Chapter 12: Communication

AN: I'm sorry, I messed up the timeline. This sequence of events actually happened on April 26, but let's set it to May 3.

Long rambling chapter, no romance yet, I'm sorry.

Chapter 12: Communication

May 3, 2004, 14 00

The Second Kira must be responding soon to Kira's impersonation of Kira's message. Rui chuckled to herself as she supplemented Ryuzaki's dinner with protein and multivitamin powder. L never ate anything that wasn't dessert, and this had been Watari's MO for the past… number of years that he'd been raising him. Apparently, there was a specific protein powder brand that presented the least detectable taste. Also, she had to be careful not to add too much, or Ryuzaki would turn up his nose at it. At least he ate fruit willingly, so that was one aspect of his nutrition that was taken care of.

It had been awkward the first couple of days after Rui's crying fit. Ryuzaki must have turned off her alarm, for the sun was high in the sky by the time she opened her swollen, gummy eyes. It had done her a world of good, however. Drained of the pent-up emotions that had been clouding her thought processes without her awareness, Rui was able to think more calmly.

Ryuzaki had still been at the dining table when she'd burst in, breathless from the strain of getting ready in a jiffy. He had stared at her over his mountain of eclairs, then offered her the morning off.

"Ryuzaki, the second Kira responded," said Watari through the screen. Light glanced at it with the corners of his mouth slightly downturned. Perhaps he was still wondering how many Ls there really were.

"Kira-san! Thanks for replying! I'll do everything Kira-san said," Misa's video played. Light did not seem happy. "I want to meet Kira-san. I think Kira-san still doesn't have the eyes, but don't worry! I won't kill Kira-san no matter what!" Come to think of it, why did Misa make the eye trade in the first place? Had she no regard for her life? Most women would kill to be in her position, and she was destined to rise even further to stardom. Had she gotten any therapy after her family's death? How long was the lifespan Gelus granted her? And how did she get two Shinigami to love her? Rui had the impression that Misa hadn't been very smart in canon, but perhaps she'd just been overshadowed by the two intellectual titans in their ego battle? So many questions.

The officers were listening in consternation. "He said 'doesn't have the eyes'. What does that mean?" Aizawa wondered.

"Please think of a way to meet without getting caught by the police," Misa's video continued. "When we meet, we can just confirm each other's identity with our God of Death." She was still using a voice scrambler. Rui… knew nothing of such devices; they were probably banned in her own country. Were they easy to obtain and decode?

Huh. Ryuzaki didn't fall down this time, though he looked even more pallid than usual, his dark eye circles like smeared ink on his paper-like skin. Perhaps it wasn't the time to think about this, but how did he keep such flawless skin? She never had to help him shave in the mornings, and his torso was mostly hairless, too. It could be indicative of low testosterone levels, but she surmised that it was probably just genetics.

"Ryuzaki, you can't help that people talk about nonsense like Gods of Death," said Light, looking like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Ryuk was literally smirking just behind him.

"Perhaps this tape is the same Kira who killed those victims in jail? Since they talk with the same…" Yagami Sr. chimed in.

"That's not it, dad," Light cut in. "If this were the old Kira, he wouldn't respond to our fake tape. He wouldn't be so foolish as to play this game and make it unnecessary for L to reveal himself on TV and get killed."

Privately, Rui wondered if Ryuzaki was in fact making a mistake in letting Light get so close to him and getting the teen so used to the way he liked to operate.

"Then maybe the real Kira and the Second Kira have contacted each other and are using things like 'shinigami' to confuse us?" Aizawa suggested. Come to think of it, Light was still a resource-less student, right? Why was Ryuzaki going so far for him? It seemed to her like Ryuzaki's death had in fact deified Light.

Beyond Birthday would probably have been pissed if he knew about this. He'd done virtually everything he could think of to try and get L's attention by being the unbeatable brilliant criminal, and L didn't even come in person. But L had even shown his face to Light, started a mutual obsession with him and called him (would call him?) his first friend all in an effort to win this case. And how did Beyond Birthday even die? Nobody, not even the fans, knew his true name. Unless Beyond Birthday really was his name? But the novel mentioned that that was what he'd called himself. Rui found herself wondering what name Shinigami eyes would see if they were to rest on her face.

"Then maybe 'shinigami' is a codeword for their common ability to kill? We can just confirm our identities with our Shinigami would mean that they can prove their identities by killing someone on the spot," Light was saying. Bullshit.

"… I agree," Ryuzaki said, staring intently at Light. He'd been pretty ready to believe in Shinigami in canon, hadn't he? He'd also briefly entertained the notion of Kira being an actual God, before he'd dismissed it as childishness. Was Ryuzaki religious? No, he hadn't been enthused at the prospect of gods being real.

"At the very least, it is certain that 'shinigami' is something the two Kiras have in common…" Ryuzaki was saying. Then he glanced at Rui meaningfully. "It will help us a lot if we can find out more about it."

