Arc 0.5: The Introduction

Chapter: The Interview [V]

The young man was beyond furious.

But Yukinoshita played it cool. "Veritaserum. Or rather a pale imitation of the original potion. From your reaction I take it that you are aware of this particular concoction."

"Oh. I am more than aware." The young man stated. "First developed and produced by the Weasley twins. Unlike Veritaserum, it's not quite colourless or odourless. And instead of being used for interrogation, wizarding children use it in a game of truth or dare. But tell me Yukinoshita, did you know this potion has an unfortunate side effect?"

The woman with the blue eyes nodded. "It lowers inhibitions."

"Absolutely right." The young man replied. "I mean, it's good for a game of truth or dare. If you can't go with the truth, you have to do outrageous dares -"

Ryuzaki piped up. "Wait, this serum doesn't force you to tell the truth?"

The young man was annoyed. "Of course not. Have you never played a game of truth or dare before, L?"

"Lower your voice!" Yukinoshita hissed.

But the young man didn't give a damn. "This potion only stops you from lying. So, let's say, Kanra over here asked me an embarrassing question. Like how old was I till I wet the bed. Now I can't lie and tell her I was six years old when I last had a little accident."

Kanra never missed an opportunity. "How old were you till you wet the bed, Hikigaya-kun?"

The young man opened his mouth to respond and swiftly snapped it shut. He glared at the woman in question who simply smiled back innocently. Everyone at the booth was staring at him. He tried to lie a couple of times. But he felt a horrible sensation, like bile was about to rise out from his throat, every time he tried to open his mouth and tell something other than the truth. Everyone in the booth saw him struggle. The frustration was evident on his face. He was even starting to sweat a little. And then there was the annoying voice in the back of his head which kept telling him to spill his guts, to hell with the shame and accompanying embarrassment. He couldn't let the voice win. Under no circumstance should he give in to the pressure.

"Восемь"

Dammit. Well, thankfully no one knew what he said. Or so he thought.

"That sounded Russian." Kanra said. "Anybody knows what he said in Russian?"

"Aren't you quarter Russian, L?"

Et tu Major.

Hikigaya slammed his fist on the table. "Don't even think about it, L. I will kill you and everyone else in this booth. And I will probably get acquitted because I was under the influence of a foreign substance."

L looked unperturbed. "When's the last time you killed, Hikigaya-kun?"

"You fucking bastard!" Hikigaya snarled. Even though he had taken just a single sip, the effects of the potion were strong and it was felt throughout his entire body. He couldn't stop himself. The words slipped out from his throat. "It was –fuck!"

"Self defense?" L was being rhetorical. "That's what you and Detective Lieutenant Everett Backstrom told the Civilian Oversight Committee. But I had a couple of minutes to look over the case. It's clear that's not what happened. You shot the suspect, a drug dealer named Vicer twice in the chest. You killed him, Hikigaya-kun."

Hikigaya gritted his teeth. "Vicer was going to kill Backstrom."

"Hmm." L looked thoughtful. "Yukinoshita, are you sure the subject can't lie while he is under the influence of the truth serum?"

Yukinoshita chose her words carefully. "He cannot lie. But it doesn't mean what he is saying is the actual truth. It's more likely what he thinks or believes to be true. I'm sorry to say this, but at the end of the day, it's a matter of perspective. What Hikigaya-kun is saying could be a lie, but that cannot stop him from thinking its true."

"Oh fuck you bitch!"

Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes into thin slits. "Hikigaya-kun, please control yourself."

"Sorry Yukinoshita." The young man didn't look the least bit apologetic. In fact, he was smiling. "It's the potion. You know how it lowers inhibitions. At the moment, I have no filter. If I think you are a bitch, I will call you a bitch. I hope you understand."

The Major quickly intervened before things got hairy. "Let's talk about your time at The Lightman Group."

"Sorry ma'am. But I can't talk about it." Hikigaya informed her. "I signed an NDA. The nature of my work with The Lightman Group is strictly confidential. I hope you understand."

