tampered | Log; Complete

Log; Complete

When; August 27th (Mid-Afternoon)
Rating; PG
Characters; Ryuzaki(L)

dubia_lux and Yagami Sayu

theserealdays
Summary; L gives Sayu the scoop on the City right under Light's nose.
Log;

Sometimes Sayu thought she was the unluckiest girl ever. Maybe God was mad at her or something. She didn't mean to get in that fight with her friend or upset her mother, and she was sorry too! And now look, she was stuck in this city. That shouldn't even be possible. Sayu was still debating whether or not she was dreaming.

But Light was here, right? That meant everything would be okay. He'd look out for her. And he had friends here too! The problem was telling which ones were really his friends. The man before him, the sloppy one who looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, was on of those friends in question. She didn't see how he could be so dangerous though. Light was probably jealous that she was spending time with one of his friends instead of him. She promised that she would find her brother afterward though! Right now she wanted to know about this city. Maybe she'd be able to figure out whether or not this was a dream.

Throwing on her usual, chipper smile, Sayu waved at Light's friend. "So this is Pandora?" She pointed to the restaurant. "What are we waiting for? I'm starving and you promised you would tell me what was going on!"

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L's thoughts were unguessable from his expression as he looked towards Pandora's.

"That's true. Shall we then?"

The skinny detective slid his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans and slouched towards the fancy restaurant.

They were given a table in the back and L placed his foot on the seat of the rearmost chair. After taking a quick look around to be sure that there were no familiar faces he sat, back to the wall, facing out towards the restaurant so he could watch everybody as they moved past.

He bounced his legs in discomfort then curled his knees up to his chin and examined the menu.

"The first thing you must do is find a place to stay," he said softly, holding the menu in his finger tips.

"I am told they make a good cobb salad."

It took Sayu a few moments before stepping into the restaurant. She watched the man shuffle in, bewildered about how... well... unique was definitely the nicest way to say it. Shrugging it off, she bounded in after him, taking the seat across from him.

She picked up the menu, but before opening, she wrinkled her nose and frowned. "You know it isn't polite to sit like that," she stated before looking through the menu. He wasn't kidding about the restaurant being so fancy. Her family would only go to these kinds of restaurants for special occasions because they were so expensive. She dismissed the idea, though, figuring that Light's friend must have enough money to pay for all the food.

Sayu was inspecting the salads-taking his suggestion-when she replied, "I already know that. I'm going to stay with Light!"

L nibbled on his thumb and considered this. He knew Light was in the Underground but he was not sure where. The man had done a good job being sure that L never got that information. Zaheela had yet to deliver her research report on the place and L's Children had some difficulties down there.

L knew he had a slim chance of getting the information without using somebody else. Light was far too guarded.

He glanced back at his menu.

"That would probably be wise. Do you know where he is staying?"

The cobb salad didn't look so good, or so Sayu decided. Maybe a simple caesar salad would suffice. That was always one of her favorites. She set the menu down, having made her decision and waited for the server to come by so she could place her order.

"You mean you don't know? I thought you said you were his friend!" Sayu crossed her arms, pouting. Was Light right about this guy? She looked him over again. She still couldn't see how he was so dangerous. She heard of plenty of criminals and this guy sure didn't fit the bill.

"Well," she added, "Light said he'd come pick me up when I asked him to anyway, so it doesn't really matter."

L stared at Sayu, calculating her expression. He did not believe she would lie to him and of course she only just arrived so there was a good chance, ninety percent, that Light had yet to make actual contact with her. Still...the chance that Sayu had been informed of Light's residence was not zero.

He decided not to act on this, not just yet. He could use Sayu to find Light's exact address at a later time.

"That's right, I am his friend."

He set down the menu and when the waiter came around placed an order for the Chocolate Mint Meringue Cheesecake. The waiter looked at L with some disdain for his posture, and took Sayu's order for the caeser salad before leaving.

What was Light doing now anyway? He seemed to busy when she spoke to him over the network, and really worried. Was he okay? She mulled over the thought before dismissing it. Light was always over protective, just like Dad. This city was just getting to her head anyway.

"Then what's your name?" Sayu quirked an eyebrow, leaning forward on the table. "I mean, you already know mine. In fact, you said Light was talking about me..."

She paused and looked at him suspiciously.

"He didn't say anything bad did he?"

L thumbed at his lips. "Please call me Ryuzaki," he said.

"Yagami-kun was concerned about your welfare, which is why I contacted you."

It was weird. Even though Light told her that this man, Ryuzaki, was dangerous, she couldn't help but like him. He was really weird, she had to admit, but it was like a cartoon character come to life. She just hoped he didn't have some hidden knife and was ready to jump out and kill her when she wasn't expecting it.