Thankfully the others didn't notice. No, wait, Light was watching her from the corner of his eye.

"What do we do now? Reply?" Yagami Sr. asked, luckily drawing his attention away. "If we do it wrong, he will find out that we don't know anything and that we're not Kira."

"No, we will leave it to the two Kiras to make the next move," Ryuzaki decided. "For the Second Kira to make a reply now, assuming he hasn't figured out that the response is a fake, he must be fairly content with the situation. His goal to catch the attention of Kira has been achieved."

"Using words that only they would understand, the imposter plans to give Kira the message today on Sakura TV's 6 o'clock news. On the other hand, the real Kira must be paying close attention to the exchange between us and Second Kira. Kira must want to minimize contact between the Second Kira and police.

"Maybe the real Kira will end up sending his own message," he continued. "Right now, the only medium we can use is Sakura TV."

"It's pretty obvious that the Second Kira is not good with technology nor is he smart or disciplined. So, if he doesn't get any reply from Kira about his message, what will he do? If the foolish Second Kira starts to leak out Kira's secrets, then Kira will want to meet the second one as well. That will be interesting."

As in canon, surveillance was set up around each TV station to try and apprehend the Kiras. Light's hands were tied, and he knew it, too. They had nothing to worry about until Misa's next message.

May 3, 2004; 20 01

Ryuzaki already made it obvious that he wanted to speak to her, so Rui hung about in the sitting room after the task force had left. There was the funky smell of men who had been in the same clothes all day, and she was thankful for her surgical mask, even if it made her cheeks itch.

"The Second Kira appears more powerful than the first," Ryuzaki stated, with no preamble. She wasn't surprised at this point; he was the kind of guy who dumped the contents of the sugar bowl into his tea before anyone could ask if he wanted one or two spoonfuls.

"Yes," Rui agreed. "Not only does she have Shinigami eyes which require only a face, but she also has a Shinigami loyal to her. Ryuk, the Shinigami attached to the first Kira, isn't on anyone's side but his own. He simply wants to entertain himself with humans'… malarkey."

"Rem is different. She watched, fascinated, as the other Shinigami, Gelus, sacrificed himself to save Amane Misa. To her, Misa is the rightful owner of Gelus' Note."

Rem had been surprised when Misa had declared she would use it for the first Kira, which had deepened her fascination with the idea of selflessness in the form of loving sacrifice and made her want to watch over Misa longer. Perhaps, to a being as grotesque as herself, it was a different way of living that would elevate what she was made to be, one that wasn't dominated by apathy, aimlessness, and selfish gain at the expense of another being.

But… Misa had been selfish, too. Kira had not asked for her help, but she would later push it on him anyway. She'd been killing for her obsession with Kira.

"I think… I think Rem has a very naïve concept of nobility and selflessness," Rui said slowly, trying to put into words the niggling intuition she had. "Second Kira was ready to kill and die for first Kira, and Rem admired Second Kira for that. She idealized people who didn't act for their own benefit, even if they weren't actually 'good'."

Snapping out of her reverie, she nearly jumped about an inch as Ryuzaki's buggy eyes enveloped her vision, his warm breath tickling her face. Did he have to do that?

"This cake is dosed," he said flatly, waving the plate of protein-dosed cheesecake at her. Translation: I don't want it.

Sighing, she took a forkful as he tracked her every motion with those eyes. It tasted fine to her, but they both needed food they did not currently have stocked up.

"Shall we go get something to eat?" she asked. He just stared. Oh wait. This was L, the social recluse. She mentally shrugged as she shrugged on her jacket, making sure the credit card he'd given her for their expenses was in the breast pocket, and stepped out the door.

He was right behind her. "There's a waffle shop close by," he said, scratching the top of one foot against the back of his leg as she whipped around to peer at him in puzzlement. So… he wanted to come along. Okay then. She supposed he'd already weighed the risks – Light had already gone home, and this particular hotel was located in the business district. Misa wasn't likely to be lurking about. Maybe 'Eau d'Homme', courtesy of the task force men, was too much for him, too. Plus, waffles were awesome. Rui found his shoes for him and they were soon off.

She kept her gaze on him surreptitiously as he shuffled along slightly behind her, back slouched and hands in his pockets. The waffle place was in the next building, so they arrived there in no time at all.

She ordered hers with maple syrup and berries. He, of course, ordered all the toppings and drenched his waffles in the rest of the syrup. She paid, then turned around to see that he'd crouched himself at a booth furthest away from the entrance, partially hidden by a large potted plant.

She slid into the seat opposite his a little clumsily, a plate of waffles in each hand. She wondered briefly about Watari, but surely the old man could take care of himself. On the other hand, it seemed like Ryuzaki wanted her to continue speaking, that silent expectation hanging in the air between them.

