Lure
On a lonely, littered street in Edge sits a young child, her arms around her knees and her back against the wall of a crumbling building. She is alone, her family gone. Her arms are bare, revealing the symptomatic wounds caused by the incurable disease she carries within her weakened body.
Geostigma.
She is being watched. Jade eyes gaze at the frail form of the sickened child, recognizing the signs of the unnatural disease and admiring the stigma's work. Yazoo smiles coldly and calmly paces over to the girl, kneeling down before her to look into her face.
The young one tiredly raises her head, expression blank as she silently studies the man who is now in front of her. Neither says a word. Yazoo slowly reaches up and very lightly grasps the girl's chin to study her pale face. Gently tilting the child's head, Yazoo examines the damage done by the disease. From the girl's jaw to her cheekbone are black and dark grey blotches where the infected skin is rotting away, painfully. Yazoo frowns delicately, feigning concern.
"Does it hurt?" he asks gently, already knowing the answer. His fingers trace lightly over the infected area, causing the girl to wince and quickly turn her face away. Smiling sweetly, Yazoo tilts the girl's chin up so he can look into her tearful eyes. Softly, he inquires, "Do you want the pain to go away?"
The child looks fearful, feeling somewhat afraid of the strange man before her, but also a bit hopeful. After a moment's silence, she hesitantly nods.
"I can do that for you," Yazoo tells her. He tucks some of the girl's hair behind her ear, cupping her undamaged cheek with his other hand. "I will make you better, healthy again. Would you like that?"
She glances around nervously, wanting to tell him yes, but not knowing if she can trust him. Then suddenly, an unimaginable, sharp pain tears through the side of her face as her stigma spreads further and it is enough to convince her that it doesn't matter much. Desperately, she nods, shutting her eyes tight against the pain.
Yazoo inwardly smirks, knowing he's won. He gently wipes a tear away from the girl's cheek before standing and extending a leather-clad hand towards the sickened child. She looks up and carefully reaches her own hand out to take Yazoo's gloved one. She slowly gets to her feet, looking up uncertainly into the man's face.
Yazoo smiles in false reassurance, tugging on the young one's hand and leading her back to the stolen truck harboring the other Geostigma-infested children. He lifts her weak body up into the back of it, telling her to rest and they shall be there soon.
The children believe they are going to be cured. Unfortunately for them, this is not true. Kadaj is going to awaken the Jenova cells within them, then once their bodies thirst for Reunion, he'll use them as a means to locate Jenova herself. An ingenious plan.
Mother would be proud.
XxX
A/N Review if you'd like, but you dun have to. (: