[FIN] Things to Come

[Suudonym]

Some time had passed since Izaya's incarceration, and the days had passed by and large without any concrete news delivered to the grunt on his status; from the fact that he was still confined to the base's detention facilities, though, it could easily be inferred that the organization didn't have plans to pardon him. Other than that, the general routine seemed to be vagueness and withheld information.

Today, however, that routine would change.

"You have a visitor," the guard grumbled into the cell. But instead of taking up his usual seat nearby to observe and monitor the interaction, he left. The guard was replaced by a man in an executive's uniform, of average height and build with a lightly freckled, fair complexion and medium length white hair that was swept to a side, leaving only one brown eye visible. His overall disposition was upbeat, almost jovial, and he regarded the prisoner with a smile.

"The infamous Izaya Orihara, I presume?" the executive said, perhaps rhetorically, in a light and airy voice. "My name is Ben. I'm the Director of Human Resources here at our humble little headquarters. How are you doing today?"  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Izaya, slumped on the floor with his back against the bars of his cell, peered over his shoulder out the corner of his eye when the guard spoke. It better not have been Adam again, or Arceus help him...

But no, the visitor was unfamiliar to the prisoner. As the guy appeared to be an executive, that was probably to have been expected since the higher-ups rarely seemed to deal with grunts directly. However, this was a special occasion and Izaya knew he was no longer considered a Rocket grunt.

The white-haired man's smile irked the informant. Twisting around to regard the newcomer properly, he forced a smile of his own onto his face - the emotion-masking kind - and swallowed to wet his raspy throat.

"The one and only," he answered with a theatrical flourish of his arms. "What a pleasure to meet a new face. You seem like you enjoy your job, Executive Ben." Leaning forward, he rested one arm in his cross-legged lap while he supported the elbow of his other arm on his knee to prop his chin on.

"'How am I doing'? Is that a rhetorical question? I can understand if you're trying to be polite, but surely there's no need to show courtesy to a Rocket traitor." His eyes glittered dangerously. "Particularly one condemned to death."  

[Suudonym]

The executive laughed lightly. "Oh, more than you could know," he replied to Izaya's observation. He then pulled over the guard's chair and seated himself backwards in it, with his arms resting on the back, facing the cell.

The corners of Ben's mouth moved in such a way that his expression came to be describable as almost mischievous. "My oh my, I'm just being friendly. There's no need for all that," he said. He raised his hands in an enthusiastic flourish, "As a matter of fact, I've come with good news! You won't be put to death after all - not in such simple terms, at least."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Noting the man's response, actions, and posture, the man behind bars made mental notes about hypotheses of what each could mean. He continued studying each minute change of facial features in Ben's expression as the man continued. Here was an interesting one, alright.

Under ordinary circumstances, Izaya would have loved to find out as much as he could about this new person, but at the moment in the situation he was in, it was just putting him on edge. Rockets could be creative when it came to prisoner punishment, he knew.

That didn't change when he was informed his death sentence had been altered. If anything, his anxiety increased, but he put on a facade of joy to conceal it. Brows raising and lips parting in a look of delighted surprise, he replied, "Is that so?! Well then, please do tell! You might just make my day after all."  

[Suudonym]

"Certainly!" Ben said, enthusiastic. "Honestly, I'm awfully excited about it myself. You see, you're going to have the great privilege and honor of becoming a medical experiment!" The executive spread his hands in bravado, looking sincerely delighted. "Basically speaking, you're going to do us the huge favor of testing out some experimental technology that's being developed. It's really quite a fascinating idea, this thing. I suppose I shouldn't go too far into the boring details, but the end result is that you'll have quite a bit of freedom - not just more than you have now, but even more than you had before this whole fiasco! Doesn't that sound just fantastic?"  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Yup. Izaya knew there was a reason he hadn't liked the enthusiasm radiating from the executive. Horror seeped into his very bones as he comprehended what the man was saying. Was this guy one of those tech-lovers like Frost and Faleen who was pleased because he had no sympathy for his fellow humans? Was he interested in getting Izaya's reaction? Or was he just a sadist who enjoyed tormenting people whenever allowed the chance?

