▌♚ s-rated-nxtcracker

Perhaps she should have chosen a different name but she had blanked for a second and now could possibly pay for it with her life. But surely she could talk her way out of anything. She was, after all, a fantastic story teller when she needed to be. And she was Nutcracker, there wasn’t much that she couldn’t do.  Truth be told though, he was right on both accounts. She was a ghoul, that much she couldn’t deny but also most of her life was based in the illegal. 

Nuts reached out towards him, reaching in an attempt to take the drawing that she had paid for. It would look beautiful hanging in her main room. She had no idea of his suspicions that were forming in his mind or the thoughts that he was beginning to have as for ways to try to see if she was a ghoul. He spoke then, mentioning that it was the only one that he would be selling and she gave him a rather broad smile from behind her mask. “Oh really? I am honored then to have this hanging in my home.”

It was almost imperceptible, the subtle flick of her eyes as the delicious stench of blood blessed the air. She quickly covered it up by adjusting the mask on her nose, keeping her kakugan under control, leaving her eyes brown with the white sclera, no sign of her true eyes. Then the boy asked her for a tissue and she nodded her head, opening her purse to pull out a small pack of tissues, holding out the pack towards him, wondering if he had caught the slight flicker and if she should head out now or push her luck more. Being so close to danger was exhilarating.

“Are you okay? You seem to have many wounds,” she said as she closed her bag, offering him a kind enough smile, leaving him enough time to respond if he so wished before she would stand up, the drawing hopefully in her hands unless he decided to take it back from her. “It was a pleasure meeting you but I am afraid I must get to the framing shop before it closes for the day,” she said, hoping to leave civilly enough before he put two and two together.

♚ —— ❛ THANK YOU… ❜  _{he gave her a quick nod as 
                  the tissue was handed over to him, crimson optics only
                  slightly widened at the new found information.}

_{He had spent enough time around ghouls to notice even the most
subtle reactions, after all, that was the only was he could survive.
He was almost impressed with the way her movement was almost
unnoticeable. He doubted any other dove would’ve recognized the
motion. But he still couldn’t understand why she looked so familiar.
She looked nothing like a ghoul he had ever seen before & failed
to kill. He pressed the tissue against the cut, watching with wonder
as the red blotch on the paper grew in size, before stuffing it in
his pocket.}

          _{He hadn’t bought his quinque, but he was certain that the
          Scorpion quinque hidden is his shirt would suffice. But then
          again, he would have to lure her into an underpopulated area
          if he wanted to make his move. & he doubted that would be
          possible, considering how intelligent she was. Besides, he 
          was sure that she would have caught on to his plan,
          considering how she was in such a hurry to leave.}

❛ –— I KNOW A _{shop a couple of blocks away. I could
take you there if you want. They’ve got the best frames for their
price. ❜}

▌♚ s-rated-nxtcracker

In this type of a setting this was sure to be the last. The next time they met was surely going to be him trying to kill her and her trying to survive. Always just trying to survive. “Pleased to meet you,” she said honestly enough before she realized she would have to give some kind of a name. “You can call me N,” she said, wondering if that was too close to the name they had given her, the name she had taken upon herself. Nutcracker. 

She could sense her current companion tense as she turned the page but she was not base enough to hurt such precious pieces of artwork. Murderer though she may have been she was a socialite first, one who was good with art and who knew it like the back of her hand. She would see to it that no harm came to his precious drawings. Nut had enjoyed many of the others that she had seen but this one most closely resembled the color scheme she had picked out and so that was the one that she went with.

He agreed and her lips turned up into a smile behind her mask, holding it out to him to take and take out the print so as not damage the others as she brought out her wallet, pulling out a rather large wad of cash. Counting the appropriate amount, she held it out to him, serpentine eyes sparking with the greed that came with getting something that she wanted. How many other ghouls could say they had CCG’s Jason’s artwork on her wall? Not many if she did say so herself. “Have you really never thought about putting your art up for auction? Just think of all the good food you could buy with that money,” she said to him, putting the rest of the money away as she spoke.

♚ —— ❛ HMM… _{Right. ❜ he shrugged, not feeling the need to
                   say “please to meet you too”. Going out of his way to be
                   polite was something he never really cared to do.}

_{He found it strange that she didn’t give her real name. He found it 
pretty stupid that she would be so blatant about it. She could have
made up some fictional name instead of just giving him a letter. It’d 
have been more believable. Pallid lids fell to squint at the suspicious
woman. It was obvious that she was hiding something. & that only
meant she was involved in something dangerous, or illegal.}

       _{But even though he was sort of like a cop, he didn’t care for
       capturing criminals. It wasn’t his job & it wasn’t worth the
       time & effort. Ghouls were much more interesting targets 
       than just people who happened to do supposedly wrong 
       things. He froze in his tracks as a thought hit him. What if
       the woman was a ghoul ? That would certainly brighten his
       otherwise boring day, he mused.}

