AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS!
After the sweet chapter we had, this is more of a talking chapter. Disclaimer: I am no legal expert.
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Chapter 24: Tentative Understanding
Jun 21, 2004; ~04 00
"Rui," Ryuzaki suddenly called, "As you well know, not much headway will be made into this case if the status quo is maintained. Thus, Yagami and Amane will soon be allowed to meet."
Rui turned to face him, waiting. Ryuzaki was so damned difficult to read. Did he simply mean this as a throwaway remark, or was this his awkward way of trying to open a conversation with her? Rui thought about it. Act in favor of the outcome you want, right?
Smiling wryly, Rui made her decision. Decisively, she gently took the dessert platter from him and gently but insistently tugged at Ryuzaki's sleeve until he followed her to where he had been sitting. She set the platter on his desk, pulled up another chair beside his, and sat down, then looked up at him expectantly. Apparently, that had been the right move, for Ryuzaki simply followed suit.
Rui summarily quashed all thoughts of why and focused on trying to recall all the questions she had. She didn't know how communicative he would be, but perhaps if she acted like that was what he was intending, he would be tempted to go along with it.
"By soon, you mean a month, which is what you told the task force, or do you intend to bring this forward?"
"The plan will remain unchanged," Ryuzaki replied, rather straightforwardly by his standards. So that statement had been his way of drawing her into conversation, after all. But he wasn't saying more. Rui supposed he intended on only answering whatever she asked directly.
"How do you intend on having them meet? Will you be forcing them through the whole suicide hullabaloo with the Chief?"
Ryuzaki paused. "That depends." At the quizzical look Rui shot him, he relented. "On how the task force reacts. On what is necessary in order to get to the next stage."
"So, in other words, your intention is for almost everything to remain the same, at least up to the Yotsuba arc?" Rui clarified.
"Indeed." That was all he seemed to be willing to say on the matter. Well, that was about to be expected, and Rui didn't want to force him to do anything, not after they'd just made up. Still, Rui had other lines of questioning to pursue.
"I think… I think it was unfair of me to get angry at your decision to restrict the Chief's communication with his family. Actually, I don't even know if that's what you've done. Did you really do this, and if so, why?" This was beginning to sound like some sort of interview, Rui conceded to herself, wryly. She didn't want to bring this up, but it was bothering her, and she didn't want to make judgements without hearing his side of things.
"The Chief is brave, ethical and a good leader to his men," Ryuzaki began. "However, there is always the possibility of him being swayed by his family, as he himself admits, which is why the decision was made to isolate him from his son. I thought it prudent to do the same with the rest of his family, so that he can act from a position independent of these influences."
That was… Whatever Rui had been expecting, it wasn't this. It almost sounded like Ryuzaki had been trying to do Yagami Sr. a favor. She supposed that would be what Ryuzaki himself would have wanted had he been in the Chief's position. But what he himself would want wasn't necessarily the same as what someone else would have desired, right?
"I understand, Ryuzaki, and I think it's really well-intentioned, the way you're trying to lessen Yagami Sr.'s burden, so to speak," Rui started hesitantly. She didn't know how he would take the next bit. "But perhaps… this is a decision Yagami Sr. should make for himself?"
"I mean," she added hastily, as the weight of his dark gaze rested fully on her, "who's to say that the effect of him being in contact with the rest of his family would destabilize him? At this point in time, it seems to me like he has a tendency to forget the rest of his family in favor of his work, and with that, his sole focus is only on getting Light out of this. Isn't this more likely to lead to him taking rash actions, which is what you're trying to prevent?"
It felt like she had rambled on for ages. Why wasn't he saying anything? Say something, anything! "I'm just saying," Rui continued, "maybe the rest of his family will have a calming effect on him instead as they are a reminder of other aspects of his life. Maybe they'll help break him out of the tunnel vision he's gotten himself into."
"Of course, I don't know this for sure," she added nervously, "but it's worth a try, right? You're already monitoring him anyway. If he gets worse you could always block communication with his family again. And this time, you'd be fully justified in doing so."
Rui winced at that last sentence, hoping he didn't take offense to what she was implying. This time, instead of looking away, she stared back.
She was rather pleasantly surprised by what she saw. He seemed to be sincerely considering her words, and she couldn't help staring.
Huh. Perhaps he wasn't a complete arrogant hardass after all. Maybe he was more reasonable than she had assessed him to be. Maybe he wasn't as easy to offend as she thought he was, and maybe she could be more open with him.
Ryuzaki looked sideways towards her, his thumb still resting on his bottom lip. "You're right, Rui," he mumbled. "It's certainly something I'll think on."
Who was he and what had he done with Ryuzaki? Had he just said she was right? Rui was torn between being flattered and using it as an opportunity to tease him.
"Ack." That was her indecision, given voice.
Was he trying to hide the beginning of a smile blooming at the corner of his mouth, or was Rui seeing things?
"How astute," Ryuzaki deadpanned. "That's one more I'll have to think on."
Why, that infuriating man! Rui huffed. "I just didn't expect the great Ryuzaki to say I was right. It made me question reality for a split second."
