Kris' voice coolly dispersed the silence, his tone laced in seriousness as he took another drag of his cigarette.
"You were just about to tell me why you're here." And this frigid statement was simply met with a coy smile.
"Would you believe me if I said that I had missed you?" The man's tone came playfully flirtatious, that cherub smile lingering along his face as a delicate whisper of smoke came pushed through Kris' slender nose.
"No." This statement came coldly deadpanned.
"I thought as much." The man conceded to this frigid response. "And I suppose you will find it equally unlikely that I came here to congratulate you on your recent success in breaking through the Japanese music industry." And to this a small, dubious scoff came pushed through Kris' body with the quirk of his brow.
"Oh come now, Mr. Mitchell." The man lightly chided Kris' show of disbelief. "I'll have you know I happen to be quite a patron of the arts." He mused, his tone conversational as Kris took another drag of his cigarette. "And I must confess what when I first saw you, I had envisioned great plans for the two of us." This statement came almost doleful in it's honesty. "I had looked forward to opening my estate and it's services to you in order to support your studio's growth in turn for word of my estate traveling with you back to the states." Eyes came downcast as the man's voice seemed to grow slightly distant in these thoughts. "It would have been such a beautiful...mutually beneficial partnership, Mr. Mitchell."
"It would have never worked out between us, babe." Kris' delivery came straight-faced and slightly sardonic as dark onyx orbs flitted to his cold features. "I don't play well with others." And a small hum of agreement with the nod of the head came in response.
"A fact I think you enjoyed making me painfully aware of the last time we met, hm?" The man conceded.
"So that's what this is about." Kris murmured, the makings of a small, malicious smile playing along his lips. "You're still pissed that I damaged your toy?" This theory came with all the confidence of a substantiated fact as the man released a string of lithe, jovial laughter.
"If I were a lesser gentleman, I might hold some resentment towards your brutish behavior at my estate, Mr. Mitchell." The man chuckled lightly. "But I find keeping a grudge to be quite beneath me." A sickeningly sweet smile graced his lips as he continued. "And I guarantee that if I were still angry over what you had done...you would be the first to know, hm?" The man murmured politely, his voice coming effortless and unburdened by ill will.
But underneath that cherub smile lingered something far darker behind the man's onyx gaze.
"Though...I do find myself facing a problem of sorts." And Kris' pale, icy gaze flickered with a level of interest towards this statement as he listened. "Every morning I wake up, and I see all that I have. All that I have obtained and worked so hard for. All that is mine. My empire. My wealth. My social standing. My jems." The man murmured lightly through this list. "And I go about my day unfettered. I conduct my business. Make my deals. Grow my wealth, and spread the reach of my influence. And at the end of my day, I make love until my body aches and I'm left breathlessly overcome with satisfaction before I slumber...wrapped in the loyal, doting embrace of my lover." His voice lilted almost wistfully as slender, well manicured fingertips delicately picked at the fur lining the sleeve of his suede jacket.
"But lately, my contentment has been disturbed. My sleep is quite listless." The man murmured, so completely absorbed in his words as he spoke. "Because you see, Mr. Mitchell, I have become strangely plagued by whispers." This statement came breathless as the man continued this monologue to his silent audience. "In every corner of my house...I hear it. And every day since I've met you, it grows louder and more difficult to ignore. Passing through the lips of my patrons. My business partners. My acquaintances." The man persisted in these thoughts, eyes downcast. "Through the very streets I walk...carried along the breeze...I hear it. Your name..." He whispered, lightly shaking his head as the delicate fingers that had been absentmindedly playing along his sleeve clutched themselves into a tight fist. "I hear your name whispered everywhere, now. In fact, you have become quite difficult to avoid these days, Mr. Mitchell." The man's lips twisted infinitesimally in a frown.
"The fact of the matter is, the more that I hear your name... The more I come to the realization..." The man murmured lowly, his voice growing just a bit deeper in his delivery. "...that I really don't like you." And dark, malicious orbs lifted themselves through thick lashes to meet exotic blue in a thrill of repressed rage.
"And you came all the way just to tell me that?" Kris snorted a laugh, his tone patronizing as he took a final drag of his cigarette before snuffing it out. "Damn." Another chuckle ran through his lean frame as he shifted the full force of his attention towards his guest. "You know...you could have just broken up with me over the phone. Saved yourself some trouble and the air fare." He continued through the widening of his smile at the man having so openly admitted his contempt.
"I really don't think you fully understand the vicarious situation you find yourself in, Mr. Mitchell." The man murmured lightly in response to Kris' smile. "Your persistence and aggressive expansion have made my visit quite necessary."
"So...what?" Kris questioned with the amused quirk of his eyebrow. "Is this your way of telling me to pack up and leave?" And a small string of laughter played along the man's delicate lips.
