AN: UGH I just looked over the last chapter and there were so many typos. UGH. Sorry for making you read that, I've corrected it. Anyway, if you guys are also part of the Good Omens fandom, I have another fic up titled 'The Big Picture'. That one is a little more self-indulgent, so I don't spend much time writing it. This fic is still my priority. Somehow, this chapter was a little eh.

Trigger warning: There's a little bit of sexual harassment (not by Ryuzaki) in this chapter. I don't know why I included it; the chapter just wrote itself. Maybe it'll serve as some characterisation opportunity later. I mean, who wants to find out how L reacts when someone he's starting to care about is threatened?

Also, happy Valentine's day in advance, guys! Do you have a favourite flower? Mine's the sunflower; it never fails to make me smile.

Chapter 26: The Lamest Date Ever

Aug 1, 2004; 03 07

This was an insane hour to be up, let alone to do things. Ryuzaki had insisted that they move to his headquarters in advance, and so she had woken up unceremoniously at midnight. According to Watari, it made sense: they needed 2-3 hours to pack up all equipment, another 2 hours to get to the place itself, another 2 hours to set up the remainder of the equipment, and then an hour for them all to get ready for the task force to come in at about 9am. Light would be coming, handcuffed, with them, but they'd only wake him up once preparations were complete for them to leave the hotel. Misa, whom Rui and Matsuda were in charge of, would be brought along later in the morning during the normal hotel check-out time, when the rest of the task force was all settled in.

On account of the early start they had had to make, Rui had been permitted to go to bed the day before at 5pm. Except that she couldn't sleep that early, so much of the time was spent tossing and turning. And getting restless legs. She estimated that she had probably only had an hour's sleep at most.

Rui had gone over each vacated room with a figurative fine-toothed comb, and now they were all bundled in the car that would take them to Ryuzaki's headquarters. Ryuzaki and Light were sat in the back, while Watari drove and Rui stayed in the passenger's seat. Her temples throbbed from the lack of rest, but she didn't fall asleep, of which she was pretty pleased. Her body was exhausted, but her mind raced and her stomach churned; there were at least two others sharing the same enclosed space as her that she wasn't yet comfortable with; of course she couldn't sleep.

But then, as it so often does when one doesn't get enough rest, Rui's stomach began to growl. Demandingly. Obnoxiously. Very audibly. For a time it stopped, and Rui sighed in relief. But then it growled some more.

The men did their best to ignore it politely. Watari did not give any indication of having heard anything, besides a slight pause when the noise first started. Light was sending her brief looks of concern every so often. Ryuzaki was nowhere near as subtle; he was staring at the back of her head, probably chewing at his thumb again.

And then his stomach, too, started to growl.

Rui didn't know how the others were reacting, but she was trying not to laugh. Ryuzaki was human too, she supposed. Perhaps it was Light and Watari whose humanity she should be calling suspect. Could they control their own bodily functions?

"Watari," Ryuzaki spoke up. They must have been driving for at least an hour, and this was the first time anyone had said anything. "I do think a minor detour is in order. I trust that it will not throw us too far off schedule?"

That was how they found themselves sitting in one of the rare 24-hour coffee shops in Tokyo, surrounded mostly by disheveled stragglers stumbling their way back home from a hard night's clubbing and looking to sober up, likely from the club next door. Rui also noticed a handful of young, jittery college-age adults making up their clientele, with multiple empty cups and piles of notes in front of them. Pulling all-nighters, most likely. Rui herself was too old for this, she thought ruefully, as she ruminated over her microwave-heated croissants. Literally. Rui couldn't summon the energy to gobble up her food.

It was only when they'd all sat down that Rui realised that she was seated furthest from Light, and she was able to stand a menu on the table to hide her face from him. It could be coincidence, of course, but few things with Ryuzaki and Watari were coincidental. Whatever the case, Rui was grateful.

