Part IX
Conflict
I awoke when I heard someone swear under their breath. When I opened my eyes, I saw two figures standing within the room. The smallest of the pair was a child, and Ryuzaki was obviously the other.
"How many times to I have to tell you tonight alone, Mello, that you need to sleep in your own room?!"
"But the wind is so loud," the little blonde boy protested. "I can't fall asleep."
"Not tonight, okay? I have work to do," Ryuzaki whispered with finality.
"Why? Are you planning to do naughty things to Kita?"
No response. I wasn't sure if my face was hot from anger or if I was blushing. "No," Ryuzaki growled violently, "now get out!" The door clicked silently as Mello shut the door morosely behind him. "I'm sorry about that, Kita," Ryuzaki whispered as he crouched on the floor beside my futon.
I startled the poor detective when I rolled over to face him. "Why didn't you answer him right away when he asked…" I couldn't even finish the question.
Ryuzaki snickered darkly. "Pay no mind to me. Mello merely startled me with such a question. Trust me, I am no pervert." He stood and walked over to the bed and sat down. "Besides," he continued, "that's not something I'm planning anytime soon with anyone," he snarled bitterly as he motioned for me to sit beside him.
Mechanically, I accepted the offer. "What is it?" The nervousness in my voice was obvious.
"I heard what happened to your parents," Ryuzaki whispered, "and I'm sorry."
"It's fine," I replied, surprised at his sudden kindness.
"I can understand how you feel," the detective continued, "for, as I said, I have been an orphan for most of my life."
"I'm new to the whole orphan business so we can cope with our demons together," I murmured uncertainly. Wait… what am I saying? "Wait… how old are you?"
"I'm 21. You?" Ryuzaki's eyes shimmered in the moonlight as he waited for my reply.
"I turned 18 on August 21st," I told him.
"Heh, heh." The detective laughed quietly. "No one harassed you in school then."
I smiled. "That was one nice thing about having a birthday in the summer."
Ryuzaki chuckled again. "Sucks for me. I was born in October. Halloween to be precise."
"I like Halloween," I whispered, "it's so much fun to dress up and pretend to be someone you're not."
I received no response for several moments, and when I opened my mouth to speak again the detective cut me off. "Do you like it here so far?" He was way off topic again; this seemed to be one of his greatest talents. Of course, a detective probably had to be able to quickly change the subject sometimes if he or she wants to save their head.
"Yes, I do actually. You and your successors are quite…" I thought before I continued. "Interesting."
"What do you mean by that? I do hope you're not being rude," Ryuzaki murmured.
I decided to play around a little since he was being friendly. "Yeah, okay, fine I'm being rude," I said sarcastically.
"Heh… two can play at that game. What would you say, Kita, if I told you that I had the 'terrorists' crash those planes into to the World Trade Center to kill your parents… who were the real terrorists?"
I lost it then. Tears of rage streamed down my face as I stood… I wanted to hit the vain detective. Through my blurred vision, I saw Ryuzaki rise as well. I raised my fist to strike him, but he moved his head abruptly to the side and held me by my shoulders. His eyes were darkened by anger as they met mine. I went rigid in stupefaction momentarily, then pushed Ryuzaki away from myself hard. He landed on his back upon the bed, and laughed silently.
"You are quite right to want to hit me for that Kita," he said smiling. "That was rude. I do hope you will forgive me."
"Sorry, Ryuzaki," I whispered as angrily as my shaking voice could manage, " I don't know if I can."
"Fair enough," he conceded. The moonlight illuminated his pale face, revealing what I later realized to be a wistful look within his eyes. "I'll leave you to sleep." With that he gracefully left the room; the door clicked shut silently behind him. I threw myself upon the bed and seethed for awhile before I finally fell asleep.
End Part IX