"Indeed. Whatever could 'ack' mean, I wonder." The most infuriating part about his delivery was his tone.
Rui threw a biscuit at him. It bounced off the side of his head as he gazed listlessly at her, landing in his lap. She regretted it a moment later. What a waste of food. Picking up the biscuit, she popped it in her mouth. It didn't taste as nice as the description. Bummer.
She startled as she felt a biscuit bounce off her temple. Ryuzaki! She should never have let her guard down around him.
He seemed unfazed by her Look of Great Outrage, even flicking a third and fourth biscuit at her forehead. She got the message.
"Why, you..."
Before he could react, she lunged at him, stuffing a handful of confectioneries down the front of his shirt. HA! Served him right. Knowing him, he'd want to take a shower later. Thankfully, the biscuits did not easily crumble, minimising potential mess. She would have to do the laundry, anyway.
Rui had taken care to use all of the biscuits on the platter. Now he didn't have any ammunition to retaliate. She chuckled evilly, until he smeared the nest he had been nibbling against her open mouth.
Hmph. It was still a poor victory on his part despite how he'd gotten the jump on her, and he knew it too. Smiling at his peeved expression, she handed him a stack of napkins as a conciliatory gesture. At least his childishness made it less likely for her to remember the feels. Perhaps if she hung around him more, this crush would wear off.
She'd almost forgotten how oddly fun his company could be, thinking fondly back to the time he had tried to teach her pickpocketing. She just wished there were more of such moments. Unfortunately, try as she might, she couldn't think of a way to prolong their current interaction.
Just then, he took reign of the conversation with a non-sequitur. "Rui, how much do you know about legal systems?" The question was almost superfluous; Rui knew nothing about law, and replied as much.
Ryuzaki seemed to come alive then, and she listened in rapt attention as he explained how there were two main systems of justice - the inquisitorial and adversarial systems, which differ in the degree of involvement that the Judge has in collating and preparing the evidence, and that Japan practised a hybrid legal system, one which allowed the prosecution to pick and choose which cases to pursue and suspend, regardless of the amount of evidence. As a result, at least 60% of cases were suspended without an indictment.
At this, Ryuzaki paused, presumably to let her work it out.
Rui thought about this. That was probably natural - if she had been a prosecutor with the freedom to choose which cases to take on, she would pursue only those she was certain would be convicted, to minimise any stain on her professional record due to wrongful conviction. After all, there didn't seem to be any professional repercussions of suspending a case even if the defendant were guilty. However, she supposed that meant more criminals went free than were convicted. Of course, she mused, that had its benefits too - people were innocent until proven guilty, which might, in principle, avoid the issue of wrongful conviction. But what did that mean in the context of the Kira case?
It was already difficult to get an indictment for a normal crime, even with substantial evidence. What kind of evidence would be needed to convict Kira, when there were so many iffy supernatural elements?
She voiced that thought, and for the first time ever, he smiled behind his thumb. Well, it wasn't technically the first time Ryuzaki smiled, but it was certainly the first time it was, presumably directed at her! Shucks, he actually looked... Ryuzaki had a surprisingly alluring smile that made him look both cute and kind of seductive all at once. It was made even more unique by its rarity, and when it was directed at her like that...
Be still, my foolish heart, Rui thought inanely, and wanted to laugh. With his attention directed at her like that, he would definitely have noticed something was off if she obeyed her first impulse and looked away. So instead she stared back at him, carefully keeping her face blank, when all the while her chest grew tighter and tighter.
Instead of swallowing to relieve her dry throat, she stole a sip of tea from his tea cup. He didn't seem to mind.
"Confessions are the king of evidence," he replied dryly. "Get Kira to confess to the crime, and with further hard evidence, the court will find him guilty."
Well, that was a game changer. If a confession was an absolute must to convict them, she supposed she could sort of see why canon Ryuzaki had chosen to confine everyone and torture Amane Misa, specifically. He did have hard evidence of her being the Second Kira. If he had been able to obtain a confession from her, it would've been game over for the Second Kira. But...
"Every decision made was legal in the eyes of the Japanese legal system," Ryuzaki added, almost as if he had guessed what she was thinking. Legal? Torture was legal? Detaining suspects without a defense lawyer was legal?
"Defense lawyers are not allowed to be present during the interrogation process," he said, watching her closely. Rui rubbed her temples.
"Japan's code of criminal procedure allows suspects to be held without bail for 23 days."
Rui furrowed her brows. "Hasn't it been longer than that? The time for which you have confined both Amane and Light, I mean."
He began chewing on his thumb. "The two Kiras are guilty of several charges besides murder," he informed her. "Corpse abandonment. Insurrection. Plots for insurrection. Intimidation. Obstruction of justice. Murder. These are but a few of the crimes that Amane may be found guilty of, on top of the drugs that were found in her possession."
Rui frowned when it clicked. What, did the investigators just continue to detain suspects based on different charges but using the same case evidence? Could the system really be taken advantage of so easily? That was so... lame. But wait, that drug charge against Amane was genuine? And come to think of it, what capacity did Ryuzaki himself act in? Prosecutor? Investigator? Who was the one allowed to detain these suspects? She questioned as much.
