the way we talk. (o)

[TAKANO KAGENUI]

( BEAR IT IN MIND, IF I CANNOT BELIEVE IN ME )

[/color]
--------WHO WILL I THEN BE?[/size] [/center]

Again. It had happened again.

“You’re losing your touch.”
“Do you cheat on your tests or something? It doesn’t add up.”

It had been a couple of days since Jun had come home, a couple days since he’d fallen ill from forcing insomnia and slowly swallowing the stress that served as the poison that would bring his personal apocalypse. Kagenui had missed class a few times during that period, taken them off or had been more or less forced to do so by the woman who had been the underlying cause. The coursework piled up and the apartment that had been an uncomfortable studying environment for its eerie silence had now become all the more inhospitable now that the noise had returned tenfold. Kagenui had no other choice but to move his studying elsewhere, somewhere quieter, calmer, perhaps with fresh air so that he didn’t feel suffocated as he had when the daze faded and he realized how long he’d shut himself up in his apartment waiting for her return. That made the outdoor café the perfect choice, even though it was nestled amongst the heavy traffic of the weekend Harajuku crowd, a little diamond amidst the clamoring rough in which he could clear his schedule of schoolwork and properly laze around as he so enjoyed doing any other time.

And for awhile, that was how it had gone. Kagenui ordered a cup of tea and occupied one of the decorative outdoor chairs, adjusted the large, brightly colored parasol to his liking, and splayed his work out before him. Pen to paper, working systematically on work that had pertained to his general classes, to things that pertained to his internship. Things like the case. Before he noticed, he had fallen into a daze, thinking of how the trial had gone, how poorly his assessment seemed when placed against the verdict. Clearly insane. Not guilty. The contrast made him feel disgusted. But not with himself; oh no, never with his own work. Kagenui knew he had been correct, had known it from the moment he sat with a man now waltzing the street in his delusional little world. How had such a thing happened?

And then he pictured what it was exactly—that lawyer. An egomaniacal man, noisome and an otherwise disagreeable person that always seemed to be around his case studies; but just another Devil’s Advocate, nothing important. But now he wasn’t really sure whether he really saw what he thought he saw. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding, and in a wayward intoxicated moment, he had mistaken the situation entirely. Things like this happened to him occasionally. Or it could have been something more sinister: a familiarity the man had for this situation, an understanding of the mechanics? If that was it, Kagenui had been completely wrong about him. His version of the dopey, though still unbearably irritating lawyer was not something he perceived but something that had been perpetrated on him, by the lawyer himself, for reasons of his own. Perhaps he wasn’t stupid, but exceptionally clever. And as the white-haired student turned his attention back to his work, Kagenui thought moment after moment when this cleverness, this great cunning, would have shown itself if it truly existed, but hadn’t. Could that truly be? Was this one lawyer some overwhelming force, one he shouldn’t have tampered with?

That was laughable.

It was nothing of the sort; just a product of his overly analytical mind, perhaps even the influence of some betraying paranoia that he did not notice or chose to not acknowledge. His attention returned to his textbook, flipping through page after page of information he’d seen before, thought fondly of as progress, did so until his fingers ran along something different, a piece of paper that didn’t feel the way the glossy textbook pages felt. It wasn’t often that it came to that, but Jun did occasionally slip letters into his things when she couldn’t pass them off to him personally for some unknown reason. He shrugged the envelope off as one of those times and slipped his pencil tip into the crease and cut through it, troubling his tea in his typically fidgety way. Eyes trailed the address before turning to the letter itself, a pallid eyebrow raised. It wasn’t often that his teachers wrote him letters.

Lissome fingers traced neatly typed words, mouthed them aloud in hopes of comprehending their meaning, grasp the context of these letters splayed out on the paper. The other hand, traitorous and flighty, ran along the rim of a cup, circling calmly over and over again as though nothing was wrong. The tea in the cup rippled and for a moment his eyes were drawn to the movement, staring intently at the liquid as though the leaves would spell something out to him. They didn’t; he turned away from it again. Again, the words fell silently from his lips, difficult and painfully slow, as though he were reading an ancient tome written in a language dead and unknown to him. Kagenui placed the paper back into the envelope and ran his now free hand through his hair.

“…Very disappointing practical application of studies in relation of recent case work…”
“…An overall exceptional student, but perhaps it’s time to consider a career better suited to your abilities…”

"So that's how it's gonna be...Heh...Dammit. That...really kinda sucks."

