soul_logs | [Closed] We Are Made From Broken Parts

Entry tags:

[Closed] We Are Made From Broken Parts

Characters: L and Sheena and Yamazaki
Location: Casualty Communal
Rating: PG-13 for violence and swearing, probably.
Time: 8 May, evening
Description: Light has some inconvenient hallmates. And those inconvenient hallmates have inconvenient building mates. Both of them think that they can teach L about the power of FRIENDSHIP with their fists. Because they care. And both are a good reason for Light to move, because this doesn't translate well to ruthless genius logic.

It had only been a week since Vegas, but after his falling-out with Bakura, L had sought to fill the void with another person and another place. It almost scared him, how easily he had slipped into it with his enemy. He didn't believe anyone was wise to it; perhaps his successors suspected, and Gamzee followed him often enough to guess, but otherwise, it was a seamless routine by now: L entered through the fire escape. From there, it was a token conversation, frequently blossoming into heated arguments that turned into sniping comments, physical slaps and pinches, and Light would seize him by the shirt and then it would be floor, and skin, and teeth, and breathless pursuit, followed by wordless cleanup and a stiff parting, one smug and one bitter, depending on who had been the victor that evening.

Tonight, L was already exhausted from his shifts at the Watch, increased lately to accommodate the city's state of upheaval and disarray, so he had been relatively easy to overpower. It turned out that a diet of straight sugar and caffeine, coupled with jittery sleep deprivation, were not ideal for increasing strength and stamina. So, he left Light's apartment that night bitter, disheveled and smelling more like his rival than himself, ears ringing dully as he closed the door behind him and started to head toward the staircase at the end of the hall.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And of course, who happened to be coming in to that hall at the same time? None other than the inconvenient hallmate, that's who. Sheena wasn't alone, however. With her were two dogs who had alerted her to the presence of someone else in the hall long before they even stepped off the staircase.

Straining against their leashes, they practically dragged Sheena behind them until she put her foot down--literally, and halted them in their tracks. "All right, you two! What is the matter with both of y--" She trailed off when she realized they weren't alone, and her eyes grew wide at the sight of Ryuzaki before her.

"By the gods, Ryuzaki! You look like hell!" Seemed to be a lot of that going around. "What the hell happened?!"

L looked like hell, indeed, in the wan way that a person who had not been taking care of himself would. He was too pale and drawn, too thin, and he was unaware of it, presently... but there was a carpet burn along his jawline. That, along with his mussed-up hair, certainly hinted at what he'd been doing... but there was always the chance that Sheena, oblivious to many ugly or unpleasant things, might miss the sordid implications.

He braced nervously, all too aware of the dogs pulling at their leashes. He smelled too interesting to expect that they would pass up the opportunity to catch Light's scent mingling with his own on his skin.

"The riots," he said automatically, and it wasn't a total untruth. He had been involved in the Watch's efforts defending the Agency building, and in a recent late-night scuffle of his own. "We're shorthanded and everyone is stretched a little thin..."

But not so thin that I stop coming back here.

Edited 2013-03-06 06:06 (UTC)

[Ryuuzaki. His name is Ryuuzaki. It was hard to find him through looking through all those messages and following people, but he did it and now he stood in the same building this...Ryuuzaki...is and tears lives apart with its bare existence, like he did to Ryou-kun.

And now out of every men and women he's poisoning Sheena's soul with his words. But...Sheena is a smart girl, why does she let this Ryuuzaki close to her, why does she talk to him? She should've run away! She should be as far as this plague of a man as she can be!]

You...Ryuuzaki...

[His voice is thin and he doesn't give a damn if Ryuuzaki heard it. Yamazaki runs through the hall faster than he ever thought he could run and his fist moves by itself, looking for the face of this mass murderer, this sick serial killer, this human spider who sucks out the light of everything he reaches. He hits L on his chin and as he looks how the man...Ryuuzaki reacts he silently tells to Sheena.]

Step back...this guy is dangerous.

Edited 2013-03-08 08:52 (UTC)

Hearing Yamazaki's voice, Sheena's attention moves from her friend to the man she loves. The smile that had begun forming upon seeing him, disappears when she sees his expression as he vaults down the hall towards them.

"Zaki? What's wrong?" The dogs, picking up the note of concern in her voice, begin to whimper and resume their pulling on their leashes. Hissing "stop it" to the two of them, she looks up just in time to see Zaki's fist aimed for her friend, and Sheena is frozen in place, too stunned to be able to move immediately and in time to stop the blow from connecting.