Again, these would have been wonderful questions to seek answers to had he not been in his current situation and had himself to worry about. He'd thought he hadn't had a future to concern himself with, but now...now this was starting to sound like a fate worse than death. Becoming a Rocket Lab Rattata? No thank you. That freedom bit in particular sounded too good to be true. A certain Rocket Will he'd known had had plenty of freedom physically, but mentally...?

"...A privilege indeed!" he managed to answer, his face assembled into his default poker face smile. "Freedom does sound spectacular, especially from behind these bars..." He paused, his expression and tone becoming slightly more pleasant. "...but, hypothetically speaking, if I were to turn down such an honor, being as unworthy as I am...?"  

[Suudonym]

Ben covered his mouth with his hand, failing to stifle a peal of laughter. When he at last settled, he waved a hand as if to brush away his inappropriate mirth, though it clung still to his tone, "Oh, forgive me. Something just tickled me all of a sudden. I do love my job."

He sighed, cleared his throat, and then returned to the discussion at hand, "Turning it down, now that would just be unheard of! Why, you're just sitting around in here; wouldn't it be nice to get out, talk to folks, and even go into town? And don't you worry about feeling unworthy. In fact, if anything, it's that very unworthiness that makes you worthy! Perfect even, I dare say. No one else will do - it simply must be you." His smile remained on his lips, but there was a gleeful darkness lingering in his brown eye.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Izaya's smile became stiffer when Ben had to laugh. "What did you say you were in charge of, again? Human resources...?"

The picture of this executive was becoming a little clearer. The human-lover hated to give off the impression that he might have objected to becoming a medical experiment since that suggested he was afraid, especially when he still knew so little about this man who possibly thrived on fear, but he knew of no other way to ask what would become of him if he objected to their plans.

Ben was playing with him. He could hear it in his words, just like with Andre. As someone who made a hobby of playing with others, this much, at least, was evident to Izaya. He struggled to keep up his mask of pleasant indifference, unlikely as it was that it was fooling anyone. The informant was something of a masochist, yes, but that didn't make fear alien to him.

He might have possibly chosen to die over becoming a living experiment to these people, but it wasn't as if he had the willpower required to go against his innate instincts and take his own life. In the end, he was still just a coward clinging to his miserable existence.

"...I see," he said, swallowing. "If I may ask...what part do you have to play in all this, Executive? Are you simply the messenger? Did I possibly have the luxury of being told exactly what this medical experiment entails?" With a grunt of effort, he uncrossed his legs and pushed himself up on his feet. He was no longer comfortable with looking up to Ben from his viewpoint on the ground. Sure, he may have still been relatively short compared to the director, but any height advantage he could have gained made him feel slightly less vulnerable in that brown eye.

How do they choose their executives, anyway? He pondered. Those with the most dynamic, extreme personalities? Seth, Lore...now this guy?  

[Suudonym]

"Yes, sir! That's the one!" the executive confirmed. "It may not be the most glamorous job in the organization, but really, I couldn't ask for anything more."

He continued, "I'm the one who named you as candidate numero uno for this little project, after having a peek at your file. So, naturally, I thought it was only appropriate if I serve as the messenger as well. As for the nature of this experiment of ours," as Izaya stood, Ben stood as well and approached the bars of the cell, then raised his arm to point to one of the prisoner's eyes, speaking at in a slightly lower, more insidious tone, "it has a little something to do with this," he lowered his arm until his finger pointed to Izaya's heart, "and a little something to do with this. I don't want to give too much away, though. It'd spoil the surprise, you know?"  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"On the contrary, I think it sounds pretty nice," he remarked. "Depending on your interests, at least. I think it's safe to say yours must fit perfectly." Probably good for Executive Ben, bad for everyone he dealt with.

Izaya gritted his teeth ever so slightly, standing his ground when the white-haired man came up to raise an indicative finger to a crimson eye. "Ah." He guessed this fellow was the sort to enjoy seeing his victims' skin crawl as he described disturbing things in detail to them...but it was bothering the informant that the executive wasn't divulging too much. It was almost as if he expected to be around for the experiment himself; to be able to see how his chosen candidate fared during the actual process.

