A tale of two gentleman [Closed, Complete]
Characters: Brook, Ryuzaki Coil (L)
Content: Two crazy sons of bitches who think too much, out for a drink
Setting: Berum
Time: Afternoon
Warnings: L? Skeletons? Lots of thinking
L wasn't particularly prone to guilt, that was for the sort of people who did regrettable things, or didn't think their own actions through well enough, people who made mistakes.
He hadn't been wrong to stop that street rat's stealing, and he had meant what he'd said to Vash. He couldn't judge until after he had all of the information, so he had acted on instinct. Now, however, he was off of the ship again, Vohemaro travel papers in his pocket should that become a necessity, searching for that boy.
It hadn't been too hard to track him down, the boy had hardly disguised his movements. He'd recognized L immediately, L would not be surprised if the image was permanently burned behind the boy's eyelids, an idea that had a great deal of appeal to him. The boy had tried to run. L had grabbed him and thrust a few coins into his hand.
"Your name?" L asked when the boy stopped struggling.
"T-Thomas."
"Do not do it again." His voice was lazy, but firm. "Ever."
Brook ambled through the streets of Berum, taking in the sights. He'd been cooped up on the ship for a while now - monitoring the radios and handling a few other things that had come to his attention - but eventually he thought it best that he got out for a bit, to see exactly what the rebels had managed to do with one of their larger cities.
Truth be told, he wasn't impressed. Granted, maybe it was the recent tensions, but the people looked unsettled, ill at ease, and he'd noticed...a couple of shadier activities taking place during his stroll. One pickpocketing, what had to be a seventy-year old man solicit a garishly dressed young lady for something and then head into an alley, and...
What was that dark-haired man doing to that boy?
He stepped towards the alley they'd dashed into, ready to intervene, when he saw the dark-haired man - who, by the looks of him, needed to sleep a good deal more than he was - press a few coins into the hand of the younger boy. For a moment, he suspected something of the sort with the old man and the prostitute, but the older man's words pushed that out of his mind.
He waited a moment - enough time for the two to finish their talk - and, from the mouth of the alley, said, "Odd way to punish someone, giving them money."
L let Thomas go and watched the boy dash out of the alley, hopefully the lesson had sunk in.
L turned around to get a good look at whoever had interrupted their little 'chat' to see a demihuman, at least L thought it was a demihuman, skeletal and wearing a jaunty suit. He'd never heard of that race of demihumans, which was unusual for him, it seemed he would actually have something to keep his mind occupied instead of falling back on old cases.
"Well, as my crew member reminded me, I deprived him of dinner last night." L reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy, which he popped into his mouth. "I think it is -- delayed charity."
L wasn't sure what it was, actually.
Deprived him of dinner? There were numerous possibilities as to what that could mean, but the snippet Brook had heard earlier suggested that the boy was...some kind of petty criminal. He supposed this other man must have caught him at whatever he was doing, but hadn't bothered to report him to the authorities; now he seemed to...regret having stopped the boy from doing what he'd been doing? Quite strange.
"Charity, you say? From your admonishment, I'd say whatever he was doing to earn that dinner wasn't exactly on the up-and-up. Much as stopping him would be a deterrent, wouldn't aiding him after the fact be an implicit approval of what he was doing? Again, it's difficult to really seem to mean 'no' when you're rewarding them for the behavior."
The man had a point, L knew that.
"Not everyone has the same opportunities. We come into the world unequal." That wasn't really part of an answer, more an observation of something L had always known. "Between the fear of Justice and enough money to rest from thieving for a few days, a reevaluation can take place. Perhaps he will merely eat too much, put it up his nose or be beaten by a stronger boy to be robbed himself, these are all possibilities."
L didn't have a particularly rosy view of human nature, but -- in his own small way he had interfered with the way things would have been and he had started implicitly condoning the Way's tactics the moment he had stepped foot on board. He was used to ignoring the little infractions.
He'd never been above charity before, although the beneficiaries had always done something to earn it before hand.
"Oh, certainly; so is the possibility that he might go straight, as you say. I cannot help but wonder, though, if the latter would be more or less likely if he could not put a face to his benefactor - putting aside the fact that said benefactor was so recently the cause of his problems. I've always been more of a fan of faceless charity - a little money left here, tickets for a free meal there. The serendipity of it gives them hope, which is near as valuable as the actual item given. Getting a handout, though...well, everyone reacts differently to that."