"I think you feel it as I do, Mr. Mitchell. Ever since you so brazenly made me aware of your presence...that the two of us cannot peacefully coexist." And a small smirk of agreement twisted along Kris' lips as the man continued. "Nor can we go about our days foolishly ignoring each others existence, hm?" The man lilted, his tone calm and smooth like velvet along the mounting tension. "And though I find the sentiment that 'this town isn't big enough for the both of us' to be a bit cliché, I will admit that it is in your best interest to move your music studio's activities elsewhere." And at this statement Kris burst into a sharp chorus of laughter.
"Is that suppose to be some sort of threat?"
"Of course, not, Mr. Mitchell." The man purred through lips laced in a sweet smile. "I would never dream of doing such a thing." And his smile widened just a bit as he continued. "Simply consider this a friendly suggestion."
"Well..." Kris mused lightly to himself behind his pretentious desk, hiding behind an even more pretentious smile. "...if I cave to every 'friendly suggestion,' by now I'd have been screwed two ways from Sunday." This vile statement came spewed forth from his perfect lips. "So..." His exotic gaze narrowed in consideration of his adversary's threat. "...I suppose this is me...disregarding your 'friendly suggestion'."
The man smiled at this, his head drifting back against the elaborate armchair in such a way that allowed his laughter to effortlessly crawl up from his throat. Exotic pale blue eyes took in this open display of levity as laughter ran itself through the man's lean frame. Sounds of the man's amusement continued to fill the space between them until his head finally lifted from the chair and those dark onyx orbs met pale blue. And the laughter was gone...stifled as if it had never existed.
"You and I are not so very different from each other, Mr. Mitchell. You know that?" The man's words came light and airy in the aftermath of his amusement as this statement lingered along a cherub smile, only to be met with a doubtful expression from Kris before continuing. "We both feel the impulse to disregard society's trivial rules and mold them to satisfy our own needs." And Kris remained silent to this accusation, his expression holding nothing to confirm or deny the man's statement. "Take myself, for instance." He murmured, his voice a soft purr. "So many of my patrons come to my estate seeking thrills and conquest, yet they foolishly stifle their desires by insisting upon a 'safe word.'" The man chuckled out in disbelief, lightly shaking his head to this notion. "Simply because conventional wisdom whispers to them that there should be an uncrossable line between the acceptable and unacceptable."
"So I take it you and your boyfriend don't have a safe word." Kris' tone came low, gaining the man's attention as he offered Kris a small, twisted smile.
"Come now, Mr. Mitchell." The man cooed. "I think by now you know me well enough that you know I wouldn't allow such nonsense to impede the outcome of my satisfaction." And Kris gave the smallest nod of concession to this knowledge as the man continued. "You and I are alike in that matter, I think." The man murmured, his dark gaze coming upon the intensity of his words. "Men like us are not so easily constrained to society's dictation of our actions, hm?" Kris gave a small shrug to this, his gaze momentarily flitting to the cell phone on his desk as it quietly called his attention before pale blue eyes met his adversary.
And it was there. Not boisterous in its presence...but the man noticed it all the same. Lingering underneath the calm of that pale blue gaze. The smallest flicker of rage. There for only a second before it was gone, so quickly smothered that the man might have missed it had he not been looking.
"I find it funny..." Kris' statement came blunt, ignoring his phone as he spoke. "You have yourself so convinced that we're the same."
"Oh, but we are." The man murmured lightly through a knowing smile. "Which is why we find ourselves at such odds, hm?"
"You see, Mr. Mitchell." The man's voice lulled and lilted almost melodically with the rhythm of his words as he spoke. "I possess a talent for making deductions about people. A talent which serves me quite well in my daily business deals." He prattled on lightly, his gaze intent upon Kris as he continued. "Being able to read and anticipate people's needs allows me the ability to predict their moves and reactions with little to no error in my judgment."
"For instance..." The man continued without hesitation. "I know that you have been trying to goad me into a physical altercation with your relentless taunting." The man murmured as Kris remained silent to this blunt accusation. "But I must confess that you played your hand a little too well the last time we met, Mr. Mitchell. So getting a rise from me will be...difficult." And the faintest shapings of disappointment flickered along Kris' face. "That...and I fear after seeing that fantastic body of yours, that I might be at a slight disadvantage in a fight." The man murmured with a smirk of a smile. "Though I simply must know...how do you manage time for the gym with your busy schedule?" And a bitter snort of amusement slipped through Kris' slender nose as he answered.
"I don't." This response came blunt in it's delivery. "The gym is full of fucking fat people who sweat too much and don't know how to use the equipment." This insult came followed with a light string of laughter from the man.
"A personal trainer, then?" The man questioned through his amusement as Kris offered a shrug of concession. "So what exactly is it that you are training in these days?" And the lightest smirk of a condescending smile spread along Kris' lips before he answered.
