paixaorpg | To Meet With the Mayor [Active]

Entry tags:

To Meet With the Mayor [Active]

Character(s): Pein, Konan, the Mayor
Content: Pein decides to act on information he's received and makes a visit to the Mayor's office.
Setting: City Hall [I-6]
Time: Afternoon
Warnings: It's Pein, so stuff.

Pein stood at the entrance to City Hall, looking up the staircase at the door. The information that Sylar had given him had certainly piqued his curiosity, and he was going to act on it... through less public means, of course. That was why he was here--to meet with the Mayor and see for himself if he could find out about the organization that Sylar had mentioned.

Making his way here, over the rooftops of course, had given him plenty of opportunity to consider what he wanted to say, how he wanted to address this. It would be better to act as the newcomer he was at present, he had decided, than to garner attention as the shinobi and killer he also was. And with any luck, the kunais and shuriken could stay tucked away, unnecessary as he sought the answers to his questions.

Pein began to ascend the stone staircase. This was going to prove an interesting meeting.

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Konan was a flock of butterflies above the city--spread out, but still drawing attention; there did not seem to be animals in this city as far as Konan could see. After talking with Luffy, she had decided it would be best to get a good look at the city for herself. Butterflies were the best way to do it--small and capable of spreading into thousands for a thorough investigation of the city.

It was only one butterfly that came upon the City Hall, but the information was transferred to all immediately: the shock of orange hair, the cloak, the face; Pein was there.

The butterflies all moved at once, toward City Hall, and momentarily they had all returned to their source. Pieces of paper all molded together to form a woman. She stepped beside her partner and regarded him happily--although to any outside observers it would only seem to be faint amusement, at the most.

"Pein," she said, again with only the barest hints of pleasure to anyone who did not know her very well. To those who did, it would be clear she was very pleased indeed.

To see the butterflies swarm the stone steps, well, it was a surprising and relieving sight. Knowing that Konan was here made his life so much easier. And she could back him up in the visit to the Mayor. Oh, this would certainly prove to be a more beneficial visit to this strange city than originally anticipated.

Pein paused his ascent and regarded Konan with a small smile, faint and almost imperceivable. He nodded to her. "Good to see that you're here, Konan."

He looked toward the doors and then back to the kunoichi. "Care to join me on a visit to the Mayor of this fair city?"

Konan nodded once, slightly. "I shall."

Of course she would--she was his angel, and she would follow her god into hell if he asked it of her. Visiting a Mayor should not be any difficulty. Getting information, perhaps, would be more difficult, but nothing that could not be dealt with.

"Have you heard of an organization at work within the city?" she asked. "I spoke to a strange young man who mistook me for a member. I gave him a lion."

And while that would have meant nothing to most, she was communicating something very important to her partner: she had found Luffy worth watching, and left an origami spy with him. Whenever she wanted, she could look through the lion's eyes and, if Luffy kept it with him, see what the pirate was up to.

Pein nodded, glad to have Konan with him again. Already, they were working on the same frequency once more, and they hadn't been back together for more than five minutes.

"I have heard of an organization," he commented, continuing up the stairs and into City Hall. He didn't have to look to know that Konan would be beside him. "I'm actually intending on getting more information as I can."

Pein smirked. "A lion? Was this stranger that important?" He trusted her judgment, to the point of no longer questioning Konan's actions. She knew what she was doing, and balanced him, his thoughts. She acted as an extension of his own will, and for all the time they spent together, he trusted her absolutely.

Konan did indeed walk beside Pein up the steps, her footsteps silent in the careless manner of a well-trained ninja. Just as she did not have to think about walking with care, she did not have to think about following Pein. It was natural.

"He did not seem clever, but he was very strong," Konan said. "And he was looking for this other organization. If he comes into contact with them, perhaps the lion will catch it."

She wondered how much the mayor knew about what was going on, if he knew anything; organizations operated counter to the official government all the time. But that did not mean the mayor wasn't worth investigating; Pein always knew what was best. "You are meeting with the mayor to find out about them, then?"

Pein nodded as he walked, listening to Konan as she spoke. He kept an eye out for the signs that marked their path, and the hints to where they should go. With luck, they would have no trouble in finding their meeting. But a little bit of threat could go a long way to ensure such things, if it came down to it.