"You say it's a surprise, but if it's only a surprise for me, it shouldn't hold much pleasure for you, should it?" he asked delicately, peering down at his uncut nails as if the other man's talk hadn't phased him. "I mean, since you're an executive, wouldn't you have better things to do than to stick around for when the mystery is unveiled? I thought you might have come here to witness my exuberant shock first-hand, seeing as you are the cause."  

[Suudonym]

"I have been told that there's no better place I could be," he said, then waved a hand dismissively, "mostly by people in other departments who also said that they would rather die than work with me, but still. The sentiment stands."

The man adopted a mournful expression and moved his hands behind his back, holding one's wrist in the other's palm. "As much as I would love to share it with you - it really is going to be delightful, trust me - I do have to contain myself on this one. It's something that our dear organization would consider," he raised his hands temporarily to gesture quotation marks, "'classified information' - because it's still in development, you see. What would we do if the guard came back or a friend came to visit and you told them about the whole thing?" He shook his head sadly. "Why, we'd have no choice but to keep that mouth of yours from saying anything else ever again, and what a terrible waste of resources that would be." His features suddenly cheered into a cheeky grin, "Human resources, to be precise. My department! You can see why the matter is of concern to me."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"How lovely," he murmured. If anything, those statements regarding others' feelings towards this man only confirmed Izaya's suspicions of him.

"Right, right; that's understandable," the black-haired captive agreed, trying not to think about the comment made on how he might be kept from saying anything else ever again. "At least you seem to value your human resources more than others I know, such as Elite Agent Kunai, who seems to believe us as disposable as tissues. How fortunate that you are in your current position instead of she."

"As fascinating as you are, Executive, I'd hate to get attached before knowing just how much time we might spend together in the future," he continued. "While you've made it clear why you can't speak of the matter to me here and now, might I inquire as to how involved you, personally, will be in this little project?" He batted his eyelashes flirtatiously. "How often might we be seeing each other again? I don't suppose Executives spend too much time monitoring lower ranks regardless of how much trouble they might be."  

[Suudonym]

"My goodness," Ben said, feigning horror, "'disposable,' what an ugly word to use about human beings. Every person is useful in a myriad of ways. You should just see the sorts of things they can do with a human cadaver in the labs! Truly remarkable."

The executive laughed once more, lightly, almost musically. "Fascinating, is it? You flatter me. But flattery aside - let's see..." He lifted his hands to either side, palms up, and shrugged. "To be honest," he said, "this could very well be the first and final time we meet, unless the situation changes unexpectedly. However, schedule permitting, I may make an appearance when all the relevant parties are ready to inform the procedure. Then," he lifted a finger pointedly, "and only then, I'll be able to explain the workings of our brilliant experiment." He tilted his head slightly to a head with a broad, cheshire grin. "Ah, are you looking forward to it? I just can't wait."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"My thoughts exactly," Izaya chimed with false enthusiasm. "I, personally, find humans more enjoyable when they're alive, however."

Sighing, he allowed his shoulders to slump at the likelihood of their first meeting being their last. "What a shame," he said, shaking his head while inwardly indulging in relief. It was short-lived, though, when Ben mentioned making a possible appearance yet again. Izaya couldn't help but tense a bit before managing to get his body language under control once more.

"Thrilled," the shorter man said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. The way things were going, though, he was feeling less and less inclined to keep up his charade. What was the point? They were going to do what they wanted and he had absolutely no say. "And....just how long is it we'll have to wait?"  

[Suudonym]

"Generally speaking, yes," the executive replied with a chuckle. "As thrilling as it is to explore the many capabilities of a cadaver, compared to the possibilities available to living body, the cold ones are practically boring."

Ben took a step closer still to the cell, leaning slightly to put his gaze on the same level as Izaya's. Although his smile still remained and looked as genuinely gleeful as ever, his eye was narrowed deviously. He murmured, "Oh...? You should be careful what you say. You wouldn't want me taking you seriously."

He straightened up, turned, and moved towards the chair to return it to the position from which he had taken it, since he hadn't used it in a while. "Well..." he said in a singsong tone. A pause, and then the white-haired executive turned back to Izaya, appearing positively jubilant. "What's the fun in telling you that?"