Chapter Thirteen - Game
Circles, turning
Circles, yearning.
To and fro,
A constant flow.
Life is a game,
Be the player,
Or the pawn?
April 4, 9:34 PM.
My keys jingle in my pocket as I slip on my jacket. There are words that I want to say, and he knows that I need to get them out, so he patiently waits as I adjust my jacket and button it up. My back is to him as he stares out the window at the Tokyo skyline. The Task Force has left hours before, and it's just been the two of us for a while.
"What name did you want to use as an alias anyway?" I break the ice with a simple question.
"Hideki Ryuga," he replies, eyes switching from watching the sky to watching me as I check the time on my phone. I laugh shortly, imagining the reaction that the crowd in the auditorium would have if he were to be introduced by that name.
"You have a strange sense of humor," I chuckle and shake my head before turning to look at him.
"You're one to talk," he says, amused, with a small grin.
"Birds of a feather flock together," I retort gleefully.
We are silent for a moment as I collect the right words. "I'm going to be right behind you; I can't miss this. Both of us know that this is probably Kira, and he might do something rash after that stunt he pulled last month. I think it's time that I show him my connection to the investigation."
"Are you willing to risk that?" he says after a moment. His eyes are unreadable.
"Do you really need to ask?"
"Hardly," he snorts and looks back through the windows.
I head towards the door, smirking lightly. My hand comes to rest on the handle before I hesitate for a moment.
I think it's time I told him; it's time that I tell him something important.
"You know, I never mentioned this before, didn't think it was important, but I ran into Light just after the exams."
I hear the shifting of fabric, and then the familiar weight of Ryuzaki's gaze settles on my back. My smirk melts into a sad smile as I leave the room and head for home.
"Good man," I tease playfully as Makoto reluctantly slaps some bills into my hand. Sure enough, there's Light, sitting in the front, wearing a brand spanking new suit, like I can still see the folding lines new. It is indeed impressive.
"So what so we do now?" he asks. Makoto is sort of my right-hand man for this operation. Kakushin is our 'eyes from the sky', as she put it, and is instead scoping things out from afar. She's been working hard too, in her own way. Kakushin has been subtly crafting a network of unknowing informers. I find it ironic that she's better at espionage than I am.
"Well, I'd like to grab a seat as close as we can without him noticing."
"And how are we going to do that?"
"How about I skulk around the back for a few minutes, and you go save me a spot right behind where Ryuzaki is going to sit."
"Sounds good to me," Makoto chuckles before heading off to claim our chairs with his hands in his pockets. I don't tell him that he looks like a loser because he's wearing a bowtie instead of a normal tie. He said that he didn't have any. I'd say that he's a liar and just likes it.
"Why is he wearing a bowtie?" I nearly jump out of my skin. Ryuzaki is as quiet as a phantom when he wants to be. I elbow him in the ribs for it and get a satisfying grunt of pain.
"He thinks they're cool," I say back.
L quickly changes the subject, "How long are you going to stay back here?"
"Just until Light's focus is somewhere else. I'll slip in when he's not paying attention."
"That shouldn't be long then."
What he says is true, because just after he mentions this Makoto motions me over. I give a good-natured sigh and a quiet laugh before saying a short 'good-luck' to my detective friend. When I arrive and take my designated spot I discover that Light is in mid-conversation with one of the people next to him. He doesn't notice me at all, which I am thankful for. He can't know, not yet at least.
I've been waiting for this.
Watch me work.
The ceremony is dull, as expected. They drone on about many unimportant things that I don't really give a damn about. It's all formalities. The world would be so much more efficient if we could get over all these trifling outward appearance matters, in all fields.
Alas, this is the way that the world has been shaped.
And finally, like a gift from above, the representatives are called forward.
"And now for the freshman address. Freshman representative: Light Yagami." The speaker pauses, waiting for the wonder child to appear from the crowd. Said boy stands, giving a small 'yes' in acknowledgement. The speaker then continues, "And freshman representative: Rue Ryuzaki."
Here we go.
From the back I can hear L giving an awkward and tentative 'here'. He's not half bad at acting, and can change his voice on the turn of a dime. Not to mention the fact that he speaks multiple languages. I had a serious scare one night when I was awoken from a nap to angry German yelling.
The other students in the auditorium have no idea who this new guy is, the one that matched the scores of their 'golden boy' Light Yagami.
As the two representatives approach the stage (L emerging from the back of the room) I can make out Light evaluating his fellow. I think anyone would be perplexed at Ryuzaki's presence.
Conversations break out and spread like wildfire throughout the room, and I can even make out a few of them close by. I know eavesdropping is rude, but I'm pretty sure I have the right to know what they're saying in this circumstance.
"The student who scores highest on the test is supposed to give the speech, right?"
"I guess both of them must have had the high score this year."
"I heard that both of them got perfect scores on all subjects."
"Seriously?"
"It's hard to believe that there are actually people like that."
I want to laugh, really. The three who were conversing are broken from their talk when Light finishes his speech and respectful clapping echoes through the room.
"Man, these two are total opposites."
"Yeah, this one looks like a sheltered genius who's been groomed for success his whole life, but that one … there's something not right about him. He's just freakin' weird."
"This guy must be what they call a 'mad genius'."
"Coming to the To-Oh Entrance Ceremony dressed like that? Unbelievable! Either he's crazy, or he's just toying with us!"
