Key (L x OC)

Ten

"Where are we going, anyway?" Kaori huffed as she and Ryuuzaki seemed to be walking with no particular destination in mind.

"We're just going for a walk: Nowhere in particular." Ryuuzaki answered.  "If I recall correctly, you did the same thing yesterday."

"I guess so..." She trailed.  And then, her eyes came across a small shop.  Of course, this would be the perfect way to appropriately thank the man who saved her.

She tugged on the sleeve of his shirt, keeping him from walking even further.  With a questioning hum, he looked at her curiously.  She pointed at the shop, and his eyes shined the brightest she'd even seen them. "My treat." She offered.

"Are you sure?" He asked with an oddly childish aura filling the air around him. 

Kaori nodded with an assuring smile.  "It's to say 'thank you.'" She explained.

He released a short, quiet chuckled that couldn't even be understood as a chuckle. The girl only knew that it was a chuckle because she knew Ryuuzaki and his strange habits.  "All you need to do is say the words 'thank you,' but buying sweets is fine by me."

She averted her dark eyes, suddenly feeling shy.  "Whatever." She mumbled. "Just go find something."

Ryuuzaki took the longest time possible to figure out exactly what he wanted from the small bakery shop. He eventually decided on some kind of cake he had never tried before.

The two of them walked back to the investigation headquarters, while the young man had a strange, happy skip in his step.  Inside the common computer room, he spun in his black rolling chair.

Kaori found it rather funny that he became so happy over just a piece of cake.  She kept that in mind in case she bothered or angered him later on.

"I'm going to head to my room and get ready for bed." She informed as she began to climb up the stairs.

Ryuuzaki swallowed, for once, before speaking to her. "Ah, thanks again for the cake.  Good night, Kaori." 

"Mm, yeah. Good night, Ryuuzaki."

-----+-----

A full two months passed since Kaori graduated from university, since she met 'L,' and since she began to work with him as Ryuuzaki.  It had also been about that long since she was introduced to a side of him that surprised her: The side that was warm and caring despite his odd persona in general.

She and Lawliet continued their communication per usual, continuing to message each other about everything and anything, though most of the texts seemed to have something to do with Ryuuzaki since the girl had been working with him.

Kaori and Ryuuzaki became closer to each other as well.  Whether they were bickering or discussing the findings from her hacking and coding, the two of them seemed to always be together. They didn't seem to take note of their significant time together, but others did.  Misa often didn't let that go unnoticed and made obnoxious comments about them and singing childish songs.

To Lawliet:

When I said I was ready to establish myself as an adult and Japanese citizen, I didn't think that I would be able to create a good life when Ryuuzaki came to me. For sure, I'd thought that this was not the way that I was going to be able to really start to live as an adult.

I mean, I know I'm still childish in some ways, but by 'adult,' I mean with a stable job, a promising boyfriend, and to leave the hacking games behind.

But here, working on the Kira Case of all things, I'm the hacker Kaori Inoue, not KI. I get to do what I'm good at, but I don't have to hide behind that alias, even though it will always mean something to me.

A few months ago, I mentioned my mother in a conversation with Ryuuzaki and since then, I've been thinking about her a lot. I miss her, but I've done my fair share of grieving and have gotten over it.  You know that.

It may be bothering me that I don't exactly know what happened.  She died on a business trip, and that's all I know.  I don't know how or why she died, and I now want to know the answers. 

I've come to peace with the fact that she's gone, so finally, I think I'm ready to know what exactly happened.

Anyway, sorry about this message being a rant, but thank you for taking the time to read it.

~Kaori

She pressed the 'send' button and lied back on the concrete roof.  It was a sunny, breezy day with a few white, fluffy clouds.  The atmosphere was showing the first signs of fall, and she loved the changes that occurred during the season.  Even though it was still summer, the air already felt like the chill of the following season was approaching.

She held her hand over her brows to shield her eyes from the harsh rays of the sun, allowing her to watch the clouds float by in the blue sky.

Her mother died in the Fall, too. It was the saddest time in her life, but the rapidly changing leaves that fell to the ground when they turned shades of brown reminded her that things would grow anew again, assuring her that things would eventually get better.

The two years leading up to her death, Kaori's mother wasn't around often.  She went on many business trips and her boss was extremely demanding of her time. She earned a decent amount of money, but Kaori, who was sixteen at the time, was alone a lot. Yet, she knew nothing else about her mother's work.

She heard her name being called distantly, but the lull of her thoughts hushed it.

"Kaori." Whoever had called her name spoke louder.

She blinked, and with his elbows resting on his knees, Ryuuzaki loomed directly over her.

She released a startled yelp and abruptly sat upright, knocking into the awkward man's nose with her forehead. They both winced and clutched the injured parts of their bodies painfully.

"I'm so sorry, Ryuuzaki." The girl said painfully.

Ryuuzaki hummed with a pained tone. "It's not broken...  You were really deep in thought, there." He commented as he rubbed his nose.

"Oh, yeah. I guess so." Kaori muttered.

"I'm curious. What's on your mind?" While his voice had no more tone than his usual monotony, he did seem concerned.

She had a smile on her lips, but it was a sad smile. "It's been almost two years since my mom died."

"Hm, I see." He looked away from her and seemed to be absent-minded. "Are you alright? You've been distant today."

"Yeah, I guess I'm fine. I just..." Kaori trailed and looked at her hands.  "You don't need to listen to my issues." She laughed uncomfortably.

"I'm here to listen to what's upsetting you." Ryuuzaki said.  "I came looking for you because I was worried."

She raised a thin brow at him. "Who exactly are you and what happened to Ryuuzaki?"

"Am I not allowed to care about someone that I genuinely consider to be my friend of mine?"

"I'm your friend?" Kaori blinked in surprise.

"Yes, you are." The young man hummed as he usually did.

"Aw, Ryuuzaki! Thank you!" She said happily and without understanding her own actions, she gave him a light kiss on his cheek.

But as soon as she did it, she regretted it. They both blinked and abruptly turned away from each other. Kaori's cheeks were an extremely bright shade of red as Ryuuzaki's took on a light pink color, barely noticeable to anyone who may have seen them.  He held a hand to the spot that she had kissed.

"Um, yeah... Sorry." The girl muttered shyly. "I'm just... 

"... you're my friend, too." She finished.