there.
But that damned power signature could not be left alone. He had to know who - or what - it came from, Wolfeite stuffing the starseeds into a pocket a he made his way around a copse of trees, catching a sight of white coming towards him at the same time.
It was a senshi, but a taller, broader one than the last that Wolfeite had seen.
And also very distinctly male. Not one of those timid little girls. His eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?” He asked bluntly.
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Well, that answers that, doesn’t it? An officer, clearly. All black and red, narrow-eyed with suspicion and god only knew what else. Aue came a few steps closer but then stopped, keeping a bit of distance between himself and the feral-looking lieutenant before answering him.
“Aue. Who are you?”
He didn’t bother trying to contemplate whom this tall man was out of uniform, he’d come to understand that part of the magic imbued on each person when they ‘powered up’ also cast some sort of glamour that made people unable to recognize civilians as MMO characters. Kind of like how no one could tell Clark Kent was Superman, even though the ******** only got glasses. Aue could have gone right up to his own mother and she wouldn’t have known it was him.
Insane. Ridiculous. Magical.
God save me from ******** magical bullshit. His expression was sour, appropriately so, but it got worse and not because of Wolfeite.
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He could fight; that was an option. He could do what he usually did in these sorts of situations and attack, let the thrill of it chase its way through his veins, adrenaline filling his senses until he got that heady rush of pleasure that stemmed from it.
But something about this particular senshi made Wolfeite curious. If it became obvious that he was a liability, there’d be no hesitation in simply killing him. Instead of jumping in to fight this time, he would talk and see if he could garner any information that could be beneficial.
Aue. A strange name. Wolfeite could not help the low snort that escaped his throat, derisive in nature.
“Wolfeite,” he said, and began to pace, slowly walking around the senshi in a slow circle, his gaze raking up the ludicrous uniform with obvious distaste in his eyes, though the sneer wasn’t visible beneath the kerchief tied across the lower half of his face.
“What kind of senshi are you, Aue?”
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Standing under the officer’s scrutiny didn’t seem to bother the white and yellow clad senshi, nor did the derisive snort that escaped the man get much of a reaction. As unpleasant as Archer on a bad day… But that was fine, he was well versed in dealing with people like Wolfeite - a firm hand and no show of fear usually worked best - so he wasn’t worried. I bet he’s thinking about how he’ll kill me if I bore him.
The thought made him smile, though it faded a bit as he was circled.
“The kind that finds being a senshi ridiculous and thinks other senshi are ineffectual and moronic.” Aue’s reply came in a flat tone that was even more indicative of his feelings towards the whole powered up magical boy business than his words. His feet remained firmly planted, though he did follow the restless movement of Wolfeite with head and shoulders.
“What kind of officer are you, Wolfeite?” It was a dangerous game they were playing, two beasts with claw and fang trying to decide whether the other was friend or foe or something else entirely.
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It was almost exactly what Wolfeite was thinking, though most of his expression was hidden by the mask. He circled carefully, decisively, his gloved hands tucked against the small of his back.
The answer was interesting. Very interesting. Wolfeite’s brows rose, his head tilted as he watched Aue, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“Why do you think such things?” He asked, coming to a stop in front of the senshi. He was maybe an inch or two taller; a vexing, irritable fact, but Wolfeite pushed it aside, focusing on the matter at hand - the fact that, maybe, just maybe, he’d found a senshi who was not just one of the mindless masses.
“The kind of officer who’s interested in what you have to say,” said Wolfeite, eyes gleaming as he stepped closer. “Tell me more about why you think the senshi are ridiculous.”
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“Because they’re true.” Aue was blunt and artless in his reply; every instance he’d been around the Order folks had basically just caused him to find the whole group ridiculous and asinine. Especially at that meeting on the hill with the walking corpse NPC - watching that princess and prince wagging their dicks at each other and Caedus had really cemented the idea that senshi were idiots in spangly costumes. There had been a few voices speaking reason and logic and ********, but they’d been drowned out by egos and bullshit.
With a careless shrug, he cracked his knuckles before crossing his arms over his chest and taking a more hip-shot stance. It wasn’t relaxed, but it was less tensed than how he’d been standing previously - Wolfeite was interested, he could afford to take up more space.