[/color] Despair. Absurd turn of events had left him in despair. Zetsuboshita. [/size][/justify][/blockquote]

[TAKEMURA KATSU]

here we are alone now, just you and me
down the halls we waltz, your end is in my dreams

Perhaps it would be a little unnerving to say that the lawyer had a certain swing in his step; a haughty saunter that radiated confidence in each languid stride. Ah, but things were running smoothly for Takemura Katsu. His last few cases had fallen into his favor without the slightest irritation of a hitch. Men – dangerous men -- had shaken his hand with the delight of freedom now sprawled out before them like the goddamn yellow brick road. He'd been paid handsomely and, perhaps even more important, his reputation had climbed a few more notches of the social ladder. Constantly, his ego was stroked by eager, trembling fingers that sought to please his critical stare. "Oh, let me get you a better seat, Takemura-san" said the woman at the opera. "Is your steak to your liking, Takemura-sama?" asked the head chef at one of the most expensive restaurants in the Ginza district. The attention was basked in with that suave-as-ever behavior, often acknowledged with a dismissive wave of his hand or the bemused click of his tongue. But he loved it all... loved the way eyes would lower or widen in recognition. His own eyes would light up whenever he walked into a room, fueled by the flicker of a thrill that ignited from the way bodies would turn towards him or cringe away. In both cases, there was satisfaction. Oh, yes. Satisfaction he savored with his head held high. It was safe to say his narcissism would not be damaged at this rate. Did he want it to be?

He walked with the sureness so like an alleycat's proud swagger, one hand clutching a briefcase at his side as he strolled through the district with dark eyes wandering from shop to shop. He'd been hoping for a quiet place to review a few more files he had to go over for a trial looming in the upcoming week. Though his fancy loft was often the ideal lair for his work, he'd been feeling restless. Katsu was not one easily contained, especially when he'd been feeling the tingling buzz of success. To be stuck at home for too long often had his fingers flexing and his legs pacing him back and forth through various rooms while Hannya looked on with an ever-amused look in her mismatched eyes. Though the common masses rarely appealed to the interests of the egotistical attorney, he did not mind dabbling on their playgrounds when they so often flocked to him, whimpering with the need to please. Today seemed peaceful, though. Today was quiet and bland…. crowded and excitable, but still colorless in his perspective. In essence, it was the perfect day to get work done, then. Oh, but Katsu longed for something to ward off the imminent wave of boredom on his horizon. There were several things that he supposed could cure this impending predicament. And... oh, what have we here? Is there one right there? Katsu paused in his stroll, taking note of a familiar head of white hair at one of the outdoor cafés. He'd been difficult to pick out while the crowd bustled along, but there was no mistaking the young man nestled under one of the parasols.

The predator took on the prowl, moving with more purpose as he slunk through the throng of people. All the while, his eyes tried to keep themselves locked on the pale man in question, face bowed as though to hide the hungry grin that curved the edges of his mouth. This was a treat, after all. Rarely did he happen upon Kagenui, the psych intern so very keen on giving his clients the mis-diagnosis of insanity. Poor boy... Often had Katsu berated him for his shoddy work, constantly urging him to study harder. The lawyer so hated to watch a potential mind deteriorate under pressure, after all. Oh, but there was something about Kagenui that plucked at the man's strange interests. Was it that he found amusement in their disagreements? In the fact that Kagenui alone seemed aware of the evidence-tampering and bribed witnesses hidden away under charismatic cover-ups? Whatever the case, there was a dangerous curiosity that drew Katsu in towards the table where the student was pouring over his work. He made sure to approach discreetly, suddenly more like a panther drawing closer to its prey than a man walking over to pester a colleague. He moved with a lazy sort of ease, finally coming to a pause just a few feet behind where he was seated. Head tilted slightly with silver hair falling a tad to the side, he tried to peer over his shoulder. He did not see the envelope or its contents, though heard that ever-amusing voice say something that drew his grin wider along his pale face. "Now, now Kagenui... What's put a damper on your day, hm? Do tell... You know I'm always here to listen."

He spoke this from close behind him, though strode to the seat across from him to take it without an invitation. As usual, he offered him a sly grin as he adjusted his tie and placed his briefcase on the ground beside him. "Looks like you've been studying,

[/b]" he purred, clearly not caring should his unannounced arrival be at all bothersome, eyes skimming over what had been sprawled across the table. "I'm pleased you're taking your work seriously. Ore-sama had begun to wonder, you know." And, with that said, he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair with body-language that suggested he was comfortable staying for a nice conversation and maybe a cup of tea. No, the lawyer was not oblivious... just hopeful for a little fun to occupy his ever-eager appetite for a challenge. And Kagenui seemed like quite the tasty treat indeed.[/size][/blockquote][/justify]