Brook hadn't had many opportunities to actually carry this philosophy out - too many of the people he rode herd over back then either needed no charity or were so thoroughly allied with the rebels that he would not give it. There was one family, though - they had a little girl, who was friends with his daughter, and was often sick - who were good people, and from time to time he'd leave little things, money and the like, where he was sure they'd find them.
The other man had a sensible head about the issue, L would give him that.
He thought about his own acts, the ones that would be considered charitable instead of cold, cruel and calculating. On particularly dangerous cases he would compensate police or soldiers families for their losses. But the families were rarely in a mood to consider the compensation generous.
"He and I are unlikely to meet again, but he will perhaps associate a few minutes of terror and his second chance. His terror was personal."
L cocked his head to the side and smiled.
"Ryuzaki Coil."
Brook tipped his hat in reply. "Brook."
"I suppose he might, but...realistically, had he not been unwilling or unable to do honest work in the first place, he would likely not be...thieving, unless I miss my mark? The charity is noble but seems misaimed, a bandage on the behavior rather than a cure. Once the coins run out, I would imagine he'd just pick up where he left off.
"It's not unlike dealing with disenfranchised people in society, really. You can't just appease them by giving them things they want; you have to actively turn them from their previous beliefs. They need to understand that a free head of cattle with every home is ridiculous, or that they cannot be absolved from taxes just because they live far from civilization, or...whatever."
Mentally, he sighed. From time to time, he'd wished that some of the groups he faced were able to understand, could be shown that what they wanted was insane. It never quite worked out that way, though; all but once, he had to resort to other, more permanent ways of dealing with them.
L smiled. Brook was right, really. The monetary onus on the government to prove all of the goods and services the meek wanted would be truly obscene even with the taxes he paid on his various investments and side projects.
"No, you cannot appease them. It is often best just to let things sort themselves out. Not always, though. Often, a circumstance is the cause of wrongdoing by one party or abuse - well beyond governance - by an official or the government. Then, Justice demands action, even if it is not charity."
L still didn't know if Thomas had done anything or was the victim of some circumstance that had really 'earned' him charity but he was not inclined to regret his choice.
Brook shook his head. "Corruption. Ever the bane of civilization - it's like a disease. And like most diseases...there are so many strains of it, appearing in so many places in the body that is society - the head, the extremities, everywhere. Excising it is very different from a surgeon's work, but oftentimes no less bloody."
Justice was something he could respect; he'd brought it to enough insurgents, enough dangerous rebels, in the pursuit of keeping Ivona's peace that he knew what it was like to be its hand. Thinking about how things had changed after he died...it made him angry, angry that things could fall so far, angry that people could have turned away from what was good for them.
And...maybe it raised the tiniest pinprick of doubt, over whether or not what he'd done had really been the right, the just thing to have done.
L nodded, he wished Brook was incorrect, but he knew that he was only one man, and he could not be everywhere, that was part of the reason that he restricted himself to the large injustices. When he started to get bogged down in the little ones he lost sight of things. He could keep a hundred things in mind at the same time, but thousands were too many, even for him.
He also thought of the blood, not something he was squeamish about, but the blood of the victims and eventually the blood of the guilty covered his hands.
"I do not care for the blood." He'd never killed someone, but he had brought them to justice, there had been more of it than recently than he would have liked. Perhaps the reason Watari had insisted on the vacation.
Brook shrugged noncomittally. He'd killed before - long since lost count of how many times - but he at the time it never bothered him. He'd tried what he could to turn people away from rebellion, from attacking the country supporting them; many just wouldn't listen. Does a gardener worry about the health of the weeds killing his lawn?
Now...if they weren't weeds after all...but best not to think of that now, he thought.
"Some say the worst part of the work is becoming used to the blood. I say...there's nothing wrong with being able to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. Efforts should be taken to prevent things from getting to that point, but...people are people and do not always act according to reason.
"Shame that it looks like we'll be heading to another time like that, what with the murders." It was hard for him to express regret without facial features that moved, but the regret in the skeleton's voice was plain.
L was already used to the blood. He wasn't sure if that was the worst part or not. It seemed like a fact of life more than a specific consequence.
The murders. The assassinations. "And now travel papers, border security, no doubt there will soon be trade restrictions and free merchant and traveling ships will be all but shut down."
