A/N – Sorry for the wait! I took my time on this chapter, not only because of all the other things going on in my life, but because its one of the key scenes of the story and I wanted it to be as good as I could make it. Will Ruri kill Akatsuki? Read on to find out…
Twenty-Two
There was nothing in those brilliant golden eyes. No hatred, no fear, not even uncertainty. Just pure, unyielding indifference. As if what she was doing right now was no more then a routine task for her. That lack of anything resembling emotion was as deathly chilling as the weapon clasped in her colourless fingers.
She hadn't fired yet, just stood there motionless with the pistol trained on him. Akatsuki didn't mistake her hesitance for indecision – it was clear she knew exactly what she was doing. He knew for a fact that she'd had no arms training, but from this range she couldn't miss. What's more, though she was close, she was deliberately standing far enough away so that he couldn't disarm or tackle her, at least not before she could get a shot in. She'd even remembered to take the safety off – something which most untrained gunmen forgot. She'd observed every little detail. This wasn't a murder of madness, this was a carefully planned assassination. Akatsuki cursed emphatically within himself as he conceded that he was at her mercy. Of course, there was no was he was going to let her know that.
He tried to look relaxed, casually sitting back with his glass in his hand. Traitorous beads of sweat were collecting on his forehead, but he was able to speak with clarity and composure when he addressed her.
"Oh Ruri, Ruri, Ruri," he said light-heartedly, as if chiding his own child for a minor misdeed. "What on Earth do you think you are doing?" He took a leisurely slug of wine and placed the empty glass on his desk, never losing his cool expression. As he retrieved his hand, he moved it under the desk and lightly touched the alarm button. With a weapon now in the equation, it was time to call for back-up.
"I have come to get even," replied Ruri with icy calm. "You have done much to upset me, Mr Akatsuki. I already had enough reason to hate you. You betrayed us all on the Nadesico, supported the erasure of Omoikane's self-awareness and shoved me into an orphanage as part of your own malicious scheme. But that wasn't enough for you. You wanted to take my life as well." Her fingers tightened on the pistol. "I will never forgive you for that."
"Poor, misguided Ruri. You think I'm the cause of all that's wrong in your life?" said Akatsuki, keeping his condescending manner. He was playing for time now – his security team would be here in seconds and this charade would end, finally marking his victory over this bothersome young girl. Would he kill her outright or take her as his prisoner? Probably the latter, he decided. It would be fun to watch her suffer before him for her impudence.
"You really must not think much of me to make me such a scapegoat," he continued. "But I doubt killing me will solve your problems."
"No. In fact, it would create as many problems as it would solve," Ruri was saying, her tone as blank as ever. "But I am prepared to deal with that." Her index finger moved onto the trigger and for a horrible moment Akatsuki thought she was going to shoot. He fired off some words, hoping to stall her.
"Calm down Ruri. Don't do something you'll regret,"
Although she didn't fire, she didn't lower the gun either so Akatsuki continued with whatever phrases he could drag from his mind. "We can resolve this situation without bloodshed, Ruri. We can talk about things like civilised human beings," He patted a spot on the desk before him encouragingly. "Just put down the gun and we'll discuss it. You have nothing to fear from me. I give you my word that you'll leave the building safely."
Ruri cocked her head – the first change in her posture since she'd brought the gun out. "I really don't know whether to be amused that you expect me to trust you or insulted that you think I'd come here without planning my way out first. Believe me, I have prepared well Mr Akatsuki. I had to disable nearly all the security systems in the building to get in here." She gave a small nonchalant shrug. "Naturally, I also dealt with that button under your desk."
"Fuck," Akatsuki concealed his shock by slipping his fingers over his mouth. The brat had truly planned out every little detail and had the situation firmly in her grasp. Without his guards to protect him, he was left completely to his own devices. Then it was time to put his pride aside – if he wanted to live he'd have to reason his way out of this. Setting his teeth, he asked her, "What do you want?"
"What do I want?" Ruri shrugged indifferently. "Personally, I want my old life back, but since I can't have that, I suppose I don't really know what I want. But whatever it is, I doubt you'll be the one to provide it." She made an ominous gesture with the gun.
