AN: Last time I was too busy to spend too much time on the AN, but perhaps I should disclaim now that I don't agree with the way Rui minimized her own distress with the justification that Ryuzaki had it worse. Emotions are signposts towards things that need to be fixed in one's life and should therefore never be dismissed. It's just that I've observed many people I know having this tendency. Idk if it's a cultural thing.
As a quote I came across put it: someone else may have less on their plate, but they could have a smaller plate that can't hold much or a flimsy paper plate as compared to another person's sturdy plate.
Also, uh, don't trust Rui's thoughts and feelings in this story too much, okay? She's not infallible.
AN2: I will be going on a short hiatus (2months at the max). Gotta complete a project. Sighpie.
Chapter 14: Night
May 25, 2004; 19 00
BEEPBEEPBEEP! The laptop pinged as Watari logged on to deliver a message, interrupting the task force's discussion on their lack of findings regarding the Second Kira. "Ryuzaki, there is another package to Sakura TV. According to the postmark, it was sent on the 23rd. I am streaming the video to you now."
"I was able to find Kira. People at the TV station, policemen, thank you all very much," said the video sent by the Second Kira. Light was tense, eyes on the screen. Rui didn't quite understand Misa's reasoning for revealing this, either. Would it not have been more advantageous to just show up at Light's house? Now Light definitely was a suspect, even without canon knowledge. It practically confirmed that contact had been made in Aoyama.
Now that Rui thought about it, the way in which Ryuzaki had gone about trying to prevent the two from meeting was a little suspect. Or was she overthinking this? It was usually the case that the more you interacted with someone, the easier it got to understand them, but Ryuzaki was like a pointillism work – the closer she got, the more his methods and motivations were obfuscated. Was it because she was starting to trust him too much?
"We can't say that they have joined forces yet," Ryuzaki's calm voice cut through the distressed clamor the task force made at the thought of the Kiras combining their powers. "Before this, the Second Kira always said 'meet Kira' but this time he used the phrase 'found Kira'. This means that he has found out who Kira is but probably hasn't contacted him. At least, they didn't 'meet' before he sent the package on the 23rd."
Ryuzaki decided that the police would broadcast a message to show 'leniency' to the Second Kira in exchange for information on the first Kira. She knew, and Ryuzaki knew, that the probability of it working was almost zero. Misa's obsession with Light transcended reason. But true to form, Ryuzaki was the type to cover all his bases. It would also put pressure on Light to do something, and then he'd slip up. Hopefully. But everyone knew that the price for multiple murders was the death penalty. According to Mello, Ryuzaki had the power to mobilise every investigation bureau in the world or something. Yet, if Ryuzaki had any power to influence the legal process, he sure wasn't exercising it now.
Was there a way they could prevent Rem from killing L due to Misa? Maybe if she were accorded leniency… but she would have to kill less people, so… They would have to restrain her early. But L, she found, despite his power, was still constrained by bureaucratic red tape. She was sure he'd already pulled strings and was in the process of getting a search warrant for Misa's apartment, but by golly they were moving too slowly.
Rui didn't remember when, but Misa would be making contact with Light soon. She'd bought his information online, if memory served. "Asahi-san," Ryuzaki said, turning to Yagami Sr., "The Kitamura family is no longer under suspicion. Tell Mogi-san that he doesn't need to go there posing as L anymore. Tell him to follow Raito-kun instead, since Raito-kun doesn't know him. If Raito-kun is Kira, he'll probably meet the Second Kira in private."
That was a little insensitive, but Yagami Sr. took it pretty well, acceding with only a brief hesitation.
"As for the spot at the main base of the police station, Watari can take over."
"Ryuzaki, you're really going to go over all of the videos from Aoyama on the 22nd by yourself?" Aihara asked, astounded.
"If Kira is indeed on the tapes from the Raye Penber incident, then Raito-kun has to be him," Ryuzaki answered. Matsuda and Yagami Sr. did not look happy at all.
"So, the Second Kira is among the people who came into contact with him?"
"No, the Second Kira didn't necessarily react obviously to the presence of Raito. That's why I want to go through the tapes myself," Ryuzaki replied. Matsui and Aihara were discussing Ryuzaki's sleeping habits. Matsui didn't know the half of it – Ryuzaki slept in the armchair in his customary pose, it was true, but him and the armchair were on their sides. Ryuzaki must've just been resting his eyes when Matsui saw him.
May 26, 2004; 01 00
What was the saying? 'You never leave before your boss'? Well, Rui had no choice but to take this further. Perhaps the saying should be modified. 'You never rest until the boss does', or something like that. Her own experience with all-day surveillance still fresh in her mind, Rui took care to keep Ryuzaki's teapot filled and his plate stocked with sweets. Ice lollies, to be precise. She was running on pure willpower, almost dead on her feet.
"Rui," Ryuzaki's voice suddenly called, jerking her out of her doze. She wiped the heel of her palm across her eyes before padding next to him, unheeding of the smudged concealer.
"What does it mean to be human, according to Rui?" His question blindsided her, and it took about 3 full seconds for his words to penetrate her tired brain. Maybe he needed to stay awake too. Or maybe he was a pro at multitasking. Or maybe he was really a tanuki in disguise. Rui didn't know. The darkness of the room wasn't helping any.
"Human, huh?" she stalled, rubbing her eyes hard. She took a huge bite of one of his red ice lollies, and the brain freeze woke her up some. The bright screen was reflected in his dark eyes and he was motionless in that frog-like crouch, but he was definitely listening.