Watari and Light were nursing cups of black coffee. Typical. The place they'd decided to settle in seemed to specialise in coffee, without much in the way of pastries. Nevertheless, Ryuzaki was busy fixing his croissants to his liking with sugar and chocolate syrup that he'd produced from somewhere on his person.

"I would advise that we break for no more than 15 minutes," Watari was saying, "if we are to remain on schedule."

Speaking of breaks, Rui really needed a bathroom break. "Be right back," she murmured to no one in particular, then slid her mask back up, shambling her way to 'powder her nose'. In her zombified state, she accidentally brushed against a patron wearing a black business suit in the coffee shop and almost immediately jumped back, apologising, although she didn't break her stride.

The loo was located around the back, and Rui had to go through some small stretch of dark alley to get there. She kept her ears pricked, but it was all silent and she appeared to be the only one there, so it was all good. The main problem arose just as she reached the back entrance of the coffee shop.

"You a high-schooler?" A man lounging about by the entrance asked, looking directly at her. He didn't look like a stereotypical pervert - he was wearing the black salaryman business suit she'd seen in the shop and seemed about her own age - but there was something about his gaze that Rui didn't like. And he was blocking the entrance.

A high-schooler? How absurd. Rui was in her late twenties, last she checked, and she wasn't even in a high school uniform. But there was no one else there but her. Shit. There was no one else there. She fumbled for her belt buckle to sound the alert. Crap, she wasn't wearing it. No way to alert them, then.

"No," Rui answered, keeping her voice polite. "My friends are waiting for me in the shop." She waited expectantly, but he didn't move. Instead, his eyes were glued to where she'd been feeling around for her belt.

"Really?" he smirked, an oily tone that brought her hackles up further. She gritted her teeth as his gaze raked her form, lingering on her curvy hips and then her almost-non-existent chest before meeting her eyes again. "I find that hard to believe. You sound mature, though. Wanna have fun with me?" She swatted his hands away as he made to place them on her, no doubt trying to move her away from the entrance.

Instead of deterring him, he merely chuckled and tried again, this time getting a firm hold around her waist. Rui screamed.

Her heart raced so fast, she felt like she would throw up. As he tried to drag her away, she tried her best to plant her feet firmly where she was, beating him uselessly with her fists anywhere she could reach. His grip around her hip tightened so painfully that she gasped. Rui screamed again, calling him a pervert and to get away from her. She wasn't going anywhere. The alley was dark and she would no doubt be attacked there. Her focus narrowed, until all she could register was the blood pounding in her ears. Who did he think he was? She wasn't going down without a fight.

"Excuse me," a familiar, calm voice spoke up from behind the man, who instantly let go of her and whipped around. Rui could've died from relief. Ryuzaki was standing there, in very close proximity to the man, apparently (how had she and the man not noticed him?). His hands were in his pockets and he was still handcuffed to Light, who was looking from the man to Rui, his brow furrowed and lips pressed together disapprovingly.

But Ryuzaki did not seem to pay any heed to the man. "Despite our best intentions, we are a little behind schedule," he addressed only Rui, as if the man weren't there. "Watari is settling the bill, and we are leaving."

He took hold of her arm, guiding her along. Still shaken, Rui didn't dare to look at the harasser as she passed him, focusing only on Ryuzaki and Light's faces. Their attentions were both on the man, though. Light was frowning, and Ryuzaki had a cold, deadly look* in his eyes, a far cry from their usual blank languor. It was the gaze he used on Rui at the beginning, except dialed up at least twenty-fold. Rui surmised that this was probably the stare he reserved for criminals.

There was nary a peep from her harasser, although Rui thought she saw his arms twitch a little as she shuffled past on legs that had turned to jelly.

They were quiet as they got to the car where Watari was waiting in the driver's seat. Rui was so rattled that she forgot to thank Ryuzaki as he leaned in and opened the door for her, then opened the door right behind hers and motioned for Light to scoot in. He gave her a long, searching look, then left her to climb into the car by herself.

