Chapter Text
The RontMar University Entrance Ceremony. A prestigious university welcoming its new class of students, amongst which were Alecier Ront.
Which, by now, was his lesser known name, as the world had become fixated on the serial killer Kira.
Alec sits in the audience, looking every bit the part of his father’s perfect son. Back straight, head high, dressed in a freshly-ironed suit.
A shinigami beside him. Tiel watches him, her eyes cold and uncaring as ever.
The university president’s voice crackles over the microphone. Alec winces, but only internally. Never externally. He can’t show that.
“Next, we have the freshman address. Will the freshmen representatives Alecier Ront-”
Alec stands as his name is called. His hands lightly brush his pants in a familiar motion of sweeping off dust, where there is none, and he begins to walk.
“-and Antoine Astrophel please come to the stage.”
The whispers begin.
“Two? Seriously? That’s insane isn’t it?”
“Antoine Astrophel? Like, the famous performer? That Antoine Astrophel?”
“As if! That guy looks nothing like him.”
“I was told there would be two freshmen representatives this year,” Alec thinks to himself. “But…”
He glances behind him, at the man who stood when the name Antoine was called. A man with a cane, eyes fixed firmly on Alec. The same man who sat behind him at the entrance exam, watching him intently back then as well. Who the proctor called to stop tapping his cane against the ground during the test.
“It just had to be him, didn’t it?” Alec wonders.
The audience keeps speaking. Whispering, or so they think. They’re always louder than they think.
“Wait, isn’t the representative the person with the highest test score?”
“Yeah, but if they’re the same they look at their grades…”
“So, does that mean they have the exact same grades? In everything?”
“I mean, I heard they both scored 100% in every subject.”
“Seriously?”
All eyes are on the stage. Alec stands as he has learned to, proud but never too much, with a hint of a relaxed smile. The man besides looks… tired. A little uninterested. He’s still staring at Alec.
Even over the sound of his own voice, and the other man’s, Alec can still hear the students speculating. Analyzing him. Slowly. So, so slowly. He doesn’t expect anything more. These people are always slow.
He realizes he’s finished his speech. So he takes a step back from the microphone and bows. The other man does the same. The audience claps, polite but not enthusiastic. Alec leads the walk off the stage as well.
“Alecier Ront,” the man behind him states. Alec nearly pauses in his gait, but catches himself.
“Your father is Phylo Ront,” the man continues, unfaltering. “Detective-superintendent of the NPA, and head of the Kira Task Force. You respect him greatly, and share his sense of justice. You seek to follow in his footsteps, and have even aided in solving a few NPA cases. And now, you have taken an interest in the Kira case.”
Alec glances back at the man, not meeting his gaze nor pausing to look at him. Just a glance. As if to say, ‘go on’.
“If you are willing to keep it a secret, I have something I want to tell you concerning the investigation. After all, if your sense of justice is what I think it is, then there is no reason I shouldn’t trust you.” The man is even closer to him now. Alec is certain he feels the man’s breath lightly brushing his neck.
“Even though it’s unlikely this guy actually knows anything about the case, he does seem to have a better hold of me than most people I know,” Alec considers. “And if he does know information about the case…”
Alec gives a slight nod to the man, whose expression finally changes into a slight smile.
“I am the detective A.”
Alec finally pauses, and turns to look at the man, apparently the detective who challenged Kira. Who challenged him, publicly.
The man is slightly shorter than him, and also dressed in a suit. Everything about him is understated, from the softness of his voice to the way he stands, almost as if he tries to make himself less noticeable. He rests on his cane, but doesn’t seem to be putting more weight on either of his legs. The most striking thing is his eyes— his eyes are intense, barely blinking, as they look at Alec. Maybe they always are.
“Maybe he is A,” Alec considers, “and maybe he isn’t. If he is A, why would he tell me? What’s his game here?”
Alec feels his eyes narrowing, for a fraction of a second, before forcing his face back into neutral. “He might be goading me. Trying to make me act rashly. For now… I should play along. As Phylo Ront’s son.”
He smiles back, pleasantly, and holds out a hand to shake. “If you are A, then I will openly admit– I admire you greatly.”
A smiles back. Equally pleasant, equally hollow. “Thank you, but there is no need for flattery. I simply thought telling you who I am might be to my advantage. After all, perhaps you might be key to cracking the Kira case.”
Alec can feel the underlying message, seeping slightly into A’s words.
“After all, you might be Kira.”
But Alec says nothing, and lets his hand drop, and walks back to his seat, A behind him the entire way.
“What a conundrum you’ve caught me in,” Alec thinks, glancing back over at A. “I can’t be sure you’re actually A. But if you are, then there is no doubt my father also knows who you are. And if you die now, I’ll basically be turning myself in.”
“Besides,” he continues, fist almost curling into a clench before he stops himself, “I don’t even know your name. There’s basically no way Antoine Astrophel is your real name, and if it is, I might just kill the performer instead of you.”
He almost laughs, or maybe almost punches A. He’s not too sure what reaction his body is attempting to have, but regardless of what it is, Alec fights it down. “For now, I have to seem relaxed.”
“Damn you A…”
Tiel laughs at him, the sound echoing dully.