These people, these wonderful ignorant people. Standing side by side, close enough to touch, are two people who are trying to kill each other. At this moment in time they could very well be the most important people in history. They are the leaders of the new age.
Let's just see what the new age will become.
L is standing up on the stage, right next to his greatest opponent to date. He looks completely relaxed. Oh, the person was right, he is toying with you. He's toying with Kira too. His speech is delivered in an uninterested tone, jumping from one word to another like he's simply reading them and not actually thinking about them.
By the time that the numerous skeptical conversations come to a close, Ryuzaki has finally finished the painful drivel that is his speech.
The pair joins Makoto and I, but Light doesn't notice our presence yet. Already they are speaking, and I can clearly see how freaked out Light is right now. The thought is oddly satisfying. They're in mid-conversation, to which L is leading.
"–You are planning to join the police agency when you graduate. And you've already got experience, seeing as you've already helped the police solve a number of cases in the past, now you're showing an interest in the Kira case."
I am now glad that I am not the one sitting there, going undercover. L probably has a lot more experience in this area than I do.
"I am impressed by your abilities, and your sense of justice." Just stroking his ego, aren't you? "If you promise not to tell anyone about this, I have important information concerning the Kira Investigation that I want to share with you."
There's a certain weariness in Light's eyes when he looks over at Ryuzaki. He has no idea what to make of him; he's completely dumbfounded.
The trap has closed in on Light. There's no escaping now.
We got you.
There is a pause from the killer, as he mulls over his answer.
"I won't tell anyone. What is it?"
Check.
"I want to tell you that I'm L."
His voice is so quiet that I can't actually hear him, but I don't even need to. Light's eyes glaze over for a moment, and I can see one of the muscles in his neck twitch. He's going berserk on the inside, probably. He's starting to panic.
"If you are who you say you are, then you have nothing but my respect and admiration," Light says, managing to pull himself together in the nick of time. That's where he slipped up. A normal person would be reasonably surprised.
Of course, this is my time to shine. I shift in my seat just enough to catch Light's eye, which I succeed in. The teen's eyes meet with mine, and I let myself smile a little bit.
He completely loses it.
"Thank you," L says, drawing back our suspect's attention. "The reason I chose to reveal my identity to you is because I think you could be of some help to us on the Kira Investigation."
Light doesn't answer.
He's shaking. It's hardly noticeable, but it doesn't change the fact. His hands are clenched so tight that his knuckles are white. I can't tell if he's even in the room anymore or if he'll even notice when the ceremony ends.
It's glorious, this feeling, the glorious sensation of putting Light in such a difficult position. Don't slip up on me now, Light, or you're dead.
Kurai two, Light zero.
My Shinigami laughs.
I watch like a hawk watches its prey. L and Light leave the auditorium at the same time. There seems to be a tension between them, but neither of them outwardly shows it. The students around them stand listlessly, chatting with friends or waiting for others.
Light's gaze flicks over to me, and for a moment I think he toys with the idea of coming over to me. My grin widens.
Makoto raises an eyebrow at me, wondering why I'm acting the way that I am.
I mouth two words: 'I'm watching'.
His eyes widen, his chest stops moving for a moment and his fingers twitch.
Watari choses this time to roll up beside Ryuzaki in his Roles-Royce. There are murmurs spreading through the crowd again. L says a quick goodbye to Light before he seats himself in the back. Light replies in turn, but his eyes linger on me.
He knows that he has a new opponent.
The first round goes to me.
Ryuk was a little spooked, if you could even call it that. Humans were fickle creatures.
After deciding to take a break he fled to the roof, where he was now watching the sun as it set. The sun was interesting too, he decided – they didn't have one in the Shinigami's world.
"Why are you up here?" a voice startled the clown Shinigami. Ryuk looked over his shoulder with wide eyes, his various ornaments tinkling.
"That's what I should be asking," Ryuk said.
"Fair enough," Vile laughed before the lizard joined the clown on his perch.
"What did your human do to get Light in a twist like that?" Ryuk had never seen the human in such a state before. He was flipping out. The brown headed teen had even started throwing things at Ryuk. The man was trembling in rage, his eyes had become dangerous.
Light had become a psychopath; he'd strayed from the path he'd started out on. It wasn't even about his perfect world anymore. It was more about the game.
They'd hit him hard.
Vile laughed, his menacing maw chattering as it clicked together. "You were there, Ryuk, you know the answer."
"It's really getting to him, you know."
Vile silently acknowledged it. The story was progressing, the gears turning, the players moving. The action was rising, in almost every sense of the words. I wasn't long before the silence was broken.
"This is the reason that I came to this world, Ryuk. Human lives take on many forms. Some are more interesting than others."
"How much would you like to bet against Light winning?"
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because I'd have to step back then, I wouldn't be able to 'meddle', as you put it."
Ryuk laughed, showing his own sharp teeth.
"Are you going to help her?"
"It depends, Ryuk. I don't want the game to end."
"Neither do I," Ryuk agreed.
"I think that they secretly think the same thing."
No one really wants the fun to come to an end.
No one wants the story to close.
A/N: More Shinigami involvement! Missed that bit last time.
I applaud anyone who gets the bowtie reference.
And does anyone agree that it would be absolutley terrifying to hear L yelling in German? Especially if you were sleeping and woke up to it. Hillarious, but absolutley terrifying. :|
- DW