Tremors began to set in as they drove on. For the life of her, Rui just didn't understand why this happened. Did she look like a high-schooler? She frowned at her reflection in the side mirror, adjusting her surgical mask. Did surgical masks make her look younger or something? She was wearing her customary black pantsuit. Did it look too provocative? Was there something Rui could've done to prevent this? A strange mix of fear, self-consciousness, anger, and shame was churning about inside her. Why did she feel like this was partly her fault even though she hadn't done anything wrong? She'd thought she was a stronger woman. But back then, if no one had showed up, it could've been her end. What right did he have to assault her like this? She wished she could've cracked his head against the brick wall-

"We're arriving," Watari announced to no one in particular, breaking her out of her impotent rage. Stuffing her feelings back down, she forced a smile on her face, looked out the window, and, despite herself, raised a brow, impressed.

Rui had seen the building twice - once in 2D, and another time in the 3D rendering Ryuzaki had shown them, but it was even more impressive in person. All gleaming grey and blue chrome and concrete and glass, it was a behemoth of a structure that towered over all the other skyscrapers in the area, yet it managed to blend in, which was an impressive feat. Rui peered at the top, despite knowing the helipad would be hidden from the exterior. Rui felt excitement and a little nervousness build in her as she temporarily forgot the distress. After all, they were now visibly moving on to a new chapter in the story.

That was soon replaced by annoyance as they tried to make their entrance. It was so excessively convoluted! First there was a PIN number they all had to enter to proceed to the next step, which was an index finger scan, followed by a retina scan (how and when had Ryuzaki gotten these pieces of identification from them all?). All that unlocked the garage door, allowing them to drive through.

Rui had thought that was the last of it, but then they came to the large metal door that separated the car park from the building's interior, and Rui had had a devil of a time scouring her person for every bit of metal, which she had to place in a little storage compartment. Fortunately, it only took one alert before they got the door to open for them. And then there was the whole process of replacing every bit of metal on her person. Rui resolved to streamline what she carried on her person.

The rest of the setup was relatively straightforward. Light was locked in a large room that he would share with Ryuzaki, which adjoined a study room as well as a large Jack and Jill bathroom, or at least, that's what Rui was sure it was called. The other door to the bathroom led to Rui's own bedroom, although hers also had another en suite bathroom. Rui supposed the connection to the boys' bathroom was simply for her to do housekeeping and that she wasn't actually supposed to share it with them.

Still, Rui wanted to shriek in joy when she saw her space. It was the nicest she'd ever lived in; cream colored sheets of high quality cotton on a huge platform bed with a matching velvet comforter, plush white carpet, walls set with light wood and furniture of light earthy colors that soothed and uplifted the spirit. There was even a reading nook in the huge window that let in abundant sunlight, and hooks afixed in strategic locations for bungee cords to be attached in order to make a blanket fort, if Rui so desired. It was exactly what she had specified when Watari had asked. And there were extra blankets already in the closet for just such a purpose!

Watari's quarters, including his workspace, were located a level above theirs, while Misa's were located a couple of levels down. All rooms intended for current use had already been furnished in advance, so they were just hooking up all of the equipment they'd brought over from the hotel, and with Watari's efforts, they finished well ahead of schedule.

The rest of the building was the very opposite of Rui's bedroom, all done up in cool, bluish tones with a dark, futuristic, outer space kind of aesthetic that brought to mind the idea of emptiness and vastness. Nevertheless, despite the lack of natural light, it was cool, both figuratively and literally, for the temperature seemed to be permanently set to freezing.

As Light caught up on sleep in their shared bedroom, Rui was helping Ryuzaki get ready.

"Any toothache?" she asked, peering into Ryuzaki's open mouth. As Watari was getting busier and busier, more and more of his caretaking duties fell upon Rui's shoulders. One of these was to check Ryuzaki's teeth for cavities on a weekly basis, on account of all the sweets he consumed. According to Watari, Ryuzaki really hated this process.