He wasn't at all inclined to answer that question, and Rui was forced to think it over. Ryuzaki had to act with the cooperation of the police task force. Did that mean he did not have jurisdiction to act otherwise? She supposed that would make him an investigator. Was this legal? She did not know. Who would be the prosecutor, then? As someone who'd been in this field for so long, perhaps he had connections? Or maybe Watari did? In any case, presumably once all the right evidence was gathered, they wouldn't have any trouble convicting Kira. But wait, the Japanese police later withdrew their support. Did that mean he was then acting illegally?
All this made her head hurt. Did it matter whether it was within the law or not? The law appeared to permit some very questionable things, by Rui's own moral compass. But who was she to claim hers was right? Besides, these laws were designed the way they were for what were, presumably, good intentions. The road to hell, indeed. Rui didn't know enough about other countries' judicial systems to be able to make comparisons, either. In any case, did it matter? They were in Japan, and they would have to work within Japan's judicial system to neutralise Kira. Being right or wrong had very little to do with that end goal.
Armed with more knowledge like this, Rui thought she understood, just a little more, Ryuzaki's rather blasé attitude towards the law.
With a jolt, she realised that he was still gazing at her with that smile. She couldn't help looking away this time.
"It seems so out of character for you to smile that it's flustering me," Rui muttered, though she couldn't conceal the slight blush that showed. "Nevertheless," she continued, looking back to Ryuzaki, "I learnt a lot today. Thank you very much for explaining the judicial system to me."
At this, he seemed to come back to himself, and began to shift so that his side was facing her. He glanced at her before looking down into his tea cup. She studied him, noting that he no longer seemed willing to participate in further conversation. Dude was moodier than her on her period. Still, the way he'd actively participated in the conversation left her feeling rather more inclined to view him favorably.
"Well, I really enjoyed our conversation, Ryuzaki," she told him, smiling warmly. She noticed him glance sideways at her very briefly before he looked down again. This time, he was fiddling with some sugar cubes. "If you have the time, and you are so inclined, I hope we can do this again. For now, I'll bring you some more refreshments and leave you to your work."
Indeed, his tea had gone cold, and fresh tea would be very much appreciated.
Watari had informed him of Rui's complaint about him being uncommunicative, which she had inexplicably interpreted as him holding little regard for her. Truly, Ryuzaki had never thought much about how his actions would be interpreted by others; he established only working relationships, and was content to keep it that way. But he hadn't meant to convey that impression to Rui, especially not if it got her this angry at him.
He supposed that Rui was the sort who liked to know what was going on and felt exhilarated at learning new things. Consequently, to mollify her, he had only intended to allow her to ask her questions and answer the bare minimum that he could get away with.
But she had seemed to enjoy his company so much. Had anyone ever? Ryuzaki did not think so. And then she had looked up at him so beseechingly with warm, glasslike, almond-shaped eyes. For what? His company? Had anyone ever looked at him like that? Perhaps even he needed an audience sometimes, if the way he had felt compelled to indulge her was any indication.
Oh, there were any number of reasons not to: he really had to be monitoring Light, and he needed time to think on his next move and integrate all the information that he had thus far by the time the day started, which was mere hours away.
But those were easily worked around: he recorded all surveillance footage, and if he played it back twice as fast, he could catch up in time for the day. Moreover, there weren't many refinements to his approach that could conceivably be made.
She listened raptly as he explained the legal workings of the current country they were in, and swiftly put pieces together with what she had been told. He hadn't meant it to be a test, not at first, but she had inspired curiosity in him, and she hadn't disappointed. Not at all. It was interesting to study her expressions. He had already catalogued five different types of eyelid flutters that she did, including the one she performed when she was busy thinking on her feet.
He had had to look away when she began thanking him, though. Her happiness had been a palpable thing, and something warm had bloomed in him when she'd looked at him with such admiring eyes. He'd barely stopped himself from puffing out his chest.
And to be honest with himself, he had enjoyed conversing with her, too.
AN1: Watch these two idiots come to the conclusion that it would be better for them to hang out more lol. I know it's a bit anticlimatic after the sweet chapter we just had, but we had to shift the dynamic a little, since Rui was always wary of Ryuzaki.
AN2: Disclaimer; I am no law expert. What I wrote above was what I gleaned from the list of references below. Learning about Japan's legal system sheds so much light on why things happened the way they did in canon. One reader once mentioned that the task force seemed rather incompetent. Well, apparently it's true. The police have very limited investigative power, due to historical reasons.
References on Japan's legal system:
en/japan-topics/c05401/order-in-the-court-explaining-japan%
analysis/resolved-japans-justice-system-fair
. /news/2020/02/02/national/crime-legal/japanese-justice-system/
. ?article=1341&context=djilp
.
news/world-asia-47113189
news/magazine-20810572
. /law/detail/?id=3581&vm=04&re=01
. #Q6
AN3: My license for Microsoft Office expired and the free software alternative I'm using is kind of throwing me off :/ You guys have any good microsoft office dupes to recommend?