Key (L x OC)

Thirteen

"Alright, Kaori." Ryuuzaki called out to the tired girl as she laid sprawled across the hotel bed. "I need you to do something for me."

Kaori sighed and rolled off of the bed. "What do you want?" She asked, entirely unamused by him asking for her help.

"I need you to hack into this website."

"That's illegal, Ryuuzaki." The girl retorted sarcastically.

"Yes, but you are a criminal." He reasoned, knowing exactly how to get her to do what he wished.

Kaori pouted.  "I thought you wouldn't call me that anymore."  She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I won't if you hack into this website."

She sighed again and lazily sat on the sofa next to Ryuuzaki.  She took the laptop from him and began to type rapidly. "First of all, I can't just 'hack into' a website.  I need to know the information you want to get to from the website, and that is what I can 'hack into.'" She informed.

"It's a census of the people in California. I need the list of people that died from heart attacks." He pointed to the link on the screen.

Kaori clicked on it, and the page asked for a username and password.  She easily opened another tap directly coordinated to the page and started to input countless codes.  Within thirty seconds, the list of people who died within the last month in California was up on Ryuuzaki's computer.

"Done." She declared confidently. "Can I go down to the beach, now?"

"No." Ryuuzaki didn't hesitate to answer as he took the laptop from her.

"Aww!" The girl whined. "But why not?"

"I may need your hacking skills again." He explained with no sense of urgency, signifying that he really had no more use for her at the moment.

"All I have to do is walk down the stairs on the balcony! It's not that far!"

He put his thumb on his lower lip as he scrolled through the names that appeared on his screen.  The bright lettering reflected on his dull, tired eyes.  "I said 'no.'"

Kaori huffed.  "You're so mean." And she stood, walking over to the bed and sitting herself on the comfortable mattress.  She pulled her cell-phone from her pocket to see if she had received a response from Lawliet, but she hadn't gotten anything.  She resorted to looking through the glass doorway longingly, hearing the sound of seagulls cawing over the beach breeze.

------+------

Ryuuzaki was looking at the laptop for the rest of the day and recording specific names of the deceased as well as where they worked and specific times of their deaths. Once it was dark out, Kaori attempted to go to sleep, but it didn't feel as though she should be asleep due to the large time difference.

When she saw the laptop screen turn off she waited for a few moments in silence.  When she thought that it would be safe, she sat up.  Looking at the couch cautiously, she saw Ryuuzaki curled up in one corner, his knees pressed to his chest and his thumb resting on his lip peacefully. 

It was the first time she had seen him sleep, and it reminded her of something very important that she neglected to consider: The notorious 'L' was human, too, just like her.

She shook off the thought and quietly opened the balcony windows. She stepped onto the wooden surface and climbed onto the railing, swinging her legs over the edge and sitting on top of the sturdy structure.

She released a deep sigh of relief, breathing in the salty air as the wind whisked her dark hair behind her ears.  The bright light illuminating from the gibbous moon reflected on the black, soft waves of the sea.  The water was calm, hardly producing any white caps as each wave gently lapped over one another.

Kaori smiled to herself.  Nothing but the soft sound of the water climbing up the shore hummed in her ears.

"Kaori." The sound of her name startled her.  She jumped and nearly fell from her position on the balcony's railing.  Luckily, the person who had called her name gripped onto her shoulders to keep her from falling down the four stories below.  "What are you doing? I thought you were tired." She turned to meet Ryuuzaki's frown.

Kaori released a short, awkward chuckle. "I couldn't get to sleep.  My internal clock is too distorted."

"So, you decided to do something dangerous like sit on the edge of the railing four stories above the ground?" Ryuuzaki raised a questionable brow.

"It was fine until you scared me." She pouted.  Deciding not to hang over the edge any longer, she swung her legs back onto the balcony so that she was safely standing back on the wooden platform.  "But you can't deny that the beach looks beautiful at night." Her expression softened into a blissful smile.

He didn't respond, but just looked at the ocean distantly.

"Oh, come on." She pleaded. "Just be quiet for a minute and listen to the waves."

"I don't see the point of-"

"Sh!" She hushed him, placing a finger on his lips abruptly to silence his words sternly.  She then tilted her head for him to look at the water.

Ryuuzaki did for a moment, but when she became transfixed on the waves herself, he looked back at her and watched her shoulder-length, thick hair blow gently around her ears. He wanted to stroke her cheek softly, but he resorted to fastening a lock of black hair behind her ear.

Kaori blinked in surprise and looked back at the odd man whose hand was still at her ear.  "What are you doing?" She muttered.

"Nothing." He said and stuffed his hand in his jean pockets.  His back bent in his usual hunched posture and he walked back into the hotel room.  "Sorry for bothering you, but you should really get to sleep. Good night."

With the abrupt 'good night,' Ryuuzaki sat on the sofa and assumed his normal sitting position.  He opened the laptop and dimmed the screen so it wasn't as bright under the dim lighting.

Kaori slowly walked back into the hotel room and shut the glass doors.  She curled up on the mattress and checked her phone one more time before trying to go to sleep.  To her delight, she had received a text message from her precious Lawliet.

To Kaori:

Both you and the beach look very beautiful.  I haven't visited California before, but I've always wanted to go there myself, so I'm just a bit jealous. But more so, I'm jealous that Ryuuzaki was able to go with you.

I'm glad that he's being kind to you and calling you nice things like 'pretty.' You deserve it because you are a pretty girl.  Don't get yourself into trouble on the beach because of that, though.  Don't let guys take advantage of you.

Take more pictures for me.  I'm looking forward to seeing a lot from your trip.

~Lawliet

Kaori smiled sweetly after reading the message.  Her heart fluttered as she read his complimentary words, but it also only made her more curious of whom Lawliet actually was.  She wondered what he looked like and if he was Japanese like her, despite his name being European.

However, her happiness stifled her curiosity momentarily.  It was just long enough for her to fall asleep, the sound of the waves resonating in her ear and pulling her into the dream world.