"Whether or not he seems clever, he could be hiding it," Pein commented, remaining aware of the halls they walked down, and where their destination was. It was entirely possible that there were others here who played at being what they were, in fact, not. It wasn't such a rare thing, after all, and shinobi played the game all the time. Especially when it came to the Akatsuki. "And any information is better than nothing, regardless of the source.

"Yes, that is the intention. We'll see what happens, though, I suppose."

Konan was aware of her surroundings; of any people they happened to pass, of hallways, doors, and windows, of anything that could be useful knowledge if a quick escape or a fight was deemed necessary. There was nothing here that could defeat Pein, of that she was certain, but even so, fighting was not always the best option. Some kinds of attention were not warranted.

"Perhaps the mayor could be persuaded to further our cause, as well," Konan suggested casually. If he knew something, he could be used. "Should I leave something in the office?"

Another origami spy, of course. Maybe something small like an ant.

Pein nodded and smirked. That was just like his angel, picking up on thoughts and intentions. "My thoughts exactly. And please do. Any information we can gather beyond what we're given will surely be helpful."

The Akatsuki leader paused in front of a door, another smirk gracing his face. They had arrived, obviously, and he opened the door to step inside. He wasn't expecting to face the Mayor immediately. Oh no, he knew they had secretaries in outside rooms, waiting to dissuade people from visiting.

"We've come to speak with the Mayor."

The secretary behind the front desk looked up at the pair, quizzically at first. Red hair, blue hair? And all those dreadful piercings? They certainly couldn't be from around here... the very sight of them was rather unnerving. She quickly shook the feeling off, though, and gave the two visitors a pleasant, professional smile. "Do you have an appointment, sir?"

A smirk graced Pein's pierced face. He had caught the secretary's glance, could tell that their appearance unsettled the woman. That was what made things fun, made them interesting. Where was the fun in life when everything was mundane? Given, ninjas weren't exactly mundane, but that was beside the point.

"We don't, actually." Pein moved closer to the desk, and thus the door to the Mayor's actual office. "But I'm sure that won't be a problem. Surely the Mayor has time to speak with guests to his city?"

Konan quirked a bit of a smile--though it was more of a ghostly smirk--and silently moved along with her partner. Her hands worked on the folding of paper, of such a tiny paper creature as an ant. Not that she wasn't paying attention--the folds were second nature to the kunoichi.

The secretary did not appear dangerous. But even if she was more than she seemed, she would pose no trouble to a god and his angel.

The young woman shilly-shallied for a second, eventually settling on flipping through the ledger next to her until the pages displayed a date that was presumably today's and a time presumably close to now. "Let's see," she said. "Well, he appears to be open at the moment, so maybe he can still squeeze you in." She leaned across the desk, holding down a button on her intercom box. "Mr. Heirwidthal, there are some visitors here wishing to speak with you," she said into the speakerphone.

A few seconds passed without a response, and she tried again. "Mr. Heirwidthal?"

Silence. Puzzled, she stood up, gently closing the ledger at the same time. "I'm sorry, could you please wait here just one moment?" she requested of the visitors. "I'll go and make sure he's in." It really was strange; she hadn't seen him leave. Not waiting very long for an answer, she started at a brisk pace down the hallway and toward the stairs.

Pein watched and waited, features composed and masking his impatience. He didn't have time for silly games, and though this secretary didn't know it, he would not be denied an audience with the mayor. No one refused the leader of the Akatsuki.

How interesting that it seemed something was off. The secretary's puzzled expression belied the fact that she had no idea what was actually going on. Well, wouldn't this be interesting? And certainly lots of fun for him.

"Mmmh," Pein told the secretary when asked to wait. The pierced man had no real intentions of doing so. As soon as she had left the room, he nodded to Konan, a clear indication that he had seen her folding and agreed with her leaving a spy in the room. And then, with the silence instilled in all shinobi, he slipped out of the office and followed the secretary, taking care to make sure his presence went unnoticed by the young woman.

Wordlessly, Konan followed after her partner, pausing only to drop the ant on the ground, where it crawled purposefully under the secretary's desk and into a small nook where it would observe hopefully unnoticed. As she walked, she pulled out another piece of paper and began folding--it wouldn't do to leave the mayor's office unwatched.

Konan was not entirely sure what they would see at the mayor's office: the secretary's confusion indicated something of interest, at least. Still, Pein would not be pleased if his plans were tampered with.

But, if needed, plans could be changed. And they were bound to get information no matter what.

