Open RP: Great Hall: It's Alive!

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

The circles under his eyes are more pronounced than usual today. L slips into the Great Hall, to get himself a pot of tea. Once it arrives, he sits and pauses, to wait for it to steep. It needs to be stronger than this.

He's been pushing himself on a case the past few days. It's resolved now, but it was the first real challenge he's had since moving here, so he may have dropped off the face of the earth a little. Time to emerge and make sure everyone is still alive and well.

As soon as the tea is finished steeping, that is.

Comments

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"Precisely. Of course I'm warning you."

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

More pieces fall into place. "They...the ones who 'trained' him," the word becomes a foul curse, "they knew, didn't they. Didn't do anything about it, did they?" Anger, burning hot, begins to fill her eyes, restoring the color to her face that had been lost.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I would imagine so. I wasn't there."

A slow nod.

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

Maddie snarled. "There are levels of hell reserved for such bastards." Exactly which bastards she's referring to is unclear, but she does mean both sets, those who would allow a boy to be so mishandled and those who would mishandle him. The so-called trainers may possibly fall under both, she's not quite sure of that. "How...you who say you enforce UN sanctions by withholding your services, how could you let that happen?" Ah, a target. Much better.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I didn't know the abuse was occuring."

Mild, not too defensive. She needs someone to yell at, he doesn't care what she thinks of him.

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

Astonishment contorts her features even more. "How could you not? They were supposed to be like you?" She splutters. "A detective, world class you say, and you couldn't even bother to detect that..." exact words fail her, but the intent is clear. He should have known about the training, known what was going on it it. Therefore, the abuse is his fault.

"Men. Arrogant, self-serving, useless creatures. If it's not in their face, they don't care." Yes, when a scalpel can't be held, go for a shot gun.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I'm only twenty now, and look at their age. They're from only a few years in my future."

Clearing his throat.

"But you're right. If I could do what I did at that age, I should have suspected they'd attempt something like this. Preteen or not, it's a responsability I only avoided through ignorance and blind trust. I didn't think my guardian would do such a thing, which was hopelessly naive, in retrospect."

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

Oh? Maddie hadn't been told about the time strangeness, either. To her, it's still 1999. Time to party.

"Only twenty? Future? What? That boy, A, looked at least fourteen. And the other, he looked closer to twenty, himself."

But, Maddie is a bright girl, given a little time to work things out. "Preteen? So, a case of exploited genius with you, as well. I can't say I think very highly of your guardian."

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I know B dies... probably before I turn twenty three. So subtract his age from twenty three, add four years since that's typically when students enter the program... and I was likely between the age of seven and nine when they began grooming A and B."

He's really musing to himself.

"Which makes sense, that's around when I became L. I wouldn't say they exploited me; though no one exploited ever would, would they? I had a happy childhood, you needn't concern yourself with me. Stop prying."

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

Prying? Maddie? Never. No, never.

She smiles sweetly, a saccharine sweet, the kind of sweet of fresh lemons. "Right then." She bundles up her stuff, her purse, oh, don't see the tape recorder with it's little red light, not that it would really work here, but she had to try, and stands. "Perhaps we'll meet again." She will get to the bottom of this, she's sure. She'll go ask the boy who else he knows. That'll give her a lead.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I didn't get your name."

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

"Maddie Magellan," she replies. Never bothered with aliases. Too much work to remember them and remember to answer to them.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"Ryuuzaki. Please keep in mind who your questions will hurt, Miss Magellan. I'd rather you came to me with them than other individuals."

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

"Not L?" she asks sweetly. "And, you told me not to ask you anymore. Or does 'stop prying' mean something else to a genius?" She bloody knows well enough not to kick a wounded puppy.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"Ryuuzaki."

Firmly.

"Case histories? Yes. Our childhoods? A different matter."

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

"Fine, Ryuuzaki." She frowns at him. "What is it with weird Asian names in Scotland? I never heard there was a large community here."

She eyes him, her own version of a dead eye stare. "You weren't exactly willing to discuss either. Of the case history, you told me to talk to the FBI agent who fingered the murderer who pointed me to you. Of your childhood, I think I have more than enough information."

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I'm not from Scotland." Frowning in return.

"And that's because I honestly don't know. It hasn't happened to me yet, and I haven't sought out too much information concerning it for fear of corrupting the timeline."

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

She was flouncing just a moment ago, really she was.

"If you don't know and he's supposed to be as smart as you say, then why did he direct me to you? That makes no sense." And everything makes sense, eventually.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"He's insane."

Obviously.

"And he doesn't know how much I know."

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

Mental note: don't play poker with this boy.

"So, he just assumes you know? Is there anyone who really does?"

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"Mello might, but he wouldn't be as patient as I have been." Which says something, really. "And Naomi. That's all I can think of."

[noseymaddie.livejournal.com]

And they called her Mello Yello... Though, he said 'he'...

"Right. Mello." She can deal with impatient, she's sure. "Well, then. Unless you had something else you're willing to say, I'll just see myself off."

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"Best of luck."

He returns to his tea.