Light's eyes opened, his vision blurry at first, then he was finally able to focus vaguely on the plain-looking ceiling. The first thing he noticed; something was on his throat. Something heavy. His first instinct was to play dead, which was quickly over-ruled as he turned his head slightly to see Ryuzaki, face down, and arm stretched out towards Light.
Light's breath caught in his throat as slowly tried to inch away from the black-haired man. Was this an attempt to suffocate him? Maybe. Was Ryuzaki upset that I went unconscious? Probably not. Damn it! His cologne didn't completely wash off in the shower… Light pushed away the uncensored thoughts that began to fill his mind as he continued to slip out of the man's reach.
Suddenly Ryuzaki un-rooted his face from the pillow to look at Light; both sets of eyes unreadable to the other. They remained in this position for quite some time until Ryuzaki lunged and Light dodged, but just barely.
Unable to match Ryuzaki's trained body, he was quickly pinned to the hotel floor, the length of the handcuff's chain strategically binding his hands, and Ryuzaki on his stomach. They continued to stare at each other, wordlessly. "You understood it was an act. Correct?" Ryuzaki said, almost in a growl.
Light looked up, completely defenseless, but tried not to show that he was absolutely terrified. "I was unsure of how for this act would go." His voice faltered slightly, but Ryuzaki took no notice. "B-but in all honesty, I-I do care for y-"
Ryuzaki's eyes turned to daggers. "You've lied to me."
That was when Light lost his mask, completely revealing emotions of hurt, fear and utter confusion. "I've what?"
Ten Years Earlier Ryuzaki, age 8
"Ready or not, here I come!" Ryuzaki squealed, rolling up his long-sleeved white shirt. "Mali! I'm coming to get you!" Ryuzaki rounded several trees in search of Mali, his one, truest friend, the only person he could rely on, the only person he would go to if he had turned his back on the world, but of course, an average 8-year old wouldn't really think of it in that much detail.
"In coming!" A fair-skinned girl with eyes as blue as the ocean and jet-black hair in a long braid down her back leaped on him from the very tree he had counted at. "You suck at this game, Ryu." She giggled, pinning Ryuzaki to the grass by his shoulders.
"Do not!" He protested. "You cheated, Mali!" She rolled her eyes and let him up, then went over to a nearby creek.
"There's more than yesterday!" She smiled, delighted in the number of tadpoles in the creek.
"Why are you so happy about stupid frogs?" Ryuzaki rolled his eyes.
"Are not, Ryu! They're just babies!"
"They're stupid." Ryuzaki, still upset from his loss, marched in the creek, scattering the tiny frogs."
"Stop it! Leave them alone!" She yelled, horrified by his actions. She had never seen him this angry; he usually controlled his emotions. She grabbed his soaked white shirt in attempt to stop his tantrum, but he simply flung his arm away, sending Mali crashing into a pile of sharp stones. Mali's eyes began to water as she put bloodied hands over her scrapped knees. Seeing the damage he had done, Ryuzaki stopped instantly and rushed to her aid.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Ryuzaki threw his arms around her, the only thing he knew to do to make someone feel better.
"I-It's ok, Ryu…" She sobbed, "I know you didn't mean to…"
"Ryuzaki!" A deep voice yelled from across the field.
Mai looked at him, alarm mixed with fear clear on her face. "Go! Go now!" she whispered, but it was too late.
A tall, muscular looking man came over to the two and snatched Ryuzaki by the collar of his shirt, pushing Mali out of the way. He looked over at Mali, "I'll deal with you later." He growled through clenched teeth.
Taking him back to a house that looked more like a prison, he through Ryuzaki on a concrete bench and began pacing back and forth. "What do you think you were doing?"
Ryuzaki looked down, "Well, we had some off time… A-and Mali is my friend and-"
"You're a failure." The man hissed, now nose to nose with the frightened 8-year-old, "I had seen potential in you… I don't plan on wasting such talent."
"F-Failure? W-What did I do wrong?"
"Love is a weakness, Ryuzaki. That girl doesn't really like you. It was a test. Just remember, anyone who tries or claims they love you, is an enemy."
"She does to like me!" Ryuzaki spat back but instantly recoiled. As if on cue, Mali walked in, followed by another tall man with hair as dark as space itself. "Right Mali!?" Ryuzaki said, his voice almost a squeak at this point.
Mali didn't meet his eyes, but continued to walk, her knees and hands now welling blood, along with a few new bruises already forming on her face. Ryuzaki looked back to his mentor, "She hates you." He continued. "No one loves you, and if someone claims to, they are your enemy. Kill them, before they kill you."
Ryuzaki, tears welling up in his eyes, coiled up in a ball and flinched as the man slapped him across the face. "Stop insulting me! Stop CRYING!" The man yelled, continuing to strike the black-haired child. The pain in his heart over through the pain in the strikes completely, but he never admitted it.
The next morning, Ryuzaki was informed that Mali was moved to another facility, and never to returned.
This one was a bit tough to write, not because of the abuse, but because there WAS a certain point I wanted to get across. I'm not entirely confident in my writing enough to ensure myself that I got this point across, so I feel compelled to tell it to you now.
In the instance that you see Ryuzaki Stomping in the pond, it shows he is incapable of projecting his emotions properly. (Which is why his mentor later says he saw potential, the potential that he could cram all him emotions together and project them as anger.) Ryuzaki didn't stomp on the frogs because he didn't like them, he was just jealous that Mali had just spoke negatively about him, yet praises frogs. In his rage of self-pity, his anciently flings Mali out of the way.
Oh, and I hope you caught the reason of why present day Ryuzaki said Light is lying, I do believe I made that pretty clear...
Now lets all have a moment of silence for childhood abused Ryuzaki :(