"I know many people like to define humanity in very abstract, value-based ways," she began, gathering her thoughts. "For example, they say that to be human is to have empathy, or to be compassionate. But there is scientific evidence to indicate that these are qualities not exclusive to the human species."
"Therefore, I prefer a more concrete definition of humanity – all species classified under the genus Homo are human. If you're born a human, you're human. We have to accept that we are all capable of both the vilest and most benevolent of actions and thoughts, rather than dissociating ourselves from it by saying things like 'oh he's a rapist. He's not human.' "
"Our ancestors had to be ruthless to survive, and we already built civilization on bloodshed and cruel murder. But now we have the luxury to choose whether to be good or not. Why go back to what's been done? To evolve is to do something different from what we've been doing, that is, to choose to be 'good' instead of 'cruel'. Therefore, leaving the subjective issue of morality out of this, I am in favor of trying something different, less primal, for us to advance as a species." Unfortunately, the gravity of her words was undermined greatly by a huge yawn she couldn't hold back.
By that definition even Ryuzaki was human, even if he looks like the product of a ménage a trois between a frog, an owl and a raccoon. Wait, had she said that, or had she been thinking it? She looked anxiously at Ryuzaki but his face was blank.
He was silent for a long moment, and she wondered if he'd fallen asleep. Heck, she wondered if she'd fallen asleep and was lucid dreaming. Not that she knew how. Also, her lolly was a sticky puddle of red mush. When'd that happen? Oh, was that girl on the screen surreptitiously picking her nose?
"Tell me, what is Rui's answer to the Trolley problem?" That question totally came out of left field, interrupting Rui's clean-up.
"H-huh?" she stuttered, attempting to wipe away some drool from the corner of her mouth and probably smearing melted lolly on it, too.
"The situation is as follows: you see a runaway trolley on the railway tracks, where five people are tied up and unable to move. A lever lies in front of you: if you pull it, the trolley switches to a different track where one person is. What choice do you make?"
Oh, that one. Easy. "I wouldn't do anything."
He munched on another lolly. "Explain, please."
"I would let chance decide, because it is my belief that human lives are immeasurable even with traditional standards like quality and quantity. Everyone deserves to live, therefore it is not the right of another human to decide," Rui elaborated.
"And if it were a choice between strangers and loved ones?" he pressed, suddenly pausing the screen to give her the full force of his attention.
"I would let chance decide," she repeated, staring back at him with dead eyes.
Huh. Peering more closely at Ryuzaki, Rui admitted ruefully that her opinion on his ancestry had probably been a little unfair. Under the glare of the monitor in an otherwise pitch-dark room, his buggy eyes were less obvious, his skin appeared lit from within, and he had a pretty cool silhouette. Who'd have thunk? She smiled to herself, noting that his eyes were not completely black, but in fact had a faint ring of grey around the black iris, kind of like an old man's. Fascinating. She probably was behaving like a weirdo, but she couldn't really seem to look away.
He seemed equally fixated on her, his pale lips parting slowly under her stare. Unthinkingly, she licked her lips, and his gaze lowered, tracking that motion intently. The blood pounded in her ears and she found herself wanting to touch him. Just a little…
No. NO. What was she doing? Dazed, she bowed her head and stepped back, unable to meet his eyes. What had she been thinking? Probably nothing at all, which was the real problem here. He was her boss. He was her favorite fictional character. He was.. he was L. That should be enough explanation.
Hot shame rose in her throat, greatly annoying her, and she fussed at her clothes in prim, angry tugs.
"I'll get you more tea," she decided, snatching up the tea set and leaving the room without waiting for any response. Her stupid heart was still pounding so madly, it seemed almost impossible to breathe. She just needed more sleep. In the morning, she'd probably find that she'd dreamt this entire thing up. What that said about her… was something she didn't want to consider, either. In the morning, everything would be okay.
They spent the rest of the night in complete, stony silence, with Rui standing to attention just beside the door and Ryuzaki ignoring her in favor of his surveillance.
This is the end of the chapter. The rest of the content is character info for my OC which you can skip if you want.
Basic Info
Alias: Rui るい
True name: Rae Wong/ 王瑞 / 天野るい (there's a slight joke here because amano rui is a homophone for 天のるい which means 'Rui of the sky'. You know, since as far as L is concerned, Rui could've dropped from the sky for all he knew)
Birthday: December 8, 1994
Deathday: ?
Height: 162cm/ ~5' 3"
Weight: 42kg/ ~92.6 lbs
Blood type: AB
Likes: To be left in peace, Having a purpose
Dislikes: Hypocrites like Yagami Light
Character stats
For intelligence, I wasn't sure whether it referred to IQ-intelligence or Knowledge of the situation (Kira case).
Intelligence (IQ): 6.5/10
Intelligence (Knowledge of the situation): 8/10
Willingness to act: 7/10
Creativity: 7/10
Motivation (to kill): 0/10
Motivation (in general): 8/10
Social Life: 6/10
Mutability: 10/10
AN: I promised sexual tension in my tags, and I have no real idea how to write it. Suggestions welcome, plox. My excuse for this is that it's late and people's defenses go down when it's late.
Come on, Rui thinks so much about Ryuzaki in nearly every chapter prior to this; are you surprised this happened?
And Ryuzaki… I'm not going to lie, I think he's repressed but has a high sex drive. Whether or not he pursues/ will pursue it is a completely different matter. Is this too OOC?
And no, Rui's views are not my views.