Any requirement for travel papers would hardly keep him from passing over borders, but L would not be surprised if most of the Way's crew and passengers were not the sort who would do well with a check of their credentials.
"Everyone had gossip on the topic, now." Except for him. L would have liked Watari to let him keep working, that would have been better for his mind.
Brook smiled, inwardly. Perhaps it was time to let what he knew slip a little; he could not know who this Ryuzaki might talk to, but it was far enough after the incident - with precious little information on it otherwise - that if the man *did* speak to others, it would likely spread like wildfire. And perhaps that would lead to some clues as to who was behind it, or at least force both countries to deal with the leak before returning to saber-rattling.
"Indeed. It seems all but certain that war will be the result; I have to wonder, though, whose war it is...especially given the condition of the murdered ambassadors. It screams of plots deeper than a country fishing for an excuse to fight."
L didn't take his conversational companion for a gossip or a rumor monger or someone who made slips of the tongue. Still it wouldn't do to appear to eager.
"Condition?" He tilted his head, not exactly playing dumb, but waiting for Brook to make the first move.
"I could use a cup of coffee. I don't know what sort of nourishment you take, but at least it would be more comfortable than speaking out in the open."
Brook chuckled. Ryuzaki was definitely interested, and moreover, seemed to be taking him seriously. He couldn't have hoped for a better audience.
"Well, I'm never one to pass up a tall glass of milk. Good for the bones and all that. I think I saw a coffee shop a street or so back; shall we adjourn to there?"
L probably overplayed his interest, or underplayed it really, he was out of practice. Someone else would have shown more interest. He had difficulty with 'enthusiasm' though.
"Milk?" L smiled. The two of them made their way to the coffee shop and L settled in to a seat, perching and dropping a half dozen sugar cubes into the cup before taking his first sip.
"You don't strike me as the usual rumor monger type, Mr. Brook."
Brook would have raised an eyebrow at the enormous amount of sugar Ryuzaki added to his coffee, but he sadly lacked them. "My daughter used to do the same thing. Eventually I asked her why she bothered with coffee if she felt the need to drown every cup in sugar; when she couldn't answer, she decided to switch back to tea."
He took a sip of his milk, then looked back at the young man. "Anyway - there's a good reason for that."
He lowered his voice. "I'm not talking rumors - I was at the banquet in question. Had a chance to examine the scene of the crime." He paused to have more milk. "When we got there, the ambassadors had been dead for hours - since before the party started. Whoever did it...it probably wasn't someone from either the 4423 or the Victoria II."
L took another sip of his coffee. "I do the same with my tea."
L hadn't even gotten that minimal tidbit from Watari. Brook seemed likely to have been on the 4423, especially since L knew the ship was now in port here. The captain had hauled ass just after the assassination. Such would normally be a sure sign of guilt, but L figured that at least the girl captain could see the writing on the wall and that she and her ship were easy targets of blame. His willingness to let the Victoria II have a similar benefit of the doubt was interesting though.
"Who runs a banquet when the negotiators are already dead and cooling?" Did no one look after the delegates? How had the banquet even progressed as though nothing was wrong as far as it had.
Brook raised his glass. "Ah, but tea isn't supposed to be a trial to drink."
He mulled over Ryuzaki's questions for a moment, and then shrugged. "It's very suspect - the other people examining the scene had similar questions. Either the people running it didn't know either, or they were involved - I'd believe the latter, personally. Dinner had been served - I can't believe no one attempted to feed the ambassadors.
"The question is - what would the people of Kropmork - or specifically those at the University - have to gain from inciting a war, or aiding to do so?"
L took a moment to be frustrated with Watari again, for keeping him so much in the dark. Assassins, the University possibly complicit, he dropped another sugar cube into his coffee.
"Such a conspiracy would be vulnerable on many sides, even the process of assassinating so many and arousing so little suspicion compounds the number of people required. Perhaps there is something simpler."
His mind shifted the problem around. Who did benefit? So far, any benefits had been unobtrusive: tightened trade, increased tensions between the countries, the number of beneficiaries was astronomical.
"Money. Power. Influence. Those are the easy answers, it is a rare person who is looking for something beyond that."
Brook considered this. "Hmm. I suppose they would have a lot to gain, as a neutral port between both countries. The risk, though...either party could find them to be too much of a benefit for the other, and deal with them appropriately.