She probed his teeth carefully one by one, with a gloved finger. They seemed fine. At least Ryuzaki seemed to be doing a good job with his brushing. She smiled into his eyes, trying to ignore that weird tension that sometimes arose when they were alone.

His tongue curled a little around her fingertip as she extricated it. It was probably just a reflex, but she found even that sensual. Really, she had it bad. Her fingertip tingled, bringing about a pleasant buzz of attraction that suddenly vanished as she remembered the previous encounter she'd narrowly escaped. Swallowing, Rui did her best to quell the wave of uneasiness that rose up. But that was the thing about sexual harassment, right? For a while after that, it made one uncomfortable with one's own sexuality. She would have to try to forget about it, and avoid going outside alone for a while.

"Thank you, Ryuzaki. Everything seems to be in order," she smiled, though she backed away a little from him. Business as usual, right? "Do you require anything else? If not, I suppose we have to get Amane sorted out right about now."

She waited, but he only stared at her, so she smiled again and began to leave.

"Rui..." Ryuzaki called out, then paused. She waited expectantly, already used to this. "You... smell different." That didn't seem like what he'd really wanted to say, but Rui felt a little too self-conscious to really think on it.

Ryuzaki noticed the way she smelt? "Oh, I, uh, ran out of the bath set I had originally come with. It's just too bad that I couldn't find it here, so I had to switch to a different brand. That's probably why," she babbled, then waved awkwardly and left before he could try to stop her again.

Aug 1, 2004; 09 00

Misa was a surprisingly organised packer, and they had checked out of the hotel in no time at all. This time, Rui ended up sitting in the back with her as Matsuda drove them. Rui never thought there would be a time when she would be glad for Misa's presence. As the incident was still raw in Rui's mind, traveling alone with Matsuda in his car to fetch Misa had been really uncomfortable, despite Rui knowing that what she'd experienced had been an isolated incident.

It was doubly pleasant that Misa was half-asleep (and still wearing the blindfold) so Rui didn't have to engage her in conversation. She was also pretty good about removing all the metal on her upon their arrival.

The real problem came about after she got settled in.

"When can Misa see Light?" Misa asked Rui, for the umpteenth time in twenty minutes. She had latched onto Rui's arm, preventing her from making a successful getaway.

And for the umpteeth time, Rui tried her best to pacify her. "Light is busy helping with the investigation. You don't want to bother the person you most cherish, do you?"

"No," Misa would shake her head, then settle down for a second.

"Now, I really must be going-" Rui would say, and attempt to dislodge Misa from her arm. That would set her off again.

"But Misa misses Light! And Light is Misa's boyfriend! What if Light is missing Misa right now? Misa wants to see Light!"

And they would start all over again.

"Look, Amane-san, if you let me go, I can pass along any messages you'd like to convey to Light," Rui tried.

That only made Misa dig her heels in more. "Misa wants a date with Light, and it's all your fault! Because you've confined us, we haven't been on a date in AGES! Misa isn't letting go until she goes on a date with Light!"

Rui sighed in exasperation, then started trying to pry off Misa's grip on her with renewed vigor. She was only partially successful; Misa was surprisingly strong for her size. "Look, that isn't within my control, alright? I really must be attending to other matters-"

Misa was not having it. "If Misa doesn't see Light, Misa will look for Light in this building!" she fumed. "Misa will go to Light herself!" Suddenly, she lunged for the elevator, and Rui only barely kept her from pressing the buttons. Misa was extremely strong for her size, and her screech was beginning to grate on Rui's already frayed nerves.

She rolled her eyes heavenwards. Couldn't Ryuzaki and Light throw her a bone here?

The phone suddenly rang in Misa's sitting room, startling Rui, who let go of the errant model. She'd forgotten about the phone. Instantly, Misa was distracted. "That must be Light!" she squealed, flouncing over like she'd not been spending the last twenty-odd minutes wrestling someone bigger than herself.