The Major produced a tablet from within her biker's jacket. "Oh, you don't have to say anything, Hikigaya. I have it all right here. Your first case was investigating the Chairman of the House Ethics Committee. He was accused of paying for sex. Your next case was figuring out whether there was any truth to the accusations of sexual assault labeled against a platoon leader at Fort Meade." She swiped her finger across the screen. "Domestic terrorist bombing across Washington DC? Hmm. This is interesting. After the case, you were dubbed 'The Monster of Logic'. Do you want to talk about that?"

"I don't." Hikigaya hung his head low. No, you are better than this. No regrets. He forced himself to hold the Major's gaze. "Dr. Lightman has a daughter. Emily. She's a couple years younger than me. I – we- you don't need to know this. It's not important. What happened was during the bombings, Dr. Lightman told me to get her daughter to safety. But I didn't listen to him. I worked on the case. And as a result, she – Emily – got hurt." He didn't blink. "Do you get what I'm trying to say Major? I chose the safety of others over the safety of my -" he struggled with his words. "-of Emily." He finished rather lamely before letting out a harsh chuckle. "You know what's funny. I did it twice. An FBI agent went missing. He was in a relationship with Ria Torres. But I didn't tell her the truth, because I thought it would interfere with her job. It was Torres who gave me that awful nickname." He broke eye contact. "I deserved worse."

"You did what you had to do." The Major kept it professional.

L made it personal. "It says in your file that you are a natural when it comes to deception detection. Basically it means you have no academic qualifications to back up your skills. As such, I would like to see a small demonstration."

Hikigaya balled his fingers into a fist. L was asking for it. "It's not some cheap parlour trick!"

"Very well." L acquiesced. He took the tablet from Motoko and scrolled to a different page. "Let's talk about how you failed your psych-eval tests. You failed twice. The first time, you wanted to go through proper police channel and legally own a firearm. The second time was quite recent. You applied for a position in the FBI. You were rejected. I think there's a ninety percent chance that that's why you are here. It would also explain why you applied for a position in The Kira Task Force and not the newly minted Public Safety Bureau. There's no way you could pass the scrutiny of the Sibyl System."

Hikigaya tried to be evasive. It was difficult. "Perhaps I don't like their brand of justice."

"Yet you applied for a position in Motoko's team." L asked. "Public Security Section 9 isn't exactly known to play things by the books. How do you think Motoko go her hands on your so called confidential cases?"

"If I had to guess, she probably hacked into their files." Hikigaya replied. He then turned to the woman, sitting next to L. "Why are you with this guy, Major? He's nothing but a jerk. You know what, you're hot! Why don't you dump this guy and we can go out?"

The Major placed a blank look on her face. And her tone betrayed nothing. "Please focus on the interview, Hikigaya."

Hikigaya blinked. "Huh." It took him a moment to pick the right words. "You are cybernetically enhanced, Major."

Absolute silence. From the looks of it no one else knew. Yukinoshita's eyes went wide with surprise. Meanwhile Kanra thought it was the coolest thing ever. But L knew. Of course he knew. But he seemed a little bit bothered. Good. Serves him right.

"Major, is that really true?" Kanra asked.

"You don't have to say anything, Kusanagi-san." Yukinoshita implored.

Major Motoko Kusanagi paid them no heed. She looked at the young man who had her figured out. "What gave it away?"

"The fact that you showed no micro expressions." Hikigaya informed her. "You have to understand, these are things which you can't hide. They always leak out onto the surface. They are there for a split second and thank god for that, otherwise we wouldn't be able to hide our true feelings about anything. But Major, you showed none of them when I made a pass at you. You were able to control them. That's not humanly possible. But you are human. Hence, I came to the conclusion that you are cybernetically enhanced." He then turned to face L. "How's that for a demo?"

L ignored him. "Yukinoshita, please draw up an NDA and have Hikigaya sign it. It seems like he has learnt more about us then we have learnt about him during the course of this interview."

"I will get right to it." Yukinoshita then turned towards Hikigaya. The man was more trouble than he was worth. "Hikigaya-kun, it would be in your best interest to not disclose anything you have learnt today to a third party. This is a matter of national security."

