The papers were so aptly calling it the "Casanova Murders". They were horrifying, gruesome killings that traveled back years into the past. The newspaper detailed that with each slaughter, the murderer had tried something new. Dismemberment, raping the corpse, carving sweet nothings upon the body (which read things like "love" and "darling"), and even painting things with the blood of his victims, which usually took the shape of a flower, more specifically a rose.
It was clear that the murderer was male with a death wish for all women, perhaps even a scorned lover that had sunk down into insanity. There was only one thing that stayed constant at all of the crime scenes, something that marked the murders as his doing. There was always a heart carved upon the side of the neck. Of course the magazines articles and newspapers had added a more than a little amount of fluff to the details. Since it was such a harrowing occurrence, and due to the fact this man was still at large, it drew quite an audience.
It had the front page on every woman's magazine, and of course, sales were up higher than ever. Human nature: (Light nearly scoffed) they became duly more interested the more grisly and macabre things appeared. The murder weapons ranged from guns to knives to even a broken bottle, only the heart was the constant. The odd range of murders made it hard to pin down what this man was exactly after. The age range was massive, women from the age of fourteen to fifty had been killed; it seemed almost random except for the fact that they were female.
However this man couldn't have just been leaving clues without a reason behind them. It made no sense for him to put all those details, those little flashes of insight to the crime, without having a pertinent reason for doing so. Random acts of violence were rare, hardly anything was random.
"What are you reading?"
Light peered up from over the top of his magazine, his musings interrupted by the man across from him. No matter, he couldn't really surmise anything concrete from a small, slightly vague, newspaper article. The police were obviously filtering what information got through to the media, and they had good reason to. A lot of the more specific details had been kept secret, the names of the female victims for instance. It only stated "over ninety women have been slain by the elusive killer that has managed to evade police for years."
"About the Casanova Killings…"
"Oh?" Ryuuzaki asked, bringing a chocolate-covered strawberry to his lips. He chewed it noisily. "Haff you found anyfing…clues maybe?" The speech impediment was due to the fact that he had placed another strawberry into his cavernous mouth. Light glanced away with apparent distaste as Ryuuzaki continued to chew.
"No, these articles are frustratingly uninformative."
"Might I suggest a bit of detective work?"
Light frowned. "I would need a license to become a private investigator."
"Not necessarily," Ryuuzaki replied, taking noisy slurp of his tea to wash down the strawberries. The young photographer gave him a stony look.
"What are you suggesting?"
"I was suggesting nothing, simply stating a fact."
The two eyed each other. Light blinked and looked away, finally deciding that he couldn't keep his eyes open nearly as long as his pale-skinned counterpart across the table. Besides, he had no interest in Ryuuzaki watching his eyes water. "If a license truly means that much to you, then apply for one," Ryuuzaki finally said, pushing aside his finished tea.
"…I'd rather not," Light replied dismissively with a wave of his hand.
"And why would that be?"
"No reason." The reply was curt and concise, teetering upon the edge of enmity. Ryuuzaki offered up another thoughtful gaze, studying Light. The brunette's expression was one of forced relaxation, as though he trying much too hard to be apathetic and aloof on the subject.
"You seem as though you'd have an aptitude for that kind of career," Ryuuzaki said, sounding almost defensive. "It was merely a suggestion."
"And what makes you assume that?" Light retorted quickly.
The two gave each other deadpanned stares once more.
"Just instinct," Ryuuzaki's voice was light for some reason. "Hm…I could really go for some of that cheesecake…" his orbicular eyes swerved over to a small cake that sat upon a serving platter on the front counter. It did look appetizing. The girl that held her usual place at the counter—once she heard this—closed her magazine with a snap and went to take the glass cover off the dish. Light gave an exasperated sigh and took out his brown leather wallet.
"Thank you," Ryuuzaki said his eyes fixated upon the generous slice that the girl carried over towards to the two.
"Don't mention it," Light replied thickly.
"Would you also like a piece, sir?" the girl questioned as he handed her several neatly folded bills. "Anything you want?"
"No."
"…Any more coffee?" she leaned over the small Styrofoam cup that was now empty.
"No," Light repeated impatiently. The girl looked slightly offended as she strode back to her place behind the counter.
Ryuuzaki started to eagerly devour his cheesecake as Light drew back up the newspaper so he wouldn't have to watch the horrid eating habits of Ryuuzaki. He tried to immerse himself back into the article, but his growing sense of vexation was beginning to get through to him. So he held up the newspaper in front of his face and pretended as though he was reading.
-o-
Light's eyes flicked from the computer screen to the clock. Then back to the computer screen and right back to the clock again. It was 2:42 A.M. and sleep was escaping him. So instead he had tried to compile some research on the Casanova murders. The first and easiest resource was the internet, so he had begun to use every search engine he could find, utilizing a colorful array of keywords to try and find some reliable and helpful information. Naturally most of it had been useless, exaggeration and rumors without any merit. After a good two hours of finding nothing Light had finally slammed the keyboard in aggravation.
His bloodshot and tired eyes glanced at the blinking cursor.