She listened, her expression dimming a little. "Who's this?" She paused, listening again. "Pass the phone to her? Why?"

After another delay during which somebody else spoke - and judging by the rapt look of attention on Misa's face, it had to be Light - Misa finally passed the phone over to Rui reluctantly. "You better not get too close to my Light!" she pouted.

"Hello?" Rui answered, a little hesitant. She wasn't sure she wanted to be speaking to Light.

"You seem to be having a spot of trouble with Amane-san," Ryuzaki drawled drily. You think? You think?!

Rui huffed. "Are you guys staging an intervention? Please say you are. I really do have some other matters to attend to, as you and Watari well know."

The phone picked up on an odd sort of noise that was quickly stifled. "Indeed, it looks like we ought to give Amane some semblance of what she's demanding in order for her to remain... manageable. As you well know, we cannot stage a... date on such short notice." He paused.

Rui wasn't picking up on what he wanted. "...Yes?" she replied quizzically.

"What are some elements of a date that we can include in Light's meeting with Amane? Given our current schedule, we can afford to accommodate Amane's request for an hour or so."

Rui hummed in comprehension. Why didn't he just ask Light? It wasn't as if she'd been on many dates, herself. "... Cake and tea," she replied. "Conversation in an intimate setting. Dolling up for each other."

"Would you make the necessary preparations, Rui? We'll begin in half an hour."

"Of course, Ryuzaki." Rui put the phone down, then sighed at Misa, who had been side-eyeing her the whole time.

"... Light says he'd like to go on a date with you in half an hour's time," Rui told her. It was alright to embellish the truth a little, right? Misa's eyes positively sparkled.

"Misa will dress up prettily for Light and-"

Before she could make any more decisions for the both of them, Rui cut in. "Indeed, and I will go make preparations for your date with Light! Bye!"

She dove into the elevator and punched the close button repeatedly until the lift doors completely closed, blocking Misa from her.

That girl was a force of nature, she was. Rui breathed out. Now, half an hour wasn't enough time for much, but she was sure they still had a few slices of strawberry shortcake stored in the refrigerator. It was Ryuzaki's personal stash, but she could just replenish that later after the 'date'. And what else did one need on a date? Flowers, she supposed. She was sure she could scrounge up a vase from somewhere...

Aug 1, 2004; 09 30

"Man... This is the lamest date I've ever been on," Misa griped, from where she reclined opposite the boys. Rui privately agreed with her, but then again, it was rather short notice. Having served out the cake and drinks, she was now on standby beside the dessert cart.

"Pay no attention to me," Ryuzaki piped up, mouth full from the cake he'd immediately started on. He swallowed. "By the way," he continued, speaking around the fork in his mouth, "will you be eating that cake?" He pointed at Misa's slice.

Her reply came instantly. "Sweets are fattening. No thanks."

"If you use your head, you can eat sweets without gaining weight, though..." Rui stifled a chuckle at Ryuzaki's jab.

"Ah! You're making fun of me again!" Misa pouted angrily. Then she got an idea. "Fine, I'll give you the cake, so can Light and I be alone?" But Ryuzaki had provided the cake, though...

"Even if you're alone, I'll be watching on the monitors, so it won't make any difference," Ryuzaki replied, getting up from his crouch and leaning forward to pick up her full plate.

"Why are you such a pervert! Stop these sick hobbies of yours!" Misa scolded him. Haha.

"You may call me whatever you wish, but I'm taking your cake," Ryuzaki said, starting on her cake.

"Fine then!" Misa tried again. "When Light and I are alone, I'll close the curtains and turn off the lights!"

"There are infrared cameras," drawled Ryuzaki. Rui suspected he was rather enjoying teasing Misa.

"Then we'll get under the covers, right Light?" Misa purred, sending Light her best flirtatious look.

"Whatever," Light replied, turning to Ryuzaki. Was he really gay? "We have this great facility now. Shouldn't we be getting back to work?"

