Give Me Back My Broken Night, My Mirrored Room My Secret Life

[dead_black_eyes]

Characters: L Lawliet and Zenjirou Kasai
Location: Death City's jail
Rating: PG?
Time: Jan. 3rd, early morning
Description: Though L hasn't outed himself as L, or even as a detective, pyromania is fascinating to him. He can't resist the intrigue that comes with visiting an incarcerated fire-starter and asking just a few questions.

Comments

[dead_black_eyes]

No matter how thoroughly he tried to hide it, "really dedicated" described L very accurately. It was to the point where he was still hung up on a case that had been closed, but that he had physically left before that point. He had a lot of mental energy that wasn't being put to use, in Death City, and he was starting to seek out opportunities. Even if there wasn't much of a puzzle element, to a fire whose starter had already been caught and imprisoned, there was a familiar element to it. While L had a difficult time relating to humans, there was a certain type of human that he was used to, that he gravitated towards and almost felt at home speaking to. Usually, they couldn't match him in intelligence. But he had personally caught so many, predicted their movements and their actions, that having a violent criminal so close created something of a rush. Did it approach the euphoric levels of the Kira investigation? Not quite... but if it was as close as he could come, then he wanted it

[dead_black_eyes]

L's analogies tended to be odd, loose, and abstract, at best. He wasn't the sort to attach emotions to them (if he was, he would have avoided dogs as a topic altogether, not being fond of the creatures), but it had seemed to fit the elusive, grasping description for Kasai's situation that was currently knocking around his head

[firebrands]

Kasai laughed at Rue's pun, his strangely high, snickering laugh almost as odd as the other man's own. That had been a good one, even for someone whose English had never been anywhere close to perfect. The question that followed made him think in silence for a few long moments, narrowing down what he wanted into what he needed. By all rights all he needed was a matchbox and a can of gasoline, but for a man of his flair, of his grandiose sort of style, there were a few other things that made the list

[dead_black_eyes]

L felt a slight, euphoric rush when Kasai laughed. A real laugh, even if it was strange, not something forced or polite. It was a bit like social validation, something L never experienced. When it came to human interaction, he was punished much more than he was praised. Never in quantifiable ways, like slaps on the wrist or scoldings, but in subtler, stranger ways that danced even further away from what L could understand. Socially awkward adults, especially men, were not well-favored in society. After awhile it just became easier not to bother trying. But this was favorable. This was worth it. And it was probably because Kasai, like L, was used to being on the outskirts of society.

"You'd like my world," he said thoughtfully. "All of those things are there. Skyscrapers, new and old; police officers with the response time of a senior citizen with an ugly wife." It was another attempt at a joke, a bit riskier this time simply because it was so obtuse. "You wouldn't last long there, I don't think... but you'd enjoy yourself, while you

[firebrands]

Rue's world sounded familiar, and while Kasai did laugh at the second joke, this time it was a much more reserved snicker. He raised a questioning eyebrow at the doubt for his longevity in that place, though - was it somehow secretly even more dangerous? Was there a rabid demon destroying killers left and right? Or was it some sort of implication that Rue's very presence would keep him down once he'd had his fun? After all, the kid seemed fairly dedicated to figuring him out. Sooner or later, he'd learn that even the best and brightest couldn't take him out. It would take resources ... ones that, as Rue himself had pointed out, nobody here had

[dead_black_eyes]

"I do, as a matter of fact," L said, biting his lollipop again. "I think that you'd very much like to be something so powerful and ostentatious. But like most individuals who demonstrate a great deal of bravado and flair... flare... you aspire to something slightly higher than what you're capable of attaining. Hence... it could really only be a lighter. If you were a flamethrower, or a rocket launcher, you would not be setting abandoned buildings on fire and getting put in prison."

He watched Kasai's reaction, both to the lighter and to his analysis, with some interest.

"That's not to say that even small Weapons can't be dangerous. I know of one personally that is almost impossible to resonate with and has something of a history of hurting prospective Meisters, and himself while he's at it. But I doubt it's a widespread phenomenon. Have you had a Meister before?"

[firebrands]

There was a hint of an insult in those words, whether it was intended or not, and Kasai narrowed his eyes slightly at Rue. Sure, he'd aspired to something he couldn't obtain ... and then he'd gotten it. Though that had been a few years ago. At this point there was a good chance it was no longer relevant to most people, or to his deep-seated psychology. It sure made him feel better when he thought about it. And while Rue had a point (he was only ostentatious in action, not personality or appearance), that didn't mean he had to like it. There was pointing it out yourself and having someone else identify it on their own

[dead_black_eyes]

L watched the progress of the cigarette carefully; he had, presumably, until it and the second cigarette, still tucked safely behind his ear, had been smoked until he could consider their conversation over. Then again, Kasai could surprise him and continue to answer his questions even after both of them had been burned down to the filter.