“I watched a gathering of senshi having a pisisng contest over ******** nothing. It was illogical and useless, and whenever someone tried to speak with reason they were drowned out...nevermind how disorganized the whole lot are. There are maybe two or three I wouldn’t happily throw under a bus.” As an engineer, he favored order over chaos, but when the Order was nothing but chaos...well. “Besides, it was an accident that my life was disrupted and I’ve seen no reason for loyalty or fealty. And plenty reason to turn my back.”
“I don’t power up often, but it’s a compulsion...an itch under the skin.” He cracked his neck, reaching up with one gloved hand to rub; he was often sore like that from doing so much on his computer and today was no different.
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Wolfeite raised a brow. “So you agree, then,” he said in a voice dripping with low, drawling amusement, “That the White ******** Moon is made up of pathetic, unintelligent individuals who can’t see past their own noses long enough to make proper decisions.”
It made him laugh, made him shake his head. “The White Moon is a joke. They know nothing.”
He took a step closer now, his gaze raking over Aue’s white uniform, the too sterile, too pristine color of it. It made his lip curl in a derisive sneer. “And yet here you stand, talking about them, when you wear their colors. It’s quite interesting, I must admit, to hear things from your point of view. I had no idea there were such people in the White Moon who agreed with such sentiments.”
Wolfeite’s hand extended, and he ran a finger down the front of Aue’s uniform.
“I believe you could be put to great use, Aue.”
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“I agree.” Aue’s voice held little inflection, but much of an odd accent that made his syllables slightly rounded to the ear. “On the whole, yes. As I said, I have seen a small handful I would not happily feed to one of your monsters.” Here his stormy grey eyes narrowed, the thick brows above them coming close, “The so-called royals I saw were some of the worst of the lot. If that is what I have to look toward for guidance...I would rather chew off my own hands.” Clearly, the yellow-and-white clad senshi did not much care for his Order ‘brethren’.
He sighed and pushed his bangs back, glad to not be stuck making small talk but rather discussing something important - or potentially so. Americans talk too much, it is not good nor wise. Obnoxious. How they think they are a world power is arrogance of the worst type...and these ‘white moon’ senshi are some of the worst offenders. Such egos that they cannot put them aside for fifteen minutes to discuss rationally, logically, a problem put before them. “Some seem to have an idea. There was a man dressed in greenery, trying to speak sense, but none listened to him or his group.” There had probably been others, but Aue had pretty much tuned them out after a bit in favor of snarking with the Hobbit. Remus, he said. Remus of Regolith.
“Wearing white does not make me a representative, willingly. I did not chose this outlandish costume. It appears when I use the words and wave that stupid stick around like the cat said.” Was Wolfeite so simple to think he’d made some conscious choice to be part of the squabble squad, or was it simply that the man did not know how these things came about? Aue decided to give him the benefit of the doubt - he did not seem stupid, merely arrogant and full of the ignorance of an American. “I follow no one, am beholden to none.”
“I am certain there are others, like me, within this ‘white moon’.”
Wolfeite reached out to run a finger down pure white and Aue did not flinch nor step back, there was no indication this was a threat; the words spoken said nothing of death or destruction but of use and interest. These things he could work with. “Is that so, Wolf? Would you make use of this magic, or better yet intelligence?”
He smiled, a flash of teeth that wasn’t meant to be welcoming, “Did you know the senshi have a ‘Primer’ available to them with various bits of information? It is outdated I am sure, but it’s there for those of us newly made...or others wanting a refresher, I suppose.”
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He liked the way that Aue spoke, the way he knew how pathetic and useless the White Moon were. Just his aura alone brought a nasty taste to Wolfeite’s mouth, and he had to resist the urge to draw away. Instead, he leaned closer, inhaling deeply, as though tasting his scent - a wolf scenting its prey - before leaning back a little.
“How very noble of you, senshi,” Wolfeite drawled. “But I confess, I like your point of view - and I like even better the fact that you see the Order as you do. Those White Moon brats and their disgusting habits of thinking they know best are repulsive and frankly in vain. They know so little and pretend to know so much, and it brings me great satisfaction to know that there are those in their ranks who are willing to see reason.”
A dark brow rose at the question. Feisty, thought Wolfeite, a grin curling his lips. And confident. How interesting.
Wolfeite’s hand flattened against Aue’s chest, pressing ever so slightly.
“Magic and intelligence,” he said, already starting to formulate an idea. “What else does this ‘primer’ say?”