The sudden barking from the dogs broke her out of her reverie, and she manages to get between the two men--one on either side. "Zaki! What do you mean he's dangerous?"

He's her friend, Zaki, remember that if you tell her that he's betrayed her. She may not be able to handle it well.

When L had encountered Yamazaki that night in the church, he had thought the man innocent and simple, even comparing him, in his mind, to the hapless Matsuda. He had considered him ignorant, possibly stupid, but ultimately harmless.

Unfortunately, like Matsuda, Yamazaki wasn't harmless, and it revealed itself at the most unexpected junctures. L still thought him ignorant and definitely stupid, now, but he didn't exactly have much time to think about it. As worn by he was by the trials and difficulties, the force of the punch was enough to knock his skinny body over completely. His head snapped back as Yamazaki's fist connected with his chin, and he sprawled gracelessly in the hallway just as Sheena rushed to intervene.

Dangerous. The detective certainly wanted his enemies to think so. But whatever misunderstanding (he hoped it was merely this) was currently in play was a damaging one; he knew that Sheena had feelings for Yamazaki, and even if she wasn't his lover yet, she was likely to take his word more seriously just because he made her heart beat faster. Humans were like that... L knew, all too well and all too intimately, how blind it could make people. He was the one with a carpet-burned face, after all.

His pride, more than anything, was what raised his aching body to a defensive, animal-like crouch. He was so tired, from lack of food and sleep, and stress that even his steel-clad emotional sensibilities weren't equipped to handle well. But he wouldn't give in to the urge to simply curl up on the floor. He had been on the floor once already, this evening, and there were some things the detective simply wouldn't stand for.

"What the hell, Yamazaki?"

Edited 2013-03-11 07:26 (UTC)

[Yamazaki was actually surprised when he saw L falling as easily as a a puppet made of rags. He didn't remember when he hit someone the last time like this, so suddenly, not even in a fair fight. Is it right? Is it fair to hit someone so...miserable-looking and weak, even if he's...well, what he is. And Sheena saw everything...what would she think of this?]

Sheena...This...it shouldn't have happened. Not when you are around. This guy...Do you know Ryou-kun, Bakura Ryou-kun? This man did something terrible to him. I don't mind who he was or what he did to people in the past...You know, everyone who's brought here has a second chance, that's what I think...But I do like Ryou-kun, and if someone causes any harm to people I like I won't let them go with it just like that!

[He speaks to Sheena and only to Sheena, because he doesn't want to see what he did to a human being, even if that person has the soul of a worm. It's not his fault that he's a monster and hitting him won't help him being a...human. But beating this skinny guy made him less human, that's what he feels. Yet...Sheena talked him so casually like they were on good terms, and this guy was on good terms with Ryou-kun, too!

Sheena...could you call the ambulance? He looks sick.

[He has to keep away Sheena from this man. And he has to keep away himself from him, too. Before it would be too late. Before he would start pitying him...]

Hell? You'll find out what hell is like soon enough if I see you around Sheena again...

[He's gnarling of anger as he speaks but his look is begging for forgiveness for what he did. He's not a monster. He doesn't enjoy causing pain to the weak ones. Ryuuzaki was the one who tortured someone, he was the one who committed all those murders, Ryuuzaki is the bad guy here, why should he feel bad for him?]

L might have been much more intelligent than Sheena, but he didn't know the ninja quite as well as he thought he did, or he would have known that she didn't act like most humans--even when in love.

Because Sheena tended to act on her emotions on all things. And right now, the emotions running rampant through the woman were anger and confusion as she knelt beside Ryuzaki, her position such that she could block either or help both--whichever one was necessary.

Her eyes blazing, she turned to Zaki, and said, "Dangerous? Does he look dangerous to you right now?" She glanced at her friend next to her, her eyes searching for any other injuries than what she had already noted before turning back to her fiance. "I know about Ryou, and how Ryuzaki's actions hurt him. I don't like seeing people suffer, either." There was a message there for both of them, but she now turned to Ryuzaki, and her voice had lost none of her steel when she addressed him directly.