"Same guy? Is he from your world? Is he still here? What is his name?" L asked, responding to the dwindling cigarette with increasingly more aggressive questions.

[firebrands]

At the sudden increase in aggression, Kasai leaned away from the bars, his hand still on the cigarette. He wondered momentarily what exactly was causing the rush, but as he glanced down at the shrinking space between the ash and the filter he gleaned an idea. He wasn't too pleased at the idea of running out of a smoke himself even with a second one available, but at the same time, Kasai kept his calm.

"No, he wasn't, at least not as far as I knew." Almost as if to taunt Rue, he took a long, slow drag on the cigarette, enjoying the burn. "He's not here anymore; left about two-ish weeks ago, more or less. His name doesn't matter if he's not here." It wasn't that he was trying to give the absent Meister some semblance of privacy, but that it really didn't matter. For all his vitriol, Xanxus hadn't left a major mark on the city, except in regards to some people who probably still remembered him as the world's biggest jackass. "I doubt you met him, anyway."

[dead_black_eyes]

"He might return," L said. "It's not an unreasonable expectation, in this place, where it's not unusual for any individual to have been and gone several times. And even if he doesn't remember you, if he returns... simply knowing how to deal with him might help you secure him as your partner a second time."

He paused. "Do you think that his disappearance had something to do with the boredom that made you want to burn that particular building?"

[firebrands]

"It's possible." That a lack of mission availability had come as a result of Xanxus' unexpected departure did mean he had no more room to burn in a way that Shibusen wouldn't throw him in jail for. The idea that he was at all personally bothered by said departure was something Kasai wasn't quite willing to humor just yet, and so he didn't make mention of it. "We ran missions; without a partner, it's not really something I can do. And I'm not exactly normally employable."

The only vaguely legal jobs he'd ever had were years and years ago. At this point, his resume was closer the list of charges one would normally find in a terrorist hearing ... which was a source of pride on one hand, but sort of ingratiating on the other.

Kasai didn't address the idea that Xanxus might come back. If he did, it was something he'd have the joy of dealing with when it happened. He sighed at the progress of his cigarette but didn't grind it out just yet; the filter would see its share of ash before he even considered putting it out.

[dead_black_eyes]

L could actually relate to both things Kasai mentioned, on multiple layers. He couldn't run missions alone, either, and he, too, was not normally employable. No one would, upon first meeting L, decide that he was a decent candidate for anything even in the neighborhood of the line of work he'd been in back home. He didn't have the build for a cop, and he wasn't equipped, alone, to even have a successful P.I. business. He'd seen for himself when that Adrian Monk fellow had posted to the networks fairly asking for people to hire him that even if one was a brilliant detective, people couldn't be expected to just know that. L had never been about decorum. L had always been about actions and accomplishments, and he wanted to start building those up in Death City. Otherwise, he was left with nothing but a willowy frame and an oral fixation and all the help strangers and friends were willing to give him

[firebrands]

Kasai outright snorted at that, grinning and clenching the cigarette between his teeth. 'Quite helpful' was one way to put it. One very pleasant, overestimated way of putting it

[dead_black_eyes]

"What about you? How do you feel about doing things that aren't merely for yourself?" L asked. The way Kasai talked about his partner made L wonder if he felt the same way. "And that's an interesting assumption. You seem to feel that your very existence is incendiary and fleeting. So... would it be apt to say that even your own life doesn't mean that much to you? I wouldn't want to strike a nerve... but I can't help but wonder, hearing you talk this way..."

He holds the other cigarette delicately within Kasai's easy reach, wondering if he can see Kasai's Weapon form if he doesn't light it himself.

[firebrands]

"If you're implying I'm suicidal, you can cut that out of your mental notes. I'm under no illusions about living forever, and 'incendiary and fleeting' is pretty much the definition of my life, but I'm not looking to throw it away for no real reason." That period of his life was well and truly over. Kasai hissed slightly as the burn from the filter snagged the back of his throat, and, grudgingly, he dropped it to the floor and ground out what remained under his heel. He glanced at the proffered cigarette - unlit, he noticed - and decided not to take it just yet. He could live off the remaining nicotine from the first one for another couple of minutes

[dead_black_eyes]

"Suicidal?" L asked, blinking. "No, no, I never thought that about you. Self-destructive can be a trait without necessarily being suicidal... at least, not consciously... but it's not my place to judge or diagnose, I'm merely curious. Please don't forget that, or get shy about telling me the truth..." that being said, it was good to know that Kasai cared enough about his life not to just throw it away.

Noticing that Kasai wasn't moving to take the cigarette, L lowered his arm, keeping it out and at the ready for whenever the man decided he did want it.

"So you're indifferent about the objective moral alignment of your actions, if there can be such a thing? That's different from being outright evil. Is there anything that does send you into a psychotic rage?" he asked, eyes lighting up again with that glint that indicated fascination.