"Don't be a fool!" shouted Akatsuki, desperation setting in now. "I can give you money! Power! You know the influence I have Ruri! I can make you a Goddess! With our talents combined, we'll have the world…"
Ruri fired.
It all happened so quickly that it took him several seconds to figure it out. Firstly she'd adjusted her aim and pulled the trigger. He heard the shot and instinctively pushed himself away from his desk on his chair. Three seconds of madness passed in his mind before he realised that there was no pain anywhere meaning he hadn't been hit. Another two seconds passed as his head snapped left to see the smoking bullet hole in the wall behind him – it was high and wide and wouldn't have hit him even if he hadn't moved. Finally, he looked back over to Ruri. Her expression and posture both remained unchanged. If she'd been affected by the recoil at all, she'd recovered by now and was ready to fire again.
She'd shot to miss. What the hell was she playing at?
After the shock, Akatsuki found himself breathing heavily and unable to speak, but it was Ruri who wanted to do the talking. Her words came frosted with cold, deadly purpose.
"Do you understand what it is to die?" she murmured softly.
"What are you talking about?!" snapped Akatsuki, fear making him speak in haste.
"Consider your own mortality, Mr Akatsuki. How the immense importance of your life is contradicted by its own fragility. Think of the value you place on your own life and ambitions. Think of what you would lose, were I to kill you now."
Though he had no idea of what she hoped to accomplish with her words, his brain automatically processed them and produced some disturbing results. Ruri had power over his entire future. It was such an incredible and terrifying concept. From this range, this tiny, pasty girl, holding the pistol comically in both hands, was just as deadly as any assassin or Jovian attacker he had ever faced. A single twitch of her finger would send all his dreams, ambitions and achievements to the grave. History would not see Nagure Akatsuki as the valiant Aestivalis pilot or the formidable leader of the world's most powerful corporation – he would be the Nergal chairman who had been ludicrously assassinated by a little girl who he'd ticked off in the process of his schemes. No, he couldn't go out like this!
"What are you doing?!" he suddenly shouted, this realisation fuelling sudden anger.
"It's not much fun having your life manipulated by someone else, is it Mr Akatsuki?" murmured Ruri, regarding him calmly. "While we can't always control our own lives, we should at least be given the basic freedom to make our own decisions from the limited options available to us and choose our own path. You denied that to me. And so I will deny that same freedom to you." She purposefully raised her pistol so it was now aimed at Akatsuki's face.
"Now I grow tired of talking. It is time for me to end this."
Akatsuki couldn't think of anything to say in response as he stared dumbly down the barrel of the gun. There was no way he could bribe, threaten or reason his way out of this. The girl knew exactly what she wanted to do. She had both the means and the right to end his life. Well, if it was time for him to leave, he would go with dignity. Let no-one say that Nagure Akatsuki was a coward in the face of death. His face was regal and his voice unwavering as he spoke his last words.
"Finish it then Miss Hoshino. Take your revenge,"
"Revenge?" said Ruri, slowly shaking her head back and forth with eyes closed. "No. This isn't about revenge."
She lowered the gun. Remaining expressionless, she flicked open the bullet chamber allowing the remaining bullets to sprinkle out onto the floor with a series of high 'clinks'. Akatsuki watched them scatter about chaotically, then transferred his gaze to the child before him, his normally thin eyes widening to unnatural levels.
"This is compassion. You'd do well to learn it Mr Akatsuki."
Akatsuki gaped dumbfounded at her as she tossed the, now harmless, gun onto his desk and turned her back on him. Without another word or glance, she strode over towards the ventilation opening through which she'd entered. The Nergal chairman struggled to create words, his mind still trying to grasp what had just happened and just how close to death he had come. "You're leaving?" he eventually stammered.
"I've done what I came to do," replied Ruri, not deigning him a look as she pulled over a chair and put it under the shaft entrance. "There is no reason for me to stay any longer." Climbing onto the seat and standing up on tiptoe, she reached up and grasped the edge of the opening, ready to pull herself up.
"Hey, wait a second there Ruri," said Akatsuki, standing up behind his desk. At his request, Ruri released her grip and looked around at him, questioningly. Without the gun, she once again looked like the little computer operator that Akatsuki had once known. It was hard to believe she had threatened his life just a few seconds earlier.
"You never meant to kill me?" he asked with real curiosity.