"Which reminds me, I need to talk to you about that. About thinking before acting." She was still in a position to help or harm, but she did neither, merely leaned a bit closer. "And don't try to tell me that you acted on pure thought alone; there had to be some emotional part of you in charge." She paused and took a deep breath, her hand poised to pull out her mirror. "But, that can wait--for now. You do look horrible. Do you want to go to the hospital? If not, my room's right down the hall."

And don't think that she had forgotten about the threat made to L in her name, Zaki. She wasn't helpless, and she'd be damned if she'd lose anymore friends.

L tended to do best when he had a general idea of where an interaction was heading, and usually, it was easy to tell. But with Yamazaki, things careened wildly from outright hostile to almost apologetic concern, and then right back to hostile and threatening like whiplash. If anything, though, the detective was beginning to actually figure out why he'd been attacked. Bakura Ryou was name-dropped, and the motive for the situation became all too clear. Well... he couldn't say that he hadn't expected at least one self-righteous idiot to have an extreme reaction like this. It was easy to empathize with Bakura, easy to grow all too protective of the white-haired boy.

That didn't make Yamazaki's actions acceptable, but at least it explained why he'd come out of nowhere and socked L in the chin and, in a twist that took even the great detective off-guard, knocked him on his scrawny ass. It was inconvenient, but it could probably help him avoid further injury. Despite this unexpected boon, when it came right down to it, L probably preferred seeming evil to seeming weak. It was, after all, what had gotten him into that Vegas mess in the first place. Rather than admitting that the situation was far from controlled, he had needed to pull a truth or two out of place and say that, really, everything was fine when it had been far from the case.

Like Yamazaki, but for different reasons, Sheena was surprising him that night. Maybe it shouldn't have been the case. He knew her to be kind and fair, but over the last week, his normal paranoia had been driven to a fever pitch. Between his mind games with Light and the riots and hate crimes, he was like a cat on scissors, and this particular encounter was one in whicha he fully expected to end up as a broken and beaten young man who merely picked himself up to do it all again at an unspecified but not-too-distant point. But Sheena, at the very least, appeared to be willing to hear him out, not ready to dismiss him based on one very strange event that had hurt L just as much as it had hurt Bakura. Because she was right... emotions had been a devastating factor in the evening's events, and evidence of them still lingered in a flash of scar tissue at his wrist she might have been able to glimpse before he tugged his sleeve back down over it.

"An ambulance...? No, no, that's highly unnecessary," he said, keeping his dark eyes on Yamazaki warily even though Sheena was the one addressing him. The last thing he wanted was to go to the hospital and face questions about his state. Anemic, exhausted, his arms sliced open... it was hardly a reassuring commentary on his physical or mental well-being.

"I just want to go home," he said quietly. "Can we talk another time?"

Preferably without a furious fiance listening to her making plans to take L to her room?

Edited (Lexi shouldn't type tags in class Ok ) 2013-03-12 15:55 (UTC)

[Yamazaki suddenly felt tired and bewildered as he looked into Sheena's eyes? Is she angry at him? Does she want to take this killer to her room?? Does she...no, Yamazaki wasn't able to look at Sheena again, he focused on L, instead.

The guy didn't look dangerous at the moment. Calling ambulance would've been a good idea, but he didn't want to be hospitalized, and it looked that Sheena would be ready to help him...they'll need to talk about acting carelessly and letting strangers into their room. What if this guy is just pretends being all worn out and ill?]

Alright. If...if you want to help him I'll help you to help him. I...I won't let you stay alone with this man. If he's so weak as he says you'll need my help to take him to your room, and I'll stay there.

[Yamazaki smiled at Sheena and there was some kind of weird pride in his smile.]

Edited (Sleepiness...) 2013-03-13 10:04 (UTC)

Sheena was actually angry at both men--and for basically the same thing: hurting a friend of hers without thinking things through. The bonus was she could understand that impulse, since that's how she lived her life, and so was willing to listen to the stories behind both their actions--especially after seeing that scar on L's arm.

In fact, it was her impulsive nature that led to her inviting L to stay in her room to rest, but it was her stubbornness that made her shake her head at his refusal. "No, Ryuzaki. I don't think you'd be able to make it home--even with help." She had no clue where he lived, but he looked like he'd barely make it out of the building, let alone make it to his. "I'm going to have to insist you spend the night in my room. It'll be okay." A shining example of her protective nature; she wasn't going to let anyone--anyone--hurt him again tonight.

Looking up at Zaki, she gave him a grateful smile. Without her ExSphere, she would have been unable to carry the man, and dragging him was definitely out of the question.