...nah.

"Oh, that's nice of you, Ryuzaki-san!" She smiled. Maybe Light was playing a trick on her. Why else would he express his concerns to Ryuzaki if they weren't good friends?

"So, are you going to tell me about this city or what? I've never heard of a place that zaps you from your home. Maybe it's run by aliens?" She placed her finger on her chin, seriously considering the possibility. It did make sense...

L nibbled his nail.

"Of course. The City is a dimensional nexus run by run a small group of deities. The deities enjoy placing curses upon the populace since, it is said, the City runs on despair and negative emotions. The main residential buildings are arranged in a fashion similar to a clock face. In fact, the City is a clock in itself. That is why you can hear ticking when you are alone."

He settled his dark eyes on Sayu, wondering if she could comprehend all of that.

... A neck what? Sayu stared at Ryuzaki, slowly processing it. She had to translate everything he said into her own way of thinking. In a way, it was like talking with Light when he got really excited about something.

So Ryuzaki was basically saying that deities, which meant God or something, liked to place curses, or tricks, on everyone in the City. She remembered someone mentioning that.

But the ticking, that was almost cool! She heard it when she first came in by the fountain, but that was it. At least it only happened when she was alone though. Guess she'd be spending a lot of time with Light and his friends!

"Have you been in this City long? You sure know a lot about it."

"No," L replied honestly as the waiter brought their food.

"I arrived in late June. I have merely been observing and studying. It is good to know and comprehend your surroundings. Otherwise you may not survive."

"Oh."

Sayu accepted her food quietly and remained silent, prodding her salad before beginning to eat. It was almost as if Ryuzaki was too much like Light. She almost wanted to say that they thought the same way. Was that possible though? She chewed slowly, trying to figure it out. Maybe she'll ask Light about it later. Wait...

"When did you meet Light?" She looked up a Ryuzaki, eyes sparkling mischievously.

L prodded the cake with his fork, speared a chunk and shoved it into his mouth as he considered this question.

Well, the truth would not hurt in this situation.

"I met him at To-Oh University's entrance exams."

Sayu's joy to hear that someone from her own world was here, especially Ryuzaki, was evident. She grinned and clapped her hands together. Ryuzaki needed to take quite a bit of time to answer the question, but what did that matter? He was from Japan!

"That's great, Ryuzaki-san! I never met one of Light's college friends before except for Misa-Misa! Do you know what this means? That means there are at least three people from Japan! There could be more, too!"

"There are many people here from Japan," L answered truthfully. "Not all of them from our Japan. But those of us from the same world should stick together."

"Yeah, I think so too but..." Yeah. They should definitely stick together if there were evil deities and curses. What if she was cursed?!

"What do you mean 'our' Japan?"

L tugged at his lip with his finger.

"There are other versions of Japan than our own."

Now that didn't make sense. Other versions?

"Like what? Super robots or something? You make absolutely no sense, Ryuzaki-san!"

"Actually, yes, there are a few robots in the City. Think of it this way..."

L snuggled against his knees as he searched for the right words.

"There are parallel dimensions. You will meet people here from Earth but not our Earth necessarily. There are even people here from our Japan's past. The City ignores the usual definitions of space and time."

Space and time, huh? Sayu leaned back in her seat, running everything Ryuzaki said in her head one more time.

There were worlds out there, some like this city and some exactly like Earth. In fact, there were several versions of Earth. Then there was the City. Somehow, it caught people from all these worlds and drew them in like some sort of giant vacuum. Sayu wasn't sure if it was cool or scary. At least it didn't seem too bad.

"Everyone must really like the City, huh?" Sayu grinned, taking another bite from her salad. "I mean, they are all still here! It must be better than their old worlds."

L narrowed his eyes. "No, you are completely wrong. The City traps us here. Some people have discovered ways to escape but there is no one guaranteed method. We are trapped."

"Trapped?!"

Sayu ignored the fact that her mouth was hanging open, awestruck. She ignored that she had forgotten her manners by not finishing her meal when she stood up. They were all... trapped? She couldn't go home? Did that mean she would never see her friends? Not her Mom and Dad? She would never be in her own house again, her own room and her own bed... it was all gone.

But she wasn't a kid anymore. She would have to handle this right. That meant finding Light.

"Thank you very much for the lunch, Ryuzaki-san, but I'm going to find my brother now. I'm really worried about him and I kinda want to talk to him. Can we finish some other time?"

L sighed a bit. "Of course. I shall tell you more later."

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Log; Complete

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