"As for the University itself...were they producing airships or munitions, I could believe they'd want to have a hand in starting a war for the money, but as teachers? I fail to see what benefit they could get that would outweigh the chance that they'd be held responsible."
He sipped at his milk again. "Perhaps they were forced to comply."
"Better." L nodded. "Cleaner."
Perhaps.
"As the situation continues to unfold, more information will become available. At the very worst the unexpected consequences of the assassins actions will become clear, at best, their true intentions. Vohemar's aggressive posturing draws my suspicions currently, but counter posturing could provide more data."
He took a longer sip of his coffee, finishing it. He would need to put more sugar in his next cup.
Brook considered this. "I suppose you're right. Still...perhaps there are other angles this could be approached from. I wonder if figuring out who the assassins were would be of any use." He'd considered asking Tira; she may very well not know, as there seemed to be many different groups of assassins in the city, but it was plausible she might have some idea, or at least a lead.
He finished off his glass of milk and looked up. "You don't exactly seem to be a stranger to thinking about this sort of thing. Perhaps you'd like to keep in touch? I'd imagine our chances of figuring out something about this situation would be better if we fed each other information as we got it."
L shrugged. "It's a hobby."
L wasn't really much for sharing -- but he mumbled out his own journal name, enough to let Brook contact him in the future.
"The ship I am on may soon have her travel more restricted, unfortunately. I cannot say I am in a position to acquire any useful information, either. But I am always up for discourse."
Brook gave Ryuzaki his journal's name; he was slightly surprised at the man's reluctance, given that many people with such a hobby were frequently desperate for intelligence. Nevertheless, he was quite sharp; even with limited resources, he could be quite an aid.
"Given my ship's position, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to find out myself. Though...hopefully something will pan out in the near future."
He rose and put down a few coins for his drink. "Good to meet you, Mr. Coil. Should anything new come to light, I'll contact you. Until then...well, let's hope Justice steers us right, yes?"
"Justice," L agreed, staring at the bottom of his coffee cup. "Pleasure, Mr. Brook."
L watched the strange skeletal man leave the coffee shop before getting himself another cup of coffee which he loaded up with sugar and took a long, bittersweet drink.
Perhaps he had a few coins to bargain with Watari now, and pry more information out of him. Either way, there was nothing wrong with finding a worthy sparring partner of the mind.
Content: Two crazy sons of bitches who think too much, out for a drink
Setting: Berum
Time: Afternoon
Warnings: L? Skeletons? Lots of thinking
L wasn't particularly prone to guilt, that was for the sort of people who did regrettable things, or didn't think their own actions through well enough, people who made mistakes.
He hadn't been wrong to stop that street rat's stealing, and he had meant what he'd said to Vash. He couldn't judge until after he had all of the information, so he had acted on instinct. Now, however, he was off of the ship again, Vohemaro travel papers in his pocket should that become a necessity, searching for that boy.
It hadn't been too hard to track him down, the boy had hardly disguised his movements. He'd recognized L immediately, L would not be surprised if the image was permanently burned behind the boy's eyelids, an idea that had a great deal of appeal to him. The boy had tried to run. L had grabbed him and thrust a few coins into his hand.
"Your name?" L asked when the boy stopped struggling.
"T-Thomas."
"Do not do it again." His voice was lazy, but firm. "Ever."
Brook ambled through the streets of Berum, taking in the sights. He'd been cooped up on the ship for a while now - monitoring the radios and handling a few other things that had come to his attention - but eventually he thought it best that he got out for a bit, to see exactly what the rebels had managed to do with one of their larger cities.
Truth be told, he wasn't impressed. Granted, maybe it was the recent tensions, but the people looked unsettled, ill at ease, and he'd noticed...a couple of shadier activities taking place during his stroll. One pickpocketing, what had to be a seventy-year old man solicit a garishly dressed young lady for something and then head into an alley, and...
What was that dark-haired man doing to that boy?
He stepped towards the alley they'd dashed into, ready to intervene, when he saw the dark-haired man - who, by the looks of him, needed to sleep a good deal more than he was - press a few coins into the hand of the younger boy. For a moment, he suspected something of the sort with the old man and the prostitute, but the older man's words pushed that out of his mind.
He waited a moment - enough time for the two to finish their talk - and, from the mouth of the alley, said, "Odd way to punish someone, giving them money."
L let Thomas go and watched the boy dash out of the alley, hopefully the lesson had sunk in.