"You should have thought of it sooner before you disclosed L's identity. And I'm not gonna sign any NDA, Yukinoshita. The potion makes me tell the truth and stops me from lying. It doesn't force me to listen to your every stupid command. You just have to take my word for it that I won't tell anyone else what I know."

Yukinoshita glared. "It would be in your best interest to do as I say, Hikigaya-kun. If you are thinking of using what you have learnt today as leverage to squirm your way into a government position, then you are sadly mistake. I should remind you that there could be some serious consequences based on your noncompliance."

"I don't like being threatened, Yukinoshita." Hikigaya told her coolly. "You should have gone with 'please'. Besides, L doesn't care about an NDA. He only said it to get back into his girlfriend's good books. Hate to break it to you pal." He told L. "But you don't look good. The only reason Major didn't show any micro-expressions on her face is because she knew you wouldn't like what you see. You are a great detective, L. You might know a thing or two about micro-expression. She was just saving herself from a pointless argument with you later on. On that note - L, you can expect 'the talk' with your girlfriend any day now."

"What talk?" L asked and he really looked puzzled.

Hikigaya ignored him. L was a lost cause. This allowed Kanra Orihara to take him by surprise. "Let's dial back the clock. Tell me about your time in Kunugigaoka Junior High."

Hikigaya hid his gaze from her smile. "I don't think I'm allowed to talk about it. We were paid hush money by the Ministry of Defense. Now that is a real matter of national security."

Kanra simply turned to face the woman sitting next to her and Yukinoshita went. "The matter was handed over to my department. As permanent secretary to The Ministry of New Affairs, I grant you permission to speak freely on the matter. Though I am surprised by your choice to keep it a secret. From what I remember you lot didn't sign a NDA, since you were all middle school students back then. But I guess money does help to keep your mouth shut, Hikigaya-kun."

"I think it's been a while since I called you a bitch." Hikigaya remarked. "Is this some weird fetish of yours Yukinoshita? You like to be called names, be humiliated. Well, listen here you flat chested cun-"

"Okay!" Kanra stood up and got between the two people who looked like they were about to beat the living shit out of each other. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but how about we all take a deep breath and relax. Yukinoshita, drop the knife. It's a butter knife for god's sake. And you! Who do you think you are? Ryo Mashiba? I think even that crazy boxer wouldn't hit a girl."

The young man took a moment to look at himself. He didn't remember standing up, raising his hands or making a fist. He just felt so angry. This was becoming a problem. "I wouldn't have hit her. I just saw her grab the knife and – it's the potion! The stuff messes with your brain." He looked at the blue eyed woman. "For what it's worth I am sorry."

Yukinoshita didn't feel the need to acknowledge his apology. She took out a touch screen smart phone and went on like nothing untoward had happened. "What was your relationship with Koro-sensei?"

"He was my homeroom teacher in Kunugigaoka." Hikigaya replied simply.

"And you two shared no other relationship?" Yukinoshita pressed.

The young man chuckled. "I don't know what to tell you. It's wasn't something out of a tentacle porn if that's what you are getting at. Koro-sensei might have looked like an octopus and he was a pervert who liked big boobs, but he was the best teacher I ever had. He really cared about his students."

"How did that work exactly?" The Major asked. "From what I have read in the case reports, Class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Junior High was tasked with the mission to assassinate an unknown destructive life form, code named, Koro-sensei. For an entire year you were trained as assassins. And your target was your teacher. Yet you claim this Koro-sensei cared about you and from your words, it seems like you still care about him. But at the end, you and the rest of the students in your class killed him."

"We did." Hikigaya replied in a heavy tone. "And when it was over, well all ended up crying like a bunch of little babies. I don't think I can give you a proper explanation, Major."

"It's like how you respect the wishes of your elderly parents who are stuck to a hospital bed with neither a cure nor an end to their perpetual suffering." L explained morosely. "You put an end to it."

In that moment, Hikigaya thought he saw L in a new light. "Yeah. Something like that. You particularly close with your parents, Ryuzaki?"

"I'm an orphan. You?"

"Nah. I'm not that close."