Then he found himself doing something he had not planned. His fingers went to keys, and into the keyword box he typed in 'Ryuuzaki'. Hitting the enter button a little harder than necessary, he waited with some skepticism for the results of the search. Unfortunately the results were too vast to find anything upon the Ryuuzaki he knew. So he typed in 'Ryuuzaki' followed by 'sweet-tooth'. There was nothing of significance.
'Ryuuzaki coffee shop'
'Ryuuzaki Kanto region of Japan'
'Ryuuzaki sitting odd'
All of his results had shown nothing. Reflecting on the conversations they had had in the past, Light tried to think of something that would relevant to the name 'Ryuuzaki'. Well…he had taken a special interest once Light had mentioned law. And he had given a hint that a license for becoming a private detective wasn't entirely necessary…
'Ryuuzaki law and justice'
Still nothing.
Giving a tired sigh, for he was much too fatigued to emit a noise that truly embodied his frustrations, he decided that he would type in one more search, and that would be the end of it.
'Ryuuzaki detective'
Light watched with as much intentness as he could muster from his tired being. It flashed white and then an error materialized upon the screen.
-o-
The news that morning had one main story…Light would have known that if he had decided to watch it. Instead he had ignored the television set as he tiredly made a cup of tea. He had awoken before the rest of the family, and had decided to relish in the quiet of a Sunday morning. This particular Sunday morning, he had changed into a pair of rumpled khaki pants and a plain black t-shirt…it had been ages since he'd worn something so casual for anything but exercise. But he felt there was little occasion to dress for. Soichiro had set out already the previous day, back to work upon the Casanova Murder Case. It was a reluctant parting but Soichiro gave them a stern smile and said that their safety was his responsibility.
Sayu had hugged him tight as she could manage, saying how much she loved him and did not want him to go. Sachiko had given him a half-hearted hug, torn between disappointment because she was slowly losing her husband and the still-present love she felt towards her spouse. He had whispered something private into her ear as the two embraced. After he had left, Sachiko cried quietly to herself as she made dinner. Sayu had been up in her room, working upon homework. Light was sitting upon the couch, pretending he couldn't hear Sachiko's failed attempts to mute her sobs. She had gone through her entire marital life like this, spending her days as a single parent with short interludes of contact with her husband.
He had notched up the volume, only to find that the news was broadcasting once more about the Casanova Murders. Not only did that remind him about Ryuuzaki, but also of the shambles that his family had fallen into. That night he'd ended up watching Reality Television rather than listening glum current of events that rippled through the news stations.
Grumbling to himself with the recollection, Light continued to pace sluggishly about the kitchen, waiting for his tea-water to boil. He glimpsed momentarily at the clock. He had another two hours before the time he usually set out for the coffee shop at. But today he felt as though he didn't want to attend. It was as though he wanted to sip his tea in brooding silence then curl up into a cocoon of nothingness. The last thing he wanted was to go into that damned shop with Ryuuzaki jabbing at stitched up wounds that were still in the process of healing. It had only been a year, and the lesion to his pride and reputation was still trying to mend itself.
He blatantly ignored the bad taste that culminated in his mouth.
Light decided not to wait for the water to boil, turning the knob on the stove and shutting off the heat. He took his messenger back and slung it over his shoulder, then placed the camera around his neck by it's customary black band. Stretching his bare arms, Light then walked briskly towards the door and began to pull his shoes on. He needed some air to clear his head; he couldn't stay in this suffocating house. Outside it was clear and beautiful. The morning sun beamed down, small rays causing the passing cars to glisten in the light. Puffy white clouds sat adjacent to clear blue skies, the color of a hardened aquamarine.
It was a sense of liberation as he trekked away from home. And Light knew that it was time again for him to move out. He had had his own apartment once when he had a steady job, but after losing it and thus relieving himself of a steady salary, he was forced to move back into his parent's house. He couldn't tell exactly whether his Mother and Father had been exactly pleased about him moving back in. Glad to see him again but unhappy about his fall from grace. Since then he had been making a small amount of money by selling his prints at obscure art shows and over the internet. Not a significant amount of income but enough to pay for small luxuries and to help his parents out with bills and groceries and more recently to pay for Ryuuzaki's sweet-tooth.
He knew he had a good source of money; it sat across from him every morning. Just a couple shots, and if he sold them he would make a small fortune…why did the obstinate man keep refusing? It was maddening…he just needed a few shots.
-o-
"Must we reenact this once more?" Ryuuzaki asked in monotone, leaning over his donut. "I cannot let you take pictures of me."
"Why not?" Light hissed with urgency.
"Simply because," Ryuuzaki replied airily despite the seething man across from him. Light fell back dejectedly into his seat, muttering a string of curses. Ryuuzaki observed him with waning interest and took decidedly more fascination in the homemade donut in front of him. Light resisted the urge to storm out once more. In hindsight, such a reaction was childish and immature. He was a grown man; he could deal with the mention of his own problems without unnecessary reactions such as that. But he couldn't ignore the knotted feeling that solidified itself in his gut. "Did you hear of the development in the Casanova Murders?"
"What?" Light had also neglected to buy a newspaper this morning.
"I suppose you didn't then." Ryuuzaki went back to his donut.
"What?" Light repeated, the cadence in his voice urging Ryuuzaki to continue.
"One lived."
"You mean…"
"Someone survived one of his attacks."