L turned around to get a good look at whoever had interrupted their little 'chat' to see a demihuman, at least L thought it was a demihuman, skeletal and wearing a jaunty suit. He'd never heard of that race of demihumans, which was unusual for him, it seemed he would actually have something to keep his mind occupied instead of falling back on old cases.
"Well, as my crew member reminded me, I deprived him of dinner last night." L reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy, which he popped into his mouth. "I think it is -- delayed charity."
L wasn't sure what it was, actually.
Deprived him of dinner? There were numerous possibilities as to what that could mean, but the snippet Brook had heard earlier suggested that the boy was...some kind of petty criminal. He supposed this other man must have caught him at whatever he was doing, but hadn't bothered to report him to the authorities; now he seemed to...regret having stopped the boy from doing what he'd been doing? Quite strange.
"Charity, you say? From your admonishment, I'd say whatever he was doing to earn that dinner wasn't exactly on the up-and-up. Much as stopping him would be a deterrent, wouldn't aiding him after the fact be an implicit approval of what he was doing? Again, it's difficult to really seem to mean 'no' when you're rewarding them for the behavior."
The man had a point, L knew that.
"Not everyone has the same opportunities. We come into the world unequal." That wasn't really part of an answer, more an observation of something L had always known. "Between the fear of Justice and enough money to rest from thieving for a few days, a reevaluation can take place. Perhaps he will merely eat too much, put it up his nose or be beaten by a stronger boy to be robbed himself, these are all possibilities."
L didn't have a particularly rosy view of human nature, but -- in his own small way he had interfered with the way things would have been and he had started implicitly condoning the Way's tactics the moment he had stepped foot on board. He was used to ignoring the little infractions.
He'd never been above charity before, although the beneficiaries had always done something to earn it before hand.
"Oh, certainly; so is the possibility that he might go straight, as you say. I cannot help but wonder, though, if the latter would be more or less likely if he could not put a face to his benefactor - putting aside the fact that said benefactor was so recently the cause of his problems. I've always been more of a fan of faceless charity - a little money left here, tickets for a free meal there. The serendipity of it gives them hope, which is near as valuable as the actual item given. Getting a handout, though...well, everyone reacts differently to that."
Brook hadn't had many opportunities to actually carry this philosophy out - too many of the people he rode herd over back then either needed no charity or were so thoroughly allied with the rebels that he would not give it. There was one family, though - they had a little girl, who was friends with his daughter, and was often sick - who were good people, and from time to time he'd leave little things, money and the like, where he was sure they'd find them.
The other man had a sensible head about the issue, L would give him that.
He thought about his own acts, the ones that would be considered charitable instead of cold, cruel and calculating. On particularly dangerous cases he would compensate police or soldiers families for their losses. But the families were rarely in a mood to consider the compensation generous.
"He and I are unlikely to meet again, but he will perhaps associate a few minutes of terror and his second chance. His terror was personal."
L cocked his head to the side and smiled.
"Ryuzaki Coil."
Brook tipped his hat in reply. "Brook."
"I suppose he might, but...realistically, had he not been unwilling or unable to do honest work in the first place, he would likely not be...thieving, unless I miss my mark? The charity is noble but seems misaimed, a bandage on the behavior rather than a cure. Once the coins run out, I would imagine he'd just pick up where he left off.
"It's not unlike dealing with disenfranchised people in society, really. You can't just appease them by giving them things they want; you have to actively turn them from their previous beliefs. They need to understand that a free head of cattle with every home is ridiculous, or that they cannot be absolved from taxes just because they live far from civilization, or...whatever."
Mentally, he sighed. From time to time, he'd wished that some of the groups he faced were able to understand, could be shown that what they wanted was insane. It never quite worked out that way, though; all but once, he had to resort to other, more permanent ways of dealing with them.
L smiled. Brook was right, really. The monetary onus on the government to prove all of the goods and services the meek wanted would be truly obscene even with the taxes he paid on his various investments and side projects.
"No, you cannot appease them. It is often best just to let things sort themselves out. Not always, though. Often, a circumstance is the cause of wrongdoing by one party or abuse - well beyond governance - by an official or the government. Then, Justice demands action, even if it is not charity."
L still didn't know if Thomas had done anything or was the victim of some circumstance that had really 'earned' him charity but he was not inclined to regret his choice.