❛ –— NOT REALLY… _{I have enough money to buy what
I need. & what I want can’t be bought with money. Besides, you are
probably the first & last person I’ll be selling one of my drawings to, ever. ❜}

      _{He knew from experience that ghouls particularly liked the
      smell of his blood. An almost invisible, playful grin graced
      his cheeks as he stuffed the money in his pocket, before 
      idly sliding his forefinger against a new page in his book,
      feeling the familiar warmth of blood slipping down the digit.
      Crimson optics flickered upwards to meet her own as he
      pressed the base of the cut with his other hand, forcing
      more of the blood out under the guise of cutting off the supply.}     

❛ –— DO YOU HAVE _{a tissue or something ? 
I think I’ve got a paper cut… ❜}

▌♚ s-rated-nxtcracker

He laughed at her and she found that odd. No one laughed at her for long and yet, here they were, he was laughing at her. She loved money, she craved it, and if something had happened to her, had she been human, she could have afforded to help herself but she wasn’t ill, surely he would have seen through that. But there were still allergies or merely wanting to show that she was better than to breathe the same air as the commoners, right? 

She missed the momentary widening of his eyes, instead taking the book as it was handed to her. She took the book and sat gracefully once more, carefully flipping through his book, fingers careful to avoid smudging his beautiful art. “These are stunning, Mr. uh?” She asked him, curious as to his name. Of course, she already knew, but she had to act like she didn’t know, right? Nuts would gladly give him the money as soon as she chose but how could she possibly choose from any of his wonderful prints?

With his question, she gave a thoughtful sound, pointing to one that she particularly liked. “I like this one. Is that okay?” She asked, it being another animal print. But it was so beautiful, she was surprised a maggot in a Dove’s body could possibly make something this fragile and beautiful. “Hm how does three hundred thousand yen sound?” She asked the boy, looking over at him if he had agreed to let her take the old drawing of his.

♚ —— ❛ SUZUYA. _{Suzuya Juuzou. ❜ he replied after a moment
                    realizing that she was asking for his name, as if they were
                    going to meet again. It was highly unlikely.}

_{He tensed up slightly as she turned the page, worried that she might
smudge the drawing, before letting out an inaudible sigh of relief. His
drawings were the only things that could ever get him to react so 
much, it was the only thing he willingly did without detachment. She
seemed careful enough, which was a relief because he didn’t enjoy
killing humans much. They die too soon.}

        _{Crimson optics snapped up upon hearing her question, before
        lowering them to the book again. It was an animal print, like
        most of the others. He hesitated only momentarily, before 
        giving her a curt nod. He didn’t care for that piece, anymore.
        The amount she offered seemed ridiculously high, but he
        wasn’t an idiot to say no, nor was he did he possess the morals
        to refuse.} 

 ❛ –— YEAH, SURE. _{That ought to do. ❜} 

▌♚ s-rated-nxtcracker

Making friendships and lasting relationships was beyond her scope of understanding. She made acquaintances, casual friends with benefits, and friends who could potentially be of greater use in the future, but such things as friendships or actual romantic relationships were beyond her. Or, rather, she had no need for them and so put no work into maintaining them. And, so far she was pleased because he didn’t seem to recognize her, at least not yet. Hopefully she could get in and out long before he ever realized who and what she was.

She frowned at first as he denied her this piece. She would rather like to have this piece, because it would go so well but she couldn’t very well take it from him. That would be unethical of her to take it from a child, even if that child was a feared killer of the CCG. But then he continued, and she couldn’t help the smile that turned up the corners of her lips behind the mask and she clapped her hands together, pleased that she may get something from this fabulous author after all.

“Oh could you? I’ll give you more than just for a decent dinner. You could go for an eight course meal at the top restaurant in the city,” she said, turning towards him more, leaning a bit on the seat towards the boy, her brown eyes excited. “Can I see your old drawings then?” She asked him, still perfectly polite. She waited patiently, not even reaching out to him even though her curiosity was almost palpable. “Please?” She asked, the word sounding foul in her mouth. Since when did she ask someone for anything and tack on such a nicety at the end?

