Key (L x OC)

Twenty Six

Later that evening, dressed formally once again, Kaori and Ryuuzaki left the comfort of the hotel room that they had been living in for a little while at that point.

The girl was nervous, but she didn't want Ryuuzaki to know that. She wasn't entirely sure of how she would act when she saw Edward again. She wasn't sure if she would be able to get him to confess to being Kira.

As she pondered her worries in the car, the young man interrupted her thoughts. "Take off your earrings." He said abruptly.

"Huh?" She blinked, and then pouted. "Why? They're cute."

He pulled a velvet box from the pocket of his suit and opened it for her to see the contents. She almost gasped at the beauty of the two diamond studs she saw. Surely, they were three times the size she would ever be able to afford.

"I need you to wear these." He instructed, not aware of how shocked the girl was. They weren't cubic zirconia or any other kind of false diamonds. They were real diamonds, no question about it. "The back to the one on the right has a recorder. Unfortunately, due to the size, you can't turn it on or off, so the entire night will be recorded. Only the person who I had make it knows how to pull information from it. The one on the left has a bluetooth in the back. I'll wear a normal one so that I can hear what's going on, but if you wore one, Kira would question you, so we had to hide it."

Practically tuning out everything that he said, Kaori was still wide-eyed at the bright diamonds. "They're so big!" She commented.

"They need to be big so that we can conceal the devices in them." Ryuuzaki informed logically.

"I've never worn anything so expensive..." The fact made the girl slightly insecure at the thought of wearing such pricey accessories.

"It'll be fine. They'll make your eyes brighter if you wear them, if that makes you feel any better. After we remove the bluetooth and recorder, you can sell them if you want."

"I would never sell them! They're too gorgeous!" She began to remove the earrings the was wearing.

"I guess it's a good thing you like them." He watched as she fastened them to her ears. When she finished, she looked at him with a bright smile.

"These make me feel expensive." She laughed.

Ryuuzaki's expression softened at the sight of her happiness. The troubled girl from the previous few days was completely gone, and that filled him with relief. "You're priceless." He mentioned softly to no one but himself.

Kaori blinked in surprise at hearing his sweet words. The moment would have lasted longer if the driver of the car hadn't pulled up to the event venue.

"It would be best to enter separately." He advised.

She nodded. "Yeah, I agree. I'll head in first." She didn't hesitate to open her door and step out of the slim car.

"One more thing," He began, tugging on her wrist. "Or, two more things. First of all, don't kiss him. Second of all, good luck Kanna Ikimoto."

She laughed as he freed her wrist. "Aye aye, Hideki Ryuuga." With that, she turned away from him confidently, her dark gown fluttering at her heels as she walked with an elegant air surrounding her.

——-+——-

About fifteen minutes later, Ryuuzaki entered the venue. He and Kaori made eye contact, and thus, commenced the mission to get Kira to confess.

Not many people greeted the girl, so she was able to efficiently swim through the crowd of wealthy business people, not having to embarrass herself by using her mangled English. Finally, she spotted a particularly handsome, dark-haired man.