True to form, the secretary neither heard nor saw the visitors following her. The mayor's office wasn't far from the foyer, just up a flight of stairs and a few doors down the hallway; she stopped long enough to knock first. "Mr. Heirwidthal?" Getting no more response than she had over the intercom, she tried again. "Sir?" That was very, very odd... Worried, she finally opened the door and peered inside.

As she'd thought, the mayor had, indeed, not left the building. Instead, he lay slumped over his desk, his head buried in his arms. Perplexed, she approached the desk and hesitantly shook him. "S-sir? Are you all right?" she asked, but he remained motionless...

It was only then that she noticed the hole in the back of his neck.

She gasped and straightened up, covering her mouth with one hand. "Oh dear. Oh - oh dear," she whispered, backing away from the body. What was she supposed to tell his visitors now? Should she hide him? A second later she realized the door was still open, and she hurried out, shutting it quickly behind her and scurrying back the way she'd come. How on earth was she going to explain this...

Pein paused as he watched the Secretary enter the Mayor's office, watching her actions, her reactions from where he stood. Obviously there was something of a troubling nature going on in that room, if her reactions were to be read correctly. The Akatsuki leader smirked. Well, wouldn't this be interesting...?

As the Secretary shut the door, Pein faded from view under genjutsu and moved to crouch higher up on the wall, watching and waiting for her to pass by and move out of sight. When he was satisfied, he dropped back down to the ground and straightened, dropping the genjutsu as he did so. A silent motion toward the door let Konan know of his intentions before he moved to said door and slipped inside the office.

Well then, a dead Mayor was certainly an interesting thought. "I suppose he's not going to be taking anymore visitors now, is he?"

Konan mirrored Pein's jutsu and ducked back out of the secretary's path. Once the secretary had moved on, she followed Pein into the office. An eyebrow quirked in response to the body; it was unexpected. Of course, assassinations were well-known, especially in the shinobi continents. Still, that was rather inconvenient.

"And he won't be able to answer questions," she added.

Of course, it was a minor inconvenience at best. She let the second ant fall and crawl off to hide--just because the mayor was dead didn't mean his office wasn't a good place to watch--before she took a step toward the body, tilting her head as if she were inspecting an insect under a magnifying glass.

"He was not normal," Konan said, and wondered if the odd-looking, luminescent blood was safe to the touch.

As if to prove her point, just then, the Mayor's lifeless body began to fade away, turning transparent as small wisps of light floated away from the corpse. Within a few seconds, he had disappeared entirely, leaving only the pool of strange blood on his desk as a sign he'd been there at all.

Pein nodded his agreement, watching the Mayor's corpse for a moment. The blood was certainly strange, like nothing he had ever seen. Not even Zetsu bled so oddly. He moved to get closer to the body as it faded, an answer to Konan's statement.

"It seems he would agree with you on that sentiment," he commented. "How odd. Bodies don't usually fade away like that..." Pein reached into his robes and withdrew a scroll that the then unsealed to collect a sample of the blood. Between Sasori and Zetsu, they would surely be able to find out the properties of it.

"It makes you wonder how much a person would be willing to pay for such information." He smirked. Ninjas were ninjas, and information was priceless among their kind.

Konan watched the fading body with astonishment contained only by years of habit. This was very peculiar; then again, everything about this city seemed to be. She watched without comment as Pein collected a blood sample, and smirked ever so slightly at his next comment.

"Enough that we shouldn't go spreading it around," she said, amusement clear in her tone.

Curiouser and curiouser. This city might have something to offer them after all.

Although Saïx had only really come out here to confirm the mayor's death, the voices coming from the late mayor's office caught his attention. By right there shouldn't have been anyone save for perhaps the mayor's corpse in there. This would need to be looked into further - even if it seemed they were unlikely to spread any rumors of what they had seen, given what he'd managed to pick up from their conversation.

Very well then. He'd stay to see what might come of this. And in the meantime he'd just wait and see how much more of their conversation he could pick up before they realized there was someone standing shortly outside the door to the mayor's office.

The blood sample was sealed and tucked away within the fabric of Pein's coat. He would give it to Sasori and Zetsu to sort out later, when he actually met with them... and he would need to have an Akatsuki meeting soon, if only to get decent reports from the members who were within the city. It was possible that they would have to figure out what to do with Itachi while they were here, too. But that was for another time. For now, his attention was required on the present and the things before him in this office.