Disgust filled Ruri's voice as she muttered, "I'm not like you Mr Akatsuki. Murder is not my method and never will be."
"But wait, I don't understand," said Akatsuki, regarding her inquiringly.
"Are you seriously telling me you came all this way into Hiratsuka and broke into Nergal just to teach me a lesson in decency?!" He snorted disdainfully, his typical arrogance now restored.
As it turned out, Akatsuki would regret asking that question for the rest of his life. For the response when it came froze his blood.
"Not just for that,"
She turned right around to completely face the Nergal chairman, who was gazing at her quizzically. Meeting his eyes with her own, she continued.
"I knew that no matter what I said or did, you would never abort your Nergal Five project of your own free will. I decided to take some action by myself."
Horror and panic flooded through Nagure. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then spoke dangerously through gritted teeth. "What have you done?"
Ruri shrugged slightly. The movement contrasted the significance of her following words.
"I accessed the Nergal network and sent all files pertaining to the N5 project to the Earth Government and the UEAF."
"You did what?!" After a moment of comprehending the implications of her words, Akatsuki disbelief turned to aggression and he slammed his hands down on his desk. "No. No! You didn't! You can't have!"
"Better believe it," murmured Ruri coolly.
Spluttering in incredulity Akatsuki said, "You have no idea what you've just done! With the Government's new stance for peace…"
"…they'll not look on your plans for a new super battleship too favourably," Ruri finished the sentence for him. "That was the idea. With any luck they'll put an end to your idiotic scheme once and for all,"
Akatsuki sank down to his chair, despair killing off his strength. So much had hinged on the construction of the Nergal Five remaining secret. He had known for the very beginning that Nergal would never be allowed to possess such a powerful weapon, no matter what the circumstances. That's why he'd gone to obscene levels to keep the development concealed from them. If Ruri was speaking the truth then not only would they know of its existence, but also every detail about it, such as where it was being built and how powerful it would actually be. Essentially, they'd know as much about the ship as he did himself. And he could be sure that now they would never allow it to see the light of day. The depression of that thought drained him of all fury.
"Unbelievable. Just unbelievable," he murmured, resting his head in his hands. "The only chink in our armour and you managed to exploit it." He turned his gaze accusingly on Ruri. "What's even more incredible is how you're still willing to shield our Jovian foes from the power of justice. Was that done out of compassion too?" A trace of mockery hung in his voice.
"Yes it was. No matter how many lives they took in the process of that senseless war, they do not deserve to be completely annihilated. And they certainly don't deserve to die just to fulfil your perverse ambitions Mr Akatsuki."
"That wasn't for you to decide!" snapped Akatsuki forcibly. "You have no idea of how deep the consequences of this could go! This could ruin me Ruri!"
Ruri shrugged. "You should consider yourself lucky. I could have taken your life today. Compared to that, anything else you might lose is minor. Don't you think?"
Turning away from him, she reached up for the shaft entrance again. "I'll leave you to consider that. Goodbye Mr Akatsuki." Then, in one nimble movement, she hauled herself up and was gone, like a cat through a flap.
Akatsuki watched her leave and remained staring vacantly at the ventilation opening for several minutes even after she'd gone, his head stewing with worthless thoughts. It is a bitter pain that a man feels when he knows that his ambitions have been crushed. But while disappointment prevailed over everything else within him, there was an inner voice telling him that ultimately, justice had been dealt today by the tiny white hand of Ruri Hoshino.
A/N – Don't know what you guys thought of that, but it was really fun to write! Ruri's finally got even with Akatsuki! I've been looking forward to this chapter for a long time! ^_^
By the way, if anyone was silently urging Ruri to snuff him out, shame on you! Would you want our little Ruri to sink to Akatsuki's level, thinking she could solve a problem by killing someone? Ruri isn't a murderer. She never intended to kill Akatsuki, she just wanted to demonstrate a point.
So where do we go from here? Well, Akito and Yurika still haven't found their potential daughter. Akatsuki takes out his anger on a certain someone and Ruri is now on her way to meet an old friend. However, as it turns out she has overlooked a vital detail which will make her vulnerable to her enemies once again…
Just five chapters to go now! Expect things to get dramatic as we approach the conclusion! ^_^