It looked like they could finally get along. But Kanra, however, brought an end to their camaraderie before it even began. "But how did you end up in Class 3-E in the first place? The other students in the class were put there because they failed to keep their grades up or had a problem with school authority and broke school regulations. You had neither of those problems."

"Hikigaya-kun was personally asked to be placed in Class 3-E by Koro-sensei himself." Yukinoshita added. "Did you two know each other before he became that thing?"

"No. And I would appreciate it if you didn't call him a thing." Hikigaya spoke sternly.

L figured it out. "You were placed under his protection. You were bullied in school, weren't you?" He asked.

"What gave it away?" Hikigaya asked with a humorless smile, before continuing. "But it wasn't exactly like that. You see there was this other teacher in Kunugigaoka. Aguri Yukimura. She was a good teacher. She was the only one who was nice to me in school. But she was engaged to this asshole and one day I saw him repeatedly hitting her. I tried to save her. But I was just a kid. I got beat up pretty badly. It was the only time I saw Yukimura-sensei standing upto her fiancé. Well, things didn't turn out so good for her. Next thing I know, she wound up dead under mysterious circumstances. I knew it had to be the fiancé who killed her, but again I could do nothing. He was powerful and I was just a normal middle schooler. And then in my final year, I was put in Class 3-E for no good reason at all. It was only later that I found out that Koro-sensei wanted me there, because it was his own way of thanking me for trying to protect someone he loved. He wanted me to be strong, so that the next time I could protect the one's I care about with my own two hands."

"That's quite a moving story." Yukinoshita noted.

"You don't seem particularly moved." Hikigaya said with a smile.

"Quite right." The woman with the blue eyes remarked. "You were also a member of Class Q of Dan Detective School."

"What can I say, I couldn't find a high school for young assassins." Hikigaya joked. "Becoming a detective seemed like the next best alternative."

"But you transferred to Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School during your third year." Yukinoshita pressed. "What was the reason behind your transfer?"

"A difference of opinion." Hikigaya stated succinctly. "I found out that Ryu Amakusa, one of the students of Class Q was the grandson of King Hades, the leader of Pluto, a mysterious organization which creates almost fool proof plans that only a handful of detectives can solve. For lack of a better word, Pluto was considered to be our enemy. And there was this kid who was obviously a plant, a mole, who could betray us at the end. I wanted to inform Morihiko Dan, the founder of our academy and one of the greatest detectives in Japan about my findings. But I was outvoted by the others. Class Q functioned as a team. I thought I was a part of that team. But I was sadly mistaken. Apparently, I was not a team player."

"What about now?" Kanra asked. "Are you a team player?"

"I think I am." Hikigaya mumbled uncertainly.

L asked the important question. "Don't you think you made a mistake?" He asked. "You judged Ryu based on who his grandfather was. He can't do anything about being related to a criminal mastermind. It doesn't automatically make him a criminal."

"Maybe I did. But he raised a couple of red flags. He couldn't remember anything from his childhood. I suspected some kind of deep hypnosis. He might not have been a criminal, but he could be a danger to himself and everyone around him. I stand by my decision. We should have told Morihiko-sensei."

L gave a brief nod.

Kanra added something totally unnecessary. "Did you know, you are the only student who was allowed to transfer into the Advanced Nurturing High School? How did you manage that, Hikigaya-kun?"

"I don't know." He told her honestly. "But after everything I went through, it wasn't that much of a big deal. I just enrolled there because they boasted a 100% employment and college entry rate. They probably saw I was from DDS and approved the transfer, I guess."

"Well, that's all I have." Kanra looked at the others at the booth. "Does anyone have any other questions?"

"I do. Is the University of American Samoa a real place?"

Oh Yukinoshita.

You're a bitch till the end ain't ya.

"It's real. Saul Goodman, a very famous lawyer from the states got his degree from there."

L was next "It was a correspondence course, wasn't it?"

I take it back.

L's still a bastard.

Hikigaya gave a small nod.

Yukinoshita smiled at his total and utter humiliation.

Thankfully, Major Motoko Kusanagi came to his rescue at the end. "We will be in touch. You can leave now, Hikigaya."