"MMA, mostly." Kris offered this information about his interest in the brutality of mixed martial arts as the man gave another chuckle to this response...knowing that he had been right in sensing a physical disadvantage.
"Really?" The man responded coyly, that same smile on his face. "You don't find that activity terribly taxing, do you?" And Kris spared him a look of veiled disdain as his spoke.
"No." Kris murmured bluntly. "I find that my physical needs are a little more...demanding...than most." And dark onyx eyes roamed over him a moment as the man considered this with another smile.
"I'm sure that they are." The man pandered politely to this statement.
"So what else do you think you know...?" Kris murmured, his tone patronizingly as the man offered a dismissive smile before continuing.
"I know that your associate with the interesting fashion sense has a terrible drinking problem. And that he's probably two steps away from ending his own life." This statement came with the small twitch of a smile. "And judging by your lack of reaction this is something that you are already well aware of, hm Mr. Mitchell?" And the soft vibration of Kris' phone along his deep mahogany desk caused a slight lull in the man's assessment before he continued. "I also know that your woman is far more interested in the sporadic attention you feed to her between your string of consorts than any sort of career advancement or corporate favor she might receive by being with you." Kris continued to listen dutiful, ignoring his phone as the two settled into this conversation. "But I see that this, too, is something that you already know." And Kris gave a small snort of amusement to this before lacing his lips with yet another cigarette, taking a slow drag as the man continued.
"Would you care to know what I could tell you about yourself, Mr. Mitchell?" The man purred with a sweet smile as exotic blue eyes peered at him through a veil of smoke.
"Why not...?" Kris murmured with a small shrug. "I always love to hear about myself." And the man's sweet, angelic smile widened at this open invitation.
"You...are a bully." And a soft snort of amusement laced in smoke pushed itself from Kris' slender nose as the man continued. "And I see that this is something that you take a great deal of pride in." He murmured. "But you see, Mr Mitchell..." His voice rose and fell like a pendulum as he spoke, his dark gaze constantly gauging Kris' reactions. "When you play the part of a bully, as you do, you ultimately run the risk of coming across someone who's just a bit meaner and more ruthless than you are..." And at this Kris gave an almost throaty chuckle.
"Well now. That's quite the parlor trick." Kris mused, his ice gaze peering through the thin veil of smoke. "Is that something you picked up from your little boyfriend?" And this antagonism was met with lighthearted, jovial laughter.
"It's true that my lover is quite talented at reading the desires written along peoples hearts." The man chortled effortlessly. "This makes him quite good at what he does." This acknowledgment came laced with a sweet smile. "But you're quite mistaken in your belief, Mr. Mitchell."
"Really...?" Kris met this statement with the small, curious quirk of his brow.
"If you honestly believe that I adopted my gift from my lover, then you really can't distinguish between master and pupil." The man smiled...a smile so completely wrong and diabolically twisted in its malicious intent. "Because I assure you, it is very much the other way around, Mr. Mitchell."
"Interesting." Kris met the man's predatory gaze with a frigid stare of his own, his tone coming completely disinterested in this revelation.
"I make my wealth...in part...by ensuring that my jems are well trained in identifying the inclinations and weaknesses of my patrons." The man murmured. "And though my lover may be constrained to playing the part of being dotting and tender to my clients, bandaging their weaknesses and making them feel invulnerable..." His voice came but a soft whisper gently caressed along these words. "...I personally find coddling the weak to make them feel better about themselves to be quite tedious. Wouldn't you agree?"
"I'm not overly fond of feelings in general." Was Kris' reply as he took another drag of his cigarette, the man lightly bobbing his head in agreement.
"I prefer to utilize my talent exposing peoples desires and weaknesses in order to make them a little more 'compliant' during business dealings."
"Hm." This came a puff of smoke through Kris' nose in consideration. "I thought blackmail would be beneath you, my friend." And the man gave a small cluck of disapproval with his tongue.
"Blackmail and extortion are such ugly words for what I do." The man lightly chided. "I merely collect secrets in order to secure my interests and assets." Another snort of smoke pushed its way through Kris' nose at this statement.
"I pity the people stupid enough to become your business partner." And a small chuckle manifested from the man's delicate lips.
"I think you might be surprised at how accommodating I can make myself towards those who serve my interests." The man smiled sweetly to Kris.
"And..." Kris deadpanned, his features exquisitely void of emotion. "...what about those who don't...?"
"They usually find it far more trouble that it's worth, Mr. Mitchell." The man offered up with that sickeningly sweet smile. "Because you see...what I can't find out about a man at first blush I have no problem in rooting out through more...invasive...means."
A/N: I have actually come to find out some really interesting personality traits while creating Kristean Mitchell and reading Fandom Angst's take on Akito. If you look up such things like Narcissism, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Sadistic Personality Disorder I think these personality traits in both characters.