JIGOKUCHO INBOX

[divisors]

"This is Ruler. If you wish to speak to me, leave a message. Don't waste my time."

Comments

Text

[mechspeed]

[Sometime after the mini event, but definitely during downtime.]

Professor. Contact me when you are free.

[divisors]

Metal. What is it?

its ok we'll just pretend he called him sonic

[mechspeed]

I have something I wish to show you. What is your location?

kids this is why you do NOT tag before bed

[divisors]

I'll send you the address. You can meet me shortly.

[And so he does! Its on a street not too far from the Department of Enma.]

[mechspeed]

[And he turns up quick enough, not with any kind of urgency about him but rather the quickness of simply coming to see him straight away. It likely isn't anything to be concerned over.]

Professor. [He's never going to call him Ruler ever again.] ...let us take this somewhere less out in the open, first.

[He looks around before leading Moriarty to an alleyway.

...there's some people there.

He brings him to an adjacent one and wahoo, that's empty. He leads him into that one instead.]

[divisors]

...Very well.

[He won't say no to that, though it makes him all the more curious about what he has in mind to share with him. He gestures for Metal to lead the way, following after and looking over his shoulder to make sure no one is following.]

What is it?

1/3

[mechspeed]

After I mentioned the adaptability of my design, you requested I display it once it was possible. I've come to fulfill that agreement.

[It was way too casual to be an agreement, but he's probably used to Metal talking Like This by now.]

[mechspeed]

[And suddenly Metal's "form" fades away - he's still the same shape he was prior to it happening, but he's like a flat, featureless mannequin of himself, with the colour and texture of mercury.

He's the T-1000, basically. Liquid metal.]

[mechspeed]

[And that liquid metal begins to shift into something even less defined than he was previously, almost losing the shape of his original body entirely, before it rises to about Moriarty's height and begins to take shape again.

In fact once it's finished, it's a very familiar shape.

Moriarty himself.]



Do you understand? Adaptable.

[It's Moriarty's voice speaking back at him, but it's still Metal's tone...or lack thereof, more accurately.

Also, the creepiest part is there are none of the subtle movements one would expect from an actual human being. No rise and fall of his chest for breathing, no twitch of his hand or shift of his weight at the legs. When he speaks, everything looks normal enough...but as soon as he's stopped speaking that visage isn't human at all. It's too still to the point it's unnatural.]

losing my mind i love him

[divisors]

....


[His eyes widen - its probably easy to see, now, that they're not all black, almost cloudy, like a stormy sea - and he stares for a long moment. But the shock doesn't last for long, and like a laser he focuses in, moving to walk around the other, looking him up and down.]

If I didn't know it, I'd think a certain power of mine came back. [He murmurs, before reaching out to grab his double's chin and push it upwards, examining like an object at auction.] But the resemblance, yes, is quite uncanny, if you keep up the farce. What a marvelous power you have.

shapeshifts into moriarty refuses to elaborate

[mechspeed]

[He's actually fairly cool about the inspection - it might be a bit dehumanizing sure, but he did agree to display it so this is part of what he agreed on...plus it's pretty minor in the long run.]

It is not particularly useful for combat purposes. Not directly. [And he sounds just a little disappointed at that; he is able to scheme and plan now, but he really is a brawler at heart.] But it seems even the department recognizes that deception and infiltration also play their part in conflict.

[Then again, even the dumbest person could probably tell them apart right now anyway, considering his behaviour.]

great now we have two nerds to deal with

[divisors]

Well, from what little it does for combat, it does excellently for espionage. Eyes can be fooled. And this does its job at that quite well. Except for...hm! Several things.

[He lets go of his clone's chin, grinning.]

Now, if you want to impersonate me, which I find a great idea, we'd need to do some training. A disguise can only go as far as you take it. If you don't take it very far, then you'll be in quite a bad spot, dear Sonic.

[mechspeed]

...

Professor, what are you talking about.

[Even with that flat tone...no, actually, because it's a flat tone it kind of perfectly displays the disbelief here.

Why does he have to work hard to impersonate him? He was just showing off his cool new power.]

un: heizou

[shikanoinheizou]

[He's been thinking. A lot, actually, in his down time. Thinking about--

Never mind what he's thinking about.

But at two in the morning as his restless intellect refuses to stop churning through all the information he's taken in over the past few weeks he finds himself mindlessly scrolling through the messenger feature on his device... and coming to pause on a familiar name.

Hm.]

Can we talk?

[divisors]

[....Ah.]

[He isn't surprised, exactly, to see a message. Detectives are always such a nosy sort, after all. But it does take him a moment to reply. Can we talk?]

[Of course. A follow-up on...whatever that was. He has to think for a long time. Yes? No? Maybe so...?]

[Does he want to talk?]

What is it?

[shikanoinheizou]

I expected you'd keep as unsociable hours as I do.

[But now what to say? He doesn't want to admit his heart started racing a little on seeing the message returned. Heizou isn't overly fond of this method of communication but it will do in a pinch.]

To be quite honest my primary goal was to check that you weren't avoiding me.

[divisors]

[Avoiding?]

[Somehow he feels a bit cornered by seeing that - but wait, why would he feel that way? Obviously he hasn't been avoiding the other! He's just been...busy! Crime waits for no man! Especially masterminds!]

[Another pause, trying not to feel put in place.]

I'm writing you now, aren't I? And I hardly would run away from you. That would be unbecoming of me.

[shikanoinheizou]

Hehe. I can't say I'm not relieved. I might be a little put out to find you were the type of person to kiss and run.

[Heizou please.

Even in text he's utterly incorrigible.]

1/2

[divisors]

[URGE TO THROW PHONE OUT WINDOW 20% AND RISING]

2/2

[divisors]

Says the man who did precisely just that until I had to chase him down.

[shikanoinheizou]

Come along now, James.

Do you think there was any doubt in my mind for a moment that you'd give chase?

[divisors]

Perhaps I could've walked away. A likely probability. How would you be so sure?

[shikanoinheizou]

My intuition told me.

The probability that you would walk away, though highly likely, was less than the probability that you would follow.

After all, you did make the first move.

[divisors]

I wanted to do something to flummox you.

Perhaps I did succeed in that later down the line.

[shikanoinheizou]

I'll admit I was perplexed.
Having anticipated neither your flirtatious side nor your level of interest in me.

But stealing a kiss in payment for protective services not yet rendered! Now that was a smooth move.