"So… you know memes? Ideas, usually comedic, that spread virally over the Internet in the form of pictures and videos and which die down almost as quickly as they started?" Rui ventured, then took a forkful of her waffle. He seemed like the kind of guy to become a mega-troll on the Internet in his free time.

"Would you happen to be referring to the pictures you saved on the device you brought from your world?"

Oh, she'd forgotten about her smartphone. Had she any incriminating photos on there? Nodding in response to his question, she started mentally going through what she had stored.

"Yes, I thought that might be the case. LawLight, was it?" Ryuzaki continued dryly, making her bite her tongue.

Crap. Was her fujoshi karma coming back to bite her in the behind? In her defense, it was a very popular pairing in the Death Note fandom. Every fan knew about it, whether or not they liked the BL genre. Plus, him and Light were totally asking for it with their mutual obsession. She watched him warily, unable to tell what he thought about the fanart she'd saved in her gallery way back. He seemed to be looming closer and closer, not seeming to need to blink.

"Uhhh…" What could she say? She speared a strawberry and popped it in her mouth mutely.

Some of those illustrations were rather… imaginative, I must say," he goaded her, still keeping that same dry tone. "Unfortunately, Raito-kun is not a viable candidate. I would certainly need a willing partner."

He didn't deny it! Her BL-loving heart sang. "Well, yeah, of course," she mumbled around her strawberry giddily, feeling the urge to giggle.

She watched as he briefly studied his waffle before fixing his void-like stare on her again. Was he… amused? She had the feeling that she wasn't getting something, like there'd been a joke and it had whooshed over her head completely.

Feeling oddly discombobulated, Rui looked away, taking a sip of water to stall. "S-so you like both men and women? 'S cool if you do." Why did she say that? She should've been trying to change the subject to something less awkward.

He looked her over intently, then leaned closer again, nibbling at his index finger. "Well, theoretically it shouldn't matter what gender they are," he mumbled around his finger.

Ha! She KNEW it. "Does Rui like men and women, too?" he asked curiously, his eyes wide and guileless-looking, his thumb pressed so tightly to his lips that they parted a little.

Was this a test? She didn't see how the answer mattered either way. "Theoretically, it shouldn't matter to me too," she said slowly, "but I don't really know. I've only ever had crushes on men."

He leaned forward suddenly into her personal space, catching her off guard and causing her to bang her knee against the table. "Between Matsuda and Raito-kun, who would Rui date if she had to pick?"

Huh? How did they get from memes to her taste in men? But he seemed to really want her answer. She considered it carefully.

Matsuda was pretty okay, she conceded, as far as men went. But he seemed like the kind of person to adjust his opinion rather quickly, depending on what the rest of the task force members said. He also seemed like the kind of person to be overly interested in others' private lives. Plus, wasn't there the slightly disturbing fact that Matsuda had wanted to watch Light 'in action' with Takada? She didn't doubt that he had his heart in the right place with regard to the Kira investigation, and he seemed like a real joy to talk to with his perpetual cheer, but she wasn't sure she liked someone like that.

And Yagami Light? Seriously? She could not help but remember the contemptuous way he'd thought of Misa and Kiyomi after their catfight, or the way he'd trampled all over his own good will as Memoryless Light after he'd regained his memories. She could not forget the way Yagami Light had driven Misora Naomi to her undignified suicide, nor the way he'd lost all self-respect and dignity at Ryuzaki's grave, laughing madly as he got down on all fours like some monster in a mad parody of some obscene act*. No, Raito-kun repulsed her greatly.

Both of them were shitty options, and she told Ryuzaki so.

A horrible thought struck her. "Say, Ryuzaki, you wouldn't happen to be planning to test me by drawing either of their attentions to me, would you?"

He finally leaned back, tracing his thumb along his mouth. What, was he calculating percentages again? Nope, nope, nope. Time to suck up.

She took a breath. "Look here, Ryuzaki- Give me your hand-" She twined their pinkies together, then pressed the tip of her thumb against his, "Our fates are intertwined, okay? I'd choose you over them both, that's a promise!"

He stilled, thumb remaining motionless in his mouth as he stared down at their hands. Had she come on too strong?

Feeling awkward, she let go. "Hey Ryuzaki, you know there's a bunch of memes about you by your fans? I saw one where you were Sailor Mars and Raito-kun was Sailor Moon!"

The best way to get out of an awkward situation was to pretend it never happened.

* I swear, the way Light acted when he was alone at L's grave creeped me out so badly that I didn't sleep well the night I saw it :/ If you want to refer to it, just search up 'L funeral scene death note' in youtube or something.

AN: Come on, LawLight is like, a standard fixture of this fandom. How could I not poke fun a little by mentioning it? The last part of this wasn't really plot, but I wanted to show them interacting. She talks nonsense, he listens and observes. Not that I'm for or against it, but there will not be L x Light in this story.