Snippet #2366246

"Look, fate is fate, dandy man," Bane began. "But I can tell in your eyes what you're about to do and you better not do it. Rin Hayashi is just a simple girl with bad genetics. It's not her fault she's in this position." the young man in the tree spoke in defense of the girl. So her name was Rin Hayashi, was it? He continued. "Look, she's still unaware of herself. She wouldn't hurt someone without purpose. Maybe she can control her state. But killing her isn't the way to go." this time, it was painfully obvious he had directed his words towards Dianne. Fate didn't like that one bit - threatening her was about as dumb of a move he could pull right now, especially given the fact that he was alone, so to say. But Fate kept any irritation hidden while he watched the boy make a threat he couldn't follow up on to Fate himself, allowing him to establish an understanding of the relationship between this man and the Destroyer. He knew her name, and he definitely wanted to protect her, so she had to be a friend of his at the very least.

Good, he could use this later on.

"I can tell you're bluffing, but can you?" Fate chuckled in response. Such threats were given to him constantly, by more feared and respected people and yet, here he was today. Malcolm Swain didn't fear words. He used them to his advantage. "You'd best be able to win the hand if you're going all in. And right now, I don't think you can. Nor should you. Because I'm not so sure harming her is the best bet." it was then that he turned his attention back towards Rin, who had drawn her blade on him. He was just out of reach of her blade, so she probably felt more comfortable from him. Considering his goal wasn't to kill her, he didn't mind the distance a bit. His words were the weapon here.

"Sorry to keep a lady waitin." he began, now ready to address the subject that she had brought up. How ironic that she didn't know what the Destroyer was when she herself was that very same legend. It only made things more interesting. "But have you truly not heard tell of the Destroyer of Kuusou? Any children's book about it could tell you: You're here to kill us all..." he let it sink in for a moment before he then said, "Or so they say. I'm sure you can tell that there's one very obvious method to making sure you don't do that. To kill you, don't cha think?" Fate extended his arm to his side and dropped about eight playing cards, which then circled around him as if he had a gravitational pull, but that's all they did. "But you see, I'm sure there's a way we can prevent such a tragedy from happening without losing one hand. Surely your power isn't uncontrollable."

At this point, some might think he was leaning towards the Chikyuu's thought-process. That is, until he continued with, "Or they'd claim to. 'Harness your talent' could easily just be a rewording of any number of things. But ultimately, it'd just mean you were a prisoner without even knowing it. And would your abilities really be put to good use? You could end up harming innocent people under the guise of saving others, when you'd be establishing a position of power above others. You'd be playing right into their hands."he shot a glare at none other than Chikyuu's leader, as if he was telling someone something the other party didn't want them to know. Fate was reasonably sure that they would't do that, but Fate couldn't manipulate events if they kept her under heavy watch. At least not without a high risk, and since his task meant that she had to trust him (willingly or not), he needed as much time as possible near her. So, he had to make both sides look bad.

"I don't see a profitable outcome for you, miss. Not with the Shikaku, and not with the Chikyuu No Mirai. Your life would either be a burden, or uselessly spent." Now, Fate's eyes seemed to lock onto Rin's, a soothing blueish glow that made things seem calmer. This situation, his voice -- they'd all seem much less tense or rough than they truly were. After all, nobody could completely resist his charm. "You can either fold, or..." he smirked. "You can make a contract with me and become a magical girl! decide your own destiny...and I never bluff about such things." he then struck a courteous bow, and held his hand out for her to take as an offering.

It wasn't safe for this woman to be in Fate's care the whole time, but he couldn't do anything if she were dead or with the Chikyuu. So, that left one party left. One who would keep her well-being intact, but wasn't affiliated with an entire group, making it impossible to reach her. Fate'd make sure she got to him.