"And how much would someone be willing to pay for it to be kept under wraps, I wonder," he commented idly, glancing toward the door. There was someone there, he was pretty sure, but it was often better to act as if those possible persons went unnoticed. He was certain, though, that they could exhort any price, all things considered, or even incite a bidding war over this information. But that wasn't the way Pein played the game. He preferred to keep such things under the table, if at all possible. The Akatsuki was public enough as it was. "I think we're done here."

The Akatsuki leader was, of course, the first to reach the door. A gentleman he might be, but there were times when you just didn't want a lady to go first. He smirked at the blue-haired man waiting beyond the door.

"Were we not supposed to be in here?" There was no innocent tone to his voice. What was the point of feigned innocence when you were a ninja?

Konan interpreted Pein's behavior with the skill she had gained from spending so much time with her partner, and said nothing as he moved to the door. She simply followed, again folding her paper.

A kunai, this time. Not that she needed to fold them--they would fold themselves--but a prepared one was stronger than one made instantly. That was the way of paper folding; the more time spent, the better the result. She regarded the stranger for any potential moves that might signal an attack, but otherwise, she said nothing.

This was not for her to negotiate. She would wait until her god called her into action.

Well, technically no one save the mayor('s corpse, or lack thereof) was supposed to be in the office at the moment, although he was understandably hesitant to bring that up at the moment. With the resistance trying to hunt them down information would come at a high price, especially should his allegiances leak out; something he'd far prefer to not happen just yet.

"Unusual perhaps, considering the circumstances. But not necessarily entirely unexpected." Someone would have to take the blame for the mayor's death after all, whether or not they'd truly killed him.

Pein watched Saix for any sign of reaction at his words. He would admit that the man was good, to not betray any quirk, especially in such a situation where others would. It would surely be worthwhile to see how things panned out.

"We were just looking for the Mayor," Pein commented, looking to Konan momentarily to confirm his story. "It seems that he isn't in his office at the moment." Then again, when you're dead, are you technically anywhere?

Pein waited for a response. He wanted to see if this man would try to drop the Mayor's murder upon their shoulders. They were notorious criminals... in their home world. It would seem only natural for something like a murder to be attributed to their hands.

Konan watched Saix with her usual care, standing as still and silent as a statue. Were the blue-haired man to make any move to attack, Konan would respond with due speed. She wouldn't want Pein to have to trouble himself over a threat she could take care of.

She wasn't certain of the strength of this man, of course, but she would move to do what was asked of her either way.

Well, yes, that was to be assumed if he was dead. Shortly after his death the body would have simply disappeared - a regrettable fact in that it could let people in on the fact that the mayor wasn't entirely human. On the other hand, it meant that thy didn't have to trouble themselves with taking care of the corpse.

"He's not?" he asked, feigning curiosity. "Odd, he's usually in at this hour." Of course, he also was usually still alive. "Perhaps something came up?"

Pein simply offered a shrug. "The secretary seemed to think that he would be in, as well. And when she mentioned his absence, we just had to see for ourselves. With all of the things popping up on the message boards, we had thought there was a chance that she was saying he wasn't in because he asked her to. Such a shame that the thought was wrong."

If Saix was worried about people finding out about the Mayor's lack of humanity, he would probably want to address it with Pein and Konan, once he figured out that they knew. The information was surely of use to someone. Of course, the two shinobi were more than aware of the disappearing corpse, and Pein had a vial of blood tucked away in his cloak, to be investigated at a later time.

"I suppose we'll just have to visit with the Mayor at some later time. We had some concerns that we wanted to address."

Konan continued to remain silent, a stoic woman alongside her more talkative partner. The silence might have been noticeable at this point; she was just watching. Waiting for Pein to direct her, or for the blue-haired man to say or do something that warranted a response from her.

She did not mind waiting. She rather enjoyed it at times--it gave her the chance to see how things would play out.

"I would imagine that might have been the case, had he been here," Saïx admitted. "I can hardly imagine people have been too fond of him of late."

Which had been the reason they'd seen fit to be rid of him, not that he saw any need to mention that just at the moment. Either they knew he was dead or they didn't - and although he had his suspicions, he wasn't entirely sure if they correct or not, and was a little too busy with the conversation to go divining for the answer. Not that he likely would in any case, but the point still held true.

"About what if I may ask? Perhaps I could help in finding a proper answer."

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To Meet With the Mayor [Active]

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