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Aue found Wolfeite leaning in to scent him a bit strange, but then there were many things about the Negaverse officer that were ‘a bit strange’, so he simply accepted it as a thing he had to suffer through. What, is he a dog or something? Is he going to hump my leg next? It was a funny mental image - mostly. Wolfeite wasn’t unattractive, really, so maybe having his leg humped wouldn’t be too bad, considering some of the things that could be done to him by the Negaverse (and those in it).
That the Wolfe liked his words was reassuring in a way Aue found annoying; he would probably not be killed from the way the officer spoke, which was a good thing. But the displeasure felt inwardly at being at the mercy of another was something that rankled at nearly all levels, no matter how attractive the other party may or may not be. Still, the senshi did his best to not show any discomfiture, knowing that his position with Wolfeite was a tenuous one and that showing fear or causing boredom was very likely a death sentence. He’s not bored and I have captured his interest, this is good.
“Some blurbs about the different factions, the knights and senshi and officers. Some about your monster pets, standard “the Negaverse is evil and must be defeated” propaganda. Much bullshit and garbage meant to inundate newly woken children to a war on the terms of whomever wrote it, I’m sure.” Wolfeite’s hand over his chest made the senshi uncomfortable like few things he’d experienced before; there was a low-grade screaming along his senses with the danger of it. It would take nothing for him to end me, right now. Aue’s pulse rose with it, fear and excitement and arousal roiling about and making him want to pull away just in case.
Once more, he took a calculated risk, “You gather energy, right? So why don’t you take some as well as whatever the rest is worth to you.” Present versus future worth, the brunet could only hope that the officer was smart enough to concede that Aue was more valuable alive than dead; his offer made to help secure that thought and also to show good faith.
He shifted, putting one gloved hand slowly, carefully over Wolfeite’s hand but not pressing down. “One less menial task for you to worry about then, right?”
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He could use this to his advantage. He could take this and make it his own, mold and use this senshi to his own liking. Aue was intelligent; his was not the dumb idiocy of the other sheep, and he knew things. He knew about the senshi and how they worked, and that was good enough for Wolfeite. The thick accent and the dismissive attitude reminded Wolfeite of another, but he would think of that later.
“Interesting,” he murmured, almost to himself. “And yet they still think us the weaker side of things.”
His hand suddenly fisted in Aue’s uniform, disrupting the fabric with clenched fingers, tightening so much that his knuckles were white beneath the gloves - and then they smoothed out again, his eyes gleaming with curiosity and need, Wolfeite grinning maniacally.
The offer was a good one. Wolfeite’s head tilted, surveying the man in front of him, and the grin stretched out further as Aue’s hand came to rest atop his own.
”With pleasure.”
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His heart had leapt into his throat when Wolfeite seized the fabric of his uniform - he was intelligent enough to recognize the danger inherent in the officer’s actions, and smart enough to feel a stab of fear at them as well. Luckily for Aue, the sharp-eyed beast of a man released his hold and seemed to relax, though the crazed gleam in his unnatural eyes remained.
“A first exchange, then. Leave me enough energy to make it home when you’re done.” Aue’s fingers pressed the officer’s gloved hand harder against his chest; it was a ballsy move, and dangerous, but so had all the risks he’d taken so far that day...and he felt the Wolf would appreciate it. “Take my energy and seal the bargain, Wolf.”
A devil’s bargain to be sure, but the senshi of lemons actually felt better about the whole ‘magical powered idiot’ thing now than he had previously. Whether or not the blush of optimism would remain throughout his interactions with the Negaverse was something only time would tell.
Wolfeite’s thick tail lashed behind him while the senshi spoke his offer - or was that a demand? Regardless, there was no reason to reject Aue, nor to waste further time with meaningless words when he could simply pull energy from his willing captive, right over the glittering prize within his chest. Part of Wolfeite wanted to sink his hand into the senshi’s chest, to grasp his starseed and yank it from his still-beating chest. To put it between his teeth and crunch down, to feel the bright and brilliant energy wash over his tongue and through his body, but he resisted.
Aue would prove to be useful to him in the long run, or he would do as his nature wished and take his star-seed instead of settling for a glowing ball of energy as he was now.
For his part, the senshi held still until Wolfeite was done, whereupon he staggered a few steps while the officer put the energy away and then teleported out with his final words hanging heavy in the air.
“Don’t disappoint me, senshi.”
With the officer’s energy signature completely gone, he felt it safe to leave. Nearer home he’d power down and once in the safety of his apartment, the brunet would collapse into his bed from exhaustion, the echo of Wolfeite’s words haunting his dreams.
Fin