" 'Whatever'? That meanie!" Misa cried, annoyed. She cast about for someone to share her outrage, and her gaze alighted on Rui.

Rui gulped. What now?

"If Misa and Light cannot go on a date alone, then Misa will just have to settle for a double date!" she announced triumphantly, dragging Rui over before the latter could flee. She forced them both between Ryuzaki and Light, and since there wasn't all that much space on the couch, she ended up half on Light's lap and half on top of Rui, while Rui's arms ended up tangled with Ryuzaki's legs.

With a bit of flailing, Rui managed to get into a half-sitting position, and planted the heel of her hand on the nearest steadying surface, Ryuzaki in this case, to push herself upright.

He jolted visibly, went stock still as she realised just where she had been touching him, and unceremoniously pushed her off his lap to the side just as a fiery red began to spread up her neck. Rui landed heavily on Misa, who was already taking the opportunity to cuddle up on Light. The momentum of it all toppled the entire couch backwards, and they all ended up in a tangle of limbs.

Ryuzaki was the first to extricate himself, and he remained in a crouch, looking over them all curiously with a thumb in his mouth. Light, who was squashed by both girls, found it infinitely harder to do the same. Rui struggled to her feet, only to step on shortcake. UGH. She avoided looking at Ryuzaki as she wiped the bottom of her room slippers as best she could with a napkin, then brushed herself off primly.

With some amusement, she noted that Misa was still cuddled up on Light, who was looking mighty disgruntled.

She was not so amused at the state of the room, however. Rui had no idea who did all the housekeeping in the task force building in canon, but guess who had to do it now? Her, of course, and she wasn't looking forward to scrubbing out all the cake smears from the carpet. At least the potted plant in the corner was still intact.

"I suppose this concludes our date, then," Ryuzaki mumbled, still staring at the Kira couple.

Our date? No, better not read too much into it, Rui thought. She hoped everyone watching had missed her little gaffe. Just then, the phone rang again.

Ryuzaki picked it up with his customary two-fingered hold. "Yes?"

"We did it, Ryuzaki!" Matsuda was so exuberantly loud that even Rui could hear it, despite not being on speaker. "Misa-misa was number one in the Eighteen magazine reader poll! Her disappearing for two months created tons of buzz and actually increased her popularity!"

"You hear that, Amane-san?" Rui called out, getting the model's attention. "You're the most popular among readers of Eighteen magazine! Congratulations!"

"Yay!" Misa exclaimed, jumping up. "You hear that, Light? Misa did it! Misa is gonna star in a movie!"

Seeing that Light's reaction was a lot more... subdued than Misa would like, she turned her attention to Rui again, bounding in front of her and peering at Rui's startled gaze.

"Say, Misa likes you," she began, to which Rui gave a confused blink. "What's your name?"

"... Rui?" All this was moving too fast, and the confusion made her answer sound almost like a question. But Misa paid no heed to that.

"Great! We'll go on double dates together from now on!" Misa declared determinedly. "Me and Light, and you and Ryuzaki!"

Um, what? "No, wait, you can't just decide that by yourself-" Rui began.

"So that's settled!" Misa talked over her, then tilted her head, staring into Rui's eyes. "You have such pretty eyes. Why wear a mask?"

Rui jumped back just as Misa reached out to try and remove it. Like hell she'd let the Kira with shinigami eyes know her face!

"Um, I'm sick," she explained weakly. "Can't be exposed to others. And Ryuzaki is my employer. I can't go on dates with him."

But Misa, who had flounced back to Light, wasn't listening at all.

*Kinda like this: https:[double slash] .com[slash]236x[slash]b6[slash]44[slash]80/[slash] . Or like the way he looked right after Light punched him, but dialed up tenfold. I don't know if this will allow the link to show up. Do let me know.

I think L's the kind to do something behind the scenes to people he doesn't like. The next chapter will probably include his perspective.