Brook shook his head. "Corruption. Ever the bane of civilization - it's like a disease. And like most diseases...there are so many strains of it, appearing in so many places in the body that is society - the head, the extremities, everywhere. Excising it is very different from a surgeon's work, but oftentimes no less bloody."
Justice was something he could respect; he'd brought it to enough insurgents, enough dangerous rebels, in the pursuit of keeping Ivona's peace that he knew what it was like to be its hand. Thinking about how things had changed after he died...it made him angry, angry that things could fall so far, angry that people could have turned away from what was good for them.
And...maybe it raised the tiniest pinprick of doubt, over whether or not what he'd done had really been the right, the just thing to have done.
L nodded, he wished Brook was incorrect, but he knew that he was only one man, and he could not be everywhere, that was part of the reason that he restricted himself to the large injustices. When he started to get bogged down in the little ones he lost sight of things. He could keep a hundred things in mind at the same time, but thousands were too many, even for him.
He also thought of the blood, not something he was squeamish about, but the blood of the victims and eventually the blood of the guilty covered his hands.
"I do not care for the blood." He'd never killed someone, but he had brought them to justice, there had been more of it than recently than he would have liked. Perhaps the reason Watari had insisted on the vacation.
Brook shrugged noncomittally. He'd killed before - long since lost count of how many times - but he at the time it never bothered him. He'd tried what he could to turn people away from rebellion, from attacking the country supporting them; many just wouldn't listen. Does a gardener worry about the health of the weeds killing his lawn?
Now...if they weren't weeds after all...but best not to think of that now, he thought.
"Some say the worst part of the work is becoming used to the blood. I say...there's nothing wrong with being able to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. Efforts should be taken to prevent things from getting to that point, but...people are people and do not always act according to reason.
"Shame that it looks like we'll be heading to another time like that, what with the murders." It was hard for him to express regret without facial features that moved, but the regret in the skeleton's voice was plain.
L was already used to the blood. He wasn't sure if that was the worst part or not. It seemed like a fact of life more than a specific consequence.
The murders. The assassinations. "And now travel papers, border security, no doubt there will soon be trade restrictions and free merchant and traveling ships will be all but shut down."
Any requirement for travel papers would hardly keep him from passing over borders, but L would not be surprised if most of the Way's crew and passengers were not the sort who would do well with a check of their credentials.
"Everyone had gossip on the topic, now." Except for him. L would have liked Watari to let him keep working, that would have been better for his mind.
Brook smiled, inwardly. Perhaps it was time to let what he knew slip a little; he could not know who this Ryuzaki might talk to, but it was far enough after the incident - with precious little information on it otherwise - that if the man *did* speak to others, it would likely spread like wildfire. And perhaps that would lead to some clues as to who was behind it, or at least force both countries to deal with the leak before returning to saber-rattling.
"Indeed. It seems all but certain that war will be the result; I have to wonder, though, whose war it is...especially given the condition of the murdered ambassadors. It screams of plots deeper than a country fishing for an excuse to fight."
L didn't take his conversational companion for a gossip or a rumor monger or someone who made slips of the tongue. Still it wouldn't do to appear to eager.
"Condition?" He tilted his head, not exactly playing dumb, but waiting for Brook to make the first move.
"I could use a cup of coffee. I don't know what sort of nourishment you take, but at least it would be more comfortable than speaking out in the open."
Brook chuckled. Ryuzaki was definitely interested, and moreover, seemed to be taking him seriously. He couldn't have hoped for a better audience.
"Well, I'm never one to pass up a tall glass of milk. Good for the bones and all that. I think I saw a coffee shop a street or so back; shall we adjourn to there?"
L probably overplayed his interest, or underplayed it really, he was out of practice. Someone else would have shown more interest. He had difficulty with 'enthusiasm' though.
"Milk?" L smiled. The two of them made their way to the coffee shop and L settled in to a seat, perching and dropping a half dozen sugar cubes into the cup before taking his first sip.
"You don't strike me as the usual rumor monger type, Mr. Brook."
Brook would have raised an eyebrow at the enormous amount of sugar Ryuzaki added to his coffee, but he sadly lacked them. "My daughter used to do the same thing. Eventually I asked her why she bothered with coffee if she felt the need to drown every cup in sugar; when she couldn't answer, she decided to switch back to tea."
He took a sip of his milk, then looked back at the young man. "Anyway - there's a good reason for that."