"Thanks, Zaki, I really appreciate that." She turned to L. "Is that okay?"

I'm not weak, and I never said I was, L wanted very badly to snap at his assailant. He had been assaulted so many times in the past week, and this one was by far the most insulting and unexpected. L wasn't pleased easily by either quality.

Yamazaki seemed to be easily swayed by Sheena's wishes, which was a good thing; the young woman was taking control of the situation in a sensitive and sensible manner. However, L wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending the night in a strange place... there were so many reasons not to. He needed a shower, he needed to sit down and think about his next move in his game with Light, he needed to soak his scars in the hopes that they would soften and fade (he just knew that Sheena had seen.)

It won't be OK.

"I don't... I need to go home, Gamzee won't feed my cat," he invented, using the wall to pull himself to his feet. "And it's not so bad as it looks, I just wasn't prepared for that punch. I really can't stay over," he insisted, knowing, just by the way they were both looking at him (like a patient, or a child, or a wounded bird) that it was a losing battle.

Yamazaki felt grateful for Sheena's presence and the way she took care of this crazy situation which was, well, partly...mostly...his fault. Somehow he felt he made a complete fool of himself; he didn't help anyone with what he had done and on top of everything the mass murderer Ryuuzaki would have a grudge against him now. He was not worried for himself but -he had to accept it- Sheena thought of this man as a friend, so Ryuuzaki could easily took revenge for this evening through causing harm to the girl. Thanks for everything the guy didn't want to stay...But.

But a Yamazaki wouldn't let a wounded man wondering alone in the night, especially not in these dangerous times, when people were attacked by the mob. It didn't count how much he hated the thought or how much he was worried for Sheena, he couldn't let this guy crawling home alone.

"Right. I'll take you home. To your home. Just because I'm worried for...the cat. Is it okay for you?"

He looked at Sheena. For some reason he felt this guy would forget to feed that cat, too. He looked like someone who regularly forgets to feed himself, too.

Sheena wasn't worried about Ryuzaki coming after her for revenge. Not only did he not seem like someone to do so, but also she had experienced being chased and hunted by others--something Zaki didn't know about and probably wouldn't believe if told. Either way, she had managed to take care of herself and made it out alive.

She really was going to have to show Zaki her skills one day.

Sheena shook her head. "Like I said, I doubt he'd make it home even with help right now." She turned to Ryuzaki. "You need to get some rest--even if it's a few hours, not to mention something to eat. You look like you haven't eaten in over a month." An exaggeration, since she knew that the man was thin to begin with, but the mental picture was enough. "Besides, you're probably going to want to take a hot bath or something after falling like that so you don't stiffen up and make things worse when you do go home."

She eyed Ryuzaki critically, one eyebrow raised in both concern and wonder. Gamzee? Didn't he just make an announcement how this person had gone home--the day before? "Cats are pretty amazing creatures, though. I'm sure he'll be all right for the night, since I plan on kicking you out early in the morning before training."

L's expression darkened from bewilderment to something like distrust as Yamazaki gallantly offered to walk him home. Like hell was he going to accept such an offer from the man who had decked him just minutes prior, and lead him willingly to the place where he lived.

It was starting to look like he was running out of options and excuses. Sheena's soft, reasonable words made that clear enough.

"I'll stay for a short time," he agreed, eyes still warily on Yamazaki. "If you'll have it no other way."

Well.

Yamazaki was not too happy hearing that Ryuzaki's planning to spend some time in Sheena's apartment. But Sheena wanted it this way and Yamazaki knew that the girl had wits. Sheena was smarter than him. She didn't knew who this man was, but if she decided to give a shelter to Ryuzaki, then it was a good decision. Even if it was an awful decision.

On the other hand Ryuzaki looked really tired and there were mobss outside. And from the way Ryuzaki looked at him he knew the guy would not accept his help. And really, why would he trust in someone who kicked him out just a few minutes ago?

"Right, we'll all stay here, you have a rest and eat something. And I'll stay here as Sheena's bodyguard."

Although glad that Ryuzaki had finally relented, Sheena had to fight the urge to do a double-take. A bodyguard? Was he serious? Ryuzaki wouldn't hurt her; she was sure of it--even without Zaki being there. However, she didn't turn down his offer to stay, hoping that the three of them would be able to actually discuss things without any problems.