♚ —— HIS GIGGLE _{was quick to melt into a laugh at the
woman’s words. She had a way with words, a penchant for showcasing
the extravagance of what appeared to be her world, a world that revolved
around money & other things that couldn’t save you from death if it set
its sights on you. He doubted her mask existed to conceal the symptoms
of an illness or any scars. She could afford surgery.}

         _{Crimson optics widened momentarily as a sudden though struck him.
         Perhaps she was concealing her identity after all. & based on her
         financial status, odds were that she might be involved in something
         illegal. But then again, he could be wrong. After all, she could be just
         protecting herself from the polluted air…perhaps he was reading into
         it too much simply because there was something about her politeness
         that seemed so forced, so fake.}

                   ❛ –— YEAH, SURE. _{Just pick one out. ❜}

_{pallid digits carefully opened the book from the first page, a small
smile slipping onto his face, unnoticed by him as he slowly turned
the pages, some of them didn’t look so good anymore, but they 
were made by him & that made him happy. & as for the dinner 
she offered, he was going to take it, but in cash. He could use the
money for 10 decent dinners instead of one extravagant one. He
had never been given the chance to become a picky eater.}

        ❛ –— FOUND ANYTHING _{you like, yet ? ❜}

▌♚ s-rated-nxtcracker

What a polite boy, not wanting to step on toes and ask if she had some sort of illness. He was definitely one of the most, if not the most polite boys that she had met so far. Too bad he was usually on the war path to kill her kind. He had an eccentric mind it seemed, pity that he was also stained in the blood of her kin. Which, usually, that meant little to her but she couldn’t let it just go either. 

“Nothing?” She asked, finding it rather surprising that he didn’t do anything with them. “Surely someone you care about would love them as a present,” she said, unsure if the Doves were even capable of love. Of course, that wasn’t entirely fair since she knew it had to be so or else they would have long-since stopped plaguing the ghouls. 

“I didn’t know what you did with them but they are too magnificent to be just left,” she said as she turned to face him, finding it slightly…exhilarating that she was this close to death…again. “Well if you’re not going to do anything with it, may I buy it from you? Name your price, money isn’t a problem. It would look fabulous hanging on my wall,” she said as she gave him a smile, opening up her clutch so that she could write him a check if he so desired…or she could pay in cash. whichever he so chose. She just had to have it. 

♚ —— HE SIMPLY BLINKED _{in response, her words
sounding foreign to him. Was that what people usually did with their
drawings ? Maybe he could make one for Shinohara, but he didn’t know
how that would help considering the man was in a coma. There wasn’t
anyone else he could say he cared about, even though there were
some people that he felt responsible for, like his squad members.}

          _{Crimson optics widened at the vocables that followed. “Magnificent” ?
          He did love to draw, & like his work. But he was a realist. His drawings
          were expressions of the only thing he was passionate about outside the
          office. They weren’t made to impress, to be magnificent. They were just
          made to pass his time doing what he liked to do. He found the woman
          strange, especially the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he
          was supposed to know who she was.}

              ❛ –— IF YOU _{say so. ❜}

_{he shrugged as vocables spilled from his lips in a sing-song voice,
slippers tapping against the tarmac to an unknown tune, before
freezing at her words. She wanted to buy his drawing ? Somehow
the idea of giving it away felt like letting out a personal secret    he
didn’t want to do it. But he didn’t care much for his old pieces. His
attachment would last only a day, & he knew it. But he didn’t want
her coming back & asking him.}

         ❛ –— I DON’T WANT

_{to. I don’t care about the money
               either. But if you really want a drawing, I can give you one of}

               _{my older ones. Just pay me enough to buy a decent dinner.}

_❜

▌♚ s-rated-nxtcracker

Usually she had little interest in things that weren’t directly going to be affecting her, and as far as she could tell or cared to think about, the animals were not going to affect her in any great way. But the way that he drew it, it was something out of a child’s mind. Odd that one of the greatest hunters of her kind was little more than a boy who drew the animals around him in a childlike manner. Of course, she knew nothing about his past or why he was the way that he was, but at the moment, it didn’t really matter. She just had to keep him from recognizing her and everything would be fine. 

She wasn’t sure if she startled him but she sure did get him attention as his hand froze and those eyes snapped up to meet her own brown ones, and she did her best to appear non-threatening. Many people around wore masks for varying reasons, usually either for being sick or allergies, neither of which was a bother to the predator but she could always play it off as such. The boy was covered in stitches and marks, now that she was able to see him closer. In fact, he was a lot different looking than when he was at the auction, but he was still cute. In fact, had she been into that sort of thing, he might have looked good stuffed and mounted on her wall. 

He spoke, and she didn’t feel the least bit threatened, but she did scout about with her other senses, flaring to catch wind of his squad, unsure if they were going to cost her her life or if she could have a possibility of making a quick escape. “You are? Oh that’s wonderful,” she said as she moved to take a seat a little apart from him but still close enough so that she could easily talk to him. Crossing one leg over the other, her high heels flashed in the sun as she settled it on the other side of her leg. She didn’t expect the boy to understand the high class of her products, but he wasn’t the only one in the park, now was he?

“It looks great,” she commented after a moment, and even from behind the mask, it was obvious she was smiling. “What are you going to do with it when you’re done?” She asked, jumping right to the important part. What was he going to do with it? Did he have plans or could she pilfer it off of him?