He lowered his voice. "I'm not talking rumors - I was at the banquet in question. Had a chance to examine the scene of the crime." He paused to have more milk. "When we got there, the ambassadors had been dead for hours - since before the party started. Whoever did it...it probably wasn't someone from either the 4423 or the Victoria II."
L took another sip of his coffee. "I do the same with my tea."
L hadn't even gotten that minimal tidbit from Watari. Brook seemed likely to have been on the 4423, especially since L knew the ship was now in port here. The captain had hauled ass just after the assassination. Such would normally be a sure sign of guilt, but L figured that at least the girl captain could see the writing on the wall and that she and her ship were easy targets of blame. His willingness to let the Victoria II have a similar benefit of the doubt was interesting though.
"Who runs a banquet when the negotiators are already dead and cooling?" Did no one look after the delegates? How had the banquet even progressed as though nothing was wrong as far as it had.
Brook raised his glass. "Ah, but tea isn't supposed to be a trial to drink."
He mulled over Ryuzaki's questions for a moment, and then shrugged. "It's very suspect - the other people examining the scene had similar questions. Either the people running it didn't know either, or they were involved - I'd believe the latter, personally. Dinner had been served - I can't believe no one attempted to feed the ambassadors.
"The question is - what would the people of Kropmork - or specifically those at the University - have to gain from inciting a war, or aiding to do so?"
L took a moment to be frustrated with Watari again, for keeping him so much in the dark. Assassins, the University possibly complicit, he dropped another sugar cube into his coffee.
"Such a conspiracy would be vulnerable on many sides, even the process of assassinating so many and arousing so little suspicion compounds the number of people required. Perhaps there is something simpler."
His mind shifted the problem around. Who did benefit? So far, any benefits had been unobtrusive: tightened trade, increased tensions between the countries, the number of beneficiaries was astronomical.
"Money. Power. Influence. Those are the easy answers, it is a rare person who is looking for something beyond that."
Brook considered this. "Hmm. I suppose they would have a lot to gain, as a neutral port between both countries. The risk, though...either party could find them to be too much of a benefit for the other, and deal with them appropriately.
"As for the University itself...were they producing airships or munitions, I could believe they'd want to have a hand in starting a war for the money, but as teachers? I fail to see what benefit they could get that would outweigh the chance that they'd be held responsible."
He sipped at his milk again. "Perhaps they were forced to comply."
"Better." L nodded. "Cleaner."
Perhaps.
"As the situation continues to unfold, more information will become available. At the very worst the unexpected consequences of the assassins actions will become clear, at best, their true intentions. Vohemar's aggressive posturing draws my suspicions currently, but counter posturing could provide more data."
He took a longer sip of his coffee, finishing it. He would need to put more sugar in his next cup.
Brook considered this. "I suppose you're right. Still...perhaps there are other angles this could be approached from. I wonder if figuring out who the assassins were would be of any use." He'd considered asking Tira; she may very well not know, as there seemed to be many different groups of assassins in the city, but it was plausible she might have some idea, or at least a lead.
He finished off his glass of milk and looked up. "You don't exactly seem to be a stranger to thinking about this sort of thing. Perhaps you'd like to keep in touch? I'd imagine our chances of figuring out something about this situation would be better if we fed each other information as we got it."
L shrugged. "It's a hobby."
L wasn't really much for sharing -- but he mumbled out his own journal name, enough to let Brook contact him in the future.
"The ship I am on may soon have her travel more restricted, unfortunately. I cannot say I am in a position to acquire any useful information, either. But I am always up for discourse."
Brook gave Ryuzaki his journal's name; he was slightly surprised at the man's reluctance, given that many people with such a hobby were frequently desperate for intelligence. Nevertheless, he was quite sharp; even with limited resources, he could be quite an aid.
"Given my ship's position, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to find out myself. Though...hopefully something will pan out in the near future."
He rose and put down a few coins for his drink. "Good to meet you, Mr. Coil. Should anything new come to light, I'll contact you. Until then...well, let's hope Justice steers us right, yes?"
"Justice," L agreed, staring at the bottom of his coffee cup. "Pleasure, Mr. Brook."
L watched the strange skeletal man leave the coffee shop before getting himself another cup of coffee which he loaded up with sugar and took a long, bittersweet drink.
Perhaps he had a few coins to bargain with Watari now, and pry more information out of him. Either way, there was nothing wrong with finding a worthy sparring partner of the mind.