"Okay," she began, looking from one to the other, "now that that's settled, let's go. The dogs are already whining to be let in." The two fraidy-dogs had run right for her door when everything had gone down, and were now showing their impatience with the occasional whine and scratch at the door.

Turning from them, she looked at Ryuzaki in concern. "You won't have to worry about them once inside. They calm down pretty quickly in there." She was referring to their reaction when they first saw her friend earlier. "You ready?" she asked, positioning herself once more between the men.

L seemed equally mystified by Yamazaki's vow to be a bodyguard for Sheena. It was insulting, not to mention a little bit silly. But if that would satisfy him, and Sheena by extension...

He nodded briskly as she reassured him about the dogs, though since Yamazaki had punched him, they were admittedly the least of his concerns. L and dogs didn't tend to get along; the loud, sudden noises they produced, along with their general unpredictbility, tended to spook the jittery detective.

"Uh... no, please, I can walk as far as your door, at least," he protested, shrugging Sheena and Yamazaki off like an overly worrisome coat. And to prove it, he started heading in that direction (though he held off a touch, deciding that it would be better regarding the dogs if Sheena was the first to approach.)

"Those dogs will eat someone, I tell you."

Yamazaki was not a fan of dogs. If he'd been bitten tonight and he'd to choose between L and the dogs, he'd prefer L. The guy didn't have fangs, not in his mouth. His words did bite him, although Yamazaki had a slight feeling he'd deserved being bitten by words. What would Bakura-kun think of him if he'd find out this whole mess?

"Sheena, could you go and lock up those...dogs somewhere? The fridge would be a good place for them...I won't hit this friend of yours again, I promise."

Now, Sheena's eyes did narrow and fill with anger as she looked from one man to the other. "Do you honestly think those dogs are dangerous? If they were, don't you think they'd have stayed and attacked the two of you? No, they ran away!" She turned her gaze to Zaki, "And I will not lock them up like they were some kind of an experiment!" He had touched upon a sensitive subject without realizing it, but before he could see the angry tears, she turned and headed towards the animals, her voice low as she tried to calm them down.

Once the door was open, they shot inside and she turned to the two men, her tears in check, and her anger only lessened--not gone.

"Come on."

Yamazaki should have asked Bakura sometime about L's bite. The long-suffering young man would doubtless hae something to say about it.

But as much as dogs made L uneasy, putting them in the refrigerator was... cruel and unusual, to say the least. He was sincerely beginning to wonder who the hell was allegedly the threat; the guy who'd gotten punched in the face, or the one who wanted to put dogs in an icebox?

Adding Sheena's emotional state to the mix only made things more uneasy and off-kilter.

He wanted to leave, and shower, and lick his injuries in private without any of this additional strangeness or drama that put him so far out of his element.

He followed, slow and reluctant and with more than a bit of trepidation. The dogs weren't making him wary, now, so much as the people.

One day Yamazaki might know more of the sad story of Bakura and L's bite, but not now. Now he just followed Sheena and L being confused by Sheena's tears and he had no ida about he was taken seriously about the dogs and the fridge. He would not have been scarred if he knew L1s opinion but he did want to comfort Sheena if it was still possible.

"Sheena...Don't be angry. I didn't want you to close those dogs to the fridge for real."

Right now, the true threat was Sheena. She was angry at both men right now. Ryuzaki for not trusting the dogs when it was clear they weren't the type to attack, and Zaki for not trusting her. And for hitting her friend without provocation.

By the time both men reached her apartment, they'd find that both dogs were curled up in their beds, and the kitten doing what a kitten does best: Looking up with curiosity before going back to sleep.

As angry as Sheena was, however, she still managed to remain calm as she addressed the two men. "Ryuzaki, go ahead and take that bath we mentioned. There are plenty of towels in there." She turned and headed to the kitchen. "I'll make you something to eat while you're in there."

When she got in there, she finally looked at Zaki. "I never told you about Corrine, did I?"

L was all too glad for an opportunity to escape. He flitted off to the bathroom, closing and locking the door before drawing a tepid bath and sinking into it.

Scratches, bruises, and tears in difficult places were soothed as he washed himself slowly, catching snippets of the murmuring voices outside his temporary, tiled sanctuary.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Closed] We Are Made From Broken Parts

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

L has the soul of a worm! XD

Oh my....

LOL

Re: LOL

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

I am TERRIBLY sorry for being late!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject