>part one<
He nearly screeched as he collided with some sort of barrier. Some…soft barrier.
“Detective,” D sighed while straightening out his pale blue cheongsam, “You are far more oblivious today than usual.”
Leon was turning a nice shade of pink, having realized exactly *what* he had run into. And then pink became red as soon as the Count’s words sank in. He let out a low growl then slumped. Being angry seemed useless. D’s eyebrows raised in what appeared to be curiousity, but the slight smile that followed obliterated that conclusion.
“Whatever, Count. Tell me about Eric Kunze.”
“Who?”
Leon brushed past him like some poorly contained storm, practically fell into his usual spot on the couch. “Hey, where are you going?”
D paused in mid-stride, turned back. “Do you not want tea?” he asked, voice cool but polite. That’s what he said, but Leon knew the words that existed beneathe his words. What he really said was: ‘Where the hell do you think I’m going?’
Leon sneered. “Forget the tea—get over here and sit. You *are* going to cooperate today.”
The Count looked a moment as if he were going to disregard such blatant commands, then sighed. The pale azure material rustled along the floor as he moved to obey.
“Oblivious and irate. I speak only with honesty when I say I know no Eric Kunze.”
“That’s funny, because he sure knows who you are.”
“O?” D leaned forward, suddenly interested. Q-chan hovered a moment over the table until it was clear that Leon hadn’t thought far enough ahead to bring the customary ‘treat’. With a decidedly icy expression directed at the American, the bat-bunny flitted off to sulk. The Count’s eyes followed him; he seemed to share in his pet’s immediate pain.
“Yep. He described you down to the strange sense of style,” Leon crossed his arms behind his head and stared listlessly up at the ceiling, not noticing the way D glanced down at his clothes then pouted.
“I am not saying that Mr. Kunze has never seen me, Detective, but I truly cannot recall seeing him myself.”
Leon sat up as if propelled by springs, eyes alert while only seconds before it had seemed that he were about to drift into the veil of sleep. He placed his hands rather loudly on the table before him.
“You drugged Eric Kunze then kidnapped his sister! Don’t try and deny it!”
The Count’s dainty lips, in a fine shade of rich burgundy, parted but no sound escaped them. And then he blinked.
“O no!” Leon jumped to his feet, “You did not just roll your eyes at me!”
D sat back, folded his hands in his lap, a picture of ease and control before the sputtering mess that was Leon. “Detective, please, not this particular accusation again. Can you not come up with something a little more…original?”
“Ha! Ya want original?! How about this?! Eric Kunze was watching his little sister last night until you showed up with some of your weird-ass creatures. Now, I don’t know how you did it, but you must have drugged him because then he goes on to claim that you took him to this…other dimension or something…” Leon paused for a much-needed breath then hurtled on. “You going to deny it now?”
“Yes. But tell me…Did Mr. Kunze’s version of me have blonde hair?”
Leon huffed. “I don’t see why that would matter.”
D picked up a lock of his hair, its shade of raven striking up a rich contrast to the paleness of his fingers. He lifted it as if urging Leon to inspect it more closely, his eyes twinkling with something like invitation.
Leon threw his hands up dramatically. “And I suppose that’s all the evidence I need to rule you out,” he snapped, the sarcasm so thick that it very nearly dripped from his lips. “Ever heard of a wig?!”
D’s nose wrinkled as if the very idea was insulting. “You actually believe I would don one of those…things just to kidnap some girl, Detective? My, and I thought we had moved beyond all this,” he didn’t define ‘all this’, but Leon hardly seemed to notice as his hands fell to his hips. Q-chan, having decided that sulking wasn’t getting him anything, took a dive directly at Leon’s head. His battle-cry, a shrill ‘Queep!!” resonating about the room and causing other, unseen creatures to chatter excitedly.
Leon squealed and nearly threw himself on the sofa just to avoid contact with the flying streak of yellow. “Damn it, D!” he cried, “That little monster of yours is trying to kill me again!”
D shot a look to Q-chan, asked him to behave without saying a word, then turned his eyes back to the American who was carefully dragging himself to a sitting position. Leon glanced around nervously a moment.
“Shall I tell you about Eric Kunze?”
Leon’s blue glare narrowed. “I thought you didn’t know anything about him?” If his voice had been just a smidgen higher one could have almost described it as ‘snotty’.
“I do not know him, but I believe I know what happened to him.”
Leon crossed him arms loosely over his breast. “I’m listening.”
“This is a first,” D muttered under his breath then smiled innocently across at the blonde. “Now, allow me to guess at Mr. Kunze’s story…He uttered a few words and then a man with pale gold hair appeared and took his sister?” The Count hesitated and waited for Leon to nod, then continued. “Let us see…he offered dreams which Mr. Kunze promptly refused, was given thirteen hours to solve a labyrinth, and failed.”
Leon stared at him as if he were seeing another image embossed over the Count, then he seemed to shake himself out. He nodded once more. “Uh, yeah. He said something like that…I figured it was just a bad trip or something.”
“Do you honestly think I am this…Goblin King?”
“Funny clothes, foreign accent, two different-coloured eyes---yeah.”
The Count sighed, closed his eyes as if he were growing more tired with each passing second. “Did Mr. Kunze tell you the words he spoke?”
One eyebrow rose. “Yeah. Well, sort of. He wouldn’t say them, but he wrote them down.”
D laughed softly, his fingers weaving together over his knee. He trained strangely glittering eyes on the man before him. “What were they, Detective?”
Leon shook his head.
“You do not actually believe they will work---Do you, Detective?” D asked smugly.
Leon’s mouth tightened, he leaned back as if forcing himself to relax. “Of course not, but I don’t see why I have to say it. It’s stupid anyway.”
“Proof. If you believe there is no truth to it---then no harm is done, correct? Please,” he smiled, just a degree below a grin, “wish me away.”
Leon snorted. “If only it were that easy.”
D seemed to genuinely pout a moment, then his expression slipped back into elusiveness. “The words, Detective, say them.”
Leon huffed, rubbed at the back of his neck as if immersed in deep thought. “O, fine. I wish the goblins would come and take you away…”
The Count’s head tilted to the side curiously, hair catching stray light and almost glowing. He waited.
“Right now.”