tampered | (no subject)

When; Three days from their initial failed attempt. So, June 21st.
Rating; I sincerely doubt this will go any higher than PG
Characters; Naoi Ayato, Utsuho Reiuji, and Nagito Komaeda.
Summary; Infiltration of the Deity Office Building, Redeux.
Log;

Naoi had learned two important lessons the day of the failed first attempt. The first being that charging in without a plan and relying on brute strength was futile in this place, and the second being that he really shouldn't challenge anyone to meaningless battles here because they are not as weak or predictable as those children in the afterlife.

Fortunately, being dead, his wounds have all disappeared without a trace and, less fortunately, the only help they could acquire to turn their two-man (well, one boy and one raven) band into a three-man band was someone he could scarcely trust. But, he was capable of being quiet and clever (if not all that sane), both attributes he could never truthfully assign to Utsuho, as much as he preferred the latter's company.

So, the infiltration would begin with Nagito's entrance. He passed Shikieiki's borrowed communicator, the assigned tapping device, to Nagito and stood at attention, like an army general.

"You'll go on ahead. I'll be watching you and Utsuho-san will follow soon. Remember what you have to do and don't make yourself conspicuous. Be quiet. Surely you can hide the communicator somewhere in that garish jacket. Now, don't disappoint us." Big talk from someone who got quite literally thrown out the first attempt, but there you go.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nagito felt a sense of excitement as he peered into the Deity Office Building. To be so impertinent against the face of authority, and to be so needed by such talented people - it was an honor for trash like him.

Truth be told, he had no issues with the Deities. They were tyrants, but they were good footholds for heroes. After all, a hero of hope can't shine his or her brightest without adversary. What is light without darkness and shadow?

He accepted the communicator from Naoi-kun with a smile, tucking the device into his jacket. "No one would notice someone as unimportant as me," Nagito said with an air of placid cheerfulness.

Without further ado, he grasped the door handle, turning it soundlessly. Well, what do you know - it opened easily. Luck was, of course, on his side - as it always was. He stepped into the office. He could hear the faint rustle of paper and murmured words.

The perpetual cheer chafed with premonition, but Naoi strove to keep a neutral expression. Teamwork was necessary to pull off this operation.

Naoi fell back, waiting to silently oversee the operation. Hopefully, he'll collect a fair bit of data and maybe even acquire some files before they're removed.

Utsuho lurked over Naoi's shoulder, listening to the communicator, head craned forward.

"So how long is he going to stay in there?"

He glanced her way, briefly, before turning his attention back to the door ahead of him, awaiting Nagito's return. "Long enough to give us a good picture of the place and an understanding of what goes on in there. Ideally? Until he filches something useful. And the worst possibility..."

Of course, the highly likely possibility that they be captured and thrown out yet again, but with a difference in numbers and escape routes, a total defeat as humiliating as the last was far less likely.

"I'm surprised Shikieiki-sama let us use her device." Utsuho rearranged her wings and then settled closer to Naoi, rather than awkwardly leaning over him. "Maybe Nagito will find something. How do you know him?

"Shikieiki-san is certainly austere, but underneath it, she's kind. I'm sure that's why she's helping us, even though she tries to stay neutral." In that respect, she reminded him of his father, only fairer, as a judge should be.

While answering her questions, he smoothed out her feathers with a hand. In Utsuho's presence and in wait for Nagito's return, Naoi seemed to abandon his previous militaristic persona in favour of one that's quite casually affectionate. It seemed he only operated in extremes, dependent on who he spoke to. He was still on guard, of course, and the fact that his hand was occupied with something that was neither of his pistols meant little when the previous confrontation showed weapons to be of little use here.

Still, the lack of security this time was surprising to him. It seemed that as long as they kept reasonably low-key, no one would notice them or come.

"That guy?" He scowled in disapproval. "He has a pitiful personality, like half-digested food rejected by your stomach." Even if it were once a part of you, you could not stand to look at it; that was what Naaoi meant by the comparison, but he felt no need to explain it in further detail, nor in straightforward, less disgusting terms.
"However, I expect him to be useful. That is all."

"He seems a little off. Sort of two-faced? Like he's hiding something." She watches the distant door through which Nagito disappeared; well, nothing coming from it yet, so that's good! "So if he comes out with anything, who's getting it? I'd be fine giving it to you. I don't know him."

"I hate that smile. He's sick, I'm sure of it," Naoi said, tapping the side of his head to indicate mental illness. "I don't trust him either, but we needed a third member fast and he was the best help we could get.

"Of course, you'll take it from him and pass it on to me after that... might need to make copies for someone else to translate it, though." He's not exactly good at English.

Everything that they'd said about him - well. It was all true. Nagito was the sort of guy who you could trust to get things done, but perhaps not exactly in the way that you wanted, and not without a price to pay. He operated for what he considered a greater cause - a shining beacon of hope.

This fit well into his plans. To give the citizens hope, he would further their cause. If the Deities lashed out on him and them in anger . . . that would only make their resilience stronger, wouldn't it?

He chuckled softly to himself. He could hear discussions - vague murmurings as he pressed closer to shut doors. He placed the communicator just under the crack of the door so that it would record everything that was going on. Not that it would be of any use - the sounds were too faint.

The things that caught his attention were the folders on top of several desks. They were just lying there, as though unimportant, but Nagito's senses were tingling. He picked one up, flipping it open. The pages were in some sort of code.

He glanced at Naoi-kun and Utsuho-san through the window, giving them a smile and a wave. If they weren't watching, he would've tucked the papers away for his own use - but since they were right there, he simply shut the folder and took it with him.

Naoi waved briefly back in acknowledgement, prepared to move out now.

There would be no need to retrieve the communicator as it was designed to be impossible to lose; it would go back to its original owner eventually, even if no one were to find it, so all that was needed was to take the folders and make a quick getaway (unless anything else caught Nagito's eye? But lingering here too long might be pushing their luck~~, if not necessarily his~~).