They met on a bridge in the middle of a city, when the sky was blue and gray and black and even the most enthusiastic of club trollers were straggling home to bed. This was not their first encounter, not by a long shot, and it would most likely not be their last; by the very nature of their assignments, it would be impossible to avoid the other, so it was just as well that they were friends - or as much of friends as their kind could ever be with one another.

"Japan's not really that much different from the rest of the world, no matter how much its people like to think otherwise," the pale-haired man said, pushing his dark glasses higher up his nose. "It's a place of business and farms and culture, where people are born, live, and die just like they could anywhere else." He grinned, turning to his redheaded companion. "But, all the same, give me America any day: you can get away with a lot more outrageous stuff, and you don't stick out quite as much if you don't have the right hair color or eye shape."

"But at the same time, people respect privacy, here," the other said, waving off the offer of a cigarette with one careless hand. "Except for the occasional mouse or buzzing fly, people here are extremely self-conscious about privacy and personal space. If not, Takatori would never have gotten as high as he has thus far."

"Takatori." The pale-haired man gave a snort of disgust, tapping gray ash from the end of his cigarette and taking a long drag. "The man thinks he's some horrible, powerful beast who can take over and exert his iron fist of control over everything. But you're not going to let that happen, are you?" Light flashed off the edge of one dark lens, and the man smiled, a sharp upward slash of an expression.

"Of course not." The redhead made a derogatory noise of his own. "He gives those like us bad names. But he'll get what's coming to him, soon enough. All this success is making him arrogant; he's going to misstep sooner or later. He's only human, after all."

"The fatal flaw of hubris," was the agreement. "People always forget that despite everything they've accomplished in the past thousands of years, they're still so utterly fragile and easily breakable." The grin widened, teeth glinting in the city's bright reflective lights. "But we have fun with them, don't we?"

"Humans are cute, when they're upset or angry or whatever." The redhead nodded. "And their minds gape so widely open, one get surprised that they can't hear each other's thoughts." He gave a chuckle, nasal tenor darkly amused. "It's fun to watch them get flustered when they try to guess what you're thinking, and you can hear everything going through their minds, clear as a bell."

"You're easily amused." The pale-haired man dropped his cigarette butt to the pavement, then ground the glowing red spark under one booted heel. "It must be nice, getting such enjoyment out of the simple things in life.

"You take what you get," the redhead said with a smirk. "Because you never know how long it'll be before Herr Traum decides you can no longer serve the purpose he created for you and destroys you. And not all of us are valuable enough to warrant remaking by his own hands." Green eyes, silvered and misty in the reflection of city lights and dark shadows, glittered with a malevolent sort of mischief under penciled red brows. "Eh, my old friend? Not all of us get to be quite that fortunate."

His comment was met with a scowl. "Funny. But I don't see why you would complain; you're certainly not the first to bear your name - hubris was what destroyed your predecessors, after all, and it's what brought about mine's downfall. For all that posing, my 'friend,' you don't do a very good job of convincing me of anything."

"Hmph." He leaned back and crossed his arms over his narrow chest, slanting an amused green gaze towards the other man. "I suppose you know me too well, that's all. But all of this chitchat isn't why you're here, is it?" He made a sweeping gesture with one arm, a movement that somehow conveyed their entire conversation and the subtext that ran beneath it. "You want something from me."

The sharp smile was back. "I don't want anything from you, guiltson. I'm just the middleman, running an errand for our lord because it's more convenient for me to pick it up, than it is for him."

"You're fond of that new boy, aren't you?" The redhead's hand dipped inside his white coat, and came up with a small, dark sphere and tossed it into the air, catching it with a snap movement of his wrist. "I don't think I've ever seen your or your predecessor so eager to obey orders from higher up. Are you feeling okay?"

When he tossed the sphere into the air again, the pale-haired man was ready, snatching it before it could be caught and pocketing it himself. "Just fine, guiltson. Let's just say that the boy inspires a bit more loyalty than the man ever did - it's a sort of mutual trust, based on his time as a simple human." The dark glasses slid lower, and all three mouths grinned at the slender redhead. "You watch yourself, Schuldich."

"I always make it a point to be careful." Schuldich waved carelessly. "You watch yourself, Herr Corinthian. You never know when loyalty to your lord gets to be too much until it's too late."

As one, they turned their backs on each other and went their own separate ways, and within seconds, the shadows of night had risen up to swallow their paths, so that only the crushed cigarette on the ground remained witness to this strangest of meetings, deep in the heart of a Japanese city.

In the east, the sun was beginning to rise.

~end~