♚ —— HE GAVE HER A SMALL _{nod as she sat beside him, 
filing in the rest of the colors in his drawing, drawing a small yellow flower on
the baby giraffe’s ear as an extra addition, before holding the sketchbook in
front of his face, blowing the crayon dust off it as they fell on the tarmac,
catching the sunlight like glitter. Stitches-adorned appendage ran across the
paper, lightly brushing away what dust remained.}

           _{Crimson optics lifted to meet brown ones upon being questioned,
           child-like confusion settling on his slightly scrunched up features
           as he tried to comprehend it. What he would do? He never cared
           to 'do’ anything with his drawings; he just liked to draw. Nobody 
           had ever asked him that. She didn’t look very threatening, yet he
           couldn’t help but feel curious about what she hid under her mask.
           But he didn’t want to talk about her illness, if she had one.}

               ❛ –— NOTHING, _{I guess. ❜}

_{vocables spilled from his lips, laced in a hint of of doubt. She looked
too well off to be sitting with him for nothing. It was obvious that she
expected something of him. He let out a giggle at the thought. What
did he have that Miss Lady-In-Heels wanted ? The train of thought
seemed too fruitless to dwell on. He gently closed his sketchbook &
cracked his knuckles, letting out a contented sigh, before turning 
towards the stranger again.}

            ❛ –— I JUST KEEP 

_{them here, in my sketchbook. 
                            What did you think I do with them ?}

 _❜

▌♚s-rated-nxtcracker

She sighed, looking at the wall that she had been staring at for at least an hour now. It was missing something. It wasn’t that it was any more or less elegant in the absence of whatever it was that it was missing, but it just looked empty and it rankled her. Nut liked things to be a particular way and when things weren’t exactly like what she wanted, she tended to be uneasy until she fixed it. So it was that she had been staring at the wall of her main house for at least an hour, the area above her television void of any decoration. It needed something focal, something to pull the eye of whatever guests she had coming over, after all. However, after all this time, she couldn’t figure out what would look best and so turned away, deciding to go out for a bit to clear her mind before she attempted to tackle that problem. 

Dressing in her new Versace dress and Chanel shoes, she grabbed her bag, slid a face mask over her mouth and walked out the door, tucking her keys away in her Prada clutch. Clicking down the main street, she attracted the gaze of those passing by which just added more of a strut to her walk, her sunglasses perched on her nose, her long, black hair flowing with the wind as she walked, her steps sure, her motions fluid.

Ah, she needed to relax. While thinking what to do, a passing bus had on the side of it an advertisement for the zoo that had just had the birth of a new baby giraffe it looked like. Giving a thoughtful sound, she figured she could at least walk around and see the animals. Perhaps seeing their coats and colors would give her an epiphany in regards to her home decorating woes. And so she directed her attention that way. When she entered the zoo, she took her time strolling, the stench abhorrent but it was manageable. So far she had a couple ideas and was toying with the idea of going shopping when a bright flash of colors piqued her interest.

Turning that way, she recognized the scent as she came closer. It was a Dove, a very dangerous one at that, but maybe he wouldn’t recognize her since she was all dolled up and looked nothing like she did at the auction. His art that he was working on was beautiful and she knew at that moment that what he had done was perfect as to what she needed on her wall. But how to procure it? “Excuse me? that’s a very beautiful piece,” she said, completely innocent in her tones.

♚ —— THERE WASN’T MUCH _{he had to do during his days off. 
of his colleagues preferred to go out for a drink, or spend time with their family.
Other investigators would catch up on their paperwork. But none of those things
were really relevant to him. & he didn’t really mind. He visited the hospital
first thing in the morning, paying Shinohara a brief visit. He didn’t try to talk to
him much.}

            _{He headed to his favorite bakery, picking up a cupcake for breakfast
            before heading to the zoo. He had always loved to use a lot of colors
            in his drawings & especially loved to draw giraffes. A child-like smile
            graced his visage as crimson orbs landed on the baby giraffe. It looked
            awful & cute at the same time. But then again, all baby animals did.
            He pulled out his sketchbook & got to work, almost oblivious to 
            everything but the patterns of brown on ocher, surrounded by green.}

_{Azure optics widened as a female voice snapped him out of his trance. She
sound quite familiar, he thought, before dismissing it. He never remembered
seeing a woman like that. His crayon froze at the baby giraffe’s neck,
eyes shooting upward’s to meet the woman’s. The lower part of her face
was masked. & as far as he knew, if you aren’t a ghoul & you’re wearing
a mask, you’ve probably got something on your face to hide. He never
really understood why anyone would want to do that. He had stitches & he
was pretty proud of them, even though some people didn’t understand them.}

❛ –— THANK YOU.

 _{I’m actually 
                   almost finished with it !  ❜}