Dreamweaver

Chapter 3

Your only chance would be to catch him alone.

It was nighttime. Your comrades were either sleeping or away on their personal errands.  You'd waited until after a major job was finished, so everyone was relaxed and ready to take it easy. Although you were esteemed gangsters with tons of money, you had to live in the shadows- which meant less than comfortable accommodations. No one seemed to mind living in some abandoned building for months at a time, even your boss. But at least everyone had plenty of space to themselves, residing in their own separate rooms.

As you approached the door to his room, you went over your plan and tried to calm your breathing. You'd stolen a rare crystal to offer to him, hoping to catch his attention. You'd sharpened a tiny point on the underside of it, so as he handled it, it would cut his skin- a slightest graze was all you needed. For your part, you had cut slits in your gloves, and underneath, your fingers were bleeding from a self-inflicted cut. Once his skin was cut, you would quickly slip your bloodied fingers out and onto his wound, sealing the blood pact for your Tether to take hold of him. Your plan was reliant on the element of surprise and his lack of suspicions around you.

You knocked on the door. There was no response but you heard some shifting after a momentary pause. Was he asleep? You knocked again and said "Danchou, it's (y/n). "

He responded quietly, "Come in."

You opened the door slowly to see him wide awake reading a book, with a few candles lit since this dump didn't have power. You scanned the room and were immediately fixated on his figure, seated on the floor. There was a fair amount of moonlight, illuminating his pale skin. He was dressed slightly different than usual- trading his signature jacket for a sleeveless vest. You stared at the lines of his bare shoulders and arms for longer anyone should, forgetting to speak as the air felt thin.

He didn't look up as he said, "What is it?"

You snapped out of it and fumbled with the crystal in your right hand. "I... I have something for you."  Chrollo's room had little that could be called furnishing; a few rugs over some crates to serve as the desk he was hunched over, while seated on the floor. There was also an old mattress, where you assumed he slept, if he ever slept. As long as he had his books and rare items he'd collected, he was content to sleep on a pile of rags. He didn't need other common comforts.

After a moment, he closed his book at looked over at you, expectantly. You steadied your shaking limbs and walked across the room towards where he was sitting. You gently set the crystal on his makeshift desk saying "I recovered this in secret. I thought it would add nicely to your collection- as I have no use for it." He stared at the crystal but he didn't pick it up immediately. He reclined a bit as you fought your desire to stare through his clothes.

Your heart was racing as he asked you, "How did you do it?"

You replied, "The usual. I haunted the owner and showed him dreams of his family getting murdered by thieves coming to take the crystals. After a few nights of that, he practically thanked me for coming to steal them."

Chrollo continued to look at the crystal and smirked the tiniest bit. "Cruel," he said. You stiffened at this judgement, which seemed unfair considering his crimes. He followed with, "I'm inspired." You felt heat rise on your face and hoped the light was too dim to give you away.

Finally he leaned in and took the crystal in his hands. You watched intently, silently slipping your still-bloodied fingers out of the strategic slashes in your gloves. You felt the warmth of fresh blood as you squeezed your fingers, ready to strike. He continued to gently inspect the crystal thoroughly, turning it in his hands. "It's definitely a Laytian Zincite. I can't quite tell if it has significant power..." he went on but you tuned him out, biding your time. You watched in dismay as he put the crystal down, his skin unharmed. How could you get your blood in him now? Your mind was racing- what was plan B? Why didn't you have a plan B? You had to think fast.